Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour of Saint Louise, Missouri, United States "Three Things Worth Knowing" for Monday, January 11, 2016

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour of Saint Louise, Missouri, United States "Three Things Worth Knowing" for Monday, January 11, 2016

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"[Galatians 4:4-6]
You know, when St. Paul wrote to the Galatians about being adopted, he was referring to a Roman legal action. Although Roman adoption was familiar to Paul's original audience, there are some things you might want to know.
For example, you should know there were three things which happened at that formal ceremony.
First, the person being adopted left his old family and became part of a new one. That also happens to us when we are given faith in the Savior. Those who believe in Jesus Christ, who recognize His sacrifice, rejoice that the Spirit leads sinners from Satan's family of damnation and brings them into a new relationship with their Creator. By God's grace they become children in God's household of salvation.
Second, in the Roman world, an adopted son became a legitimate heir to the estate.
Nobody could take away the benefits which had been given to him. That's exactly what St. Paul says happens to us. In the book of Romans he writes, "For I am convinced ... (not) anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (see Romans 8:38-39).
In other words, once you had nothing to look forward to but death and the grave; but now, because of Jesus' sacrifice, you have become an heir of heaven.
Third, according to Roman law, when you were given a new life in a new family, your old life was wiped out. Your past debts were cancelled. You became a new person.
Because of Jesus' substitution, we who have been adopted also find our sins are gone. The debt demanded by the Law has been paid in full. We have been welcomed into a new life, a life filled with forgiveness and hope.
That's what St. Paul meant when he said to the Corinthian church, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
To make it possible for you to be adopted is why Jesus was willing to leave His throne in heaven. Now, all who have been given faith are adopted as children of God and have become inheritors of eternal life. The door to God's family has been opened, and for this we must give thanks.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I rejoice that You, without any redeeming qualities in me, have adopted me. Now, by the power of Jesus' life-giving substitution I have been given a new and better life. Keep my heart always grateful for this gift, which will never end. This I pray in the Savior's Name. 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:
Job 5:1 “Call if you like, but will anyone answer?

To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 For anger kills the fool,

and envy slays the silly.

3 I watch as a fool establishes roots,

but I curse his home with sudden [destruction] —

4 his children are far from help,

publicly humiliated, with no one to rescue;

5 the hungry eat up his harvest,

taking it even from among thorns,

while the thirsty are panting,

eager to swallow his wealth.

6 For misery does not come from the dust

or trouble spring from the ground.

7 No, people are born for trouble

as surely as sparks fly upward.

8 “If I were you, I would seek God;

I would make my plea to him.

9 For God does great deeds beyond investigation,

wonders beyond all reckoning.

10 He gives rain to the earth,

pours water down on the fields.

11 He raises the lowly on high

and lifts mourners to safety.

12 He frustrates the schemes of the cunning,

so that they achieve no success;

13 trapping the crafty in their own tricks

and foiling quickly the plans of the false.

14 They meet with darkness during the day,

groping at noon like at night.

15 But he saves the poor from the sword, their mouth,

and from the clutches of the strong;

16 so the poor can hope again;

and injustice shuts its mouth.

17 “How happy the person whom God corrects!

So don’t despise Shaddai’s discipline.

18 For he wounds, but he bandages the sore;

his hands may strike, but they also heal.

19 He will rescue you from six disasters;

yes, in seven no harm will touch you.

20 In famine, he will save you from death,

and in war, from the power of the sword.

21 You will be shielded from the lash of the tongue,

and you won’t have to fear destruction when it comes —

22 you’ll be able to laugh at destruction and famine.

Also you won’t have to fear wild animals,

23 for you will be in league with the stones in the field,

and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

24 You will know that your tent is safe;

you will look round your home and miss nothing.

25 You will know that your descendants are many,

your offspring like grass [growing thick] in the fields.

26 You will come to your grave at a ripe old age,

like a pile of grain that arrives in season.

27 “We’ve looked into this, and that’s how it is;

listen, and know that it’s for your own good.”

6:1 Iyov responded:

2 “I wish my frustration could be weighed,

all my calamities laid on the scales!

3 They would outweigh the sands of the seas!

No wonder, then, that my words come out stammered!

4 For the arrows of Shaddai find their mark in me,

and my spirit is drinking in their poison;

the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

5 “Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass?

Does an ox low when it has fodder?

6 Can food without flavor be eaten without salt?

Do egg whites have any taste?

7 I refuse to touch them;

such food makes me sick.

8 “If only I could have my wish granted,

and God would give me what I’m hoping for —

9 that God would decide to crush me,

that he would let his hand loose and cut me off!

10 Then I would feel consoled;

so that even in the face of unending pain,

I would be able to rejoice;

for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

11 “Have I enough strength to go on waiting?

What end can I expect, that I should be patient?

12 Is my strength the strength of stones?

Is my flesh made of bronze?

13 Clearly, I have no help in myself;

common sense has been driven from me.

14 “A friend should be kind to an unhappy man,

even to one who abandons Shaddai.

15 But my brothers are as deceptive as vadis,

as vadi streams that soon run dry;

16 they may turn dark with ice

and be hidden by piled-up snow;

17 but as the weather warms up, they vanish;

when it’s hot, they disappear.

18 Their courses turn this way and that;

they go up into the confusing waste and are lost.

19 The caravans from Tema look for them,

the travelers from Sh’va hope to find them;

20 but they are disappointed, because they were confident;

on arrival there, they are frustrated.

21 “For now, you have become like that —

just seeing my calamity makes you afraid.

22 Did I say to you, ‘Give me something,’

or, ‘From your wealth, offer a bribe on my behalf,’

23 or, ‘Save me from the enemy’s grip,’

or, ‘Redeem me from the clutches of oppressors’?

24 “Teach me, and I will be silent.

Make me understand how I am at fault.

25 Honest words are forceful indeed,

but what do your arguments prove?

26 Do you think [your own] words constitute argument,

while the speech of a desperate man is merely wind?

27 I suppose you would even throw dice for an orphan

or barter away your friend!

28 “So now, I beg you, look at me!

Would I lie to your face?

29 Think it over, please; don’t let wrong be done.

Think it over again: my cause is just.

30 Am I saying something wrong?

Can’t I recognize trouble when I taste it?

7:1 “Human life on earth is like serving in the army;

yes, we drudge through our days like a hired worker,

2 like a slave longing for shade,

like a worker thinking only of his wages.

3 So I am assigned months of meaninglessness;

troubled nights are my lot.

4 When I lie down, I ask,

‘When can I get up?’

But the night is long, and I keep tossing

to and fro until daybreak.

5 My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt,

my skin forms scabs that ooze pus.

6 My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle

and come to their end without hope.

7 “Remember that my life is but a breath;

my eyes will never again see good times.

8 The eye that now sees me will see me no more;

while your eyes are on me, I will be gone.

9 Like a cloud dissolving and disappearing,

so he who descends to Sh’ol won’t come back up.

10 He will not return again to his house,

and his home will know him no more.

11 “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth

but will speak in my anguish of spirit

and complain in my bitterness of soul.

12 Am I the sea, or some sea monster,

that you put a guard over me?

13 When I think that my bed will comfort me,

that my couch will relieve my complaint,

14 then you terrify me with dreams

and frighten me with visions.

15 I would rather be strangled;

death would be better than these bones of mine.

16 I hate it! I won’t live forever,

so leave me alone, for my life means nothing.

17 “What are mere mortals, that you make so much of them?

Why do you keep them on your mind?

18 Why examine them every morning

and test them every moment?

19 Won’t you ever take your eyes off of me,

at least long enough for me to swallow my spit?

20 “Suppose I do sin — how do I harm you,

you scrutinizer of humanity?

Why have you made me your target,

so that I am a burden to you?

21 Why don’t you pardon my offense

and take away my guilt?

For soon I will lie down in the dust;

you will seek me, but I will be gone.”

Matthew 8:18 When Yeshua saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19 A Torah-teacher approached and said to him, “Rabbi, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 Yeshua said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds flying about have nests, but the Son of Man has no home of his own.” 21 Another of the talmidim said to him, “Sir, first let me go and bury my father.” 22 But Yeshua replied, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

23 He boarded the boat, and his talmidim followed. 24 Then, without warning, a furious storm arose on the lake, so that waves were sweeping over the boat. But Yeshua was sleeping. 25 So they came and roused him, saying, “Sir! Help! We’re about to die!” 26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? So little trust you have!” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and there was a dead calm. 27 The men were astounded. They asked, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and sea obey him?”

28 When Yeshua arrived at the other side of the lake, in the Gadarenes’ territory, there came out of the burial caves two men controlled by demons, so violent that no one dared travel on that road. 29 They screamed, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” 30 Now some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons begged him, “If you are going to drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” 32 “All right, go!” he told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, whereupon the entire herd rushed down the hillside into the lake and drowned. 33 The swineherds fled, went off to the town and told the whole story, including what had happened to the demonized men. 34 At this, the whole town came out to meet Yeshua. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their district.

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