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The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour "This Love Lasts!" for Monday, February 20, 2017
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.[Romans 5:7-8]
In yesterday's message, I told you about Jesus teaching, "love your enemies!" So, I thought we would explore that a bit more today. Why? Because it makes no sense to us. Love your enemies? I thought that by definition enemies were people that we hate. Why would anyone make themselves vulnerable to those who wish us ill or wish us harm? So, today, let's put this Word of Jesus to the test. Let's say that He really meant hardcore enemies, people who had it in for us -- enemies because they wanted to be our enemies. When you face people like that, there is only one thing to do, right? Fight, win, protect! Faced with enemies who have hurt you, it's justice that we need, not love. Right?
Okay, the Bible is clear: evil must be punished. And if our enemies wish us ill, justice demands that we are protected from such ill. But here's the point: that justice protects and judges us all the same. It doesn't provide lasting solutions to why we so easily become enemies of each other, and enemies of God.
And that's why Jesus came to love His enemies. It was for their sake. He didn't come into this world to make a sinful world a little more just, or to make a nasty world, a little more nice. He came to do a demolition job and remodel the whole place. I love HGTV, especially those shows about remodeling the house. It's so amazing to see them blow out walls, re-wire, rebuild. I remember in New York City when we remodeled our apartment, our whole building in Gramercy Park. It was in pretty tough shape when we bought it. We literally demolished everything inside, taking the place "back to the studs," as they say. From those exposed beams, a whole new place emerged. There were new walls, new rooms, new floors, new cabinets. Of course, there was a lot of sweat equity and late night effort to get that job done, but it was all new when it was finished.
The Gospel of Jesus is the ultimate remodel job. Jesus didn't just come to be a contractor for our new life. He came as the worker, the skilled tradesman, the foreman, the contractor, the bank loan officer, the quality-control manager, the only One who was not only the only One who could do the job of redeeming and restoring us, He did it. That's the kind of love we need for the job of our salvation and our reconciliation. That's the kind of work that didn't look at us as a hopeless case, but saw what we could become again based on His work on our behalf.
I know it's harsh to hear "Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44b). It's harsh until you realize that your sins made you an enemy of God's righteousness and love. That those sins are the root cause of all the enemy stuff in the first place. What we need is not help for the status quo, but a love-your-enemies kind of love, a love that keeps coming with truth and grace, always encouraging sinful people like us to repent and believe in the One who not only loves us, but can rekindle His love in our lives for others. His love: it endures, it lasts, it fulfills, because it is a love-your- enemy kind of love.
THE PRAYER: Dear Jesus, open our eyes to the power of Your love-your-enemies love for us, and give us courage to love others the way You indeed love us! Amen!
The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour "This Love Lasts!" for Monday, February 20, 2017
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.[Romans 5:7-8]
In yesterday's message, I told you about Jesus teaching, "love your enemies!" So, I thought we would explore that a bit more today. Why? Because it makes no sense to us. Love your enemies? I thought that by definition enemies were people that we hate. Why would anyone make themselves vulnerable to those who wish us ill or wish us harm? So, today, let's put this Word of Jesus to the test. Let's say that He really meant hardcore enemies, people who had it in for us -- enemies because they wanted to be our enemies. When you face people like that, there is only one thing to do, right? Fight, win, protect! Faced with enemies who have hurt you, it's justice that we need, not love. Right?
Okay, the Bible is clear: evil must be punished. And if our enemies wish us ill, justice demands that we are protected from such ill. But here's the point: that justice protects and judges us all the same. It doesn't provide lasting solutions to why we so easily become enemies of each other, and enemies of God.
And that's why Jesus came to love His enemies. It was for their sake. He didn't come into this world to make a sinful world a little more just, or to make a nasty world, a little more nice. He came to do a demolition job and remodel the whole place. I love HGTV, especially those shows about remodeling the house. It's so amazing to see them blow out walls, re-wire, rebuild. I remember in New York City when we remodeled our apartment, our whole building in Gramercy Park. It was in pretty tough shape when we bought it. We literally demolished everything inside, taking the place "back to the studs," as they say. From those exposed beams, a whole new place emerged. There were new walls, new rooms, new floors, new cabinets. Of course, there was a lot of sweat equity and late night effort to get that job done, but it was all new when it was finished.
The Gospel of Jesus is the ultimate remodel job. Jesus didn't just come to be a contractor for our new life. He came as the worker, the skilled tradesman, the foreman, the contractor, the bank loan officer, the quality-control manager, the only One who was not only the only One who could do the job of redeeming and restoring us, He did it. That's the kind of love we need for the job of our salvation and our reconciliation. That's the kind of work that didn't look at us as a hopeless case, but saw what we could become again based on His work on our behalf.
I know it's harsh to hear "Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44b). It's harsh until you realize that your sins made you an enemy of God's righteousness and love. That those sins are the root cause of all the enemy stuff in the first place. What we need is not help for the status quo, but a love-your-enemies kind of love, a love that keeps coming with truth and grace, always encouraging sinful people like us to repent and believe in the One who not only loves us, but can rekindle His love in our lives for others. His love: it endures, it lasts, it fulfills, because it is a love-your- enemy kind of love.
THE PRAYER: Dear Jesus, open our eyes to the power of Your love-your-enemies love for us, and give us courage to love others the way You indeed love us! Amen!
In Christ,Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz
Speaker of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Readings: Exodus 31-33; Mark 3:1-19
Exodus 31:1 Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “I have singled out B’tzal’el the son of Uri the son of Hur, of the tribe of Y’hudah. 3 I have filled him with the Spirit of God — with wisdom, understanding and knowledge concerning every kind of artisanry. 4 He is a master of design in gold, silver, bronze, 5 cutting precious stones to be set, woodcarving and every other craft.
6 “I have also appointed as his assistant Oholi’av the son of Achisamakh, of the tribe of Dan. Moreover, I have endowed all the craftsmen with the wisdom to make everything I have ordered you — 7 the tent of meeting, the ark for the testimony, the ark-cover above it, all the furnishings of the tent, 8 the table and its utensils, the pure menorah and all its utensils, the incense altar, 9 the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils, the basin and its base, 10 the garments for officiating, the holy garments for Aharon the cohen and the garments for his sons, so that they can serve in the office of cohen, 11 the anointing oil and the incense of aromatic spices for the Holy Place: they are to make everything just as I have ordered you.”
12 Adonai said to Moshe, 13 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘You are to observe my Shabbats; for this is a sign between me and you through all your generations; so that you will know that I am Adonai, who sets you apart for me. 14 Therefore you are to keep my Shabbat, because it is set apart for you. Everyone who treats it as ordinary must be put to death; for whoever does any work on it is to be cut off from his people. 15 On six days work will get done; but the seventh day is Shabbat, for complete rest, set apart for Adonai. Whoever does any work on the day of Shabbat must be put to death. 16 The people of Isra’el are to keep the Shabbat, to observe Shabbat through all their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between me and the people of Isra’el forever; for in six days Adonai made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and rested.’”
(ii) 18 When he had finished speaking with Moshe on Mount Sinai, Adonai gave him the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
32:1 When the people saw that Moshe was taking a long time to come down from the mountain, they gathered around Aharon and said to him, “Get busy; and make us gods to go ahead of us; because this Moshe, the man that brought us up from the land of Egypt — we don’t know what has become of him.” 2 Aharon said to them, “Have your wives, sons and daughters strip off their gold earrings; and bring them to me.” 3 The people stripped off their gold earrings and brought them to Aharon. 4 He received what they gave him, melted it down, and made it into the shape of a calf. They said, “Isra’el! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 5 On seeing this, Aharon built an altar in front of it and proclaimed, “Tomorrow is to be a feast for Adonai.” 6 Early the next morning they got up and offered burnt offerings and presented peace offerings. Afterwards, the people sat down to eat and drink; then they got up to indulge in revelry.
7 Adonai said to Moshe, “Go down! Hurry! Your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have become corrupt! 8 So quickly they have turned aside from the way I ordered them to follow! They have cast a metal statue of a calf, worshipped it, sacrificed to it and said, ‘Isra’el! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 9 Adonai continued speaking to Moshe: “I have been watching these people; and you can see how stiffnecked they are. 10 Now leave me alone, so that my anger can blaze against them, and I can put an end to them! I will make a great nation out of you instead.”
11 Moshe pleaded with Adonai his God. He said, “Adonai, why must your anger blaze against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? 12 Why let the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intentions that he led them out, to slaughter them in the hills and wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger! Relent! Don’t bring such disaster on your people! 13 Remember Avraham, Yitz’chak and Isra’el, your servants, to whom you swore by your very self. You promised them, ‘I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky; and I will give all this land I have spoken about to your descendants; and they will possess it forever.’” 14 Adonai then changed his mind about the disaster he had planned for his people.
15 Moshe turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets inscribed on both sides, on the front and on the back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Y’hoshua heard the noise of the people shouting he said to Moshe, “It sounds like war in the camp!” 18 He answered, “That is neither the clamor of victory nor the wailings of defeat; what I hear is the sound of people singing.”
19 But the moment Moshe got near the camp, when he saw the calf and the dancing, his own anger blazed up. He threw down the tablets he had been holding and shattered them at the base of the mountain. 20 Seizing the calf they had made, he melted it in the fire and ground it to powder, which he scattered on the water. Then he made the people of Isra’el drink it.
21 Moshe said to Aharon, “What did these people do to you to make you lead them into such a terrible sin?” 22 Aharon replied, “My lord shouldn’t be so angry. You know what these people are like, that they are determined to do evil. 23 So they said to me, ‘Make us gods to go ahead of us; because this Moshe, the man that brought us up from the land of Egypt — we don’t know what has become of him.’ 24 I answered them, ‘Anyone with gold, strip it off!’ So they gave it to me. I threw it in the fire, and out came this calf!”
25 When Moshe saw that the people had gotten out of control — because Aharon had allowed them to get out of control, to the derision of their enemies — 26 Moshe stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “Whoever is for Adonai, come to me!” All the descendants of Levi rallied around him. 27 He told them, “Here is what Adonai, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘Each of you, put his sword on his side; and go up and down the camp, from gate to gate; and every man is to kill his own kinsman, his own friend and his own neighbor!” 28 The sons of Levi did what Moshe said, and that day three thousand of the people died. 29 Moshe said, “You have consecrated yourselves today to Adonai, because every one of you has been against his own son and against his own kinsman, in order to bring a blessing on yourselves today.”
30 The next day Moshe said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin. Now I will go up to Adonai ; maybe I will be able to atone for your sin.” 31 Moshe went back to Adonai and said, “Please! These people have committed a terrible sin: they have made themselves a god out of gold. 32 Now, if you will just forgive their sin! But if you won’t, then, I beg you, blot me out of your book which you have written!” 33 Adonai answered Moshe, “Those who have sinned against me are the ones I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go and lead the people to the place I told you about; my angel will go ahead of you. Nevertheless, the time for punishment will come; and then I will punish them for their sin.” 35 Adonai struck the people with a plague because they had made the calf, the one Aharon made.
33:1 Adonai said to Moshe, “Leave, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt; and move on from here toward the land of which I swore to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 2 I will send an angel ahead of you; and I will drive out the Kena‘ani, Emori, Hitti, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi. 3 You will go to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I myself will not go with you, because you are such a stiffnecked people that I might destroy you on the way.” 4 When the people heard this bad news, they went into mourning; and no one wore his ornaments. 5 Adonai said to Moshe, “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘You are a stiffnecked people! If I were to go up with you for even one moment, I would exterminate you! Now, keep your ornaments off; then I will decide what to do to you.’” 6 So from Mount Horev onward, the people of Isra’el stripped themselves of their ornaments.
7 Moshe would take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp. He called it the tent of meeting. Everyone who wanted to consult Adonai would go out to the tent of meeting, outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moshe went out to the tent, all the people would get up and stand, each man at his tent door, and look at Moshe until he had gone into the tent. 9 Whenever Moshe entered the tent, the column of cloud would descend and station itself at the entrance to the tent; and Adonai would speak with Moshe. 10 When all the people saw the column of cloud stationed at the entrance to the tent, they would get up and prostrate themselves, each man at his tent door. 11 Adonai would speak to Moshe face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then he would return to the camp; but the young man who was his assistant, Y’hoshua the son of Nun, never left the inside of the tent.
(iii) 12 Moshe said to Adonai, “Look, you say to me, ‘Make these people move on!’ But you haven’t let me know whom you will be sending with me. Nevertheless you have said, ‘I know you by name,’ and also, ‘You have found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now, please, if it is really the case that I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways; so that I will understand you and continue finding favor in your sight. Moreover, keep on seeing this nation as your people.” 14 He answered, “Set your mind at rest — my presence will go with you, after all.” 15 Moshe replied, “If your presence doesn’t go with us, don’t make us go on from here. 16 For how else is it to be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, other than by your going with us? That is what distinguishes us, me and your people, from all the other peoples on earth.”
(iv) 17 Adonai said to Moshe, “I will also do what you have asked me to do, because you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 18 But Moshe said, “I beg you to show me your glory!” 19 He replied, “I will cause all my goodness to pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce the name of Adonai. Moreover, I show favor to whomever I will, and I display mercy to whomever I will. 20 But my face,” he continued, “you cannot see, because a human being cannot look at me and remain alive. 21 Here,” he said, “is a place near me; stand on the rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you inside a crevice in the rock and cover you with my hand, until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand, and you will see my back, but my face is not to be seen.”
Mark 3:1 Yeshua went again into a synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Looking for a reason to accuse him of something, people watched him carefully to see if he would heal him on Shabbat. 3 He said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Come up where we can see you!” 4 Then to them he said, “What is permitted on Shabbat? Doing good or doing evil? Saving life or killing?” But they said nothing. 5 Then, looking them over and feeling both anger with them and sympathy for them at the stoniness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” As he held it out, it became restored. 6 The P’rushim went out and immediately began plotting with some members of Herod’s party how to do away with him.
7 Yeshua went off with his talmidim to the lake, and great numbers followed him from the Galil. 8 When they heard what he was doing, great numbers also followed him from Y’hudah, Yerushalayim, Idumea, the territory beyond the Yarden, and the Tzor-Tzidon area. 9 He told his talmidim to have a boat ready for him, so that he could escape the crush of the crowd if necessary, 10 for he had healed many people, and all the sick kept pressing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they would fall down in front of him and scream, “You are the Son of God!” 12 But he warned them strictly not to make him known.
13 Then he went up into the hill country and summoned to himself those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve to be with him, to be sent out to preach 15 and to have authority to expel demons:
16 Shim‘on, to whom he gave another name, “Kefa”;
17 Ya‘akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan, Ya‘akov’s brother — to them he gave the name “B’nei-Regesh” (that is, “Thunderers”);
18 Andrew, Philip, Bar-Talmai, Mattityahu, T’oma, Ya‘akov Ben-Halfai, Taddai, Shim‘on the Zealot,
19 and Y’hudah from K’riot, the one who betrayed him.
Then he entered a house;
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CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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