Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "You Can't Please Everybody" for Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Psalm 111:10 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!Years ago, when I was teaching confirmation class I got to the topic of the Lord's omnipotence. Considerable time was spent on helping the class understand that God is powerful enough He can do anything. Thinking we were finished, I took one last look at the class before I moved on to the next subject.
That glance showed a student with her arm up, her hand waving excitedly: "Pastor! Pastor! Pastor!" she said.
"Yes?"
"I know something God can't do."
I sighed. "Yes, just what is it God can't do?" I asked.
Her reply came in four words: "God can't please everybody."
My confirmand was right. The Lord can't win when -- at the same time -- He gets a prayer from a farmer asking that rain be sent on his parched fields and a prayer from a child asking that there be beautiful skies, as his father has promise to take him fishing, if it's a nice day.
What does the Lord do with the prayers He receives on the same day? One comes from a sick grandfather who is in pain and ready to leave this world, and the other originates with the man's grandson who is not ready to say farewell to his grandfather, his best and dearest friend.
Two weeks ago, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was in the news.
He made the news primarily because he let it be known the Lord doesn't please him. In fact, the president said, "God was stupid." When his mostly Catholic country took offense at his words, he kind of clarified himself.
In his clarification, he explained: "What I said was your God is stupid. Mine has a lot of common sense." Some of the things God has done which has disappointed the president are
1. placing the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" in the Garden of Eden;
2. the doctrine of original sin;
3. Eve. According to the president, Eve was God's "greatest mistake."
Now the president has the right to his opinion. God has never forced anyone to believe anything.
On the other hand, as the psalmist said, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!" Respecting the Lord's wisdom and decisions shouldn't be a hard thing to do. After all, our minds are small, finite, and subject to considerable error. In contrast, the Lord sees all, forgets nothing, and was able to cause light to come from a billion-billion stars with a word.
More than that, even though we may not be able to understand all of the Lord's decisions, we can never doubt the goodness of His intentions. The Father who sent His Son into this world to offer Himself as our ransom from sin has shown His complete commitment to our salvation. We may never understand the rich measure of His grace, but we can always offer up our thanks.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, Your ways are not ours; Your thoughts are far above ours. Grant that we may always be appreciative for the things we think we understand and the things we know we don't. This we ask in the Redeemer's Name. Amen.
The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by Christine Rousselle on the Catholic News Agency, dated June 27, 2018. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/after-calling-god-stupid-duterte-seeks-collaboration-with-bishops-8934
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: 2 Kings 13-14; James 5
2 Kings 13:1 It was in the twenty-third year of Yo’ash the son of Achazyah, king of Y’hudah, that Y’ho’achaz the son of Yehu began his reign over Isra’el in Shomron; he ruled for seventeen years. 2 He did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective; he followed the sins of Yarov‘am the son of N’vat, who made Isra’el sin; and he never ceased committing those sins. 3 Adonai’s anger burned against Isra’el, and he kept handing them over to Haza’el king of Aram and Ben-Hadad the son of Haza’el. 4 But Y’ho’achaz pleaded to Adonai, and Adonai listened to him, because he saw the oppression the king of Aram was inflicting on Isra’el. 5 So Adonaigave Isra’el a savior who freed them from the grip of Aram, so that the people of Isra’el could live in their tents, as they had before. 6 Despite that, instead of turning from the sins of the house of Yarov‘am, who made Isra’el sin, they continued to live in this sinful way. Moreover, the asherah continued to stand in Shomron. 7 The king of Aram destroyed Y’ho’achaz’s army, making them like chaff when grain is threshed, except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers.
8 Other activities of Y’ho’achaz, all his accomplishments and his power are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 9 Y’ho’achaz slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in Shomron. Then Yo’ash his son took his place as king.
10 It was in the thirty-seventh year of Yo’ash king of Y’hudah that Yo’ash the son of Y’ho’achaz began his rule over Isra’el in Shomron; he ruled for sixteen years. 11 He did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective and did not turn from all the sins of Yarov‘am the son of N’vat, who made Isra’el sin; on the contrary, he lived in this sinful way.
12 Other activities of Yo’ash, all his accomplishments and his power in fighting Amatzyah king of Y’hudah are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 13 Yo’ash slept with his ancestors, and Yarov‘am occupied his throne. Yo’ash was buried in Shomron with the kings of Isra’el.
14 Elisha was now ill with the disease from which he would eventually die. Yo’ash the king of Isra’el came down to visit him and wept over him; he said, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Isra’el!” 15 Elisha said to him, “Bring a bow and arrows”; and he brought him a bow and arrows. 16 He said to the king of Isra’el, “Put your hand on the bow”; and he put his hand on it. Then Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands 17 and said, “Open the east window.” He opened it. Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. He said, “Adonai’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory against Aram! You will defeat Aram completely at Afek!” 18 He said, “Take the arrows”; and he took them. He told the king of Isra’el, “Strike the ground.” He struck three times, then stopped. 19 The man of God became angry with him; he said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram completely. As it is, you will defeat Aram only three times.”
20 Elisha died, and they placed him in a burial cave. Now the raiding parties of Mo’av used to make yearly incursions into the land at the start of the year. 21 Once it happened that just as they were burying a man, they spotted a raiding party; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s burial cave; and the moment the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
22 Haza’el king of Aram oppressed Isra’el throughout the lifetime of Y’ho’achaz; 23 but Adonai was gracious, took pity on them and looked on them with favor, because of his covenant with Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov. He was not willing to destroy them, and to this day he has not banished them from his presence. 24 Haza’el king of Aram died, and Ben-Hadad his son took his place as king. 25 Then Y’ho’ash the son of Y’ho’achaz captured from Ben-Hadad the son of Haza’el the cities which he had captured in war from Y’ho’achaz his father. Three times Yo’ash defeated him, thus recovering the cities of Isra’el.
14:1 It was in the second year of Yo’ash son of Y’ho’achaz king of Isra’el that Amatzyah the son of Yo’ash king of Y’hudah began his reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for twenty-nine years in Yerushalayim. His mother’s name was Y’ho‘adan, from Yerushalayim. 3 He did what was right from Adonai’s perspective, although not like David his ancestor; he lived the same way as his father Yo’ash. 4 However, the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and offered on the high places.
5 As soon as he had the kingdom firmly under his control, he put to death the servants of his who had murdered the king his father. 6 But he did not put the children of the murderers to death, because of what is written in the scroll of the Torah of Moshe, as Adonai ordered when he said, “Fathers are not to be executed for the children, nor are children to be executed for the fathers; every person will be executed for his own sin.”
7 He slaughtered 10,000 men of Edom in the Salt Valley and captured Sela in the war, renaming it Yokte’el, as it is today. 8 Then Amatzyah sent messengers to Y’ho’ash the son of Y’ho’achaz, son of Yehu, king of Isra’el, with this challenge: “Come on, let’s have it out face-to-face.” 9 Y’ho’ash the king of Isra’el sent this reply to Amatzyah king of Y’hudah: “Once, in the L’vanon, the thistle sent a message to the cedar: ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But a wild animal passed by the thistle and squashed it. 10 True, you have defeated Edom, and now you’re ambitious. So enjoy the glory, but stay home! Why provoke calamity, to your own ruin, yours and Y’hudah’s too?” 11 But Amatzyah wouldn’t listen. So Y’ho’ash king of Isra’el went up; and he and Amatzyah king of Y’hudah had it out face-to-face at Beit-Shemesh, which belongs to Y’hudah. 12 Y’hudah was defeated by Isra’el, and every man fled to his tent. 13 Y’ho’ash king of Isra’el took Amatzyah king of Y’hudah, the son of Y’ho’ash the son of Achazyah, prisoner at Beit-Shemesh. Then he went to Yerushalayim and demolished the wall of Yerushalayim between the Gate of Efrayim and the Corner Gate, a section 600 feet long. 14 He took all the gold and silver, all the articles he could find in the house of Adonai and in the treasuries of the royal palace, and hostages; then he returned to Shomron.
15 Other activities of Y’ho’ash that he did, his power and how he fought Amatzyah king of Y’hudah are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 16 Y’ho’ash slept with his ancestors and was buried in Shomron with the kings of Isra’el. Then Yarov‘am took his place as king.
17 Amatzyah the son of Yo’ash king of Y’hudah lived another fifteen years after the death of Y’ho’ash son of Y’ho’achaz, king of Isra’el. 18 Other activities of Amatzyah are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Y’hudah.
19 Because of a conspiracy formed against him in Yerushalayim, Amatzyah fled to Lakhish; but they followed him to Lakhish and killed him there. 20 They brought his body back on horses, and he was buried in Yerushalayim with his ancestors in the City of David. 21 Then all the people of Y’hudah took ‘Azaryah at the age of sixteen and made him king in place of his father Amatzyah.
22 ‘Azaryah recovered Eilat for Y’hudah and rebuilt it; after that the king [Amatzyahu] slept with his ancestors.
23 It was in the fifteenth year of Amatzyah the son of Yo’ash, king of Y’hudah, that Yarov‘am the son of Yo’ash, king of Isra’el, began to reign in Shomron; and he ruled for forty-one years. 24 He did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective; he did not turn from all the sins of Yarov‘am the son of N’vat, who made Isra’el sin.
25 He recovered the territory of Isra’el between the entrance of Hamat and the sea of the ‘Aravah, in keeping with the word of Adonai the God of Isra’el, which he spoke through his servant Yonah the son of Amitai, the prophet from Gat-Hefer. 26 For Adonai saw how bitterly Isra’el had suffered, with no one left, either slave or free, and no one coming to Isra’el’s aid. 27 Adonaidid not threaten to blot out the name of Isra’el from under heaven, but saved them through Yarov‘am the son of Yo’ash.
28 Other activities of Yarov‘am, all his accomplishments, all his power, how he conducted war and how he recovered Dammesek and Hamat for Y’hudah in Isra’el are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 29 Yarov‘am slept with his ancestors the kings of Isra’el, and Z’kharyah took his place as king.
James 5:1 Next, a word for the rich: weep and wail over the hardships coming upon you! 2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes have become moth-eaten; 3 your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat up your flesh like fire! This is the acharit-hayamim, and you have been storing up wealth! 4 Listen! The wages you have fraudulently withheld from the workers who mowed your fields are calling out against you, and the outcries of those who harvested have reached the ears of Adonai-Tzva’ot. 5 You have led a life of luxury and self-indulgence here on earth — in a time of slaughter, you have gone on eating to your heart’s content. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the innocent; they have not withstood you.
7 So, brothers, be patient until the Lord returns. See how the farmer waits for the precious “fruit of the earth” — he is patient over it until it receives the fall and spring rains.[James 5:7 Deuteronomy 11:14; Jeremiah 5:24; Joel 2:23] 8 You too, be patient; keep up your courage; for the Lord’s return is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers, so that you won’t come under condemnation — look! the Judge is standing at the door! 10 As an example of suffering mistreatment and being patient, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of Adonai. 11 Look, we regard those who persevered as blessed. You have heard of the perseverance of Iyov, and you know what the purpose of Adonai was, that Adonai is very compassionate and merciful.[James 5:11 Exodus 34:6; Psalms 103:8; 111:4]
12 Above all, brothers, stop swearing oaths — not “By heaven,” not “By the earth,” and not by any other formula; rather, let your “Yes” be simply “Yes” and your “No” simply “No,” so that you won’t fall under condemnation.
13 Is someone among you in trouble? He should pray. Is someone feeling good? He should sing songs of praise.
14 Is someone among you ill? He should call for the elders of the congregation. They will pray for him and rub olive oil on him in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer offered with trust will heal the one who is ill — the Lord will restore his health; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, openly acknowledge your sins to one another, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 17 Eliyahu was only a human being like us; yet he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and no rain fell on the Land for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the Land produced its crops.
19 My brothers, if one of you wanders from the truth, and someone causes him to return, 20 you should know that whoever turns a sinner from his wandering path will save him from death and cover many sins.[James 5:20 Proverbs 10:12] (Complete Jewish Bible).
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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.
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