Saint Louis, Missouri, United States - Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "A New Value" Saturday, 5 July 2014 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?" I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."(Revelation 7:13-14)
What is a thing worth? Sometimes figuring out the worth of a
thing can be a difficult task. There are things which bring back memories; there are things which are heirlooms or antiques; there are things which are personally precious to us as individuals. The value on those items is far more to us than anyone else would be willing to pay if the item were put up for auction.
Here is an example: there is a little piece of silk in a Springfield, Illinois, museum. If you were to go to a fabric store, and if they would be willing to sell you a piece of cloth so small, it would cost you no more than a penny or two. That being said, there is no amount of money which would enable you to purchase this piece of silk. That's because this bit of cloth is stained with blood.
Now that is an interesting fact, but that fact hardly explains why this bit of material is considered to be so precious. Its value only becomes clear when you are told this bit of silk was once part of the dress worn by the girl who sat in the presidential box the night Abraham Lincoln was murdered. As he was dying, she cradled his head in her lap, just as a mother might hold her child.
It is his blood which has stained that cloth.
Long ago the State of Illinois bought that dress, cut out that piece of silk, and placed it out for public viewing so all could see. Because of the blood of a great man, that pitiful piece of fabric has a value beyond reckoning.
So, let me now ask you, what are you worth?
Looking at your sinful soul, at all the transgressions you have committed, the answer would have to be, "Not much. Not much at all." But when a person is brought to faith, when those sins are washed away by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, things change.
Your soul, which once was condemned to eternal punishment in hell, has been given new value, a wonderful value. At the cost of the life of God's Son, our Savior, you have been washed of your sins; the old is gone and a new value is placed upon you.
Knowing your value ought to make a difference in your life. Because you know that Jesus lived, died and rose to rescue you, you can be assured that nothing in your past and nothing anybody else says can change the value God has given you. Because of Jesus' blood, you have become priceless.
My priceless friends, believe it and live it.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks that by the Holy Spirit's power, I have been brought to faith and my sin-saturated soul has been washed in Jesus' blood. Now may I live a life which glorifies Him and bears witness to the transforming power of the Redeemer. It is in His Name I pray. Amen.
All too often the job of reaching others is left to others. That can be unfortunate. After all, there are times when YOU may be the best person to reach someone who is lost or wandering. If you have always wanted to know how to do such a sharing of the Savior, you may want to attend Lutheran Hour Ministries' SENT Outreach Conference, which is July 24-27 in Detroit. For more information, visit www.lhm.org/conference.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours, Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
1 Kings 19:1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I don’t make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time!”
3 When he saw that, he arose, and ran for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree. Then he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough. Now, O Yahweh, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”
5 He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat!”
6 He looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 Yahweh’s angel came again the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”
8 He arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, God’s Mountain. 9 He came to a cave there, and camped there; and behold, Yahweh’s word came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He said, “I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
11 He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.”
Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake a fire passed; but Yahweh was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a still small voice. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle, went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. Behold, a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 He said, “I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
15 Yahweh said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16 Anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi to be king over Israel; and anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah to be prophet in your place. 17 He who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and he who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 18 Yet I reserved seven thousand in Israel, all the knees of which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.”
19 So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. Elijah went over to him, and put his mantle on him. 20 Elisha left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me please kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.”
He said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?”
21 He returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and served him.
20:1 Ben Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, with horses and chariots. He went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it. 2 He sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and said to him, “Thus says Ben Hadad, 3 ‘Your silver and your gold is mine. Your wives also and your children, even the best, are mine.’”
4 The king of Israel answered, “It is according to your saying, my lord, O king. I am yours, and all that I have.”
5 The messengers came again, and said, “Ben Hadad says, ‘I sent indeed to you, saying, “You shall deliver me your silver, and your gold, and your wives, and your children; 6 but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they will search your house, and the houses of your servants; whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they will put it in their hand, and take it away.”’”
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, “Please notice how this man seeks mischief; for he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I didn’t deny him.”
8 All the elders and all the people said to him, “Don’t listen, and don’t consent.”
9 Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do; but this thing I cannot do.’”
The messengers departed, and brought him back the message. 10 Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”
11 The king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Don’t let him who puts on his armor brag like he who takes it off.’”
12 When Ben Hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings, in the pavilions, he said to his servants, “Prepare to attack!” They prepared to attack the city.
13 Behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel, and said, “Yahweh says, ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today; and you will know that I am Yahweh.’”
14 Ahab said, “By whom?”
He said, “Yahweh says, ‘By the young men of the princes of the provinces.’”
Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?”
He answered, “You.”
15 Then he mustered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two. After them, he mustered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand. 16 They went out at noon. But Ben Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings who helped him. 17 The young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben Hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, “Men are coming out from Samaria.”
18 He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
19 So these went out of the city, the young men of the princes of the provinces, and the army which followed them. 20 They each killed his man. The Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them. Ben Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen. 21 The king of Israel went out, and struck the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter. 22 The prophet came near to the king of Israel, and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself, and mark, and see what you do; for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against you.”
23 The servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. 24 Do this thing: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their place. 25 Muster an army, like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. We will fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than them.”
He listened to their voice, and did so. 26 At the return of the year, Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. 27 The children of Israel were mustered and given provisions, and went against them. The children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of young goats; but the Syrians filled the country. 28 A man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “Yahweh says, ‘Because the Syrians have said, “Yahweh is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys”; therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.’”
29 They encamped opposite each other for seven days. So it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed one hundred thousand footmen of the Syrians in one day. 30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben Hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner room. 31 His servants said to him, “See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth on our bodies, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he will save your life.”
32 So they put sackcloth on their bodies and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, “Your servant Ben Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’”
He said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
33 Now the men observed diligently, and hurried to take this phrase; and they said, “Your brother Ben Hadad.”
Then he said, “Go, bring him.”
Then Ben Hadad came out to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. 34 Ben Hadad said to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I will restore. You shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.”
“I”, said Ahab, “will let you go with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.
35 A certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by Yahweh’s word, “Please strike me!”
The man refused to strike him. 36 Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed Yahweh’s voice, behold, as soon as you have departed from me, a lion will kill you.” As soon as he had departed from him, a lion found him and killed him.
37 Then he found another man, and said, “Please strike me.”
The man struck him and wounded him. 38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes. 39 As the king passed by, he cried to the king; and he said, “Your servant went out into the middle of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man! If by any means he is missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent[1 Kings 20:39 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds] of silver.’ 40 As your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.”
The king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be. You yourself have decided it.”
41 He hurried, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets. 42 He said to him, “Yahweh says, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life will take the place of his life, and your people take the place of his people.’”
43 The king of Israel went to his house sullen and angry, and came to Samaria.
Acts 13:26 Brothers, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, the word of this salvation is sent out to you. 27 For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn’t know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. 28 Though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed. 29 When they had fulfilled all things that were written about him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people. 32 We bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled the same to us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second psalm,
‘You are my Son.
Today I have become your father.’[Acts 13:33 Psalm 2:7]
34 “Concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’[Acts 13:34 Isaiah 55:3] 35 Therefore he says also in another psalm, ‘You will not allow your Holy One to see decay.’[Acts 13:35 Psalm 16:10] 36 For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers, and saw decay. 37 But he whom God raised up saw no decay. 38 Be it known to you therefore, brothers,[Acts 13:38 The word for “brothers” here and where the context allows may also be correctly translated “brothers and sisters” or “siblings."] that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins, 39 and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. 40 Beware therefore, lest that come on you which is spoken in the prophets:
41 ‘Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish;
for I work a work in your days,
a work which you will in no way believe, if one declares it to you.’” [Acts 13:41 Habakkuk 1:5]
42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. 43 Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. 44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God. 45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed.
46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, “It was necessary that God’s word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so has the Lord commanded us, saying,
‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles,
that you should bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.’” [Acts 13:47 Isaiah 49:6]
48 As the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of God. As many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 The Lord’s word was spread abroad throughout all the region. 50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out of their borders. 51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came to Iconium. 52 The disciples were filled with joy with the Holy Spirit.
-------
The Lutheran Hour
660 Mason Ridge Center Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63141
1(800)876-9880
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment