Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "Taking Care" for Sunday, July 30, 2017
Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our international ministry centers to write our Sunday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.
Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
had been told by a fellow pastor about the hospitalization of a girl who, at the time, was 12 or 13 years old.
was the only daughter of a Christian couple who regularly participated in the activities of one of our congregations in the city of Pelotas (Brazil). The pastor told me the young lady, because of problems with her birth, had been born with cerebral palsy and a number of other special difficulties.
I entered the hospital room, I soon realized that I was with a family which had taken good care of their little girl. With all their hearts they believed she was a special gift they had received from the Lord. I understood that I was working with parents who, through the crosses of life they had been given, had grown mature.
Bitterness was not part of their conversation.
preferred to tell me the lessons they had learned from life and their Lord. They shared how, although their daughter could neither speak nor walk, she could in her own way, communicate her love and affection to them through her eyes.
the years I have often visited with this family, and our conversations have been far-ranging.
It is true that occasionally I have heard them ask the age-old question: "Why?" Understand their wondering had not come from doubt or distrust in the Lord. No, they were trying to understand things which cannot always be understood.
by such questions, we worked our way through pertinent Scriptures. Our Bible time was supplemented by Christian booklets from Lutheran Hour Ministries. Of special help to them were the titles, Why Do We Suffer? and Courage for Difficult Times.
are not the first, nor will they be the last, family to find the holy Bible and good Christian literature are the Lord's tools, which can give strength, hope, and faith for the many struggles that life can bring to us.
just shared that the family asked me why. It has taken some time for me to form an answer. I'd like to share that answer now, with you.
1. You already know how this family had a deep faith, which had come from their wrestling with their daughter's affliction.
2. But there's more. I noticed that often other families in the same room of that hospital commented about the care that the girl's parents showed to her, the love they gave, and the faith they shared.
Recently, the little girl passed away. Her Savior took her away from her many pains and struggles. The certainty of salvation has been of great comfort to her family. They know that in Jesus the Lord has given us the greatest gift of all: His only and beloved Son. Through faith in the crucified and risen Savior, we are given forgiveness and eternal life.
This takes me to the third and last reason why this girl had carried her cross.
3. It was for you. You who live in a different country and probably speak a different language than does her family now know how God's love given to us through Jesus' sacrifice can sustain people through difficult circumstances and give them eternal life. Our little girl has touched tens of thousands.
THE PRAYER: Dear God, help me take care of those who need me and be with those whose special needs should take them to the Savior. In Jesus may they find the peace they need. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Biography of Author: Today's international devotion was written by Pastor Adelar Munieweg. Pastor Munieweg is married to Miriam and they live in Pelotas, Brazil, with their son and daughter. For nine years, he has served as chaplain in eight hospitals in Pelotas. There he has often used Lutheran Hour literature materials to bring comfort to people in need.
In this large South American country of more than 200 million people, Lutheran Hour Ministries-Brazil is known in-country as Hora Luterana and has its ministry center in São Paulo. It was first established in 1947. Today LHM-Brazil reaches out to Brazilians through social media and by a daily radio program, Five Minutes with Jesus. A voice-mail service, Messages of Hope, utilizes audio messages and is distributed via e-mail as well. Another resource for Brazilians is a weekly "live" online Bible study. This ministry center also utilizes, Equipping the Saints (ETS) workshops to train volunteers in sharing the Gospel. Another resource is the "Chaplaincy with Jesus" project, which coordinates its work with various chaplaincy programs throughout Brazil, ministering to individuals in prisons and hospitals.
Be sure to check out LHM's International Ministries' blog page. You can find it by clicking 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 113-115; 1 Thessalonians 3
Psalms 113:1 Halleluyah!
Servants of Adonai, give praise!
Give praise to the name of Adonai!
2 Blessed be the name of Adonai
from this moment on and forever!
3 From sunrise until sunset
Adonai’s name is to be praised.
4 Adonai is high above all nations,
his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like Adonai our God,
seated in the heights,
6 humbling himself to look
on heaven and on earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dust,
lifts the needy from the rubbish heap,
8 in order to give him a place among princes,
among the princes of his people.
9 He causes the childless woman
to live at home happily as a mother of children.
Halleluyah!
114:1 When Isra’el came out of Egypt,
the house of Ya‘akov from a people of foreign speech,
2 Y’hudah became [God’s] sanctuary,
Isra’el his domain.
3 The sea saw this and fled;
the Yarden turned back;
4 the mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like young sheep.
5 Why is it, sea, that you flee?
Why, Yarden, do you turn back?
6 Why, mountains, do you skip like rams;
and you hills like young sheep?
7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Ya‘akov,
8 who turned the rock into a pool of water,
flint into flowing spring.
115:1 Not to us, Adonai, not to us,
but to your name give glory,
because of your grace and truth.
2 Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
4 Their idols are mere silver and gold,
made by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they can’t speak;
they have eyes, but they can’t see;
6 they have ears, but they can’t hear;
they have noses, but they can’t smell;
7 they have hands, but they can’t feel;
they have feet, but they can’t walk;
with their throats they can’t make a sound.
8 The people who make them will become like them,
along with everyone who trusts in them.
9 Isra’el, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
10 House of Aharon, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
11 You who fear Adonai, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
12 Adonai has kept us in mind,
and he will bless.
He will bless the house of Isra’el;
he will bless the house of Aharon;
13 he will bless those who fear Adonai,
great and small alike.
14 May Adonai increase your numbers,
both yours and those of your children.
15 May you be blessed by Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.
16 Heaven belongs to Adonai,
but the earth he has given to humankind.
17 The dead can’t praise Adonai,
not those who sink down into silence.
18 But we will bless Adonai
from now on and forever.
Halleluyah!
1 Thessalonians 3:1 So when we could no longer stand it, we agreed to be left in Athens alone 2 and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker for the Good News of the Messiah, to make you solid and encourage you in your trust; 3 so that none of you would let these persecutions unsettle him. For you yourselves know that these are bound to come to us; 4 even when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were about to be persecuted; and indeed it has happened, as you know. 5 That is the reason why, after I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your trust. I was afraid that somehow the Tempter had tempted you, and our hard work had been wasted.
6 But now Timothy has come to us from you, bringing good news about your trust and love, and telling us that you remember us well and are always longing to see us, just as we long to see you. 7 Because of this, brothers, in spite of all our trouble and distress, we were comforted over you — because of your trust; 8 so that now we are alive; since you continue to stand fast, united with the Lord.
9 Indeed, how can we thank God enough for you or express to our God all the joy we feel because of you? 10 Night and day we pray as hard as we can that we will be able to see you face to face and supply whatever shortcomings there may be in your trust. 11 May God our Father and our Lord Yeshua direct our way to you.
12 And as for you, may the Lord make you increase and overflow in love toward each other, indeed, toward everyone, just as we do toward you; 13 so that he may give you the inner strength to be blameless, by reason of your holiness, when you stand before God our Father at the coming of our Lord Yeshua with all his angels.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment