But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."[Acts 4:19-20]
I don't know what stumbling blocks Satan has placed before you.
I can, however, even without having met you, describe what is happening in your life. See if this doesn't fit. Things haven't turned out like you thought they would when you were young.
You wanted to make a difference with your life, but now the best you can hope for is that life won't make too big a difference in you.
The things in which you had hoped are threadbare and have holes. Things which you thought would keep you secure are shoddy and no longer safe. The future which once seemed fair has become cloudy. Your happiness has been scarred by stress and sorrow. Your dreams have darkened, and you no longer are sure, in spite of what "Annie" sings, that the sun will come out tomorrow.
You have tried -- tried as hard as you could to hold onto what was good, to be a compassionate and concerned individual, a faithful family member, a loyal employee, a responsible and reliable citizen. You tried, but it hasn't worked out as you had once imagined.
Everything seems sort of empty, kind of dark, and mostly hollow.
If that is your life, then it's time for the Holy Spirit to refresh you. It's time for you to be brought closer to the Savior who gave His life for your redemption. He is the One whose love can lead you up, over and around Satan's stumbling stones.
Years ago, when I was serving my congregation in southwestern Minnesota, I was called to visit a parishioner in the hospital. I walked down the darkened corridor. Nobody was there except for the wonderful nurses on night duty.
Suddenly, and quite shockingly, a man I had never met before exploded out of one of the patient's rooms.
Seeing my clerical collar, he ran up to me, although I imagine just about anybody would have been suitable at that moment. At any rate, he ran up to me, grabbed my shoulders and said, with a beaming smile, "She's going to make it. She's better. She is going to make it."
And having shared that news, he kept on going.
That's it. He had good news, and it had to be shared. Never saw the man again. Don't know the person he was talking about. I assume it was someone very special to him. I don't have to guess that his good news couldn't be contained. He had to tell somebody. He was ready to tell everybody.
That, my friends, is the situation in which I find myself today: I've got Good News! My Good News translates into salvation for those who are given Jesus as Savior. For those of you who have been stumbling around, my Good News is the Lord has led you to the Savior. It isn't accidental. It didn't just happen. The Holy Spirit is calling you today. For those of you who have this Good News from the Lord, it's time to get out there and start sharing.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, if it be Your will, turn those stumbling blocks into stepping stones. Grant me the ability to see the wonderful Good News, which is mine through the perfect life, death and resurrection of my Redeemer. In His Name I pray. Amen.
I don't know what stumbling blocks Satan has placed before you.
I can, however, even without having met you, describe what is happening in your life. See if this doesn't fit. Things haven't turned out like you thought they would when you were young.
You wanted to make a difference with your life, but now the best you can hope for is that life won't make too big a difference in you.
The things in which you had hoped are threadbare and have holes. Things which you thought would keep you secure are shoddy and no longer safe. The future which once seemed fair has become cloudy. Your happiness has been scarred by stress and sorrow. Your dreams have darkened, and you no longer are sure, in spite of what "Annie" sings, that the sun will come out tomorrow.
You have tried -- tried as hard as you could to hold onto what was good, to be a compassionate and concerned individual, a faithful family member, a loyal employee, a responsible and reliable citizen. You tried, but it hasn't worked out as you had once imagined.
Everything seems sort of empty, kind of dark, and mostly hollow.
If that is your life, then it's time for the Holy Spirit to refresh you. It's time for you to be brought closer to the Savior who gave His life for your redemption. He is the One whose love can lead you up, over and around Satan's stumbling stones.
Years ago, when I was serving my congregation in southwestern Minnesota, I was called to visit a parishioner in the hospital. I walked down the darkened corridor. Nobody was there except for the wonderful nurses on night duty.
Suddenly, and quite shockingly, a man I had never met before exploded out of one of the patient's rooms.
Seeing my clerical collar, he ran up to me, although I imagine just about anybody would have been suitable at that moment. At any rate, he ran up to me, grabbed my shoulders and said, with a beaming smile, "She's going to make it. She's better. She is going to make it."
And having shared that news, he kept on going.
That's it. He had good news, and it had to be shared. Never saw the man again. Don't know the person he was talking about. I assume it was someone very special to him. I don't have to guess that his good news couldn't be contained. He had to tell somebody. He was ready to tell everybody.
That, my friends, is the situation in which I find myself today: I've got Good News! My Good News translates into salvation for those who are given Jesus as Savior. For those of you who have been stumbling around, my Good News is the Lord has led you to the Savior. It isn't accidental. It didn't just happen. The Holy Spirit is calling you today. For those of you who have this Good News from the Lord, it's time to get out there and start sharing.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, if it be Your will, turn those stumbling blocks into stepping stones. Grant me the ability to see the wonderful Good News, which is mine through the perfect life, death and resurrection of my Redeemer. In His Name I pray. 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 Chronicles 16:1 They brought the ark of God in and put it in the tent that David had set up for it; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. 2 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Adonai. 3 Then he distributed to everyone in Isra’el, to everyone there, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a portion of meat and a raisin cake.
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:
1 Chronicles 16:1 They brought the ark of God in and put it in the tent that David had set up for it; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. 2 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Adonai. 3 Then he distributed to everyone in Isra’el, to everyone there, both men and women, a loaf of bread, a portion of meat and a raisin cake.
4 He appointed certain L’vi’im to serve in front of the ark of Adonai, to celebrate, and to thank and praise Adonai the God of Isra’el: 5 Asaf, the leader; assisting him, Z’kharyah; then Ye‘i’el, Sh’miramot, Yechi’el, Mattityahu, Eli’av, B’nayahu, ‘Oved-Edom and Ye‘i’el playing lutes and lyres, while Asaf played cymbals. 6 B’nayah and Yachzi’el the cohanim blew the trumpets continually before the ark for the covenant of God. 7 It was on that same day that David first ordered that thanks be given to Adonai through Asaf and his kinsmen:
8 Give thanks to Adonai! Call on his name!
Make his deeds known among the peoples.
9 Sing to him, sing praises to him!
Talk about all his wonders.
10 Glory in his holy name;
let those seeking Adonai have joyful hearts.
11 Seek Adonai and his strength;
always seek his presence.
12 Remember the wonders he has done,
his signs and his spoken judgments.
13 You descendants of Isra’el his servant,
you offspring of Ya‘akov, his chosen ones:
14 he is Adonai our God,
His judgments are everywhere on earth.
15 Remember his covenant forever,
the word he commanded to a thousand generations,
16 the covenant he made with Avraham;
the oath he swore to Yitz’chak
17 and established as a law for Ya‘akov,
for Isra’el as an everlasting covenant:
18 “To you I will give the land of Kena‘an
as your allotted heritage.”
19 When you were but few in number,
and not only few, but aliens there too,
20 wandering from nation to nation,
from this kingdom to that people,
21 he allowed no one to oppress them.
Yes, for their sakes he rebuked even kings:
22 “Don’t touch my anointed ones
or do my prophets harm!”
23 Sing to Adonai, all the earth!
Proclaim his victory day after day!
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his wonders among all peoples!
25 For Adonai is great, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared more than all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are nothing,
but Adonai made the heavens.
27 In his presence are honor and majesty;
in his place, strength and joy.
28 Give Adonai his due, you families from the peoples,
give Adonai his due of glory and strength;
29 give Adonai the glory due to his name;
bring an offering, and come into his presence.
Worship Adonai in splendid, holy attire.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world is firmly established, immovable.
31 Let the heavens rejoice; let the earth be glad;
let them say among the nations, “Adonai is king!”
32 Let the sea roar, and everything in it;
let the fields exult, and all that is in them.
33 Then the trees in the forest will sing before Adonai,
because he has come to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to Adonai; for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
35 Say: “Save us, God who can save us!
Gather and rescue us from the nations;
so that we can thank your holy name
and glory in praising you.
36 Blessed be Adonai, the God of Isra’el,
from eternity past to eternity future!”
All the people said, “Amen!” and praised Adonai.
37 So, there before the ark for the covenant of Adonai, David left Asaf and his kinsmen to perform the service regularly before the ark, as each day’s work required; 38 also ‘Oved-Edom with their kinsmen, sixty-eight of them — ‘Oved-Edom the son of Y’dutun and Hosah were gatekeepers.
39 He left Tzadok the cohen with his kinsmen before the tabernacle of Adonai at the high place in Giv‘on 40 to offer burnt offerings to Adonai every morning and evening on the altar for burnt offerings, according to everything written in the Torah of Adonai, which he gave to Isra’el. 41 With them were Heman and Y’dutun and the rest who were chosen and assigned by name to give thanks to Adonai, because his grace continues forever. 42 With them were Heman and Y’dutun to play trumpets and cymbals, also instruments for the songs about God; while the sons of Y’dutun were assigned to the gate.
43 Then the people all left for their homes, and David returned to bless his household.
Book II: Psalms 42:(0) For the leader. A maskil of the descendants of Korach:
2 (1) Just as a deer longs for running streams,
God, I long for you.
3 (2) I am thirsty for God, for the living God!
When can I come and appear before God?
4 (3) My tears are my food, day and night,
while all day people ask me, “Where is your God?”
5 (4) I recall, as my feelings well up within me,
how I’d go with the crowd to the house of God,
with sounds of joy and praise from the throngs
observing the festival.
6 (5) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for the salvation that comes from his presence.
7 (6) My God, when I feel so downcast,
I remind myself of you
from the land of Yarden, from the peaks of Hermon,
from the hill Mizar.
8 (7) Deep is calling to deep
at the thunder of your waterfalls;
all your surging rapids and waves
are sweeping over me.
9 (8) By day Adonai commands his grace,
and at night his song is with me
as a prayer to the God of my life.
10 (9) I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
under pressure by the enemy?
11 (10) My adversaries’ taunts make me feel
as if my bones were crushed,
as they ask me all day long,
‘Where is your God?’ ”
12 (11) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for being my Savior and God.
Psalm 44:(0) For the leader. By the descendants of Korach. A maskil:
2 (1) God, we heard it with our ears;
our fathers told us about it —
a deed which you did in their days,
back in days of old.
3 (2) With your hand you drove out nations
to plant them in [the land],
you crushed peoples
to make room for them.
4 (3) For not by their own swords
did they conquer the land,
nor did their own arm
give them victory;
rather, it was your right hand,
your arm and the light of your face;
because you favored them.
5 (4) God, you are my king;
command complete victory for Ya‘akov.
6 (5) Through you we pushed away our foes,
through your name we trampled down our assailants.
7 (6) For I don’t rely on my bow,
nor can my sword give me victory.
8 (7) No, you saved us from our adversaries;
you put to shame those who hate us.
9 (8) We will boast in our God all day
and give thanks to your name forever. (Selah)
10 (9) Yet now you have thrust us aside and disgraced us;
you don’t march out with our armies.
11 (10) You make us retreat from the adversary,
and those who hate us plunder us at will.
12 (11) You have handed us over like sheep to be eaten
and scattered us among the nations.
13 (12) You sell your people for a pittance,
you don’t even profit on the sale.
14 (13) You make us an object for our neighbors to mock,
one of scorn and derision to those around us.
15 (14) You make us a byword among the nations;
the peoples jeer at us, shaking their heads.
16 (15) All day long my disgrace is on my mind,
and shame has covered my face
17 (16) at the sound of those who revile and insult,
at the sight of the enemy bent on revenge.
18 (17) Though all this came on us, we did not forget you;
we have not been false to your covenant;
19 (18) Our hearts have not turned back,
and our steps did not turn away from your path,
20 (19) though you pressed us into a lair of jackals
and covered us with death-dark gloom.
21 (20) If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
22 (21) wouldn’t God have discovered this,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?
23 (22) For your sake we are put to death all day long,
we are considered sheep to be slaughtered.
24 (23) Wake up, Adonai! Why are you asleep?
Rouse yourself! Don’t thrust us off forever.
25 (24) Why are you turning your face away,
forgetting our pain and misery?
26 (25) For we are lying flat in the dust,
our bodies cling to the ground.
27 (26) Get up, and come to help us!
For the sake of your grace, redeem us!
1 Corinthians 10:1 For, brothers, I don’t want you to miss the significance of what happened to our fathers. All of them were guided by the pillar of cloud, and they all passed through the sea, 2 and in connection with the cloud and with the sea they all immersed themselves into Moshe, 3 also they all ate the same food from the Spirit, 4 and they all drank the same drink from the Spirit — for they drank from a Spirit-sent Rock which followed them, and that Rock was the Messiah. 5 Yet with the majority of them God was not pleased, so their bodies were strewn across the desert.
6 Now these things took place as prefigurative historical events, warning us not to set our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Don’t be idolaters, as some of them were — as the Tanakh puts it, “The people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to indulge in revelry.”[1 Corinthians 10:7 Exodus 32:6] 8 And let us not engage in sexual immorality, as some of them did, with the consequence that 23,000 died in a single day. 9 And let us not put the Messiah to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes. 10 And don’t grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the Destroying Angel.
11 These things happened to them as prefigurative historical events, and they were written down as a warning to us who are living in the acharit-hayamim. 12 Therefore, let anyone who thinks he is standing up be careful not to fall! 13 No temptation has seized you beyond what people normally experience, and God can be trusted not to allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. On the contrary, along with the temptation he will also provide the way out, so that you will be able to endure.
14 Therefore, my dear friends, run from idolatry! 15 I speak to you as sensible people; judge for yourselves what I am saying. 16 The “cup of blessing” over which we make the b’rakhah — isn’t it a sharing in the bloody sacrificial death of the Messiah? The bread we break, isn’t it a sharing in the body of the Messiah? 17 Because there is one loaf of bread, we who are many constitute one body, since we all partake of the one loaf of bread. 18 Look at physical Isra’el: don’t those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?
____________________________
The Lutheran Hour660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
___________________________
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