LHM Daily Devotion - October 21, 2017 "The Spirit of the Law"

Twenty-nine-year-old, two-tour veteran of Iraq, Taylor Winston is...

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

By Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour

"The Spirit of the Law"

October 21, 2017

But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day." Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?"

~ Luke 13:14-15 (ESV)

Twenty-nine-year-old, two-tour veteran of Iraq, Taylor Winston is a truck thief.

That being said, we need to add, Taylor Winston is a very, very special truck thief. This is his story. Winston was dancing with his girlfriend near the stage when rapid fire shots rang out at the Las Vegas concert. Like thousands of others who were there, he ran for cover. Actually, he ran toward some trucks that were parked on the other side of a fence; one of those trucks still had its keys.

When the shots stopped, Winston drove his stolen truck back to the venue.

There he loaded into the truck the worst wounded people he could find and raced them to Desert Springs Hospital Center. In the stolen truck, he went back for another load of wounded, and then another, and yet another.

Altogether, Winston thinks he took somewhere between 20 and 30 people to the hospital in his stolen truck. Now there is a reason I keep mentioning the fact that Winston's truck was stolen.

The truth is stealing a truck is a violation of the law. It is grand theft. I think we all have to agree: stealing trucks is something which is just plain wrong.

Now, my question before you is this: if you were the owner of that truck, would you press charges against Winston? If you were a policeman, would you arrest him for the law he had broken? If you were the district attorney, would you call a press conference and say that you were going to prosecute Winston to the fullest extent of the law?

I don't think so. Why? Because while Winston may not have followed the letter of the Nevada law, he certainly understood, and followed, the Lord's law of love. Anybody who understands that understands the story from which our text is taken.

Jesus had come across a woman who had been disabled for 18 years and had healed her.

Seeing that, the head of the synagogue got all unglued. He told everyone who would listen that healings should be done Sunday through Friday, but not on the Sabbath. Hearing what was being said, Jesus set things straight by saying, "If you fellows can take care of your animals on the Sabbath, I can take care of God's needy children."

And, I guess that means there are times the spirit of love can trump the niceties of the law. It means if the Lord can take care of a crippled lady on the Sabbath, Taylor Winston can rush some wounded, bleeding, and dying people to the hospital in a stolen truck.

Oh, you should know, Winston returned the stolen truck on Monday.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, it often takes humankind's worst to show us humankind's best. I give thanks that even as one man was taking lives, many people were trying to save them. I also rejoice that I have a Savior who lived and died to rescue the souls of all humanity from sin, the devil, and death. In His Name I pray. Amen.

Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin!  Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).

The Daily Readings for FRIDAY, October 20, 2017

Messengers from John the Baptist

Daily Readings for
FRIDAY, October 20, 2017

Jeremiah 38:14-28

King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the LORD. The king said to Jeremiah, "I have something to ask you; do not hide anything from me." Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, you will put me to death, will you not? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me." So King Zedekiah swore an oath in secret to Jeremiah, "As the LORD lives, who gave us our lives, I will not put you to death or hand you over to these men who seek your life." Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, If you will only surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be handed over to the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand." King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for I might be handed over to them and they would abuse me." Jeremiah said, "That will not happen. Just obey the voice of the LORD in what I say to you, and it shall go well with you, and your life shall be spared. But if you are determined not to surrender, this is what the LORD has shown me-- a vision of all the women remaining in the house of the king of Judah being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and saying, 'Your trusted friends have seduced you and have overcome you; Now that your feet are stuck in the mud, they desert you.' All your wives and your children shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon; and this city shall be burned with fire." Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Do not let anyone else know of this conversation, or you will die. If the officials should hear that I have spoken with you, and they should come and say to you, 'Just tell us what you said to the king; do not conceal it from us, or we will put you to death. What did the king say to you?' then you shall say to them, 'I was presenting my plea to the king not to send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.'" All the officials did come to Jeremiah and questioned him; and he answered them in the very words the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, for the conversation had not been overheard. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you-- unless you have come to believe in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them-- though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

Matthew 11:1-6

Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities. When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."

Morning Psalms

Psalm 16 Conserva me, Domine
1   Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; I have said to the LORD, "You are my Lord, my good above all other."
2   All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land, upon those who are noble among the people.
3   But those who run after other gods shall have their troubles multiplied.
4   Their libations of blood I will not offer, nor take the names of their gods upon my lips.
5   O LORD, you are my portion and my cup; it is you who uphold my lot.
6   My boundaries enclose a pleasant land; indeed, I have a goodly heritage.
7   I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel; my heart teaches me, night after night.
8   I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not fall.
9   My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; my body also shall rest in hope.
10   For you will not abandon me to the grave, nor let your holy one see the Pit.
11   You will show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

Psalm 17 Exaudi, Domine
1   Hear my plea of innocence, O LORD; give heed to my cry; listen to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips.
2   Let my vindication come forth from your presence; let your eyes be fixed on justice.
3   Weigh my heart, summon me by night, melt me down; you will find no impurity in me.
4   I give no offense with my mouth as others do; I have heeded the words of your lips.
5   My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law; in your paths my feet shall not stumble.
6   I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me; incline your ear to me and hear my words.
7   Show me your marvelous loving-kindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand from those who rise up against them.
8   Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings,
9   From the wicked who assault me, from my deadly enemies who surround me.
10   They have closed their heart to pity, and their mouth speaks proud things.
11   They press me hard, now they surround me, watching how they may cast me to the ground,
12   Like a lion, greedy for its prey, and like a young lion lurking in secret places.
13   Arise, O LORD; confront them and bring them down; deliver me from the wicked by your sword.
14   Deliver me, O LORD, by your hand from those whose portion in life is this world;
15   Whose bellies you fill with your treasure, who are well supplied with children and leave their wealth to their little ones.
16   But at my vindication I shall see your face; when I awake, I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

Evening Psalms

Psalm 22 Deus, Deus meu
1   My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress?
2   O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; by night as well, but I find no rest.
3   Yet you are the Holy One, enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
4   Our forefathers put their trust in you; they trusted, and you delivered them.
5   They cried out to you and were delivered; they trusted in you and were not put to shame.
6   But as for me, I am a worm and no man, scorned by all and despised by the people.
7   All who see me laugh me to scorn; they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,
8   He trusted in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, if he delights in him.
9   Yet you are he who took me out of the womb, and kept me safe upon my mother's breast.
10   I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; you were my God when I was still in my mother's womb.
11   Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
12   Many young bulls encircle me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me.
13   They open wide their jaws at me, like a ravening and a roaring lion.
14   I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint; my heart within my breast is melting wax.
15   My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; and you have laid me in the dust of the grave.
16   Packs of dogs close me in, and gangs of evildoers circle around me; they pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones.
17   They stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing.
18   Be not far away, O LORD; you are my strength; hasten to help me.
19   Save me from the sword, my life from the power of the dog.
20   Save me from the lion's mouth, my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls.
21   I will declare your Name to my brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.
22   Praise the LORD, you that fear him; stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory.
23   For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; but when they cry to him he hears them.
24   My praise is of him in the great assembly; I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.
25   The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the LORD shall praise him: "May your heart live for ever!"
26   All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations bow before him.
27   For kingship belongs to the LORD; he rules over the nations.
28   To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; all who go down to the dust fall before him.
29   My soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; they shall be known as the LORD'S for ever.
30   They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn the saving deeds that he has done.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible or account for fifty percent (50%) of the total work in which they are quoted.

Prayer of the Day for FRIDAY, October 20, 2017

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

~  Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Verse of the Day for FRIDAY, October 20, 2017

Psalm 51:12 (NIV) Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Read all of Psalm 51

Listen to Psalm 51

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Morning Devotions with Cap'n Kenny - Special Revelation and the Bible

Special Revelation and the Bible

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.

~ 2 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV)

When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He rebuked the devil with the words, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Historically, the church has echoed the teaching of Jesus by affirming that the Bible is the vox Dei, the “voice of God” or the verbum Dei, the “Word of God.” To call the Bible the Word of God is not to suggest that it was written by God's own divine hand or that it fell from heaven in a parachute. The Bible itself clearly calls attention to its many human authors. In a careful study of Scripture we notice that each human author has his own peculiar literary style, vocabulary, special emphasis, perspective, and the like. Since the production of the Bible involved human effort, how can it be regarded as the Word of God?

The Bible is called the Word of God because of its claim, believed by the church, that the human writers did not merely write their own opinions, but that their words were inspired by God. The apostle Paul writes, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). The word inspiration is a translation from the Greek word meaning “God-breathed.” God breathed out the Bible. Just as we must expel breath from our mouths when we speak, so ultimately Scripture is God speaking.

Although Scripture came to us from the pens of human authors, the ultimate source of Scripture is God. That is why the prophets could preface their words by saying, “Thus says the Lord.” This is also why Jesus could say, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17), and “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).

The word inspiration also calls attention to the process by which the Holy Spirit superintended the production of Scripture. The Holy Spirit guided the human authors so that their words would be nothing less than the word of God. How God superintended the original writings of the Bible is not known. But inspiration does not mean that God dictated his messages to those who wrote the Bible. Rather, the Holy Spirit communicated through the human writers the very words of God.

Christians affirm the infallibility and inerrancy of the Bible because God is ultimately the Author of the Bible. And because God is incapable of inspiring falsehood, His word is altogether true and trustworthy. Any normally prepared human literary product is liable to error. But the Bible is not a normal human project. If the Bible is inspired and superintended by God, then it cannot err.

This does not mean that the Bible translations we have today are without error, but that the original manuscripts were absolutely correct. Nor does it mean that every statement in the Bible is true. The writer of the book of Ecclesiastes, for instance, declares that “there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). The writer was speaking from the standpoint of human despair, and we know his statement to be untrue from other parts of Scripture. Even in revealing the false reasonings of a despairing man, the Bible speaks truth.

Lord, let me remember the divinity of your Word. Amen.

~ A. W. Tozer, from “The Fundamental Truths of Christianity”

In Jesus,
Cap'n Kenny


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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV® Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.

Un Dia a la Vez - Oración por cambios de vida

Oración por cambios de vida

Quien encubre su pecado jamás prospera; quien lo confiesa y lo deja, halla perdón. ¡Dichoso el que siempre teme al Señor!

~ Proverbios 28:13-14 (NVI)

Señor Jesús, gracias por este nuevo día y por tu amor y paciencia para conmigo.

Hoy, mi Dios, confieso que necesito tener cambios radicales en mi vida. Sé que muchas cosas de mi carácter y de mi temperamento me están ocasionando situaciones incómodas que se me van de las manos y me causan más problemas con mis seres queridos y las personas que me rodean.

Por eso, Señor, necesito que me ayudes a cambiar. Estoy dispuesto a entregarme a ti y permitir que obres en mi vida.

Acudo a tu misericordia que es nueva cada día, porque ya no puedo más.

Te pido perdón por mis pecados y quedo en tus manos, mi Jesús.

Limpia mi vida, hazme de nuevo, y concédeme que logre restablecer las relaciones con mi familia y me puedan perdonar.

Te lo suplico en el nombre de tu Hijo, Jesucristo, amén y amén.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón

Standing Strong Through the Storm - WHEN HOPE FADES, FAITH EMERGES

WHEN HOPE FADES, FAITH EMERGES

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.

~ Psalm 33:20 (NIV)

The hope of most female refugees from North Korea fades away shortly after arriving in China. Most do not want to flee to South Korea, because then they lose all contact with their family, and they are not in the position to support them anymore. And if they go to another place in China, it is only a matter of time before they are caught by either the police or human traffickers. And who knows what happens to them then?

So, is all hope lost? “No, there is hope,” says co-worker Kun-so. She picks up a Bible. “And that hope is written in this Book. For in it are profound promises. There is a heaven. Jesus loves you. All tears will be wiped away. No more death, no more pain. The Bible can even be the key to a better life now.

“But we have to bring the hard, difficult, biblical messages to the surface. The Bible says that you have to bless those who persecute you. It means you have to love the husband that abuses you. I have seen improvement when a North Korean woman was able to love instead of hate. And I direct the women to how God feels about them, how precious they are in His eyes, about what Jesus Christ did for them on Calvary. Thanks to His sacrifice there is hope. I can point the women to the day that will come eventually. The day that our Lord will wipe away every tear from their eyes, the day that death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

“After a while, we try to teach the women to forgive their Chinese husbands for their abuse. We tell them Jesus commands us to love our husbands. I know this is not easy to do. But we have seen that some women found the strength to do loving things for their husbands, and as a result slowly the husband started to change.”

Moon lost her child through a forced abortion, only days before her due date. Moon still lives with the Chinese family responsible for killing her child. But she also came into contact with a female co-worker. The worker took care of Moon as best as she could. She befriended her, prayed with her and explained about God and His love for her.

“I will be forever grateful,” shares Moon. “Thanks to you, I came into contact with God. As I learn more and more about Him through your Bible studies, I am grateful that this wonderful Being loves me. China and North Korea have not changed. I am still a person with no rights, and there is always the threat that the police will find me and send me back to North Korea.

“My situation is terrible, humanly speaking. But I feel like I am living in a whole new world, just because I know God. And I know my baby is with Him.”

When hope fades, faith emerges.

RESPONSE: Today I will place my hope in the Lord and trust Him to change the situations around me.

PRAYER: Pray for North Korean refugees—especially women—who suffer severely often losing hope. Pray that they will indeed find hope in the Lord.

Men of the Bible - Mark

Mark

His name means: "A Large Hammer"

His work: An eager journalist whose specialties were serving, following up on details, and making travel arrangements.
His character: A man who was willing to serve behind the scenes for others who were in ministry.
His sorrow: On his first major assignment as Paul and Barnabas's traveling secretary, Mark returned home, unable to finish the journey. This created a rift between Mark and Paul, as well as between Barnabas and Paul.
His triumph: Not only was the relationship breach healed, but Mark had the privilege of penning the first gospel—the good news of Jesus.
Key Scriptures: Mark 14:32-72

A Look at the Man

Just as soon as he had gathered all the information, Mark sat down and began to write. He was the first of the gospel writers*—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—to do so. As a young spectator, Mark was awestruck by Jesus. And because of his mother's influence, he was able to meet the disciples during the time of the Savior's ministry. This gave him special behind-the-scenes access, and he kept a record of what he saw.

Mark served quietly and unobtrusively. When Paul and Barnabas, Mark's cousin, traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch, they took Mark along as their assistant. When they set out for their first extensive missionary journey, again they asked him to come along. In this role, Mark advanced their trip by arranging for travel, food, and lodging. But when they got to Perga, Mark left the troupe and returned to Jerusalem, although the exact reason he left isn't known.

When Paul and Barnabas decided to revisit the cities they had traveled to on their first missionary journey, Barnabas wanted to take Mark along again. But Paul wasn't interested, so he chose Silas as his traveling companion. Barnabas asked Mark to join him on his trip to Cyprus, where he was given the chance to serve again.

The conflict between Paul and Mark was eventually healed. Ten years later Paul asked the people in Colosse to receive Mark with a welcome. In his letter from prison to Philemon, he called Mark "my fellow worker." And in Paul's final letter to his protégé, Timothy, he asked him to "bring Mark with you; he is helpful to me in my ministry."

Mark's special relationship with Simon Peter is mentioned in Peter's first letter to the new Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor. Mark must have been on the road with Peter in Rome, because Peter sent greetings to the believers from Mark and called him "my son." It was most likely during this time that Mark penned the gospel.

Traveling with Simon Peter, certainly the most zealous and emotive of the disciples, Mark reviewed his notes about Jesus' life. This, combined with his own firsthand experiences as a young man, gave him a special passion as he recalled the life of this Nazarene.

Mark's mission was to be sure that anyone reading his account would know that Jesus was the incarnate Son of God—the Messiah. The activities and miracles of Jesus were just as important to Mark as his words. The proof of his deity was in his person.

Mark followed Jesus as an observer. His perspective was real. He saw Jesus' humanity with his own eyes—exhausted (Mark 4:38), amazed (6:6), disappointed (8:12), displeased (10:14), angry (11:15-17), and sorrowful (14:34).

Moving quickly from scene to scene, Mark's account is filled with youthful impatience and urgency—"And straightway coming up out of the water"(1:10 KJV); and "At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness" (1:12).

In spite of what he saw at Gethsemane, Mark didn't give up on the possibility of the resurrection. If Jesus would really do what he implied during his ministry—conquer death—imagine what would happen!

Reflect On: Psalm 8:1–9
Praise God: For his holiness.
Offer Thanks: For his presence that fills you and his love that constrains you to follow him.
Confess: Your indifference to his power, your willingness to reduce your relationship to him to the ordinary and the mundane rather than delighting in the thrill and wonder of it all.
Ask God: To fill you with his empowering Spirit so that the gifts he has given you will be fully used for his glory.

Today's reading is a brief excerpt from Men of the Bible: A One-Year Devotional Study of Men in Scripture by Ann Spangler and Robert Wolgemuth (Zondervan). © 2010 by Ann Spangler. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Enjoy the complete book by purchasing your own copy at the Bible Gateway Store. The book's title must be included when sharing the above content on social media.