Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour "Co-heirs of Christ's Incredible Salvation" for Monday,
July 17, 2017
Romans 8:16-17 - The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs -- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.
Romans 8 is one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible. It tells it like it is in Jesus Christ. Throughout this chapter you hear words like "no condemnation," "set free," "hope," "more than conquerors," all of it in and through Jesus Christ. Read it, memorize it. It's the power of God for your salvation and mine. One way that Paul describes a believer's new life in Christ is to call us "co-heirs" with Christ, sharing in His cross-earned, resurrection-delivered glory.
Co-heirs with Jesus -- that means we get to live eternal lives with Him, in His righteousness, in His joy, with His peace. Can you even imagine? Sometimes it's almost too wonderful to be believed. Other times, I think we dismiss the things of Christ as if the inheritances we have in this world are so much better.
It reminded me of an event and an ensuing question that happened in the life of golfer, Curtis Strange. It happened at the Masters, one of the most prestigious tournaments of the year. It happened on the Augusta National golf course -- one of the hardest golf courses to play, and it happened on "Amen Corner," in the midst of the 11th, 12th, and 13th holes where "amens" are often spoken after prayers are answered, in sometimes miraculous ways.
Curtis Strange stepped up to the tee box on the par 3 12th hole, teed the ball up, and hit a beautiful shot. It was flying directly at the flag stick on the green. When the ball hit the green, it began to roll straight towards the hole, and yes, incredibly, it dropped in the cup for a hole in one. The crowd went crazy with applause and cheering. Then Curtis Strange did an interesting thing. He leaned down, reached into the cup, picked up the ball, and he tossed it into the creek. Now the media went even crazier. With cameras on him and microphones, they asked him, "Why did you do that? Why didn't you keep it?" One person said, "You could have left it to your grandchildren."
I love his response. He said this: "I certainly hope that when I'm gone I have something better than a golf ball to leave to my grandchildren." Curtis Strange had much more to give his children and his grandchildren than a golf ball from the Masters. Sure, it was a hole in one. Sure, it was an exciting moment. But the love of a father, the love of a grandfather -- that would be infinitely more precious to those in his family.
Sometimes, I think that we are a bit foolish like those reporters that day. Sometimes we need straight talk that cuts through all the hype of this world and says, "There's something way more precious than this." That's what Paul is trying to tell us all today. In Christ, by the power of His Spirit, we are adopted into His family by faith; we are His children; we are His heirs. There's a love that God the Father has for you in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. I pray you see how precious that really is for you today.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, sometimes we yearn for the things of this world so much that we denigrate or even dismiss what is precious from You. Give us faith to trust in the things that are eternal, the things You gift to all those who believe, the things that last. Amen.
In Christ,Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz
Speaker of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Readings: 2 Kings 17-18; Galatians 4
2 Kings 17:1 It was in the twelfth year of Achaz king of Y’hudah that Hoshea the son of Elah began his reign over Isra’el in Shomron; he ruled for nine years. 2 He did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective, although he wasn’t as bad as the kings of Isra’el who had preceded him.
3 Shalman’eser king of Ashur advanced against Hoshea, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Ashur found that Hoshea was conspiring [against him] — he had sent messengers to So the king of Egypt and not paid his tribute to the king of Ashur, as he had previously done every year. For this the king of Ashur imprisoned him, putting him in chains. 5 Then the king of Ashur invaded all the land, advanced on Shomron and put it under siege for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Ashur captured Shomron. He carried Isra’el away captive to Ashur, resettling them in Halach, in Havor on the Gozan River and in the cities of the Medes.
7 This came about because the people of Isra’el had sinned against Adonai their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, out from under the domination of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They feared other gods 8 and lived by the customs of the nations that Adonai had expelled ahead of the people of Isra’el and by those of the kings of Isra’el. 9 The people of Isra’el secretly did things that were not right, according to Adonai their God. They built high places for themselves wherever they lived, from the watchtower to the fortified city. 10 They set up standing-stones and sacred poles for themselves on any high hill and under any green tree. 11 Then they would make offerings on all the high places, like the nations Adonai had expelled ahead of them, and would do wicked things to provoke the anger of Adonai; 12 moreover, they served idols, something Adonai had expressly told them not to do. 13 Adonai had warned Isra’el and Y’hudah in advance through every prophet and seer, “Turn from your evil ways; and obey my mitzvot and regulations, in accordance with the entire Torah which I ordered your ancestors to keep and which I sent to you through my servants the prophets.” 14 Nevertheless, they refused to listen but made themselves as stubborn as their ancestors, who did not put their trust in Adonai their God. 15 Thus they rejected his laws; his covenant, which he had made with their ancestors; and the solemn warnings he had given them. Instead they pursued worthless things and became worthless themselves, imitating the nations around them, whom Adonai had ordered them not to emulate. 16 They abandoned all the mitzvot of Adonai their God. They made cast metal images for themselves, two calves. They made an asherah. They worshipped the whole army of heaven. They served Ba‘al. 17 They had their sons and daughters pass through fire [as a sacrifice]. They used divination and magic spells. And they gave themselves over to do what was evil from Adonai’s perspective, thereby provoking him; 18 so that Adonai, by now very angry with Isra’el, removed them from his sight. None was left except the tribe of Y’hudah alone. 19 (However, neither did Y’hudah obey the mitzvot of Adonai their God; rather they lived according to the customs of Isra’el.)
20 Yes, Adonai came to despise all the descendants of Isra’el. He caused them trouble and handed them over to plunderers, until finally he threw them out of his sight. 21 He tore Isra’el away from the house of David. They made Yarov‘am the son of N’vat king; and Yarov‘am drew Isra’el away from following Adonai and made them commit a great sin. 22 The people of Isra’el followed the example of all the sins that Yarov‘am had committed and did not turn away from them, 23 until Adonai removed Isra’el out of his sight, as he had said he would through all his servants the prophets. Thus Isra’el was carried away captive from their own land to Ashur, and it remains so to this day.
24 The king of Ashur brought people from Bavel, Kutah, ‘Ava, Hamat and S’farvayim and settled them in the cities of Shomron in place of the people of Isra’el; they took possession of Shomron and lived in its cities. 25 When they first came to live there, they did not fear Adonai. Therefore Adonai sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So they said to the king of Ashur, “The nations you carried away and settled in the cities of Shomron are not familiar with the rules for worshipping the God of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them; and they are there, killing them; because they’re not familiar with the rules for worshipping the God of the land.” 27 In response, the king of Ashur gave this order: “Take back one of the cohanim you brought from there. Have him go and live there, and have him teach them the rules for worshipping the God of the land.” 28 So one of the cohanim they had carried away captive from Shomron came and lived in Beit-El, and he taught them how they should fear Adonai.
29 Nevertheless, every nation made gods of their own and put them in the temples on the high places which the Shomronim had made, every nation in the cities where they lived. 30 Thus the people from Bavel made Sukkot-B’not, those from Kutah made Nergal, those from Hamat made Ashima, 31 the ‘Avim made Nivchaz and Tartak, and the S’farvim burned up their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adramelekh and ‘Anamelekh the gods of S’farvayim. 32 So they feared Adonai, while at the same time they appointed for themselves priests from among themselves to preside at the high places, and they would sacrifice for them in the temples on the high places. 33 They both feared Adonai and served their own gods in the manner customary among the nations from which they had been taken away. 34 To this day they continue to follow their former [pagan] customs. They do not fear Adonai. They do not follow the regulations, rulings, Torah or mitzvah which Adonai ordered the descendants of Ya‘akov, to whom he gave the name Isra’el, 35 with whom Adonai had made a covenant and charged them, “Do not fear other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. 36 On the contrary, you are to fear Adonai, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm. Worship him, and sacrifice to him. 37 You are to observe forever the laws, rulings, Torah and mitzvah which he wrote for you. You are not to fear other gods, 38 and you are not to forget the covenant I made with you. No, you must not fear other gods 39 but must fear Adonai your God; then he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies.” 40 However, they didn’t listen, but followed their old [pagan] practices. 41 So these nations mixed fearing Adonai with serving their carved idols; likewise their children; and to this day, their descendants do the same as their ancestors did.
18:1 It was in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Isra’el, that Hizkiyahu the son of Achaz, king of Y’hudah, began his reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began his reign, and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Yerushalayim. His mother’s name was Avi the daughter of Z’kharyah. 3 He did what was right from Adonai’s perspective, following the example of everything David his ancestor had done. 4 He removed the high places, smashed the standing-stones, cut down the asherah and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moshe had made; because in those days the people of Isra’el were making offerings to it, calling it N’chushtan.* 5 He put his trust in Adonai the God of Isra’el; after him there was no one like him among all the kings of Y’hudah, nor had there been among those before him. 6 For he clung to Adonai and did not leave off following him, but obeyed his mitzvot, which Adonai had given Moshe. 7 So Adonai was with him. Wherever he went out to battle, he did well. He rebelled against the king of Ashur and refused to be his vassal. 8 He drove the P’lishtim back to ‘Azah and laid waste to their territory from the watchtower to the fortified city.
It was in the fourth year of King Hizkiyahu, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Isra’el, that Shalman’eser king of Ashur advanced against Shomron and laid siege to it. 10 At the end of three years they captured it — that is, Shomron was captured in the sixth year of Hizkiyahu, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Isra’el. 11 The king of Ashur carried Isra’el away captive to Ashur and settled them in Halach, in Havor on the Gozan River and in the cities of the Medes. 12 This happened because they did not heed the voice of Adonai their God, but violated his covenant, everything that Moshe the servant of Adonai had ordered them to do, and would neither hear it nor do it.
In the fourteenth year of King Hizkiyahu, Sancheriv king of Ashur advanced against all the fortified cities of Y’hudah and captured them. 14 Hizkiyahu king of Y’hudah sent this message to the king of Ashur at Lakhish: “I have done wrong. If you will go away from me, I will pay whatever penalty you impose on me.” The king of Ashur imposed on Hizkiyahu a penalty of ten tons of silver and a ton of gold. 15 Hizkiyahu gave him all the silver that could be found in the house of Adonai and in the treasuries of the royal palace. 16 It was at that time that Hizkiyahu stripped the gold from the doors of the sanctuary of Adonai and from the doorposts which Hizkiyahu king of Y’hudah himself had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Ashur.
From Lakhish the king of Ashur sent Tartan, Rav-Saris and Rav-Shakeh to King Hizkiyahu in Yerushalayim with a large army. They advanced and came to Yerushalayim. Upon arrival, they came and positioned themselves by the aqueduct from the Upper Pool, which is by the road to the Launderers’ Field. 18 They summoned the king, but those answering the call were Elyakim the son of Hilkiyahu, who was in charge of the household, Shevnah the general secretary and Yo’ach the son of Asaf the foreign minister. 19 Rav-Shakeh addressed them: “Tell Hizkiyahu: ‘Here is what the great king, the king of Ashur, says: “What makes you so confident? 20 Do you think that mere spoken words constitute strategy and strength for battle? In whom, then, are you trusting when you rebel against me like this? 21 Now look! Relying on Egypt is like using a broken stick as a staff — when you lean on it, it punctures your hand. That’s what Pharaoh king of Egypt is like for anyone who puts his trust in him. 22 But if you tell me, ‘We trust in Adonai our God,’ then isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hizkiyahu has removed, telling Y’hudah and Yerushalayim, ‘You must worship before this altar in Yerushalayim’? 23 All right, then, make a wager with my lord the king of Ashur: I will give you two thousand horses if you can find enough riders for them. 24 How then can you repulse even one of my master’s lowest-ranked army officers? Yet you are relying on Egypt for chariots and riders! 25 Do you think I have come up to this place to destroy it without Adonai’s approval? Adonai said to me, ‘Attack this land, and destroy it’!”’”
Elyakim the son of Hilkiyahu, Shevnah and Yo’ach said to Rav-Shakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it; don’t speak with us in Hebrew while the people on the wall are listening.” 27 But Rav-Shakeh answered them, “Did my master send me to deliver my message just to your master and yourselves? Didn’t he send me to address the men sitting on the wall, who, like you, are going to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?” 28 Then Rav-Shakeh stood up and, speaking loudly in Hebrew, said: “Hear what the great king, the king of Ashur, says! 29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hizkiyahu deceive you, because he won’t be able to save you from the power of the king of Ashur. 30 And don’t let Hizkiyahu make you trust in Adonai by saying, “Adonai will surely save us; this city will not be given over to the king of Ashur.” 31 Don’t listen to Hizkiyahu.’ For this is what the king of Ashur says: ‘Make peace with me, surrender to me. Then every one of you can eat from his vine and fig tree and drink the water in his own cistern; 32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land with grain and wine, a land with bread and vineyards, a land with olive trees and honey; so that you can live and not die. So don’t listen to Hizkiyahu; he is only deluding you when he says, “Adonai will save us.” 33 Has any god of any nation ever saved his land from the power of the king of Ashur? 34 Where are the gods of Hamat and Arpad? Where are the gods of S’farvayim, Hena and ‘Ivah? Did they save Shomron from my power? 35 Where is the god of any country that has saved its country from my power, so that Adonai might be able to save Yerushalayim from my power?’” 36 But the people kept still and didn’t answer him so much as a word; for the king’s order was, “Don’t answer him.”
Then Elyakim the son of Hilkiyah, who was in charge of the household, Shevnah the general secretary and Yo’ach the son of Asaf the foreign minister went to Hizkiyahu with their clothes torn and reported to him what Rav-Shakeh had said.
Galatians 4:1 What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a minor he is no different from a slave, even though he is the legal owner of the estate; 2 rather, he is subject to guardians and caretakers until the time previously set by his father. 3 So it is with us — when we were “children” we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe; 4 but when the appointed time arrived, God sent forth his Son. He was born from a woman, born into a culture in which legalistic perversion of the Torah was the norm, 5 so that he might redeem those in subjection to this legalism and thus enable us to be made God’s sons. 6 Now because you are sons, God has sent forth into our hearts the Spirit of his Son, the Spirit who cries out, “Abba!” (that is, “Dear Father!”). 7 So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son you are also an heir.
8 In the past, when you did not know God, you served as slaves beings which in reality are non-gods. 9 But now you do know God, and, more than that, you are known by God. So how is it that you turn back again to those weak and miserable elemental spirits? Do you want to enslave yourselves to them once more? 10 You observe special days, months, seasons and years! 11 I fear for you that my work among you has been wasted!
12 Brothers, I beg of you: put yourselves in my place — after all, I put myself in your place. It isn’t that you have done me any wrong — 13 you know that it was because I was ill that I proclaimed the Good News to you at first; 14 and even though my physical condition must have tempted you to treat me with scorn, you did not display any sign of disdain or disgust. No, you welcomed me as if I had been an angel of God, as if I had been the Messiah Yeshua himself! 15 So what has become of the joy you felt? For I bear you witness that had it been possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy because I tell you the truth? 17 True, these teachers are zealous for you, but their motives are not good. They want to separate you from us so that you will become zealous for them. 18 To be zealous is good, provided always that the cause is good. Indeed, whether I am present with you or not, 19 my dear children, I am suffering the pains of giving birth to you all over again — and this will go on until the Messiah takes shape in you. 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone of voice. I don’t know what to do with you.
21 Tell me, you who want to be in subjection to the system that results from perverting the Torah into legalism, don’t you hear what the Torah itself says? 22 It says that Avraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. 23 The one by the slave woman was born according to the limited capabilities of human beings, but the one by the free woman was born through the miracle-working power of God fulfilling his promise. 24 Now, to make a midrash on these things: the two women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai and bears children for slavery — this is Hagar. 25 Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Yerushalayim, for she serves as a slave along with her children. 26 But the Yerushalayim above is free, and she is our mother; 27 for the Tanakh says,
“Rejoice, you barren woman who does not bear children!
Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor!
For the deserted wife will have more children
than the one whose husband is with her!”[Galatians 4:27 Isaiah 54:1]
28 You, brothers, like Yitz’chak, are children referred to in a promise of God. 29 But just as then the one born according to limited human capability persecuted the one born through the Spirit’s supernatural power, so it is now. 30 Nevertheless, what does the Tanakh say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for by no means will the son of the slave woman inherit along with the son of the free woman!”[Galatians 4:30 Genesis 2l:10] 31 So, brothers, we are children not of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
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Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM). CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS. THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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