The Lutheran Hour Ministry in Saint Louis, Missouri, United States Daily Devotion by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour - Saturday, August 5, 2017 "Better Than Birds"
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "Better Than Birds" for Saturday, August 5, 2017
1 Chronicles 16:34 - Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!Outside my back door is a bird feeder.
Holding about ten pounds of seed, this is a large, well-stocked bird feeder. Understand, this contraption is not a squirrel feeder. In truth I do not like footing the feed bill for the multitudes of ravenous squirrels that hang around.
This is why this bird feeder is designed to give those unwelcomed trespassers a small electric shock. Understand, this shock isn't strong enough to hurt or harm; it's got just enough of a tingle to make the furry interlopers feel it's in their best interest to move on.
But I've wandered. I begin again: outside my back door is a bird feeder. In the last two years, it has provided a smorgasbord of seed, a never-emptied treasure trove of tasty treats for the cardinals, finches, sparrows, woodpeckers, nuthatches, and other winged friends that regularly, almost religiously, help themselves to the bounty I have provided for them.
Now, you might think that every once in a while one or two of those feathered freeloaders might feel some kind of obligation to stop their feeding and say, "Hey, Reverend, thanks a lot. We just want to let you know your efforts have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated."
A person might think that would happen, but it hasn't.
Not once, not once in these years have any of those birds said a word of gratitude. They haven't come to my window and tapped out a word of appreciation in Morse code. In the Disney cartoons, birds are friendly little beasties who do the dishes and help with housework.
That hasn't happened.
On the contrary, when I come out my back door, the birds give a chirp of annoyance and fly away. Upon occasion, one of the braver birds will show his displeasure by landing in a place of relative security. Make it perfectly clear he is outraged by my unannounced interruption of his meal.
I think the Lord must feel the same way about us.
Consider, at the beginning of human history, God created a perfect world. Wonderful weather, an inviting environment, fantastic food were just the beginning of the gifts. But there was more. He gave our first ancestors perfect health, which would have lasted forever.
And what was Adam and Eve's reaction to all this God-given perfection? Did they spend age after endless age singing His praises? Not hardly! The opening chapters of the Bible tell how Satan came slithering in and suggested how, without too much work on their parts, Adam and Eve might be able to improve upon God's generosity. Scripture tells how our first parents embraced sin and, from that moment until now, in human hearts gratitude toward God is often displaced by discontent, which is not the way it should be.
Unlike my birds, we need to stop what we're doing and say "Thank You" to the Lord. We need to express our gratitude for His Son whose entire life was a sacrifice offered up to save sinful humanity. We need to show our appreciation for the Redeemer who forgives our sins and changes our eternity.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, forgive my ingratitude, and accept my thanks for Your blessings which continue to be given in spite of me and not because of me. 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 127-129; Acts 18
Psalms 127:1 (0) A song of ascents. By Shlomo:
(1) Unless Adonai builds the house,
its builders work in vain.
Unless Adonai guards the city,
the guard keeps watch in vain.
2 In vain do you get up early
and put off going to bed,
working hard to earn a living;
for he provides for his beloved,
even when they sleep.
3 Children too are a gift from Adonai;
the fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 The children born when one is young.
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
5 How blessed is the man
who has filled his quiver with them;
he will not have to be embarrassed
when contending with foes at the city gate.
128:1 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) How happy is everyone who fears Adonai,
who lives by his ways.
2 You will eat what your hands have produced;
you will be happy and prosperous.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
in the inner parts of your house.
Your children around the table will be
like shoots from an olive tree.
4 This is the kind of blessing that will fall
on him who fears Adonai.
5 May Adonai bless you from Tziyon!
May you see Yerushalayim prosper
all the days of your life,
6 and may you live to see your children’s children!
Shalom on Isra’el.
129:1 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) Since I was young they have often attacked me —
let Isra’el repeat it —
2 since I was young they have often attacked me,
but they haven’t overcome me.
3 The plowmen plowed on my back;
wounding me with long furrows.
4 But Adonai is righteous;
he cuts me free from the yoke of the wicked.
5 Let all who hate Tziyon
be thrown back in confusion.
6 Let them be like grass on the roof,
which dries out before it grows up
7 and never fills the reaper’s hands
or the arms of the one who binds sheaves,
8 so that no passer-by says,
“Adonai’s blessing on you!
We bless you in the name of Adonai!”
Acts 18:1 After this, Sha’ul left Athens and went to Corinth, 2 where he met a Jewish man named Aquila, originally from Pontus but having recently come with his wife Priscilla from Italy, because Claudius had issued a decree expelling all the Jews from Rome. Sha’ul went to see them; 3 and because he had the same trade as they, making tents, he stayed on with them; and they worked together.
Sha’ul also began carrying on discussions every Shabbat in the synagogue, where he tried to convince both Jews and Greeks. 5 But after Sila and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Sha’ul felt pressed by the urgency of the message and testified in depth to the Jews that Yeshua is the Messiah. 6 However when they set themselves against him and began hurling insults, he shook out his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! For my part, I am clean; from now on, I will go to the Goyim!”
So he left them and went into the home of a “God-fearer” named Titius Justus, whose house was right next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the president of the synagogue, came to trust in the Lord, along with his whole household; also many of the Corinthians who heard trusted and were immersed.
One night, in a vision, the Lord said to Sha’ul, “Don’t be afraid, but speak right up, and don’t stop, 10 because I am with you. No one will succeed in harming you, for I have many people in this city.” 11 So Sha’ul stayed there for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
But when Gallio became the Roman governor of Achaia, the unbelieving Jews made a concerted attack on Sha’ul and took him to court, 13 saying, “This man is trying to persuade people to worship God in ways that violate the Torah.” 14 Sha’ul was just about to open his mouth, when Gallio said to the Jews, “Listen, you Jews, if this were a case of inflicted injury or a serious crime, I could reasonably be expected to hear you out patiently. 15 But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law, then you must deal with it yourselves. I flatly refuse to judge such matters.” 16 And he had them ejected from the court. 17 They all grabbed Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue, and gave him a beating in full view of the bench; but Gallio showed no concern whatever.
Sha’ul remained for some time, then said good-bye to the brothers and sailed off to Syria, after having his hair cut short in Cenchrea, because he had taken a vow; with him were Priscilla and Aquila.
They came to Ephesus, and he left them there; but he himself went into the synagogue and held dialogue with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay with them longer, he declined; 21 however, in his farewell he said, “God willing, I will come back to you.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.
After landing at Caesarea, he went up to Yerushalayim and greeted the Messianic community. Then he came down to Antioch, 23 spent some time there, and afterwards set out and passed systematically through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the talmidim.
Meanwhile, a Jewish man named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker with a thorough knowledge of the Tanakh. 25 This man had been informed about the Way of the Lord, and with great spiritual fervor he spoke and taught accurately the facts about Yeshua, but he knew only the immersion of Yochanan. 26 He began to speak out boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the Way of God in fuller detail. 27 When he made plans to cross over into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote the talmidim there to welcome him. On arrival, he greatly helped those who through grace had come to trust; 28 for he powerfully and conclusively refuted the unbelieving Jews in public, demonstrating by the Tanakh that Yeshua is the Messiah.
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THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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