The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Fakes" for Tuesday, April 5, 2016

The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Fakes" for Tuesday, April 5, 2016 

For there is one God, and there is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.[1 Timothy 2:5-6]
The quotation, which comes from the State of Washington, reads this way: "In the work that I do as attorney general, I really see the lowest of the low when it comes to scams. This one ranks right up there. It really is as low as you can get. All to make a buck."
And if you're wondering just what it is that can make a state's attorney general froth at the mouth this way, I can tell you: it is the Christian National Church. Now, please don't think this is just another case of the state persecuting a religious denomination. That is not the case. No, that is not the case at all.
Here's the story: the Christian National Church went on the web and offered to help people with their prayers. If you had a need, they were willing to "take it to the Lord in prayer." The website listed various pastors, their credentials, and endorsements from people who had received a powerful and positive answer to their petitions, which had gone through the clergy of the Christian National Church.
But there's more. The Church said, that for a small, regular cash fee, it could keep your prayers winging their way toward heaven and, most importantly, you, the petitioner, would get what you asked of the Lord.
Now comes the part that upset the attorney general -- and those who made their payments to the Christian National Church. There is no such church. It is a web-based organization run by a con-man named Benjamin Rogovy. And the praying pastors on the website? They're all fictitious, as are all the endorsements.
In spite of the church being fake from stem to stern, they still managed to collect a boodle of bucks. That's why, when the flimflam was exposed in court, the judge order Rogovy to pay back $7.8 million as retribution for false advertising claims.
Now most of you Daily Devotioners are probably saying to yourself, "Why do people give their money to such an organization? You don't need to have pastors, priests, or the Christian National Church help you with your prayers."
In saying that you would be right. People don't need assistance, but many times folks want some prayer support. Being humble in spirit, and feeling they don't have the proper words to get the Lord's attention or response, such folks often turn to someone whom they feel has better qualifications than they.
And that, my friends, is not a bad idea. In fact, going to someone with better qualifications is a great idea. This is precisely why we go to the one Mediator between sinful humankind and the perfect Triune God: the God-Man Jesus Christ. We know that He who gave His life for our salvation and forgiveness stands ready to intercede for those who call upon Him in the day of trouble (see Psalm 50:15). We go to Him because He is the One who can help.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, keep us away from the false and fake and let us look for assistance from our Savior, Mediator, and Lord: Jesus Christ. In His Name we pray. 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:
Deuteronomy 32:1 “Hear, oh heavens, as I speak!

Listen, earth, to the words from my mouth!

2 May my teaching fall like rain.

May my speech condense like dew,

like light rain on blades of grass,

or showers on growing plants.

3 “For I will proclaim the name of Adonai.

Come, declare the greatness of our God!

4 The Rock! His work is perfect,

for all his ways are just.

A trustworthy God who does no wrong,

he is righteous and straight.

5 “He is not corrupt; the defect is in his children,

a crooked and perverted generation.

6 You foolish people, so lacking in wisdom,

is this how you repay Adonai?

He is your father, who made you his!

It was he who formed and prepared you!

(ii) 7 “Remember how the old days were;

think of the years through all the ages.

Ask your father — he will tell you;

your leaders too — they will inform you.

8 “When ‘Elyon gave each nation its heritage,

when he divided the human race,

he assigned the boundaries of peoples

according to Isra’el’s population;

9 but Adonai’s share was his own people,

Ya‘akov his allotted heritage.

10 “He found his people in desert country,

in a howling, wasted wilderness.

He protected him and cared for him,

guarded him like the pupil of his eye,

11 like an eagle that stirs up her nest,

hovers over her young,

spreads out her wings, takes them

and carries them as she flies.

12 “Adonai alone led his people;

no alien god was with him.

(iii) 13 He made them ride on the heights of the earth.

They ate the produce of the fields.

He had them suck honey from the rocks

and olive oil from the crags,

14 curds from the cows and milk from the sheep,

with lamb fat, rams from Bashan and goats,

with the finest wheat flour;

and you drank sparkling wine from the blood of grapes.

15 “But Yeshurun grew fat and kicked

(you grew fat, thick, gross!).

He abandoned God his Maker;

he scorned the Rock, his salvation.

16 They roused him to jealousy with alien gods,

provoked him with abominations.

17 They sacrificed to demons, non-gods,

gods that they had never known,

new gods that had come up lately,

which your ancestors had not feared.

18 You ignored the Rock who fathered you,

you forgot God, who gave you birth.

(iv) 19 “Adonai saw and was filled with scorn

at his sons’ and daughters’ provocation.

20 He said, ‘I will hide my face from them

and see what will become of them;

for they are a perverse generation,

untrustworthy children.

21 They aroused my jealousy with a non-god

and provoked me with their vanities;

I will arouse their jealousy with a non-people

and provoke them with a vile nation.

22 “‘For my anger has been fired up.

It burns to the depths of Sh’ol,

devouring the earth and its crops,

kindling the very roots of the hills.

23 I will heap disasters on them

and use up all my arrows against them.

24 “‘Fatigued by hunger, they will be

consumed by fever and bitter defeat;

I will send them the fangs of wild beasts,

and the poison of reptiles crawling in the dust.

25 Outside, the sword makes parents childless;

inside, there is panic,

as young men and girls alike are slain,

sucklings and graybeards together.

26 “‘I considered putting an end to them,

erasing their memory from the human race;

27 but I feared the insolence of their enemy,

feared that their foes would mistakenly think,

“We ourselves accomplished this;

Adonai had nothing to do with it.”

28 “‘They are a nation without common sense,

utterly lacking in discernment.

(v) 29 If they were wise they could figure it out

and understand their destiny.

30 After all, how can one chase a thousand

and two put ten thousand to rout,

unless their Rock sells them to their enemies,

unless Adonai hands them over?

31 For our enemies have no rock like our Rock —

even they can see that!

32 “‘Rather, their vine is from the vine of S’dom,

from the fields of ‘Amora —

their grapes are poisonous,

their clusters are bitter;

33 their wine is snake poison,

the cruel venom of vipers.

34     “‘Isn’t this hidden with me,

sealed in my storehouses?

35 Vengeance and payback are mine

for the time when their foot slips;

for the day of their calamity is coming soon,

their doom is rushing upon them.’

36 “Yes, Adonai will judge his people,

taking pity on his servants,

when he sees that their strength is gone,

that no one is left, slave or free.

37 Then he will ask, ‘Where are their gods,

the rock in whom they trusted?

38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices

and drank the wine of their drink offering?

Let him get up and help you,

let him protect you!

39 See now that I, yes, I, am he;

and there is no god beside me.

I put to death, and I make alive;

I wound, and I heal;

no one saves anyone from my hand!

(vi) 40 “‘For I lift up my hand to heaven and swear,

“As surely as I am alive forever,

41 if I sharpen my flashing sword

and set my hand to judgment,

I will render vengeance to my foes,

repay those who hate me.

42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

my sword will devour flesh —

the blood of the slain and the captives,

flesh from the wild-haired heads of the enemy.”’

43 “Sing out, you nations, about his people!

For he will avenge the blood of his servants.

He will render vengeance to his adversaries

and make atonement for the land of his people.”

(vii) 44 Moshe came and proclaimed all the words of this song in the hearing of the people and of Hoshea the son of Nun.

45 When he had finished speaking all these words to all Isra’el, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words of my testimony against you today, so that you can use them in charging your children to be careful to obey all the words of this Torah. 47 For this is not a trivial matter for you; on the contrary, it is your life! Through it you will live long in the land you are crossing the Yarden to possess.”

(Maftir) 48 That same day Adonai said to Moshe, 49 “Go up into the ‘Avarim Range, to Mount N’vo, in the land of Mo’av across from Yericho; and look out over the land of Kena‘an, which I am giving the people of Isra’el as a possession. 50 On the mountain you are ascending you will die and be gathered to your people, just as Aharon your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. 51 The reason for this is that both of you broke faith with me there among the people of Isra’el at the M’rivat-Kadesh Spring, in the Tzin Desert; you failed to demonstrate my holiness there among the people of Isra’el. 52 So you will see the land from a distance, but you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Isra’el.”

33:1 This is the blessing that Moshe, the man of God, spoke over the people of Isra’el before his death:

2 “Adonai came from Sinai;

from Se‘ir he dawned on his people,

shone forth from Mount Pa’ran;

and with him were myriads of holy ones;

at his right hand

was a fiery law for them.

3 He truly loves the peoples —

all his holy ones are in your hand;

sitting at your feet,

they receive your instruction,

4 the Torah Moshe commanded us

as an inheritance for the community of Ya‘akov.

5 Then a king arose in Yeshurun

when the leaders of the people were gathered,

all the tribes of Isra’el together.

6 “Let Re’uven live and not die out,

even though his numbers grow few.”

7 Of Y’hudah he said:

“Hear, Adonai, the cry of Y’hudah!

Bring him in to his people,

let his own hands defend him;

but you, help him against his enemies.”

(ii) 8 Of Levi he said:

“Let your tumim and urim

be with your pious one,

whom you tested at Massah,

with whom you struggled at M’rivah Spring.

9 Of his father and mother he said, ‘I don’t know them’;

he didn’t acknowledge his brothers or children.

For he observed your word,

and he kept your covenant.

10 They will teach Ya‘akov your rulings,

Isra’el your Torah.

They will set incense before you

and whole burnt offerings on your altar.

11 Adonai, bless his possessions,

accept the work he does;

but crush his enemies hip and thigh;

may those who hate him rise no more.”

12 Of Binyamin he said:

“Adonai’s beloved lives securely.

He protects him day after day.

He lives between his shoulders.”

(iii) 13 Of Yosef he said:

“May Adonai bless his land

with the best from the sky, for the dew,

and for what comes from the deep beneath,

14 with the best of what the sun makes grow,

with the best of what comes up each month,

15 with the best from the mountains of old,

with the best from the eternal hills,

16 with the best from the earth and all that fills it,

and the favor of him who lived in the [burning] bush.

May blessing come on the head of Yosef,

on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

17 His firstborn bull — glory is his;

his horns are those of a wild ox;

With them he will gore the peoples,

all of them, to the ends of the earth.

These are the myriads of Efrayim;

these are the thousands of M’nasheh.”

(iv) 18 Of Z’vulun he said:

“Rejoice, Z’vulun, as you go forth,

and you, Yissakhar, in your tents.

19 They will summon peoples to the mountain

and there offer righteous sacrifices;

for they will draw from the abundance of the seas

and from the hidden treasures of the sand.”

20 Of Gad he said:

“Blessed is he who makes Gad so large;

he lies there like a lion,

tearing arm and scalp.

21 He chose the best for himself

when the princely portion was assigned.

When the leaders of the people came,

he carried out Adonai’s justice

and his rulings concerning Isra’el.”

(v) 22 Of Dan he said:

“Dan is a lion cub

leaping forth from Bashan.”

23 Of Naftali he said:

“You, Naftali, satisfied with favor

and full of blessing from Adonai,

take possession of the sea and the south.”

24 Of Asher he said:

“May Asher be most blessed of sons,

may he be the favorite among his brothers

and bathe his feet in oil.

25 May your bolts be of iron and bronze

and your strength last as long as you live.

26 “Yeshurun, there is no one like God,

riding through the heavens to help you,

riding on the clouds in his majesty.

(vi) 27 The God of old is a dwelling-place,

with everlasting arms beneath.

He expelled the enemy before you

and he said, ‘Destroy!’

28 So Isra’el lives in security;

the fountain of Ya‘akov is alone

in a land of grain and new wine,

where the skies drip with dew.

29 Happy are you, Isra’el!

“Who is like you, a people saved by Adonai,

your defender helping you

and your sword of triumph?

Your enemies will cringe before you,

but you will trample down their high places.”

34:1 (vii) Moshe ascended from the plains of Mo’av to Mount N’vo, to the summit of Pisgah, across from Yericho. There Adonai showed him all the land — Gil‘ad as far as Dan, 2 all Naftali, the land of Efrayim and M’nasheh, the land of Y’hudah all the way to the sea beyond, 3 the Negev, and the ‘Aravah, including the valley where Yericho, the City of Date-Palms, as far away as Tzo‘ar. 4 Adonai said to him, “This is the land concerning which I swore to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over there.”

5 So Moshe, the servant of Adonai, died there in the land of Mo’av, as Adonai had said. 6 He was buried in the valley across from Beit-P‘or in the land of Mo’av, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.

7 Moshe was 120 years old when he died, with eyes undimmed and vigor undiminished. 8 The people of Isra’el mourned Moshe on the plains of Mo’av for thirty days; after this, the days of crying and mourning for Moshe ended.

9 Y’hoshua the son of Nun was full of the Spirit of wisdom, for Moshe had laid his hands on him, and the people of Isra’el heeded him and did what Adonai had ordered Moshe.

10 Since that time there has not arisen in Isra’el a prophet like Moshe, whom Adonai knew face to face. 11 What signs and wonders Adonai sent him to perform in the land of Egypt upon Pharaoh, all his servants and all his land! 12 What might was in his hand! What great terror he evoked before the eyes of all Isra’el!

Luke 8:26 They sailed on and landed in the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite the Galil. 27 As Yeshua stepped ashore, a man from the town who had demons came to meet him. For a long time he had not worn clothes; and he lived, not in a house, but in the burial caves. 28 Catching sight of Yeshua, he screamed, fell down in front of him and yelled, “Yeshua! Son of God Ha‘Elyon! What do you want with me? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 For Yeshua had ordered the unclean spirit to come out of the man. It had often taken hold of him — he had been kept under guard, chained hand and foot, but had broken the bonds and been driven by the demon into the desert. 30 Yeshua asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he said, because many demons had entered him. 31 They begged Yeshua not to order them to go off into the Bottomless Pit.

32 Now there was a herd of many pigs, feeding on the hill; and the demons begged him to let them go into these. So he gave them permission. 33 The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, whereupon the herd rushed down the hillside into the lake and were drowned.

34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the town and in the country; 35 and the people came out to see for themselves. They came to Yeshua and found the man out of whom the demons had gone, sitting — dressed and in his right mind — at the feet of Yeshua; and they were frightened. 36 Those who had seen it told how the formerly demonized man had been delivered.

37 Then all the people of the Gerasene district asked him to leave them, for they had been seized with great fear. So he boarded the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged that he might go with him; but Yeshua sent him away, saying, 39 “Go back to your home and tell how much God has done for you.” He went away proclaiming throughout the whole town how much Yeshua had done for him.

40 When Yeshua got back, the crowd welcomed him; for they were all expecting him. 41 Then there came a man named Ya’ir who was president of the synagogue. Falling at Yeshua’s feet, he pleaded with him to come to his house; 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old; and she was dying.

As he went, with the crowds on every side virtually choking him, 43 a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, 44 came up behind him and touched the tzitzit on his robe; instantly her hemorrhaging stopped. 45 Yeshua asked, “Who touched me?” When they all denied doing it, Kefa said, “Rabbi! The crowds are hemming you in and jostling you!” 46 But Yeshua said, “Someone did touch me, because I felt power go out of me.” 47 Seeing she could not escape notice, the woman, quaking with fear, threw herself down before him and confessed in front of everyone why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 He said to her, “My daughter, your trust has saved you; go in peace.”

49 While Yeshua was still speaking, a man came from the synagogue president’s house. “Your daughter has died,” he said. “Don’t bother the rabbi any more.” 50 But on hearing this, Yeshua answered him, “Don’t be afraid! Just go on trusting, and she will be made well.” 51 When he arrived at the house, he didn’t allow anyone to go in with him except Kefa, Yochanan, Ya‘akov and the child’s father and mother 52 All the people were wailing and mourning for her; but he said, “Don’t weep; she hasn’t died, she’s sleeping.” 53 They jeered at him, since they knew she had died. 54 But he took her by the hand, called out, “Little girl, get up!” 55 and her spirit returned. She stood up at once, and he directed that something be given her to eat. 56 Her parents were astounded, but he instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

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