The Lutheran Hour Ministries in Saint Louis, Missouri United States Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "Staying Close" for Wednesday, January 25, 2018
John 12:26 - (Jesus said) "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there will My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor Him."
John 10:27 - (Jesus said) "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."
CES stands for Computer Electronics Show. This year, like many years, CES was held in Las Vegas.
The CES gives companies the opportunity to showcase their products to the entire world. Success at CES can translate into a truckload of sales and gives a product a head-start in the marketplace. Last year, it was generally conceded that Amazon's Alexa walked away with the blue ribbon. Today, that company has an estimated 70 percent of the voice-controlled electronics market.This year it is still too early to say which product will capture the imagination of John and Jane Doe. That being said, there were two items which generated a fair amount of interest and were a lot of fun to play with. Unbelievably, both of those electronic items were suitcases. Yes, suitcases.
The first suitcase is from a Chinese company and is called Puppy 1. Puppy 1 uses Segway's self-balancing technology to keep the suitcase upright and a special computer program which forces the suitcase to follow you wherever you go.
You can use a joystick to set the suitcase's direction, or you can just tell Puppy to follow you. It's amazing to see. The only drawback to the case is this: most of the interior is taken up by the motor and everything necessary to make things work.
The second suitcase which commanded attention at CES was the Modobag. The first feature of the Modobag which people liked was it enabled them, via USB ports on the case, to recharge their phones, computers, tablets, and anything else they might need.
But if recharging was all this suitcase did, it would soon have been overshadowed by the big electronics manufacturers. Truth is, this suitcase has and does more. The Modobag comes equipped with hidden handlebars and stirrups. When they are put into position, a person can sit down on his suitcase and the let the motorized case zip you around the airport at speeds up to 8 mph.
Now it is quite possible you are wondering what all this suitcase talk has to do with religion and our Daily Devotions. The answer is not a thing -- until you realize both these inventions are designed to keep important things close. Travelers know the importance of keeping important things close.
So does the Savior. He entered this world for the purpose of rescuing us from the clutches of sin, the devil, and death. He gave His life to bring sinners home, and the Holy Spirit remains intent on keeping us there.
Although our Lord had neither suitcase nor electricity to illustrate the point, He taught the same thing when He spoke of His sheep recognizing Him and following His voice. He knew the greater the distance which separates us, the greater the danger of us wandering away or being stolen. Conversely, the closer we are kept to the Redeemer, the safer and more secure we will be.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, in this world both sheep and suitcases ... and souls ... can get lost. Almost always such lostness has disastrous consequences. We pray, dear Lord, that You will keep us close to You and away from anyone or anything that would try to steal us away. This we ask in Jesus' Name. Amen.
The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by Cheyenne MacDonald for the Daily Mail on January 9, 2018. 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.
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Job 41-42; Matthew 16
Job 41:1 (9) “Look, any hope [of capturing him] is futile —
one would fall prostrate at the very sight of him.
2 (10) No one is fierce enough to rouse him,
so who can stand up to me?
3 (11) Who has given me anything
and made me pay it back?
Everything belongs to me
under all of heaven.
4 (12) “I have more to say about his limbs,
his strong talk, and his matchless strength.
5 (13) Who can strip off his [scaly] garment?
Who can enter his jaws?
6 (14) Who can pry open the doors of his face,
so close to his terrible teeth?
7 (15) “His pride is his rows of scales,
tightly sealed together —
8 (16) one is so close to the next
that no air can come between them;
9 (17) they are stuck one to another,
interlocked and impervious.
10 (18) “When he sneezes, light flashes out;
his eyes are like the shimmer of dawn.
11 (19) From his mouth go fiery torches,
and sparks come flying out.
12 (20) His nostrils belch steam
like a caldron boiling on the fire.
13 (21) His breath sets coals ablaze;
flames pour from his mouth.
14 (22) “Strength resides in his neck,
and dismay dances ahead of him [as he goes].
15 (23) The layers of his flesh stick together;
they are firm on him, immovable.
16 (24) His heart is as hard as a stone,
yes, hard as a lower millstone.
17 (25) When he rears himself up, the gods are afraid,
beside themselves in despair.
18 (26) “If a sword touches him, it won’t stick;
neither will a spear, or a dart, or a lance.
19 (27) He regards iron as straw
and bronze as rotten wood.
20 (28) An arrow can’t make him flee;
for him, slingstones are so much chaff.
21 (29) Clubs count as hay,
and he laughs at a quivering javelin.
22 (30) His belly is as sharp as fragments of pottery,
so he moves across the mud like a threshing-sledge.
23 (31) “He makes the depths seethe like a pot,
he makes the sea [boil] like a perfume kettle.
24 (32) He leaves a shining wake behind him,
making the deep seem to have white hair.
25 (33) “On earth there is nothing like him,
a creature without fear.
26 (34) He looks straight at all high things.
He is king over all proud beasts.”
42:1 Then [at last,] Iyov gave Adonai this answer:
2 “I know that you can do everything,
that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 “[You asked,] ‘Who is this, hiding counsel,
without having knowledge?’
Yes, I spoke, without understanding,
of wonders far beyond me, which I didn’t know.
4 “Please listen, and I will speak.
[You said,] ‘I will ask questions; and you, give me answers’ —
5 I had heard about you with my ears,
but now my eye sees you;
6 therefore I detest [myself]
and repent in dust and ashes.”
7 After Adonai had spoken these words to Iyov, Adonai said to Elifaz the Teimani, “My anger is blazing against you and your two friends, because, unlike my servant Iyov, you have not spoken rightly about me. 8 So now, get yourselves seven young bulls and seven rams, go to my servant Iyov, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. My servant Iyov will pray for you — because him I will accept — so that I won’t punish you as your boorishness deserves; because you have not spoken rightly about me, as my servant Iyov has.” 9 So Elifaz the Teimani, Bildad the Shuchi and Tzofar the Na‘amati went and did what Adonai had ordered them to do, and Adonai accepted Iyov[’s prayer].
10 When Iyov prayed for his friends, Adonai restored his fortunes; Adonai gave Iyov twice as much as he had had before. 11 Then all his brothers and sisters came to him, also all who had known him before, and they ate a meal with him in his house. They consoled and comforted him for all the evils Adonai had inflicted on him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. 12 Adonaiblessed Iyov’s later situation even more than his earlier one — he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 pairs of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys.
13 He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first he named Y’mimah; the second, K’tzi‘ah; and the third, Keren-Hapukh. 15 Nowhere in the land could women be found as beautiful as Iyov’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritances along with their brothers.
16 After this, Iyov lived 140 years, long enough to see his sons and grandsons, four generations. 17 Then, old and full of days, Iyov died.
Matthew 16:1 Then some P’rushim and Tz’dukim came to trap Yeshua by asking him to show them a miraculous sign from Heaven. 2 But his response was, “When it is evening, you say, ‘Fair weather ahead,’ because the sky is red; 3 and in the morning you say, ‘Storm today!’ because the sky is red and overcast. You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times! 4 A wicked and adulterous generation is asking for a sign? It will certainly not be given a sign — except the sign of Yonah!” With that he left them and went off.
5 The talmidim, in crossing to the other side of the lake, had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 So when Yeshua said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against the hametz of the P’rushimand Tz’dukim,” 7 they thought he said it because they hadn’t brought bread. 8 But Yeshua, aware of this, said, “Such little trust you have! Why are you talking with each other about not having bread? 9 Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you filled? 10 Or the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many baskets you filled? 11 How can you possibly think I was talking to you about bread? Guard yourselves from the hametz of the P’rushim and Tz’dukim!” 12 Then they understood — they were to guard themselves not from yeast for bread but from the teaching of the P’rushim and Tz’dukim.
13 When Yeshua came into the territory around Caesarea Philippi, he asked his talmidim, “Who are people saying the Son of Man is?” 14 They said, “Well, some say Yochanan the Immerser, others Eliyahu, still others Yirmeyahu or one of the prophets.” 15 “But you,” he said to them, “who do you say I am?” 16 Shim‘on Kefa answered, “You are the Mashiach, the Son of the living God.” 17 “Shim‘on Bar-Yochanan,” Yeshua said to him, “how blessed you are! For no human being revealed this to you, no, it was my Father in heaven. 18 I also tell you this: you are Kefa,” [which means ‘Rock,’] “and on this rock I will build my Community, and the gates of Sh’ol will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” 20 Then he warned the talmidim not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
21 From that time on, Yeshua began making it clear to his talmidim that he had to go to Yerushalayim and endure much suffering at the hands of the elders, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers; and that he had to be put to death; but that on the third day, he had to be raised to life. 22 Kefa took him aside and began rebuking him, “Heaven be merciful, Lord! By no means will this happen to you!” 23 But Yeshua turned his back on Kefa, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because your thinking is from a human perspective, not from God’s perspective!”
24 Then Yeshua told his talmidim, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him say ‘No’ to himself, take up his execution-stake, and keep following me. 25 For whoever wants to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life for my sake will find it. 26 What good will it do someone if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or, what can a person give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man will come in his Father’s glory, with his angels; and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. 28 Yes! I tell you that there are some people standing here who will not experience death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom!”
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