Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "What If" for Tuesday, August 1, 2017
1 Corinthians 15:20 - But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
"What if?"
It's a rare person who doesn't ask "what if?" We play guessing games with the past and project the results into our future."What if Adolph Hitler had won World War II?" "What if Kennedy hadn't been assassinated?" "What if I had taken that job?" "What if I had invested in Microsoft when it was $2 a share?" "What if I had left home five seconds later, or earlier, would the car accident have been avoided?" "What if I had married that other gal or guy?" "What if I had gone to another college?"
Most of the time, those what-if questions are innocent enough. But sometimes, "What if?" can lead to some real soul searching and reevaluating.
For example, "What if God had almost revealed Himself in Jesus Christ?" "What if Christ had almost been born and almost lived among us and almost been nailed to the cross?" "What if Jesus would have said, 'Ask and it may be given to you; seek and you probably will find; knock and it will, in all probability, be opened to you'?" "What if the Savior would have said, 'Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will not quite give you rest'?"
How would your life have been changed if Jesus had told His disciples "I am a possible way, a sort of truth, and a very dim light?" Those what-if questions would change our lives. Surprisingly, we are not alone in asking "what if?"
Paul does the same thing. He asks, "What if Christ is not raised from the dead?"
Then, having asked the question, Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, answers it. He says something like -- if Jesus isn't alive, neither are those believers who have died. What if Christ is not raised from the dead? Then every sermon of comfort that has been preached to comfort a mourner has been a lie.
If Christ is not risen, there is no hope, there is no tomorrow, and the day of death is the blackest thing that can happen to a human being.
Yup, that's what happens if Christ is not risen.
But, and this is an all-important but, St. Paul doesn't end there. He continues, "But now is Christ risen from the dead, the firstfruits of those that are sleeping."
Notice, Paul doesn't say, Jesus "probably" or "sort of" or "we think" or "possibly" or "might be." No, Paul says, "Now is Christ risen from the dead." It is a fact, an undeniable fact, a real fact. Let the world laugh and make mockery, the fact remains, the Easter tomb was empty. Jesus is leading the parade of those who have been rescued from the grave's clutches.
The disciples saw a risen Lord. The disciples ate with a risen Lord. The disciples touched a risen Lord. The disciples listened to a risen Lord. Day after day they visited with Him. And because they did, we can be sure our eternity doesn't rest upon an unanswered "what if?"
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks for Your grace, Your Son, and Your facts, which say that, with faith, I have been rescued and redeemed. May I share that good news with others. In Jesus' 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: Psalms 119:1-88; 1 Thessalonians 5
Psalms 119:א (Alef)
1 How happy are those whose way of life is blameless,
who live by the Torah of Adonai!
2 How happy are those who observe his instruction,
who seek him wholeheartedly!
3 They do nothing wrong
but live by his ways.
4 You laid down your precepts
for us to observe with care.
5 May my ways be steady
in observing your laws.
6 Then I will not be put to shame,
since I will have fixed my sight on all your mitzvot.
7 I thank you with a sincere heart
as I learn your righteous rulings.
8 I will observe your laws;
don’t completely abandon me!
ב (Bet)
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
don’t let me stray from your mitzvot.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I won’t sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, Adonai!
Teach me your laws.
13 I proclaim with my mouth
all the rulings you have spoken.
14 I rejoice in the way of your instruction
more than in any kind of wealth.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and keep my eyes on your ways.
16 I will find my delight in your regulations.
I will not forget your word.
ג (Gimel)
17 Deal generously with your servant;
then I will live and observe your word.
18 Open my eyes, so that I will see
wonders from your Torah.
19 Though I’m just a wanderer on the earth,
don’t hide your mitzvot from me.
20 I am continually consumed
with longing for your rulings.
21 You rebuke the proud, the cursed,
who stray from your mitzvot.
22 Remove scorn and contempt from me,
because I observe your instruction.
23 Even when princes sit and plot against me,
your servant meditates on your laws.
24 Also your instructions are my delight;
they are my counselors.
ד (Dalet)
25 I lie prostrate in the dust;
revive me, in keeping with your word.
26 I told you of my ways, and you answered me;
teach me your laws.
27 Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wonders.
28 I am melting away from anxiety and grief;
renew my strength, in keeping with your word.
29 Keep deceitful ways far from me,
and favor me with your Torah.
30 I choose the way of trust;
I set your rulings [before me].
31 I cling to your instruction;
Adonai, don’t let me be put to shame!
32 I will run the way of your mitzvot,
for you have broadened my understanding.
ה (Heh)
33 Teach me, Adonai, the way of your laws;
keeping them will be its own reward for me.
34 Give me understanding; then I will keep your Torah;
I will observe it with all my heart.
35 Guide me on the path of your mitzvot,
for I take pleasure in it.
36 Bend my heart toward your instructions
and not toward selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
with your ways, give me life.
38 Fulfill your promise, which you made to your servant,
which you made to those who fear you.
39 Avert the disgrace which I dread,
for your rulings are good.
40 See how I long for your precepts;
in your righteousness, give me life!
ו (Vav)
41 May your grace come to me, Adonai,
your salvation, as you promised;
42 then I will have an answer for those who taunt me;
for I trust in your word.
43 Don’t take away completely my power to speak the truth;
for I put my hope in your rulings;
44 and I will keep your Torah always,
forever and ever.
45 I will go wherever I like,
for I have sought your precepts.
46 I will speak of your instructions even to kings
without being ashamed.
47 I will delight myself in your mitzvot,
which I have loved.
48 I will lift my hands to your mitzvot, which I love;
and I will meditate on your laws.
ז (Zayin)
49 Remember your promise to your servant,
through which you have given me hope.
50 In my distress my comfort is this:
that your promise gives me life.
51 Though the arrogant scorn me completely,
I have not turned away from your Torah.
52 Adonai, I keep in mind your age-old rulings;
in them I take comfort.
53 Fury seizes me when I think of the wicked,
because they abandon your Torah.
54 Your laws have become my songs
wherever I make my home.
55 I remember your name, Adonai, at night;
and I observe your Torah.
56 This [comfort] has come to me,
because I observe your precepts.
ח (Het)
57 Adonai, I say that my task
is to observe your words.
58 I beg your favor with my whole heart;
show pity to me, in keeping with your promise.
59 I thought about my ways
and turned my feet toward your instruction.
60 I hurry, I don’t delay,
to observe your mitzvot.
61 Even when the cords of the wicked close around me,
I don’t forget your Torah.
62 At midnight I rise to give you thanks
because of your righteous rulings.
63 I am a friend of all who fear you,
of those who observe your precepts.
64 The earth, Adonai, is full of your grace;
teach me your laws.
ט (Tet)
65 You have treated your servant well,
Adonai, in keeping with your word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
because I trust in your mitzvot.
67 Before I was humbled, I used to go astray;
but now I observe your word.
68 You are good, and you do good;
teach me your laws.
69 The arrogant are slandering me,
but I will wholeheartedly keep your precepts.
70 Their hearts are as thick as fat,
but I take delight in your Torah.
71 It is for my good that I have been humbled;
it was so that I would learn your laws.
72 The Torah you have spoken means more to me
than a fortune in gold and silver.
י (Yud)
73 Your hands made and formed me;
give me understanding, so I can learn your mitzvot.
74 Those who fear you rejoice at the sight of me,
because I put my hope in your word.
75 I know, Adonai, that your rulings are righteous,
that even when you humble me you are faithful.
76 Let your grace comfort me,
in keeping with your promise to your servant.
77 Show me pity, and I will live,
for your Torah is my delight.
78 Let the proud be ashamed, because they wrong me with lies;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me,
along with those who know your instruction.
80 Let my heart be pure in your laws,
so that I won’t be put to shame.
כ (Kaf)
81 I am dying to know your salvation;
my hope is in your word.
82 My eyes fail from watching for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
83 For I have shriveled like a wineskin in a smoky room;
still, I don’t forget your laws.
84 How long can your servant stay alive?
When will you bring judgment on my persecutors?
85 The arrogant have dug pits for me to fall in;
this is not in keeping with your Torah!
86 All your mitzvot [show your] faithfulness;
they are hounding me with lies; help me!
87 They have nearly ended my life on earth,
but I have not abandoned your precepts.
88 In keeping with your grace, revive me;
and I will observe your spoken instructions.
1 Thessalonians 5:1 But you have no need to have anything written to you, brothers, about the times and dates when this will happen; 2 because you yourselves well know that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When people are saying, “Everything is so peaceful and secure,” then destruction will suddenly come upon them, the way labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there is no way they will escape.
4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that the Day should take you by surprise like a thief; 5 for you are all people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We don’t belong to the night or to darkness, 6 so let’s not be asleep, like the rest are; on the contrary, let us stay alert and sober. 7 People who sleep, sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us stay sober, putting on trust and love as a breastplate and the hope of being delivered as a helmet.[1 Thessalonians 5:8 Isaiah 59:17] 9 For God has not intended that we should experience his fury, but that we should gain deliverance through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, 10 who died on our behalf so that whether we are alive or dead, we may live along with him. 11 Therefore, encourage each other, and build each other up — just as you are doing.
12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who are working hard among you, those who are guiding you in the Lord and confronting you in order to help you change. 13 Treat them with the highest regard and love because of the work they are doing. Live at peace among yourselves; 14 but we urge you, brothers, to confront those who are lazy, your aim being to help them change, to encourage the timid, to assist the weak, and to be patient with everyone.
15 See that no one repays evil for evil; on the contrary, always try to do good to each other, indeed, to everyone.
16 Always be joyful. 17 Pray regularly. 18 In everything give thanks, for this is what God wants from you who are united with the Messiah Yeshua.
19 Don’t quench the Spirit, 20 don’t despise inspired messages. 21 But do test everything — hold onto what is good, 22 but keep away from every form of evil.
23 May the God of shalom make you completely holy — may your entire spirit, soul and body be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. 24 The one calling you is faithful, and he will do it.
25 Brothers, keep praying for us.
26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
27 I charge you in the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
28 The grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you.
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Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM). -------
The Lutheran Hour Ministries in Saint Louis, Missouri, United States for Monday, 31 July 2017 "It Started With a Song on the Radio"
Around 99 percent of the people in Thailand have not heard of Jesus. Ngam, a 25-year-old mother of two, was one of these souls. One day she heard a song she liked on the radio, she didn’t know she was listening to Encouragement for You, a program produced by LHM-Thailand.
The radio host talked about Jesus, but Ngam had no idea who Jesus was. Then the host invited listeners to contact LHM’s team in Thailand to discover more about the Bible. Ngam felt an irrestible urging inside – she decided to participate in a Bible Correspondence Course.Through the course, Jesus worked in Ngam's life. “It is helping me get to know God and how to follow him,” she says. “I’m very thankful to your ministry.”
Today, Ngam’s life is completely changed. LHM-Thailand helped her find a local church and she is preparing to be baptized. As her faith grows, she asks the LHM family for prayers as she seeks to help her family know Jesus.
LHM-Thailand shares the Good news every day through the radio and invites people in need to respond. LHM creates this kind of impactful radio ministry in more than 80 languages worldwide.
Ultimately, you make it possible! God uses your gifts and prayers to touch the hearts of people like Ngam with His love.
In Thailand, every $9 towards radio ministry represents someone responding to learn more about the Gospel.
Will you donate $9 today to help someone like Ngam?
CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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