I am all the way up to John 3! It's been a snail's pace progressing through these first few days of my discipline leading to the commemoration of Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday morning!
John 3 introduces us to Nicodemus. He was a ruler of the Jews - - and since the majority of the Pharisees were against Jesus, Nicodemus snuck out to see Him covertly under the cover of darkness. I have no idea to whom he is referring in his editorial "we know", but he infers that there are others who agree with him that Jesus has to be a teacher sent from God because no one could do those signs unless God was with Him....
While Nicodemus tries to broach the subject he really wants to talk about, Jesus has no such need for circling around the big issues. He leaps right into it - and gives us the foundation for what we also know to be true, based on this teaching. "You must be born again!"
Jesus brazenly declares his deity, and what He was sent to accomplish, then tells Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."
The 'good news' that Jesus shared with Nicodemus is the gospel in a nutshell.
In the conclusion of Chapter 3, we return to see the ministry of John the Baptist winding down.... "He (speaking of Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease," declares John....And John the Baptist reiterates a variation of the message Jesus proclaimed, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 6
Over and over my attention is captured by God's order. Everything, down to the minutest detail is planned, designed, crafted by the Creator's hand. It is comforting to rest in His plan when His plan is a plan!
From before the foundation of the world, a solution to our severed relationship with God was designed - and finally, Jesus' ministry begins.
John alludes to Jesus' baptism in John 1:32. Jesus was baptized by John, then spent 40 days in the wilderness, and was tempted by Satan when He was at his weakest, after 40 days without sustenance.
Now He's back! And his first order of business is accumulating disciples. The first who followed him were John the Baptist's faithful disciples: Andrew and the author, John.
Andrew went on one of the first mission trips: he found his brother, Simon, and told him he and John had found the Messiah. (More like the Messiah finding them, don't you suppose?) Andrew brought Simon to Jesus, and Jesus' words of greeting were: "You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas (which means Peter).
The next day he took these 3 and left for Galilee. His next addition was Philip. Philip was from the same town as Andrew and Peter - Bethsaida. Philip did some mission outreach as well, and brought Nathanael. And as Nathanael approached Jesus, Jesus declared, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit." Nathanael asked him, "How do you know me?" And Jesus replied, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." To which Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel."
It is almost impossible to embrace the fulness of what they felt in those earliest days of knowing that the One who stood beside them was indeed the promised Messiah. Jesus saw them as only God could see them; knew them intimately before they had a chance to know Him; gave them enough proof of his deity to silence any doubts. Israel had waited a long time for the promised Messiah - and now the promised One was standing among them.
One of my favorite identifications for GOD is El Roi - The God who sees me. I love that Jesus let Nathanael know that He saw him under the fig tree - even before Philip got to him.
So - at the end of Chapter 1, there are 5 men who have left everything to follow Jesus: Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathanael - and John.
Chapter 2
Toward the end of Jesus' first week of 'ministry' - when He was focused on team-building - Jesus and his faithful few showed up for a wedding Jesus was invited to attend. I am told that weddings in those days traditionally lasted for 8 days - eating, drinking, celebrating - and it was an embarrassment if the groom ran out of wine.
Jesus' mother, Mary, was at the wedding. When the wine ran out she had compassion for the young host and sidled over to Jesus and stated the obvious, "They have no wine." Jesus made it clear that His time for being conspicuous by performing miracles had not yet come - yet Mary didn't let it go. She instructed the servants, "Do whatever He tells you." And they did. There were 6 stone water jars that each held 20 - 30 gallons, and Jesus instructed the servants fill them. Then he told them to dip out some of the water and take it to the master of the feast - the Master of Ceremonies, if you will....
Jesus had turned the water in to wine. Delicious best-quality wine. The master of ceremonies took note of that! It was customary to serve the best first, and after the people's palates were no longer as aware, to then serve the cheap stuff. Not only was the groom spared embarrassment, he was given abundantly more than he could ask or think - a minimum of 120 gallons of prime wine.
This one miracle - and his disciples believed in Him. They would see so much more! They would even see things that would make them question - but they had very identifiable touchstones to reflect on.
The next story John shares takes place during Passover +-27 A D. We know that it was Jesus' habit to attend Passover, but this was the first one He would attend with His disciples. You'd think He'd want to win people over with His love and kindness - but, no - the first thing He does is in defense of the sanctity of His Father's House.
One of the requirements of Passover celebration was the offering of sacrifices, and the money-grubbing greedy had figured out a way to make big bucks on the requirement. People who came from a long ways away found it easier to purchase their sacrifice in Jerusalem, rather than bring the animals along, and only one form of currency was permitted, so money changers would charge extortionist rates for people to change their 'back home' coins to the money required for the purchase.... Then, those who sold the required critters charged inflated fees for the purchases, so the "flock" was fleeced instead of assisted.
Their behavior made Jesus absolutely furious. And when He was challenged, His answer clues us in that He already knew that in 3 short years, He would be back in this place as the sacrificial lamb...but He also clearly knew that on the 3rd day He would be raised from the dead. He telegraphs the end of the story, so His disciples will remember later....
Many believed in Him because of the miracles He was performing - but He knew that people were fickle, wafting on the tide of the moment. How very sad - but He knew that before creation...and He created man anyway.
I find it noteworthy how early in His ministry He set the stage for the animosity of the Pharisees to pursue Him. I think we should pay attention. His holiness is uncompromising, and He sets the standard for us.
From before the foundation of the world, a solution to our severed relationship with God was designed - and finally, Jesus' ministry begins.
John alludes to Jesus' baptism in John 1:32. Jesus was baptized by John, then spent 40 days in the wilderness, and was tempted by Satan when He was at his weakest, after 40 days without sustenance.
Now He's back! And his first order of business is accumulating disciples. The first who followed him were John the Baptist's faithful disciples: Andrew and the author, John.
Andrew went on one of the first mission trips: he found his brother, Simon, and told him he and John had found the Messiah. (More like the Messiah finding them, don't you suppose?) Andrew brought Simon to Jesus, and Jesus' words of greeting were: "You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas (which means Peter).
The next day he took these 3 and left for Galilee. His next addition was Philip. Philip was from the same town as Andrew and Peter - Bethsaida. Philip did some mission outreach as well, and brought Nathanael. And as Nathanael approached Jesus, Jesus declared, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit." Nathanael asked him, "How do you know me?" And Jesus replied, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." To which Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel."
It is almost impossible to embrace the fulness of what they felt in those earliest days of knowing that the One who stood beside them was indeed the promised Messiah. Jesus saw them as only God could see them; knew them intimately before they had a chance to know Him; gave them enough proof of his deity to silence any doubts. Israel had waited a long time for the promised Messiah - and now the promised One was standing among them.
One of my favorite identifications for GOD is El Roi - The God who sees me. I love that Jesus let Nathanael know that He saw him under the fig tree - even before Philip got to him.
So - at the end of Chapter 1, there are 5 men who have left everything to follow Jesus: Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathanael - and John.
Chapter 2
Toward the end of Jesus' first week of 'ministry' - when He was focused on team-building - Jesus and his faithful few showed up for a wedding Jesus was invited to attend. I am told that weddings in those days traditionally lasted for 8 days - eating, drinking, celebrating - and it was an embarrassment if the groom ran out of wine.
Jesus' mother, Mary, was at the wedding. When the wine ran out she had compassion for the young host and sidled over to Jesus and stated the obvious, "They have no wine." Jesus made it clear that His time for being conspicuous by performing miracles had not yet come - yet Mary didn't let it go. She instructed the servants, "Do whatever He tells you." And they did. There were 6 stone water jars that each held 20 - 30 gallons, and Jesus instructed the servants fill them. Then he told them to dip out some of the water and take it to the master of the feast - the Master of Ceremonies, if you will....
Jesus had turned the water in to wine. Delicious best-quality wine. The master of ceremonies took note of that! It was customary to serve the best first, and after the people's palates were no longer as aware, to then serve the cheap stuff. Not only was the groom spared embarrassment, he was given abundantly more than he could ask or think - a minimum of 120 gallons of prime wine.
This one miracle - and his disciples believed in Him. They would see so much more! They would even see things that would make them question - but they had very identifiable touchstones to reflect on.
The next story John shares takes place during Passover +-27 A D. We know that it was Jesus' habit to attend Passover, but this was the first one He would attend with His disciples. You'd think He'd want to win people over with His love and kindness - but, no - the first thing He does is in defense of the sanctity of His Father's House.
One of the requirements of Passover celebration was the offering of sacrifices, and the money-grubbing greedy had figured out a way to make big bucks on the requirement. People who came from a long ways away found it easier to purchase their sacrifice in Jerusalem, rather than bring the animals along, and only one form of currency was permitted, so money changers would charge extortionist rates for people to change their 'back home' coins to the money required for the purchase.... Then, those who sold the required critters charged inflated fees for the purchases, so the "flock" was fleeced instead of assisted.
Their behavior made Jesus absolutely furious. And when He was challenged, His answer clues us in that He already knew that in 3 short years, He would be back in this place as the sacrificial lamb...but He also clearly knew that on the 3rd day He would be raised from the dead. He telegraphs the end of the story, so His disciples will remember later....
Many believed in Him because of the miracles He was performing - but He knew that people were fickle, wafting on the tide of the moment. How very sad - but He knew that before creation...and He created man anyway.
I find it noteworthy how early in His ministry He set the stage for the animosity of the Pharisees to pursue Him. I think we should pay attention. His holiness is uncompromising, and He sets the standard for us.
Monday, February 27, 2012
JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 5
New beginnings. That's what the Journey to Resurrection 2012 feels like. Bravely peering into God's written Word to find the not-before-seen.... Seeking. Exploring. Finding.
John 1 reminds me that I shouldn't be surprised when people don't understand my passion for and faith in Jesus. He - Messiah - came into the world. God with us - the creator of the world, incarnate - and they didn't know Him. If they didn't know Him - the full meal deal - how on earth could I expect them to see Him in me? It allows me a strange comfort, knowing that.
John the Baptist was Jesus' elder by only 6 months. We learn that detail in Luke. When Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her she had been chosen to give birth to the Messiah, he told Mary that her relative, Elizabeth, was in her sixth month of pregnancy. Soon after learning she was pregnant, Mary went to the hill country to see Elizabeth - and she stayed with her for about 3 months, close to the time young John would be born. Zechariah couldn't talk - so she was good company for Elizabeth. They were each carrying miracle children. They had a lot to share.
Even so, the book of John (written by the apostle John, son of Zebedee) says John didn't know Jesus, so they weren't raised together, as one might have supposed likely.
John the Baptist's knowledge of who Jesus was, was totally dependent on insight from the Holy Spirit. Just one day after John was questioned about perhaps being the Messiah, he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" This is he of whom I said, "After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel." And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God." (John 1:29-34 ESV)
On the second day - the day after He first saw Jesus and declared his divinity to the masses - he was standing with two of his disciples - Andrew and, it would appear, John, Son of Zebedee. As Jesus walked by John the Baptist declared to them, "Behold the Lamb of God." And with that introduction, they deserted John and followed Jesus.
John, in everything he did, deferred to Jesus. He was an amazing man; who was filled with the Holy Spirit before birth; who was born to aged parents and walked humbly before God; who ate locusts and wild honey and dressed in the skins of animals - a true 'survivor'; yet when Jesus came, he said he wasn't even worthy to loosen Jesus' sandals. I like John! I love his heart!
I wonder why he didn't get to be a disciple. He was already devoted. He would have modeled love well. But God had other plans - a brief life well lived. He modeled the kind of life we are to live - one totally submitted to the Lord. Later on - before his death - he would go through a time of wondering why - but in spite of everything, he remained faithful.
My prayer for today: Lord, help me submit everything in life to Your will and Your design. When I hear of sad circumstances happening to those who love and serve you, help me always submit them to You as well. I know You have a plan - and that there might be people who would never be reached were it not for those You love going through difficulty as a witness to their love for You and Your faithfulness to them - faithfulness that is evident in the grace you extend no matter what the circumstances. Amen.
John 1 reminds me that I shouldn't be surprised when people don't understand my passion for and faith in Jesus. He - Messiah - came into the world. God with us - the creator of the world, incarnate - and they didn't know Him. If they didn't know Him - the full meal deal - how on earth could I expect them to see Him in me? It allows me a strange comfort, knowing that.
John the Baptist was Jesus' elder by only 6 months. We learn that detail in Luke. When Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her she had been chosen to give birth to the Messiah, he told Mary that her relative, Elizabeth, was in her sixth month of pregnancy. Soon after learning she was pregnant, Mary went to the hill country to see Elizabeth - and she stayed with her for about 3 months, close to the time young John would be born. Zechariah couldn't talk - so she was good company for Elizabeth. They were each carrying miracle children. They had a lot to share.
Even so, the book of John (written by the apostle John, son of Zebedee) says John didn't know Jesus, so they weren't raised together, as one might have supposed likely.
John the Baptist's knowledge of who Jesus was, was totally dependent on insight from the Holy Spirit. Just one day after John was questioned about perhaps being the Messiah, he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" This is he of whom I said, "After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel." And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God." (John 1:29-34 ESV)
On the second day - the day after He first saw Jesus and declared his divinity to the masses - he was standing with two of his disciples - Andrew and, it would appear, John, Son of Zebedee. As Jesus walked by John the Baptist declared to them, "Behold the Lamb of God." And with that introduction, they deserted John and followed Jesus.
John, in everything he did, deferred to Jesus. He was an amazing man; who was filled with the Holy Spirit before birth; who was born to aged parents and walked humbly before God; who ate locusts and wild honey and dressed in the skins of animals - a true 'survivor'; yet when Jesus came, he said he wasn't even worthy to loosen Jesus' sandals. I like John! I love his heart!
I wonder why he didn't get to be a disciple. He was already devoted. He would have modeled love well. But God had other plans - a brief life well lived. He modeled the kind of life we are to live - one totally submitted to the Lord. Later on - before his death - he would go through a time of wondering why - but in spite of everything, he remained faithful.
My prayer for today: Lord, help me submit everything in life to Your will and Your design. When I hear of sad circumstances happening to those who love and serve you, help me always submit them to You as well. I know You have a plan - and that there might be people who would never be reached were it not for those You love going through difficulty as a witness to their love for You and Your faithfulness to them - faithfulness that is evident in the grace you extend no matter what the circumstances. Amen.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 4
I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever get through John 1! My blog-writing is being held hostage in deference to other obligations. Today I had a Christian Education meeting from 10:30 to just past 12:30, then arrived home to find surprise company, so made lunch for he and Al and visited. Before our friend left, my grandson called to ask if I could give him a haircut...and his brother...and his dad. So we did that, then I left as soon as I was finished to go practice music for Worship Team in the morning for the 8 a m service. Came home, made dinner, and came up to my office to make copies of music we decided to use in lieu of what was originally scheduled....and after finishing that, am finally, for the first time today, able to even think about the blog.... I had my prayer time before I left this morning - but didn't have time to do anything else. It is not a day that went as I had planned - yet it was just right, and as it should be.
I think I needed to provide that explanation for not being on task with my commitment. I want every day of this journey to provide me an opportunity for spiritual growth. What I do know after the lovely, busy day that I had is: I am blessed. I am grateful. And I'll be back....
There was a man who came from God whose name was John.... John the Baptist, another miracle birth, a humble, wonderful man. I will definitely explore him more....
But for today, I am diverted to other tasks....
I think I needed to provide that explanation for not being on task with my commitment. I want every day of this journey to provide me an opportunity for spiritual growth. What I do know after the lovely, busy day that I had is: I am blessed. I am grateful. And I'll be back....
There was a man who came from God whose name was John.... John the Baptist, another miracle birth, a humble, wonderful man. I will definitely explore him more....
But for today, I am diverted to other tasks....
Friday, February 24, 2012
JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 3
I have been in a quandary, trying to determine what the initial steps would be on my path to Resurrection this year. In the early hours of this morning, I felt very specifically nudged to focus on the book of John, with an eye to reviewing lessons Jesus taught then - and by extension, teaches us now. I'm excited to have a direction to head. I committed to the journey without having a plan - and I really needed the first few flagstones of the path in view....
But, first, my journey requires clarifying basics. I have recently become poignantly aware of the reality that the words we use don't mean the same thing to all of us. I want to establish some groundwork for the rudimentary basics of what I mean when I identify God: Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
There is only one GOD. YWHW, the tetragrammaton, which is the unspeakable and unstated Name of G-D to Jews, is most often translated Jehovah, or written with vowels inserted as Yahweh.
God always was and always will be. He is eternal. He is and has always been the one and only true GOD. There is no other.
GOD is a plural word, and GOD is represented in three specific identities: God, the Father; God, the Son; and God, the Holy Spirit. Together they are one triune GOD. We refer to the 3 separate 'persons' of the Godhead as the Trinity. That's hard for us to wrap our heads around. It is confusing to some people because it sounds like we worship three gods. Not so! When I was writing the children's musical, A Letter From G. O. D., I felt inspired to write devotionals to go with it, and for one of them, God inspired me with an object lesson that really helped me explain this concept in a kids' eye view:
Water is H2O. Ice is H2O. Steam is H2O. When we think of H2O we generally identify it as water - but the other two forms of H2O are equally H2O. They definitely represent three different forms of one 'thing'. Tuck that in your memory bank, and it should help when we grapple with John.
As a slight editorial aside, just to be perfectly clear, a man cannot become a god. Ever.
When I say God, I am most often referring to God the Father, but the Triune God is inextricably coalesced, so that distinction is in my mind, not His.
Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah) is God's one and only birthed son. (When His name was translated to Greek it became Ioseos Christos, which, when translated to English became Jesus Christ. The actual translation directly from Hebrew to English would actually be Joshua Messiah.)
Jesus is not a brother to Satan. Satan was a created being - at one time a very beautiful angel named Lucifer - who defied God and was cast out of heaven, along with a third of the angels, who made the choice to follow his lead and defy God with him.
Jesus is fully God and fully human. Literally, God Himself took on the form of man and came to this earth to bring salvation to humanity. It is a mystery beyond our understanding, and is a truth we accept by faith. God the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit was a spirit-sperm donor. Mary was a virgin when she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, just as the Angel Gabriel announced to her she would. It is God's Word, and His Word is true!
The Holy Spirit is the active presence of God with us. At Pentecost, 50 days after the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit became available to all of us equally. Jesus could only be one place at one time in His physical form, but the Comforter can be everywhere. He is 'the pouring out of God's Spirit' on the world 'in the latter days'.
God the Father. GOD is a gender-neutral word. But - - since Jesus referred to God as Father, and since Jesus, the only physical form of God was male, what was good enough for Jesus as clarity is good enough for me.
John 1:1-5 (ESV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The Bible is God's written Word. All of the Old Testament looks forward to the coming of the Messiah. The New Testament reveals Him. Jesus was the living Word. He is the most perfect revelation of God to us, and my yearning is to see Him more clearly as we journey to and past the cross that He came to pour out His love to us on.
I love the beginning of the book of John. GOD in entirety is the Creator. The Word was in the beginning, was with God and was God. In Him was - and is - life. His light stills shines - to us and through us. Yes, there are moments when it seems it is obscured, but light illumines darkness, just as a candle makes the darkest black of night flee. Darkness cannot overcome light,because light dispels darkness.
This week, traveling through Yelm, there was a sign at J Z Knight's compound declaring it to be a place of illumination. How very sad when light is called dark, and dark is called light. Saying it does not make it so. Satan is a liar, and the father of lies, and the greatest lie is the one with the most truth in it - one that is hard to identify, but which discolors and minimizes Truth.
Last week my granddaughter was trying to find a song to sing for auditioning for a play at school, and in the process she looked up the lyrics to Anything Goes. These few lines state precisely what has happened in our world, "The world has gone mad today, and good's bad today, and black's white today, and day's night today....anything goes."
Jesus has a different view. I'm looking forward to immersing myself in the book of John and exploring God's truth revealed through the living Word in the written Word and the power and insight of the Holy Spirit.
But, first, my journey requires clarifying basics. I have recently become poignantly aware of the reality that the words we use don't mean the same thing to all of us. I want to establish some groundwork for the rudimentary basics of what I mean when I identify God: Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
There is only one GOD. YWHW, the tetragrammaton, which is the unspeakable and unstated Name of G-D to Jews, is most often translated Jehovah, or written with vowels inserted as Yahweh.
God always was and always will be. He is eternal. He is and has always been the one and only true GOD. There is no other.
GOD is a plural word, and GOD is represented in three specific identities: God, the Father; God, the Son; and God, the Holy Spirit. Together they are one triune GOD. We refer to the 3 separate 'persons' of the Godhead as the Trinity. That's hard for us to wrap our heads around. It is confusing to some people because it sounds like we worship three gods. Not so! When I was writing the children's musical, A Letter From G. O. D., I felt inspired to write devotionals to go with it, and for one of them, God inspired me with an object lesson that really helped me explain this concept in a kids' eye view:
Water is H2O. Ice is H2O. Steam is H2O. When we think of H2O we generally identify it as water - but the other two forms of H2O are equally H2O. They definitely represent three different forms of one 'thing'. Tuck that in your memory bank, and it should help when we grapple with John.
As a slight editorial aside, just to be perfectly clear, a man cannot become a god. Ever.
When I say God, I am most often referring to God the Father, but the Triune God is inextricably coalesced, so that distinction is in my mind, not His.
Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah) is God's one and only birthed son. (When His name was translated to Greek it became Ioseos Christos, which, when translated to English became Jesus Christ. The actual translation directly from Hebrew to English would actually be Joshua Messiah.)
Jesus is not a brother to Satan. Satan was a created being - at one time a very beautiful angel named Lucifer - who defied God and was cast out of heaven, along with a third of the angels, who made the choice to follow his lead and defy God with him.
Jesus is fully God and fully human. Literally, God Himself took on the form of man and came to this earth to bring salvation to humanity. It is a mystery beyond our understanding, and is a truth we accept by faith. God the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit was a spirit-sperm donor. Mary was a virgin when she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, just as the Angel Gabriel announced to her she would. It is God's Word, and His Word is true!
The Holy Spirit is the active presence of God with us. At Pentecost, 50 days after the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit became available to all of us equally. Jesus could only be one place at one time in His physical form, but the Comforter can be everywhere. He is 'the pouring out of God's Spirit' on the world 'in the latter days'.
God the Father. GOD is a gender-neutral word. But - - since Jesus referred to God as Father, and since Jesus, the only physical form of God was male, what was good enough for Jesus as clarity is good enough for me.
John 1:1-5 (ESV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The Bible is God's written Word. All of the Old Testament looks forward to the coming of the Messiah. The New Testament reveals Him. Jesus was the living Word. He is the most perfect revelation of God to us, and my yearning is to see Him more clearly as we journey to and past the cross that He came to pour out His love to us on.
I love the beginning of the book of John. GOD in entirety is the Creator. The Word was in the beginning, was with God and was God. In Him was - and is - life. His light stills shines - to us and through us. Yes, there are moments when it seems it is obscured, but light illumines darkness, just as a candle makes the darkest black of night flee. Darkness cannot overcome light,because light dispels darkness.
This week, traveling through Yelm, there was a sign at J Z Knight's compound declaring it to be a place of illumination. How very sad when light is called dark, and dark is called light. Saying it does not make it so. Satan is a liar, and the father of lies, and the greatest lie is the one with the most truth in it - one that is hard to identify, but which discolors and minimizes Truth.
Last week my granddaughter was trying to find a song to sing for auditioning for a play at school, and in the process she looked up the lyrics to Anything Goes. These few lines state precisely what has happened in our world, "The world has gone mad today, and good's bad today, and black's white today, and day's night today....anything goes."
Jesus has a different view. I'm looking forward to immersing myself in the book of John and exploring God's truth revealed through the living Word in the written Word and the power and insight of the Holy Spirit.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 2
We just returned home from a funeral. We lost a friend - but the family lost the most significant older generation adult male in their family. The grief was palpable, their celebration of him transparent and beautiful. Dearly loved. A truly wonderful man who impacted many lives. He will be acutely missed. His was a life well lived and that was apparent in everything stated about him.
Death is part of life. It is inevitable. We begin to die the moment we are born - but there was only One who was born to die...whose purpose for coming to earth was to die...Jesus.
At this point in his final days of his life on earth his disciples were clueless about how quickly their world would change....
Death is part of life. It is inevitable. We begin to die the moment we are born - but there was only One who was born to die...whose purpose for coming to earth was to die...Jesus.
At this point in his final days of his life on earth his disciples were clueless about how quickly their world would change....
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
JOURNEY TO RESURRECTION, Day 1: ASH WEDNESDAY
My 2012 journey of discipline leading to Resurrection begins today. I don't know where the route will take me - but I know it will ultimately lead me through the path of the cross, then on to Resurrection. I love that I know the end of the story before I begin writing the pages that will fill up the book of this year's process, and I know I want it to be worthwhile, not just an exercise. It is a spiritual journey for me.
I'm a little reticent about making the commitment of the discipline, but eager to hear what God will say.
Since October 18, 2011, I have been faithful to the discipline of riding my exercise bike to improve my physical endurance. The only week I got away from that was during the ice storm, when it was just too cold to be up in my office where my bike sits as a constant reminder of the commitment I made to exercise. I am never eager to do it - but once I am doing it, am glad I am - and certainly am grateful for the benefits, and gratified to have it off my daily 'to-do' list.
I could approach the spiritual discipline the same way. I know that is a risk - but I don't want it to be merely a discipline. I want to come to the discipline with freshness and eagerness every day, approaching the One who wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him, and investing myself in being in His presence and hearing what He wants me to learn during this time.
Before time began, God knew what would happen with mankind, and He created us anyway! That's amazing. He who knew no sin became a man and bore the burden of all our sin to the cross, then arose to prove His victory over sin.
Sin came into the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Sin separated man from the intimate relationship God and man had enjoyed in the Garden prior to sin. Jesus, the second Adam, came to restore that relationship, to seek and to save that which was lost - - and what was lost was the closeness God yearned to have with us.
In Revelation 3:20, God declares to us, "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." (ESV)
That is God's plea to those who believe in Him. It was written to the church. God longs to have a 'sit down and chat over supper' relationship with us, just as He originally had in the garden before sin entered.
Lord, may it be so during this 40 days. Draw me close to You. Never let me go.
I'm a little reticent about making the commitment of the discipline, but eager to hear what God will say.
Since October 18, 2011, I have been faithful to the discipline of riding my exercise bike to improve my physical endurance. The only week I got away from that was during the ice storm, when it was just too cold to be up in my office where my bike sits as a constant reminder of the commitment I made to exercise. I am never eager to do it - but once I am doing it, am glad I am - and certainly am grateful for the benefits, and gratified to have it off my daily 'to-do' list.
I could approach the spiritual discipline the same way. I know that is a risk - but I don't want it to be merely a discipline. I want to come to the discipline with freshness and eagerness every day, approaching the One who wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him, and investing myself in being in His presence and hearing what He wants me to learn during this time.
Before time began, God knew what would happen with mankind, and He created us anyway! That's amazing. He who knew no sin became a man and bore the burden of all our sin to the cross, then arose to prove His victory over sin.
Sin came into the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Sin separated man from the intimate relationship God and man had enjoyed in the Garden prior to sin. Jesus, the second Adam, came to restore that relationship, to seek and to save that which was lost - - and what was lost was the closeness God yearned to have with us.
In Revelation 3:20, God declares to us, "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." (ESV)
That is God's plea to those who believe in Him. It was written to the church. God longs to have a 'sit down and chat over supper' relationship with us, just as He originally had in the garden before sin entered.
Lord, may it be so during this 40 days. Draw me close to You. Never let me go.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
DANIEL 6, in sequence
Reading Daniel in a more likely sequence of the order of the events that occurred in his life has been instructive and has provided insight I'd never paid attention to in previous reading. Daniel 6 records the final big event that we are given insight into.
Just to backtrack a bit for continuity, Daniel was captured and whisked off to Babylon when he was just a lad (+-605 B C). I use age 15 for my calculations. That is just a guess, but is likely within a couple of years either way. He was described as a youth - and youth certainly applies to the 13 - 17 range of ages.
He served Nebuchadnezzar well. Then Neb's son, Belshazzar apparently completely disregarded Daniel, until that fateful 'handwriting on the wall event' in 539 B C, which signaled the end of his life, the end of Babylon's reign, and the beginning of the rule of the Medes and the Persians, with Belshazzar's crown going directly to Darius, the Mede.
Belshazzar promised Daniel that he would be rewarded if he would translate the handwriting on the wall - - and in spite of the terrible news the interpretation provided, Bel kept his promise. He honored Daniel by having him clothed with purple, with a gold chain placed around his neck, and a proclamation made about him, that Daniel should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Sounds great - but that very night he died, so what he said wouldn't have mattered....but Darius, the incoming ruler, liked Daniel. Daniel 11 tells us that in the first year of Darius, Daniel stood up to strengthen the king. Darius was 62. Daniel was 81. Daniel was Darius' mentor, and Darius appreciated him.
It was also in the first year of Darius that Daniel began praying for his people, whose 70 years in captivity in Babylon was nearing its prophesied end (chapter 9) - and it is apparent 539 B C was also the year of Daniel 6, for as Darius set up his kingdom, he made Daniel one of the 3 high officials who were over the 120 satraps, who were situated throughout the kingdom in positions of authority to watch out for the king's financial interests.
Verse 3 tells us: Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. You'd think they'd want to give him a dinner, or have a monument constructed to honor him, but no, not these dudes. They were so envious that they tried to find something against him to take him down, and finding absolutely nothing, they concocted a plan to butter up the king and get him to sign a decree that no one could make a petition to anyone but the king for 30 days; and if anyone did, that person had to be thrown into the lion's den.
I don't know why it stroked his ego so keenly, or why he didn't notice that Daniel wasn't among those lobbying for this idiocy, but King Darius signed the irrevocable decree. Daniel's response to the signing was to go to his window in his upper chamber, which looked out toward Jerusalem, and pray.
This is such an awesome story to read. I highly recommend that readers turn to Daniel 6, and read the full account....
For his faithfulness to God, Daniel was thrown into a den of voraciously hungry lions. He was not a young man. He was 81. He spent the night in the pit with the lions and the Lord! He was doing just fine - but King Darius wasn't. What a night he had. Guilt and anguish were his companion during his fitful, sleepless night. He even fasted.
At the break of day, he rushed to the den of lions, and called out - not in genuine hope, but in agony (cloaked with a tinge of 'maybe'): "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?"
The king's sorrow and anguish are turned to immediate joy when he hears Daniel reply! "O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm."
So a very hungry and grateful Daniel was saved from the jaws and paws of the lions. The critters that could have crushed him so easily became his cushions and warmth for the long night in the dark pit.
Being faithful didn't exempt him from tough stuff. God certainly gave him more than he could have handled - but not more than God could handle.
I love this chapter! I love Daniel's faithfulness in spite of circumstances. I love that he didn't try to hide that he prayed by rationalizing God would understand if he prayed in an inner closet away from the conniving eyes of those who wanted to destroy him for being honorable and good. I just love Daniel - and the encouragement he brings to those who feel they, too, are in the 'lion's den'. I love his integrity, his faithfulness, and his loving stand for Truth.
In the end, Darius punishes all who tried to implicate Daniel with the fate they wanted exacted. And, Darius makes a new decree:
"Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in all my royal dominion, people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for He is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions."
The conclusion of the chapter reads, "So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian."
539 - 538 B C was quite a year!
This story provides a perfect segue to the coming considerations for lent. Today is 'Fat Tuesday'. Tomorrow begins the 40 days of preparation leading to the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus on Easter morning. The 40 days exempt Sundays, for those who are not accustomed to paying attention to Lent.
A few years ago I was inspired by an amazing woman - and writer - who writes daily for the lenten season as a spiritual discipline. Her name is Rosemarie Kowalski, and her blog is titled 'peacefulones' - and it is a blog I follow and highly recommend. Tomorrow the daily discipline of writing daily instead of sporadically begins. You are welcome to join either or both of us on the journey.
Just to backtrack a bit for continuity, Daniel was captured and whisked off to Babylon when he was just a lad (+-605 B C). I use age 15 for my calculations. That is just a guess, but is likely within a couple of years either way. He was described as a youth - and youth certainly applies to the 13 - 17 range of ages.
He served Nebuchadnezzar well. Then Neb's son, Belshazzar apparently completely disregarded Daniel, until that fateful 'handwriting on the wall event' in 539 B C, which signaled the end of his life, the end of Babylon's reign, and the beginning of the rule of the Medes and the Persians, with Belshazzar's crown going directly to Darius, the Mede.
Belshazzar promised Daniel that he would be rewarded if he would translate the handwriting on the wall - - and in spite of the terrible news the interpretation provided, Bel kept his promise. He honored Daniel by having him clothed with purple, with a gold chain placed around his neck, and a proclamation made about him, that Daniel should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Sounds great - but that very night he died, so what he said wouldn't have mattered....but Darius, the incoming ruler, liked Daniel. Daniel 11 tells us that in the first year of Darius, Daniel stood up to strengthen the king. Darius was 62. Daniel was 81. Daniel was Darius' mentor, and Darius appreciated him.
It was also in the first year of Darius that Daniel began praying for his people, whose 70 years in captivity in Babylon was nearing its prophesied end (chapter 9) - and it is apparent 539 B C was also the year of Daniel 6, for as Darius set up his kingdom, he made Daniel one of the 3 high officials who were over the 120 satraps, who were situated throughout the kingdom in positions of authority to watch out for the king's financial interests.
Verse 3 tells us: Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. You'd think they'd want to give him a dinner, or have a monument constructed to honor him, but no, not these dudes. They were so envious that they tried to find something against him to take him down, and finding absolutely nothing, they concocted a plan to butter up the king and get him to sign a decree that no one could make a petition to anyone but the king for 30 days; and if anyone did, that person had to be thrown into the lion's den.
I don't know why it stroked his ego so keenly, or why he didn't notice that Daniel wasn't among those lobbying for this idiocy, but King Darius signed the irrevocable decree. Daniel's response to the signing was to go to his window in his upper chamber, which looked out toward Jerusalem, and pray.
This is such an awesome story to read. I highly recommend that readers turn to Daniel 6, and read the full account....
For his faithfulness to God, Daniel was thrown into a den of voraciously hungry lions. He was not a young man. He was 81. He spent the night in the pit with the lions and the Lord! He was doing just fine - but King Darius wasn't. What a night he had. Guilt and anguish were his companion during his fitful, sleepless night. He even fasted.
At the break of day, he rushed to the den of lions, and called out - not in genuine hope, but in agony (cloaked with a tinge of 'maybe'): "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?"
The king's sorrow and anguish are turned to immediate joy when he hears Daniel reply! "O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm."
So a very hungry and grateful Daniel was saved from the jaws and paws of the lions. The critters that could have crushed him so easily became his cushions and warmth for the long night in the dark pit.
Being faithful didn't exempt him from tough stuff. God certainly gave him more than he could have handled - but not more than God could handle.
I love this chapter! I love Daniel's faithfulness in spite of circumstances. I love that he didn't try to hide that he prayed by rationalizing God would understand if he prayed in an inner closet away from the conniving eyes of those who wanted to destroy him for being honorable and good. I just love Daniel - and the encouragement he brings to those who feel they, too, are in the 'lion's den'. I love his integrity, his faithfulness, and his loving stand for Truth.
In the end, Darius punishes all who tried to implicate Daniel with the fate they wanted exacted. And, Darius makes a new decree:
"Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in all my royal dominion, people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for He is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions."
The conclusion of the chapter reads, "So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian."
539 - 538 B C was quite a year!
This story provides a perfect segue to the coming considerations for lent. Today is 'Fat Tuesday'. Tomorrow begins the 40 days of preparation leading to the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus on Easter morning. The 40 days exempt Sundays, for those who are not accustomed to paying attention to Lent.
A few years ago I was inspired by an amazing woman - and writer - who writes daily for the lenten season as a spiritual discipline. Her name is Rosemarie Kowalski, and her blog is titled 'peacefulones' - and it is a blog I follow and highly recommend. Tomorrow the daily discipline of writing daily instead of sporadically begins. You are welcome to join either or both of us on the journey.
Monday, February 20, 2012
DANIEL 9, in sequence
Chapter 5 reports an event that occurred in +-539 B C. That is the chapter in Daniel which relates the story of the handwriting on the wall, and the demise that very night of King Belshazzar and the passing of Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian ‘kingdom’ to the Medes and the Persians with Darius identified as the immediate successor.
So – Chapter 9, which is identified as being in the first year of Darius’ reign was likely sometime later that same year – but certainly no later than 538 B C.
Daniel was reading the historical prophecies and noted that the desolation of Israel that had come in +-605 B C was to be for 70 years. That time was drawing near, and would arrive within a few short years. His response to that awareness was to seek the Lord in fervent prayer, fasting and donning sackcloth and sprinkling ashes over himself, coming before God in total subservience and humility. It was a prayer for his nation and people, and he included himself in the ‘we’ of their sin when he confessed his nation’s sin before God. These are some excerpts from the prayer he prayed:
“O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. 8 To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10 and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”
Clearly the prayer Daniel prayed was for Jerusalem and Israel, but we, too, as a nation and often even as His people, have disobeyed. In this time of great need in our own state and country, we do not present our pleas to God because we deserve his intervention – but because of His great mercy. Lord, have mercy….
Daniel's response to prophecy that applied to his day was to pray. God's answer to Daniel was to send the angel Gabriel with a message: "You are dearly loved." And because Daniel was dearly loved, God gave him clarity for the timing of what was to happen to Jerusalem. God invited Daniel into a very close, intimate relationship of having insider information!
What God disclosed to Daniel was more prophecy, revealing what would occur in the future. Israel would have a total of 70 weeks (which are not literal weeks but segments of time). Within that time the temple would be rebuilt; an anointed one would come, then be cut off; the city and the temple would be destroyed again by the people of the 'prince who is to come'. That prince will, in the final 'week' make a strong covenant that he keeps for half of the 'week', at which point he will renege on his covenant and put an end to sacrifice and offering. And Daniel 9 ends with the following statement: "And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."
Daniel prayed when he saw the time approaching when the prophesy about Jerusalem was to be fulfilled. We are living in a time when the length of days prophesied for us are at our threshold. Like Daniel, it is time to pray! Not because we deserve His mercy - but because we need it so desperately!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
DANIEL 12, in sequence
I have to write a brief 'side note before I get into Daniel 12.
It occurred to me as I sat down to write just now that what we often need when we are in the depths of the doldrums of discouragement is vitamin D - - literally, of course; and for me right now, Vitamin Daniel. God has definitely used the model of Daniel - and what I have learned from digging deeper into this book - as instructive encouragement. We don't have any record of Daniel ever doing anything wrong. He is a model of faithfulness and obedience - but His life certainly didn't go smoothly just because he lived faithfully.
God's message to Daniel was, "You are dearly loved." We look at Daniel and think, "He deserved God's love." That's true - but God's love for us is not conditional, based on anything we do to merit His favor. What God spoke to Daniel is also a reminder of God's incredible love for us. His love was demonstrated most perfectly when He came Himself in human form and died on a cross to take the punishment for every sin that would ever be committed. He loves because it is His nature. God made that very clear to me this past Wednesday morning.
After having my prayer time and re-reading part of Daniel that morning, I decided to make a list of some specific things God has spoken to me over the past several years. Then, as I got on my exercise bike and started pedaling I said to God, "You haven't said something specific to me for awhile."
Immediately He responded, "You are dearly loved."
Tears sprung to my eyes and my heart was so full I felt it might burst. "Like Daniel?" I queried.
"Like Daniel," He replied.
"Like David," I asked.
"Like David."
I first gave my heart to Jesus when I was 8 years old, in response to the message of God's love, but I had never heard Him say that so specifically ever before. Hearing those words so directly has changed me forever, and He spoke this to me at a time I desperately needed to hear His voice.
I don't deserve His love - but He loves me anyway! It was an Aha! moment, and it is imbedded deeply in my soul. I continued pedaling with a full, full heart (and some tears) absorbing the fullness of the affirmation that God loves me - and I knew in that moment I wanted everyone to hear those words.
I'm certain there are times we please Him more than others, but His love is unconditional. However, when we know such a love, why wouldn't be want to be obedient and faithful!
His love is not a rubber stamp of our doing, but of being....being His children, dearly loved.
And on to Chapter 12:
God's prophetic messages to Daniel in Chapter 12 are very specific, yet still leave room for many opinions and observations. It speaks of the 'time of the end' which is prophesied to be a time of great trouble, such as has never been. All whose names are written in the book (the Lamb's Book of Life) will be delivered. Daniel is told to shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end - and the end is identified with this statement, "Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."
We're there! Never in history has travel been so easy or so frequent! And knowledge increasing - I can't keep up! In fact, I don't even want to. There are apps for everything if you have the techie tools to use them, which I don't - but knowledge is everywhere! Overwhelmingly everywhere! Increase is an understatement. The changes come so fast that the 'newest thing' is outdated before it even makes it to the shelves.
And Daniel asks, How long shall it be before the end of these wonders? And the answer, "...for a time, times and half a time, and ... when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished...." And the being who speaks to Daniel goes on to specify just how many days the horrible time will be...1290 days (with a perk for reaching arriving at 1335 days) just a little more than 3 1/2 years, which confirms the period defined as: time (1 year), times (2 years) and half a time (1/2 a year): total = 3 1/2 years.
This portion of Daniel was written in +- 539 B C. The Book of Revelation was written in +-95 A D, where this horrible period at the end of time is identified varyingly as 3 1/2 days; 3 1/2 years; 42 months; 1260 days. With +-635 years between the prophets' writings, the time span for this last chunk at the end of time is very specific and clear.
I don't know if those who presently believe in the Lord will be taken out of the world before the 7 years of the Great Tribulation begins (pre-trib); or midway through, at this point that precedes the final 3 1/2 years of the Great Tribulation (mid-trib); or at its end (post-trib). What I do know is that what God promises in verse 1 is "at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book." I know beyond a doubt my name is written there, and I want to encourage others to find that same certainty!
I don't deserve His love - - but I am so grateful for it!
It occurred to me as I sat down to write just now that what we often need when we are in the depths of the doldrums of discouragement is vitamin D - - literally, of course; and for me right now, Vitamin Daniel. God has definitely used the model of Daniel - and what I have learned from digging deeper into this book - as instructive encouragement. We don't have any record of Daniel ever doing anything wrong. He is a model of faithfulness and obedience - but His life certainly didn't go smoothly just because he lived faithfully.
God's message to Daniel was, "You are dearly loved." We look at Daniel and think, "He deserved God's love." That's true - but God's love for us is not conditional, based on anything we do to merit His favor. What God spoke to Daniel is also a reminder of God's incredible love for us. His love was demonstrated most perfectly when He came Himself in human form and died on a cross to take the punishment for every sin that would ever be committed. He loves because it is His nature. God made that very clear to me this past Wednesday morning.
After having my prayer time and re-reading part of Daniel that morning, I decided to make a list of some specific things God has spoken to me over the past several years. Then, as I got on my exercise bike and started pedaling I said to God, "You haven't said something specific to me for awhile."
Immediately He responded, "You are dearly loved."
Tears sprung to my eyes and my heart was so full I felt it might burst. "Like Daniel?" I queried.
"Like Daniel," He replied.
"Like David," I asked.
"Like David."
I first gave my heart to Jesus when I was 8 years old, in response to the message of God's love, but I had never heard Him say that so specifically ever before. Hearing those words so directly has changed me forever, and He spoke this to me at a time I desperately needed to hear His voice.
I don't deserve His love - but He loves me anyway! It was an Aha! moment, and it is imbedded deeply in my soul. I continued pedaling with a full, full heart (and some tears) absorbing the fullness of the affirmation that God loves me - and I knew in that moment I wanted everyone to hear those words.
I'm certain there are times we please Him more than others, but His love is unconditional. However, when we know such a love, why wouldn't be want to be obedient and faithful!
His love is not a rubber stamp of our doing, but of being....being His children, dearly loved.
And on to Chapter 12:
God's prophetic messages to Daniel in Chapter 12 are very specific, yet still leave room for many opinions and observations. It speaks of the 'time of the end' which is prophesied to be a time of great trouble, such as has never been. All whose names are written in the book (the Lamb's Book of Life) will be delivered. Daniel is told to shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end - and the end is identified with this statement, "Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."
We're there! Never in history has travel been so easy or so frequent! And knowledge increasing - I can't keep up! In fact, I don't even want to. There are apps for everything if you have the techie tools to use them, which I don't - but knowledge is everywhere! Overwhelmingly everywhere! Increase is an understatement. The changes come so fast that the 'newest thing' is outdated before it even makes it to the shelves.
And Daniel asks, How long shall it be before the end of these wonders? And the answer, "...for a time, times and half a time, and ... when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished...." And the being who speaks to Daniel goes on to specify just how many days the horrible time will be...1290 days (with a perk for reaching arriving at 1335 days) just a little more than 3 1/2 years, which confirms the period defined as: time (1 year), times (2 years) and half a time (1/2 a year): total = 3 1/2 years.
This portion of Daniel was written in +- 539 B C. The Book of Revelation was written in +-95 A D, where this horrible period at the end of time is identified varyingly as 3 1/2 days; 3 1/2 years; 42 months; 1260 days. With +-635 years between the prophets' writings, the time span for this last chunk at the end of time is very specific and clear.
I don't know if those who presently believe in the Lord will be taken out of the world before the 7 years of the Great Tribulation begins (pre-trib); or midway through, at this point that precedes the final 3 1/2 years of the Great Tribulation (mid-trib); or at its end (post-trib). What I do know is that what God promises in verse 1 is "at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book." I know beyond a doubt my name is written there, and I want to encourage others to find that same certainty!
I don't deserve His love - - but I am so grateful for it!
Monday, February 13, 2012
DANIEL 11, in sequence
It would be so easy to be diverted away from Daniel today, but I am staying on task - well, sort of! Daniel 11 is way over my head. It is a chapter that demands research and figuring out, and scholarly wisdom. I don't have time to do that today - - and feel a bit compelled to wrap up Daniel soon, because Lent is coming, and my blog originally began as a Lenten journey. It is a good discipline for me....
Though I can't desert Daniel, I can slip past delving deeply into this chapter with a promise to myself to return later.... I want to go deeper here, but time constrains me.
What this chapter does provide for me today is perspective. Daniel 11 was written in +-539 B C, during the first year of the reign of Darius. Daniel was +-81 years old at this point. Daniel had found favor with King Darius, which he certainly didn't have during the reign of Belshazzar. God revealed snippets of the future to Daniel, and he shared that information with King Darius. Theirs was a good relationship. That is a foundational truth to absorb prior to what would come later....
It is informative in my life for today. This chapter lets me know God has the future in His perfectly capable hands. My faithfulness to Him is not based on circumstances, but on the truth of who He is - the one and only true God, Creator of the Universe, and Master of all. He alone is worthy of all honor and glory and power and praise. And in the end, He wins, no matter what current circumstances look like!
My heart aches today because we have reached a point in history where good is being proclaimed as evil, and evil as good.... A lie is being purported to be truth, while the Truth is called a lie.
In August 2009 God spoke to me and said, I want you to contend for what I contend for. May 18, 2011 when I prayed and asked specifically what that meant He clarified, "I contend for Truth. I contend for man's souls."
On this sad, sad day for my state, I am reminded of that. Current circumstances look bleak, but no matter what the challenge, the battle belongs to the LORD. He contends for Truth. In balance with that He contends for man's souls. 'Man' is a generic reference to people - all people. Sadly, not everyone will believe in Him or in His one and only Son, whom He sent to earth with His greatest message of love, but it sure would make God happy if they did!
In just moments, the Governor of my state will sign the 'gay marriage bill' into law. No matter what man states is O K, God's authority is higher. He says it is sin. Validating sin by making it a law does not make it acceptable in God's sight. I awoke with a heavy heart this morning. I wondered if there would be an earthquake as the law was signed.... Perhaps the signing is enough of an earthquake. Perhaps it will awaken people out of their apathy....
Though I can't desert Daniel, I can slip past delving deeply into this chapter with a promise to myself to return later.... I want to go deeper here, but time constrains me.
What this chapter does provide for me today is perspective. Daniel 11 was written in +-539 B C, during the first year of the reign of Darius. Daniel was +-81 years old at this point. Daniel had found favor with King Darius, which he certainly didn't have during the reign of Belshazzar. God revealed snippets of the future to Daniel, and he shared that information with King Darius. Theirs was a good relationship. That is a foundational truth to absorb prior to what would come later....
It is informative in my life for today. This chapter lets me know God has the future in His perfectly capable hands. My faithfulness to Him is not based on circumstances, but on the truth of who He is - the one and only true God, Creator of the Universe, and Master of all. He alone is worthy of all honor and glory and power and praise. And in the end, He wins, no matter what current circumstances look like!
My heart aches today because we have reached a point in history where good is being proclaimed as evil, and evil as good.... A lie is being purported to be truth, while the Truth is called a lie.
In August 2009 God spoke to me and said, I want you to contend for what I contend for. May 18, 2011 when I prayed and asked specifically what that meant He clarified, "I contend for Truth. I contend for man's souls."
On this sad, sad day for my state, I am reminded of that. Current circumstances look bleak, but no matter what the challenge, the battle belongs to the LORD. He contends for Truth. In balance with that He contends for man's souls. 'Man' is a generic reference to people - all people. Sadly, not everyone will believe in Him or in His one and only Son, whom He sent to earth with His greatest message of love, but it sure would make God happy if they did!
In just moments, the Governor of my state will sign the 'gay marriage bill' into law. No matter what man states is O K, God's authority is higher. He says it is sin. Validating sin by making it a law does not make it acceptable in God's sight. I awoke with a heavy heart this morning. I wondered if there would be an earthquake as the law was signed.... Perhaps the signing is enough of an earthquake. Perhaps it will awaken people out of their apathy....
Thursday, February 9, 2012
DANIEL 10, in sequence
Someone established a sequential order for Daniel - and placed this chapter here.
However, I am not a Bible scholar. I don’t know exactly whom it was who appeared in Daniel’s vision – but there are some lessons to be noted here. I do know Daniel’s vision came from God, and that the one who was sent was occupied doing battle with demonic forces who were trying to prevent Daniel’s prayers from getting through….
I don’t have the historical knowledge to understand specifically why this chapter is located here…. It is like an interruption – an “Oh, by the way” – and is based on the Persian King’s timeline. It is apparent in Chapter 5 that the Babylonian kingdom went to King Darius the Mede immediately following Belshazzar’s death; but Chapter 10 clues us into the reality of the rule of King Cyrus the Persian as well…. It is corroboration of the interpretation of the dream Nebuchadnezzar had approximately 63 years earlier – that, while his kingdom would be the head of gold, the kingdom after him would be an empire with the chest and arms of silver. That kingdom has been identified as the Medo-Persian Empire, which was in power from 539 – 331 B C, and it began the night Belshazzar died in 539 B C.
The only one who comes to my mind who perfectly fits the description of the being seen in the vision reported in this passage is the pre-incarnate Messiah – the One who will come to Daniel’s people in the latter days, and when He returns for His Second Coming, He will not come as the innocent babe, but the conquering hero.
However, I am not a Bible scholar. I don’t know exactly whom it was who appeared in Daniel’s vision – but there are some lessons to be noted here. I do know Daniel’s vision came from God, and that the one who was sent was occupied doing battle with demonic forces who were trying to prevent Daniel’s prayers from getting through….
What is indelibly impressed on me in Chapter 10 is the commendation Daniel receives, directly expressed from the heart of God! At the precise point that Daniel was beyond overwhelmed being in the powerful presence of the one in the vision, he was encouraged and comforted with these words, “O Daniel, man greatly loved….” And later in this passage, in verse 19, after he was strengthened the message was reiterated, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” Daniel was a humble man, in spite of his successes, intelligence and giftedness. He is an amazing model of a true man of God.
In 539 B C, Daniel was approximately 81 years old. He was captured in 605 B C during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign and taken to Babylon. He was a youth at the time. For observation sake I have placed him at 15 years of age when he was captured, which is my basis for the observation that he was most likely about 81 in 539 B C, give or take a year or two….
Daniel was consistently faithful in spite of circumstances. He’ll soon get to prove that again!
The commendation he received is one I want to pass on today to those who are following God's call on their lives, and living faithfully in spite of obstacles and circumstances. May your stories be encouraging to others as you faithfully seek to serve Him with all your heart....
“O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.”
Monday, February 6, 2012
DANIEL, in sequence, Chapter 5
Yep! Chapter 5 follows 7 & 8 sequentially....
It relates the story of Belshazzar seeing the handwriting on the wall. It is a chapter that leaves me wanting more information. "Details, please," I want to implore. I find it very interesting that Nebuchadnezzar's son is named Belshazzar, and the name he gave to Daniel is so similar - Belteshazzar. I also find it somewhat curious that it was his queen who reminded him of Daniel when he certainly knew what happened to his father - - and Daniel reminds him of that when he speaks to him prior to interpreting the writing on the wall.
Reading between the lines informs me as well.... Daniel had been placed in high esteem in Nebuchadnezzar's palace, but obviously not in Belshazzar's palace. It reminds me that things don't necessarily continue going well or fairly after a period of victory or adulation, even though Daniel remained faithful to the LORD. Good note to self....
But - beyond my piqued curiosity, this is a dramatic story. Belshazzar invites 1,000 of his lords for a party. That's some kingdom he inherited! After he'd had some wine, he ordered that the vessels his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought to be used by his lords, his wives and his concubines. Apparently the Queen was not there at that point - or they were in separate rooms.... I don't know how all that played out. Again, details would be nice....
Anyway, the golden vessels were brought and as they drank wine from them, they praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. Oops. Bad choice! Immediately the fingers of a hand began writing in the plaster on the wall of the king's palace. That got his attention! He turned white as a sheet, his knees buckled and shook. He was terrified! He called for everyone he could think of, but none of them knew what he writing said, let alone what it meant.
Then the Queen came in, and she recommended Daniel. Her compliments to Daniel's skill and knowledge were impressive - and it is interesting she remembered all this, but her husband didn't....
Daniel wasn't impressed by the kings offer of position in exchange for interpreting the writing, but he did tell the king what God said...well, after a brief history lesson that would have been a curt reprimand to a king who so easily forgot what his own father learned about the sovereignty of God. (Let alone obviously forgetting Daniel, which Daniel didn't point out.)
"MENE MENE TEKEL PARSIN." Daniel's translation: "God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting; your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
And that very night Belshazzar was killed, and Chapter 5 reports that his kingdom went to Darius the Mede, age 62.
Just one little aside: Before he died, Belshazzar kept his promise to Daniel. Daniel was clothed with purple, a golden chain was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. It doesn't appear that would mean much since the reign ended that night, but as the story unfolds, it will....
God had shown Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom was the head of gold - and that his kingdom would be followed by another empire with a chest and arms of silver. In 539 B C, that part of Neb's vision came true.... The Medo-Persian Empire would last until 331 B C - a total of 308 years...but it began the night a king defied God by misusing objects from His temple!
God reigns! That is the bottom line! He gives power and takes it away. Anyone who defies him should pay attention to this story! He is patient. He extends grace. But not forever.
It relates the story of Belshazzar seeing the handwriting on the wall. It is a chapter that leaves me wanting more information. "Details, please," I want to implore. I find it very interesting that Nebuchadnezzar's son is named Belshazzar, and the name he gave to Daniel is so similar - Belteshazzar. I also find it somewhat curious that it was his queen who reminded him of Daniel when he certainly knew what happened to his father - - and Daniel reminds him of that when he speaks to him prior to interpreting the writing on the wall.
Reading between the lines informs me as well.... Daniel had been placed in high esteem in Nebuchadnezzar's palace, but obviously not in Belshazzar's palace. It reminds me that things don't necessarily continue going well or fairly after a period of victory or adulation, even though Daniel remained faithful to the LORD. Good note to self....
But - beyond my piqued curiosity, this is a dramatic story. Belshazzar invites 1,000 of his lords for a party. That's some kingdom he inherited! After he'd had some wine, he ordered that the vessels his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought to be used by his lords, his wives and his concubines. Apparently the Queen was not there at that point - or they were in separate rooms.... I don't know how all that played out. Again, details would be nice....
Anyway, the golden vessels were brought and as they drank wine from them, they praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. Oops. Bad choice! Immediately the fingers of a hand began writing in the plaster on the wall of the king's palace. That got his attention! He turned white as a sheet, his knees buckled and shook. He was terrified! He called for everyone he could think of, but none of them knew what he writing said, let alone what it meant.
Then the Queen came in, and she recommended Daniel. Her compliments to Daniel's skill and knowledge were impressive - and it is interesting she remembered all this, but her husband didn't....
Daniel wasn't impressed by the kings offer of position in exchange for interpreting the writing, but he did tell the king what God said...well, after a brief history lesson that would have been a curt reprimand to a king who so easily forgot what his own father learned about the sovereignty of God. (Let alone obviously forgetting Daniel, which Daniel didn't point out.)
"MENE MENE TEKEL PARSIN." Daniel's translation: "God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting; your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
And that very night Belshazzar was killed, and Chapter 5 reports that his kingdom went to Darius the Mede, age 62.
Just one little aside: Before he died, Belshazzar kept his promise to Daniel. Daniel was clothed with purple, a golden chain was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. It doesn't appear that would mean much since the reign ended that night, but as the story unfolds, it will....
God had shown Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom was the head of gold - and that his kingdom would be followed by another empire with a chest and arms of silver. In 539 B C, that part of Neb's vision came true.... The Medo-Persian Empire would last until 331 B C - a total of 308 years...but it began the night a king defied God by misusing objects from His temple!
God reigns! That is the bottom line! He gives power and takes it away. Anyone who defies him should pay attention to this story! He is patient. He extends grace. But not forever.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
DANIEL'S VISION in Chapter 8
Daniel 7 records the vision Daniel had in the first year of Belshazzar. Daniel 8 records a vision Daniel had in the third year of the reign of Belshazzar.
You may have noted that in getting here, I skipped from Chapter 4 to Chapter 7. I am reading sequentially this time through Daniel, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 reflects the order of the events as they occurred.
In this vision, he sees himself in the province of Elam, in Susa the citadel, at the Ulai Canal. In this vision he sees the interaction between a ram with 2 horns, and a male goat, which started with just one horn, which was broken and four sprouted up to take its place....then out of one of the four horns grew a little horn - which became beyond-belief powerful. And Daniel heard one holy one say to another: "For how long....?" And the holy one who responded directed his answer to Daniel, saying "For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state."
(2,300 days equals 6 years and 110 days according to our calendar.)
Gabriel was called upon to reveal the interpretation of the vision to Daniel but even with the interpretation he could not understand, because it was for the time of the end. Still, he was given a defined explanation. The 2 horns on the ram are described as being the kings of Media and Persia, and the goat is the king of Greece. The great horn between his eyes is the first king. After that kingdom is broken, 4 kings will arise, but none with as much power, until the little horn emerges. That horn represents the one who will become extremely powerful at the end of time. His power will not come from himself. He will become great in his own eyes and will be a formidable force, causing fearful destruction. He will destroy mighty men and those who are saints. He will defy God - but he will be broken.... That is a promise!
You may have noted that in getting here, I skipped from Chapter 4 to Chapter 7. I am reading sequentially this time through Daniel, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 reflects the order of the events as they occurred.
In this vision, he sees himself in the province of Elam, in Susa the citadel, at the Ulai Canal. In this vision he sees the interaction between a ram with 2 horns, and a male goat, which started with just one horn, which was broken and four sprouted up to take its place....then out of one of the four horns grew a little horn - which became beyond-belief powerful. And Daniel heard one holy one say to another: "For how long....?" And the holy one who responded directed his answer to Daniel, saying "For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state."
(2,300 days equals 6 years and 110 days according to our calendar.)
Gabriel was called upon to reveal the interpretation of the vision to Daniel but even with the interpretation he could not understand, because it was for the time of the end. Still, he was given a defined explanation. The 2 horns on the ram are described as being the kings of Media and Persia, and the goat is the king of Greece. The great horn between his eyes is the first king. After that kingdom is broken, 4 kings will arise, but none with as much power, until the little horn emerges. That horn represents the one who will become extremely powerful at the end of time. His power will not come from himself. He will become great in his own eyes and will be a formidable force, causing fearful destruction. He will destroy mighty men and those who are saints. He will defy God - but he will be broken.... That is a promise!
Friday, February 3, 2012
DANIEL'S VISION in Chapter 7
In the first year of the reign of Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel had a dream in which he saw four beasts. As the dream was interpreted to him, those four beasts represented four kingdoms that would rule the earth, with the last one being different from all the others.... Scholars have dissected Daniel's prophecies far better than I ever could, so all I will say is: God foretold what would be in the future - and what I love most is that the 'end of the story' is foretold. In the end, God and His saints win!
Unfortunately before that victory, there's gonna be trouble.... The song about River City wends its way through my mind.... In Daniel 7 there is a graphic description of what the world dominion at the end of time will be. Out of the 10 nation alliance that begins this final kingdom, a little horn will come up. It will make war with the saints - and prevail over them for a specified period of time. This 'little horn' is conspicuously the antichrist, and Daniel 7:25 states, He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times and half a time.
In my growing-up years, when I attended prophecy meetings with my dad, that was always described to be the 3 1/2 years of the worst part of the Great Tribulation. It will be a terrifying time for those saints who are here. But - there are people living right now who face equal terror and danger for standing firm in their faith.
Our solace is the end of the story: verse 26 tells us his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And then the really good news in verse 27:
Over and over the Bible declares that in the end God wins over Satan! Our glorious hope is that of being together with the Lord for all of eternity - but in the meantime, our eternity begins here, the moment we place our trust in Him.
How does that affect me today? It makes me poignantly aware that my focus has to be aligned with His: What God cares about is Truth, and the souls of man. He is Truth. When we stand for what He stands for, we are standing for something worth dying for.... Ultimately that is truly living.
There was a country song that stated, 'You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.' It's true. We cannot base our views, our standards or our actions on feelings. We have to have a plumb line - - and the Bible is the only reliable source for finding that ballast in our lives.
Many years ago a pastor I highly respect stated, "True Wisdom is holding fast to a durable value system." I liked the quote so well, I wrote it down and for years had it tacked to the wall in my office. A durable value system cannot be dictated by the world's view - it must be God's! And God's views are made known to us through His Word, the Bible and through the power of the Holy Spirit unveiling God's Truth to our eyes.
(Daniel 7 references cited are from the ESV.)
Unfortunately before that victory, there's gonna be trouble.... The song about River City wends its way through my mind.... In Daniel 7 there is a graphic description of what the world dominion at the end of time will be. Out of the 10 nation alliance that begins this final kingdom, a little horn will come up. It will make war with the saints - and prevail over them for a specified period of time. This 'little horn' is conspicuously the antichrist, and Daniel 7:25 states, He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times and half a time.
In my growing-up years, when I attended prophecy meetings with my dad, that was always described to be the 3 1/2 years of the worst part of the Great Tribulation. It will be a terrifying time for those saints who are here. But - there are people living right now who face equal terror and danger for standing firm in their faith.
Our solace is the end of the story: verse 26 tells us his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And then the really good news in verse 27:
And the kingdom and the dominion
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;
his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’
Over and over the Bible declares that in the end God wins over Satan! Our glorious hope is that of being together with the Lord for all of eternity - but in the meantime, our eternity begins here, the moment we place our trust in Him.
How does that affect me today? It makes me poignantly aware that my focus has to be aligned with His: What God cares about is Truth, and the souls of man. He is Truth. When we stand for what He stands for, we are standing for something worth dying for.... Ultimately that is truly living.
There was a country song that stated, 'You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.' It's true. We cannot base our views, our standards or our actions on feelings. We have to have a plumb line - - and the Bible is the only reliable source for finding that ballast in our lives.
Many years ago a pastor I highly respect stated, "True Wisdom is holding fast to a durable value system." I liked the quote so well, I wrote it down and for years had it tacked to the wall in my office. A durable value system cannot be dictated by the world's view - it must be God's! And God's views are made known to us through His Word, the Bible and through the power of the Holy Spirit unveiling God's Truth to our eyes.
(Daniel 7 references cited are from the ESV.)
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