And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

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 Sunday 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

Yesterday I was recalling a conversation I once had with a girl friend of mine.

That conversation took place during a time in my life when I was drowning in problems, which had brought me to a spiritual void. When she and I had reached that point in the conversation where the "silence became deafening," I turned my radio to a popular station in my country, Venezuela.

On that station I listened to a promotion of a booklet entitled, A Moment with God.

Taking note of the name and address of the organization advertising that booklet, I went to that place. There the person who talked to me invited me to participate in a series of Bible studies he was going to give. The first study was on Samson and Delilah.

I thought the study would be boring since I had heard and seen the story many times on TV. This time the story was different. This time the story was based on God's Word and not the imaginings of some Hollywood writer.

Another study took me to the Gospel of John where I heard about the Word becoming flesh. By the Holy Spirit's power and grace I contemplated how powerful it is when God's Word gets into your heart. By then, I -- like many before and since -- understood that the Bible is not only words; it is also the power of God.

That's what the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 1:16. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

Thanks to God's Word, today I have 20 years in the ministry.

I rejoice in these decades in which God has given me the opportunity to talk about the Gospel of redemption and consolation in Jesus. It is a message that needs to be proclaimed, not just by me, but by every Christian who has been rescued by the sacrifice of God's perfect Son.

So, I invite you to join us in telling the world about the wonders of God's love.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, just as the centurion said, only one word from You would heal me (see Matthew 8:8). I ask You to keep healing many lives with Your Word. In the Savior's Name I ask it. Amen.

Biography of Author: Today's international devotion comes from our office in Venezuela. The author is Ivan Vasquez. He was born in Valencia, Venezuela, and is married to Iris. His lay work is done at Danaven, and he shares this about himself: "I came to "Christ for All Nations" (the Venezuela name of Lutheran Hour Ministries) because of a radio broadcast. After lengthy study I am now able to assist in the Christ for All Nations ministry through various speeches and presentations made at schools." Finally, Vasquez reports he is a member of the Lutheran Church of Valencia - Estado Carabobo.

Known in Venezuela as Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones ("Christ for All Nations"), LHM-Venezuela uses Equipping the Saints (ETS) and Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC) to reach out to South Americans with the Gospel, in this country of more than 30 million people. Additionally, this ministry center produces radio messages like "A Moment with God" and "Perspectives" to deal with life's everyday issues. Also its website is accessed by many, and visitors can opt to receive Christian devotional messages, as well as inspirational e-mails or text messages.

You can learn more about LHM-Venezuela by clicking here to visit its blog.


To learn more about our International Ministries, click here or visit www.lhm.org/international.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Proverbs 5-7    John 20

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