Missionary Renegade: The Lutheran Hour Ministries Daily Devotion by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

The Lutheran Hour Ministries Daily Devotion by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour - Thursday, May 25, 2017 "A Finished Job"

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "A Finished Job" for Thursday, 25 May 2017John 19:28-30 - After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst." A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
The race called the "marathon" is 26.2 miles long. Every year there are millions of people who run marathon races, which are held all around the world. The very best time posted by any of those runners is two hours, two minutes, and 57 seconds. That record was set in Berlin in 2014.
That's the way it was until Eliud Kipchoge ran the marathon this month.
He broke that world record not by five seconds, although five seconds would have been impressive. He broke that world record not by 15 seconds, although that would have been an amazing accomplishment. He broke that record not by 50 seconds, or a minute, or even two minutes.
Kipchoge broke the old world record by 2.5 minutes.
Looking back on the day, Kipchoge said, "I rank this as the highest-ever performance of my life."
Indeed, it was the greatest performance of his life, or the life of any marathon runner. After seeing such a performance, everyone ought to be very pleased.
Maybe they ought to be, but they're not.
You see, in track-and-field contests there are some times that are almost considered to be unbreakable. Once upon a time the idea of having someone run the four-minute mile was thought to be beyond human ability. Then, in 1954, Roger Bannister managed the impossible.
Next on the list of impossible times was having someone run a two-hour marathon.
Eliud Kipchoge came close. Indeed, if he had run his race only 27 seconds faster, he would have had his name go down in the record books forever. All of this has a fair number of enthusiastic people saying his job isn't finished.
They are glad Kipchoge managed to shave minutes off the marathon time, but they believe his work is not yet completed. All of this has to be very frustrating for him. He already has done the semi-impossible; now some folks want him to finish that which is impossibler.
It occurs to me that almost 2,000 years ago Jesus ran a marathon. His entire life was a race during which He fulfilled the Laws we had broken and resisted the world's temptations. At the end of His life, He was unjustly crucified and murdered.
Just before Jesus died, He recognized that everything He had been asked to do had been completed. There were no loose ends, no jobs left undone, and no sins not paid for. Seeing all had been accomplished, Jesus said, "It is finished." And it was. Now, because of all Jesus has finished, everyone who is brought to faith in Him is forgiven and free.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, Jesus did the work entrusted to Him thoroughly, completely, and absolutely. He did that which no human being could ever do. Moved by His sacrifice -- in faith -- may we always show both our gratitude and appreciation. In Jesus' Name we ask it. Amen.
The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by the editors of Newser and various wire services for Newser on May 6, 017. Those who wish to reference that article may do so at the following link, which was fully functional at the time this devotion was written. Please click here

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: Psalms 15-16; John 9:1-23
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Psalms 15:⁽⁰⁾A psalm of David:

⁽¹⁾Adonai, who can rest in your tent?
Who can live on your holy mountain?

²Those who live a blameless life,
who behave uprightly,
who speak truth from their hearts
³and keep their tongues from slander;
who never do harm to others
or seek to discredit neighbors;
⁴who look with scorn on the vile,
but honor those who fear Adonai;
who hold to an oath, no matter the cost;
⁵who refuse usury when they lend money
and refuse a bribe to damage the innocent.

Those who do these things
never will be moved.

16:⁽⁰⁾Mikhtam. By David:

⁽¹⁾Protect me, God,
for you are my refuge.
²I said to Adonai, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good outside of you.”
³The holy people in the land are the ones
who are worthy of honor; all my pleasure is in them.

⁴Those who run after another god
multiply their sorrows;
To such gods I will not offer
drink offerings of blood
or take their names on my lips.

⁵Adonai, my assigned portion, my cup:
you safeguard my share.
⁶Pleasant places were measured out for me;
I am content with my heritage.

⁷I bless Adonai, my counselor;
at night my inmost being instructs me.
⁸I always set Adonai before me;
with him at my right hand, I can never be moved;
⁹so my heart is glad, my glory rejoices,
and my body too rests in safety;
¹⁰for you will not abandon me to Sh’ol,
you will not let your faithful one see the Abyss.
¹¹You make me know the path of life;
in your presence is unbounded joy,
in your right hand eternal delight.

John 9:1 As Yeshua passed along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His talmidim asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned — this man or his parents — to cause him to be born blind?” 3 Yeshua answered, “His blindness is due neither to his sin nor to that of his parents; it happened so that God’s power might be seen at work in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must keep doing the work of the One who sent me; the night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, put the mud on the man’s eyes, 7 and said to him, “Go, wash off in the Pool of Shiloach!” (The name means “sent.”) So he went and washed and came away seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who previously had seen him begging said, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “Yes, he’s the one”; while others said, “No, but he looks like him.” However, he himself said, “I’m the one.” 10 “How were your eyes opened?” they asked him. 11 He answered, “The man called Yeshua made mud, put it on my eyes, and told me, ‘Go to Shiloach and wash!’ So I went; and as soon as I had washed, I could see.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” and he replied, “I don’t know.”
13 They took the man who had been blind to the P’rushim. 14 Now the day on which Yeshua had made the mud and opened his eyes was Shabbat. 15 So the P’rushim asked him again how he had become able to see; and he told them, “He put mud on my eyes, then I washed, and now I can see.” 16 At this, some of the P’rushim said, “This man is not from God, because he doesn’t keep Shabbat.” But others said, “How could a man who is a sinner do miracles like these?” And there was a split among them. 17 So once more they spoke to the blind man: “Since you’re the one whose eyes he opened, what do you say about him?” He replied: “He is a prophet.”
18 The Judeans, however, were unwilling to believe that he had formerly been blind, but now could see, until they had summoned the man’s parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind; 21 but how it is that he can see now, we don’t know; nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him — he’s old enough, he can speak for himself!” 22 The parents said this because they were afraid of the Judeans, for the Judeans had already agreed that anyone who acknowledged Yeshua as the Messiah would be banned from the synagogue. 23 This is why his parents said, “He’s old enough, ask him.”
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