Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran HourSaint Louis, Missouri, United States "The Appointment in Galilee" for Friday, 23 January 2015

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran HourSaint Louis, Missouri, United States "The Appointment in Galilee" for Friday, 23 January 2015

(The young man in the tomb said) "But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you."[Mark 16:7]

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our International Ministry Centers to write our Fridaydevotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.
In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
One Sunday afternoon this year, I went to visit a patient lying in hospital.
I was quite surprised to see the staff of the neurology division and some family members overcrowding the patient's small room. After my prayer, one of the patient's relatives who works for LHM-Madagascar put on a CD, and everyone in the room listened to The Lutheran Hour radio program.
The theme was about arrogance and humility. During the listening, the patient wept and at the end he said, "Today, I met Jesus."
Today, some of the neurology staff follow the LHM Bible study and listen to its radio program.
Before His death and resurrection, Jesus told His disciples that He had an appointment with them. Because Jesus had laid the foundation of a future meeting is why the angels merely had to remind the women at the resurrection tomb that the disciples were to go to Galilee.
This they did, even as they went back to their same ole, same ole routine. Yes, they went back to fishing.
Well, Jesus wasn't going to let that stand. That is why He kept His appointment with them, along the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus began the appointment with a miracle. Then, with His credentials properly established, the Lord began commissioning them to be under-shepherds of His flocks. The goal of this appointment in Galilee was to prepare Peter and the rest for the work of fishing for people.
It is a work that is ongoing. It is a legacy which is ours.
Now I know we have never physically met the Redeemer on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Even so, the Lord has continued to fix places where He will meet us. Quite likely there have been many such moments when the Lord has come to you and given you a direction and a purpose ... given you Hisdirection and His purpose.
That direction and purpose is for believers to tell the world that the Savior is raised, and there is salvation for all who are brought to faith and forgiveness.
Jesus was put to death for our trespasses and rose for our justification (see Romans 4:25). The road to the lost paradise has become opened again. Now the risen Lord wishes to meet us in His Word and Sacraments and in the fellowship of His church.
The patient of our story was brought to Christ by the power of God's Word, as preached on the radio. Jesus had kept His appointment with that man. He wishes to do the same thing again and again and again, with every person in this lost and sinful world.
To do that, He asks that we help.
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we thank You that You have fixed an appointment place for us too. We are blessed to have our "Galilee" where You have met us. To and for You, we offer our thanks. Amen.
Biography of Author: Today's international devotion was written by the Reverend William David Zoulder. A graduate of the Lomonossov State University in Moscow, the Malagasy Lutheran Church appointed him as a French lecturer at their Graduate School of Theology. Pastor Zoulder graduated from the School of Theology in Natal, South Africa. Since then he has served his Lord as a parish pastor. His language skills have been of great value in our Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC) and our radio programs. Pastor Zoulder is married and has three children.
In South Africa, Lutheran Hour Ministries-Africa is known as The Lutheran Hour. Established in Johannesburg in 1961, this ministry center employs emerging technologies in its innovative social media and text-message ministries. It also uses LHM's BCCs and Equipping the Saints (ETS) in its work of building up and strengthening Christians in the faith. Areas of ministry specialization include work in prisons where LHM staff and volunteers regularly visit inmates to share the Gospel. Dramatic presentations are used to engage people with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Placing ads in newspapers, which invite people to call for counseling, topical booklets, or prayer, has been effective in establishing valuable relationships.
See how LHM-South Africa is doing urban ministry to immigrants by clicking here to read its ministry center blog.
To learn more about our International Ministries, click here or visit www.lhmint.org.

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 36: Elihu Continues
Be Patient a While Longer
1 Elihu said:
2 Be patient a while longer;
I have something else to say
    in God’s defense.
3 God always does right—
and this knowledge
    comes straight from God.[a]
4 You can rest assured
    that what I say is true.
5 Although God is mighty,
he cares about everyone
    and makes fair decisions.
6 The wicked are cut down,
and those who are wronged
    receive justice.
7 God watches over good people
and places them
in positions
    of power and honor forever.
8 But when people are prisoners
    of suffering and pain,
9 God points out their sin
    and their pride,
10 then he warns them
    to turn back to him.
11 And if they obey,
they will be successful
    and happy from then on.
12 But if they foolishly refuse,
they will be rewarded
    with a violent death.
Godless People Are Too Angry
13 Godless people are too angry
to ask God for help
    when he punishes them.
14 So they die young
    in shameful disgrace.
15 Hard times and trouble
are God’s way
    of getting our attention!
16 And at this very moment,
God deeply desires
    to lead you from trouble
and to spread your table
    with your favorite food.
17 Now that the judgment
for your sins
    has fallen upon you,
18 don’t let your anger
and the pain you endured
    make you sneer at God.
19 Your reputation and riches
cannot protect you
    from distress,
20 nor can you find safety
    in the dark world below.[b]
21 Be on guard! Don’t turn to evil
    as a way of escape.
22 God’s power is unlimited.
He needs no teachers
23     to guide or correct him.
Others Have Praised God
24 Others have praised God
for what he has done,
    so join with them.
25 From down here on earth,
everyone has looked up
and seen
26     how great God is—
God is more than we imagine;
no one can count the years
    he has lived.
27 God gathers moisture
into the clouds
28     and supplies us with rain.
29 Who can understand
    how God scatters the clouds
and speaks from his home
    in the thunderstorm?
30 And when God sends lightning,
it can be seen
    at the bottom of the sea.
31 By producing such rainstorms,
God rules the world
    and provides us with food.
32 Each flash of lightning
is one of his arrows
    striking its target,
33 and the thunder tells
    of his anger against sin.[c]
Elihu Continues
I Am Frightened
37:1 I am frightened
    and tremble all over,
2 when I hear the roaring voice
    of God in the thunder,
3 and when I see his lightning
    flash across the sky.
4 God’s majestic voice
    thunders his commands,[d]
5 creating miracles too marvelous
    for us to understand.
6 Snow and heavy rainstorms
7 make us stop and think
    about God’s power,
8 and they force animals
    to seek shelter.
9 The windstorms of winter strike,
10 and the breath of God
    freezes streams and rivers.
11 Rain clouds filled with lightning
    appear at God’s command,
12 traveling across the sky
13     to release their cargo—
sometimes as punishment for sin,
    sometimes as kindness.
Consider Carefully
14 Job, consider carefully
    the many wonders of God.
15 Can you explain why lightning
flashes
at the orders
16     of God who knows all things?
Or how he hangs the clouds
    in empty space?
17 You almost melt in the heat
of fierce desert winds
    when the sky is like brass.
18 God can spread out the clouds
to get relief from the heat,
    but can you?
19 Tell us what to say to God!
    Our minds are in the dark,
and we don’t know how
    to argue our case.
20 Should I risk my life
by telling God
    that I want to speak?
21 No one can stare at the sun
after a breeze has blown
    the clouds from the sky.
22 Yet the glorious splendor
of God All-Powerful
    is brighter by far.
23 God cannot be seen—
but his power is great,
    and he is always fair.
24 And so we humans fear God,
    because he shows no respect
for those who are proud
    and think they know so much.[Footnotes:
36.3 comes straight from God: The Hebrew text has “comes from a distant place,” which refers to the place where God lives; Elihu is claiming that he learned this from God.
36.20 below: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 18-20.
36.33 sin: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 33.
37.4 commands: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 4.]
Matthew 15: The Teaching of the Ancestors
1 About this time some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses came from Jerusalem. They asked Jesus, 2 “Why don’t your disciples obey what our ancestors taught us to do? They don’t even wash their hands[a] before they eat.”
3 Jesus answered:
Why do you disobey God and follow your own teaching? 4 Didn’t God command you to respect your father and mother? Didn’t he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents? 5 But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they have has been offered to God.[b] 6 Is this any way to show respect to your parents? You ignore God’s commands in order to follow your own teaching. 7 And you are nothing but show-offs! Isaiah the prophet was right when he wrote that God had said,
8 “All of you praise me
    with your words,
but you never really
    think about me.
9 It is useless for you
    to worship me,
when you teach rules
    made up by humans.”
What Really Makes People Unclean
10 Jesus called the crowd together and said, “Pay attention and try to understand what I mean. 11 The food that you put into your mouth doesn’t make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean.”
12 Then his disciples came over to him and asked, “Do you know that you insulted the Pharisees by what you said?”
13 Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Stay away from those Pharisees! They are like blind people leading other blind people, and all of them will fall into a ditch.”
15 Peter replied, “What did you mean when you talked about the things that make people unclean?”
16 Jesus then said:
Don’t any of you know what I am talking about by now? 17 Don’t you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach and then out of your body? 18 But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God. 19 Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. 20 These are what make you unclean. Eating without washing your hands will not make you unfit to worship God.[Footnotes:
15.2 ]wash their hands: The Jewish people had strict laws about washing their hands before eating, especially if they had been out in public.

15.5 has been offered to God: According to Jewish custom, when people said something was offered to God, it belonged to him and could not be used for anyone else, not even for their own parents.]
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660 Mason Ridge Center Dr.
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1(800)876-9880

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