The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Finding Christ in Unexpected Places" for Monday, January 18, 2016

The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Finding Christ in Unexpected Places" for Monday, January 18, 2016

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with His disciples.[John 2:1-2]
In The Lutheran Hour sermon this past weekend, I spoke about how strange it seems that the God and Creator of all revealed Himself in something as common and ordinary as a wine shortage during a wedding feast for an unnamed bride and groom in a small, forgotten town.
Doesn't it seem our lives are often dominated by common, ordinary things like reading assignments, writing papers, and taking tests for classes; or drudging off to work day after day; or struggling to pay all the bills each month; or going from one doctor's visit to another? Do you find it hard to imagine the God who governs the universe wanting to be found in the petty grind of your daily life?
It may seem strange, but Jesus' presence at the wedding at Cana shows precisely that. On earth our Savior didn't just participate in huge glimmering, historic moments when huge crowds gathered around to hang on His every word. But He stood shoulder to shoulder, side by side with the people going about their daily lives in the small towns and villages where He went.
So much of our lives are made up of unexciting, uninspiring moments like a hamster running on a wheel that keeps spinning round and round in his cage.
But Jesus knows exactly how that feels. From His older childhood until He was nearly 30 He labored in Joseph's carpenter shop in Nazareth. By the sweat of His brow He sharpened His skills and built His reputation (see Mark 6:3). But even when He set aside His carpenter tools to begin His ministry for us, Jesus didn't abandon the ordinary spaces of life. He entered the homes of tax collectors, and ate with prostitutes and other sinners. He preached in small synagogues and taught in crowded houses. He slept in boats and spent hours praying in solitary places.
Even as He made the sacrifice for our sins our Savior humbled Himself to be slapped, mocked, spat upon, struck, whipped, crowned with thorns and nailed to the cross between two condemned criminals. Not the kind of life we might expect from the Son of God, certainly not a death any of us would have anticipated. But it was precisely in this degradation and humiliation that Jesus revealed His great power to save us. His resurrection on the third day transforms our daily lives with the promise of His continual presence and the guarantee that we will live together with Him in heaven.
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for being present in all the moments of my life: both high and low. Fill me with love and gratitude that I may be present in the lives of my family, friends, neighbors and co-workers, to share with them the glories of Your salvation.Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz
Speaker of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
Job 25:1 Bildad the Shuchi said,

2 “Dominion and fear belong to him;

he makes peace in his high places.

3 Can his armies be numbered?

On whom does his light not shine?

4 How then can humans be righteous with God?

How can those born of women be clean?

5 Why, before him even the moon lacks brightness,

and the stars themselves are not pure.

6 How much less a human, who is merely a maggot,

a mortal, who is only a worm?!”

26:1 Then Iyov replied,

2 “What great help you bring to the powerless!

what deliverance to the arm without strength!

3 Such wonderful advice for a man lacking wisdom!

So much common sense you’ve expressed!

4 Who helped you to say these words?

Whose spirit is it, coming forth from you?

5 “The ghosts of the dead tremble

beneath the water, with its creatures.

6 Sh’ol is naked before him;

Abaddon lies uncovered.

7 He stretches the north over chaos

and suspends the earth on nothing.

8 He binds up the water in his thick clouds,

yet no cloud is torn apart by it.

9 He shuts off the view of his throne

by spreading his cloud across it.

10 He fixed a circle on the surface of the water,

defining the boundary between light and dark.

11 The pillars of heaven tremble,

aghast at his rebuke.

12 He stirs up the sea with his power,

and by his skill he strikes down Rahav.

13 With his Spirit he spreads the heavens;

his hand pierces the fleeing serpent.

14 And these are but the fringes of his ways;

how faint the echo we hear of him!

But who is able to grasp the meaning

of his thundering power?”

27:1 Iyov continued his speech:

2 “I swear by the living God,

who is denying me justice,

and by Shaddai,

who deals with me so bitterly,

3 that as long my life remains in me

and God’s breath is in my nostrils,

4 my lips will not speak unrighteousness,

or my tongue utter deceit.

5 Far be it from me to say you are right;

I will keep my integrity till the day I die.

6 I hold to my righteousness; I won’t let it go;

my heart will not shame me as long as I live.

7 “May my enemy meet the doom of the wicked;

my foe the fate of the unrighteous.

8 For what hope does the godless have from his gain

when God takes away his life?

9 Will God hear his cry

when trouble comes upon him?

10 Will he take delight in Shaddai

and always call on God?

11 “I am teaching you how God uses his power,

not hiding what Shaddai is doing.

12 Look, you all can see for yourselves;

so why are you talking such empty nonsense?

13 “This is God’s reward for the wicked man,

the heritage oppressors receive from Shaddai:

14 if his sons become many, they go to the sword;

and his children never have enough to eat.

15 Those of his who remain are buried by plague,

and their widows do not weep.

16 Even if he piles up silver like dust

and stores away clothing [in mounds] like clay —

17 he may collect it, but the just will wear it,

and the upright divide up the silver.

18 He builds his house weak as a spider’s web,

as flimsy as a watchman’s shack.

19 He may lie down rich, but his wealth yields nothing;

when he opens his eyes, it isn’t there.

20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;

at night a whirlwind steals him away.

21 The east wind carries him off, and he’s gone;

it sweeps him far from his place.

22 Yes, it hurls itself at him, sparing nothing;

he does all he can to flee from its power.

23 [People] clap their hands at him in derision

and hiss him out of his home.

Matthew 12:24 But when the P’rushim heard of it, they said, “It is only by Ba‘al-Zibbul” — the ruler of the demons — “that this man drives out demons.”

25 However, knowing what they were thinking, Yeshua said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not survive. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself; so how can his kingdom survive? 27 Besides, if I drive out demons by Ba‘al-Zibbul, by whom do your people drive them out? So, they will be your judges! 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you!

29 “Or again, how can someone break into a strong man’s house and make off with his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? After that he can ransack his house.

30 “Those who are not with me are against me, and those who do not gather with me are scattering. 31 Because of this, I tell you that people will be forgiven any sin and blasphemy, but blaspheming the Ruach HaKodesh will not be forgiven. 32 One can say something against the Son of Man and be forgiven; but whoever keeps on speaking against the Ruach HaKodesh will never be forgiven, neither in the ‘olam hazeh nor in the ‘olam haba.

33 “If you make a tree good, its fruit will be good; and if you make a tree bad, its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 You snakes! How can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what overflows from the heart. 35 The good person brings forth good things from his store of good, and the evil person brings forth evil things from his store of evil. 36 Moreover, I tell you this: on the Day of Judgment people will have to give account for every careless word they have spoken; 37 for by your own words you will be acquitted, and by your own words you will be condemned.”

38 At this some of the Torah-teachers said, “Rabbi, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” 39 He replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign? No! None will be given to it but the sign of the prophet Yonah. 40 For just as Yonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea-monster,[Matthew 12:40 Jonah 2:1(1:17)] so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the depths of the earth. 41 The people of Ninveh will stand up at the Judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they turned from their sins to God when Yonah preached, but what is here now is greater than Yonah. 42 The Queen of the South will stand up at the Judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Shlomo, but what is here now is greater than Shlomo.

43 “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry country seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says to itself, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house standing empty, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come and live there — so that in the end, the person is worse off than he was before. This is how it will be for this wicked generation.”

46 He was still speaking to the crowd when his mother and brothers appeared outside, asking to talk with him. 47 [Matthew 12:47 Some manuscripts include verse 47: Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, asking to talk with you.”] 48 But to the one who had informed him he replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his talmidim, he said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants, that person is my brother and sister and mother.”

---------------------

The Lutheran Hour
660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141, United States 
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
---------------------