Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries - Sunday, 26 January
2014 "Father Knows Best”
After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer
walked with Him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as
well?" Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have
the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that
You are the Holy One of God."--John 6:66-69
God wants you to be saved.
To make your forgiveness and salvation a reality, God sent His
Son to be sacrificed so you might be freed from sin, death and devil. Jesus'
completed work is all-encompassing and costs you nothing. It is absolutely
free. All the Lord asks of us is that we don't say "no" to the Holy
Spirit, who wishes to place faith into our hearts, turn us from our sinful
past, and help us trust in the Son of God, who takes away the sins of the
world.
Simple? Yes, it ought to be. It ought to be, but things can get
in the way. To illustrate, let me tell you a story that comes from India in the
1850s.
It begins (and ends) at the home of the British governor
general. The tale really starts when a three-year-old boy wandered into a group
of adults who were at an official party. Although such events did have a
certain age segregation, there was nothing overly extraordinary in the child's
arrival ... other than the fact he didn't come alone.
You see, in his small hand the child was gently holding a
Russell's Viper, a snake which, even now, kills thousands of people each year.
Many of the guests saw and sized up the situation, but it was the boy's father
who took action and spoke.
With controlled, calm tones he said, "John, put the snake
down right this minute."
Now John could have done otherwise. He could have been upset his
father was ruining his playtime with a new pet. He could have hesitated or
pretended he hadn't heard his father. If John had preferred any of those paths,
there is little doubt John would have died.
But John didn't walk those paths. That day he did exactly as his
father had instructed. John put the snake down, and in less time than it takes
to tell, one of the guests had dispatched it.
In so many ways, John's story is the tale of every man, woman
and child in this sinful world.
God tells us to believe in His Son, but all too often people
think they know better than God. They see no problem with the life they're
leading and the things they're doing. They think they can handle the situation.
Well, my friends, those who think this way are thinking wrongly. If they
continue in that thinking, they will most certainly die.
Far better for them to trust their Heavenly Father and His Holy
Word; far better to trust the Savior's all-sufficient atonement; far better to
throw out anything which might try to drive a wedge between us and our living
Redeemer; far better to ask the Lord to grant us a spirit of obedience to
believe and trust in Jesus whose life, suffering and death was the sacrifice
which saves us.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. In the
Savior's Name I ask it. Amen.
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In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
660 Mason Ridge Center
St. Louis, MO 63141 United States
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