The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries with Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour "The Bible - God's CPR for Your Eternal Life" for Monday, October 17, 2016

The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries with Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour "The Bible - God's CPR for Your Eternal Life" for Monday, October 17, 2016

... (God's Word) is able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.[2 Timothy 3:15b-17]
I was recently blessed to spend some time with my wife Yvette on the beach in Southern California, very close to where we used to live before coming to St. Louis. We were enjoying the late afternoon sun together. I don't think there's anything like feeling the warmth of those rays while hearing the crashing of the waves on the beach. Well, maybe it's also pretty great to jump into that water, to feel its refreshing relief and energizing power. Yeah, that's pretty good too. Well, suddenly, while we were sitting there enjoying the moment, someone seemed to be carried away by the strong current and seemed to be in trouble. And just at that very time, this young lifeguard jumped from his perch on the beach, ran into the surf, dove into the water, and swam out to rescue this frightened swimmer. It was cool to see the lifeguard in action. Now this rescue wasn't all that dramatic, but there are some where the lifeguard has to drag the person to shore and then literally breathe life back into a person; they call that CPR.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation: it is an emergency procedure that combines chest compression often with artificial ventilation in an effort to get someone's heart going again, to get someone breathing again. If you've ever seen that happen or have been privileged to do that for someone, it's pretty amazing. Someone literally comes back to life because a person breathed life back into them.
Well, if you think that is amazing, wait until you hear what the Bible does to you when you open its pages and receive its words. The apostle Paul says the Bible is God-breathed: that means it is already full of the power and presence of God, and when it enters your mind and heart through your eyes, through your ears, it's like God is performing spiritual CPR on your life. That's the picture Paul wants you to have for the Bible. The Bible is not so much a rule book or a book of principles and truths -- though there are truths contained in it, for sure. The Bible ultimately is a book that is alive with the love, the grace, and the mercy of God for you. It is God-breathed so you can spiritually breathe again in Him. It is full of God's Spirit and life so that you can truly be alive by His Spirit.
You know, it was pretty amazing to see that lifeguard in action that day. When he saw that a person was in trouble, overwhelmed by the power of the water, he jumped right in -- without hesitation. Well, that's what Jesus did for you and me, and more. The Bible says we are drowning in our sins (see Psalm 38:4), unable to overcome our guilt and shame, but Jesus dove right in, overcame our trouble by living, dying and rising again so that we might live again in Him. Today, He wants to breathe that life right into your hearts and minds and make you "wise for salvation," to make you sure you are truly ready to face the challenges that await you and make the most of the opportunities that are set before you. Open up the Bible, take a look. Who knows? It might be the breath of fresh air that you really need.
THE PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to see Your Word not as a rule book of "dos and don'ts," but alove letter from You to me, a life letter that doesn't just talk about life, it grants it. And with that perspective, give me courage to open it and see for myself who You are, and who I am in You! Amen!

In Christ,
Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz
Speaker of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Readings: 2 Chronicles 35; Habakkuk 1-3; Acts 2 Chronicles 35:1 Yoshiyahu kept Pesach to Adonai in Yerushalayim. They slaughtered the Pesach lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 He assigned the cohanim to their posts and encouraged them to perform the service of the house of Adonai. 3 To the L’vi’im who were teaching all Isra’el and were holy for Adonai he said, “Put the holy ark in the house which Shlomo the son of David, king of Isra’el, built; after this, you will not have to carry it again. Now serve Adonai your God and his people Isra’el. 4 Organize yourselves by clans and duty divisions according to the arrangement written down by David king of Isra’el and Shlomo his son. 5 Stand in the Holy Place according to the divisions of the clans of your kinsmen the ordinary people, with part of a clan of L’vi’im serving each clan [of Isra’el]. 6 Then slaughter the Pesach lamb, consecrate yourselves, prepare what your kinsmen need, and act according to the word of Adonai given through Moshe.”
7 Yoshiyahu gave the ordinary people, to all who were present, 30,000 lambs and kids from the flock, all of them for Pesach offerings, and 3,000 bulls. These were from the king’s personal property. 8 Also his leading men voluntarily gave to the people and to the cohanim and L’vi’im. Hilkiyah, Z’kharyahu and Yechi’el, the rulers of the house of God, gave the cohanim 2,600 [lambs and kids] and 300 oxen for Pesach offerings. 9 Konanyah, his brothers Sh’ma‘yah and N’tan’el, and Hashavyah, Ye‘i’el and Yozavad, the head L’vi’im, gave the L’vi’im 5,000 [lambs and kids] and 500 oxen for Pesach offerings.
10 So the service was prepared; the cohanim stood at their posts; and the L’vi’im worked in their divisions, in keeping with the king’s order. 11 They slaughtered the Pesach lamb; the cohanim splashed [the blood, which they received from the L’vi’im], and the L’vi’im skinned and butchered them. 12 They removed the portions to be burned, in order to give them to the divisions of the clans of the ordinary people to present to Adonai, as written in the scroll of Moshe. They did the same with the oxen. 13 They roasted the Pesach lamb over fire, according to the rule; while they boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles and pans and carried them quickly to all the ordinary people. 14 Afterwards, they prepared food for themselves and for the cohanim; because the cohanim, the descendants of Aharon, were busy till nightfall offering the fat and the portions to be burned up; this is why the L’vi’im prepared food both for themselves and for the cohanim the descendants of Aharon.
15 The singers the sons of Asaf were at their posts, as ordered by David — Asaf, Heman and Y’dutun the king’s seer. The gatekeepers were at every gate, and they did not need to leave their posts, because their brothers the L’vi’im prepared [food] for them.
16 Thus all the service of Adonai was prepared the same day for observing Pesach and offering burnt offerings on the altar of Adonai, in accordance with the order of King Yoshiyahu. 17 The people of Isra’el who were present observed the Pesach at that time and the festival of Matzot for seven days. 18 No Pesach like that had been kept in Isra’el since the days of Sh’mu’el the prophet, and none of the kings of Isra’el observe a Pesach such as Yoshiyahu observed, with the cohanim, L’vi’im, all Y’hudah, those of Isra’el who were present, and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim. 19 This Pesach was observed in the eighteenth year of Yoshiyahu.
20 After all this, and after Yoshiyahu had restored the house, N’kho king of Egypt went up to attack Kark’mish by the Euphrates River. King Yoshiyahu went out to oppose him; 21 but N’kho sent envoys to him with this message: “Do I have a conflict with you, king of Y’hudah? No, I am not coming today to attack you, but to attack the dynasty with whom I am at war. God has ordered to speed me along; so don’t meddle with God, who is with me; so that he won’t destroy you.” 22 Nevertheless, Yoshiyahu was determined to go after him. He disguised himself in order to fight against him and wouldn’t listen to what N’kho said, which was from the mouth of God. Then he went to fight in the Megiddo Valley. 23 There archers shot King Yoshiyahu. The king said to his servants, “Take me away, because I’m badly wounded.” 24 So his servants took him out of the chariot, transferred him to his second chariot and brought him to Yerushalayim. But he died, and he was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. All Y’hudah and Yerushalayim mourned Yoshiyahu. 25 Yirmeyahu composed a lament for Yoshiyahu; and all the men and women singers have sung of Yoshiyahu in their laments till this day. They made singing them a law in Isra’el, and they are recorded in the Laments.
26 Other activities of Yoshiyahu and all his good deeds in keeping with what is written in the Torah of Adonai, 27 also his accomplishments from beginning to end, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el and Y’hudah.
Habakkuk 1:1 This is the prophecy which Havakuk the prophet saw:
2 Adonai, how long must I cry
without your hearing?
“Violence!” I cry to you,
but you don’t save.
3 Why do you make me see wrongdoing,
why do you permit oppression?
Pillage and cruelty confront me,
so that strife and discord prevail.
4 Therefore Torah is not followed;
justice never gets rendered,
because the wicked fence in the righteous.
This is why justice comes out perverted.
5 “Look around among the nations!
What you see will completely astound you!
For what is going to be done in your days
you will not believe, even when you are told.
6 I am raising up the Kasdim,
that bitter and impetuous nation,
who march far and wide over the earth
to seize homes that are not their own.
7 Fearsome and dreadful they are;
their rules and strength come from themselves.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
fiercer than wolves at night.
Their cavalry gallop in from afar,
flying like vultures rushing to feed.
9 All of them come for violence,
their faces set eagerly forward,
scooping up captives like sand.
10 They scoff at kings;
princes they deride.
They laugh at any fortress;
they pile up earth and take it.
11 Then they sweep on like the wind,
but they become guilty,
because they make their strength their god.”
12 Adonai, haven’t you existed forever?
My God, my holy one, we will not die.
Adonai, you appointed them to execute judgment.
Rock, you commissioned them to correct us.
13 Your eyes are too pure to see evil,
you cannot countenance oppression.
So why do you countenance traitors?
Why are you silent when evil people
swallow up those more righteous than they?
14 You make people like fish in the sea,
like reptiles that have no ruler.
15 The evil haul them all up with their hooks,
catch them in their fish net,
or gather them in their dragnet.
Then they rejoice and make merry,
16 offering sacrifices to their fishnet
and burning incense to their dragnet;
because through them they live in luxury,
with plenty of food to eat.
17 Should they, therefore, keep emptying their nets?
Should they keep slaughtering the nations without pity?
2:1 I will stand at my watchpost;
I will station myself on the rampart.
I will look to see what [God] will say through me
and what I will answer when I am reproved.
2 Then Adonai answered me; he said,
“Write down the vision clearly on tablets,
so that even a runner can read it.
3 For the vision is meant for its appointed time;
it speaks of the end, and it does not lie.
It may take a while, but wait for it;
it will surely come, it will not delay.
4 “Look at the proud: he is inwardly not upright;
but the righteous will attain life through trusting faithfulness.
5 Truly, wine is treacherous;
the arrogant will not live at peace
but keeps expanding his desires like Sh’ol;
like death, he can never be satisfied;
he keeps collecting all the nations for himself,
rallying to himself all the peoples.
6 Won’t all these take up taunting him
and say about him, in mocking riddles,
‘Woe to him who amasses other people’s wealth! —
how long must it go on? —
and to him who adds to himself the weight
of goods taken in pledge!
7 Won’t your own creditors suddenly stand,
won’t those who make you tremble wake up?
You will become their spoil.
8 Because you plundered many nations,
all the rest of the peoples will plunder you;
because of the bloodshed and violence done
to the land, the city and all who live there.
9 “‘Woe to him who seeks unjust gain for his household,
putting his nest on the heights,
in order to be safe from the reach of harm.
10 By scheming to destroy many peoples,
you have brought shame to your house
and forfeited your life.
11 For the very stones will cry out from the wall,
and a beam in the framework will answer them.
12 “‘Woe to him who builds a city with blood
and founds a town on injustice,
13 so that people toil for what will be burned up,
and nations exhaust themselves to no purpose.
Isn’t all this from Adonai-Tzva’ot?
14 For the earth will be as full
of the knowledge of Adonai’s glory
as water covering the sea.
15 “‘Woe to him who has his neighbor drink,
adds his own poison and makes him drunk,
in order to see him naked.
16 You are filled with shame, not glory.
You, drink too, and stagger!
The cup of Adonai’s right hand
will be turned against you;
your shame will exceed your glory.
17 For the violence done to the L’vanon
will overwhelm you,
and the destruction of the wild animals
will terrify you;
because of the bloodshed and violence done
to the land, the city and all who live there.’”
18 What good is an idol, once its maker has shaped it,
a cast metal image and a teacher of lies,
that its maker puts his trust in it,
and goes on making non-gods, unable to talk?
19 Woe to him who tells a piece of wood, “Wake up!”
or a speechless stone, “Rouse yourself!”
Can this thing teach? Why, it’s covered with gold and silver,
without the slightest breath in it!
20 But Adonai is in his holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before him.
3:1 This is a prayer of Havakuk the prophet about mistakes:
2 Adonai, I have heard the report about you.
Adonai, I am awed by your deeds.
Bring your work to life in our own age,
make it known in our own time;
but in anger, remember compassion.
3 God comes from Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Pa’ran. (Selah)
His splendor covers the sky,
and his praise fills the earth.
4 His brightness is like the sun,
rays come forth from his hand —
that is where his power is concealed.
5 Before him goes pestilence,
and close behind, the plague.
6 When he stands up, the earth shakes;
when he looks, the nations tremble,
the eternal mountains are smashed to pieces,
the ancient hills sink down;
the ancient paths are his.
7 I saw trouble in the tents of Kushan
and the tent hangings shaking in the land of Midyan.
8 Adonai, is it against the rivers,
against the rivers that your anger is inflamed?
Is your fury directed at the sea?
Is that why you ride on your horses,
and drive your chariots to victory?
9 You brandish your naked bow
and order it filled with arrows. (Selah)
You split the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains see you and tremble;
a torrent of water streams by;
the deep thunders forth,
as it raises enormous waves.
11 The sun and moon stand still in the sky
at the light of your arrows speeding by,
at the gleam of your glittering spear.
12 In fury you stride across the land,
in anger you trample the nations.
13 You come out to save your people,
to save your anointed one;
you crush the head of the house of the wicked,
uncovering its foundation all the way to the neck.
14 With their own rods you pierce the head of their warriors,
who come like a whirlwind to scatter us,
who rejoice at the prospect
of devouring the poor in secret.
15 You tread down the sea with your horses,
churning up the mighty waters.
16 When I heard, my whole body trembled,
my lips shook at the sound;
weakness overcame my limbs,
my legs gave way beneath me.
But I wait calmly for the day of trouble,
when it comes upon our assailants.
17 For even if the fig tree doesn’t blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines,
even if the olive tree fails to produce,
and the fields yield no food at all,
even if the sheep vanish from the sheep pen,
and there are no cows in the stalls;
18 still, I will rejoice in Adonai,
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 Elohim Adonai is my strength!
He makes me swift and sure-footed as a deer
and enables me to stride over my high places.
For the leader. With my stringed instruments.
25:1 Three days after Festus had entered the province, he went up from Caesarea to Yerushalayim. 2 There the head cohanim and the Judean leaders informed him of the case against Sha’ul, and they asked him 3 to do them the favor of having the man sent to Yerushalayim. (They had plotted to have him ambushed and killed en route.) 4 Festus replied that Sha’ul was being kept under guard in Caesarea, and that he was about to go there shortly himself. 5 “So,” he said, “let competent men among you come down with me and press charges against the man, if he has done something wrong.”
6 After staying with them at most eight or ten days, Festus went down to Caesarea; and on the following day, he took his seat in court and ordered Sha’ul to be brought in. 7 When he arrived, the Judeans who had come down from Yerushalayim stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him which they could not prove. 8 In reply, Sha’ul said, “I have committed no offense — not against the Torah to which the Jews hold, not against the Temple, and not against the Emperor.”
9 But Festus, wanting to do the Judeans a favor, asked Sha’ul, “Would you be willing to go up to Yerushalayim and be tried before me there on these charges?” 10 Sha’ul replied, “I am standing right now in the court of the Emperor, and this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Judeans, as you very well know. 11 If I am a wrongdoer, if I have done something for which I deserve to die, then I am ready to die. But if there is nothing to these charges which they are bringing against me, no one can give me to them just to grant a favor! I appeal to the Emperor!” 12 Then Festus, after talking with his advisers, answered, “You have appealed to the Emperor; you will go to the Emperor!”
13 After some days, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 Since they were staying on there for some time, Festus had the opportunity to acquaint the king with Sha’ul’s situation. “There is a man here,” he said, “who was left behind in custody by Felix. 15 When I was in Yerushalayim, the head cohanim and the elders of the Judeans informed me about him and asked me to pronounce judgment against him. 16 My answer to them was that it is not the custom with Romans to give up an accused man just to grant a favor, before he has met his accusers face to face and had the opportunity to defend himself against the charge. 17 So when they arrived here with me, I did not delay, but took my seat in court the next day and ordered the man brought in.
18 “When the accusers stood up, instead of charging him with some serious crime as I had expected, 19 they disputed with him about certain points of their own religion, and particularly about somebody called Yeshua, who had died, but who Sha’ul claimed was alive. 20 Being at a loss as to how to investigate such questions, I asked him if he would be willing to go to Yerushalayim and be tried on these matters there. 21 But since Sha’ul appealed to be kept in custody and have his case decided by His Imperial Majesty, I ordered him held until I could send him to the Emperor.”
22 Agrippa said to Festus, “I myself have been wanting to hear the man.” “Tomorrow,” he replied, “You will hear him.”
23 So the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with much pageantry; they entered the audience room accompanied by military commanders and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Sha’ul was brought in. 24 Festus said, “King Agrippa and all of you here with us, do you see this man? The whole Judean community has complained to me about him both in Yerushalayim and here, crying that he shouldn’t be allowed to remain alive. 25 But I discovered that he had done nothing that deserves a death sentence. Now when he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him. 26 However, I have nothing specific to write to His Majesty about him. This is why I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa — so that after we have examined him, I might have something to write. 27 It seems irrational to me to send a prisoner without also indicating what the charges against him are.”

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