(Jesus said) "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand."[John 10:28]
In 1734 Antonio Stradivari made a violin.
Today, in various states of repair, there are approximately 550 of those instruments still around. One of them, a good one, was owned by a concert violinist, Roman Totenberg. When Totenberg bought the violin in 1943, he paid $15,000 for it. Translated into today's dollars, that's about $200,000.
It was the only violin he played, until 1980 when he left the instrument in his office while he shook hands with some well-wishers after a concert. When Totenberg came back to his office, the Stradivarius had disappeared.
He told his family it was "like losing an arm."
A report was filed; possible suspects were considered; the police made a search, and then -- when hope was gone -- Totenberg gave up, bought another violin, and finished out his life. He died three years ago at the age of 101.
That might have been the end of the story, but it isn't.
This past June a lady went to a New York instrument dealer to have her deceased husband's violin appraised. The dealer immediately recognized the instrument as a Stradivarius and, after further investigation, identified it as the stolen violin.
He called the police.
When confronted, the woman -- who knew nothing of its history -- voluntarily gave the violin to the FBI, which have returned it to the Totenberg family, who were incredibly thankful.
Now you who are regular Daily Devotion readers think you know where this lesson is going.
You probably are thinking I am going to speak about the similarities between the theft of Totenberg's violin and Satan's theft of our souls. That would be a possible comparison, but I'm not going that way. That's because the Totenberg violin was rediscovered by accident, and it was gladly returned. In contrast, the recovery of our souls was a definite plan of the Lord and to bring us home, God's Son, our Savior, gave His life to redeem us.
No, we can't go that way.
What I would like to talk about in this devo is the rest of the story. The rest of the story is this: Totenberg's three daughters have decided they are going to have the violin cleaned up and then they are going to sell it to some violinist who is worthy of the instrument.
That, my friends, is not what our Heavenly Father is going to do with those souls, which have been returned to Him through Jesus' sacrifice. No, He is going to keep those souls forever. Jesus said nobody will ever steal us away from His Father's hands (see John 10:29).
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks that Jesus has paid the ransom price which has returned the souls of believers to the Heavenly Father. I pray the whole world may know the security of the Father's love and grace. In Jesus' Name I pray it. Amen.
In 1734 Antonio Stradivari made a violin.
Today, in various states of repair, there are approximately 550 of those instruments still around. One of them, a good one, was owned by a concert violinist, Roman Totenberg. When Totenberg bought the violin in 1943, he paid $15,000 for it. Translated into today's dollars, that's about $200,000.
It was the only violin he played, until 1980 when he left the instrument in his office while he shook hands with some well-wishers after a concert. When Totenberg came back to his office, the Stradivarius had disappeared.
He told his family it was "like losing an arm."
A report was filed; possible suspects were considered; the police made a search, and then -- when hope was gone -- Totenberg gave up, bought another violin, and finished out his life. He died three years ago at the age of 101.
That might have been the end of the story, but it isn't.
This past June a lady went to a New York instrument dealer to have her deceased husband's violin appraised. The dealer immediately recognized the instrument as a Stradivarius and, after further investigation, identified it as the stolen violin.
He called the police.
When confronted, the woman -- who knew nothing of its history -- voluntarily gave the violin to the FBI, which have returned it to the Totenberg family, who were incredibly thankful.
Now you who are regular Daily Devotion readers think you know where this lesson is going.
You probably are thinking I am going to speak about the similarities between the theft of Totenberg's violin and Satan's theft of our souls. That would be a possible comparison, but I'm not going that way. That's because the Totenberg violin was rediscovered by accident, and it was gladly returned. In contrast, the recovery of our souls was a definite plan of the Lord and to bring us home, God's Son, our Savior, gave His life to redeem us.
No, we can't go that way.
What I would like to talk about in this devo is the rest of the story. The rest of the story is this: Totenberg's three daughters have decided they are going to have the violin cleaned up and then they are going to sell it to some violinist who is worthy of the instrument.
That, my friends, is not what our Heavenly Father is going to do with those souls, which have been returned to Him through Jesus' sacrifice. No, He is going to keep those souls forever. Jesus said nobody will ever steal us away from His Father's hands (see John 10:29).
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks that Jesus has paid the ransom price which has returned the souls of believers to the Heavenly Father. I pray the whole world may know the security of the Father's love and grace. In Jesus' 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:
Psalms 48:(0) A song. A psalm of the descendants of Korach:
The Lutheran Hour
660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
____________________________
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
Psalms 48:(0) A song. A psalm of the descendants of Korach:
2 (1) Great is Adonai
and greatly to be praised,
in the city of our God,
his holy mountain,
3 (2) beautiful in its elevation,
the joy of all the earth,
Mount Tziyon, in the far north,
the city of the great king.
4 (3) In its citadels God
has been revealed as a strong defense.
5 (4) For the kings met by agreement;
together they advanced.
6 (5) They saw and were filled with consternation;
terrified, they took to flight.
7 (6) Trembling took hold of them,
pains like those of a woman in labor,
8 (7) as when the wind out of the east
wrecks the “Tarshish” ships.
9 (8) We heard it, and now we see for ourselves
in the city of Adonai-Tzva’ot,
in the city of our God.
May God establish it forever. (Selah)
10 (9) God, within your temple
we meditate on your grace.
11 (10) God, your praise, like your name,
extends to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
12 (11) Let Mount Tziyon rejoice,
let the daughters of Y’hudah be glad,
because of your judgment [on the enemy].
13 (12) Walk through Tziyon, go all around it;
count how many towers it has.
14 (13) Note its ramparts, pass through its citadels,
so that you can tell generations to come
15 (14) that such is God, our God forever;
he will guide us eternally.
49:(0) For the leader. A psalm of the descendants of Korach:
2 (1) Hear this, all you peoples!
Listen, everyone living on earth,
3 (2) regardless of whether low or high,
regardless of whether rich or poor!
4 (3) My mouth is about to speak wisdom;
my heart’s deepest thoughts will give understanding.
5 (4) I will listen with care to [God’s] parable,
I will set my enigma to the music of the lyre.
6 (5) Why should I fear when the days bring trouble,
when the evil of my pursuers surrounds me,
7 (6) the evil of those who rely on their wealth
and boast how rich they are?
8 (7) No one can ever redeem his brother
or give God a ransom for him ,
9 (8) because the price for him is too high
(leave the idea completely alone!)
10 (9) to have him live on eternally
and never see the pit.
11 (10) For he can see that wise men will die,
likewise the fool and the brute will perish
and leave their wealth to others.
12 (11) They think their homes will last forever,
their dwellings through all generations;
they give their own names to their estates.
13 (12) But people, even rich ones, will live only briefly;
then, like animals, they will die.
14 (13) This is the manner of life of the foolish
and those who come after, approving their words. (Selah)
15 (14) Like sheep, they are destined for Sh’ol;
death will be their shepherd.
The upright will rule them in the morning;
and their forms will waste away in Sh’ol,
until they need no dwelling.
16 (15) But God will redeem me from Sh’ol’s control,
because he will receive me. (Selah)
17 (16) Don’t be afraid when someone gets rich,
when the wealth of his family grows.
18 (17) For when he dies, he won’t take it with him;
his wealth will not go down after him.
19 (18) True, while he lived, he thought himself happy —
people praise you when you do well for yourself —
20 (19) but he will join his ancestors’ generations
and never again see light.
21 (20) People, even rich ones, can fail to grasp
that, like animals, they will die.
50:(0) A psalm of Asaf:
(1) The Mighty One, God, Adonai, is speaking,
summoning the world from east to west.
2 Out of Tziyon, the perfection of beauty,
God is shining forth.
3 Our God is coming and not staying silent.
With a fire devouring ahead of him
and a great storm raging around him,
4 he calls to the heavens above and to earth,
in order to judge his people.
5 “Gather to me my faithful,
those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for God himself is judge. (Selah)
7 “Listen, my people, I am speaking:
Isra’el, I am testifying against you,
I, God, your God.
8 I am not rebuking you for your sacrifices;
your burnt offerings are always before me.
9 I have no need for a bull from your farm
or for male goats from your pens;
10 for all forest creatures are mine already,
as are the animals on a thousand hills;
11 I know all the birds in the mountains;
whatever moves in the fields is mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
for the world is mine, and everything in it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer thanksgiving as your sacrifice to God,
pay your vows to the Most High,
15 and call on me when you are in trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right do you have to proclaim my laws
or take my covenant on your lips,
17 when you so hate to receive instruction
and fling my words behind you?
18 When you see a thief, you join up with him,
you throw in your lot with adulterers,
19 you give your mouth free rein for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit;
20 you sit and speak against your kinsman,
you slander your own mother’s son.
21 When you do such things, should I stay silent?
You may have thought I was just like you;
but I will rebuke and indict you to your face.
22 Consider this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to save you.
23 “Whoever offers thanksgiving
as his sacrifice honors me;
and to him who goes the right way
I will show the salvation of God.”
1 Corinthians 11:1 try to imitate me, even as I myself try to imitate the Messiah.
2 Now I praise you because you have remembered everything I told you and observe the traditions just the way I passed them on to you. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is the Messiah, and the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of the Messiah is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies wearing something down over his head brings shame to his head, 5 but every woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled brings shame to her head — there is no difference between her and a woman who has had her head shaved. 6 For if a woman is not veiled, let her also have her hair cut short; but if it is shameful for a woman to wear her hair cut short or to have her head shaved, then let her be veiled. 7 For a man indeed should not have his head veiled, because he is the image and glory of God, and the woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man; 9 and indeed man was not created for the sake of the woman but woman for the sake of the man. 10 The reason a woman should show by veiling her head that she is under authority has to do with the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in union with the Lord neither is woman independent of man nor is man independent of woman; 12 for as the woman was made from the man, so also the man is now born through the woman. But everything is from God. 13 Decide for yourselves: is it appropriate for a woman to pray to God when she is unveiled? 14 Doesn’t the nature of things itself teach you that a man who wears his hair long degrades himself? 15 But a woman who wears her hair long enhances her appearance, because her hair has been given to her as a covering. 16 However, if anyone wants to argue about it, the fact remains that we have no such custom, nor do the Messianic communities of God.
____________________________The Lutheran Hour
660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
____________________________
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