Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "Crying Wolf" for Wednesday, October 25, 2017
1 John 2:2 - He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.We can all remember the childhood story of the boy who wrongly cried, "Wolf!" He got great pleasure out of watching his friends respond to his false alarms. Unfortunately, the lad did this so many times his fellow villagers stopped believing him. The last time he called for help, the people no longer were inclined to listen, and the lad ended up being supper for the wolf pack. That's a sad story.
Yes, we all know that story, but has anyone ever heard the counterpart, the opposite of that story? Has anyone ever heard about the boy who, when a wolf was present, didn't sound the alarm?
Actually, most of us have.
According to the timeline reported by ABC World News Tonight, the staff at the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Hotel didn't let the police know anything was wrong until after Stephen Paddock started shooting at the 20,000 concert-goers. No, they didn't cry "Wolf!" and they didn't cry "Shooter!"
• They didn't call out "Shooter!" when security guard Jesus Campos informed the hotel authorities he had been shot in the leg.
• Nor did they cry "Shooter!" when a maintenance engineer Stephen Schuck reported someone had taken a shot at him. Schuck said, "Call the police! Someone is firing a gun up here. Someone is firing a rifle on the 32nd floor down the hallway."
Those shots in the hotel took place a full six minutes before Paddock opened up on the concert. Although nobody can say what might have happened if the police had been given those six extra minutes, I'm willing to suggest things couldn't have gotten much worse.
Sadly, the same sort of thing is happening in the religious world. More and more pulpits are choosing to silence themselves and refusing to call wolf and warn people about the dangers of sin. In short, even though sin can kill eternally, these churches are not shouting any warnings.
High up on these pastors' reasons for not preaching about the dangers of sin is they say "Jesus accepted everybody just the way they were. And since Jesus told us not to judge, we would be overstepping our boundaries by pointing out people's flaws and failings."
In reply, pastors who are loyal to the Word, say, "It's true, Jesus did accept everyone the way they were, but He didn't leave them that way." More than once the Savior told people to go and "sin no more" (see John 8:11). If Jesus didn't believe in pointing out sin and calling people to repentance, why did He do so Himself? Matthew 4:17 says, "From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"
The truth is Jesus was born to save us from our sins, not let us sit and stew in them. John said it better than I when he wrote, "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks that Your grace sent Your Son into this world to carry my sins and save my soul. Grant that pulpits may proclaim the wonders of Your love and the greatness of Jesus' sacrifice to save us from sin. In His Name. Amen.
The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one carried by RARE news on October 12, 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.
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: Jeremiah 20, 35-36; Colossians 4
Jeremiah 20:1 Now when the cohen Pash’chur son of Immer, chief official in the house of Adonai, heard Yirmeyahu prophesying these things, 2 he had him flogged and put him in the stocks at the Upper Binyamin Gate of the house of Adonai. 3 The following morning, when Pash’chur led Yirmeyahu out of the stocks, Yirmeyahu said to him, “Adonai no longer calls you Pash’chur but Magor-Missaviv [terror on every side]. 4 For this is what Adonai says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies, while you watch. I will hand over all of Y’hudah to the king of Bavel, and he will carry them off captive to Bavel and put them to the sword. 5 Moreover, I will hand over everything stored in this city, all its valuables, all its wealth, indeed all the treasures of the kings of Y’hudah, to their enemies, who will plunder them, take them and carry them to Bavel. 6 And you, Pash’chur, along with your entire household, will go into captivity; you will go to Bavel, where you will die and be buried — you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’”
7 You fooled me, Adonai; I have been your dupe.
You overpowered me, and you have prevailed.
All day long I’m a laughingstock;
everyone makes fun of me.
8 Whenever I speak, I have to cry out;
I shout, “Violence!” and “Destruction!”
Thus the word of Adonai becomes for me
the cause of reproach and derision all day!
9 But if I say, “I won’t think about him,
I won’t speak in his name any more,”
then it seems as though a fire
is burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones;
I wear myself out
trying to hold it in,
but I just can’t do it.
10 I have heard many whispering their plot:
“‘Terror in every direction’?
Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”
Even all my close friends
are watching for me to make a false step —
“Maybe he can be tricked,
then we’ll get the better of him,
then we’ll take our revenge on him.”
11 But Adonai is with me like a dreaded warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble, defeated,
greatly ashamed because of their failure;
their lasting disgrace will not be forgotten.
12 Adonai-Tzva’ot, you who test the righteous
and see people’s hearts and thoughts,
let me see you take vengeance on them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
13 Sing to Adonai! Praise Adonai!
For he rescues those in need
from the clutches of evildoers.
14 A curse on the day I was born!
The day my mother gave birth to me —
let it not be blessed!
15 A curse on the man who brought the news
to my father, “A son has been born to you!” —
thus making him very happy.
16 Let that man be like the cities
Adonai overthrew without mercy!
Let him hear cries of alarm in the morning
and the sound of battle at noon,
17 because God did not put me to death in the womb
and let my mother become my grave,
her womb forever filled with me.
18 Why did I have to emerge from the womb,
just to see toil and sorrow,
and end my days in shame?
35:1 This word came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai during the time of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah: 2 “Go to the Rekhavim, speak to them, bring them to one of the rooms in the house of Adonai, and give them some wine to drink.” 3 So I took Ya’azanyah the son of Yirmeyahu, the son of Havatzinyah, and his brothers, all his sons and all the Rekhavim, 4 and took them into the house of Adonai, to the room of the sons of Hanan the son of Yigdalyahu, a man of God. It was by the room of the officials, which was above the room of Ma‘aseiyah the son of Shalum, the gatekeeper. 5 There I set in front of the members of the clan of the Rekhavim pitchers full of wine and cups, and said to them, “Drink some wine.” 6 But they said, “We will not drink any wine; because Yonadav the son of Rekhav, our ancestor, gave us this order: ‘You are not to drink wine, neither you nor your descendants, forever. 7 Also you are not to build houses, sow seed, or plant or own vineyards. Rather, you are always to live in tents; so that you may live a long time in the land, in which you are not citizens.’ 8 We have heeded the words of Yonadav the son of Rekhav, our ancestor, in all that he instructed us to do: not to drink wine as long as we live — we, our wives, our sons and our daughters; 9 not to build houses for ourselves to live in; and not to have vineyards, fields or seed. 10 We have lived in tents, and we have heeded Yonadav our ancestor and done everything he ordered us to do. 11 But when N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel came up to attack the land, we said, ‘Come, let’s go up to Yerushalayim,’ because we were afraid of the army of the Kasdim and the army of Aram; hence we are living in Yerushalayim.”
12 Then the word of Adonai came to Yirmeyahu: 13 “Adonai-Tzva’ot the God of Isra’el says to go to the men of Y’hudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim and say: ‘Won’t you ever learn to listen to my words?’ says Adonai. 14 ‘The words of Yonadav the son of Rekhav which he ordered his offspring, not to drink wine, are obeyed; so to this day they don’t drink any; because they heed their ancestor’s order. But I have spoken to you, spoken frequently, and you have not listened to me. 15 I have also sent you all my servants the prophets, sent them frequently, with the message, “Every one of you should turn back now from his evil way, improve your actions and not follow other gods in order to serve them. Then you will live in the land I gave you and your ancestors. But you have not paid attention or listened to me. 16 Because the descendants of Yonadav the son of Rekhav have obeyed the order of their ancestor, which he ordered them; but this people has not listened to me; 17 therefore — ” here is what Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: “I will inflict on Y’hudah and all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim all the disaster I have decreed against them; because I have spoken to them, but they have not listened; and I have called out to them, but they have not answered.”’”
18 Then to the clan of the Rekhavim Yirmeyahu said, “Here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘Because you have heeded the order of Yonadav your ancestor, observed all his commands and done what he ordered you to do; 19 therefore Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says this: “Yonadav the son of Rekhav will never lack a descendant to stand before me.”’”
36:1 In the fourth year of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah, this word came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai: 2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you against Isra’el, Y’hudah and all the other nations, from the day I started speaking to you, back in the time of Yoshiyahu, until today. 3 Perhaps the house of Y’hudah will listen to all the disaster I intend to bring on them, and turn back, each person from his evil way; then I will forgive their wickedness and sin.”
4 So Yirmeyahu summoned Barukh the son of Neriyah; and Barukh wrote down on a scroll, at Yirmeyahu’s dictation, all the words that Adonai had said to him. 5 Then Yirmeyahu gave this order to Barukh: “I am not allowed to enter the house of Adonai. 6 Therefore, you take the scroll which you wrote at my dictation, go into the house of Adonai on a fast-day, and read from it the words of Adonai in the hearing of the people; also read them to all Y’hudah as they exit their cities. 7 Perhaps they will turn to Adonai in prayer and will return, each one, from his evil way. For the anger and fury which Adonai has decreed against this people is great.”
8 Barukh the son of Neriyah obeyed everything Yirmeyahu the prophet ordered him to do, reading the words of Adonai from the scroll in Adonai’s house. 9 A fast was proclaimed in the ninth month of the fifth year of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah, for all the people in Yerushalayim and all the people who came from the cities of Y’hudah to Yerushalayim. 10 It was then that Barukh read from the scroll the words of Yirmeyahu in the house of Adonai, in the chamber of G’maryahu the son of Shafan the secretary, in the upper courtyard, at the entry to the New Gate of Adonai’s house, for all the people to hear. 11 When Mikhay’hu the son of G’maryahu, the son of Shafan, had heard from the scroll all the words of Adonai, 12 he went down to the king’s palace, into the secretary’s room. All the officials were there — Elishama the secretary, D’layahu the son of Sh’ma‘yahu, Elnatan the son of ‘Akhbor, G’maryah the son of Shafan, Tzidkiyahu the son of Hananyahu and all the [other] officials. 13 Mikhay’hu told them all the words he had heard when Barukh read the scroll in the people’s hearing; 14 whereupon all the officials sent Y’hudi the son of N’tanyahu, the son of Shelemyahu, the son of Kushi, to Barukh to say, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Barukh the son of Neriyah took the scroll in his hand and went to them. 15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” Barukh read it to them. 16 After they had heard all the words, they turned in fear to each other and said to Barukh, “We will certainly tell the king about all these words.” 17 Then they asked Barukh, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words? At his dictation?” 18 Barukh answered them, “He said all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the scroll.” 19 At this, the officials said to Barukh, “Go and hide yourselves, you and Yirmeyahu; don’t let anyone know where you are.” 20 After depositing the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went in to the courtyard and told everything to the king.
21 The king sent Y’hudi to bring the scroll, and he took it from the room of Elishama the secretary. Y’hudi read it to the king and all the officials standing near the king. 22 The king was sitting in his winter house; and since it was the ninth month, he had a fire burning in the stove in front of him. 23 After Y’hudi had read three or four columns from the scroll, he would cut off that portion with a knife and throw it into the fire that was burning in the stove, until the entire scroll had been consumed by the fire in the stove. 24 But even though they heard all these words, neither the king nor any of his servants grew afraid or tore their clothes. 25 Elnatan, D’layahu and G’maryahu had begged the king not to burn the scroll; but he wouldn’t listen to them. 26 Then the king ordered Yerachme’el the king’s son, S’rayahu the son of ‘Azri’el and Shelemyahu the son of ‘Avde’el to arrest Barukh the scribe and Yirmeyahu the prophet; but Adonai hid them.
27 Then this word of Adonai came to Yirmeyahu after the king had burned the scroll with the words Barukh had written at Yirmeyahu’s dictation: 28 “Take another scroll, and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Y’hoyakim the king of Y’hudah burned up. 29 And as far as Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah is concerned, you are to say that Adonai says, ‘You burned this scroll, asking, “Why did you write in it that the king of Bavel will certainly come and destroy this land and leave it without either humans or animals?” 30 Therefore Adonai says this about Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah: “He will have no one to occupy David’s throne; and his dead body will be thrown out to lie in the heat by day and in the frost by night. 31 Moreover, I will punish him, his offspring and his officials for their wickedness; and I will bring on them, the inhabitants of Yerushalayim and the people of Y’hudah all the disaster I have decreed against them, to which they have paid no attention.”’”
32 Then Yirmeyahu took another scroll and gave it to Barukh the scribe, the son of Neriyah. At Yirmeyahu’s dictation he wrote in it all the words of the scroll which Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah had burned up in the fire, and to those he added many similar words.
Colossians 4:1 Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly. Remember that you too have a Master in heaven.
2 Keep persisting in prayer, staying alert in it and being thankful. 3 Include prayer for us, too, that God may open a door for us to proclaim the message about the secret of the Messiah — for that is why I am in prison. 4 And pray that I may speak, as I should, in a way that makes the message clear.
5 Behave wisely toward outsiders, making full use of every opportunity — 6 let your conversation always be gracious and interesting, so that you will know how to respond to any particular individual.
7 Our dear brother Tychicus, who is a faithful worker and fellow-slave in the Lord, will give you all the news about me. 8 I have sent him to you for this very reason — so that you might know how we are, and so that he might encourage you. 9 I have sent him with Onesimus, the dear and faithful brother, who is one of you; they will tell you everything that has happened here.
10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends greetings, as does Mark, Bar-Nabba’s cousin, concerning whom you have received instructions — if he comes to you, welcome him. 11 Yeshua, the one called Justus, also sends greetings. These three are among the Circumcised; and among my fellow workers for the Kingdom of God, only they have turned out to be a comfort to me.
12 Epaphras sends greetings; he is one of you, a slave of the Messiah Yeshua who always agonizes in his prayer on your behalf, praying that you may stand firm, mature and fully confident, as you devote yourselves completely to God’s will. 13 For I can testify to him that he works hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send you greetings.
15 Give my greetings to the brothers in Laodicea, also to Nympha and the congregation that meets in her home. 16 After this letter has been read to you, have it read also in the congregation of the Laodiceans; and you, in turn, are to read the letter that will come from Laodicea. 17 And tell Archippus, “See that you complete the task you were given in the Lord.”
18 This greeting I, Sha’ul, write with my own hand.
Remember my imprisonment!
Grace be with you!
You overpowered me, and you have prevailed.
All day long I’m a laughingstock;
everyone makes fun of me.
8 Whenever I speak, I have to cry out;
I shout, “Violence!” and “Destruction!”
Thus the word of Adonai becomes for me
the cause of reproach and derision all day!
9 But if I say, “I won’t think about him,
I won’t speak in his name any more,”
then it seems as though a fire
is burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones;
I wear myself out
trying to hold it in,
but I just can’t do it.
10 I have heard many whispering their plot:
“‘Terror in every direction’?
Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”
Even all my close friends
are watching for me to make a false step —
“Maybe he can be tricked,
then we’ll get the better of him,
then we’ll take our revenge on him.”
11 But Adonai is with me like a dreaded warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble, defeated,
greatly ashamed because of their failure;
their lasting disgrace will not be forgotten.
12 Adonai-Tzva’ot, you who test the righteous
and see people’s hearts and thoughts,
let me see you take vengeance on them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
13 Sing to Adonai! Praise Adonai!
For he rescues those in need
from the clutches of evildoers.
14 A curse on the day I was born!
The day my mother gave birth to me —
let it not be blessed!
15 A curse on the man who brought the news
to my father, “A son has been born to you!” —
thus making him very happy.
16 Let that man be like the cities
Adonai overthrew without mercy!
Let him hear cries of alarm in the morning
and the sound of battle at noon,
17 because God did not put me to death in the womb
and let my mother become my grave,
her womb forever filled with me.
18 Why did I have to emerge from the womb,
just to see toil and sorrow,
and end my days in shame?
35:1 This word came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai during the time of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah: 2 “Go to the Rekhavim, speak to them, bring them to one of the rooms in the house of Adonai, and give them some wine to drink.” 3 So I took Ya’azanyah the son of Yirmeyahu, the son of Havatzinyah, and his brothers, all his sons and all the Rekhavim, 4 and took them into the house of Adonai, to the room of the sons of Hanan the son of Yigdalyahu, a man of God. It was by the room of the officials, which was above the room of Ma‘aseiyah the son of Shalum, the gatekeeper. 5 There I set in front of the members of the clan of the Rekhavim pitchers full of wine and cups, and said to them, “Drink some wine.” 6 But they said, “We will not drink any wine; because Yonadav the son of Rekhav, our ancestor, gave us this order: ‘You are not to drink wine, neither you nor your descendants, forever. 7 Also you are not to build houses, sow seed, or plant or own vineyards. Rather, you are always to live in tents; so that you may live a long time in the land, in which you are not citizens.’ 8 We have heeded the words of Yonadav the son of Rekhav, our ancestor, in all that he instructed us to do: not to drink wine as long as we live — we, our wives, our sons and our daughters; 9 not to build houses for ourselves to live in; and not to have vineyards, fields or seed. 10 We have lived in tents, and we have heeded Yonadav our ancestor and done everything he ordered us to do. 11 But when N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel came up to attack the land, we said, ‘Come, let’s go up to Yerushalayim,’ because we were afraid of the army of the Kasdim and the army of Aram; hence we are living in Yerushalayim.”
12 Then the word of Adonai came to Yirmeyahu: 13 “Adonai-Tzva’ot the God of Isra’el says to go to the men of Y’hudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim and say: ‘Won’t you ever learn to listen to my words?’ says Adonai. 14 ‘The words of Yonadav the son of Rekhav which he ordered his offspring, not to drink wine, are obeyed; so to this day they don’t drink any; because they heed their ancestor’s order. But I have spoken to you, spoken frequently, and you have not listened to me. 15 I have also sent you all my servants the prophets, sent them frequently, with the message, “Every one of you should turn back now from his evil way, improve your actions and not follow other gods in order to serve them. Then you will live in the land I gave you and your ancestors. But you have not paid attention or listened to me. 16 Because the descendants of Yonadav the son of Rekhav have obeyed the order of their ancestor, which he ordered them; but this people has not listened to me; 17 therefore — ” here is what Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: “I will inflict on Y’hudah and all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim all the disaster I have decreed against them; because I have spoken to them, but they have not listened; and I have called out to them, but they have not answered.”’”
18 Then to the clan of the Rekhavim Yirmeyahu said, “Here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘Because you have heeded the order of Yonadav your ancestor, observed all his commands and done what he ordered you to do; 19 therefore Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says this: “Yonadav the son of Rekhav will never lack a descendant to stand before me.”’”
36:1 In the fourth year of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah, this word came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai: 2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you against Isra’el, Y’hudah and all the other nations, from the day I started speaking to you, back in the time of Yoshiyahu, until today. 3 Perhaps the house of Y’hudah will listen to all the disaster I intend to bring on them, and turn back, each person from his evil way; then I will forgive their wickedness and sin.”
4 So Yirmeyahu summoned Barukh the son of Neriyah; and Barukh wrote down on a scroll, at Yirmeyahu’s dictation, all the words that Adonai had said to him. 5 Then Yirmeyahu gave this order to Barukh: “I am not allowed to enter the house of Adonai. 6 Therefore, you take the scroll which you wrote at my dictation, go into the house of Adonai on a fast-day, and read from it the words of Adonai in the hearing of the people; also read them to all Y’hudah as they exit their cities. 7 Perhaps they will turn to Adonai in prayer and will return, each one, from his evil way. For the anger and fury which Adonai has decreed against this people is great.”
8 Barukh the son of Neriyah obeyed everything Yirmeyahu the prophet ordered him to do, reading the words of Adonai from the scroll in Adonai’s house. 9 A fast was proclaimed in the ninth month of the fifth year of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah, for all the people in Yerushalayim and all the people who came from the cities of Y’hudah to Yerushalayim. 10 It was then that Barukh read from the scroll the words of Yirmeyahu in the house of Adonai, in the chamber of G’maryahu the son of Shafan the secretary, in the upper courtyard, at the entry to the New Gate of Adonai’s house, for all the people to hear. 11 When Mikhay’hu the son of G’maryahu, the son of Shafan, had heard from the scroll all the words of Adonai, 12 he went down to the king’s palace, into the secretary’s room. All the officials were there — Elishama the secretary, D’layahu the son of Sh’ma‘yahu, Elnatan the son of ‘Akhbor, G’maryah the son of Shafan, Tzidkiyahu the son of Hananyahu and all the [other] officials. 13 Mikhay’hu told them all the words he had heard when Barukh read the scroll in the people’s hearing; 14 whereupon all the officials sent Y’hudi the son of N’tanyahu, the son of Shelemyahu, the son of Kushi, to Barukh to say, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Barukh the son of Neriyah took the scroll in his hand and went to them. 15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” Barukh read it to them. 16 After they had heard all the words, they turned in fear to each other and said to Barukh, “We will certainly tell the king about all these words.” 17 Then they asked Barukh, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words? At his dictation?” 18 Barukh answered them, “He said all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the scroll.” 19 At this, the officials said to Barukh, “Go and hide yourselves, you and Yirmeyahu; don’t let anyone know where you are.” 20 After depositing the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went in to the courtyard and told everything to the king.
21 The king sent Y’hudi to bring the scroll, and he took it from the room of Elishama the secretary. Y’hudi read it to the king and all the officials standing near the king. 22 The king was sitting in his winter house; and since it was the ninth month, he had a fire burning in the stove in front of him. 23 After Y’hudi had read three or four columns from the scroll, he would cut off that portion with a knife and throw it into the fire that was burning in the stove, until the entire scroll had been consumed by the fire in the stove. 24 But even though they heard all these words, neither the king nor any of his servants grew afraid or tore their clothes. 25 Elnatan, D’layahu and G’maryahu had begged the king not to burn the scroll; but he wouldn’t listen to them. 26 Then the king ordered Yerachme’el the king’s son, S’rayahu the son of ‘Azri’el and Shelemyahu the son of ‘Avde’el to arrest Barukh the scribe and Yirmeyahu the prophet; but Adonai hid them.
27 Then this word of Adonai came to Yirmeyahu after the king had burned the scroll with the words Barukh had written at Yirmeyahu’s dictation: 28 “Take another scroll, and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Y’hoyakim the king of Y’hudah burned up. 29 And as far as Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah is concerned, you are to say that Adonai says, ‘You burned this scroll, asking, “Why did you write in it that the king of Bavel will certainly come and destroy this land and leave it without either humans or animals?” 30 Therefore Adonai says this about Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah: “He will have no one to occupy David’s throne; and his dead body will be thrown out to lie in the heat by day and in the frost by night. 31 Moreover, I will punish him, his offspring and his officials for their wickedness; and I will bring on them, the inhabitants of Yerushalayim and the people of Y’hudah all the disaster I have decreed against them, to which they have paid no attention.”’”
32 Then Yirmeyahu took another scroll and gave it to Barukh the scribe, the son of Neriyah. At Yirmeyahu’s dictation he wrote in it all the words of the scroll which Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah had burned up in the fire, and to those he added many similar words.
Colossians 4:1 Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly. Remember that you too have a Master in heaven.
2 Keep persisting in prayer, staying alert in it and being thankful. 3 Include prayer for us, too, that God may open a door for us to proclaim the message about the secret of the Messiah — for that is why I am in prison. 4 And pray that I may speak, as I should, in a way that makes the message clear.
5 Behave wisely toward outsiders, making full use of every opportunity — 6 let your conversation always be gracious and interesting, so that you will know how to respond to any particular individual.
7 Our dear brother Tychicus, who is a faithful worker and fellow-slave in the Lord, will give you all the news about me. 8 I have sent him to you for this very reason — so that you might know how we are, and so that he might encourage you. 9 I have sent him with Onesimus, the dear and faithful brother, who is one of you; they will tell you everything that has happened here.
10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends greetings, as does Mark, Bar-Nabba’s cousin, concerning whom you have received instructions — if he comes to you, welcome him. 11 Yeshua, the one called Justus, also sends greetings. These three are among the Circumcised; and among my fellow workers for the Kingdom of God, only they have turned out to be a comfort to me.
12 Epaphras sends greetings; he is one of you, a slave of the Messiah Yeshua who always agonizes in his prayer on your behalf, praying that you may stand firm, mature and fully confident, as you devote yourselves completely to God’s will. 13 For I can testify to him that he works hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send you greetings.
15 Give my greetings to the brothers in Laodicea, also to Nympha and the congregation that meets in her home. 16 After this letter has been read to you, have it read also in the congregation of the Laodiceans; and you, in turn, are to read the letter that will come from Laodicea. 17 And tell Archippus, “See that you complete the task you were given in the Lord.”
18 This greeting I, Sha’ul, write with my own hand.
Remember my imprisonment!
Grace be with you!
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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.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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