Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."--John 4:13-15
Not so long ago I stood with a pastor looking at the pictures of his congregation's confirmands.
Year after year those pictures showed young people who had gone through class and promised to be "faithful until death so they might be given the crown of life" (see Revelation 2:10). With great sadness on his face and in his voice, the pastor reminisced about those who had drifted away from their church and Lord. He summed up his frustration by saying, "I just don't understand."
At the time I didn't have an answer for him. I still don't, but maybe Olympian Vic Wild does.
Coming from the state of Washington, and pursuing a degree in Salt Lake City, Wild was born and bred a citizen of the US of A. Even so, he has won a gold medal for Russia. Does that sound slightly strange to you? If so, maybe an explanation might be in order.
A number of years ago, Wild realized that his activity of choice, men's snowboarding parallel giant slalom, wasn't very high on America's radar. He noticed he wasn't being interviewed near as often as some of the folks on the skating teams, nor did his sport receive the same level of financial backing and public encouragement.
So, Wild made some decisions. The first was to marry his Russian girlfriend, whom he had been dating for five years. Second, he applied for, and received, Russian citizenship. Lastly, he qualified to be on the Russian team. After his victory, Wild said, "I was so stoked to win it for Russia."
Writing this devotion it occurs to me that our readers are probably divided into two groups. The first says, "Vic should have stayed with his country, no matter what." The second group would maintain, "He has to do what is right for him. The medals are awarded to individuals not nations."
No matter what position you might hold, Wild felt neglected and made his decisions. Just like many of our young folks make theirs. When someone doesn't feel appreciated, needed or wanted by their church, they will go to a place or a person that makes them feel they are important.
And what does that have to do with church membership or following the Savior?
Merely this: read through the Gospels and watch what Jesus says and does. He goes out of His way to reach out to the Samaritan woman, the lepers, a tax collector, and just about anyone else who had felt neglected. More than that, the Savior proclaims He had come to seek and save the lost.
In His quest to save humankind, Jesus dealt with people where they were ... not where He wanted them to be. From there, personally and not theoretically, He took them to repentance and faith.
To come to people where they are is something I wish I had thought of in the parish. If I had, maybe, just maybe, there might not have been so many confirmands whose only connection with their church was an old picture hanging in the church fellowship hall.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks my Savior has dealt with me in a caring, loving way. His life, death and resurrection were undertaken to save all of humanity, including me. Grant the Holy Spirit may use me to reach out to others where they are. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
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Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
Leviticus 21:1 Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, ‘A priest shall not defile himself for the dead among his people; 2 except for his relatives that are near to him: for his mother, for his father, for his son, for his daughter, for his brother, 3 and for his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband; for her he may defile himself. 4 He shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.
5 “‘They shall not shave their heads or shave off the corners of their beards or make any cuttings in their flesh. 6 They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy.
7 “‘They shall not marry a woman who is a prostitute, or profane. They shall not marry a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God. 8 You shall sanctify him therefore; for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you; for I Yahweh, who sanctify you, am holy.
9 “‘The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.
10 “‘He who is the high priest among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose, or tear his clothes. 11 He must not go in to any dead body, or defile himself for his father, or for his mother. 12 He shall not go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him. I am Yahweh.
13 “‘He shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow, or one divorced, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry: but a virgin of his own people shall he take as a wife. 15 He shall not profane his offspring[a] among his people, for I am Yahweh who sanctifies him.’”
16 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Say to Aaron, ‘None of your offspring[b] throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For whatever man he is that has a defect, he shall not draw near: a blind man, or a lame, or he who has a flat nose, or any deformity, 19 or a man who has an injured foot, or an injured hand, 20 or hunchbacked, or a dwarf, or one who has a defect in his eye, or an itching disease, or scabs, or who has damaged testicles. 21 No man of the offspring[c] of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall come near to offer the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. Since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. 23 He shall not come near to the veil, nor come near to the altar, because he has a defect; that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.’”
24 So Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel.
22:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, which they make holy to me, and that they not profane my holy name. I am Yahweh.
3 “Tell them, ‘If anyone of all your offspring[d] throughout your generations approaches the holy things, which the children of Israel make holy to Yahweh, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from before me. I am Yahweh.
4 “‘Whoever of the offspring[e] of Aaron is a leper or has an issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose offspring[f] goes from him; 5 or whoever touches any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatever uncleanness he has; 6 the person that touches any such shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he bathe his body in water. 7 When the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he shall eat of the holy things, because it is his bread. 8 That which dies of itself, or is torn by animals, he shall not eat, defiling himself by it. I am Yahweh.
9 “‘They shall therefore follow my requirements, lest they bear sin for it, and die therein, if they profane it. I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.
10 “‘No stranger shall eat of the holy thing: a foreigner living with the priests, or a hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing. 11 But if a priest buys a slave, purchased by his money, he shall eat of it; and such as are born in his house, they shall eat of his bread. 12 If a priest’s daughter is married to an outsider, she shall not eat of the heave offering of the holy things. 13 But if a priest’s daughter is a widow, or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father’s house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s bread: but no stranger shall eat any of it.
14 “‘If a man eats something holy unwittingly, then he shall add the fifth part of its value to it, and shall give the holy thing to the priest. 15 The priests shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer to Yahweh, 16 and so cause them to bear the iniquity that brings guilt, when they eat their holy things; for I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.’”
17 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘Whoever is of the house of Israel, or of the foreigners in Israel, who offers his offering, whether it is any of their vows, or any of their freewill offerings, which they offer to Yahweh for a burnt offering; 19 that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without defect, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats. 20 But whatever has a defect, that you shall not offer; for it shall not be acceptable for you. 21 Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh to accomplish a vow, or for a freewill offering, of the herd or of the flock, it shall be perfect to be accepted. It shall have no defect. 22 Blind, injured, maimed, having a wart, festering, or having a running sore: you shall not offer these to Yahweh, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to Yahweh. 23 Either a bull or a lamb that has any deformity or lacking in his parts, that you may offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. 24 You must not offer to Yahweh that which has its testicles bruised, crushed, broken, or cut. You must not do this in your land. 25 You must not offer the bread of your God from the hand of a foreigner as any of these; because their corruption is in them. There is a defect in them. They shall not be accepted for you.’”
26 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “When a bull, or a sheep, or a goat, is born, then it shall remain seven days with its mother; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for the offering of an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 28 Whether it is a cow or ewe, you shall not kill it and its young both in one day.
29 “When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Yahweh, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 30 It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall leave none of it until the morning. I am Yahweh.
31 “Therefore you shall keep my commandments, and do them. I am Yahweh. 32 You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be made holy among the children of Israel. I am Yahweh who makes you holy, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. I am Yahweh.”
Footnotes:
a. Leviticus 21:15 or, seed
b. Leviticus 21:17 or, seed
c. Leviticus 21:21 or, seed
d. Leviticus 22:3 or, seed
e. Leviticus 22:4 or, seed
f. Leviticus 22:4 or, seed
Mark 10:1 He arose from there and came into the borders of Judea and beyond the Jordan. Multitudes came together to him again. As he usually did, he was again teaching them. 2 Pharisees came to him testing him, and asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3 He answered, “What did Moses command you?”
4 They said, “Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to divorce her.”
5 But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart, he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female.[a] 7 For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh,[b] so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”
10 In the house, his disciples asked him again about the same matter. 11 He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery against her. 12 If a woman herself divorces her husband, and marries another, she commits adultery.”
13 They were bringing to him little children, that he should touch them, but the disciples rebuked those who were bringing them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said to them, “Allow the little children to come to me! Don’t forbid them, for God’s Kingdom belongs to such as these. 15 Most certainly I tell you, whoever will not receive God’s Kingdom like a little child, he will in no way enter into it.” 16 He took them in his arms, and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
17 As he was going out into the way, one ran to him, knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except one—God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not give false testimony,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and mother.’”[c]
20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have observed all these things from my youth.”
21 Jesus looking at him loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up the cross.”
22 But his face fell at that saying, and he went away sorrowful, for he was one who had great possessions. 23 Jesus looked around, and said to his disciples, “How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into God’s Kingdom!”
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answered again, “Children, how hard is it for those who trust in riches to enter into God’s Kingdom! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”
26 They were exceedingly astonished, saying to him, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus, looking at them, said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God.”
28 Peter began to tell him, “Behold, we have left all, and have followed you.”
29 Jesus said, “Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for my sake, and for the sake of the Good News, 30 but he will receive one hundred times more now in this time, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land, with persecutions; and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last; and the last first.”
Footnotes:
a. Mark 10:6 Genesis 1:27
b. Mark 10:8 Genesis 2:24
c. Mark 10:19 Exodus 20:12-16; Deuteronomy 5:16-20
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