Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "Deep, Dark Depression" for Monday, May 21, 2018
Colossians 3:14-15, 17 - And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.I'd never heard of it before, but there is a test called the UCLA Loneliness Scale.
The UCLA Loneliness Scale asks 20 questions and calculates the likelihood of a person being lonely from the results. Generally speaking, if you score 43 or more, you are considered lonely. When the health insurer, Cigna, gave the test to 20,100 adults in the United States, it was shocked to find the average score was 44.
Some benchmarks of loneliness were evident throughout the study group.
Approximately half the people said they sometimes or always feel alone or left out; 43 percent said they sometimes or always feel that their relationships are not meaningful; and only 53 percent said they have meaningful in-person interactions on a daily basis.
All of which means there are a lot of lonely people out there.
To which I can almost hear you say, "Absolutely! I, myself, know a lot of lonely senior citizens."
Well, it's quite possible that you really do know some lonely golden-agers. I won't contest that. But Cigna's questionnaire revealed the "greatest generation" -- or those folks over the age of 72 -- posted the lowest "loneliness likelihood" of any group who were tested.
If that's true, and it is, you may be wondering, "If the elderly, for the most part are doing good, which age group is having the hardest time in its confrontation with loneliness? According to the test, "Generation Z," that is, those who were born from 1995 to 2012, is the most lonely. More than half of the group identified with ten of the eleven prompts which the test uses to help define loneliness.
That degree of being alone can have serious consequences for an individual. Experts note those negatives can be modified when an individual has a holistic approach to life. They note that when an individual gets quality rest, solid exercise, and finds good hobbies they tend to feel less alone.
And if you wonder whether involvement in a church can make a difference, the answer is "Yes." Of course, there are some great reasons and there are some not-so-great reasons for getting active in a congregation. A great reason would be to regularly hear the Word and receive the Sacraments. A great reason would be to praise our Creator and offer Spirit-directed thanks to our crucified and ever-living Redeemer.
A not-as-great-a-reason to get involved in a church would be to attend only because you think it will provide interaction that might dispel loneliness. Even so, Jesus would understand that motivation. Remember, He came for those who were lost; He reached out to those who had no one; He loved those who were unlovable. And now, the risen Redeemer urges His church to follow His example and reach out to the lost and those who are alone.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, You once said, "It is not good that man should be alone." After that, You made sure that in the future that wouldn't be the case. Sadly, we brought sin into this world and our sins have brought loneliness with them. Grant that, under Your direction, believers may support each other and be the kind of friends to each other that the Savior was to us. This I ask in the Savior's Name. Amen.
The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by Jamie Ducharme for TIME on May 1, 2018 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:http://time.com/5261181/young-americans-are-lonely/
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Psalms 4-6; John 7:1-27Psalms 4:1 (0) For the leader. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David:
2 (1) O God, my vindicator!
Answer me when I call!
When I was distressed, you set me free;
now have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.
3 (2) Men of rank, how long will you shame my honor,
love what is vain, chase after lies? (Selah)
4 (3) Understand that Adonai sets apart
the godly person for himself;
Adonai will hear when I call to him.
5 (4) You can be angry, but do not sin!
Think about this as you lie in bed,
and calm down. (Selah)
6 (5) Offer sacrifices rightly,
and put your trust in Adonai.
7 (6) Many ask, “Who can show us some good?”
Adonai, lift the light of your face over us!
8 (7) You have filled my heart with more joy
than all their grain and new wine.
9 (8) I will lie down and sleep in peace;
for, Adonai, you alone make me live securely.
5:1 (0) For the leader. On wind instruments. A psalm of David:
2 (1) Give ear to my words, Adonai,
consider my inmost thoughts.
3 (2) Listen to my cry for help,
my king and my God, for I pray to you.
4 (3) Adonai, in the morning you will hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my needs before you
and wait expectantly.
5 (4) For you are not a God
who takes pleasure in wickedness;
evil cannot remain with you.
6 (5) Those who brag cannot stand before your eyes,
you hate all who do evil,
7 (6) you destroy those who tell lies,
Adonai detest men of blood and deceivers.8 (7) But I can enter your house
because of your great grace and love;
I will bow dwn toward your holy temple
in reverence for you.
9 (8) Lead me, Adonai, in your righteousness
because of those lying in wait for me;
make your way straight before me.
10 (9) For in their mouths there is nothing sincere,
within them are calamities,
their throats are open tombs,
they flatter with their tongues.
11 (10) God, declare them guilty!
Let them fall through their own intrigues,
For their many crimes, throw them down;
since they have rebelled against you.
12 (11) But let all who take refuge in you rejoice,
let them forever shout for joy!
Shelter them; and they will be glad,
those who love your name.
13 (12) For you, Adonai, bless the righteous;
you surround them with favor like a shield.
6:1 (0) For the leader. With stringed instruments. On sh’minit[low-pitched musical instruments?]. A psalm of David:
2 (1) Adonai, don’t rebuke me in your anger,
don’t discipline me in the heat of your fury.
3 (2) Be gracious to me, Adonai,
because I am withering away;
heal me, Adonai,
because my bones are shaking;
4 (3) I am completely terrified;
and you, Adonai — how long?
5 (4) Come back, Adonai, and rescue me!
Save me for the sake of your grace;
6 (5) for in death, no one remembers you;
in Sh’ol, who will praise you?
7 (6) I am worn out with groaning;
all night I drench my bed with tears,
flooding my couch till it swims.
8 (7) My vision is darkened with anger;
it grows weak because of all my foes.
9 (8) Get away from me, all you workers of evil!
For Adonai has heard the sound of my weeping,
10 (9) Adonai has heard my pleading,
Adonai will accept my prayer.
11 (10) All my enemies will be confounded,
completely terrified;
they will turn back
and be suddenly put to shame.
John 7:1 After this, Yeshua traveled around in the Galil, intentionally avoiding Y’hudah because the Judeans were out to kill him. 2 But the festival of Sukkot in Y’hudah was near; 3 so his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go into Y’hudah, so that your talmidimcan see the miracles you do; 4 for no one who wants to become known acts in secret. If you’re doing these things, show yourself to the world!” 5 (His brothers spoke this way because they had not put their trust in him.) 6 Yeshua said to them, “My time has not yet come; but for you, any time is right. 7 The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me, because I keep telling it how wicked its ways are. 8 You, go on up to the festival; as for me, I am not going up to this festival now, because the right time for me has not yet come.” 9 Having said this, he stayed on in the Galil.
10 But after his brothers had gone up to the festival, he too went up, not publicly but in secret. 11 At the festival, the Judeans were looking for him. “Where is he?” they asked. 12 And among the crowds there was much whispering about him. Some said, “He’s a good man”; but others said, “No, he is deceiving the masses.” 13 However, no one spoke about him openly, for fear of the Judeans.
14 Not until the festival was half over did Yeshua go up to the Temple courts and begin to teach. 15 The Judeans were surprised: “How does this man know so much without having studied?” they asked. 16 So Yeshua gave them an answer: “My teaching is not my own, it comes from the One who sent me. 17 If anyone wants to do his will, he will know whether my teaching is from God or I speak on my own. 18 A person who speaks on his own is trying to win praise for himself; but a person who tries to win praise for the one who sent him is honest, there is nothing false about him. 19 Didn’t Moshe give you the Torah? Yet not one of you obeys the Torah! Why are you out to kill me?” 20 “You have a demon!” the crowd answered. “Who’s out to kill you?” 21 Yeshua answered them, “I did one thing; and because of this, all of you are amazed. 22 Moshe gave you b’rit-milah — not that it came from Moshe but from the Patriarchs — and you do a boy’s b’rit-milah on Shabbat. 23 If a boy is circumcised on Shabbat so that the Torah of Moshe will not be broken, why are you angry with me because I made a man’s whole body well on Shabbat? 24 Stop judging by surface appearances, and judge the right way!”
25 Some of the Yerushalayim people said, “Isn’t this the man they’re out to kill? 26 Yet here he is, speaking openly; and they don’t say anything to him. It couldn’t be, could it, that the authorities have actually concluded he’s the Messiah? 27 Surely not — we know where this man comes from; but when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he comes from.” (Complete Jewish Bible)
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CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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