The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Abandoned by Whom?" for Sunday, January 10, 2016

The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Abandoned by Whom?" for Sunday, January 10, 2016

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"[Matthew 27:46]
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our international ministry centers to write our Sunday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.
In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
On January 4, 2008, something happened when I expected it the least.
On that day my mother passed away, and for my brothers and myself, this sudden loss was most painful. Still, even in the midst of all the emotional turmoil, I could see the hand of God. It was His gracious will to bring all of us to her side so we might say goodbye and offer up our prayers of thanksgiving. How could we do otherwise when He had, through His Son, saved her soul?
The day we buried mother tears clouded the eyes of some of my brothers. That is not an unexpected emotional outpouring when someone has experienced such a great loss. I remember someone approached me in the time of burial and asked, "How are you, Ivan? How can you be so serene?"
I told him that God granted me that serenity through His Holy Spirit.
It was at that moment a biblical text came into my mind. That text was Psalm 27:10, where it says, "For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in." It was also at that moment I was given a deeper insight into what the psalmist was trying to convey.
He wanted believers to know that they would never be forsaken by their loving Lord because Jesus had endured that abandonment when He hung upon the cross.
I opened this devotion with the text which quoted Jesus praying to His Father and asking why had He been forsaken. Now, seven years after my mother's departure from this world, I am able to testify that the psalmist was most accurate.
Even though both my mother and my father are gone, none of us has been forsaken. They are with their risen Redeemer in everlasting joy, and I am always comforted that there will be a reunion in heaven for all who are washed in the Savior's blood.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, many people find themselves being abandoned in many different ways. I give thanks that because of my Savior I have been forgiven and granted a faith in You, my most faithful Friend and Lord. For all You have done, I offer my thanks and praise. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Biography of Author: Today's international devotion comes to us from our office in Venezuela. The author is 48-year-old Ivan Vasquez. He was born in Valencia, Venezuela, and is married to Iris. His lay work is done at Danaven, and he shares this about himself: "I arrived at 'Christ for All Nations' (that's the name of Lutheran Hour Ministries in that country) through a radio station. Having taken numerous theological classes, I rejoice that I have been able to assist in the 'Christ for All Nations' ministry through various speeches and presentations made at schools." Finally, Vasquez reports he is a member of the Lutheran Church of Valencia -- Estado Carabobo
Known in Venezuela as Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones ("Christ for All Nations"), LHM-Venezuela usesEquipping the Saints (ETS) and Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC) to reach out to South Americans with the Gospel, in this country of more than 33 million people. Additionally, this ministry center produces radio messages like "A Moment with God" and "Perspectives" to deal with life's everyday issues. Also its website is accessed by many, and visitors can opt to receive Christian devotional messages, as well as inspirational e-mails or text messages.
You can learn more about what goes on at LHM-Venezuela by clicking here to visit its blog.
To learn more about our International Ministries, click here or visit www.lhm.org/international.

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:
Job 3:1 (2) Iyov said,

2 (3) “Perish the day I was born

and the night that said, ‘A man is conceived.’

3 (4) May that day be darkness,

may God on high not seek it,

may no light shine on it,

4 (5) may gloom dark as death defile it,

may clouds settle on it,

may it be terrified by its own blackness.

5 (6) “As for that night, may thick darkness seize it,

may it not be joined to the days of the year,

may it not be numbered among the months;

6 (7) may that night be desolate,

may no cry of joy be heard in it;

7 (8) may those who curse days curse it,

those who[se curses] could rouse Livyatan;

8 (9) may the stars of its twilight be dark,

may it look for light but get none,

may it never see the shimmer of dawn —

9 (10) because it didn’t shut the doors of the womb I was in

and shield my eyes from trouble.

10 (11) “If I had been stillborn,

if I had died at birth,

11 (12) had there been no knees to receive me

or breasts for me to suck.

12 (13) Then I would be lying still and in peace,

I would have slept and been at rest,

13 (14) along with kings and their earthly advisers,

who rebuilt ruins for themselves,

14 (15) or with princes who had [plenty of] gold,

who filled their houses with silver.

15 (16) Or I could have been like a hidden, miscarried

child that never saw light.

16 (17) “There the wicked cease their raging,

there the weary are at rest,

17 (18) prisoners live at peace together

without hearing a taskmaster’s yells.

18 (19) Great and small alike are there,

and the slave is free of his master.

19 (20) “So why must light be given to the miserable

and life to the bitter in spirit?

20 (21) They long for death, but it never comes;

they search for it more than for buried treasure;

21 (22) when at last they find the grave,

they are so happy they shout for joy.

22 (23) [Why give light] to a man who wanders blindly,

whom God shuts in on every side?

23 (24) “My sighing serves in place of my food,

and my groans pour out in a torrent;

24 (25) for the thing I feared has overwhelmed me,

what I dreaded has happened to me.

25 (26) I have no peace, no quiet, no rest;

and anguish keeps coming.”

4:1 Then Elifaz the Teimani spoke up:

2 “If one tries to speak to you, will you mind?

Yet who could keep from speaking?

3 You have given moral instruction to many,

you have firmed up feeble hands,

4 your words have supported those who were stumbling,

and you have strengthened the weak-kneed.

5 “But now it comes to you, and you are impatient;

at the first touch, you are in shock.

6 Isn’t your fear of God your assurance,

and the integrity of your ways your hope?

7 “Think back: what innocent person has perished?

Since when are the upright destroyed?

8 What I see is that those who plow sin

and sow trouble reap just that.

9 At a breath from God, they perish;

at a blast from his anger, they are consumed.

10 The lion may growl, the king lion may roar,

but that old lion’s teeth are broken;

11 so the lion succumbs from lack of prey,

and the lion’s cubs are scattered.

12 “For a word was stealthily brought to me,

my ear caught only a whisper of it.

13 In passing thoughts flashing through visions at night,

when sleep lies heavy on people,

14 a shiver of horror came over me;

it made all my bones tremble.

15 Then a spirit passed in front of my face;

the hair of my flesh stood on end.

16 It stood still,

but I couldn’t make out its appearance;

yet the form stayed there before my eyes.

Then I heard a subdued voice:

17 ‘Can a human be seen by God as righteous?

Can a mortal be pure before his maker?

18 [God] doesn’t trust his own servants,

he finds fault even with his angels;

19 much more those living in houses of clay,

whose foundation is in the dust.

They are crushed more easily than a worm;

20 shattered between morning and evening;

they perish forever, and no one takes notice.

21 Their cord within them is pulled up;

then they die, without ever gaining wisdom.’

Matthew 8:1 After Yeshua had come down from the hill, large crowds followed him. 2 Then a man afflicted with tzara‘at came, kneeled down in front of him and said, “Sir, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 3 Yeshua reached out his hand, touched him and said, “I am willing! Be cleansed!” And at once he was cleansed from his tzara‘at. 4 Then Yeshua said to him, “See that you tell no one; but as a testimony to the people, go and let the cohen examine you, and offer the sacrifice that Moshe commanded.”

5 As Yeshua entered K’far-Nachum, a Roman army officer came up and pleaded for help. 6 “Sir, my orderly is lying at home paralyzed and suffering terribly!” 7 Yeshua said, “I will go and heal him.” 8 But the officer answered, “Sir, I am unfit to have you come into my home. Rather, if you will only give the command, my orderly will recover. 9 For I too am a man under authority. I have soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 On hearing this Yeshua was amazed and said to the people following him, “Yes! I tell you, I have not found anyone in Isra’el with such trust! 11 Moreover, I tell you that many will come from the east and from the west to take their places at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven with Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov. 12 But those born for the Kingdom will be thrown outside in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!” 13 Then Yeshua said to the officer, “Go; let it be for you as you have trusted.” And his orderly was healed at that very moment.

14 Yeshua went to Kefa’s home and there saw Kefa’s mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she got up and began helping him.

16 When evening came, many people held in the power of demons were brought to him. He expelled the spirits with a word and healed all who were ill. 17 This was done to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Yesha‘yahu,

“He himself took our weaknesses

and bore our diseases”[Matthew 8:17 Isaiah 53:4]

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