Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "Ongoing Thanks" for Thursday, January 18, 2018
Romans 8:32 - He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?
Mathematically speaking, I've written more than 4,000 Daily Devotions.
To the best of my memory, none of those thousands have spoken about a country-western singer. This devotion, referring to Carrie Underwood, is a first.
For those of you who are not country-western fans, a word of explanation is in order. Carrie Underwood was the winner of American Idol a number of years ago. After that, she started selling records. As of this writing she has sold 65-million platters. She also has received more awards than any other artist in Country Music Television history.
One other thing, she is pretty open about her faith in the Savior.
It is that last part which makes her the subject of this devotion. You see, last November, Underwood took a spill which ended up giving her a broken wrist. Undisclosed at that time was the fact she also had some facial injuries. The night of the fall the physician ended up putting somewhere between 40 and 50 stitches into her face.
Now, months later, she is still healing.
The healing has gone well, although she recently told her fans, "I'm not quite looking the same ... When I am ready to get in front of a camera, I want you all to understand why I might look a bit different."
Now that's quite a courageous statement for a beautiful, young woman to make. But it is not that statement which impressed me. I was surprised to hear her say: "I honestly don't know how things are going to end up, but I do know this: I am grateful. I am grateful that it wasn't much, much worse. And I am grateful for the people in my life that have been there every step of the way."
Underwood's response reminded me of the words of the Bible commentary writer Matthew Henry. After he was robbed, Henry said, "I am thankful that he never robbed me before. I am thankful that although he took my wallet, he did not take my life. Although he took all I had, it was not much. And I am glad that it was I who was robbed, not I who did the robbing."
To continue to give thanks, especially under difficult or painful circumstances is not something which comes naturally to people. Goodness, giving thanks never comes easily to folk. When times are good folks take the Lord's blessings for granted, and when difficulties arise, they assume that the Lord has forgotten them, or has it in for them.
As St. Paul points out in our passage above, the Lord has given us proof positive and complete: He loves us. In the Person of His Son, He has shown that His grace and mercy are not fragile or a temporary thing. With confidence in the Lord's care and compassion, we can say, as did the psalmist, "Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever" (Psalm 136:1).
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, in good times and bad, may we always know that the love shown to us in the Savior's sacrifice is alive and well. With such faith, may we give thanks always. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.
The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by Jim Denison on January 3, 2018, at the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture. 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.
Mathematically speaking, I've written more than 4,000 Daily Devotions.
To the best of my memory, none of those thousands have spoken about a country-western singer. This devotion, referring to Carrie Underwood, is a first.
For those of you who are not country-western fans, a word of explanation is in order. Carrie Underwood was the winner of American Idol a number of years ago. After that, she started selling records. As of this writing she has sold 65-million platters. She also has received more awards than any other artist in Country Music Television history.
One other thing, she is pretty open about her faith in the Savior.
It is that last part which makes her the subject of this devotion. You see, last November, Underwood took a spill which ended up giving her a broken wrist. Undisclosed at that time was the fact she also had some facial injuries. The night of the fall the physician ended up putting somewhere between 40 and 50 stitches into her face.
Now, months later, she is still healing.
The healing has gone well, although she recently told her fans, "I'm not quite looking the same ... When I am ready to get in front of a camera, I want you all to understand why I might look a bit different."
Now that's quite a courageous statement for a beautiful, young woman to make. But it is not that statement which impressed me. I was surprised to hear her say: "I honestly don't know how things are going to end up, but I do know this: I am grateful. I am grateful that it wasn't much, much worse. And I am grateful for the people in my life that have been there every step of the way."
Underwood's response reminded me of the words of the Bible commentary writer Matthew Henry. After he was robbed, Henry said, "I am thankful that he never robbed me before. I am thankful that although he took my wallet, he did not take my life. Although he took all I had, it was not much. And I am glad that it was I who was robbed, not I who did the robbing."
To continue to give thanks, especially under difficult or painful circumstances is not something which comes naturally to people. Goodness, giving thanks never comes easily to folk. When times are good folks take the Lord's blessings for granted, and when difficulties arise, they assume that the Lord has forgotten them, or has it in for them.
As St. Paul points out in our passage above, the Lord has given us proof positive and complete: He loves us. In the Person of His Son, He has shown that His grace and mercy are not fragile or a temporary thing. With confidence in the Lord's care and compassion, we can say, as did the psalmist, "Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever" (Psalm 136:1).
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, in good times and bad, may we always know that the love shown to us in the Savior's sacrifice is alive and well. With such faith, may we give thanks always. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.
The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by Jim Denison on January 3, 2018, at the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture. 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: Job 25-27; Matthew 12:24-50Job 25:1 Bildad the Shuchi said,
2 “Dominion and fear belong to him;
he makes peace in his high places.
3 Can his armies be numbered?
On whom does his light not shine?
4 How then can humans be righteous with God?
How can those born of women be clean?
5 Why, before him even the moon lacks brightness,
and the stars themselves are not pure.
6 How much less a human, who is merely a maggot,
a mortal, who is only a worm?!”
26:1 Then Iyov replied,
2 “What great help you bring to the powerless!
what deliverance to the arm without strength!
3 Such wonderful advice for a man lacking wisdom!
So much common sense you’ve expressed!
4 Who helped you to say these words?
Whose spirit is it, coming forth from you?
5 “The ghosts of the dead tremble
beneath the water, with its creatures.
6 Sh’ol is naked before him;
Abaddon lies uncovered.
7 He stretches the north over chaos
and suspends the earth on nothing.
8 He binds up the water in his thick clouds,
yet no cloud is torn apart by it.
9 He shuts off the view of his throne
by spreading his cloud across it.
10 He fixed a circle on the surface of the water,
defining the boundary between light and dark.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble,
aghast at his rebuke.
12 He stirs up the sea with his power,
and by his skill he strikes down Rahav.
13 With his Spirit he spreads the heavens;
his hand pierces the fleeing serpent.
14 And these are but the fringes of his ways;
how faint the echo we hear of him!
But who is able to grasp the meaning
of his thundering power?”
27:1 Iyov continued his speech:
2 “I swear by the living God,
who is denying me justice,
and by Shaddai,
who deals with me so bitterly,
3 that as long my life remains in me
and God’s breath is in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not speak unrighteousness,
or my tongue utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me to say you are right;
I will keep my integrity till the day I die.
6 I hold to my righteousness; I won’t let it go;
my heart will not shame me as long as I live.
7 “May my enemy meet the doom of the wicked;
my foe the fate of the unrighteous.
8 For what hope does the godless have from his gain
when God takes away his life?
9 Will God hear his cry
when trouble comes upon him?
10 Will he take delight in Shaddai
and always call on God?
11 “I am teaching you how God uses his power,
not hiding what Shaddai is doing.
12 Look, you all can see for yourselves;
so why are you talking such empty nonsense?
13 “This is God’s reward for the wicked man,
the heritage oppressors receive from Shaddai:
14 if his sons become many, they go to the sword;
and his children never have enough to eat.
15 Those of his who remain are buried by plague,
and their widows do not weep.
16 Even if he piles up silver like dust
and stores away clothing [in mounds] like clay —
17 he may collect it, but the just will wear it,
and the upright divide up the silver.
18 He builds his house weak as a spider’s web,
as flimsy as a watchman’s shack.
19 He may lie down rich, but his wealth yields nothing;
when he opens his eyes, it isn’t there.
20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;
at night a whirlwind steals him away.
21 The east wind carries him off, and he’s gone;
it sweeps him far from his place.
22 Yes, it hurls itself at him, sparing nothing;
he does all he can to flee from its power.
23 [People] clap their hands at him in derision
and hiss him out of his home.
Matthew 12:24 But when the P’rushim heard of it, they said, “It is only by Ba‘al-Zibbul” — the ruler of the demons — “that this man drives out demons.”
25 However, knowing what they were thinking, Yeshua said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not survive. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself; so how can his kingdom survive? 27 Besides, if I drive out demons by Ba‘al-Zibbul, by whom do your people drive them out? So, they will be your judges! 28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you!
29 “Or again, how can someone break into a strong man’s house and make off with his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? After that he can ransack his house.
30 “Those who are not with me are against me, and those who do not gather with me are scattering. 31 Because of this, I tell you that people will be forgiven any sin and blasphemy, but blaspheming the Ruach HaKodesh will not be forgiven. 32 One can say something against the Son of Man and be forgiven; but whoever keeps on speaking against the Ruach HaKodesh will never be forgiven, neither in the ‘olam hazeh nor in the ‘olam haba.
33 “If you make a tree good, its fruit will be good; and if you make a tree bad, its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 You snakes! How can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what overflows from the heart. 35 The good person brings forth good things from his store of good, and the evil person brings forth evil things from his store of evil. 36 Moreover, I tell you this: on the Day of Judgment people will have to give account for every careless word they have spoken; 37 for by your own words you will be acquitted, and by your own words you will be condemned.”
38 At this some of the Torah-teachers said, “Rabbi, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” 39 He replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign? No! None will be given to it but the sign of the prophet Yonah. 40 For just as Yonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea-monster,[Matthew 12:40 Jonah 2:1(1:17)] so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the depths of the earth. 41 The people of Ninveh will stand up at the Judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they turned from their sins to God when Yonah preached, but what is here now is greater than Yonah. 42 The Queen of the South will stand up at the Judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Shlomo, but what is here now is greater than Shlomo.
43 “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry country seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says to itself, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house standing empty, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come and live there — so that in the end, the person is worse off than he was before. This is how it will be for this wicked generation.”
46 He was still speaking to the crowd when his mother and brothers appeared outside, asking to talk with him. 47 [Matthew 12:47 Some manuscripts include verse 47: Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, asking to talk with you.”] 48 But to the one who had informed him he replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his talmidim, he said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants, that person is my brother and sister and mother.”
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CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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