Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran HourSaint Louis, Missouri, United States "A Not-So-Little Lie" for Monday, 19 January 2015

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran HourSaint Louis, Missouri, United States "A Not-So-Little Lie" for Monday, 19 January 2015

(Jesus said) "But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'"[Luke 16:29-31]

The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven was a pretty good book, and then it was a pretty interesting movie. But, first and foremost, it was a fascinating event. If you've forgotten the story, let me give you a quick review.
Alex Malarkey was six years old when he was in a car accident. That accident left him in a coma for two months. When he revived, the lad said he had been to heaven and had spoken to Jesus. As proof, he shared a lot of information which the family had never shared with him: things he should not have known.
A great many people were touched by the lad's story.
Some churches reported enrollment in their adult confirmation classes saw a sizable increase. I knowThe Lutheran Hour received a fair number of requests to talk about the boy who came back from the dead. They didn't care if we spoke about Malarkey in the sermon or in the question-and-answer segment. They only wanted us to make use of this true and moving story, so hearts might be won for the Lord.
Well, maybe it is time to speak about Alex Malarkey.
Better yet, let's let Malarkey speak for himself. Recently, in a letter which is to be published, he wrote, "I did not die. I did not go to heaven. I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible."
With those words Malarkey has made a pretty profound and far-reaching confession.
Some of the people whose faith was built on his previous claims will be disappointed and angry. Skeptics and cynics will point to Malarkey and say, "All Christianity is based on such lies." Preachers who founded their sermons on the reports of this innocent boy will be just a bit embarrassed. As for you and me, we should be thankful.
We should be thankful because Malarkey has more to say than "I'm sorry that I lied."
Along with his apology, Malarkey has said, "It is only through repentance of your sins and a belief in Jesus as the Son of God, who died for your sins ... that you can be forgiven ...." He continues, you can be saved, "not by reading a work of man. I want the whole world to know that the Bible is sufficient ... the Bible is enough."
Jesus said the same thing many years ago. He knew the devil loves to produce false prophets who do wondrous things and preach marvelous words. That's why the Savior warned His followers: "Listen to the Word. Only in God's Word which points to the Savior will you be given the words of eternal life" (see John 6:68).
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks for Your Word, which is truth. Even more, I rejoice that my faith is founded on the Savior who lived, died and rose, so I might be forgiven and saved. In Jesus' Name I give thanks. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour^®
Lutheran Hour Ministries

Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
Job 28: Job Continues
Gold and Silver Are Mined
1 Gold and silver are mined,
    then purified;
2 the same is done
    with iron and copper.
3 Miners carry lanterns
deep into the darkness
    to search for these metals.
4 They dig tunnels
in distant, unknown places,
    where they dangle by ropes.
5 Far beneath the grain fields,
    fires are built
to break loose those rocks
6     that have jewels or gold.[a]
7 Miners go to places unseen
    by the eyes of hawks;
8 they walk on soil unknown
    to the proudest lions.
9 With their own hands
they remove sharp rocks
    and uproot mountains.
10 They dig through the rocks
in search of jewels
    and precious metals.
11 They also uncover
the sources of[b] rivers
    and discover secret places.
Where Is Wisdom Found?
12 But where is wisdom found?
13     No human knows the way.[c]
14 Nor can it be discovered
    in the deepest sea.
15 It is worth much more
than silver or pure gold
16     or precious stones.
17 Nothing is its equal—
    not gold or costly glass.[d]
18 Wisdom is worth much more than
    coral, jasper,[e] or rubies.
19 All the topaz[f] of Ethiopia[g]
and the finest gold
    cannot compare with it.
20 Where then is wisdom?
21 It is hidden from human eyes
    and even from birds.
22 Death and destruction
have merely heard rumors
    about where it is found.
23 God is the only one who knows
    the way to wisdom,
24 because he sees everything
    beneath the heavens.
25 When God divided out
    the wind and the water,
26 and when he decided the path
    for rain and lightning,
27 he also determined the truth
    and defined wisdom.
28 God told us, “Wisdom means
that you respect me, the Lord,
    and turn from sin.”
Job Continues
I Long for the Past
29:1 Job said:
2 I long for the past,
    when God took care of me,
3 and the light from his lamp
showed me the way
    through the dark.
4 I was in the prime of life,
God All-Powerful
    was my closest friend,
5 and all of my children
    were nearby.
6 My herds gave enough milk
    to bathe my feet,
and from my olive harvest
    flowed rivers of oil.
7 When I sat down at the meeting
    of the city council,
8 the young leaders stepped aside,
9 while the older ones stood
10     and remained silent.
Everyone Was Pleased
11 Everyone was pleased
    with what I said and did.
12 When poor people or orphans
cried out for help,
    I came to their rescue.
13 And I was highly praised
for my generosity to widows
    and others in poverty.
14 Kindness and justice
    were my coat and hat;
15 I was good to the blind
    and to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I defended them in court,
    even if they were strangers.
17 When criminals attacked,
I broke their teeth
    and set their victims free.
18 I felt certain that I would live
a long and happy life,
    then die in my own bed.
19 In those days I was strong
    like a tree with deep roots
and with plenty of water,
20     or like an archer’s new bow.
21 Everyone listened in silence
    to my welcome advice,
22 and when I finished speaking,
    nothing needed to be said.
23 My words were eagerly accepted
    like the showers of spring,
24 and the smile on my face
    renewed everyone’s hopes.
25 My advice was followed
as though I were a king
    leading my troops,
or someone comforting
    those in sorrow.[Footnotes:
28.6 gold: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 5,6.
28.11 uncover the sources of: Two ancient translations; Hebrew “dam up.”
28.13 the way: Or “its worth.”
28.17 costly glass: In the ancient world, objects made of glass were costly.
28.18 jasper: A valuable stone, usually green or clear.
28.19 topaz: A valuable, yellow stone.
28.19 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.]
Matthew 13: A Story about a Farmer
1 That same day Jesus left the house and went out beside Lake Galilee, where he sat down to teach.[a] 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he had to sit in a boat, while the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he taught them many things by using stories. He said:
A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. 4 While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds. 5 Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn’t very deep. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have enough roots. 7 Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants. 8 But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants produced a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as was scattered. 9 If you have ears, pay attention!
Why Jesus Used Stories
10 Jesus' disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you use nothing but stories when you speak to the people?”
11 Jesus answered:
I have explained the secrets about the kingdom of heaven to you, but not to others. 12 Everyone who has something will be given more. But people who don’t have anything will lose even what little they have. 13 I use stories when I speak to them because when they look, they cannot see, and when they listen, they cannot hear or understand. 14 So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said,
“These people will listen
and listen,
    but never understand.
They will look and look,
    but never see.
15 All of them have
    stubborn minds!
Their ears are stopped up,
    and their eyes are covered.
They cannot see or hear
    or understand.
If they could,
they would turn to me,
    and I would heal them.”
16 But God has blessed you, because your eyes can see and your ears can hear! 17 Many prophets and good people were eager to see what you see and to hear what you hear. But I tell you that they did not see or hear.
Jesus Explains the Story about the Farmer
18 Now listen to the meaning of the story about the farmer:
19 The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message about the kingdom, but don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the message from their hearts. 20 The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it right away. 21 But they don’t have deep roots, and they don’t last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.
22 The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they start worrying about the needs of this life and are fooled by the desire to get rich. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. 23 The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and understand the message. They produce as much as a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was planted.
Weeds among the Wheat
24 Jesus then told them this story:
The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a farmer scattered good seed in a field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and scattered weed seeds in the field and then left.
26 When the plants came up and began to ripen, the farmer’s servants could see the weeds. 27 The servants came and asked, “Sir, didn’t you scatter good seed in your field? Where did these weeds come from?”
28 “An enemy did this,” he replied.
His servants then asked, “Do you want us to go out and pull up the weeds?”
29 “No!” he answered. “You might also pull up the wheat. 30 Leave the weeds alone until harvest time. Then I’ll tell my workers to gather the weeds and tie them up and burn them. But I’ll have them store the wheat in my barn.”[Footnotes:
13.1 sat down to teach: See the note at 5.1.]
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Lutheran Hour Ministries
660 Mason Ridge Center Dr.
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1(800)876-9880

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