"And being found in human form, He (Jesus) humbled Himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has
highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every
name, so that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and
on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:8-11
Fifty-eight-year-old Kirk Alexander of Salem, Oregon, loves his pizza.
More specifically, Kirk Alexander loves the pies from Domino's Pizza
on Silverton Road in Salem. A committed individual, he has been faithful
in putting in his daily order for something tasty from the restaurant.
Then, one day not so long ago, the Domino's managers, Sarah Fuller
and Jenny Seiber, noticed that Alexander had not called in an order
recently. Indeed, he had missed 11 days of orders. Feeling something was
amiss the managers tried calling him.
When the call didn't get a
response, they sent one of their delivery drivers to Alexander's home.
That's how driver Tracey Hamblen drove the six minutes to
Alexander's address at 1 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Hamblen saw the
lights were on at Alexander's home, but he wasn't coming to the door.
Hamblen called 911.
County sheriff deputies arrived, entered
Alexander's home, and found him in need of immediate medical attention.
He was hospitalized and sometime later was released.
Alexander's
story is an interesting one, but you may wonder what this has to do with
a devotion.
Good question, I'll tell you.
Years ago, I and
the elders at one of my congregations, noticed that a faithful member,
an incredibly faithful member, wasn't in church that Sunday. This member
was so faithful that we felt something had to be wrong. We called the
person's home: no answer.
While the service was still going on,
one of the elders went to the person's home, rang the bell and, having
received no answer, took a look in the window. He saw the person on the
floor, called an ambulance, and got our member into the hospital.
Now my question to you is if you didn't show up at church would you
be missed? And how long would it take before you are missed?
Understand, the purpose of church is to allow us to give thanks for the
Savior whose life, death and resurrection has forgiven our sins and
reconciled us with our Heavenly Father. Far down on the list is having
the congregation do a "health check" on members.
That being said,
I would encourage you to be faithful in thanking the Lord Jesus who was
faithful to the cause of saving you. It's the spiritually healthy thing
to do.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks for the opportunity
to worship You. May I remain faithful in my gratitude to the Savior who
was always faithful to the cause of rescuing sinful humanity from sin,
the devil, and death. In Jesus' Name I pray it. Amen.
Pastor Ken Klaus
Lutheran Hour Ministries
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