Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "A Greater Body, Our Savior" for Sunday, January 7, 2018
Luke 4:17-19 - And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him (Jesus). He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our international ministry centers to write our Sunday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.
In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
On the day that Jesus read that text from Isaiah, the Pharisees and Sadducees were claiming that their way to the Lord was the right and only way. Their position was in direct opposition to the Savior who faithfully and rightly proclaimed, "I have come to preach the gospel to the poor."One of the best known emperors of Ethiopia was a man named Tewodros. He was the prominent emperor who officially proclaimed Ethiopia to be a Christian country. He was also known as a fierce fighter who had captured and kept his throne through force. What follows is his story.
There was a time when for a small infraction, one of Tewodros' generals ended up in prison. Sadly, during the man's imprisonment, his wife ran away with his servant. Outraged at the woman's faithlessness, Tewodros asked the general if he wanted the servant to be captured, brought back, and punished. The general replied that while he appreciated the emperor's concern such an action was not necessary. Tewodros was confused by the reply and asked for an explanation.
From prison, his general replied, "I don't seek revenge because I report to a greater body."
Tewodros was infuriated by the reply and he immediately demanded to know "In this country is there any one a higher body than me?"
The general replied, "The great body I am referring to is the Savior of the world. The almighty God will judge my wife and my servant in His own time."
Soon after, as the general's wife and his servant were relaxing together, a sudden lightning bolt struck and killed them both.
The news reached the emperor who immediately summoned his general to appear before him. Tewodros said to the commander, "You are a person of prayer and the Lord listens to you. I am afraid you might use your prayers against me, so from this moment on you are free."
Not long afterwards, Tewodros was brought to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Savior. When he became a believer, it was not fear of lightning bolts, but thanks to the Christ which gave him hope and heaven, salvation and Savior. Since then, Ethiopia has acknowledged Jesus as the greater body; He is acknowledged as the Savior of the world.
Jesus said, "I came to preach the Good News to the poor." Knowing that man does not live by bread alone, Jesus first priority was not to feed the body, but offer spiritual nourishment and forgiveness to our sinful souls. His entire life, suffering, death, and resurrection was done to offer us that which we needed the most.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord and Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, we appreciate the mission You completed in this earth. You came to free the imprisoned and give sight to the blind. Most of all You came to preach the saving Gospel. Help us to see the future glory You have earned for us. At the same time, help us to cooperate with You in reaching the unsaved so the Holy Spirit might bring them into Your kingdom. In Your precious Name we pray. Amen.
About the Author: Today's international devotion comes from our Lutheran Hour Ministries office in Ethiopia. It was written by Berhanu Moges. He is LHM's director in Ethiopia and has attended Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. There he took courses in personal issues, biblical studies, finance, and computer.
Established in Addis Ababa in 1996, Lutheran Hour Ministries-Ethiopia shares the Gospel in this country of more than 102 million people through evangelism rallies, Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC) and the Equipping the Saints (ETS) program, working in partnership with church congregations to organize these workshops. Rallies have proven effective in reaching people, drawing thousands, including non-Christians and Muslims. Here films, music and drama are offered -- all designed to share the Gospel message. Also, to reach young people, sporting events, Bible competitions, and other youth-related activities are offered to engage youth between the ages of 12 and 35.
Be sure to check out LHM's International Ministries' blog page. You can find it by clicking 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: Genesis 18-19; Matthew 6:1-18
Genesis 18:1 Adonai appeared to Avraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance to the tent during the heat of the day. 2 He raised his eyes and looked, and there in front of him stood three men. On seeing them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, prostrated himself on the ground, 3 and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please don’t leave your servant. 4 Please let me send for some water, so that you can wash your feet; then rest under the tree, 5 and I will bring a piece of bread. Now that you have come to your servant, refresh yourselves before going on.” “Very well,” they replied, “do what you have said.”
6 Avraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, three measures of the best flour! Knead it and make cakes.” 7 Avraham ran to the herd, took a good, tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds, milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it all before the men; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate. 9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He said, “There, in the tent.” 10 He said, “I will certainly return to you around this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah heard him from the entrance of the tent, behind him. 11 Avraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years; Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “I am old, and so is my lord; am I to have pleasure again?” 13 Adonai said to Avraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and ask, ‘Am I really going to bear a child when I am so old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for Adonai? At the time set for it, at this season next year, I will return to you; and Sarah will have a son.” (ii) 15 Sarah denied it, saying, “I didn’t either laugh,” because she was afraid. He said, “Not so — you did laugh.”
16 The men set out from there and looked over toward S’dom, and Avraham went with them to see them on their way. 17 Adonai said, “Should I hide from Avraham what I am about to do, 18 inasmuch as Avraham is sure to become a great and strong nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by him? 19 For I have made myself known to him, so that he will give orders to his children and to his household after him to keep the way of Adonai and to do what is right and just, so that Adonai may bring about for Avraham what he has promised him.”
20 Adonai said, “The outcry against S’dom and ‘Amora is so great and their sin so serious 21 that I will now go down and see whether their deeds warrant the outcry that has reached me; if not, I will know.” 22 The men turned away from there and went toward S’dom, but Avraham remained standing before Adonai. 23 Avraham approached and said, “Will you actually sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Maybe there are fifty righteous people in the city; will you actually sweep the place away, and not forgive it for the sake of the fifty righteous who are there? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the righteous along with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Shouldn’t the judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 Adonai said, “If I find in S’dom fifty who are righteous, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake.”
27 Avraham answered, “Here now, I, who am but dust and ashes, have taken it upon myself to speak to Adonai. 28 What if there are five less than fifty righteous?” He said, “I won’t destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 He spoke to him yet again: “What if forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of the forty I won’t do it.”
30 He said, “I hope Adonai won’t be angry if I speak. What if thirty are found there?” He said, “I won’t do it if I find thirty there.”
31 He said, “Here now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to Adonai. What if twenty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of the twenty I won’t destroy it.”
32 He said, “I hope Adonai won’t be angry if I speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He said, “For the sake of the ten I won’t destroy it.” 33 Adonai went on his way as soon as he had finished speaking to Avraham, and Avraham returned to his place.
19:1 (iii) The two angels came to S’dom that evening, when Lot was sitting at the gate of S’dom. Lot saw them, got up to greet them and prostrated himself on the ground. 2 He said, “Here now, my lords, please come over to your servant’s house. Spend the night, wash your feet, get up early, and go on your way.” “No,” they answered, “we’ll stay in the square.” 3 But he kept pressing them; so they went home with him; and he made them a meal, baking matzah for their supper, which they ate.
4 But before they could go to bed, the men of the city surrounded the house — young and old, everyone from every neighborhood of S’dom. 5 They called Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us! We want to have sex with them!” 6 Lot went out to them and stood in the doorway, closing the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brothers, don’t do such a wicked thing. 8 Look here, I have two daughters who are virgins. Please, let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them what seems good to you; but don’t do anything to these men, since they are guests in my house.” 9 “Stand back!” they replied. “This guy came to live here, and now he’s decided to play judge. For that we’ll deal worse with you than with them!” Then they crowded in on Lot, in order to get close enough to break down the door. 10 But the men inside reached out their hands, brought Lot into the house to them and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they couldn’t find the doorway.
12 The men said to Lot, “Do you have any people here besides yourself? Whomever you have in the city — son-in-law, your sons, your daughters — bring them out of this place; 13 because we are going to destroy it. Adonai has become aware of the great outcry against them, and Adonai has sent us to destroy it.” 14 Lot went out and spoke with his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up and leave this place, because Adonai is going to destroy the city.” But his sons-in-law didn’t take him seriously.
15 When morning came, the angels told Lot to hurry. “Get up,” they said, “and take your wife and your two daughters who are here; otherwise you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he dallied, so the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand and the hands of his two daughters — Adonai was being merciful to him — and led them, leaving them outside the city. 17 When they had brought them out, he said, “Flee for your life! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain, but escape to the hills! Otherwise you will be swept away.” 18 Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lord! 19 Here, your servant has already found favor in your sight, and you have shown me even greater mercy by saving my life. But I can’t escape to the hills, because I’m afraid the disaster will overtake me, and I will die. 20 Look, there’s a town nearby to flee to, and it’s a small one. Please let me escape there — isn’t it just a small one? — and that way I will stay alive.”
(iv) 21 He replied, “All right, I agree to what you have asked. I won’t overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, and escape to that place, because I can’t do anything until you arrive there.” For this reason the city was named Tzo‘ar [small].
23 By the time Lot had come to Tzo‘ar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then Adonai caused sulfur and fire to rain down upon S’dom and ‘Amora from Adonai out of the sky. 25 He overthrew those cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities and everything growing in the ground. 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a column of salt.
27 Avraham got up early in the morning, went to the place where he had stood before Adonai, 28 and looked out toward S’dom and ‘Amora, scanning the entire plain. There before him the smoke was rising from the land like smoke from a furnace! 29 But when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Avraham and sent Lot out, away from the destruction, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.
30 Lot went up from Tzo‘ar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, because he was afraid to stay in Tzo‘ar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there isn’t a man on earth to come in to us in the manner customary in the world. 32 Come, let’s have our father drink wine; then we’ll sleep with him, and that way we’ll enable our father to have descendants.”
33 So they plied their father with wine that night, and the older one went in and slept with her father; he didn’t know when she lay down or when she got up. 34 The following day, the older said to the younger, “Here, I slept last night with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him, and that way we’ll enable our father to have descendants.” 35 They plied their father with wine that night also, and the younger one got up and slept with him, and he didn’t know when she lay down or when she got up. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father.
37 The older one gave birth to a son and called him Mo’av; he is the ancestor of Mo’av to this day. 38 The younger also gave birth to a son, and she called him Ben-‘Ammi; he is the ancestor of the people of ‘Amon to this day.
Matthew 6:1 “Be careful not to parade your acts of tzedakah in front of people in order to be seen by them! If you do, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So, when you do tzedakah, don’t announce it with trumpets to win people’s praise, like the hypocrites in the synagogues and on the streets. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! 3 But you, when you do tzedakah, don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Then your tzedakah will be in secret; and your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites, who love to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners, so that people can see them. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, don’t babble on and on like the pagans, who think God will hear them better if they talk a lot. 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 You, therefore, pray like this:
‘Our Father in heaven!
May your Name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
11 Give us the food we need today.
12 Forgive us what we have done wrong,
as we too have forgiven those who have wronged us.
13 And do not lead us into hard testing,
but keep us safe from the Evil One.
[Matthew 6:13 The latter half of verse 13 is not found in the oldest manuscripts.]For kingship, power and glory are yours forever.
Amen.’
14 For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15 but if you do not forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will not forgive yours.
16 “Now when you fast, don’t go around looking miserable, like the hypocrites. They make sour faces so that people will know they are fasting. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! 17 But you, when you fast, wash your face and groom yourself, 18 so that no one will know you are fasting — except your Father, who is with you in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
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16 The men set out from there and looked over toward S’dom, and Avraham went with them to see them on their way. 17 Adonai said, “Should I hide from Avraham what I am about to do, 18 inasmuch as Avraham is sure to become a great and strong nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by him? 19 For I have made myself known to him, so that he will give orders to his children and to his household after him to keep the way of Adonai and to do what is right and just, so that Adonai may bring about for Avraham what he has promised him.”
20 Adonai said, “The outcry against S’dom and ‘Amora is so great and their sin so serious 21 that I will now go down and see whether their deeds warrant the outcry that has reached me; if not, I will know.” 22 The men turned away from there and went toward S’dom, but Avraham remained standing before Adonai. 23 Avraham approached and said, “Will you actually sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Maybe there are fifty righteous people in the city; will you actually sweep the place away, and not forgive it for the sake of the fifty righteous who are there? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing — to kill the righteous along with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Shouldn’t the judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 Adonai said, “If I find in S’dom fifty who are righteous, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake.”
27 Avraham answered, “Here now, I, who am but dust and ashes, have taken it upon myself to speak to Adonai. 28 What if there are five less than fifty righteous?” He said, “I won’t destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 He spoke to him yet again: “What if forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of the forty I won’t do it.”
30 He said, “I hope Adonai won’t be angry if I speak. What if thirty are found there?” He said, “I won’t do it if I find thirty there.”
31 He said, “Here now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to Adonai. What if twenty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of the twenty I won’t destroy it.”
32 He said, “I hope Adonai won’t be angry if I speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He said, “For the sake of the ten I won’t destroy it.” 33 Adonai went on his way as soon as he had finished speaking to Avraham, and Avraham returned to his place.
19:1 (iii) The two angels came to S’dom that evening, when Lot was sitting at the gate of S’dom. Lot saw them, got up to greet them and prostrated himself on the ground. 2 He said, “Here now, my lords, please come over to your servant’s house. Spend the night, wash your feet, get up early, and go on your way.” “No,” they answered, “we’ll stay in the square.” 3 But he kept pressing them; so they went home with him; and he made them a meal, baking matzah for their supper, which they ate.
4 But before they could go to bed, the men of the city surrounded the house — young and old, everyone from every neighborhood of S’dom. 5 They called Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us! We want to have sex with them!” 6 Lot went out to them and stood in the doorway, closing the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brothers, don’t do such a wicked thing. 8 Look here, I have two daughters who are virgins. Please, let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them what seems good to you; but don’t do anything to these men, since they are guests in my house.” 9 “Stand back!” they replied. “This guy came to live here, and now he’s decided to play judge. For that we’ll deal worse with you than with them!” Then they crowded in on Lot, in order to get close enough to break down the door. 10 But the men inside reached out their hands, brought Lot into the house to them and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they couldn’t find the doorway.
12 The men said to Lot, “Do you have any people here besides yourself? Whomever you have in the city — son-in-law, your sons, your daughters — bring them out of this place; 13 because we are going to destroy it. Adonai has become aware of the great outcry against them, and Adonai has sent us to destroy it.” 14 Lot went out and spoke with his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up and leave this place, because Adonai is going to destroy the city.” But his sons-in-law didn’t take him seriously.
15 When morning came, the angels told Lot to hurry. “Get up,” they said, “and take your wife and your two daughters who are here; otherwise you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he dallied, so the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand and the hands of his two daughters — Adonai was being merciful to him — and led them, leaving them outside the city. 17 When they had brought them out, he said, “Flee for your life! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain, but escape to the hills! Otherwise you will be swept away.” 18 Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lord! 19 Here, your servant has already found favor in your sight, and you have shown me even greater mercy by saving my life. But I can’t escape to the hills, because I’m afraid the disaster will overtake me, and I will die. 20 Look, there’s a town nearby to flee to, and it’s a small one. Please let me escape there — isn’t it just a small one? — and that way I will stay alive.”
(iv) 21 He replied, “All right, I agree to what you have asked. I won’t overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, and escape to that place, because I can’t do anything until you arrive there.” For this reason the city was named Tzo‘ar [small].
23 By the time Lot had come to Tzo‘ar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then Adonai caused sulfur and fire to rain down upon S’dom and ‘Amora from Adonai out of the sky. 25 He overthrew those cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities and everything growing in the ground. 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a column of salt.
27 Avraham got up early in the morning, went to the place where he had stood before Adonai, 28 and looked out toward S’dom and ‘Amora, scanning the entire plain. There before him the smoke was rising from the land like smoke from a furnace! 29 But when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Avraham and sent Lot out, away from the destruction, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.
30 Lot went up from Tzo‘ar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, because he was afraid to stay in Tzo‘ar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there isn’t a man on earth to come in to us in the manner customary in the world. 32 Come, let’s have our father drink wine; then we’ll sleep with him, and that way we’ll enable our father to have descendants.”
33 So they plied their father with wine that night, and the older one went in and slept with her father; he didn’t know when she lay down or when she got up. 34 The following day, the older said to the younger, “Here, I slept last night with my father. Let’s make him drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him, and that way we’ll enable our father to have descendants.” 35 They plied their father with wine that night also, and the younger one got up and slept with him, and he didn’t know when she lay down or when she got up. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father.
37 The older one gave birth to a son and called him Mo’av; he is the ancestor of Mo’av to this day. 38 The younger also gave birth to a son, and she called him Ben-‘Ammi; he is the ancestor of the people of ‘Amon to this day.
Matthew 6:1 “Be careful not to parade your acts of tzedakah in front of people in order to be seen by them! If you do, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So, when you do tzedakah, don’t announce it with trumpets to win people’s praise, like the hypocrites in the synagogues and on the streets. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! 3 But you, when you do tzedakah, don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Then your tzedakah will be in secret; and your Father, who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites, who love to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners, so that people can see them. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, don’t babble on and on like the pagans, who think God will hear them better if they talk a lot. 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 You, therefore, pray like this:
‘Our Father in heaven!
May your Name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as in heaven.
11 Give us the food we need today.
12 Forgive us what we have done wrong,
as we too have forgiven those who have wronged us.
13 And do not lead us into hard testing,
but keep us safe from the Evil One.
[Matthew 6:13 The latter half of verse 13 is not found in the oldest manuscripts.]For kingship, power and glory are yours forever.
Amen.’
14 For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15 but if you do not forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will not forgive yours.
16 “Now when you fast, don’t go around looking miserable, like the hypocrites. They make sour faces so that people will know they are fasting. Yes! I tell you, they have their reward already! 17 But you, when you fast, wash your face and groom yourself, 18 so that no one will know you are fasting — except your Father, who is with you in secret. Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
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CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
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THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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