Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "The Spirit of the Law" for Saturday, October 21, 2017
Luke 13:14-15 - But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day." Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?"Twenty-nine-year-old, two-tour veteran of Iraq, Taylor Winston is a truck thief.
That being said, we need to add, Taylor Winston is a very, very special truck thief. This is his story. Winston was dancing with his girlfriend near the stage when rapid fire shots rang out at the Las Vegas concert. Like thousands of others who were there, he ran for cover. Actually, he ran toward some trucks that were parked on the other side of a fence; one of those trucks still had its keys.
When the shots stopped, Winston drove his stolen truck back to the venue.
There he loaded into the truck the worst wounded people he could find and raced them to Desert Springs Hospital Center. In the stolen truck, he went back for another load of wounded, and then another, and yet another.
Altogether, Winston thinks he took somewhere between 20 and 30 people to the hospital in his stolen truck. Now there is a reason I keep mentioning the fact that Winston's truck was stolen.
The truth is stealing a truck is a violation of the law. It is grand theft. I think we all have to agree: stealing trucks is something which is just plain wrong.
Now, my question before you is this: if you were the owner of that truck, would you press charges against Winston? If you were a policeman, would you arrest him for the law he had broken? If you were the district attorney, would you call a press conference and say that you were going to prosecute Winston to the fullest extent of the law?
I don't think so. Why? Because while Winston may not have followed the letter of the Nevada law, he certainly understood, and followed, the Lord's law of love. Anybody who understands that understands the story from which our text is taken.
Jesus had come across a woman who had been disabled for 18 years and had healed her.
Seeing that, the head of the synagogue got all unglued. He told everyone who would listen that healings should be done Sunday through Friday, but not on the Sabbath. Hearing what was being said, Jesus set things straight by saying, "If you fellows can take care of your animals on the Sabbath, I can take care of God's needy children."
And, I guess that means there are times the spirit of love can trump the niceties of the law. It means if the Lord can take care of a crippled lady on the Sabbath, Taylor Winston can rush some wounded, bleeding, and dying people to the hospital in a stolen truck.
Oh, you should know, Winston returned the stolen truck on Monday.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, it often takes humankind's worst to show us humankind's best. I give thanks that even as one man was taking lives, many people were trying to save them. I also rejoice that I have a Savior who lived and died to rescue the souls of all humanity from sin, the devil, and death. In His Name I pray. Amen.
The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written for RARE on October 3, 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 7-8, 26; Acts 28
Jeremiah 7:1 This word came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai: 2 “Stand at the gate of the house of Adonai and proclaim this word: ‘Listen to the word of Adonai, all you from Y’hudah who enter these gates to worship Adonai! 3 Here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: “Improve your ways and actions, and I will let you stay in this place. 4 Don’t rely on that deceitful slogan, ‘The temple of Adonai, the temple of Adonai — these [buildings] are the temple of Adonai.’ 5 No, but if you really improve your ways and actions; if you really administer justice between people; 6 if you stop oppressing foreigners, orphans and widows; if you stop shedding innocent blood in this place; and if you stop following other gods, to your own harm; 7 then I will let you stay in this place, in the land I gave to your ancestors forever and ever. 8 Look! You are relying on deceitful words that can’t do you any good. 9 First you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, offer to Ba‘al and go after other gods that you haven’t known. 10 Then you come and stand before me in this house that bears my name and say, ‘We are saved’ — so that you can go on doing these abominations! 11 Do you regard this house, which bears my name, as a cave for bandits? I can see for myself what’s going on,” says Adonai. 12 “Go to the place in Shiloh that used to be mine, that used to bear my name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Isra’el. 13 I spoke to you again and again, but you wouldn’t listen. I called you, but you wouldn’t answer. Now,” says Adonai, “because you have done all these things, 14 I will do to the house that bears my name, on which you rely, and to the place I gave you and your ancestors, what I did to Shiloh; 15 and I will drive you out of my presence, just as I drove out all your kinsmen, all the descendants of Efrayim.”’
16 “So you, [Yirmeyahu,] don’t pray for this people! Don’t cry, pray or intercede on their behalf with me; because I won’t listen to you. 17 Don’t you see what they are doing in the cities of Y’hudah and in the streets of Yerushalayim? 18 The children gather the wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and, just to provoke me, they pour out drink offerings to other gods! 19 Are they really provoking me,” asks Adonai, “or are they provoking themselves, to their own ruin?”
20 Therefore, here is what Adonai Elohim says: “My anger and fury will be poured out on this place, on men, animals, trees in the fields and produce growing from the ground; and it will burn without being quenched.”
21 Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el: “You may as well eat the meat of your burnt offerings along with that of your sacrifices. 22 For I didn’t speak to your ancestors or give them orders concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. 23 Rather, what I did order them was this: ‘Pay attention to what I say. Then I will be your God, and you will be my people. In everything, live according to the way that I order you, so that things will go well for you.’ 24 But they neither listened nor paid attention, but lived according to their own plans, in the stubbornness of their evil hearts, thus going backward and not forward. 25 You have done this from the day your ancestors came out of Egypt until today. Even though I sent you all my servants the prophets, sending them time after time, 26 they would not listen or pay attention to me, but stiffened their necks; they did worse than their ancestors. 27 So tell them all this; but they won’t listen to you; likewise, call to them; but they won’t answer you. 28 Therefore, say to them,
‘This is the nation that has not listened
to the voice of Adonai their God.
They won’t take correction; faithfulness has perished;
it has vanished from their mouths.
29 Cut off your hair, and throw it away,
take up a lament on the bare hills,
for Adonai has rejected and abandoned
the generation that rouses his anger.’
30 “For the people of Y’hudah have done what is evil from my perspective,” says Adonai; “they have set up their detestable things in the house which bears my name, to defile it. 31 They have built the high places of Tofet in the Ben-Hinnom Valley, to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, something I never ordered; in fact, such a thing never even entered my mind! 32 Therefore, the days are coming,” says Adonai, “when it will no longer be called either Tofet or the Ben-Hinnom Valley, but the Valley of Slaughter — they will put the dead in Tofet, because there will be no space left [anywhere else]. 33 The corpses of this people will become food for the birds in the air and the wild animals; no one will frighten them away. 34 Then in the cities of Y’hudah and the streets of Yerushalayim I will silence the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of bridegroom and bride; because the land will be reduced to ruins.
8:1 “At that time,” says Adonai, “[these enemies] will remove the bones of the kings of Y’hudah, the bones of his princes, the bones of the cohanim, the bones of the prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Yerushalayim from their graves. 2 They will spread them out, exposed to the sun, the moon and the entire army of heaven, whom they loved, served, walked after, sought after and worshipped. The bones will not be collected or reburied but will be left lying on the ground like dung. 3 All the survivors of this evil family who remain wherever I have driven them will prefer death to life,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 4 “You are to tell them that Adonai says:
‘If a person falls, doesn’t he get up again?
If someone goes astray, doesn’t he turn back?
5 Why do these people keep backsliding?
Why is their backsliding so persistent?
They cling to deceit and refuse to return!
6 I listened attentively but they spoke nothing right.
No one repents of his wickedness,
saying, “What have I done!”
Each runs off in his own direction,
like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
7 Storks in the sky know their seasons;
doves, swallows and cranes their migration times;
but my people do not know
the rulings of Adonai!
8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise;
Adonai’s Torah is with us,”
when in fact the lying pen of the scribes
has turned it into falsehood?
9 The wise are put to shame,
alarmed, entrapped.
They have rejected the word of Adonai,
so what wisdom do they have?
10 “‘Therefore I will give their wives to others,
and their fields to those who take them over;
for from the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gains;
prophets and cohanim alike
all practice fraud —
11 they dress the wound of the daughter of my people,
but only superficially,
saying, “There is perfect shalom,”
when there is no shalom.
12 They should be ashamed
of their detestable deeds,
but they are not ashamed at all,
they don’t know how to blush.
So when others fall, they too will fall;
when I punish them, they will stumble,’
says Adonai.
13 “‘I will put an end to them,’ says Adonai.
‘There are no grapes on the vine,
and no figs on the fig tree;
the leaf has withered; and what I have given them
will pass from their possession.’”
14 “Why are we sitting still? Assemble!
Let’s enter the fortified cities
and meet our doom there!
For Adonai our God has doomed us;
he has given us bitter water to drink,
because we have sinned against Adonai.
15 When we look for peace, nothing good comes;
when we seek a time of healing, instead there is terror.”
16 From Dan can be heard the snorting of his horses;
when his stallions neigh, the whole land trembles.
For they come devouring the land and all in it,
the city and those who dwell there.
17 “Yes, now I am sending snakes among you,
vipers that no one can charm,
and they will bite you,” says Adonai.
18 My grief has no cure, I am sick at heart.
19 Listen to my people’s cry of distress
out of a distant land:
“Is Adonai no longer in Tziyon?
Is her king no longer there?”
“Why do they provoke me with their idols
and their futile foreign gods?”
20 “The harvest has passed, the summer is over,
and still we are not saved.”
21 The daughter of my people is broken,
and it’s tearing me to pieces;
everything looks dark to me,
horror seizes me.
22 Has Gil‘ad exhausted its healing resin?
Is no physician there?
If there is, then why is the daughter of my people
so slow to recover her health?
23 (9:1) I wish my head were made of water
and my eyes were a fountain of tears,
so that I could cry day and night
over the slain of the daughter of my people!
26:1 At the beginning of the reign of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah, this word came from Adonai: 2 “Adonai says: ‘Stand in the courtyard of Adonai’s house and speak to the people from all the cities in Y’hudah who come to worship at Adonai’s house; say everything I order you to say to them, and don’t leave out a word. 3 Maybe they will listen, and each of them turn from his evil way; then I will be able to relent from the disaster I intend to bring on them because of how evil their deeds are. 4 So tell them that this is what Adonai says: “If you will not pay attention to me and live according to my Torah, which I have given you, 5 and listen to what my servants the prophets, whom I send to you, say — I have sent them frequently, but you haven’t listened — 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city an object of cursing for all the nations of the earth.”’”
7 The cohanim, the prophets and all the people heard Yirmeyahu speaking these words in the house of Adonai. 8 When Yirmeyahu had finished saying everything Adonai had ordered him to say to all the people, the cohanim, prophets and all the people seized him, shouting, “You will die for this! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of Adonai, ‘This house will become like Shiloh,’ and, ‘This city will become uninhabited ruins’?” The people all crowded in on Yirmeyahu in Adonai’s house.
10 When the officials of Y’hudah heard about it, they came up from the king’s palace to Adonai’s house and sat at the entrance to the New Gate of Adonai’s house. 11 The cohanim and prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man deserves a death sentence, because he has prophesied against this city; you have heard it with your own ears.” 12 Then Yirmeyahu said to the officials and all the people, “Adonai sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words you have heard. 13 Therefore now, improve your ways and your doings; and listen to the voice of Adonai your God; then Adonai will relent from the disaster he has decreed against you. 14 But as for me, here, I am in your hands; do with me whatever seems good and right to you. 15 Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city and on its inhabitants; because the fact is that Adonai sent me to you to speak all these words, so that you could hear them.”
16 The officials and all the people then said to the cohanim and prophets, “This man does not deserve a death sentence, because he has spoken to us in the name of Adonai our God.” 17 At this point some of the leaders of the land stood up and addressed all the people assembled: 18 “Back in the time of Hizkiyahu king of Y’hudah, Mikhah from Moreshet was a prophet. He told all the people of Y’hudah, ‘Adonai-Tzva’ot says,
“Tziyon will be plowed under like a field,
Yerushalayim will become heaps of ruins,
and the mountain of the house like a forested height.”’
19 “Did Hizkiyahu king of Y’hudah and all Y’hudah put him to death? Not at all. Rather, he feared Adonai, and prayed for Adonai’s favor; and Adonai relented from the disaster he had pronounced against them. So [if we put Yirmeyahu to death,] we might bring great disaster on ourselves.”
20 On the other hand, there was also a man who prophesied in the name of Adonai, Uriyahu the son of Sh’ma‘yahu from Kiryat-Ye‘arim, who prophesied against this city and against this land exactly what Yirmeyahu is saying. 21 When Y’hoyakim the king, with all his military men and other officials, heard what he was saying, the king wanted to have him killed. On hearing of this, Uriyahu became frightened, fled and went to Egypt. 22 Y’hoyakim the king sent men to Egypt — Elnatan the son of ‘Akhbor and some others. 23 They brought Uriyahu back from Egypt and took him to Y’hoyakim the king, who put him to the sword and threw his corpse into the burial-ground of the common people.
24 But in this situation concerning Yirmeyahu, Achikam the son of Shafan used his influence to help him, so that he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.
Acts 28:1 After our escape, we learned that the island was called Malta. 2 Its people showed extraordinary kindness — it was cold and it had started to rain, so they lit a bonfire and welcomed us all. 3 Sha’ul had gathered a bundle of sticks and was adding them to the fire, when a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand. 4 The islanders saw the creature hanging from Sha’ul’s hand and said to one another, “This man must be a murderer. Even though he escaped the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 But he shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They waited, expecting him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing that nothing amiss was happening to him, they reversed their opinion and said he was a god.
7 Nearby were lands belonging to the governor of the island, whose name was Publius. He received us in a friendly manner and put us up for three days. 8 Now it so happened that Publius’ father was lying in bed, sick with fever attacks and dysentery. Sha’ul went in to him, prayed, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9 After this happened, the rest of those on the island who had ailments came and were healed. 10 They heaped honors on us; and when the time came for us to sail, they provided the supplies we needed.
11 After three months, we sailed away on a ship from Alexandria called “Twin Gods,” which had passed the winter at the island. 12 We landed at Syracuse and stayed three days. 13 From there, we arrived at Rhegium by tacking; but after one day, a south wind sprang up; so we made it to Puteoli the second day. 14 There we found brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we went on toward Rome.
15 The brothers there had heard about us and came as far as Appian Market and Three Inns to meet us. When Sha’ul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. 16 And when we arrived at Rome, the officer allowed Sha’ul to stay by himself, though guarded by a soldier.
17 After three days Sha’ul called a meeting of the local Jewish leaders. When they had gathered, he said to them: “Brothers, although I have done nothing against either our people or the traditions of our fathers, I was made a prisoner in Yerushalayim and handed over to the Romans. 18 They examined me and were ready to release me, because I had done nothing to justify a death sentence. 19 But when the Judeans objected, I was forced to appeal to the Emperor — not that I had any charge to make against my own people. 20 This is why I have asked to see you and speak with you, for it is because of the hope of Isra’el that I have this chain around me.”
21 They said to him, “We have not received any letters about you from Y’hudah, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. 22 But we do think it would be appropriate to hear your views from you, yourself; for all we know about this sect is that people everywhere speak against it.”
23 So they arranged a day with him and came to his quarters in large numbers. From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, giving a thorough witness about the Kingdom of God and making use of both the Torah of Moshe and the Prophets to persuade them about Yeshua. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, 25 while others refused to believe.
So they left, disagreeing among themselves, after Sha’ul had made one final statement: “The Ruach HaKodesh spoke well in saying to your fathers through Yesha‘yahu the prophet,
26 ‘Go to this people and say,
“You will keep on hearing but never understand,
and you will keep on seeing but never perceive,
27 because the heart of this people has grown thick —
with their ears they barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
for fear that they should see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and do t’shuvah,
so that I could heal them.”’[Acts 28:27 Isaiah 6:9–10]
28 Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Goyim, and they will listen!” 29 [Acts 28:29 Some manuscripts include verse 29: After he had said this, the Jews left, arguing vehemently among themselves.]
30 Sha’ul remained two whole years in a place he rented for himself; and he continued receiving all who came to see him, 31 openly and without hindrance proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
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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