Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "Survival" for Friday, October 13, 2017
John 10:10 - (Jesus said) "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."For most of their 45 years of marriage, Joseph and Phyliss Badame were survivalists. She was a teacher, and he was an architect, but both believed in, and prepared for, a global economic catastrophe.
Part of their preparation was trying to convince family and friends that they, too, should prepare.
It was a fruitless quest. The folks Joseph and Phyliss talked to remain unmoved and lived their lives as if nothing negative would ever occur. The laissez-faire attitude of the people closest to them was a bothersome thing. Eventually, the couple decided: "If our friends and family won't get prepared, we will make preparations for them."
Eventually, Joseph and Phyliss had shelter, water, dried food, and supplies stored to take care of 100 people for a prolonged period of time. But then Phyliss was diagnosed with cancer. Taking care of her during a prolonged illness exhausted the couple's money supply. After her death, Joseph realized there just wasn't that many people left who would join him in his shelter, and he lost interest.
This year the bank decided to foreclose on his property. That could have been the end of the story if it had not been for Victoria and Anthony Barber who were hired to provide a concession stand at the foreclosure sale. As they talked, Victoria shared how her family in Puerto Rico had lost everything. At that moment an idea was born.
Joseph thought, "If this food isn't going to help my family, why shouldn't it help someone else?" He gave the food to the Barbers who are doing all they can to get that lifesaving food to that storm- devastated country.
A great many years ago, our Heavenly Father looked at humanity, and He could see a global, spiritual catastrophe which was going to affect every sinner who would ever live. Knowing that we were unable to do anything to prepare for this disaster of damnation, He decided that He would put into force a plan which had the ability to save not just a hundred people or a million. No, God's plan was large enough, complete enough, that it could save everyone who would be brought to faith.
So that we might have life and have it to the full, the Lord made an investment.
That investment was not in time or money, like that made by Joseph and Phyliss. No, the Lord's investment called for the sacrifice of His only Son. So that we might be rescued, the Lord sent His Son into this world to live His life as one of us. For 33 years, Jesus walked among us. During those years He kept the Law, resisted temptation, and carried our sins. His work was finished as He died our death on the cross.
The promise of salvation once made to Abraham and his descendants was broadened to include all of humanity.
It was a promise which said, "God would have all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth." (See 1 Timothy 2:3-4.) It was a promise that says because of the Savior we are forgiven and can have life to the full.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, Jesus is the Way and Truth. May we follow Him and Your Word. Grant us the discernment to realize that it is only in Him that we can have forgiveness, salvation, and a full life. In Jesus' Name we ask it. Amen.
The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by Rebecca Everett for NJ.com on September 28, 2017. Those who wish to reference that article may do so at the following link, which was fully functional at the time this devotion was written: click here. Posted September 28, 2017 at 07:47 AM | Updated October 01, 2017 at 09:01 AM
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Micah 6-7; Acts 22
Micah 6:1 So listen now to what Adonai says:
“Stand up and state your case to the mountains,
let the hills hear what you have to say.”
2 Listen, mountains, to Adonai’s case;
also you enduring rocks that support the earth!
Adonai has a case against his people;
he wants to argue it out with Isra’el:
3 “My people, what have I done to you?
How have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 I brought you up from the land of Egypt.
I redeemed you from a life of slavery.
I sent Moshe, Aharon
and Miryam to lead you.
5 My people, just remember what Balak
the king of Mo’av had planned,
what Bil‘am the son of B‘or answered him,
[and what happened] between Sheetim and Gilgal —
so that you will understand
the saving deeds of Adonai.”
6 “With what can I come before Adonai
to bow down before God on high?
Should I come before him with burnt offerings?
with calves in their first year?
7 Would Adonai take delight in thousands of rams
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Could I give my firstborn to pay for my crimes,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 Human being, you have already been told
what is good, what Adonai demands of you —
no more than to act justly, love grace
and walk in purity with your God.
9 The voice of Adonai! He calls to the city —
and it is wisdom to fear your name —
“Listen to the rod and to him who commissioned it.
10 Are there still ill-gotten gains in the house of the wicked?
still the detestable short eifah-measure?
11 Should I declare innocent wicked scales
and a bag of fraudulent weights?
12 The rich men there are full of violence,
the inhabitants tell lies,
with tongues of deceit in their mouths.
13 “Therefore, I am starting to strike you down,
to destroy you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied,
with hunger gnawing inside you.
You will conceive but not give birth;
if you do give birth, I will give him to the sword.
15 You will sow but will not reap,
you will press olives but not rub yourself with oil,
likewise you will press grapes but not drink the wine.
16 For you keep the regulations of ‘Omri
and all the practices of the house of Ach’av,
modeling yourselves on their advice.
Therefore I will make you an object of horror,
the inhabitants of this city a cause for contempt;
you will suffer the insults aimed at my people.”
7:1 Woe to me! for I have become
like the leavings of summer fruit,
like the gleanings when the vintage is finished —
there isn’t a cluster worth eating,
no early-ripened fig that appeals to me.
2 The godly have been destroyed from the land,
there is no one upright among humankind.
They all lie in wait for blood,
each hunts his brother with a net.
3 Their hands do evil well.
The prince makes his request,
the judge grants it for a price,
and the great man expresses his evil desires —
thus they weave it together.
4 The best of them is a briar,
the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.
The time of your watchmen — of your punishment — has come;
now they will be confused.
5 Don’t trust in your neighbor;
don’t put confidence in a close friend;
shut the gates of your mouth even from [your wife],
lying there with you in bed.
6 For a son insults his father,
a daughter rises against her mother,
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law —
a person’s enemies are the members of his own household.
7 But as for me, I will look to Adonai,
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
8 Enemies of mine, don’t gloat over me!
Although I have fallen, I will rise;
though I live in the dark, Adonai is my light.
9 I will endure Adonai’s rage,
because I sinned against him;
until he pleads my cause
and judges in my favor.
Then he will bring me out to the light,
and I will see his justice.
10 My enemies will see it too,
and shame will cover those
who said to me, “Where is Adonai your God?”
I will gloat over them,
as they are trampled underfoot
like mud in the streets.
11 That will be the day for rebuilding your walls,
a day for expanding your territory,
12 a day when [your] people will come [back] to you
from Ashur and from the cities of Egypt,
from Egypt and from as far as the Euphrates River,
and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
13 The earth will be desolate for those living in it,
as a result of their deeds.
14 Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock that belongs to you,
who live alone, like a forest
in the middle of a fertile pasture.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gil‘ad,
as they did in days of old.
15 “As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
I will show them wonders.”
16 The nations will see and be put to shame,
in spite of all their power.
They will cover their mouths with their hands,
and their ears will be deafened.
17 They will lick the dust like snakes;
they will emerge from their fortresses trembling
like reptiles that crawl about on the earth;
they will come with fear to Adonai our God,
afraid because of you.
18 Who is a God like you,
pardoning the sin and overlooking the crimes
of the remnant of his heritage?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in grace.
19 He will again have compassion on us,
he will subdue our iniquities.
You will throw all their sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show truth to Ya‘akov
and grace to Avraham,
as you have sworn to our ancestors
since days of long ago.
Acts 22:1 “Brothers and fathers! Listen to me as I make my defense before you now!” 2 When they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew, they settled down more; so he continued: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city and trained at the feet of Gamli’el in every detail of the Torah of our forefathers. I was a zealot for God, as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted to death the followers of this Way, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison. 5 The cohen hagadol and the whole Sanhedrin can also testify to this. Indeed, after receiving letters from them to their colleagues in Dammesek, I was on my way there in order to arrest the ones in that city too and bring them back to Yerushalayim for punishment.
6 “As I was traveling and approaching Dammesek, around noon, suddenly a brilliant light from heaven flashed all around me! 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Sha’ul! Sha’ul! Why do you keep persecuting me?’ 8 I answered, ‘Sir, who are you?’ ‘I am Yeshua from Natzeret,’ he said to me, ‘and you are persecuting me!’ 9 Those who were with me did see the light, but they didn’t hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 I said ‘What should I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up, and go into Dammesek, and there you will be told about everything that has been laid out for you to do.’ 11 I had been blinded by the brightness of the light, so my companions led me by the hand into Dammesek.
12 “A man named Hananyah, an observant follower of the Torah who was highly regarded by the entire Jewish community there, 13 came to me, stood by me and said, ‘Brother Sha’ul, see again!’ And at that very moment, I recovered my sight and saw him. 14 He said, ‘The God of our fathers[Acts 22:14 Exodus 3:15] determined in advance that you should know his will, see the Tzaddik and hear his voice; 15 because you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 So now, what are you waiting for? Get up, immerse yourself and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.’
17 “After I had returned to Yerushalayim, it happened that as I was praying in the Temple, I went into a trance, 18 and I saw Yeshua. ‘Hurry!’ he said to me, ‘Get out of Yerushalayim immediately, because they will not accept what you have to say about me.’ 19 I said, ‘Lord, they know themselves that in every synagogue I used to imprison and flog those who trusted in you; 20 also that when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I was standing there too, in full agreement; I was even looking after the clothes of the ones who were killing him!’ 21 But he said, ‘Get going! For I am going to send you far away — to the Goyim!’”
22 They had been listening to him up to this point; but now they shouted at the top of their lungs, “Rid the earth of such a man! He’s not fit to live!” 23 They were screaming, waving their clothes and throwing dust into the air; 24 so the commander ordered him brought into the barracks and directed that he be interrogated and whipped, in order to find out why they were yelling at him like this.
25 But as they were stretching him out with thongs to be flogged, Sha’ul said to the captain standing by, “Is it legal for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and hasn’t even had a trial?” 26 When the captain heard that, he went and reported it to the commander, “Do you realize what you’re doing? This man is a Roman citizen!” 27 The commander came and said to Sha’ul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he said. 28 The commander replied, “I bought this citizenship for a sizeable sum of money.” “But I was born to it,” Sha’ul said. 29 At once the men who had been about to interrogate him drew back from him; and the commander was afraid too, because he realized that he had put this man who was a Roman citizen in chains.
30 However, the next day, since he wanted to know the specific charge the Judeans were bringing against him, he released him and ordered the head cohanim and the whole Sanhedrin to meet. Then he brought Sha’ul down and put him in front of them.
-------
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.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
Share this email:
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment