Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Getting around to It" for Sunday, 31 May 2015

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Getting around to It" for Sunday, 31 May 2015

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.[1 Peter3:15]
One day Jesus asked an unnamed someone to follow Him and tell others about the kingdom of heaven. The man replied something along the lines of "I'll be glad to, but first let me go and bury my father."
To most of us that sounds like a perfectly reasonable reply.
But, when Jesus heard the man's excuse, He responded, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:60b). Have you ever thought Jesus was being hard on that fellow? If that's been your opinion, let's set the record straight.
To do that you should know two things: First, back in Jesus' time the custom was to have an individual's funeral within 24 hours. If this man's father had died, he wouldn't have been talking to the Savior. He would have been making funeral plans.
Second, if this man's father had died, Jesus probably would have gone to the man's house and brought the dead dad back to life. But Jesus didn't do that. Why? The best answer is the man's father wasn't dead.
What the fellow was probably trying to say could be rewritten like this: "Lord, I will follow You, but first let me take care of my family obligations, You know, things like the anticipated death of my father. Then, someday, when that's done, I'm absolutely going to follow You and share Your Name with others."
When would that be? When would the man ever get around to witnessing? Yes, he would take care of his father's funeral when that time came; then there would be his wife's "honey-do" list, and there would be saving enough for the children's college ... and funding the retirement account.
In short, for this man, sharing the Savior was secondary.
The truth is there is always a multitude of excuses a Christian can make, a myriad of explanations he can give, to not share the Savior and the salvation He has won for us at the cost of His life. Many are tempted to say, "Absolutely, Lord. I am going to do some serious witnessing as soon as I can get around to it." Many have no problem saying, "Jesus, You're on my list. Please be patient."
That attitude is a sad one. Consider if Jesus had said, "Sure, humanity needs to be saved, and as soon as I get some free time, I'm going to do it. But right now I'm pretty busy."
Thankfully, Jesus didn't do that to us, and we shouldn't put our witnessing to Him on the back burner either. Understand, I'm not suggesting you sell everything you own and set out on a multi-year missionary journey.
On the other hand, I wonder if the Lord hasn't given you a person with whom you can share the Savior better than anyone else. If so, maybe this is the time to tell them of God's great love for them, which has come in the Person of Jesus.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks saving us was a priority for You. Grant we also may make the salvation of others a priority. When I witness, take away my fear, bless my words, and reclaim a lost soul. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

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:
Psalms 36:(0) For the leader. By David, the servant of Adonai:

2 (1) Crime speaks to the wicked.

I perceive this in my heart;

before his eyes there is no fear

of God.

3 (2) For, the way he sees it,

crime makes his life easy —

that is, until his wrongs are discovered;

then, he is hated.

4 (3) His words are wrong and deceitful;

he has stopped being wise and doing good.

5 (4) He devises trouble as he lies in bed;

so set is he on his own bad way

that he doesn’t hate evil.

6 (5) Adonai, in the heavens is your grace;

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

7 (6) Your righteousness is like the mountains of God,

your judgments are like the great deep.

You save man and beast, Adonai.

8 (7) How precious, God, is your grace!

People take refuge in the shadow of your wings,

9 (8) they feast on the rich bounty of your house,

and you have them drink from the stream of your delights.

10 (9) For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light we see light.

11 (10) Continue your grace to those who know you

and your righteousness to the upright in heart.

12 (11) Don’t let the foot of the proud tread on me

or the hands of the wicked drive me away.

13 (12) There they lie fallen, those evildoers,

flung down and unable to rise.

37:(0) By David:

(1) Don’t be upset by evildoers

or envious of those who do wrong,

2 for soon they will wither like grass

and fade like the green in the fields.

3 Trust in Adonai, and do good;

settle in the land, and feed on faithfulness.

4 Then you will delight yourself in Adonai,

and he will give you your heart’s desire.

5 Commit your way to Adonai;

trust in him, and he will act.

6 He will make your vindication shine forth like light,

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before Adonai;

wait patiently till he comes.

Don’t be upset by those whose way

succeeds because of their wicked plans.

8 Stop being angry, put aside rage,

and don’t be upset — it leads to evil.

9 For evildoers will be cut off,

but those hoping in Adonai will inherit the land.

10 Soon the wicked will be no more;

you will look for his place, and he won’t be there.

11 But the meek will inherit the land

and delight themselves in abundant peace.

12 The wicked plots against the righteous

and grinds his teeth at him;

13 but Adonai laughs at the wicked,

knowing his day will come.

14 The wicked have unsheathed their swords,

they have strung their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slaughter those whose way is upright.

15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

16 Better the little that the righteous has

than the wealth of all the wicked.

17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,

but Adonai upholds the righteous.

18 Adonai knows what the wholehearted suffer,

but their inheritance lasts forever.

19 They will not be distressed when times are hard;

when famine comes, they will have plenty.

20 For the wicked will perish;

Adonai’s enemies will be like sheep fat,

ending up as smoke, finished.

21 The wicked borrows and doesn’t repay,

but the righteous is generous and gives.

22 For those blessed by [Adonai] will inherit the land,

but those cursed by him will be cut off.

23 Adonai directs a person’s steps,

and he delights in his way.

24 He may stumble, but he won’t fall headlong,

for Adonai holds him by the hand.

25 I have been young; now I am old;

yet not once have I seen the righteous abandoned

or his descendants begging for bread.

26 All day long he is generous and lends,

and his descendants are blessed.

27 If you turn from evil and do good,

you will live safely forever.

28 For Adonai loves justice

and will not abandon his faithful;

they are preserved forever.

But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

29 The righteous will inherit the land

and live in it forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous articulates wisdom,

his tongue speaks justice.

31 The Torah of his God is in his heart;

his footsteps do not falter.

32 The wicked keeps his eye on the righteous,

seeking a chance to kill him.

33 But Adonai will not leave him in his power

or let him be condemned when judged.

34 Put your hope in Adonai, keep to his way,

and he will raise you up to inherit the land.

When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

35 I have seen a wicked man wielding great power,

flourishing like a shade tree in its native soil.

36 But I passed by again, and he was no longer there;

I looked for him, but he could not be found.

37 Observe the pure person, consider the upright;

for the peaceful person will have posterity.

38 But transgressors will all be destroyed;

the posterity of the wicked will be cut off.

39 Adonai is the one who saves the righteous;

he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

40 Adonai helps them and rescues them,

rescues them from the wicked and saves them;

because they take refuge in him.

38:(0) A psalm of David, serving as a reminder:

2 (1) Adonai, don’t rebuke me when you are angry

or discipline me when you are enraged,

3 (2) for your arrows penetrate me deeply,

and your hand is pressing me down.

4 (3) Your indignation left no part of me intact;

my sin made my whole body sick;

5 (4) for my iniquities loom high over my head

as a heavy burden, too heavy for me.

6 (5) I have stinking, festering wounds

because of my foolishness.

7 (6) I am bent down, prostrate completely;

I go about mourning all day long.

8 (7) For my insides burn with fever,

and my whole body is sick.

9 (8) I am numb, completely crushed;

my anguished heart makes me groan aloud.

10 (9) Adonai, all my longing is known to you;

my sighing is not hidden from you.

11 (10) My heart is throbbing, my strength is gone,

and the light in my eyes has left me.

12 (11) My friends and companions shun my disease;

even the closest keep their distance.

13 (12) Those seeking my life lay snares for me,

those seeking to harm me speak of disaster

and think up deceptions all day long.

14 (13) But I’m like a deaf man — I don’t hear it;

and, like a mute, I don’t say a word.

15 (14) Yes, I’ve become like a man who doesn’t hear

and in whose mouth are no defenses.

16 (15) For it is in you, Adonai, that I hope.

You will answer, Adonai my God.

17 (16) I said, “Don’t let them gloat over me

or boast against me when my foot slips.”

18 (17) For I am about to fall,

and my pain is always with me.

19 (18) I acknowledge my guilt,

I am anxious because of my sin.

20 (19) But my enemies are alive and well,

those who wrongfully hate me increase their numbers;

21 (20) and, since they repay good with evil,

they oppose me because I pursue good.

22 (21) Don’t abandon me, Adonai!

My God, don’t be far from me!

23 (22) Come quickly to help me,

Adonai, my salvation!

John 12:1 Six days before Pesach, Yeshua came to Beit-Anyah, where El‘azar lived, the man Yeshua had raised from the dead; 2 so they gave a dinner there in his honor. Marta served the meal, and El‘azar was among those at the table with him. 3 Miryam took a whole pint of pure oil of spikenard, which is very expensive, poured it on Yeshua’s feet and wiped his feet with her hair, so that the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of the talmidim, Y’hudah from K’riot, the one who was about to betray him, said, 5 “This perfume is worth a year’s wages! Why wasn’t it sold and the money given to the poor?” 6 Now he said this not out of concern for the poor, but because he was a thief — he was in charge of the common purse and used to steal from it. 7 Yeshua said, “Leave her alone! She kept this for the day of my burial. 8 You always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

9 A large crowd of Judeans learned that he was there; and they came not only because of Yeshua, but also so that they could see El‘azar, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 The head cohanim then decided to do away with El‘azar too, 11 since it was because of him that large numbers of the Judeans were leaving their leaders and putting their trust in Yeshua.

12 The next day, the large crowd that had come for the festival heard that Yeshua was on his way into Yerushalayim. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Deliver us!”[a]

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai,[b] the King of Isra’el!”

14 After finding a donkey colt, Yeshua mounted it, just as the Tanakh says —

15 “Daughter of Tziyon, don’t be afraid!

Look! your King is coming,

sitting on a donkey’s colt.”[c]

16 His talmidim did not understand this at first; but after Yeshua had been glorified, then they remembered that the Tanakh said this about him, and that they had done this for him. 17 The group that had been with him when he called El‘azar out of the tomb and raised him from the dead had been telling about it. 18 It was because of this too that the crowd came out to meet him — they had heard that he had performed this miracle. 19 The P’rushim said to each other, “Look, you’re getting nowhere! Why, the whole world has gone after him!”

20 Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greek-speaking Jews. 21 They approached Philip, the one from Beit-Tzaidah in the Galil, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Yeshua.” 22 Philip came and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Yeshua. 23 Yeshua gave them this answer: “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Yes, indeed! I tell you that unless a grain of wheat that falls to the ground dies, it stays just a grain; but if it dies, it produces a big harvest. 25 He who loves his life loses it, but he who hates his life in this world will keep it safe right on into eternal life! 26 If someone is serving me, let him follow me; wherever I am, my servant will be there too. My Father will honor anyone who serves me.[Footnotes:

John 12:13 Psalm 118:25

John 12:13 Psalm 118:26

John 12:15 Zechariah 9:9]

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