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And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."[Revelation 7:11-12]
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. As a result, the Daily Devotioners will be receiving the online version of the excellent Lenten Devotions: From the Cradle to the Empty Grave. I will be returning on Tuesday, April 18.
Respect, that's a word and a concept, which has fallen out of favor.
Respect. Watch the evening news and keep tabs on what you see. Almost always the reports will begin with a lack of respect. There's the video footage of a mangled car where someone decided to disrespect the railroad crossing's flashing lights, ringing bells, and descending crossbuck barriers. There is also the story of the latest terrorist bombing where some religious fanatic has decided that his point of view is so important that he has a mandate to disrespect and destroy the lives of innocent men, women and children.
Those tragedies have one thing in common. They are all accounts that show no respect.
Most of our Daily Devotions folk will not argue when I suggest that today respect is in serious and short supply. Most of us remember President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who was crippled by polio. No matter what you think of him as a leader, it must be conceded that he waged a heroic fight against that disease.
The media of his day respected that battle.
Although Roosevelt served as president longer than any other man, and was unable to walk, unaided during that entire time, there are only two known pictures of him in a wheelchair. Today, let a leader fall, become sick, or stumble in a speech, and a disrespectful press will gleefully gloat and splash the story across its front pages. It will suggest we judge that entire individual on the basis of that slip or stumble.
I imagine it's not the first time in history that respect hasn't, well, been respected. Here's what an observer of society once said: "... our youths love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority -- they show disrespect for their elders and love to chatter in places of exercise .... Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households."
Do you agree? Well, that was said by Socrates, the Athenian philosopher. He said those words almost 2,500 years ago. You see, lack of respect is nothing new. In fact, if you think about it, when Adam and Eve decided they knew better than God and ate the forbidden fruit, that choice was motivated by a lack of respect.
In contrast to those who elevate themselves, Christians should be different.
Because of the Savior's sacrifice, because we have been moved from darkness to light, because we have been forgiven, restored and redeemed, we should always show respect to the Lord. We ought to join our voices with those who stand before the heavenly throne and say, "Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord when I speak Your Name, may it be done with honor and respect. May all around me know the gratitude I have for all You have done for me. This I ask in my Redeemer's 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: Leviticus 11-12; Mark 7:1-13
Leviticus 11:1 (vi) Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon, 2 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘These are the living creatures which you may eat among all the land animals: 3 any that has a separate hoof which is completely divided and chews the cud — these animals you may eat. 4-6 But you are not to eat those that only chew the cud or only have a separate hoof. For example, the camel, the coney and the hare are unclean for you, because they chew the cud but don’t have a separate hoof; 7 while the pig is unclean for you, because, although it has a separate and completely divided hoof, it doesn’t chew the cud. 8 You are not to eat meat from these or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
9 “‘Of all the things that live in the water, you may eat these: anything in the water that has fins and scales, whether in seas or in rivers — these you may eat. 10 But everything in the seas and rivers without both fins and scales, of all the small water-creatures and of all the living creatures in the water, is a detestable thing for you. 11 Yes, these will be detestable for you — you are not to eat their meat, and you are to detest their carcasses. 12 Whatever lacks fins and scales in the water is a detestable thing for you.
13 “‘The following creatures of the air are to be detestable for you — they are not to be eaten, they are a detestable thing: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, 14 the kite, the various kinds of buzzards, 15 the various kinds of ravens, 16 the ostrich, the screech-owl, the seagull, the various kinds of hawks, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the horned owl, the pelican, the barn owl, 19 the stork, the various kinds of herons, the hoopoe and the bat.
20 “‘All winged swarming creatures that go on all fours are a detestable thing for you; 21 except that of all winged swarming creatures that go on all fours, you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, enabling them to jump off the ground. 22 Specifically, of these you may eat the various kinds of locusts, grasshoppers, katydids and crickets. 23 But other than that, all winged swarming creatures having four feet are a detestable thing for you.
24 “‘The following will make you unclean; whoever touches the carcass of them will be unclean until evening, 25 and whoever picks up any part of their carcass is to wash his clothes and be unclean until evening: 26 every animal that has a separate but incompletely divided hoof or that doesn’t chew the cud is unclean for you; anyone who touches them will become unclean. 27 Whatever goes on its paws, among all animals that go on all fours, is unclean for you; whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until evening; 28 and whoever picks up its carcass is to wash his clothes and be unclean until evening — these are unclean for you.
29 “‘The following are unclean for you among the small creatures that swarm on the ground: the weasel, the mouse, the various kinds of lizards, 30 the gecko, the land crocodile, the skink, the sand-lizard and the chameleon. 31 They are unclean crawling creatures; whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening. 32 Anything on which one of them falls when dead will become unclean — wooden utensil, article of clothing, leather, sacking — any utensil used for work; it must be put in water, and it will be unclean until evening; then it will be clean. (vii) 33 If one of them falls into a clay pot, whatever is in it will become unclean, and you are to break the pot. 34 Any food permitted to be eaten that water from such a vessel gets on will become unclean, and any permitted liquid in such a vessel will become unclean. 35 Everything on which any carcass-part of theirs falls will become unclean, whether oven or stove; it is to be broken in pieces — they are unclean and will be unclean for you; 36 although a spring or cistern for collecting water remains clean. But anyone who touches one of their carcasses will become unclean. 37 If any carcass-part of theirs falls on any kind of seed to be sown, it is clean; 38 but if water is put on the seed and a carcass-part of theirs falls on it, it is unclean for you.
39 “‘If an animal of a kind that you are permitted to eat dies, whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until evening. 40 A person who eats meat from its carcass or carries its carcass is to wash his clothes; he will be unclean until evening.
41 “‘Any creature that swarms on the ground is a detestable thing; it is not to be eaten — 42 whatever moves on its stomach, goes on all fours, or has many legs — all creatures that swarm on the ground; you are not to eat them, because they are a detestable thing. 43 You are not to make yourselves detestable with any of these swarming, crawling creatures; do not make yourselves unclean with them, do not defile yourselves with them. 44 For I am Adonai your God; therefore, consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy; and do not defile yourselves with any kind of swarming creature that moves along the ground. (Maftir) 45 For I am Adonai, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Therefore you are to be holy, because I am holy.
46 “‘Such, then, is the law concerning animals, flying creatures, all living creatures that move about in the water, and all creatures that swarm on the ground. 47 Its purpose is to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.’”
12:1 Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “Tell the people of Isra’el: ‘If a woman conceives and gives birth to a boy, she will be unclean for seven days with the same uncleanness as in niddah, when she is having her menstrual period. 3 On the eighth day, the baby’s foreskin is to be circumcised. 4 She is to wait an additional thirty-three days to be purified from her blood; she is not to touch any holy thing or come into the sanctuary until the time of her purification is over. 5 But if she gives birth to a girl, she will be unclean for two weeks, as in her niddah; and she is to wait another sixty-six days to be purified from her blood.
6 “‘When the days of her purification are over, whether for a son or for a daughter, she is to bring a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or dove for a sin offering to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the cohen. 7 He will offer it before Adonai and make atonement for her; thus she will be purified from her discharge of blood. Such is the law for a woman who gives birth, whether to a boy or to a girl. 8 If she can’t afford a lamb, she is to take two doves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; the cohen will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”
Mark 7:1 The P’rushim and some of the Torah-teachers who had come from Yerushalayim gathered together with Yeshua 2 and saw that some of his talmidim ate with ritually unclean hands, that is, without doing n’tilat-yadayim. 3 (For the P’rushim, and indeed all the Judeans, holding fast to the Tradition of the Elders, do not eat unless they have given their hands a ceremonial washing. 4 Also, when they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they have rinsed their hands up to the wrist; and they adhere to many other traditions, such as washing cups, pots and bronze vessels.)
5 The P’rushim and the Torah-teachers asked him, “Why don’t your talmidim live in accordance with the Tradition of the Elders, but instead eat with ritually unclean hands?” 6 Yeshua answered them, “Yesha‘yahu was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites — as it is written,
‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far away from me.
7 Their worship of me is useless,
because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines.’[Mark 7:7 Isaiah 29:13]
8 “You depart from God’s command and hold onto human tradition. 9 Indeed,” he said to them, “you have made a fine art of departing from God’s command in order to keep your tradition! 10 For Moshe said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’[Mark 7:10 Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16] and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’[Mark 7:10 Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9] 11 But you say, ‘If someone says to his father or mother, “I have promised as a korban” ’ ” (that is, as a gift to God) “ ‘ “what I might have used to help you,” ’ 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13 Thus, with your tradition which you had handed down to you, you nullify the Word of God! And you do other things like this.”
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Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
Share this email:
660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
Saint Louis, Missouri 63141, United States
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