Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Fear Not!" by Reverend Wayne Palmer for Saturday, December 26, 2015

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Fear Not!" by Reverend Wayne Palmer for Saturday, December 26, 2015

Read Luke 2:8 In the countryside nearby were some shepherds spending the night in the fields, guarding their flocks, 9 when an angel of Adonai appeared to them, and the Sh’khinah of Adonai shone around them. They were terrified; 10 but the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, because I am here announcing to you Good News that will bring great joy to all the people. 11 This very day, in the town of David, there was born for you a Deliverer who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 Here is how you will know: you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.”. TEXT: And in that same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear (Luke 2:8-9).

Fear strikes again. First, Zechariah, then Mary, and now the shepherds are visited by an angel. All three times the angel brings good news of God's undeserved love and mercy. Yet the people who receive the divine messenger are filled with terror at the presence of this holy angel.
Of course, we have the benefit of knowing the angel has come with the Christmas announcement. The shepherds have no idea. All they know is that in the middle of an ordinary night an angel of light appears. And even more, the angel's splendor is almost lost in the surpassing brightness of God's own glory shining around them. Immediately aware of the darkness of their sin, guilt and shame, they tremble in fear.
We often find ourselves haunted by regret over things we have done--and the things we have left undone. We see relationships in tatters, opportunities we've foolishly squandered. Perhaps, even just yesterday, a rash and hurtful word came from our lips as we were gathered to celebrate our Savior's birth with family and friends.
In the midst of this paralyzing fear and guilt, the angel's message rings out for us: "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." Jesus Christ, the Child of Christmas, has completed the work for which He was sent into our world. He satisfied God's perfect plan, taking our punishment on Himself on the cross that we might enjoy His eternal splendor, peace and joy in heaven.
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, please forgive me all my sins and set me free from the guilt, regret and fear that paralyze me. In Your Name I ask this. Amen.
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
Nehemiah 4:1 (7) But when Sanvalat, Toviyah, the Arabs, the ‘Amonim and the Ashdodim heard that the repairs on the walls of Yerushalayim were going forward, and the breaks were being filled in, they became very angry. 2 (8) All of them together plotted to come and fight against Yerushalayim and thus throw us into confusion. 3 (9) However, we prayed to our God and, because of them, organized a watch against them day and night. 4 (10) Y’hudah was saying, “The strength of the people who carry loads away is starting to fail, and there is so much rubble that we can’t build the wall.” 5 (11) Our enemies were saying, “They won’t know or see anything, until we have already infiltrated them and begun killing them and stopping the work.” 6 (12) And even the Judeans living near them came and must have said to us ten times, “From every place you must come back to us.”

7 (13) So in the lower parts of the space behind the wall, I stationed men according to their families, with their swords, spears and bows. 8 (14) After inspecting them, I stood up and addressed the nobles, leaders and the rest of the people: “Don’t be afraid of them! Remember Adonai, who is great and fearful; and fight for your brothers, sons, daughters, wives and homes.” 9 (15) When our enemies heard that the plot was known to us, and God had foiled their plans, we all returned to the wall, everyone to his work. 10 (16) From then on, half of my men would do the work; and half of them held the spears, shields, bows and armor; while the leaders stood guard behind the entire house of Y’hudah, 11 (17) as they continued building the wall. Those who carried loads held their loads with one hand and carried a weapon in the other. 12 (18) As for the construction-workers, each one had his sword sheathed at his side; that is how they built. The man to sound the alarm on the shofar stayed with me. 13 (19) I said to the nobles, the leaders and the rest of the people, “This is a great work, and it is spread out; we are separated on the wall, one far from another. 14 (20) But wherever you are, when you hear the sound of the shofar, come to that place, to us. Our God will fight for us!”

15 (21) So we kept doing the work. Half of them held spears from daybreak until the stars appeared. 16 (22) Also at that time I told the people, “Let everyone with a servant stay the night within Yerushalayim, so that at night they can be a guard for us, even as they work during the day.” 17 (23) I, my kinsmen, my servants and my bodyguards never took off our clothes, and everyone who went to get water took his weapon.

5:1 Then there arose a great outcry from the common people and their wives against their brothers the [wealthier] Judeans. 2 Some of them said, “Counting our sons and daughters, there are a lot of us! Allow us to get grain for them, so that we can eat and stay alive.” 3 There were also some who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, vineyards and homes in order to buy grain, because of the famine.” 4 Yet others said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s taxes against our fields and vineyards. 5 Now our flesh is no different from the flesh of our kinsmen, and our children are the same as their children; yet we are bringing our sons and daughters into bondage as slaves. Some of our daughters have gone into slavery already, and it’s beyond our power to do anything about it, because other men have our fields and vineyards.”

6 When I heard their outcry and the reasons for it, I became very angry. 7 I thought the matter over and then took issue with the nobles and rulers. I charged them, “You are lending against pledges, everyone to his brother”; and I summoned a great assembly to deal with them. 8 I said to them, “We, to the limit of our ability, have redeemed our brothers the Judeans who sold themselves to the pagans. Now you are selling your own brothers, and we will have to buy them back!” They stayed silent; they couldn’t think of anything to say. 9 I also said, “What you are doing is not good! You should be living in fear of our God, so that our pagan enemies won’t have grounds for deriding us. 10 Moreover, my brothers and my servants, I too have loaned them money and grain. Please, let’s stop making it so burdensome to go into debt. 11 Please! Today! Give them back their fields, vineyards, olive groves and homes; also the hundred pieces of silver and the grain, wine and olive oil you demand from them as interest.”

12 They answered, “We will give it back. We will require nothing from them. Yes, we will do it, just as you say.” Then I called the cohanim and took an oath from them that they would do as they had promised. 13 Shaking out the fold in my garment, I said, “May God thus shake every man from his house and from his work who fails to live up to this promise — may he be shaken out like this and made empty.” The whole assembly said, “Amen!” and praised Adonai; and the people did as they had promised.

14 Besides that, from the time I was appointed their governor in the land of Y’hudah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of Artach’shashta the king — that is, for twelve years — neither I nor my colleagues drew on the governor’s living allowance. 15 The earlier governors, before me, had burdened the people, taxing them more than one-and-a-half pounds of silver shekels for food and wine; and even their servants lorded it over the people. But I didn’t, because I feared God. 16 Moreover, I put all my energy into working on this wall. We didn’t buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.

17 There were 150 leaders and other Judeans who ate at my table, besides those who came to us from the surrounding nations. 18 Every day one ox, six choice sheep, and fowl were prepared for me, and every ten days a supply of all kinds of wine. Yet in spite of all this, I never claimed the governor’s allowance, because the people were already bearing the heavy burden of their labor. 19 My God, remember favorably everything I have done for this people!

6:1 When it was reported to Sanvalat, Toviyah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and that not a single gap was left in it — although up to that time I hadn’t yet set up the doors in the gateways — 2 Sanvalat and Geshem sent me a message which said, “Come, let’s meet together in one of the villages of the Ono Valley.” But they were planning to do me harm; 3 so I sent them messengers with this message: “I’m too busy with important work to come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to come down to you?” 4 They kept sending this sort of message to me — four times — and I answered them the same way.

5 The fifth time, with the same purpose, Sanvalat sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand, 6 in which was written: “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says it too, that you and the Judeans are planning a revolt, that this is why you are rebuilding the wall, and that you intend to be their king,” and similar words; 7 “moreover, that you have also appointed prophets to proclaim about you in Yerushalayim, ‘There is a king in Y’hudah!’ A report along these lines is now going to be made to the king. Come now, therefore, and let’s discuss this.” 8 I sent him this answer; “Nothing like what you are saying is being done. You’re making it all up in your head.” 9 They were all just trying to scare us, thinking, “This will sap their strength and keep them from working.” But now, [God,] increase my strength!

10 One day, when I went to the house of Sh’ma‘yah the son of D’layah, the son of M’heitav’el, where he was confined, he said, “Let’s meet together in the house of God, inside the temple, and let’s shut the doors of the temple. For they are going to come and try to assassinate you; yes, they will come at night to kill you.” 11 I replied, “Should a man like me run away? Can a man like me go into the temple to save his life? I refuse to go in.” 12 Then I realized that God had not sent him, that he was making this prophecy against me, and that Toviyah and Sanvalat had bribed him to say it. 13 He had been hired to frighten me into following his suggestion and thus sin, so that they would have material for their unfavorable report about me and could taunt me with it. 14 My God, remember Toviyah and Sanvalat according to their deeds, also the prophet No‘adyah and the other prophets trying to intimidate me.

15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard about it and the surrounding nations became afraid, our enemies’ self-esteem fell severely; because they realized that this work had been accomplished by our God.

17 During this same period of time, the nobles of Y’hudah sent many letters to Toviyah, and Toviyah kept sending them replies. 18 For there were many in Y’hudah who had sworn allegiance to him, because he was the son-in-law of Sh’khanyah the son of Arach, and his son Y’hochanan had taken as his wife the daughter of Meshulam the son of Berekhyah. 19 They would even praise his good deeds in my presence, and they passed on my words to him. And Toviyah kept sending letters to intimidate me.

Revelation 17:1 Then came one of the angels with the seven bowls; and he said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore who is sitting by many waters. 2 The kings of the earth went whoring with her, and the people living on earth have become drunk from the wine of her whoring.” 3 He carried me off in the Spirit to a desert, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast filled with blasphemous names and having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet and glittered with gold, precious stones and pearls. In her hand was a gold cup filled with the obscene and filthy things produced by her whoring. 5 On her forehead was written a name with a hidden meaning,

BAVEL THE GREAT

MOTHER OF WHORES AND OF

THE EARTH’S OBSCENITIES

6 I saw the woman drunk from the blood of God’s people, that is, from the blood of the people who testify about Yeshua.

On seeing her, I was altogether astounded. 7 Then the angel said to me, “Why are you astounded? I will tell you the hidden meaning of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that was carrying her. 8 The beast you saw once was, now is not, and will come up from the Abyss; but it is on its way to destruction. The people living on earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life since the founding of the world will be astounded to see the beast that once was, now is not, but is to appear. 9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman is sitting; also they are seven kings — 10 five have fallen, one is living now and the other is yet to come; and when he does come, he must remain only a little while. 11 The beast which once was and now is not is an eighth king; it comes from the seven and is on its way to destruction. 12 The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet begun to rule, but they receive power as kings for one hour, along with the beast. 13 They have one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are called, chosen and faithful will overcome along with him.”

15 Then he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the whore is sitting, are peoples, crowds, nations and languages. 16 As for the ten horns that you saw and the beast, they will hate the whore, bring her to ruin, leave her naked, eat her flesh and consume her with fire. 17 For God put it in their hearts to do what will fulfill his purpose, that is, to be of one mind and give their kingdom to the beast until God’s words have accomplished their intent. 18 And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

---------------------
The Lutheran Hour

660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141, United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
---------------------