Time to Take the Test

I have been blogging about God's sovereignty as seen in the book of Daniel.  The whole premise of this blog has been to encourage Christian to walk daily with Christ to ensure a life that will be less stressful than those who seek to live their life without a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Well, today will begin the start of putting into practice what I so dearly believe and what I have so boldly preached about for a number of years.  On this day, my dad, my best friend, my spiritual mentor has been diagnosed with cancer.  The man who has never spent a day in the hospital, who has rarely been sick for more than two days is now facing the valley of cancer.  As I see him in that hospital bed, hooked up to all sort of machines, like Daniel, this is an unwanted place.  We did not volunteer to get cancer.  We did not sign up for the next hospital bed.  Cancer developed in my dad's body, surprising all his family and even doctors; yet cancer did not surprise God.  I can see even at this moment that God has been preparing my sister, brother, and myself for this moment.  God has been working and dealing with my mom and dad for years for this moment.  No, we did not expect the diagnoses, but God has been working all along to make sure that this valley will not destroy us, but to make us stronger.  So now we have been given a test to see if walking closely with Christ really does matter, and if knowing Christ personally, truly lessens life's stressful valleys.  As of this moment, without Christ's presence I would be a basket case; yet in His presence I have His peace.          

God Honor's Righteous Living

There are many people who ask themselves the following question, "Does it matter if I do the right thing?"  There are also many Christians who ask themselves a similar question, "Does God really care if I do the right thing?"  It would seem that our lives would be less stressful if we just did want our flesh wanted to do.  When we bring into the equation the option to do the "moral" or "right" thing, then we have opened ourselves to a little more stress for our conscience.  The world say, "If it feels good, as long as you don't hurt anyone, just do it"; while God's Word instructs His children to think differently.  It is no different with Daniel.  We have seen that he was uprooted from his home and placed in the wicked city of Babylon.  Everything that he had ever wished he could do, without his parents finding out, was right at his feet.  He could act, talk, live, and think any why he wanted to with little to no opposition, but something was different with Daniel - he was convinced that no matter where he was, God expects and would honor right living. 

Daniel 1:8 states it this way, "But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine which he drank..."  Daniel purposed early on that he would honor God by the physical choices he made, even in a foreign land.  You see, righteous living can only begin with an inward change.  You and I do not have the strength to live a moral and right life on our own.  The Bible declares that all men are filthy and no one does any good (Ps. 14:3, Rom. 3:10).  We are all born into sin and born destined to live for our selves; which in turn causes great stress.  But when we recognize our position as enemies of God, and cry out for mercy and forgiveness from a holy and righteous God, then the Bible states that we are clothed in Jesus' righteousness and we can stand innocent before God on the day of judgment, because of the work of Christ Jesus on the cross.  And those who have experienced this change of relationship with God, then they are expected, but also long to live right before God.  Even when we are facing the most uncertain or difficult choices and situations of life, God will always honor those who walk after righteousness (Psalms 1).  If you have experience this inward change of heart with God, then your life will be less stressful.  Until next time, keep walking close to Christ.    

Not Misplaced by God (Part 4)

Do your friends and family know you better by a nickname than your real name?  A nickname usually is never chosen by a person, but rather by a friend or family member who witnessed you doing something funny, strange, unusual, or memorable.  Whether you like it or not, a nickname has a strange way of holding on to one's identity throughout life.  It was no different for Daniel.  In chapter one, we find Daniel being carried away to a pagan land, removed from his country and people, taken to an unwanted location, living in unfamiliar environments, and working in an unlikely mission.  To make matters worse, now the king wants to change his identity.  Daniel and his three friends are given pagan names (1:6-7), as a way of erasing their past life and giving them a new start.  Will Daniel (God is my Judge) choose to continue to trust in his God, who seems missing, or will he embrace his new identity as Belteshazzar (may Bel protect), and embrace a new god?  

Life is not fair!  There will be times in the life of a Christian in which the world will try to brand you with a new identity.  The world wants you and I to be like them, to join in their foolishness, to give caution to the wind, and to live according to our own rules.  Each new name given by king Nebuchadnezzar was an attempt to rob their allegiance to the true God and replace it with the false god of materialism, sex, and prosperity.  If the world is not successful in getting a child of God to act, talk, and think like them, then they will begin to label God's children with all sort of false titles and descriptions (like holy Joe, bigoted, narrow-minded, goody two shoes, ect...) that are used to break their spirits and belittle one's faith.  Through all the name calling, you can rest assure that God knows His children by name, and no matter the labels the world places on us, God has not misplaced His children.  And we have a promise in Revelation 2:17, that those who overcome this world will be given a new name from our Heavenly Father.  When we realize that God is pleased when we wear His name with distinction in this world, then we will be less stressed in this world.  Until next time, keep walking close with Christ. 

Not Misplaced By God (Part 3)

If you were to ask most Christians what place of service God would most likely choose for His children, you might get a variety of answers that center around the theme of "Ministries of the church".  Many Christians think that they are not a "higher tier Christian" if they are not a pastor, evangelist, missionary, or even Sunday school teacher.  This idea could not be further from the truth.  Yes, it is correct to say that God has called all of His children to be missionaries, but as one man put it, "I am a missionary cleverly disguised as a plumber."

We see this truth lived out in the life of Daniel.  Daniel is not a prophet, walking the streets, preaching the judgment of God (like Jeremiah).  Daniel is not a prophet leading people through a dry wilderness (like Moses).  Daniel is not a missionary explaining the gospel to pagans (like Paul).  God has called Daniel to be a prophet, cleverly disguised as a politician.  What!  God would call someone to work in politics?   Yes, God needs His children available to work in every part of this world, to be a light for the gospel in a dark environment. 

Daniel realized that he was not misplaced by God, even though given the most unimaginable mission for a  Jew.  A devout Jewish male did not want to be serving in the palace of the "anti-Christ", but rather in the Kingdom of the Messiah.  But Daniel accepted the events and mission he was given, but did so without compromising his faith and trust in the sovereign God. (1:4-5).  You see no matter where you are working in this earthy realm, Christians must hold to two truths: First, God has given you that job, and He wants you to witness for Him wherever that job may be.  Second, your secular position never gives you the right to compromise God's Word with your actions.  No matter the job you have, work every day for God's glory, knowing He has placed you on mission for Him.  If you remember this every day, then your work will be not as stressful and unsatisfying.  Until next time, keep walking close to Christ.

Not Misplaced By God (Part 2)

A week ago, I took my family to a baseball game, specifically to watch the firework show at the end of the game.  The game had everything you could image, including a grand-slam, but it also had a lot of sun.  Three out of the four hours we spent staring at the sun, making our experience a little warm to say the least.  Throughout the game I kept hearing my five year old daughter make the following statement, "It's too hot.  This was not a good day to come to the game."  What my daughter was saying was not that she did not like the game, but rather the location of our seats and the blazing sun made the game less enjoyable.  The prophet Daniel could have made the same observation as he was being dragged from his homeland of Judea, to the foreign city of Babylon (Daniel 1).  Of all places that God would chose to send His children, why Babylon?  This city was the most modern city of it's time, but it was also a pagan, idolatress, immoral, and very wicked city.  Before Las Vegas, Babylon's motto was "What happens in Babylon stays in Babylon!" 

So Daniel had to decide quickly whether God had control of every event taking place in his life.  If he was going to survive spiritually in such a wicked environment as Babylon, he must hold tightly to the truth that Jehovah God is sovereign, and no matter how dire the location, this God would never misplaced any of His children.  This truth even applies when we find ourselves in places and locations where we don't want to be.  Have you been there?  (hospital, funeral home, unemployment line, new school or city, or even alone on the streets)  As a Christian, you will never survive the worry and stress that comes from ending up in unwanted locations until you begin to realize that the key to a victorious mindset begins when I trust God conpletely with my life, my future, and with those unwanted locations.  Just like Daniel, Nehemiah, Esther, Moses, and may other servants, God always uses those unlikely places to help us grow and depend on Him, as well us He plants us in unwanted locations to be His light to those living in darkness.  Well, until next time, keep walking close with Christ.   

Not Misplaced by God

Have you ever misplaced something that was a great worth and value to you?  Of course we all have!  How stressful and how anxious be become as the deadline draws near and we have yet to find our wallet, purse, keys, concert tickets, or even our child.  It is no different with humanity.  As billions of people roam throughout this earth, most live with a constant feeling of being lost, misplaced, or not even cared for on this giant rock we call earth.  Even for Christians, there will be times in our lives in which we feel misplaced on this earth by God.  It was no different for Daniel, a young teenager ripped from his home land of Judea, forced to live as a slave, and dropped into an alien environment in Babylon.  Here was a young man who loved God, and now is all alone in a hostile and pagan environment, forced to surround himself by the very things that he was taught to be sin.  Yet, it is in this situation that Daniel learns about living each day with conviction that God is completely sovereign.

In Daniel 1:1-7, Daniel showed his confidence in God's sovereignty by living his life on the truth that God had not misplaced him; God knew exactly where he was - even during the uncontrollable circumstances in his life (1:1-2).  Daniel did not have a vote or a choice whether king Nebuchadnezzar would attack and destroy his city of Jerusalem.  He had no control whether or not to go as a captive to Babylon.  But even as this young man's world crumbled around him, he could see the hand of God when he wrote, "The LORD gave Jehoiakim to Nebuchadnezzar" (1:2).  Daniel learned an important lesson about life, even though he was not able to control the outward circumstances of life, he could always trust in the God who controls everything.  And if you and I live with such a mindset, our life will be less stressful when our world is turned inside out.  Until next time, keep walking close to Christ.    

Back to the Future (Part 23)

In the last chapter of Revelation were hear three voices encourage and instruct the readers of this precious book: an angel, the Lamb, and finally the apostle John.  John, the recipient of this letter, pens the epilogue in the form of three points of encouragement and warning.  First, there is always a blessing upon those who are redeemed (14-15).  This is a reoccurring theme in the whole Bible, which goes contrary to the world's teaching.  Those who flee sin and have a hatred toward those actions that displease God, will aways be approved by God; while those who practice sin will never be able to inherit heaven.  Second, John gives us the prayer of the Holy Spirit and the Church.  This one word prayer is always on the lips of the Holy Spirit, and should be on the lips of each blood-bought Christian - "COME!"  This prayer has two purposes: first, to invite the lost to the Living Water.  Second, it is a prayer that invites God's Kingdom to come even now. 

The final word of instruction from John includes a curse that must be understood in light of Deut. 29:19-20.  When a covenant was entered into by two parties, the consequences for not keeping the document and agreement were usually listed at the end of the document.  God has placed a curse upon all those who have disguised themselves as wolves in sheep's clothing in the church.  Any false teacher who adds or takes away from this book and from God's Word will find themselves under God's curse of eternal judgment and separated from His eternal presence.  This warning is directed to anyone who thinks they are bigger than God and choose to deliberately tamper with Scripture and teach false doctrine.  No true believer would ever deliberately tamper with Scripture.  We may mistakenly teach or interpret God's Word, but to knowingly change what God has said into a lie is worthy of God's death penalty.  Never forget, at the beginning of this book we are given a wonderful blessing each time we read and obey it (1:3).  If we daily remember who is in control of our lives and who has the whole world in His hands, then our lives will be less stressful.  Until next time, keep walking close with Christ Jesus.