Daniel 11-12; Psalm 125; Proverbs 29:9-11
The Bible isn’t always the most encouraging book in the world. Turmoil, wars, destruction and devastation are part and parcel of many Scriptural prophecies. No one could take those prophecies seriously and not come away somewhat…ok, quite disturbed.
Daniel didn’t. The last two chapters of the book of Daniel are filled with visions he had—visions foretelling the terribly depressing world history-to-be. At the end of them, he asked the question we all would ask: “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be” (Daniel 12:8)? In other words, How’s this thing end?
You want to know the answer he received? It ends with a resurrection!
He replied, "Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand. From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days. As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance." – Daniel 12:9-13
Many will be purified. The wicked will be wicked. You will “rest.” And at the end of the days you will rise.
These things are happening right now! Except for the rising part—we’re waiting for the resurrection, too. But since Jesus came, men and women around the world are being purified from their sins. Wicked people still exist. Believers still “rest”—they pass away. But like Daniel, they rest in the confidence that a day of resurrection is coming.
In the meantime, what are we to do? The same thing Daniel was told to do: “Go your way till the end.”
The end is coming, and when it does, Christ’s people will rise to live forever. We should live like it, because we know how this thing ends.
Has knowing that Jesus is coming again ever helped you get through a situation that you could share about here?
Showing posts with label daniel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daniel. Show all posts
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Listening and Talking to God
Daniel 9-10; Psalm 124; Proverbs 29:5-8
We’re so used to seeing stories about how people heard directly from God, whether in visions or whatever, that we sometimes skip right past this story. What story? The story where Daniel listens to God through the Scriptures.
In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom--in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. – Daniel 9:1-2
We never get past the Scriptures. God spoke through them. He still speaks through them. And through them, we can hear His voice. When we hear Him, we should take Him seriously and respond, as Daniel did:
So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. – Daniel 9:3
Father, may we listen carefully to You by spending time reading Your words in Your Word. And may we not study them just to be sure that we can answer trivial questions about the details we find there; may we listen to take Your words to heart—and respond in fervent prayer.
What is it that makes you forget to spend time in God’s Word—or not to spend time in the Bible even when you remember that you should?
We’re so used to seeing stories about how people heard directly from God, whether in visions or whatever, that we sometimes skip right past this story. What story? The story where Daniel listens to God through the Scriptures.
In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom--in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. – Daniel 9:1-2
We never get past the Scriptures. God spoke through them. He still speaks through them. And through them, we can hear His voice. When we hear Him, we should take Him seriously and respond, as Daniel did:
So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. – Daniel 9:3
Father, may we listen carefully to You by spending time reading Your words in Your Word. And may we not study them just to be sure that we can answer trivial questions about the details we find there; may we listen to take Your words to heart—and respond in fervent prayer.
What is it that makes you forget to spend time in God’s Word—or not to spend time in the Bible even when you remember that you should?
Friday, December 4, 2009
Beyond Understanding
Daniel 8; Psalm 123; Proverbs 29:2-4
Humanity is amazing. The progress people have made in understanding the world and the principles that govern its cycles since the Enlightenment is astonishing. The rate at which technology advances is blindingly fast. We are constantly learning, and very little—almost nothing—seems to be beyond our understanding.
Until God speaks.
Thankfully, God usually speaks to us in words and concepts simple enough for us to hear, understand, and respond to. God now and then chooses to remind us, however, that He is God and we are not. And in those cases, He reveals to us truths that are beyond our understanding, even though they are revealed to us in our own languages.
After seeing a vision about the rise and fall of kingdoms, as well as the (temporary) desecration of Jerusalem and the temple, this was Daniel’s response:
I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. Then I got up and went about the king's business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding. – Daniel 8:27
Exhausted. Ill. Appalled. Daniel was overwhelmed. The vision was too much for him; it was beyond his understanding—yes, even Daniel could be overwhelmed by God’s revelation.
Father, Your work is beyond my understanding! I praise You for Your wisdom, Your understanding, Your guidance. Thank You that You are in control, even when I am nowhere close to being in control.
Anyone else feel overwhelmed by things God has revealed? What has God revealed that is beyond your understanding?
Humanity is amazing. The progress people have made in understanding the world and the principles that govern its cycles since the Enlightenment is astonishing. The rate at which technology advances is blindingly fast. We are constantly learning, and very little—almost nothing—seems to be beyond our understanding.
Until God speaks.
Thankfully, God usually speaks to us in words and concepts simple enough for us to hear, understand, and respond to. God now and then chooses to remind us, however, that He is God and we are not. And in those cases, He reveals to us truths that are beyond our understanding, even though they are revealed to us in our own languages.
After seeing a vision about the rise and fall of kingdoms, as well as the (temporary) desecration of Jerusalem and the temple, this was Daniel’s response:
I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. Then I got up and went about the king's business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding. – Daniel 8:27
Exhausted. Ill. Appalled. Daniel was overwhelmed. The vision was too much for him; it was beyond his understanding—yes, even Daniel could be overwhelmed by God’s revelation.
Father, Your work is beyond my understanding! I praise You for Your wisdom, Your understanding, Your guidance. Thank You that You are in control, even when I am nowhere close to being in control.
Anyone else feel overwhelmed by things God has revealed? What has God revealed that is beyond your understanding?
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
When the Most Powerful Man on Earth Can’t Save You
Daniel 5:13-6:28; Psalm 121; Proverbs 28:27-28
Sometimes, people simply can’t. Can’t protect. Can’t provide. Can’t be strong. Can’t get there in time. Can’t think straight. Can’t come up with a solution. Can’t buy their way out. Even the most famous, most wealthy people on earth can’t overcome every obstacle they face. Nicolas Cage is struggling to stay financially afloat. John Travolta couldn’t save his son’s life. Barack Obama can’t keep everyone happy.
When fellow-rulers grew jealous of Daniel, they came up with a plan that effectively tied the hands of the world’s most powerful ruler at the time, King Darius. Why? Because King Darius truly appreciated Daniel; he was going to promote Daniel to oversee every other ruler in the kingdom, he valued Daniel so much. So if these murderous fellow-rulers wanted to get rid of Daniel, they had to find a way to keep Darius from interfering.
They appealed to Darius’ vanity. They urged him to pass a law that anyone who prayed to any god or man but to Darius himself—for the next thirty days—would be thrown to the lions. And Darius issued the decree.
When Darius realized what he had done and tried to save Daniel, who would never honor a man above the true God, it was too late. The other rulers came to King Darius and reminded him:
Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed. – Daniel 6:15
Suddenly, there was something even Darius, the world’s most powerful man, could not do: He couldn’t save Daniel.
Enter God.
The next morning, when King Darius went to the lions’ den to see whether Daniel had survived or not, he was greeted by an unscathed, peaceful Daniel, who told him:
O king, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king. – Daniel 6:21-22
What the most powerful man on earth couldn’t do, God did. He shut the lions’ mouths.
Why don’t we go to this God more often?
Share a time when God came through for you!
Sometimes, people simply can’t. Can’t protect. Can’t provide. Can’t be strong. Can’t get there in time. Can’t think straight. Can’t come up with a solution. Can’t buy their way out. Even the most famous, most wealthy people on earth can’t overcome every obstacle they face. Nicolas Cage is struggling to stay financially afloat. John Travolta couldn’t save his son’s life. Barack Obama can’t keep everyone happy.
When fellow-rulers grew jealous of Daniel, they came up with a plan that effectively tied the hands of the world’s most powerful ruler at the time, King Darius. Why? Because King Darius truly appreciated Daniel; he was going to promote Daniel to oversee every other ruler in the kingdom, he valued Daniel so much. So if these murderous fellow-rulers wanted to get rid of Daniel, they had to find a way to keep Darius from interfering.
They appealed to Darius’ vanity. They urged him to pass a law that anyone who prayed to any god or man but to Darius himself—for the next thirty days—would be thrown to the lions. And Darius issued the decree.
When Darius realized what he had done and tried to save Daniel, who would never honor a man above the true God, it was too late. The other rulers came to King Darius and reminded him:
Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed. – Daniel 6:15
Suddenly, there was something even Darius, the world’s most powerful man, could not do: He couldn’t save Daniel.
Enter God.
The next morning, when King Darius went to the lions’ den to see whether Daniel had survived or not, he was greeted by an unscathed, peaceful Daniel, who told him:
O king, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king. – Daniel 6:21-22
What the most powerful man on earth couldn’t do, God did. He shut the lions’ mouths.
Why don’t we go to this God more often?
Share a time when God came through for you!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Life and Death and Dreams
Daniel 1:1-2:23; Psalm 119:121-144; Proverbs 28:21-22
Have you ever tried to dunk a basketball? Run a 5K in 16 minutes or less? Explain quantum physics? Pretty hard. But not impossible. People—at least some people—can do these things.
Have you ever tried to interpret a language you’ve never learned? Communicate via telepathy? Interpret someone’s dream without their having told you what it was? Impossible.
Now imagine being asked to do the impossible, but told that if you can’t perform you will be killed. That’s the situation Daniel faced. King Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed something one night, and he wanted to know what it meant. But he wouldn’t tell anyone the dream:
The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble.” – Daniel 2:5
Of course, no one could tell him what his dream was. So all his wise men were facing the execution block. Daniel couldn’t tell the king his dream, either, but he asked for time and prayed to God, along with his three friends.
During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. – Daniel 2:19a
Daniel couldn’t do the impossible any more than you or I can. But God is not a man. What is impossible for men is possible for God. And God revealed to Daniel, a mere man, the things that only God could know. Even the king’s dreams.
Father, may we remember that what is impossible for us is easy for You. May we stop trying to do what we can’t do, and instead remember to ask for Your help.
Have you ever tried to dunk a basketball? Run a 5K in 16 minutes or less? Explain quantum physics? Pretty hard. But not impossible. People—at least some people—can do these things.
Have you ever tried to interpret a language you’ve never learned? Communicate via telepathy? Interpret someone’s dream without their having told you what it was? Impossible.
Now imagine being asked to do the impossible, but told that if you can’t perform you will be killed. That’s the situation Daniel faced. King Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed something one night, and he wanted to know what it meant. But he wouldn’t tell anyone the dream:
The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble.” – Daniel 2:5
Of course, no one could tell him what his dream was. So all his wise men were facing the execution block. Daniel couldn’t tell the king his dream, either, but he asked for time and prayed to God, along with his three friends.
During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. – Daniel 2:19a
Daniel couldn’t do the impossible any more than you or I can. But God is not a man. What is impossible for men is possible for God. And God revealed to Daniel, a mere man, the things that only God could know. Even the king’s dreams.
Father, may we remember that what is impossible for us is easy for You. May we stop trying to do what we can’t do, and instead remember to ask for Your help.
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