The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
By Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour from Saint Louis, Missouri, United States [Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).] "Bless Others with Your Life" for Sunday, July 31, 2016
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.[Galatians 6:10]
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
In recent years I have been concerned when I see the lives of teenagers and youth.
I am concerned because of the easily accessible immoral content of the Internet. You and I know that much of the information they receive is not appropriate for adults and, most certainly, should not be digested by the young. Television programs no longer educate ... except for educating and encouraging people to live immoral lives. Mass media makes it so many people feel that if they do not follow what the media is presenting, they are outmoded.
I also regret the weak supervision carried out by parents and churches.
Parents and congregations are the people who are supposed to show God's path to the members of their families. They have often failed to do so. Sadly, all too often parents and churches remain silent and do not lead in the area of morality and encouraging obedience to the Lord's wishes.
With those feelings, I wondered if anyone would come forward to provide the ongoing guidance that would be beneficial to the young people of our churches. My wondering was put to rest when, one day, I heard that my church was going to host a seminar called "Love, Sex and Dating." The seminar was going to be taught by Jangkar Kehidupan; this is the organization which you know as Lutheran Hour Ministries.
I immediately signed up for the seminar which was held on April 8, 2015.
Today, months later, I can share it was an excellent seminar. At the class we were told how we are God's beloved creatures who had been created in the image of Him. The leader told us that our bodies are the temple of God -- sacred and holy. Then he shared that while our bodies are one of God's gifts to us, how we used those bodies is part of our gift to the Lord.
I became increasingly aware that the Lord had been very good to me.
Even more, I was shown that my life ought to be a thanksgiving. Part of that was to get involved in a study that was put out by Jangkar Kehidupan. It was a study designed to get me closer to the Lord. In the months since that class, I discovered how to conduct myself in a dating relationship.
Today I am able to explain what I learned to my brothers and sisters who are entering their teenage years. Moved by the Savior who gave His life for us, I am able to teach them to honor their Redeemer by the way they lead their lives.
I want you to know that I offer thanks to the Lord for using Jangkar Kehidupan for their shared materials.
By God's grace, I pray the Holy Spirit will increase the scope of their work. May the message they share bless people all over Indonesia and especially our neighbors in North Sumatra. For the Savior's message of salvation and for those who share it, may God's blessing and my thanks rest upon them!
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, may we always be grateful for the abundant blessings You have given to us. Teach us always to use those gifts so we may be a witness and a blessing to others. Unto You we pray and are grateful. Amen.
Biography of Author: The author of today's international devotion: my name is Mariana. My family name is Sipahutar. Yes, I am from Batak's tribe from North Sumatra Island, Indonesia. I live in Hutaraja, Sipoholon, North Tapanuli, North Sumatra.
Indonesia is an archipelago in Southeast Asia made up of more than 13,400 islands; it is home to 250-plus million people. The ministry center of Lutheran Hour Ministries-Indonesia, known locally as Anchor of Life, has its ministry center in Jakarta. It utilizes radio and TV broadcasting, mobile device messaging, print resources, children's and adult programs, and evangelism training as it takes the Gospel to this part of the world. Using staff and trained volunteers in making connections to Indonesian communities, it puts on puppet shows, works with Sunday school teacher training, holds local sporting events, and offers topical school programs -- all as a means to move the Gospel forward. Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC) andEquipping the Saints (ETS) workshops educate Indonesians on the Scriptures and train them to share the Good News of God's grace and love, as found in Jesus Christ, with their family and friends.
You can read about the youth ministry that's going on at LHM-Indonesia by clicking here and visiting its blog.
To learn more about our International Ministries, click here or visit www.lhm.org/international.
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Psalms 116-118; 1 Thessalonians 4
Psalms 116:1 I love that Adonai heard
my voice when I prayed;
2 because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death were all around me,
Sh’ol’s constrictions held me fast;
I was finding only distress and anguish.
4 But I called on the name of Adonai:
“Please, Adonai! Save me!”
5 Adonai is merciful and righteous;
yes, our God is compassionate.
6 Adonai preserves the thoughtless;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 My soul, return to your rest!
For Adonai has been generous toward you.
8 Yes, you have rescued me from death,
my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.
9 I will go on walking in the presence of Adonai
in the lands of the living.
10 I will keep on trusting even when I say,
“I am utterly miserable,”
11 even when, in my panic, I declare,
“Everything human is deceptive.”
12 How can I repay Adonai
for all his generous dealings with me?
13 I will raise the cup of salvation
and call on the name of Adonai.
14 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people.
15 From Adonai’s point of view,
the death of those faithful to him is costly.
16 Oh, Adonai! I am your slave;
I am your slave, the son of your slave-girl;
you have removed my fetters.
17 I will offer a sacrifice of thanks to you
and will call on the name of Adonai.
18 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courtyards of Adonai’s house,
there in your very heart, Yerushalayim.
Halleluyah!
117:1 Praise Adonai, all you nations!
Worship him, all you peoples!
2 For his grace has overcome us,
and Adonai’s truth continues forever.
Halleluyah!
118:1 Give thanks to Adonai; for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
2 Now let Isra’el say,
“His grace continues forever.”
3 Now let the house of Aharon say,
“His grace continues forever.”
4 Now let those who fear Adonai say,
“His grace continues forever.”
5 From my being hemmed in I called on Yah;
he answered and gave me more room.
6 With Adonai on my side, I fear nothing —
what can human beings do to me?
7 With Adonai on my side as my help,
I will look with triumph at those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in Adonai
than to trust in human beings;
9 better to take refuge in Adonai
than to put one’s trust in princes.
10 The nations all surrounded me;
in the name of Adonai I cut them down.
11 They surrounded me on every side
in the name of Adonai I cut them down.
12 They surrounded me like bees
but were extinguished [as quickly] as a fire in thorns;
in the name of Adonai I cut them down.
13 You pushed me hard to make me fall,
but Adonai helped me.
14 Yah is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
15 The sound of rejoicing and victory
is heard in the tents of the righteous:
“Adonai’s right hand struck powerfully!
16 Adonai’s right hand is raised in triumph!
Adonai’s right hand struck powerfully!”
17 I will not die; no, I will live
and proclaim the great deeds of Yah!
18 Yah disciplined me severely,
but did not hand me over to death.
19 Open the gates of righteousness for me;
I will enter them and thank Yah.
20 This is the gate of Adonai;
the righteous can enter it.
21 I am thanking you because you answered me;
you became my salvation.
22 The very rock that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone!
23 This has come from Adonai,
and in our eyes it is amazing.
24 This is the day Adonai has made,
a day for us to rejoice and be glad.
25 Please, Adonai! Save us!
Please, Adonai! Rescue us!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai.
We bless you from the house of Adonai.
27 Adonai is God, and he gives us light.
Join in the pilgrim festival with branches
all the way to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I thank you.
You are my God; I exalt you.
29 Give thanks to Adonai; for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
1 Thessalonians 4:1 Therefore, brothers, just as you learned from us how you had to live in order to please God, and just as you are living this way now, we ask you — indeed, united with the Lord Yeshua, we urge you — to keep doing so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Yeshua. 3 What God wants is that you be holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4 that each of you know how to manage his sexual impulses in a holy and honorable manner, 5 without giving in to lustful desires, like the pagans who don’t know God. 6 No one should wrong his brother in this matter or take advantage of him, because the Lord punishes all who do such things — as we have explained to you before at length. 7 For God did not call us to live an unclean life but a holy one. 8 Therefore, whoever rejects this teaching is rejecting not a man but God, indeed, the One who gives you the Ruach HaKodesh, which is his.
9 Concerning love for the brothers we do not need to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other; 10 and you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do it even more.
11 Also, make it your ambition to live quietly, to mind your own business and to earn your living by your own efforts — just as we told you. 12 Then your daily life will gain the respect of outsiders, and you will not be dependent on anyone.
13 Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people 14 do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died. 15 When we say this, we base it on the Lord’s own word: we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; 17 then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
-------CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
Saint Louis, Missouri 63141, United States
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