The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries with Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "Jesus Is Still Here" for Thursday, November 17, 2016

The Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries with Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "Jesus Is Still Here" for Thursday, November 17, 2016

... (Jesus said) "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."[Matthew 28:20b]
I wasn't too long in the ministry before I heard the question, "Where is Jesus?"
The question was prompted by the motorcycle death of one of the young adult members of my congregation. No drugs. No booze. No speeding. He was a good kid. One day as he was on his bike, a driver didn't see him, and in a second it was all over.
Understandably, mother and father were heartbroken. He had been their only son.
In the days following his death, I noticed an amazing difference.
The mother's opinion was "I don't understand why the Lord took my boy home. No, I don't understand, but I trust the Lord to do what is right. We will meet again."
The father felt something quite different.
Outraged at God, the father said, "Jesus is supposed to be a God of love. Jesus is supposed to be all-powerful." From these two very basic statements of faith, both of which are quite right, the father concluded, quite wrongly: "If God loved my boy and He can do whatever He wants, then Jesus should have saved my son."
The father concluded, "Where was Jesus? I can tell you where He wasn't. He wasn't with my boy. And if Jesus wasn't with my boy then, then I don't need Jesus now."
The father wasn't ready to listen to me or anyone else.
He didn't want to hear how God had protected his boy through countless other accidents that never happened. He didn't want to hear how the Savior who lived and died and rose to save his son, would never -- could never -- do anything hurtful or wrong. He didn't want to hear how the Lord may have, by taking his boy home, saved his soul from a deadly, future temptation.
Dad didn't want to hear; his mind was made up.
When I left that church and community, his attitude hadn't changed.
I pray he has changed now because the truth is Jesus loved his boy and Jesus still loves that father as well.
So, where is Jesus?
Here is an honest answer. He is there with you, right now.
The fact that you may not feel Him, or see Him, or agree with Him, does not change the fact Jesus is with you. He is there, protecting you from dangers you cannot imagine.
When you feel singularly alone, when you feel there is nobody you could count on, when you think everyone has deserted you, He is there. How do I know?
I know because He told me.
THE PRAYER: Dear Savior, it is incomprehensible that You lived, suffered, died and rose for us and then forgot we are here. We know Your love is real and You will continue to live in our hearts forever. For this we give thanks in Your Name. 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: Ezekiel 5-7; 1 Timothy 4Ezekiel 5:1 “Now you, human being, take a sharp sword; and use it like a barber’s razor to shave your head and beard. Then weigh the hair on a balance-scale, and divide it up. 2 A third of it you are to burn in the city when the days of the siege are over. Take another third, and hit it with your sword all around the city. Scatter the last third to the wind, and I will pursue them with drawn sword. 3 Also take a few hairs and tie them up in the folds of your garment. 4 Again, of these take some; throw them in the fire, and burn them up; from there a fire will come out against the entire house of Isra’el.
5 “Here is what Adonai Elohim, says:
‘This is Yerushalayim!
I have placed her in the middle of the nations;
countries can be found all around her.
6 But she has rebelled against my rulings
and committed wickedness more than the nations,
against my laws more than the countries around her;
because they have rejected my rulings
and not lived according to my laws.’
7 “Therefore here is what Adonai Elohim, says: ‘Because you have outdone the nations around you by not living according to my laws or following my rulings or even following the rules of the nations around you,’ 8 therefore here is what Adonai Elohim, says: ‘I too am against you, yes, I; and I will execute judgments among you while all the nations look on. 9 Moreover, because of all your disgusting practices, I will do things to you that I have never done before; and I will never do such things again. 10 Parents among you will eat their children, and children will eat their parents! I will execute judgments among you and scatter to all the winds those of you who remain. 11 For, as I live,’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘because you defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and disgusting practices, therefore I swear that I will cut you off — my eye will not spare, I will have no pity. 12 A third of you will die from plague or be consumed by famine inside [Yerushalayim]; a third will fall by the sword all around [Yerushalayim]; and a third I will scatter to all the winds and pursue with the sword.’ 13 In this way my anger will spend itself, my fury against them will die down, and I will be satisfied. Then, when I have spent my fury on them, they will know that I, Adonai, have spoken out of my zeal. 14 ‘I will make you a ruin and an object of reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all passing by. 15 When I execute judgments and furious punishments among you in anger and fury, [Yerushalayim] will be an object of reproach, derision and horror, and a lesson to warn the nations around you. I, Adonai, have announced it. 16 I will send upon them the deadly, destructive arrows of famine, which I will send to destroy you. I will make the famine worse for you by cutting off your food supply. 17 Yes, I will send famine and savage beasts upon you to leave you without children; plague and bloodshed will sweep through you; and I will bring the sword upon you. I, Adonai, have spoken it.’”
6:1 The word of Adonai came to me: 2 “Human being, face toward the mountains of Isra’el, and prophesy against them: 3 ‘Mountains of Isra’el, hear the word of Adonai Elohim: here is what Adonai Elohim says about the mountains, hills, ravines and valleys: “I myself will bring a sword against you and destroy your high places. 4 Your altars will be wrecked and your pillars for sun-worship broken, and I will throw down your slain ones in front of your idols. 5 I will lay the corpses of the people of Isra’el in front of their idols and scatter your bones all around your altars. 6 Everywhere you live, the cities will be destroyed and the high places wrecked; so that your altars can be destroyed and wrecked, your idols broken and abolished, your pillars for sun-worship cut down and the things you have made wiped out. 7 The slain will fall among you; then you will know that I am Adonai.
8 “‘“Nevertheless, I will leave a remnant, some who will escape the sword among the nations, when you have been scattered throughout the countries. 9 Those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they have been exiled. How broken I have been over their whoring hearts that left me, and over their eyes that went whoring after their idols! They are going to loathe themselves for all the evils they committed in their disgusting practices. 10 Then they will know that I am Adonai; it isn’t for nothing that I said I would bring this calamity upon them.”’
11 “Here is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘Strike with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and bemoan all the terrible disgusting practices of the house of Isra’el. For they will fall by sword, famine and plague. 12 Those far away will die from the plague, those nearby will fall by the sword, and whoever stays and is besieged will die from famine. This is how I will spend my fury on them. 13 You will know that I am Adonai when their slain men are lying among their idols around their altars on every high hill, on every mountaintop, under every green tree, under every thick pistachio tree, wherever they offered sweet-smelling sacrifices to appease their idols. 14 I will stretch out my hand over them and make the land wherever they live into a desolate waste worse than the Divlah Desert. Then they will know that I am Adonai.’”
7:1 The word of Adonai came to me: 2 “As for you, human being, here is what Adonai Elohim says about the land of Isra’el:
‘The end! The end is coming
to the four corners of the land!
3 Now the end is upon you!
I will send my anger upon you,
I will judge you according to your ways.
I will bring on you all your disgusting practices.
4 My eye will not spare you, I will have no pity,
but I will bring your ways upon you,
and your disgusting practices will be done among you.
Then you will know that I am Adonai.’
5 “Here is what Adonai Elohim says:
‘Disaster, unique disaster — here it comes!
6 The end is coming! The end is coming!
It rouses itself against you — here it comes!
7 Doom has come to you,
you who live in the land!
The time has come, the day is near,
for tumult, not joyful shouts on the mountains.
8 Now, soon, I will pour out my fury on you,
I will spend my anger on you;
I will judge you according to your ways
I will bring on you all your disgusting practices.
9 My eye will not spare you, I will have no pity;
but will bring upon you what your ways deserve;
and your disgusting practices will be among you.
Then you will know it is I, Adonai, striking you.
10 “‘Here is the day! Here it comes!
Doom has gone out, the rod has blossomed,
arrogance has budded. 11 Violence has grown
into a rod of wickedness.
Nothing is left of them,
nothing of their crowds,
nothing of their wealth —
there is nothing of importance in them.
12 The time has come, the day has arrived;
let neither buyer rejoice nor seller regret;
for wrath is coming to all her many people.
13 For the seller will not return to what he sold,
even if he is still alive;
for though the vision was brought to all her many people,
nobody repented.
Each kept living his own wicked life;
they weren’t strong enough [to repent].
14 The shofar has sounded, everything is ready,
but no one goes out to the battle,
for my wrath is coming to all her many people.
15 “‘Outside is the sword, inside plague and famine.
Those in the country will die by the sword.
And as for those in the city,
plague and famine will eat them up.
16 But if any of them manage to escape,
they will head for the mountains
like doves from the valleys,
all of them moaning, each for his sin.
17 All hands will droop, all knees turn to water.
18 They will put on sackcloth;
horror will cover them;
every face will be ashamed,
every head shaved bald.
19 They will throw their silver into the streets;
their gold will be like something unclean.
On the day of Adonai’s wrath their silver and gold
won’t be able to rescue them.
These things won’t satisfy their hunger,
these things won’t fill their stomachs,
because these are what caused them to sin.
20 From their beautiful jewellery,
in which they took such pride,
they made their abominable idols
and their other detestable things;
therefore, for them I have caused it
to be like something unclean.
21 I will hand it over to foreigners as booty,
to the wicked of the earth as spoil,
and they will profane it.
22 I will turn my face away from them;
then [Bavel] will profane my secret place,
robbers will enter and profane it.
23 “‘Forge a chain,
for the land is full of capital crimes
and the city full of violence.
24 Therefore I will bring the worst of the nations
to take possession of their homes;
I will end the arrogance of the strong;
and their holy places will be profaned.
25 When horror comes, they will seek peace;
but there will be none.
26 Calamity will follow calamity,
rumor will follow rumor;
they will seek a vision from the prophet,
but Torah will perish from the cohen
and advice from the leaders.
27 The king will go into mourning,
the prince will be clothed with fright,
and the hands of the people of the land
will tremble in terror.
I will treat them as their way of life deserves
and judge them as they have judged others.
Then they will know
that I am Adonai.’”
1 Timothy 4:1 The Spirit expressly states that in the acharit-hayamim some people will apostatize from the faith by paying attention to deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come from the hypocrisy of liars whose own consciences have been burned, as if with a red-hot branding iron. 3 They forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods which God created to be eaten with thanksgiving by those who have come to trust and to know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing received with thanksgiving needs to be rejected, 5 because the word of God and prayer make it holy.
6 If you present all this to the brothers, you will be serving the Messiah Yeshua well; it will show that you have digested the words of the faith and of the good teaching which you have followed. 7 But refuse godless bubbe-meises, and exercise yourself in godliness. 8 For although physical exercise does have some value, godliness is valuable for everything, since it holds promise both for the present life and for the life to come. 9 Here is a statement you can trust, one that fully deserves to be accepted 10 (indeed, it is for this that we toil and strive): we have our hope set on a living God who is the deliverer of all humanity, especially of those who trust.
11 Command these things and teach them. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because of your youth; on the contrary, set the believers an example in your speech, behavior, love, trust and purity. 13 Until I come, pay attention to the public reading of the Scriptures. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which you were given through a prophecy when the body of elders gave you s’mikhah. 15 Be diligent about this work, throw yourself into it, so that your progress may be clear to everyone. 16 Pay attention to yourself and to the teaching, continue in it, for by so doing you will deliver both yourself and those who hear you.
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