The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries with Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "Taking a Closer Look" for Tuesday, October 25, 2016

The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries with Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "Taking a Closer Look" for Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.[2 Corinthians 5:17]
Many years ago, back when I was in the parish, I was preaching that we are saved by God's grace and not works. Unfortunately, I was living my life as if the congregation was going to be saved by myworks alone.
I put in 15-18 hour days, thinking I was serving God by skipping days off and vacations.
At that time, we had in our church pews, some cards. One side of the card was meant to be filled out by visitors, the other side by someone from the congregation who had a pastoral need.
One Sunday, one of the elders, that is, one of the lay leaders, came in chuckling.
He handed me one of the cards that had been filled out on both sides. Both sides had requested a visit from me, the pastor. I put it in my pocket to be referred to later. The elder stopped me, saying, "I think you need to take a closer look at this one, Pastor." I did. The card had my address; my phone number; and my daughter's name.
Our daughter, Kirsten, was requesting a call from her pastor: from me, her father.
At home I asked her why she had filled out the card, and she said, "Daddy, I don't get to see you anymore. I know you call on the people who send in a card, so I thought I could get you to call on me."
Her mother, who had watched the whole thing develop, gave me a smile which also said, "You'd better take a closer look at this one."
That day I understood what my daughter was saying. After that our home life changed -- permanently and for the better.
The same sort of thing happens when people take a look at our reference passage for today: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
Yes, I know you've heard that passage many times before, but now, I think you might want to take a closer look at this one.
When the Holy Spirit gives us faith in the Savior, things change. By God's grace we come to know Jesus is our Savior. We understand the high cost He paid for our rescue.
And then, believing, we are changed.
From then on we can cast our cares upon the Christ; we can come to Him with our prayers and our petitions; we can sleep securely knowing every sin has been forgiven; we can look past grief and grave and see a reunion, which comes to all who believe.
The list of changes goes on and on. No aspect of our life is untouched. And, if you haven't experienced that to be true, maybe it's time to take a better look at this one.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, change me. Let me experience all the freedom and joy Jesus has won for me through His gracious sacrifice. May my life be transformed to one of peace and happiness. In the Savior's 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: Jeremiah 20, 35-36; Colossians 4
Jeremiah 20:1 Now when the cohen Pash’chur son of Immer, chief official in the house of Adonai, heard Yirmeyahu prophesying these things, 2 he had him flogged and put him in the stocks at the Upper Binyamin Gate of the house of Adonai. 3 The following morning, when Pash’chur led Yirmeyahu out of the stocks, Yirmeyahu said to him, “Adonai no longer calls you Pash’chur but Magor-Missaviv [terror on every side]. 4 For this is what Adonai says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies, while you watch. I will hand over all of Y’hudah to the king of Bavel, and he will carry them off captive to Bavel and put them to the sword. 5 Moreover, I will hand over everything stored in this city, all its valuables, all its wealth, indeed all the treasures of the kings of Y’hudah, to their enemies, who will plunder them, take them and carry them to Bavel. 6 And you, Pash’chur, along with your entire household, will go into captivity; you will go to Bavel, where you will die and be buried — you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’”

7 You fooled me, Adonai; I have been your dupe.

You overpowered me, and you have prevailed.

All day long I’m a laughingstock;

everyone makes fun of me.

8 Whenever I speak, I have to cry out;

I shout, “Violence!” and “Destruction!”

Thus the word of Adonai becomes for me

the cause of reproach and derision all day!

9 But if I say, “I won’t think about him,

I won’t speak in his name any more,”

then it seems as though a fire

is burning in my heart,

imprisoned in my bones;

I wear myself out

trying to hold it in,

but I just can’t do it.

10 I have heard many whispering their plot:

“‘Terror in every direction’?

Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”

Even all my close friends

are watching for me to make a false step —

“Maybe he can be tricked,

then we’ll get the better of him,

then we’ll take our revenge on him.”

11 But Adonai is with me like a dreaded warrior;

so my persecutors will stumble, defeated,

greatly ashamed because of their failure;

their lasting disgrace will not be forgotten.

12 Adonai-Tzva’ot, you who test the righteous

and see people’s hearts and thoughts,

let me see you take vengeance on them,

for I have committed my cause to you.

13 Sing to Adonai! Praise Adonai!

For he rescues those in need

from the clutches of evildoers.

14 A curse on the day I was born!

The day my mother gave birth to me —

let it not be blessed!

15 A curse on the man who brought the news

to my father, “A son has been born to you!” —

thus making him very happy.

16 Let that man be like the cities

Adonai overthrew without mercy!

Let him hear cries of alarm in the morning

and the sound of battle at noon,

17 because God did not put me to death in the womb

and let my mother become my grave,

her womb forever filled with me.

18 Why did I have to emerge from the womb,

just to see toil and sorrow,

and end my days in shame?

35:1 This word came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai during the time of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah: 2 “Go to the Rekhavim, speak to them, bring them to one of the rooms in the house of Adonai, and give them some wine to drink.” 3 So I took Ya’azanyah the son of Yirmeyahu, the son of Havatzinyah, and his brothers, all his sons and all the Rekhavim, 4 and took them into the house of Adonai, to the room of the sons of Hanan the son of Yigdalyahu, a man of God. It was by the room of the officials, which was above the room of Ma‘aseiyah the son of Shalum, the gatekeeper. 5 There I set in front of the members of the clan of the Rekhavim pitchers full of wine and cups, and said to them, “Drink some wine.” 6 But they said, “We will not drink any wine; because Yonadav the son of Rekhav, our ancestor, gave us this order: ‘You are not to drink wine, neither you nor your descendants, forever. 7 Also you are not to build houses, sow seed, or plant or own vineyards. Rather, you are always to live in tents; so that you may live a long time in the land, in which you are not citizens.’ 8 We have heeded the words of Yonadav the son of Rekhav, our ancestor, in all that he instructed us to do: not to drink wine as long as we live — we, our wives, our sons and our daughters; 9 not to build houses for ourselves to live in; and not to have vineyards, fields or seed. 10 We have lived in tents, and we have heeded Yonadav our ancestor and done everything he ordered us to do. 11 But when N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel came up to attack the land, we said, ‘Come, let’s go up to Yerushalayim,’ because we were afraid of the army of the Kasdim and the army of Aram; hence we are living in Yerushalayim.”

12 Then the word of Adonai came to Yirmeyahu: 13 “Adonai-Tzva’ot the God of Isra’el says to go to the men of Y’hudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim and say: ‘Won’t you ever learn to listen to my words?’ says Adonai. 14 ‘The words of Yonadav the son of Rekhav which he ordered his offspring, not to drink wine, are obeyed; so to this day they don’t drink any; because they heed their ancestor’s order. But I have spoken to you, spoken frequently, and you have not listened to me. 15 I have also sent you all my servants the prophets, sent them frequently, with the message, “Every one of you should turn back now from his evil way, improve your actions and not follow other gods in order to serve them. Then you will live in the land I gave you and your ancestors. But you have not paid attention or listened to me. 16 Because the descendants of Yonadav the son of Rekhav have obeyed the order of their ancestor, which he ordered them; but this people has not listened to me; 17 therefore — ” here is what Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: “I will inflict on Y’hudah and all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim all the disaster I have decreed against them; because I have spoken to them, but they have not listened; and I have called out to them, but they have not answered.”’”

18 Then to the clan of the Rekhavim Yirmeyahu said, “Here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘Because you have heeded the order of Yonadav your ancestor, observed all his commands and done what he ordered you to do; 19 therefore Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says this: “Yonadav the son of Rekhav will never lack a descendant to stand before me.”’”

36:1 In the fourth year of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah, this word came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai: 2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you against Isra’el, Y’hudah and all the other nations, from the day I started speaking to you, back in the time of Yoshiyahu, until today. 3 Perhaps the house of Y’hudah will listen to all the disaster I intend to bring on them, and turn back, each person from his evil way; then I will forgive their wickedness and sin.”

4 So Yirmeyahu summoned Barukh the son of Neriyah; and Barukh wrote down on a scroll, at Yirmeyahu’s dictation, all the words that Adonai had said to him. 5 Then Yirmeyahu gave this order to Barukh: “I am not allowed to enter the house of Adonai. 6 Therefore, you take the scroll which you wrote at my dictation, go into the house of Adonai on a fast-day, and read from it the words of Adonai in the hearing of the people; also read them to all Y’hudah as they exit their cities. 7 Perhaps they will turn to Adonai in prayer and will return, each one, from his evil way. For the anger and fury which Adonai has decreed against this people is great.”

8 Barukh the son of Neriyah obeyed everything Yirmeyahu the prophet ordered him to do, reading the words of Adonai from the scroll in Adonai’s house. 9 A fast was proclaimed in the ninth month of the fifth year of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah, for all the people in Yerushalayim and all the people who came from the cities of Y’hudah to Yerushalayim. 10 It was then that Barukh read from the scroll the words of Yirmeyahu in the house of Adonai, in the chamber of G’maryahu the son of Shafan the secretary, in the upper courtyard, at the entry to the New Gate of Adonai’s house, for all the people to hear. 11 When Mikhay’hu the son of G’maryahu, the son of Shafan, had heard from the scroll all the words of Adonai, 12 he went down to the king’s palace, into the secretary’s room. All the officials were there — Elishama the secretary, D’layahu the son of Sh’ma‘yahu, Elnatan the son of ‘Akhbor, G’maryah the son of Shafan, Tzidkiyahu the son of Hananyahu and all the [other] officials. 13 Mikhay’hu told them all the words he had heard when Barukh read the scroll in the people’s hearing; 14 whereupon all the officials sent Y’hudi the son of N’tanyahu, the son of Shelemyahu, the son of Kushi, to Barukh to say, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Barukh the son of Neriyah took the scroll in his hand and went to them. 15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” Barukh read it to them. 16 After they had heard all the words, they turned in fear to each other and said to Barukh, “We will certainly tell the king about all these words.” 17 Then they asked Barukh, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words? At his dictation?” 18 Barukh answered them, “He said all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the scroll.” 19 At this, the officials said to Barukh, “Go and hide yourselves, you and Yirmeyahu; don’t let anyone know where you are.” 20 After depositing the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went in to the courtyard and told everything to the king.

21 The king sent Y’hudi to bring the scroll, and he took it from the room of Elishama the secretary. Y’hudi read it to the king and all the officials standing near the king. 22 The king was sitting in his winter house; and since it was the ninth month, he had a fire burning in the stove in front of him. 23 After Y’hudi had read three or four columns from the scroll, he would cut off that portion with a knife and throw it into the fire that was burning in the stove, until the entire scroll had been consumed by the fire in the stove. 24 But even though they heard all these words, neither the king nor any of his servants grew afraid or tore their clothes. 25 Elnatan, D’layahu and G’maryahu had begged the king not to burn the scroll; but he wouldn’t listen to them. 26 Then the king ordered Yerachme’el the king’s son, S’rayahu the son of ‘Azri’el and Shelemyahu the son of ‘Avde’el to arrest Barukh the scribe and Yirmeyahu the prophet; but Adonai hid them.

27 Then this word of Adonai came to Yirmeyahu after the king had burned the scroll with the words Barukh had written at Yirmeyahu’s dictation: 28 “Take another scroll, and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Y’hoyakim the king of Y’hudah burned up. 29 And as far as Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah is concerned, you are to say that Adonai says, ‘You burned this scroll, asking, “Why did you write in it that the king of Bavel will certainly come and destroy this land and leave it without either humans or animals?” 30 Therefore Adonai says this about Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah: “He will have no one to occupy David’s throne; and his dead body will be thrown out to lie in the heat by day and in the frost by night. 31 Moreover, I will punish him, his offspring and his officials for their wickedness; and I will bring on them, the inhabitants of Yerushalayim and the people of Y’hudah all the disaster I have decreed against them, to which they have paid no attention.”’”

32 Then Yirmeyahu took another scroll and gave it to Barukh the scribe, the son of Neriyah. At Yirmeyahu’s dictation he wrote in it all the words of the scroll which Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah had burned up in the fire, and to those he added many similar words.

Colossians 4:1 Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly. Remember that you too have a Master in heaven.

2 Keep persisting in prayer, staying alert in it and being thankful. 3 Include prayer for us, too, that God may open a door for us to proclaim the message about the secret of the Messiah — for that is why I am in prison. 4 And pray that I may speak, as I should, in a way that makes the message clear.

5 Behave wisely toward outsiders, making full use of every opportunity — 6 let your conversation always be gracious and interesting, so that you will know how to respond to any particular individual.

7 Our dear brother Tychicus, who is a faithful worker and fellow-slave in the Lord, will give you all the news about me. 8 I have sent him to you for this very reason — so that you might know how we are, and so that he might encourage you. 9 I have sent him with Onesimus, the dear and faithful brother, who is one of you; they will tell you everything that has happened here.

10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends greetings, as does Mark, Bar-Nabba’s cousin, concerning whom you have received instructions — if he comes to you, welcome him. 11 Yeshua, the one called Justus, also sends greetings. These three are among the Circumcised; and among my fellow workers for the Kingdom of God, only they have turned out to be a comfort to me.

12 Epaphras sends greetings; he is one of you, a slave of the Messiah Yeshua who always agonizes in his prayer on your behalf, praying that you may stand firm, mature and fully confident, as you devote yourselves completely to God’s will. 13 For I can testify to him that he works hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send you greetings.

15 Give my greetings to the brothers in Laodicea, also to Nympha and the congregation that meets in her home. 16 After this letter has been read to you, have it read also in the congregation of the Laodiceans; and you, in turn, are to read the letter that will come from Laodicea. 17 And tell Archippus, “See that you complete the task you were given in the Lord.”

18 This greeting I, Sha’ul, write with my own hand.

Remember my imprisonment!

Grace be with you!

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CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS. THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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