The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour in 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).] "Yet Sinners" for Thursday, August 25, 2016
But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.[Romans 5:8]As near as I can tell, for both big and little kids, drones remain the toy of choice.
With a price point between "not bad" and "sell the farm," these little, ground-controlled flying machines are absolutely fascinating as they buzz through the sky taking photos and movies of that which is below.
Knowing her two grandchildren were intrigued by the flying machines, Candy Arthurs allowed them to help Kristopher Amos, a neighbor from down the street, find his lost drone. In fact, she joined the search herself.
It wasn't but a short ten minutes later that Arthurs heard a scream.
She ran to investigate and found Mr. Amos was preparing to molest her grandkids. Arthurs got between the kids and the knife-wielding man. Mr. Amos lunged and stabbed her in the heart. It was a wound that should have dropped her on the spot. It should have, but it didn't. Arthurs' work wasn't over. She herded her grandkids to safety.
It was only when Arthurs had the little ones in the safety and security of her home that she collapsed on the front step. She never recovered from her wounds and died some time later.
Over the years, Arthurs had often said that she was willing to die for her grandchildren should that day ever come. When that day came, she kept her promise and, without hesitation, laid down her life. In doing so she became a hero. She became a saint, a savior to her grandkids.
But I wonder would Arthurs have done the same for someone else's grandchildren? Would she have sacrificed herself for children who were "little terrors"?
Perhaps so, perhaps no.
It would take an extraordinary person to do something like that.
Which, of course, is what makes our Savior so extraordinary.
* Jesus came into this world not just to save Mary and Joseph.
* He didn't arrive just to rescue John the Baptist or His chosen disciples.
* Jesus walked among us not just to help Lazarus or Jairus' daughter or the man of Nain.
* Jesus' work wasn't confined to the single, grateful ex-leper or the woman rescued from stoning.
No, Jesus came into this world to throw a lifeline of forgiveness to King Herod and the conniving Pharisees. He walked among us as the Sacrifice that could cleanse Judas, Pontius Pilate, and the members of the Sanhedrin who sentenced Him to death. Jesus came for the men who lied about him and the one who nailed Him to the cross.
And, He came to seek and save the lost ... like us.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, without any merit or worthiness in me You came to earth and allowed Yourself to become the Sacrifice which saves us. For this undeserved gift, You shall always have our gratitude and praise. In Jesus' Name I pray it. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: 1 Chronicles 28-29; 1 Corinthians 15:29-58
1 Chronicles 28:1 David assembled in Yerushalayim all the leaders of Isra’el — the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the divisions serving the king, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and the supervisors over the property and livestock of the king, along with his sons, the officials, the warrior-heroes, and anyone else who was a leader. 2 Then David the king rose to his feet and said: “My kinsmen and my people! Listen to me! I set my heart on building a house where the ark for the covenant of Adonai could remain at rest. It would have been God’s footstool, and I prepared to build it. 3 But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my name, because you are a man of war, you have shed blood.’ 4 However, Adonai the God of Isra’el chose me out of my father’s whole family to be king over Isra’el forever; for he chose Y’hudah to be the leader; and in the house of Y’hudah, in the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, it was his pleasure to make me king over all Isra’el; 5 and of all my sons — for Adonai has given me many sons — he has chosen Shlomo my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Adonai over Isra’el.
6 “Moreover, he said to me, ‘Shlomo your son will build my house and courtyards, for I have chosen him to be a son to me, and I will be a father to him. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever, if he uses his strength to obey my mitzvot and abide by my rulings, as [he is doing] currently.’ 8 Now therefore, in the sight of all Isra’el, the community of Adonai, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the mitzvot of Adonai your God, so that you may continue to possess this good land and leave it as an inheritance to your descendants after you forever.
9 “As for you, Shlomo my son, know the God of your father. Serve him wholeheartedly and with desire in your being; for Adonai searches all hearts and understands all the inclinations of people’s thoughts. If you seek him, he will let himself be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever. 10 See now that Adonai has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; so be strong, and do it!”
11 Then David gave Shlomo his son the designs for the hall [of the temple], its buildings, its supply areas, its upper rooms, its inside rooms, and the place for the ark-cover; 12 also the designs for everything he had been given by the Spirit — for the courtyards of the house of Adonai, for all the rooms surrounding it, for the storehouses in the house of God, for the storehouses for the holy articles, 13 and for the areas set aside for the cohanim and the L’vi’im; [arrangements] for the work involved in the service of the house of Adonai and for all the articles needed for the service of the house of Adonai; 14 [lists] of the weights of gold needed for the gold items to be used for various purposes, and the weights of silver needed for the silver items to be used for various purposes — 15 the weight of the gold needed for the gold menorahs, the weight needed for each menorah and for its lamps; and for the menorahs of silver, the weight of silver needed for each menorah and for its lamps, according to the way each menorah was to be used; 16 also the gold by weight for the tables for the showbread, for each table; and silver for the tables made of silver; 17 the gold for the pure gold forks, basins and jars, and for the gold bowls by weight for each bowl; also for the silver bowls by weight for each bowl; 18 and for the incense altar, refined gold by weight; and gold for the design of the chariot and the k’ruvim with their wings spread out to cover the ark for the covenant of Adonai. 19 “All this is in writing, as Adonai, with his hand on me, has given me good sense in working out these detailed plans.”
20 Then David said to Shlomo his son, “Be strong, be bold, and do it! Don’t be afraid or become discouraged! For Adonai, God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or abandon you until all the work for the service in the house of Adonai has been finished. 21 See, there are the divisions of the cohanim and L’vi’im for all the service in the house of God. For every kind of work, you will have with you every man who is willing and skilled, for every kind of service. Also the captains and all the people will be completely at your disposal.”
29:1 To the whole community, David the king said, “Shlomo my son is the only one God has chosen. But he is still young and inexperienced, whereas the work to be done is great; because the palace is not for anyone human, but for Adonai, God. 2 Now I have used all my strength to prepare for the house of my God the gold needed for the articles of gold, the silver for the articles of silver, the bronze for the articles of bronze, the iron for the articles of iron, the wood for the articles of wood, onyx stones, gemstones to be set, brilliant stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, as well as marble in abundance. 3 In addition, because my desire is set on the house of my God, since I have my own supply of gold and silver, I herewith give it to the house of my God — over and above everything I have prepared for the holy house — 4 ninety-nine tons of gold from the gold of Ofir and 231 tons of refined silver to be used for overlaying the walls of the houses. 5 The gold is for whatever is to be made of gold, and the silver is for whatever is to be made of silver; and they may be used for anything to be made by craftsmen. Therefore, who offers willingly to consecrate himself today to Adonai?”
6 Then the clan leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Isra’el, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, along with the supervisors over the king’s work offered willingly. 7 They gave for the service of the house of God 165 tons of gold, 330 tons of silver, 594 tons of bronze and 3,300 tons of iron. 8 Those who had precious stones gave them to the storehouse of the house of Adonai, supervised by Yechi’el the Gershuni.
9 The people were filled with joy, because they had given willingly — wholeheartedly they had given willingly to Adonai; and David the king too was completely filled with joy, 10 as he blessed Adonai before the entire community: “Blessed be you, Adonai, the God of Isra’el our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, Adonai, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory and the majesty; for everything in heaven and on earth is yours. The kingdom is yours, Adonai; and you are exalted as head over all. 12 Riches and honor come from you, you rule everything, in your hand is power and strength, you have the capacity to make great and to give strength to all. 13 Therefore, our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name.
14 “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to give so willingly in this way? For all things come from you, so that we have given you what is already yours. 15 For in your presence we are temporary residents, just passing through, as all our ancestors were — our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 Adonai our God, all these supplies that we have prepared in order to build you a house for your holy name come from your own hand, all of it is already yours. 17 I know also, my God, that you test the heart and take pleasure in integrity. As for myself, I have given all these things willingly, in the integrity of my heart; and now, with joy, I have seen your people who are present here give willingly to you. 18 Adonai, God of Avraham, Yitz’chak and Isra’el our ancestors, guard forever the inclinations of the thoughts in the hearts of your people; direct their hearts to you; 19 and give to Shlomo my son wholeheartedness to obey your mitzvot, instructions and rules, to do all these things, and to build the palace for which I have made provision.”
20 Then David said to all the community, “Now bless Adonai your God.” All the community blessed Adonai, the God of their ancestors, bowing their heads and prostrating themselves before Adonai and before the king. 21 On the following day they presented sacrifices to Adonai and offered burnt offerings to Adonai — a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings — and sacrifices in abundance for all Isra’el. 22 They ate and drank before Adonai that day with great joy.
Then, for the second time, they made Shlomo the son of David king, anointing him before Adonai to be king, and Tzadok to be cohen. 23 Shlomo sat on the throne of Adonai as king in place of David his father and prospered, and all Isra’el obeyed him. 24 All the leaders, the warrior-heroes and likewise the sons of King David submitted themselves to Shlomo the king. 25 Adonai gave Shlomo exceedingly great power, in full view of all Isra’el, and bestowed on him royal majesty such as had not been seen on any king before him in Isra’el.
26 Now David the son of Yishai ruled over all Isra’el. 27 The duration of his reign over Isra’el was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hevron, and he reigned thirty-three years in Yerushalayim. 28 Then he died, at a ripe old age, full of years, riches and honor; and Shlomo his son reigned in his place. 29 The activities of David the king, from first to last, are written in the records of Sh’mu’el the seer, Natan the prophet and Gad the seer, 30 with all his reign and his power, and the events that he, Isra’el and the kingdoms of other countries experienced.
1 Corinthians 15:29 Were it otherwise, what would the people accomplish who are immersed on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not actually raised, why are people immersed for them? 30 For that matter, we ourselves — why do we keep facing danger hour by hour? 31 Brothers, by the right to be proud which the Messiah Yeshua our Lord gives me, I solemnly tell you that I die every day. 32 If my fighting with “wild beasts” in Ephesus was done merely on a human basis, what do I gain by it? If dead people are not raised, we might as well live by the saying, “Let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”[1 Corinthians 15:32 Isaiah 22:13, 56:12] 33 Don’t be fooled. “Bad company ruins good character.” 34 Come to your senses! Live righteously and stop sinning! There are some people who lack knowledge of God — I say this to your shame.
35 But someone will ask, “In what manner are the dead raised? What sort of body do they have?” 36 Stupid! When you sow a seed, it doesn’t come alive unless it first dies. 37 Also, what you sow is not the body that will be, but a bare seed of, say, wheat or something else; 38 but God gives it the body he intended for it; and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all living matter is the same living matter; on the contrary, there is one kind for human beings, another kind of living matter for animals, another for birds and another for fish. 40 Further, there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; but the beauty of heavenly bodies is one thing, while the beauty of earthly bodies is something else. 41 The sun has one kind of beauty, the moon another, the stars yet another; indeed, each star has its own individual kind of beauty.
42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. When the body is “sown,” it decays; when it is raised, it cannot decay. 43 When sown, it is without dignity; when raised, it will be beautiful. When sown, it is weak; when raised, it will be strong. 44 When sown, it is an ordinary human body; when raised, it will be a body controlled by the Spirit. If there is an ordinary human body, there is also a body controlled by the Spirit. 45 In fact, the Tanakh says so: Adam, the first man, became a living human being;[1 Corinthians 15:45 Genesis 2:7] but the last “Adam” has become a life-giving Spirit. 46 Note, however, that the body from the Spirit did not come first, but the ordinary human one; the one from the Spirit comes afterwards. 47 The first man is from the earth, made of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 People born of dust are like the man of dust, and people born from heaven are like the man from heaven; 49 and just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, so also we will bear the image of the man from heaven.
50 Let me say this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot share in the Kingdom of God, nor can something that decays share in what does not decay. 51 Look, I will tell you a secret — not all of us will die! But we will all be changed! 52 It will take but a moment, the blink of an eye, at the final shofar. For the shofar will sound, and the dead will be raised to live forever, and we too will be changed. 53 For this material which can decay must be clothed with imperishability, this which is mortal must be clothed with immortality. 54 When what decays puts on imperishability and what is mortal puts on immortality, then this passage in the Tanakh will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.[1 Corinthians 15:54 Isaiah 25:8]
55 “Death, where is your victory?
Death, where is your sting?”[1 Corinthians 15:55 Hosea 13:14]
56 The sting of death is sin; and sin draws its power from the Torah; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah!
58 So, my dear brothers, stand firm and immovable, always doing the Lord’s work as vigorously as you can, knowing that united with the Lord your efforts are not in vain.
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