the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
The roar of your [God's] foes filled your meeting-place.... With hatchet and hammer they banged away.... They set your [God's] sanctuary on fire (Psalms 74:4-7a).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of a handful of German pastors who stood up on behalf of our people during World War II. A study of his life reveals the secret of being able to stand in the midst of anti-Semitism and persecution. Bonhoeffer's love for the Jewish people and his defiance against the German government arose out of his lifestyle of daily Scripture meditation.
Soon after Kristallnacht (Crystal Night), November 9-10 (Cheshvan 15-16), 1938, when Nazis smashed the windows of Jewish-owned shops and set fire to countless synagogues, Bonhoeffer sent the following letter to church leaders throughout Germany: "I have been thinking a great deal about Psalms 74, Zechariah 2:8, and Romans 9:4,11:11-15. That leads us into very earnest prayer." Bonhoeffer's meditation on these Scripture passages— which all speak of God's faithfulness to Israel—reveals the life of a man who was in tune with the heart of God during dark times. We can only imagine what a difference it would have made if all Christians throughout Germany had meditated on these Scriptures.
Bonhoeffer was imprisoned in April, 1943 for his involvement in the plot to kill Adolf Hitler. He was so hated by the Nazi regime that he was executed just days before the war ended in 1945.
...pray that the Lord raises up more Dietrich Bonhoeffers in these last days.
DR
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
