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).] ""Jesus Is Important"" for Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me -- practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.[Philippians 4:8-9]In the year 1776, three members of the newly formed United States adopted their very own, brand new Constitutions. Although each of these states had a different heritage, a different history, there was a commonness to the way those Constitutions began.
Let me show you what I mean:
* The state of Maryland placed into its preamble the following words: "We, the people of the state of Maryland, grateful to Almighty God ...."
* Then there was Pennsylvania whose Constitution begins, "We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance."
* Next is Virginia whose Constitution was a little more specific: "Religion, or the Duty which we owe our Creator, can be directed only by Reason and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other."
Did you see the similarity there? Each of those states acknowledges its dependence upon God. There were no exceptions to that rule in any of the states.
Understand, I'm not saying these preambles are all Christian; they're not. But they all recognize a power greater than theirs.
But in recent years, Satan has made sure that religion in general, and the cross of Christ in particular, has been confronted by enemies.
It wasn't so very long ago that a lawyer, representing his daughter, stood before America's highest court and demanded the Pledge of Allegiance be declared unconstitutional. The Court refused the man's request. It didn't refuse it because the judges recognized the nation's dependence upon God; no, the lawyer's argument was rejected because the Court was unsure if he was the child's legal guardian.
Now I'm not a prophet, but I think it highly unlikely that America is going to declare herself a "Christian" nation anytime soon. But that doesn't mean the Savior's followers can't live and vote as Christians. We can. And with the way we deport ourselves in the marketplace and the way we vote at the ballot box, we will tell the world that our God is not confined to some old pieces of paper written many years ago.
On the contrary, the Lord who gave Himself to win our forgiveness and salvation is part and parcel of everything we do.
Indeed, how could it be otherwise?
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, in all He did, Jesus showed the saving of lost souls was of paramount importance to Him. He didn't have a public life where He played the role of the Savior and another life that was for Himself. Grant that we may also be consistent in the way we live our lives. In thought, word and deed may we make it plain that Jesus is our precious Redeemer. 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
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: 2 Chronicles 13-14; 2 Corinthians 4
2 Chronicles 13:1 It was in the eighteenth year of King Yarov‘am that Aviyah began his reign over Y’hudah. 2 He ruled three years in Yerushalayim; his mother’s name was Mikhayahu the daughter of Uri’el from Giv‘ah.
There was war between Aviyah and Yarov‘am. 3 Aviyah joined the battle with an army of valiant soldiers, 400,000 select troops; while Yarov‘am took the field against him with 800,000 select troops who were valiant, strong men.
4 Aviyah, standing on Mount Z’marayim, in the hills of Efrayim, cried, “Yarov‘am and all Isra’el! Listen to me! 5 Don’t you know that Adonai, the God of Isra’el, gave rulership over Isra’el to David forever, to him and his descendants, by a covenant of salt [which is unbreakable]? 6 Yet Yarov‘am the son of N’vat, servant to Shlomo the son of David, rose in rebellion against his lord. 7 There rallied around him worthless brutes who were too strong for Rechav‘am the son of Shlomo to withstand when he was young and inexperienced. 8 Now you expect to withstand the kingdom of Adonai in the hands of the descendants of David. Yes, there are a great number of you, and you have with you the gold calves that Yarov‘am made as gods for you. 9 Yes, you drove out the cohanim of Adonai, the descendants of Aharon, and the L’vi’im; and you made yourselves priests as do the peoples in other countries, so that anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of those non-gods.
10 “But we are different. Adonai is our God, and we have not abandoned him. We have cohanim performing the service for Adonai, descendants of Aharon. With the L’vi’im doing their work, 11 they burn to Adonai every morning and evening burnt offerings and sweet incense; they arrange the showbread on the pure table, and they prepare the gold menorah with its lamps to burn every evening. For we observe the order of Adonai our God. But you have abandoned him.
12 “So look here! God is with us, leading us and his cohanim with the battle trumpets to sound an alarm against you. People of Isra’el! Don’t fight against Adonai, the God of your ancestors; because you will not succeed.”
13 But Yarov‘am prepared to ambush them from behind, so that the main body was ahead of Y’hudah, while the ambush was behind them. 14 Thus when Y’hudah looked back, the battle had to be fought in front of them and behind them.
They cried to Adonai, and the cohanim sounded the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Y’hudah gave forth a shout, and as the men of Y’hudah shouted, God struck Yarov‘am and all Isra’el before Aviyah and Y’hudah. 16 The people of Isra’el fled before Y’hudah, and God handed them over to them. 17 Aviyah and his army inflicted a great slaughter on them — 500,000 of Isra’el’s select soldiers fell dead. 18 Thus the people of Isra’el were subdued that time, and the people of Y’hudah won the victory, because they relied on Adonai the God of their ancestors. 19 Aviyah pursued Yarov‘am, taking from him the towns of Beit-El with its villages, Y’shanah with its villages and ‘Efrayin with its villages. 20 Yarov‘am did not recover his strength during the time of Aviyahu. Finally Adonai struck him, and he died. 21 But Aviyahu grew strong; he married fourteen wives and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
22 Other activities of Aviyah, together with his ways of doing things and his sayings, are recorded in the commentary of the prophet ‘Iddo. 23 (14:1) Aviyah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son became king in his place; during his time the land was quiet for ten years.
14:1 (2) Asa did what was good and right from the perspective of Adonai his God; 2 (3) for he removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashing the standing-stones and chopping down the sacred poles. 3 (4) He ordered Y’hudah to seek Adonai, the God of their ancestors, and to obey the Torah and the mitzvah. 4 (5) He removed the high places and pillars for sun-worship from all the cities of Y’hudah, and under him the kingdom was quiet.
5 (6) Because the land was quiet, and he had no war during those years, since Adonai had given him rest, he built fortified cities in Y’hudah. 6 (7) “Let’s build these cities,” he said to Y’hudah; “we’ll surround them with walls, towers, gates and bars. The land is there for us to use, because we have sought Adonai our God; we have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered.
7 (8) Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Y’hudah, equipped with shields and spears, and another 280,000 from Binyamin, with shields and bows; all were brave, strong men. 8 (9) Zerach the Ethiopian came out to attack them with an army of one million and three hundred chariots. When he arrived at Mareshah, 9 (10) Asa went out to fight him, and the forces were arranged for battle in the Tz’fat Valley at Mareshah.
10 (11) Asa cried out to Adonai his God, “Adonai, there is no one besides yourself, strong or weak, who can help. Help us, Adonai our God, because we are relying on you, and we are coming against this vast throng in your name. You are Adonai our God; don’t let human beings stop you!” 11 (12) So Adonai struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Y’hudah, and the Ethiopians fled. 12 (13) Asa and the army with him pursued them to G’rar, and the Ethiopians were defeated beyond recovery; they were shattered before Adonai and his army, who carried off much spoil. 13 (14) Then they attacked all the cities in the vicinity of G’rar, for a panic from Adonai had overcome them. They plundered all the cities, for they were full of spoil. 14 (15) They also attacked the tents of those tending the livestock and carried off sheep and camels in abundance. Then they returned to Yerushalayim.
2 Corinthians 4:1 God has shown us such mercy that we do not lose courage as we do the work he has given us. 2 Indeed, we refuse to make use of shameful underhanded methods, employing deception or distorting God’s message. On the contrary, by making very clear what the truth is, we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 So if indeed our Good News is veiled, it is veiled only to those in the process of being lost. 4 They do not come to trust because the god of the ‘olam hazeh has blinded their minds, in order to prevent them from seeing the light shining from the Good News about the glory of the Messiah, who is the image of God. 5 For what we are proclaiming is not ourselves, but the Messiah Yeshua as Lord, with ourselves as slaves for you because of Yeshua. 6 For it is the God who once said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has made his light shine in our hearts, the light of the knowledge of God’s glory shining in the face of the Messiah Yeshua.
7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it will be evident that such overwhelming power comes from God and not from us. 8 We have all kinds of troubles, but we are not crushed; we are perplexed, yet not in despair; 9 persecuted, yet not abandoned; knocked down, yet not destroyed. 10 We always carry in our bodies the dying of Yeshua, so that the life of Yeshua may be manifested in our bodies too. 11 For we who are alive are always being handed over to death for Yeshua’s sake, so that Yeshua’s life also might be manifested in our mortal bodies. 12 Thus death is at work in us but life in you.
13 The Tanakh says, “I trusted, therefore I spoke.”[2 Corinthians 4:13 Psalm 116:10] Since we have that same Spirit who enables us to trust, we also trust and therefore speak; 14 because we know that he who raised the Lord Yeshua will also raise us with Yeshua and bring us along with you into his presence. 15 All this is for your sakes, so that as grace flows out to more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to overflow and bring glory to God.
16 This is why we do not lose courage. Though our outer self is heading for decay, our inner self is being renewed daily. 17 For our light and transient troubles are achieving for us an everlasting glory whose weight is beyond description. 18 We concentrate not on what is seen but on what is not seen, since things seen are temporary, but things not seen are eternal.
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