Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Maybe True, Maybe Not" for Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Maybe True, Maybe Not" for Tuesday, November 17, 2015

God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?[Numbers 23:19]
Did you hear the good news?
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, recently told a group of students in Tehran that their chant "Death to America!" is really not a threat to the lives of any Americans. On the contrary, it is aimed at the U.S. foreign policy.
As the supreme leader said, "The American nation is just like the rest of the nations. It ... means death to U.S. policies and its arrogance."
I was comforted by that bit of knowledge. No longer did I have to be concerned for the Americans who are imprisoned in that country, having been jailed on bogus charges. No longer did I have to fear the possibility of the Iranian government getting a nuclear bomb. Now I understood when those giant Iranian mobs are chanting "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!" it's sort of like a person in our country saying, 'We need a change in Washington."
When I was explaining my relief to a group of people, one of them said, "Pastor, did you ever hear the word 'al-taqiyya'?" I hadn't. So I looked it up.
In a nutshell, al-taqiyya means it is acceptable for a Muslim to lie when it is in the best interest of his religion for him to do so. Indeed, their god will not judge them harshly, or at all, when a Muslim lies in a cause which is going to benefit the faith. Indeed, a lie in the defense of Islam is approved of and even recommended in their "holy" books.
So, when the Ayatollah makes his statement about what the chant "Death to America!" means, he may be telling the truth and he may be lying through his teeth. Without looking into his heart, I have no way of knowing.
What a difference there is between the two faiths.
We have the Savior who said, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6b). Along with that, the Lord has given us the rest of His Holy Word, which is also true.
Most importantly for this devotion are the words of Peter who wrote, "Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation" (1 Peter 2:12). In short, we are to tell the truth to each other and to those who are not part of the family of faith.
Christianity knows and professes that our faith, which is founded on the truth given by the Triune God, should not be tarnished nor blasphemed by its followers. On the contrary, in the Old Testament book of Zechariah, the Lord instructs: "These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace" (Zechariah 8:16).
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks that I can believe You in all things. Most of all I appreciate the truth of forgiveness and salvation that is mine through the Savior's sufferings. 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:
Ezekiel 5:1 “Now you, human being, take a sharp sword; and use it like a barber’s razor to shave your head and beard. Then weigh the hair on a balance-scale, and divide it up. 2 A third of it you are to burn in the city when the days of the siege are over. Take another third, and hit it with your sword all around the city. Scatter the last third to the wind, and I will pursue them with drawn sword. 3 Also take a few hairs and tie them up in the folds of your garment. 4 Again, of these take some; throw them in the fire, and burn them up; from there a fire will come out against the entire house of Isra’el.

5 “Here is what Adonai Elohim, says:

‘This is Yerushalayim!

I have placed her in the middle of the nations;

countries can be found all around her.

6 But she has rebelled against my rulings

and committed wickedness more than the nations,

against my laws more than the countries around her;

because they have rejected my rulings

and not lived according to my laws.’

7 “Therefore here is what Adonai Elohim, says: ‘Because you have outdone the nations around you by not living according to my laws or following my rulings or even following the rules of the nations around you,’ 8 therefore here is what Adonai Elohim, says: ‘I too am against you, yes, I; and I will execute judgments among you while all the nations look on. 9 Moreover, because of all your disgusting practices, I will do things to you that I have never done before; and I will never do such things again. 10 Parents among you will eat their children, and children will eat their parents! I will execute judgments among you and scatter to all the winds those of you who remain. 11 For, as I live,’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘because you defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and disgusting practices, therefore I swear that I will cut you off — my eye will not spare, I will have no pity. 12 A third of you will die from plague or be consumed by famine inside [Yerushalayim]; a third will fall by the sword all around [Yerushalayim]; and a third I will scatter to all the winds and pursue with the sword.’ 13 In this way my anger will spend itself, my fury against them will die down, and I will be satisfied. Then, when I have spent my fury on them, they will know that I, Adonai, have spoken out of my zeal. 14 ‘I will make you a ruin and an object of reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all passing by. 15 When I execute judgments and furious punishments among you in anger and fury, [Yerushalayim] will be an object of reproach, derision and horror, and a lesson to warn the nations around you. I, Adonai, have announced it. 16 I will send upon them the deadly, destructive arrows of famine, which I will send to destroy you. I will make the famine worse for you by cutting off your food supply. 17 Yes, I will send famine and savage beasts upon you to leave you without children; plague and bloodshed will sweep through you; and I will bring the sword upon you. I, Adonai, have spoken it.’”

6:1 The word of Adonai came to me: 2 “Human being, face toward the mountains of Isra’el, and prophesy against them: 3 ‘Mountains of Isra’el, hear the word of Adonai Elohim: here is what Adonai Elohim says about the mountains, hills, ravines and valleys: “I myself will bring a sword against you and destroy your high places. 4 Your altars will be wrecked and your pillars for sun-worship broken, and I will throw down your slain ones in front of your idols. 5 I will lay the corpses of the people of Isra’el in front of their idols and scatter your bones all around your altars. 6 Everywhere you live, the cities will be destroyed and the high places wrecked; so that your altars can be destroyed and wrecked, your idols broken and abolished, your pillars for sun-worship cut down and the things you have made wiped out. 7 The slain will fall among you; then you will know that I am Adonai.

8 “‘“Nevertheless, I will leave a remnant, some who will escape the sword among the nations, when you have been scattered throughout the countries. 9 Those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they have been exiled. How broken I have been over their whoring hearts that left me, and over their eyes that went whoring after their idols! They are going to loathe themselves for all the evils they committed in their disgusting practices. 10 Then they will know that I am Adonai; it isn’t for nothing that I said I would bring this calamity upon them.”’

11 “Here is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘Strike with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and bemoan all the terrible disgusting practices of the house of Isra’el. For they will fall by sword, famine and plague. 12 Those far away will die from the plague, those nearby will fall by the sword, and whoever stays and is besieged will die from famine. This is how I will spend my fury on them. 13 You will know that I am Adonai when their slain men are lying among their idols around their altars on every high hill, on every mountaintop, under every green tree, under every thick pistachio tree, wherever they offered sweet-smelling sacrifices to appease their idols. 14 I will stretch out my hand over them and make the land wherever they live into a desolate waste worse than the Divlah Desert. Then they will know that I am Adonai.’”

7:1 The word of Adonai came to me: 2 “As for you, human being, here is what Adonai Elohim says about the land of Isra’el:

‘The end! The end is coming

to the four corners of the land!

3 Now the end is upon you!

I will send my anger upon you,

I will judge you according to your ways.

I will bring on you all your disgusting practices.

4 My eye will not spare you, I will have no pity,

but I will bring your ways upon you,

and your disgusting practices will be done among you.

Then you will know that I am Adonai.’

5 “Here is what Adonai Elohim says:

‘Disaster, unique disaster — here it comes!

6 The end is coming! The end is coming!

It rouses itself against you — here it comes!

7 Doom has come to you,

you who live in the land!

The time has come, the day is near,

for tumult, not joyful shouts on the mountains.

8 Now, soon, I will pour out my fury on you,

I will spend my anger on you;

I will judge you according to your ways

I will bring on you all your disgusting practices.

9 My eye will not spare you, I will have no pity;

but will bring upon you what your ways deserve;

and your disgusting practices will be among you.

Then you will know it is I, Adonai, striking you.

10 “‘Here is the day! Here it comes!

Doom has gone out, the rod has blossomed,

arrogance has budded. 11 Violence has grown

into a rod of wickedness.

Nothing is left of them,

nothing of their crowds,

nothing of their wealth —

there is nothing of importance in them.

12 The time has come, the day has arrived;

let neither buyer rejoice nor seller regret;

for wrath is coming to all her many people.

13 For the seller will not return to what he sold,

even if he is still alive;

for though the vision was brought to all her many people,

nobody repented.

Each kept living his own wicked life;

they weren’t strong enough [to repent].

14 The shofar has sounded, everything is ready,

but no one goes out to the battle,

for my wrath is coming to all her many people.

15 “‘Outside is the sword, inside plague and famine.

Those in the country will die by the sword.

And as for those in the city,

plague and famine will eat them up.

16 But if any of them manage to escape,

they will head for the mountains

like doves from the valleys,

all of them moaning, each for his sin.

17 All hands will droop, all knees turn to water.

18 They will put on sackcloth;

horror will cover them;

every face will be ashamed,

every head shaved bald.

19 They will throw their silver into the streets;

their gold will be like something unclean.

On the day of Adonai’s wrath their silver and gold

won’t be able to rescue them.

These things won’t satisfy their hunger,

these things won’t fill their stomachs,

because these are what caused them to sin.

20 From their beautiful jewellery,

in which they took such pride,

they made their abominable idols

and their other detestable things;

therefore, for them I have caused it

to be like something unclean.

21 I will hand it over to foreigners as booty,

to the wicked of the earth as spoil,

and they will profane it.

22 I will turn my face away from them;

then [Bavel] will profane my secret place,

robbers will enter and profane it.

23 “‘Forge a chain,

for the land is full of capital crimes

and the city full of violence.

24 Therefore I will bring the worst of the nations

to take possession of their homes;

I will end the arrogance of the strong;

and their holy places will be profaned.

25 When horror comes, they will seek peace;

but there will be none.

26 Calamity will follow calamity,

rumor will follow rumor;

they will seek a vision from the prophet,

but Torah will perish from the cohen

and advice from the leaders.

27 The king will go into mourning,

the prince will be clothed with fright,

and the hands of the people of the land

will tremble in terror.

I will treat them as their way of life deserves

and judge them as they have judged others.

Then they will know

that I am Adonai.’”

1 Timothy 4:1 The Spirit expressly states that in the acharit-hayamim some people will apostatize from the faith by paying attention to deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come from the hypocrisy of liars whose own consciences have been burned, as if with a red-hot branding iron. 3 They forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods which God created to be eaten with thanksgiving by those who have come to trust and to know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing received with thanksgiving needs to be rejected, 5 because the word of God and prayer make it holy.

6 If you present all this to the brothers, you will be serving the Messiah Yeshua well; it will show that you have digested the words of the faith and of the good teaching which you have followed. 7 But refuse godless bubbe-meises, and exercise yourself in godliness. 8 For although physical exercise does have some value, godliness is valuable for everything, since it holds promise both for the present life and for the life to come. 9 Here is a statement you can trust, one that fully deserves to be accepted 10 (indeed, it is for this that we toil and strive): we have our hope set on a living God who is the deliverer of all humanity, especially of those who trust.

11 Command these things and teach them. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because of your youth; on the contrary, set the believers an example in your speech, behavior, love, trust and purity. 13 Until I come, pay attention to the public reading of the Scriptures. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which you were given through a prophecy when the body of elders gave you s’mikhah. 15 Be diligent about this work, throw yourself into it, so that your progress may be clear to everyone. 16 Pay attention to yourself and to the teaching, continue in it, for by so doing you will deliver both yourself and those who hear you.

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