Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7

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

This year Lutheran Hour Ministries-Latvia's organized film forum, "And the Word Became Film," celebrated its 18th birthday. Each year, around Easter time, we review movies which have received prizes from ecumenical juries at different European film festivals.

We do this because film is a universal language.

You may not be familiar with the language spoken by the main characters of the movie; you may not know the historical background of the events which are being shown, but you can still understand the message that is being shared in the film.

Naturally, each of us often understands a film in our own unique way. That explains why some folks say a film left them cold, while others loved or detested it. All had seen the same film, but it had provoked different emotions in each individual.

Let me demonstrate: once we went to a little village to show one of our movies. This was a small settlement, and there were only a few people in attendance. The film told the love story of a young girl and a boy who admired her. It spent a great deal of time showing their relationship and the obstacles these two youngsters faced along the way.

After the movie we had a discussion about the film we had just seen. Everyone was invited to share their feelings and opinions. Yes, all were invited to share, but there were only three people who were brave enough to express their opinions in public.

Amazingly, each of these three speakers shared a different and unique perspective on love.

The first speaker was an older lady who already had a grandchild. In her opinion true love can't be expressed in words. It must be shown in action. She shared how her husband had built a family house for them and how he always takes care of things which need doing. She said, ''My husband loves me so much that he always mows the lawn around my flowerbeds very carefully. He has never damaged any single flower of mine!"

Her language of love is action.

The next speaker was a young woman who had been married for 10 years. She told us that she fell in love with her future husband during the meetings at her congregation. "He was speaking so passionately" the lady explained. At the same time, it is still touching to her that everyday, even after 10 years of marriage, he tells her how much he loves her.

Her language of love is spoken.

The last speaker was a young man in his early 30s. In his opinion, the best way to show someone your love and appreciation is through gifts. He said, ''I always bring home flowers and small gifts."

His language of love is gift-giving.

Of course, none of these speakers were wrong. Different people see things in different ways. Because we're different some of us need love to be shown in action; others need it expressed in words, and yet others need gifts.

Amazingly, God loves each of us and He will always find the right language to address us. Look at the life of the Savior and you will quickly see Him share the Lord's love in words, actions, and the gift of His own life.

THE PRAYER: Dear God we thank You for the love You have given us through Your Son. We rejoice in His love which was shown in words, actions, and the gift of His life. By His love we are reconnected to You and to each other. This we give thanks for in the Savior's Name. Amen.

Biography of Author: Today's international devotion was written by Eric Laime Babris. He is a project leader for the Lutheran Hour Ministries' office in Latvia. His main responsibility is to organize ministry events all around the country. Lutheran Hour Ministries-Latvia is our mission center which makes its witness through ministry events, Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC), and radio broadcasts.

In this European country of more than two million people, LHM-Latvia, known in-country as Lutheran Hour Mission, supports the efforts of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia. Established in 1991 in the city of Riga, this ministry center uses Equipping the Saints (ETS) workshops to train Christians to be outreach-minded in respect to their faith. It also uses four different BCC courses, which are tailored to both adults and children, and which are adapted to the concerns of Latvians. Beyond these efforts, LHM-Latvia connects with communities through radio programming, movie night/discussion events, vacation Bible schools, and even features a seminar series on Christian living: the "School of Spiritual Survival."

To see what's going on in Latvia, you can do so 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: Isaiah 20-22    Ephesians 5:1-16

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