The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour in Saint Louis, Missouri, United States [Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).] "Do I Have a Word for You!" for Monday, August 8, 2016
Thus says the Lord, "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so is My Word that goes out from My mouth: it will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."[Isaiah 55:10-11]
Do you remember a time in your life when you were waiting for an important word from an important person or group? It may have been waiting for that letter from the university you hope accepted you. It may have been that call from the person who interviewed you for that job or that promotion you really hoped to get. Or, even more importantly, it may have been waiting for that moment when you popped the question, and you were hoping for that "Yes, I'll marry you!" word. Wow! The power of a good word can really change our lives.
Well, that kind of joy is merely a glimpse of what we were talking about in yesterday's message. The Bible, you see, is a word that will not only change your life for the moment, it will transform your life eternally. The Bible isn't just a good word from a fellow human being; it is literally God's Word that goes out from God Himself to bring His blessing, His forgiveness, His power, and His peace to all who believe.
There is no other Word like it.
In fact, no human being could have ever cooked up a story like the Bible. It is God's Word to the world about God's work for the world. The Bible says, "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not counting our sins against us" (2 Corinthians 5:19a). It's a Word of God-earned reconciliation.
But the most important thing to remember today is that this transforming Word was literally meant for you. It was meant for you to read it, to know it, and to believe in its message.
That's the word I have for you! And wow, what a word it is! Isaiah reminds us that God has a purpose for His Word to work in your life. In fact, right now, God's Word can reach into the innermost recesses of your being and mine! No heart is too tough; no soul is too dark.
When God wills it, His Word can pierce anyone, anywhere, anytime. Have you heard about the Hellfire Club? It was a particularly nasty club in 18th- century Bristol, one that especially loved to make fun of the Bible and the church. One of its members, a Mr. Thorpe, was especially good at mocking and ridiculing the work of the famed evangelist, George Whitefield, and the message of God's Word. On one occasion, the Hellfire Club gathered at a pub for such mockery. Mr. Thorpe offered his brilliant imitation of Whitefield, whom he and his friends called "Mr. Squintum" because of Whitefield's eyes. He delivered his sermon with brilliant accuracy, perfectly imitating his tone and facial expressions as he quoted Scripture and Whitefield's exposition. Suddenly, amidst the laughter he had to sit down, for even he was pierced through by the very Word he was citing, and he was converted on the spot.
Mr. Thorpe was a thoroughly nasty man, engaged in a nasty action, yet the Word of God pierced his heart and changed him. Incredibly, Thorpe went on to be a prominent Christian leader in the very city of Bristol, from that moment on. So remember today, news articles may inform us. Novels may inspire us. Poetry may enrapture us. But only the living, active Word of God can transform us.
THE PRAYER: Dear Jesus, give me courage to read Your Word and not only to hear the wonderful message of Your Good News, but to believe it for myself! Amen!
Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz
Speaker of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Readings: Psalms 136, 146; 1 Corinthians 3
Psalms 136:1 Give thanks to Adonai, for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his grace continues forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his grace continues forever;
4 to him who alone has done great wonders,
for his grace continues forever;
5 to him who skillfully made the heavens,
for his grace continues forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth on the water,
for his grace continues forever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
for his grace continues forever;
8 the sun to rule the day,
for his grace continues forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule the night,
for his grace continues forever;
10 to him who struck down Egypt’s firstborn,
for his grace continues forever;
11 and brought Isra’el out from among them,
for his grace continues forever;
12 with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,
for his grace continues forever;
13 to him who split apart the Sea of Suf,
for his grace continues forever;
14 and made Isra’el cross right through it,
for his grace continues forever;
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Suf,
for his grace continues forever;
16 to him who led his people through the desert,
for his grace continues forever;
17 to him who struck down great kings,
for his grace continues forever;
18 yes, he slaughtered powerful kings,
for his grace continues forever;
19 Sichon king of the Emori,
for his grace continues forever;
20 and ‘Og king of Bashan,
for his grace continues forever;
21 then he gave their land as a heritage,
for his grace continues forever;
22 to be possessed by Isra’el his servant,
for his grace continues forever;
23 who remembers us whenever we are brought low,
for his grace continues forever;
24 and rescues us from our enemies,
for his grace continues forever;
25 who provides food for every living creature,
for his grace continues forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his grace continues forever.
146:1 Halleluyah!
Praise Adonai, my soul!
2 I will praise Adonai as long as I live.
I will sing praise to my God all my life.
3 Don’t put your trust in princes
or in mortals, who cannot help.
4 When they breathe their last, they return to dust;
on that very day all their plans are gone.
5 Happy is he whose help is Ya‘akov’s God,
whose hope is in Adonai his God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them;
he keeps faith forever.
7 He secures justice for the oppressed,
he gives food to the hungry.
Adonai sets prisoners free,
8 Adonai opens the eyes of the blind,
Adonai lifts up those who are bent over.
Adonai loves the righteous.
9 Adonai watches over strangers,
he sustains the fatherless and widows;
but the way of the wicked he twists.
10 Adonai will reign forever,
your God, Tziyon, through all generations.
Halleluyah!
1 Corinthians 3:1 As for me, brothers, I couldn’t talk to you as spiritual people but as worldly people, as babies, so far as experience with the Messiah is concerned. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, because you were not yet ready for it. But you aren’t ready for it now either! 3 For you are still worldly! Isn’t it obvious from all the jealousy and quarrelling among you that you are worldly and living by merely human standards? 4 For when one says, “I follow Sha’ul” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you being merely human? 5 After all, what is Apollos? What is Sha’ul? Only servants through whom you came to trust. Indeed, it was the Lord who brought you to trust through one of us or through another. 6 I planted the seed, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 So neither the planter nor the waterer is anything, only God who makes things grow — 8 planter and waterer are the same.
However, each will be rewarded according to his work. 9 For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. 10 Using the grace God gave me, I laid a foundation, like a skilled master-builder; and another man is building on it. But let each one be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Yeshua the Messiah. 12 Some will use gold, silver or precious stones in building on this foundation; while others will use wood, grass or straw. 13 But each one’s work will be shown for what it is; the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire — the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. 14 If the work someone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward; 15 if it is burned up, he will have to bear the loss: he will still escape with his life, but it will be like escaping through a fire.
16 Don’t you know that you people are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17 So if anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you yourselves are that temple.
18 Let no one fool himself. If someone among you thinks he is wise (by this world’s standards), let him become “foolish,” so that he may become really wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is nonsense, as far as God is concerned; inasmuch as the Tanakh says, “He traps the wise in their own cleverness,”[1 Corinthians 3:19 Job 5:13] 20 and again, “Adonai knows that the thoughts of the wise are worthless.”[1 Corinthians 3:20 Psalm 94:11] 21 So let no one boast about human beings, for all things are yours — 22 whether Sha’ul or Apollos or Kefa or the world or life or death or the present or the future: they all belong to you, 23 and you belong to the Messiah, and the Messiah belongs to God.
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CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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