But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep.[1 Thessalonians 4:13-14]
Pastor's Note: The Content of This Devotion May Not Be Suitable for Children. Adults, Please Review First before Sharing with the Young Ones.
People die. That is a fact.
It is also a fact that those who are left behind, wishing to show respect for the dearly departed and desiring to do their best to provide a good afterlife for the deceased, have developed many interesting customs.
* In some Asian countries Joss Paper, fake counterfeit money, is burned so the dead person may have cash in the afterlife.
* Ancient Greeks put Charon's Obol, a coin, inside the mouth of the deceased. The money was to pay for a safe passage from the world of the living to the realm of the dead.
Last month China's Ministry of Culture has said it is going to try and change one common funeral practice of the people. In China it is believed a large funeral crowd is a good sign for a person's afterlife. The more people who attend a funeral, the better it will be for the deceased.
Problems in funeral attendance arise when a person has outlived all his family and friends, or when he was a dislikable individual, or when he wasn't very well known. The funerals for such people are very lonely events. To prevent such an embarrassing situation, the inventive Chinese have found a solution. No, they don't hire professional mourners like they did during the days of Jesus. That would be too simple, too boring.
To solve the problem of an unattended funeral, the Chinese are hiring strippers and pole dancers.
That's right. For about $322, a family can purchase the services of some very sexy dancers whose performances are guaranteed to increase the public's attendance at the final farewell festivities of a family member or friend.
For any number of reasons, it is not likely we will see that custom being embraced by the members of the Christian church in North America. The most important of those reasons is this: when a believer falls asleep in the Lord, they are given everything they need for eternal life.
Because of Jesus' successful substitution for us, because He has won forgiveness and salvation for us, there are no fees which need to be paid; no demons to be avoided; no skids which need to be greased to provide a blessed eternity.
Because of Jesus we have been washed, we have been sanctified and justified by the Redeemer and the Holy Spirit. There is simply nothing to be done by those who are going. And for those who are left behind? We can thank the Lord for all He has done to give us a blessed eternity.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks my eternal happiness is not dependent on me, my mourners, or any gifts placed in my casket. May I always show my appreciation for the forgiveness and salvation Jesus has won for me. In His Name I pray it. 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:
1 Samuel 30:1 Three days later, when David and his men arrived in Ziklag, they found that the ‘Amaleki had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had sacked Ziklag and burned it down; 2 and they had taken captive the women and everyone there, great and small. They hadn’t killed anyone but had carried them off as they went on their way. 3 So when David and his men arrived at the city, there it was, burned down, with their wives, sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people with him cried aloud until they had no more power to cry. 5 David’s two wives had been taken captive — Achino‘am from Yizre‘el and Avigayil the widow of Naval from Karmel.
660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
___________________________________
Pastor's Note: The Content of This Devotion May Not Be Suitable for Children. Adults, Please Review First before Sharing with the Young Ones.
People die. That is a fact.
It is also a fact that those who are left behind, wishing to show respect for the dearly departed and desiring to do their best to provide a good afterlife for the deceased, have developed many interesting customs.
* In some Asian countries Joss Paper, fake counterfeit money, is burned so the dead person may have cash in the afterlife.
* Ancient Greeks put Charon's Obol, a coin, inside the mouth of the deceased. The money was to pay for a safe passage from the world of the living to the realm of the dead.
Last month China's Ministry of Culture has said it is going to try and change one common funeral practice of the people. In China it is believed a large funeral crowd is a good sign for a person's afterlife. The more people who attend a funeral, the better it will be for the deceased.
Problems in funeral attendance arise when a person has outlived all his family and friends, or when he was a dislikable individual, or when he wasn't very well known. The funerals for such people are very lonely events. To prevent such an embarrassing situation, the inventive Chinese have found a solution. No, they don't hire professional mourners like they did during the days of Jesus. That would be too simple, too boring.
To solve the problem of an unattended funeral, the Chinese are hiring strippers and pole dancers.
That's right. For about $322, a family can purchase the services of some very sexy dancers whose performances are guaranteed to increase the public's attendance at the final farewell festivities of a family member or friend.
For any number of reasons, it is not likely we will see that custom being embraced by the members of the Christian church in North America. The most important of those reasons is this: when a believer falls asleep in the Lord, they are given everything they need for eternal life.
Because of Jesus' successful substitution for us, because He has won forgiveness and salvation for us, there are no fees which need to be paid; no demons to be avoided; no skids which need to be greased to provide a blessed eternity.
Because of Jesus we have been washed, we have been sanctified and justified by the Redeemer and the Holy Spirit. There is simply nothing to be done by those who are going. And for those who are left behind? We can thank the Lord for all He has done to give us a blessed eternity.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks my eternal happiness is not dependent on me, my mourners, or any gifts placed in my casket. May I always show my appreciation for the forgiveness and salvation Jesus has won for me. In His Name I pray it. Amen.
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
1 Samuel 30:1 Three days later, when David and his men arrived in Ziklag, they found that the ‘Amaleki had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had sacked Ziklag and burned it down; 2 and they had taken captive the women and everyone there, great and small. They hadn’t killed anyone but had carried them off as they went on their way. 3 So when David and his men arrived at the city, there it was, burned down, with their wives, sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people with him cried aloud until they had no more power to cry. 5 David’s two wives had been taken captive — Achino‘am from Yizre‘el and Avigayil the widow of Naval from Karmel.
6 David was in serious trouble: the people were talking about stoning him to death, because all the people were in such deep grief, each man over his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in Adonai his God. 7 David said to Avyatar the cohen, the son of Achimelekh, “Please bring the ritual vest here to me.” Avyatar brought the vest to David. 8 Then David consulted Adonai. He asked, “Should I go in pursuit of these raiders? Will I catch up with them?” And [Adonai] answered him, “Go in pursuit, because you will overtake them and recover everyone and everything.” 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men with him. They came to Vadi B’sor, where those who were to stay behind waited. 10 Then David continued in pursuit with four hundred men, while two hundred too exhausted to cross Vadi B’sor stayed behind.
11 They found an Egyptian in the countryside and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink; 12 they also gave him a lump of dried figs and two bunches of raisins. After eating, he revived; because he hadn’t eaten anything or drunk any water for three days and nights. 13 David asked him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” He answered, “I’m an Egyptian boy, the slave of an ‘Amaleki. My master abandoned me three days ago, because I got sick. 14 We raided the Negev of the K’reti, the Negev of Y’hudah and the Negev of Kalev; and we burned down Ziklag.” 15 David asked him, “Will you lead me down to this raiding party?” He said, “If you will swear by God to me that you won’t kill me or hand me back to my master, I will lead you down to the raiders.” 16 He led them down, and there they were, spread out all over the ground, eating, drinking and celebrating how much spoil they had taken from the territory of the P’lishtim and the territory of Y’hudah. 17 David attacked them from dawn until the evening of the next day. Not one of them escaped, except for 400 young men who jumped on camels and got away. 18 David recovered all that the ‘Amaleki had taken; he also rescued his two wives. 19 They found nothing missing, big or little — not sons, not daughters, not plundered goods or anything else they had taken — David brought it all back. 20 David took all the flocks and herds and drove them ahead of their own livestock, announcing, “This is David’s spoil.”
21 David came to where the two hundred men were who had been too exhausted to follow him, whom they had let stay at Vadi B’sor. They came out to meet David and the people with him. When David approached them he greeted them. 22 But some of the men who had gone with David were evil men, scoundrels; and they said, “They didn’t go with us, so we’re not giving them any of the property we’ve recovered. Each man can take his wife and children and leave.” 23 Then David said, “No, my brothers, don’t do this with the goods Adonai has given us. He protected us, and he handed the raiding party over to us. 24 Anyhow, no one agrees with you about this. No, the share of someone who stays with the equipment will be the same as the share of someone who goes out and fights — they will share equally.” 25 It has been that way from that day on; he established it as a ruling for Isra’el to this day.
26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the leaders of Y’hudah who were his friends with a note, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of Adonai.” 27 He sent such gifts
to those in Beit-El,
to those in Ramot,
to those in Yatir,
28 to those in ‘Aro‘er,
to those in Sifmot,
to those in Esht’moa,
29 to those in Rakhal,
to those in Yerachme’eli,
to those in the cities of the Keni,
30 to those in Hormah,
to those in Kor-‘Ashan,
to those in ‘Atakh,
31 to those in Hevron,
and to all the places where David and his men had frequently visited.
31:1 Now the P’lishtim pressed their attack on Isra’el. The men of Isra’el fled before the P’lishtim, leaving their dead on Mount Gilboa. 2 The P’lishtim pursued and overtook Sha’ul and his sons; and the P’lishtim killed Y’honatan, Avinadav and Malkishua, the sons of Sha’ul. 3 The fighting went hard against Sha’ul; then the archers overtook and wounded him, so that he was in agony. 4 Sha’ul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it. Otherwise these uncircumcised men will come, run me through and make sport of me.” But his armor-bearer refused, he was too frightened. So Sha’ul took his sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor-bearer saw that Sha’ul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him. 6 Thus Sha’ul, his three sons, his armor-bearer and all his men died that same day together.
7 When the men of Isra’el who were on the other side of the valley and those who were on the far side of the Yarden saw that the men of Isra’el had fled and that Sha’ul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the P’lishtim came and lived in them.
8 The following day, when the P’lishtim came to strip the dead, they found Sha’ul and his three sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head, stripped off his armor and sent these all over the territory of the P’lishtim to carry the news to the temples of their idols and to the people. 10 Then they put his armor in the temple for the ‘ashtarot and fastened his body to the wall of Beit-Sh’an.
11 When the people living in Yavesh-Gil‘ad heard what the P’lishtim had done to Sha’ul, 12 all their warriors set out, traveling all night. They took the body of Sha’ul and the bodies of his sons off the wall of Beit-Sh’an, returned to Yavesh and burned them there. 13 Then they took their bones, buried them under the tamarisk tree in Yavesh and fasted seven days.
Luke 24:1 but the next day, while it was still very early, they took the spices they had prepared, went to the tomb, 2 and found the stone rolled away from the tomb! 3 On entering, they discovered that the body of the Lord Yeshua was gone! 4 They were standing there, not knowing what to think about it, when suddenly two men in dazzlingly bright clothing stood next to them. 5 Terror-stricken, they bowed down with their faces to the ground. The two men said to them, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has been raised. Remember how he told you while he was still in the Galil, 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be executed on a stake as a criminal, but on the third day be raised again’?” 8 Then they remembered his words; 9 and, returning from the tomb, they told everything to the Eleven and to all the rest. 10 The women who told the emissaries these things were Miryam of Magdala, Yochanah, Miryam the mother of Ya‘akov, and the others in their circle.
11 But the emissaries didn’t believe them; in fact, they thought that what they said was utter nonsense! 12 However, Kefa got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping down, he saw only the burial cloths and went home wondering what had happened.
13 That same day, two of them were going toward a village about seven miles from Yerushalayim called Amma’us, 14 and they were talking with each other about all the things that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed, Yeshua himself came up and walked along with them, 16 but something kept them from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you talking about with each other as you walk along?” They stopped short, their faces downcast; 18 and one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only person staying in Yerushalayim that doesn’t know the things that have been going on there the last few days?” 19 “What things?” he asked them. They said to him, “The things about Yeshua from Natzeret. He was a prophet and proved it by the things he did and said before God and all the people. 20 Our head cohanim and our leaders handed him over, so that he could be sentenced to death and executed on a stake as a criminal. 21 And we had hoped that he would be the one to liberate Isra’el! Besides all that, today is the third day since these things happened; 22 and this morning, some of the women astounded us. They were at the tomb early 23 and couldn’t find his body, so they came back; but they also reported that they had seen a vision of angels who say he’s alive! 24 Some of our friends went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, but they didn’t see him.”
25 He said to them, “Foolish people! So unwilling to put your trust in everything the prophets spoke! 26 Didn’t the Messiah have to die like this before entering his glory?” 27 Then, starting with Moshe and all the prophets, he explained to them the things that can be found throughout the Tanakh concerning himself.
28 They approached the village where they were going. He made as if he were going on farther; 29 but they held him back, saying, “Stay with us, for it’s almost evening, and it’s getting dark.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 As he was reclining with them at the table, he took the matzah, made the b’rakhah, broke it and handed it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. But he became invisible to them. 32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn inside us as he spoke to us on the road, opening up the Tanakh to us?”
33 They got up at once, returned to Yerushalayim and found the Eleven gathered together with their friends, 34 saying, “It’s true! The Lord has risen! Shim‘on saw him!” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the road and how he had become known to them in the breaking of the matzah.
The Lutheran Hour660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
___________________________________
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