Daniel 6:19-24

Daniel 6:19-24 

English Standard Version 

  What does it say about the king and his belief in God when he has a person cast into his execution pit and yet he comes out the next morning with the hope and expectation that Daniel might be alive?

  Does he have no confidence in his own methods of execution?  Or has his time around Daniel taught him such amazing things about Daniel's God that the king is prepared to expect the miraculous?

  I don't know what Daniel did when he was serving the king, but clearly the king was prepared to accept that the miraculous was possible with Daniel's God.  Daniel must have been a pretty amazing witness to teach the king that God could do such things.   

  What kind of stories do we tell?  How do we talk about God?  Would the people around us expect God to do the same?  Do we communicate a story of a God who can do such wondrous things?

Daniel 6:14-18

Daniel 6:14-18 

English Standard Version 

  One way to read this story is to think about how we should all be more like Daniel, willing to risk anything, even if it means we're thrown into the lions' den.

  The other way to read it is that Daniel's story is looking ahead to Christ's story.  Jesus is the true Daniel who goes into the lions' den that we deserve -- we've broken laws that cannot be changed, and there is a punishment to endure for that.  Jesus faces down the lions that would devour us, the lions that would snatch us away.  Jesus endures the den, so that we might be set free.  

  The king endures a restless night, uncertain of how the story will end.  It wouldn't be such a great story if it ended here, would it be?  

  In the same way, if the Gospel story ended in the tomb, with the lions winning, it wouldn't be such a great story.  But that's not the end of the story, is it?  After the night, no matter how restless, there is a dawn that breaks, and our hope rises.

  What does it mean to you that the Son of God endured the true lions on your behalf?

Daniel 6:10-13

Daniel 6:10-13 

English Standard Version 

  There are any number of people eager to try and sell a message that if you're religious enough, bad things won't happen to you.  It's a curious message, because some of the most devout people in the Bible have some really bad things happen to them.  Daniel is so devout that his prayer life will not be changed even under threat of death, but he has a den of lions awaiting him.  Jesus, certainly the most devout person who has ever lived, had an even worse fate awaiting him.

  So bad things happen to the devout and non-devout.  The hope is that by establishing a life rooted in prayer in the good times, we've trained ourselves to understand that the challenges of life do not mean that God does not love us, it simply means that evil has not been completely banished yet.  The challenges in life come regardless, but if we are prepared, we can recognize that God has suffered for us on the cross and therefore understands our pain, be it physical or emotional, and has the strength to deliver us through it.

Daniel 6:6-9

Daniel 6:6-9

English Standard Version 

  The moral of the story, as always, is to think twice before signing any documents that make people pray only to you for thirty days or more, right?

  Darius is manipulated into signing this document so that the officials and satraps can work to be rid of Daniel.  Darius goes along, unaware of the immediate consequences of his actions, but he sees this document as a way to cement his legacy at the top of the heap -- he can't imagine anyone more powerful than he is.

  God has a way of helping us see how the universe is truly ordered.  In some way, big or small, all of us spend portions of our lives trying to build our own kingdoms, thinking we can protect ourselves against forces that oppose us, be they aging or vulnerability or illness or poverty.  We build walls with our own hands and think they can hold back forces far larger than ourselves.

  On this Ash Wednesday, we remember that we are dust, and to dust we shall return.  Fortunately, it's not a morbid thought for the Christian.  We were formed out of dust with intention by one who has power to use a creative Word to mold us, shape us, and also preserve us.  God shows us God's power over death throughout Scripture, and God also shows us God's desire to save.  God is the only one with both powers, and so we are wise to turn to God, recognizing our mortality, our humanity, but knowing that the limitations on us do not limit God, and God chooses to use that power for us, to preserve us, to invite us into the eternal dance in the Kingdom of God that has been going on forever between the members of the Trinity!

Daniel 6:1-5

Daniel 6:1-5

English Standard Version 

  Some people may argue that Christians shouldn't be involved in government, but rather withdraw to ensure we're not tainted by the constant striving for power or influence that you may see in government.  The Bible teaches us otherwise -- it says that we should involved ourselves in government when appropriate, that we should enter the marketplace, but it tells us to do so in a way so that others can find no fault or complaint in us.  We can work in those places, but we're to be faithful there, serving as our capacity allows, representing the people of God in the halls of power.  

  The officials who despise Daniel seek to find another way to destroy him, since his work has not left any path or error they might exploit.  May we all do work in such a way, seeking to serve God by doing great work in whatever capacity we are in.

Daniel 3:26-30

Daniel 3:26-30 

English Standard Version 

  I was driving home yesterday afternoon and noticed that there are still piles of snow in parking lots where snowplows piled up the snow.  The snow in most places, where it wasn't piled up, is long gone, but in places where there was lots of snow piled together, some of that remains.  

  It made me think of Shadrach and his friends.  On their own, isolated from their religious community, it's tough to survive.  But the power of God was with them, even in the fire, and so they were able to endure.  They weren't alone, and so they could survive the heat.  

  When I think of the Ukrainian church, how can the global church connect with them?  How can we support them?  How can we remind them that the Holy Spirit is still at work, and through the power of God, they will be able to endure what might otherwise be unendurable, because they are not alone?  May the Spirit make us one with our brothers and sisters in every time and place, that we may be knit together as one body, one community, serving and praising God together.

Daniel 3:19-25

Daniel 3:19-25 

English Standard Version 

  Oh, the best laid plans do not always go as planned, do they?  Here is the King, thinking that he is the most powerful being around, thinking that everything is under his control, with his fiery furnace so hot that the men throwing the others into the fire are consumed by the heat.  Here is the King, demonstrating that no one shall resist his orders and live... and he looks into the furnace and sees a fourth man, like the son of the gods, walking around.  

  That'll make you realize that perhaps you're not the most powerful person in the room, right?

  God is always with us, but sometimes it is only in the furnaces of life, in the deepest trials we endure, that we fully see the presence of God with us.  I don't know why that is, but Nebuchadnezzar realized it here, and we all find it at some point -- that we aren't on our own when we end up in the furnace, but Jesus is there, and his glory is with us, and though the fires rage, we shall not be hurt, because our king is with us.

Daniel 3:13-18

Daniel 3:13-18

English Standard Version 

  One of my favorite parts in the entire Bible is right here -- Shadrach and friends know their fate has been determined.  Because they're unwilling to worship a false god, they're going to be case into the furnace.  The temptation was to compromise, but they're entirely uninterested in giving any part of their souls over to worship of a false god, no matter how small or mindless the act would have been.  Oh that we are all granted such courageous hearts!

  What they say to the King is indicative of where their true treasure lies, their complete trust in God, and their perspective on eternity.  They tell the King that God can save them with no doubts at all.  But the choice to save them is God's, and God alone has that choice.  They know they cannot force God's hand, but that doesn't change their behavior.  Even if God doesn't save them, they say, they're unwilling to change their behavior.  Just because God doesn't choose to save them from the furnace doesn't mean that God isn't God and worthy of our worship and praise.  It merely means that God had plans bigger than what they could see in the moment.  

  God, grant that we may have the same perspective, the same trust, to know that even when our most desperate prayers go unanswered, that we believe that God is still God and we are still in God's hands!  

Daniel 3:8-12

Daniel 3:8-12 English Standard Version 

  I think it was St. Augustine that talked about how our hearts have disordered loves -- we love the wrong things too much and the right things too little.  If we made a list of the things we really thought about, we dreamed about, we pursued, and we did so with complete self-honesty, we'd discover that things are a bit out of order on that list.

  What I so appreciate about this story is that Shadrach and friends lived in such a way that everyone knew they weren't worshipping this false god.  It was clear what they loved most of all, and others were jealous of that.  

  I'd love to live in this way -- where everyone knew my priorities, whether they liked it or not, and my priorities were in line with what they should be!  May we all strive for such lives, and may we get a little bit closer, day by day!

Daniel 1:8-15

Daniel 1:8-15 

English Standard Version 

  This is surely one of the most applicable Bible passages for everyday life, right?  If you eat vegetables and water, then you'll be better in appearance than everyone else, right?  

  It doesn't exactly work that way for us all the time, but it's a great story.  Daniel and friends are determined not to bow the knee before any false gods by eating the food sacrificed to idols, and so God creates a path forward, by miraculously strengthening them despite only eating vegetables and water.  This is but one small step on their journey in faith.

  God's always preparing us for something bigger.  That's the promise of Scripture -- until we reach the garden at the end of Revelation, there is always something bigger to prepare for, even when God is doing something miraculous.  So may we keep our eyes fixed forward, even when God is doing something miraculous in our midst, and know God is at work now and into the future. 

Daniel 1:3-7

Daniel 1:3-7 

English Standard Version 

  Here we are with the changing of names.  We see God doing this to Abram (Abraham), Simon (Peter), and Saul (Paul), signifying a new identity.  Here, they're attempting to do this to Daniel and his friends, trying to change their identity from Jews into something new, something different, something foreign.  They eat the food the king eats, which has been offered to false gods, and they're to be educated in foreign ways.  The King of Babylon is trying to water down the culture of the Jews, changing them to be like everyone else.

  It's a fine line we walk as part of culture.  We engage with culture and we learn how to be in it, but we always have to hold on to who we are.  We cannot give ourselves over completely to culture and lose our grounding in faith.  We always walk as a people of faith in the midst of the world, letting the light of Christ shine in us and through us.  We should be able to think critically about culture, to recognize the good and the bad, and be a thoughtful influence in the world around us.  We can excel and succeed, but always led by faith first.

  

Daniel 6:25-28

Daniel 6:25-28 

English Standard Version (ESV) 

  Remember what happened here -- Daniel prayed, was caught praying, and was thrown into the lions' den.  Not exactly revolutionary activities, but his simple commitment to faithfulness led to the king issuing a decree for all people to 'tremble and fear before the God of Daniel'.  God's ability to deliver and rescue were proclaimed throughout the kingdom because of Daniel's acts of prayer in the midst of chaotic times.

  Friends, we never know what God might do through our acts of faith, no matter how small they may be.  Daniel may have known that his time in prayer would have consequences, but did he realize they would extend far beyond himself?  Likewise, we're never completely sure of the consequences of our actions, and I doubt that we recognize that God is able to do mighty works that extend far beyond our reach through our faithfulness.  

  So may we be faithful in small and simple ways, spending time in prayer, and entrusting to God the spreading of the Gospel, for God can do far more than we can ask or imagine!

Daniel 6:19-24

Daniel 6:19-24 

English Standard Version (ESV)

  What do you believe that God might be able to do?

  Here, the king is overjoyed that the man he threw into a den of lions and left him there all night wasn't eaten by these lions.  My first though is that perhaps he needs better lions...  My second question is how often does he utilize this den of lions?  Does he keep them around just in case?  Who does this?  Anyway...  he goes to the lions' den with hope, which is an interesting contrast with the women who go to the tomb on that first Easter morning.

  Think about it -- they have gathered spices and are going to anoint the body.  Despite Jesus' proclamations that he would die and rise again, no one believed that his visit to the tomb was just a sojourn -- they'd watched him die, and that was the end.  They didn't show up at the tomb and shout questions into it to see if Jesus would answer.

  But the king in Daniel's story showed up at the den expecting for Daniel to be alive!  He didn't tiptoe around the tomb, wondering if there was some small chance that he might have survived.  There was anguish, but he shouts a question into the den with the expectation that there might be an answer.  The king had likely seen countless people enter this den, but none had survived yet, but there was something clearly possible through Daniel's God...

  God can do amazing things.  Even though they may not make sense to us, God is at work.  God has not and will not abandon us.  Sometimes, we're at the point in the story where we are getting thrown into the den of lions, and we can't see the end and we wonder where God is at.  Just because we don't have the whole story in front of us, this doesn't mean that God doesn't still do miracles, that God isn't still at work.  God loves you and cares for you and is at work in your life, transforming you, sanctifying you, loving you, providing for you.

  What do you believe that God might be able to do?

Daniel 6:16-18

Daniel 6:16-18 

English Standard Version (ESV)

  I'll say upfront that I love the Bible.  I love the way it tells the story, weaving it through countless other smaller stories, each of which points to the one grand story.  The Bible teaches us about ourselves, about God and God's Kingdom.  It reveals things to us about humanity that we know to be true in the depths of our souls.  It reminds us about things that we all long for in the depths of our souls, longings that are evidence that we are created to inhabit a world beyond this one.

  In this story, the king is thought to be the most powerful person in it.  Who is more powerful than the king?  And yet does this power  bring him peace?  Does it bring ease?  No -- all of his money and all of his power cannot bring an easy night's sleep, while a man he has thrown into a den of lions will rest easy because the power of God is with him.  

  We see it written across the headlines of newspapers time and time again -- money, fame, and power do not bring the ease we would think it does.  Worldly riches are not often associated with peace.   There are greater riches, beyond what money can buy, that can secure true peace.  Only God can grant this peace, but if we spend our lives striving for the worldly kind, we can easily miss the riches and peace God wants to offer us.  

  So let be careful how we dream.  Money and fame can be very useful tools in the hands of those who are wise enough to see them for what they are and surround themselves with people who will hold them accountable.  Let us ensure we are setting our hopes on the riches that God  alone can give, recognizing all other kinds as merely tools to be used to spread the Good News of God's true wealth.

Daniel 6:10-15

Daniel 6:10-15 

English Standard Version (ESV) 

  I never thought that vaccines would be controversial, but here we are.  Think about a vaccine -- it's a momentary pain that is paid to receive a much greater benefit -- the pain you accept is far, far greater than the pain you are avoiding.  With an effective vaccine, you receive far more than you give -- this is why we're all so eager for a COVID-19 vaccine.  Millions would line up for it, despite the temporary pain of the needed, because they know that the immunity from COVID-19 is well worth the cost of temporary pain.

  

  When you believe in God, truly believe in God, you are placing your allegiance in the most powerful being in the universe.  To believe in God is always to receive far more than you give, for if the most we can give is our lives while we receive eternity.  Daniel knows the rules and understands the punishment, but he is wholly committed to God, and he understands that what he is doing may cost him his life, but what does he care if he has already received more than that?  

  

  I won't presume that this was easy for Daniel.  We read that his prayers are thanksgivings, just as he had done previously.  If so, his faith is certainly stronger than mine -- I'd be praying for God to perhaps transport me back to a friendlier kingdom!  But Daniel's confidence in God was strong enough to know that God would sustain him, even through death.  There was nothing the King could do that could threaten his relationship with God.

  I don't know what threatens you today.  The pandemic certainly looms outside all of our doors.  There are economic and societal and political concerns.  Each of us worries a little differently.  What I do know is that we can have confidence in God to sustain us through each of these challenges, for even death is not an end for us, but rather a new beginning, a transformation, in which God is still on the throne and we still belong to God.

Daniel 6:1-5

Daniel 6:1-5 

English Standard Version (ESV) 

  The world needs more Daniels.  

  There have always, and will always be, plenty of high officials and satraps, people who look at the success of others with hatred and jealously in their hearts, seeking any possible way to tear them down.  Too often, our leaders give them those reasons, in some ways validating the efforts of those who seek out the destruction of others.

  What we need are more Daniels -- more people who are faithful.  I don't expect anyone to be perfect.  I'm certainly in no position to guilt trip anyone.  But faithfulness, the daily effort to seek God and live out faith in everything one does, this is the goal we should strive towards.  The life's work of setting the Kingdom of God before your eyes and heart each and every morning and pursuing everything in light of that goal.  The opportunity to express one's love for God by selflessly serving others and using one's gifts to the fullest extent.  

  May we endeavor to be a people whose enemies struggle to find grounds for complaint due to our faithfulness.

Daniel 3:26-30

Daniel 3:26-30 

English Standard Version (ESV) 

  If I sit too close to our fire pit, my clothes will smell like fire for days.  Singe some hair, and you'll know it by the smell.  However, these three walk out of a roaring furnace hot enough to kill the people throwing them into it and they don't even smell of fire.  They are miraculously unharmed, and Nebuchadnezzar takes this all in and praises God.  Not too long ago, he was willing to kill anyone not worshiping a false idol.  All of a sudden, through this dramatic act, Nebuchadnezzar is willing to fight to the death for anyone who speaks against the one true God.

  Our lives are transformed by God.  Hearts can change, minds can change.  We hear stories about dramatic transformations that still go on today -- I was listening to an old speech by Ravi Zacharias earlier and he was talking about a dramatic transformation at a chaotic prison due to the influence of one faithful disciple.  We love to hear these stories, and some people I talk to feel somewhat envious for not having a dramatic story.

  To answer that, I point to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  The King here undergoes a dramatic transformation, but it's only after seeing the steadfast faithfulness of these three.  They quite simply trusted God in every situation, and through their witness, others were brought to believe in God.

  There's a place for everyone in the story.  God never gives up on anyone, and God uses each of us to tell a dramatic story of grace and love.

Daniel 3:19-25

Daniel 3:19-25 

English Standard Version (ESV)

  Everything we see is not always the full picture.  This is certainly true today, especially in a world where videos are edited in order to support agendas and details are sometimes omitted. It takes work to determine the entire scope of events.

  King Nebuchadnezzar was accustomed to knowing everything he needed to know.  He was king, after all.  But he failed to grasp there was a greater power than himself.  Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego, through their humility and faith, were vehicles through which God demonstrated a greater power.

  Prayers are not always answered in the way we want.  Events in the world are often beyond our understanding.  We usually have big questions for God.  Just because we don't see or grasp how God is at work, let us work to have a faith that trusts that God is present and at work in the world around us and in our lives and relationships, and may we pray for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our hearts to better see the world and God's actions within it.

  

Daniel 3:16-18

Daniel 3:16-18 

English Standard Version (ESV) 

  To whom does your life belong?

  Every day, I claim my life as my own.  I fight against forces that might try and influence me otherwise.  I resist outside control on my life, and I am building towards my dreams and my goals.  My life is a result of the choices I make, and I will influence myself towards the life I want.  

  That's what we often tell ourselves.  That's very true for me on many days, if I'm being honest.  I don't think of my life as belonging to God, as a gift from God, as the blessed opportunity to honor God.  I think about my goals and what I want....  

  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego deliver one of the greatest lines in the entire Bible.  Nebuchadnezzar is going to throw them into a fire, but they so thoroughly trust God that they are not afraid.  Their lives belong to God, and their goal is not to maximize the time they have for themselves, but rather the amount of honor they give to God.  And so they choose to honor God even though it is a virtual certainty that such an act will cut their lives very, very short in a very, very painful manner. I love the way they phrase this -- God is able to save them, but even if God doesn't, they're still not going to serve a false god.  They refuse to betray their principals.  They will not compromise their worship of the eternal God in exchange for an extended opportunity to work towards their goals.  It's not worth it to them.  Even if God doesn't save them, even if all that this means is a painful death for them, they're still ready to make the choice, because they have such a complete trust of God.  They know that God is on the throne, that God dwells in the heights of heavens, and just because God doesn't choose  to intervene in their situation, God is no less worthy of devotion and acclaim and worship.  

  We don't always understand  why God doesn't intervene.  For every story like this one where God dramatically intervenes, there are thousands of others where the miracle has not come, where the fire consumed, where the cancer didn't go away, where the disease didn't weaken, where the relationship remained broken, where the addiction didn't let go, where the children didn't come home, where the job didn't come through, where the pain didn't recede.  These are heartbreaking situations, reminders of the brokenness in society and in our homes and in our bodies and in our relationships and in our lives.  These are not evidence that God doesn't notice or care -- it's evidence that we don't see the full tapestry of grace that God is weaving, that we don't know the full story.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego -- they trusted in the God who sees the full story, who hung the stars in the sky and still cares for us individually.  Because they trusted, they knew that God had knit them together in their mothers' wombs, and if God does that, this God will not abandon them, even if it seems like death is about to prevail.  With a God like that on your side, why fear a king?  What can Nebuchadnezzar do against such a God?  Whose side would you rather bet on?

  So once again, to whom does your life belong?  And how does your life reflect that?

Daniel 3:13-15

Daniel 3:13-15

English Standard Version (ESV) 

  Jesus tells us in Matthew 10 not to fear the one who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul -- In Jesus, we are joined in his resurrection, although there is a great leap of faith necessary to get over that fear of death!  

  There is fear everywhere these days.  Many news networks major in fear.  Fear is available to all, spread freely.  No matter where you turn, there is likely a reason to fear.  I saw a notice yesterday that said there are hand sanitizers that are compromised and should be avoided -- even the stuff that's supposed to keep us safe can be a reason to fear!  Sometimes you just can't win...

  While there are plenty of fearful things in the world, fear is a choice.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had reason to fear -- they were about to be thrown into a fiery furnace for worshiping God.  It's a fearful situation, but they were not afraid.  They were confident in God's power, and they lived with integrity.  Trusting God in the face of fearful circumstances gave them the ability to remain faithful.

  We, too, can choose to trust in the face of fear.  We don't have to ignore fear, but we don't have to give in to it -- as a people who trust in the eternal kingdom of God and believe we are joined in God's victory over sin and death through grace, we can face our challenges with the full knowledge that the light of eternity awaits, and the challenges in this world are but passing shadows that will fade when compared to the light and love of God.