November 30, 2014
Daniel 7 is the prophetic vision of five kingdoms, four worldly kingdoms and one eternal. The vision of the heavenly seat of judgment stands in stark contrast to the four beastly images of human government. Many have tried to identify the four human kingdoms, but the identity of the fifth kingdom is clear. Human governments will become progressively more powerful, boastful and violent, but in the end, God’s judgment and government will prevail. Daniel’s prophecy contains information that is now both historic and predictive. Some of it has been fulfilled, some has yet to come to pass. Yet, one thing is certain, God is sovereign over all things, will judge all things and will work all things together for good. God has not hidden these things from us, but has revealed His purposes to us, His people.
November 29, 2014
What should you do if the government bans prayer? Ask Daniel. Daniel’s story is instructive to those who must live as a religious minority under a worldly government. God gave Daniel wisdom to navigate the political tangle of Babylonian and Persian rule and yet remain steadfast to his faith. Even so, he still often experienced persecution and threats to his life. How do we live out our faith at work or school, when expressing our faith is discouraged by company policies or prohibited by federal laws? As Daniel did, we should submit to the authorities over us, unless they cause us to break faith with the ultimate Authority, our God. Daniel feared the Lord more than the lions. And the Lord rescued him.
November 28, 2014
Some bounce from job to job and deal to deal looking for their big break. Others keep their head down and work with what they have. The former often end up empty while the latter prosper. Be thankful and get busy with what you have now.
November 27, 2014
Why head out into the darkness without a light to shine the way? Every morning we face a new day. Perhaps we think that the experiences of the days behind us will inform our direction forward, but who knows what a new day holds? Only the Lord. Stop stumbling and groping through life, blindly facing another day. Let God’s Word light your path.
November 26, 2014
Don’t be like the antelope that wandered from the herd only to be eaten by a lion. Stay alert and stay together! Don’t be tempted to isolate yourself in times of trouble. The Church is the body of Christ and we need each other. Begin your week worshiping together and gather during the week in one another’s homes, devoting yourselves to the Word, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and to prayer. Stay with the “herd” and stand firm together against the evil one.
November 25, 2014
Do you seek to be of “one mind,” unified with your fellow believers? Or do you constantly need to “speak your mind,” letting others know what displeases you? Seeking to be of one mind does not mean that you have no opinion, but it does mean that you seek to understand the other with an attitude of sympathy, love, tenderheartedness, and humility. This attitude leads to oneness for it actually cares about unity in the body and mutual understanding. Living together in this way will not eliminate conflict, but it will lead to handling conflict rightly, so that unity is increased, rather than broken. What is your goal? Is it to have your own way? Or is it to keep the family of believers unified in following Jesus?
November 24, 2014
When the oneness of our marital relationship is hindered, so is our prayer life. When husbands mistreat their wives (or vice versa) it affects their spiritual life as well. This should not surprise us for God has made us relational beings. And as such, a stone of disunity cast in one relationship, troubles the waters in another. Be reconciled to one another and live together in harmony, and watch your prayer life come alive again.
November 23, 2014
The Church is not a place, but a people. We have not built it, we are being built into it. While God builds the Church, we are to be the Church. For we are all “holy priests,” offering worship to God through meditation of Christ, the Cornerstone and Great High Priest.
November 22, 2014
Psalm 119 is the longest in the Psalms. For those who remember “Bible drills,” it lies near the middle of the Bible. It is an acrostic poem based on the 22-letter Hebrew alphabet and a meditation on the Scriptures themselves. In this verse, the Psalmist prays that God would open his eyes to understand the “wonderful truths” of God’s Word. This should be the prayer that every believer prays before opening the Word, because it is not just any book, it is God’s book. And therefore, God’s illumination is needed. Do you pray for God’s help before reading God’s Word?
November 21, 2014
God revealed His purpose for describing a future temple to Ezekiel (referred to here as “Son of man”). Ezekiel’s temple has never been built. Solomon built the first, which was destroyed by the Babylonians, as Ezekiel’s prophecy predicted. Zerubbabel built the second, which was enlarged by Herod the Great, but destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Ezekiel’s temple is sometimes called the “Third Temple,” or the “Millennial Temple.” Depending on one’s eschatology, some would see it as describing a spiritual temple fulfilled by the church. Others would see a literal fulfillment in the last days or during the Millennial kingdom. Regardless, Ezekiel was to describe it, so that the people of Israel would be “ashamed of all their sins.” Shame is an appropriate response to sin. Yet, there is a hardening of the heart which reduces shame to a dull tickling and then a complete denial. Ezekiel was to describe God’s future temple and returning glory, so that their hearts would feel shame, turning to God in repentance for forgiveness and salvation.