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 6:68-69]
In the year 1855, the powerful preacher, Charles Spurgeon said, "If you want truth to go round the world you must hire an express train to pull it, but if you want a lie to go round the world, it will fly. It will be light as a feather, and a breath will carry it. It is well said in the old Proverb, 'A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on.'"
Now I don't know if that was really true in Spurgeon's day, but I do know that the Internet age has given us a world where a lie can go around the world in an instant ... numerous times.
Case in point: NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, went on record as saying that, as far as it was concerned, the world was not going to end in the immediate and foreseeable future. And why would NASA feel the need to say such a thing?
Simple: the Internet was ablaze with rumors of a great, big asteroid plowing into the earth.
This predicted asteroid would be large enough and traveling fast enough to destroy Puerto Rico, the Atlantic and gulf coasts of the U.S., Mexico, Central and South America. To paraphrase NASA: it ain't a'gonna happen. As proof, they shared, "If something was headed toward earth and promised to do that kind of damage, we would have seen it by now."
"But," and NASA emphasizes this, "there is not one shred of evidence that an asteroid will mess with us next month." Moreover, they add, the odds on that happening before 2,100 AD is .01 percent.
I guess I can live with those odds. How about you?
Now the reason we bring the subject up in this devotion is this: unless you dig a hole and pull it in after you, a rumor like this doesn't do that much damage. But there are many other rumors which are not nearly as innocent; there are other lies whose impact can be devastating.
In John 8:48 Jesus encountered rumor-mongers who challenged, "Are we not right in saying that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" At His trial, numerous witnesses were bribed to tell fake stories and lies about Jesus. After His glorious resurrection from the dead, the guards who had been at the tomb were instructed to lie about what had happened.
It was no different for the early church as many outsiders believed the lies about Jesus' followers being cannibals and child murderers. Today it is a rare month that does not boast some book or movie that lies about the Savior; which does not have some skeptic or critic telling us the "real truth" about the Redeemer.
Sadly, the stranger and more exaggerated the lies are, the more readily they seem to be accepted.
This is why this devotion encourages you to search the Scriptures because they contain God's plan for eternal life, which is ours through the victory of Jesus. It is why, when you hear some outrageous lie about the Savior, your voice should join with Peter and confess: "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."
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, in a world of lies, partial truths, and slanted statistics, may we hold fast to Jesus who alone is the Truth. In His Name we pray it. Amen.
In the year 1855, the powerful preacher, Charles Spurgeon said, "If you want truth to go round the world you must hire an express train to pull it, but if you want a lie to go round the world, it will fly. It will be light as a feather, and a breath will carry it. It is well said in the old Proverb, 'A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on.'"
Now I don't know if that was really true in Spurgeon's day, but I do know that the Internet age has given us a world where a lie can go around the world in an instant ... numerous times.
Case in point: NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, went on record as saying that, as far as it was concerned, the world was not going to end in the immediate and foreseeable future. And why would NASA feel the need to say such a thing?
Simple: the Internet was ablaze with rumors of a great, big asteroid plowing into the earth.
This predicted asteroid would be large enough and traveling fast enough to destroy Puerto Rico, the Atlantic and gulf coasts of the U.S., Mexico, Central and South America. To paraphrase NASA: it ain't a'gonna happen. As proof, they shared, "If something was headed toward earth and promised to do that kind of damage, we would have seen it by now."
"But," and NASA emphasizes this, "there is not one shred of evidence that an asteroid will mess with us next month." Moreover, they add, the odds on that happening before 2,100 AD is .01 percent.
I guess I can live with those odds. How about you?
Now the reason we bring the subject up in this devotion is this: unless you dig a hole and pull it in after you, a rumor like this doesn't do that much damage. But there are many other rumors which are not nearly as innocent; there are other lies whose impact can be devastating.
In John 8:48 Jesus encountered rumor-mongers who challenged, "Are we not right in saying that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" At His trial, numerous witnesses were bribed to tell fake stories and lies about Jesus. After His glorious resurrection from the dead, the guards who had been at the tomb were instructed to lie about what had happened.
It was no different for the early church as many outsiders believed the lies about Jesus' followers being cannibals and child murderers. Today it is a rare month that does not boast some book or movie that lies about the Savior; which does not have some skeptic or critic telling us the "real truth" about the Redeemer.
Sadly, the stranger and more exaggerated the lies are, the more readily they seem to be accepted.
This is why this devotion encourages you to search the Scriptures because they contain God's plan for eternal life, which is ours through the victory of Jesus. It is why, when you hear some outrageous lie about the Savior, your voice should join with Peter and confess: "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."
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, in a world of lies, partial truths, and slanted statistics, may we hold fast to Jesus who alone is the Truth. In His Name we pray it. 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:
2 Chronicles 21:1 Y’hoshafat slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, and Y’horam his son became king in his place. 2 He had brothers who were sons of Y’hoshafat — ‘Azaryah, Yechi’el, Z’kharyahu, ‘Azaryahu, Mikha’el and Sh’fatyahu; all these were sons of Y’hoshafat king of Isra’el. 3 Their father had given them lavish gifts of silver, gold and other items of value, as well as fortified cities in Y’hudah; but he had given the kingdom to Y’horam, because he was the firstborn. 4 But when Y’horam had taken control of his father’s kingdom and consolidated his rule, he put to the sword all his brothers and a number of the leading men in Isra’el.
_____________________________
The Lutheran Hour
660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
___________________________
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
2 Chronicles 21:1 Y’hoshafat slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, and Y’horam his son became king in his place. 2 He had brothers who were sons of Y’hoshafat — ‘Azaryah, Yechi’el, Z’kharyahu, ‘Azaryahu, Mikha’el and Sh’fatyahu; all these were sons of Y’hoshafat king of Isra’el. 3 Their father had given them lavish gifts of silver, gold and other items of value, as well as fortified cities in Y’hudah; but he had given the kingdom to Y’horam, because he was the firstborn. 4 But when Y’horam had taken control of his father’s kingdom and consolidated his rule, he put to the sword all his brothers and a number of the leading men in Isra’el.
5 He was thirty-two years old when he began his reign, and he ruled eight years in Yerushalayim. 6 He lived after the example of the kings of Isra’el, as did the house of Ach’av; because he had married Ach’av’s daughter; he did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective. 7 However, Adonai was unwilling to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant he had made with David; inasmuch as he had promised to give him and his children a lamp that would burn forever.
8 During his time Edom revolted against Y’hudah and set up its own king. 9 Then Y’horam crossed with his commanders and all his chariots. Under cover of night, he and his chariot commanders attacked and defeated Edom, who had surrounded him. 10 Nevertheless, since that day Edom has remained free of Y’hudah’s domination. Livnah revolted against him at the same time, because he had abandoned Adonai the God of his ancestors. 11 Moreover, he built high places in the hills of Y’hudah, caused the people living in Yerushalayim to prostitute themselves and drew Y’hudah away.
12 A letter came to him from Eliyahu the prophet which said, “Here is what Adonai, the God of David your ancestor, says: ‘You have not lived by the examples of Y’hoshafat your father or Asa king of Y’hudah. 13 Instead you have lived by the example of the kings of Isra’el and have caused Y’hudah and the people living in Yerushalayim to prostitute themselves, just as the house of Ach’av caused [Isra’el] to prostitute themselves. Moreover, you killed your brothers from your father’s house, men better than you. 14 Because of all this, Adonai is going to strike your people with a terrible disease, also your children, your wives and everything you have. 15 You will be very ill from a disease in your intestines, until your intestines protrude, because of the effects of this disease, day after day.’”
16 Then Adonai aroused against Y’horam the spirit of the P’lishtim and of the Arabs near the Ethiopians; 17 and they came up to attack Y’hudah. They broke in and carried off all the personal property they could find in the royal palace, as well as his children and his wives; so that no son was left to him except Y’ho’achaz his youngest son.
18 After all this, Adonai struck him in his intestines with an incurable disease. 19 In time, after two years, his intestines protruded because of his disease, and he suffered a most painful death. His people kindled no fire for him, as had been done for his ancestors. 20 He was thirty-two years old when he began his reign, he ruled in Yerushalayim for eight years, and he left without joy. They buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
Obadiah 1 This is the vision of ‘Ovadyah. Here is what Adonai Elohim says about Edom. As a messenger was being sent among the nations saying, “Come on, let’s attack her,” we heard a message from Adonai:
2 “I am making you the least of all nations,
you will be beneath contempt.
3 Your proud heart has deceived you,
you whose homes are caves in the cliffs,
who live on the heights and say to yourselves,
‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
4 If you make your nest as high as an eagle’s,
even if you place it among the stars,
I will bring you down from there.” says Adonai.
5 If thieves were to come to you,
or if robbers by night
(Oh, how destroyed you are!),
wouldn’t they stop when they’d stolen enough?
If grape-pickers came to you,
Wouldn’t they leave some grapes for gleaning?
6 But see how ‘Esav has been looted,
their secret treasures searched out!
7 Your allies went with you only to the border,
those at peace with you deceived and defeated you,
those who ate your food set a trap for you,
and you couldn’t discern it.
8 “When that Day comes,” says Adonai,
“won’t I destroy all the wise men of Edom
and leave no discernment on Mount ‘Esav?
9 Your warriors, Teman, will be so distraught
that everyone on Mount ‘Esav will be slaughtered.
10 For the violence done to your kinsman Ya‘akov,
shame will cover you;
and you will be forever cut off.
11 On that day you stood aside,
while strangers carried off his treasure,
and foreigners entered his gates
to cast lots for Yerushalayim —
you were no different from them.
12 You shouldn’t have gloated over your kinsman
on their day of disaster
or rejoiced over the people of Y’hudah
on their day of destruction.
You shouldn’t have spoken arrogantly
on a day of trouble
13 or entered the gate of my people
on their day of calamity —
no, you shouldn’t have gloated over their suffering
on their day of calamity
or laid hands on their treasure
on their day of calamity.
14 You shouldn’t have stood at the crossroads
to cut down their fugitives
or handed over their survivors
on a day of trouble.”
15 For the Day of Adonai is near for all nations;
as you did, it will be done to you;
your dealings will come back on your own head.
16 For just as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
so will all the nations drink in turn;
yes, they will drink and gulp it down
and be as if they had never existed.
17 But on Mount Tziyon there will be
a holy remnant who will escape,
and the house of Ya‘akov will repossess
their rightful inheritance.
18 The house of Ya‘akov will be a fire
and the house of Yosef a flame,
setting aflame and consuming
the stubble which is the house of ‘Esav.
None of the house of ‘Esav will remain,
for Adonai has spoken.
19 Those in the Negev will repossess
the mountain of ‘Esav,
and those in the Sh’felah
the land of the P’lishtim;
they will repossess the field of Efrayim
and the field of Shomron,
and Binyamin will occupy Gil‘ad.
20 Those from this army of the people of Isra’el
exiled among the Kena‘anim as far away as Tzarfat,
and the exiles from Yerushalayim in S’farad,
will repossess the cities in the Negev.
21 Then the victorious will ascend Mount Tziyon
to rule over Mount ‘Esav,
but the kingship will belong to Adonai.
2 Corinthians 8:1 Now, brothers, we must tell you about the grace God has given the congregations in Macedonia. 2 Despite severe trials, and even though they are desperately poor, their joy has overflowed in a wealth of generosity. 3 I tell you they have not merely given according to their means, but of their own free will they have given beyond their means. 4 They begged and pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service for God’s people. 5 Also, they didn’t do this in the way we had expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord, which means, by God’s will, to us.
6 All this has led us to urge Titus to bring this same gracious gift to completion among you, since he has already made a beginning of it. 7 Just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in diligence of every kind, and in your love for us — see that you excel in this gift too. 8 I am not issuing an order; rather, I am testing the genuineness of your love against the diligence of others. 9 For you know how generous our Lord Yeshua the Messiah was — for your sakes he impoverished himself, even though he was rich, so that he might make you rich by means of his poverty. 10 As I say, in regard to this matter I am only giving an opinion. A year ago you were not only the first to take action but the first to want to do so. Now it would be to your advantage 11 to finish what you started, so that your eagerness in wanting to commence the project may be matched by your eagerness to complete it, as you contribute from what you have. 12 For if the eagerness to give is there, the acceptability of the gift will be measured by what you have, not by what you don’t have. 13 It is not that relief for others should cause trouble for you, but that there should be a kind of reciprocity: 14 at present your abundance can help those in need; so that when you are in need, their abundance can help you — thus there is reciprocity. 15 It is as the Tanakh says,
“He who gathered much had nothing extra,
and he who gathered little had nothing lacking.”[2 Corinthians 8:15 Exodus 16:18]
16 Now I thank God for making Titus as devoted to you as we are; 17 for he not only responded to our urging, but, being so devoted, he is coming to you on his own initiative. 18 And with him we are sending the brother whose work for the Good News is praised in all the congregations; 19 not only that, he has also been appointed by the congregations to travel with us, so that the way we administer this charitable work will bring honor to the Lord and show our eagerness to help. 20 Our aim in this is to show that our conduct in dealing with these substantial sums is above reproach; 21 for we take pains to do what is right not only in the sight of God but also in the sight of other people.[2 Corinthians 8:21 Proverbs 3:4 (Septuagint)] 22 With these two we are sending another brother of ours, one whose diligence we have tested many times in many ways, but who is now all the more diligent because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner who works with me on your behalf; and the other brothers with him are emissaries of the congregations and bring honor to the Messiah. 24 So the love you show these men will justify our pride in you to them, and through them to the congregations that sent them.
Footnotes:
The Lutheran Hour
660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
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