Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." And He laid His hands on them and went away. Matthew 19:14-15

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 Friday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.

In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,
Kenneth R. Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour



There was a little girl who had a book, which told adventure stories about a fictional character named Julia. Still, the book was not primarily about those adventures. First and foremost the book was written about the Lord's friendship with Julia. Now the girl who owned the book didn't know much about God, but from this book she got to know that the Lord can be a good friend.

Sadly, she lost her book -- forgot it in a train.

Her parents tried to help her find the old book. When that search was unsuccessful, they checked the shops to see if they could get their daughter a new copy. No luck, and they were told the book was unavailable. It was so sad; our little girl felt like she had lost a real friend.

Right around this time the girl's father took a Bible Correspondence Course, which was offered by the Lutheran Hour Ministries office in Latvia. About the time he was finishing the course, he found out that Lutheran Hour Ministries also has a course for children. Quickly, he signed his daughter up for the class.

After some time had passed, the little girl completed the class and received her diploma from the Lutheran Hour. And, along with her certificate, she also was given a book about her old friend Julia. No, we couldn't find the book she had lost, but we did get the next book in the series. Our little girl said it was just like meeting with old friends.

When she said, "old friends," she meant Julia, but most of all she meant the Lord.

Both of those books, Squirellion and I and God - We Are Friends, were written by Norwegian writer Kari Vinje and after Lutheran Hour translated them, they became popular in Latvia as well.

Working at Lutheran Hour in Latvia is an amazing thing. We never know how the Lord will find His way into the hearts of people.

I pray He has found His way into your heart and that He is bringing you closer to Him each and every day. This He does because of the Savior Jesus Christ who gave His life for our eternal joy and our present help and hope. When Jesus is your Friend, you know you are being taken care of and that the Lord will never abandon you. That's because you know God is our best Friend.

THE PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the Christian brothers and sisters we have all around the world. Thank You for the children we have, and thank You for Your love, care and guidance. Help us to be Your servants and make us into effective tools in Your loving hands. Help us to bring Jesus and the story of salvation to others, especially to little children in our country and those all around the world. This we ask in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Biography of Author: Today's international devotion was written by Ilze Abraha. She once worked at the Lutheran Hour Ministries office in Latvia, but now she is employed as a bookkeeper at an international company. Even though she no longer collects a paycheck from LHM, Abraha is still committed to sharing the Savior's story. This she does as she regularly volunteers herself to the work of telling the folks in this former Soviet Union country about the joys that come from having Jesus as your Savior.

In this European country of nearly two million people, Lutheran Hour Ministries-Latvia, known in-country as Lutheran Hour Mission, supports the efforts of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia. Through Equipping the Saints (ETS) workshops it trains Christians to be outreach-minded in respect to their faith. It also uses four different Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC), which are tailored to both adults and young people, either individually or in study groups. Beyond that, LHM-Latvia connects with communities through radio programming, movie night/discussion events, vacation Bible schools, and it even features a seminar series on Christian living: the "School of Spiritual Survival."

Check out how the ministry center in Latvia visited a church in Sloka and helped launch a new season of Sunday school classes. You can stop by and click here to visit LHM-Latvia's blog.


To learn more about our International Ministries, click here or visit www.lhmint.org.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Zechariah 13-14    Revelation 3-4

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