Year: 2021

“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.” Daniel‬ ‭6:10‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Daniel is one of the most Godly and consistent of all the Old Testament characters. His steadiness through difficult situations is a great example to us. When the king’s law was put into effect making it illegal to pray to anyone but the king, Daniel just went about his normal routine. He didn’t join a protest or write some scathing article. He didn’t try to rally opposition to the law. He simply continued his daily faithfulness to God because he knew everything was ultimately in God’s hands. He didn’t start doing a bunch of new religious activities, because he was already living in a close daily relationship with God. May we realize from his example, there is a great peace and assurance that comes to our souls when we are truly walking with God. Then, we don’t have to overreact to the troubles around us. Then, we can have peace while the storm rages around us. By God’s grace, we can simply continue seeking God and doing what is best.

“…The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.” Psalm‬ ‭33:5‬ ‭KJV‬‬. It is easy for us to look at the problems and troubles around us. Almost everywhere we look we can see the tragic effects of man’s sin. And if we are not careful, we can begin to think that everything is bad. Sadly, this negative and cynical attitude has affected many of God’s children. But let us trust what God’s Word declares. Let us believe the goodness of God is evident all around us, if we are willing to see through the eyes of faith. Every day we can see God’s goodness in the created world around us. In so many ways that we don’t often recognize, God has showered us with His goodness and blessings. Look at the beauty of a flower. Gaze upon the majesty of the night sky. Look into the face of a newborn baby. Observe the transformed lives of God’s redeemed children. But most of all, God’s goodness has been shown to us in sending His Son to be our Saviour. Because of Jesus, every soul has the opportunity to know God in personal relationship. The goodness of God in Christ is truly the greatest miracle this world has ever known! May we open our eyes to behold God’s goodness and rejoice in Him.

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy‬ ‭1:7‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Many times in reading this verse, people focus only on the elimination of fear. And certainly, no one wants to live in fear. In fear there is torment. Fear makes life miserable. But God’s Word makes clear that for us to eliminate fear from our lives, we must have another spirit. This means that we must allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and have full control so that we are not overcome by fear. So for our fears to be eliminated we must have the spiritual courage that comes only from the presence of God’s Spirit within us. This is what assures us that the power of the living God is on our side. This is what reminds us that we are loved by God, and because He is our loving Father, He has promised to watch over us and keep us. And it is by His grace He opens our minds to understand these things and to think spiritually, which is having a sound mind. So let us thank God that He gives us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us. And when we open our hearts to be led by Him fear will not have dominion over us.

“Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee…”2 Timothy‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭KJV‬‬. In writing these words to Timothy, Paul realized that laboring and ministering in this ungodly world has the tendency to quench the spiritual fire that burns in our soul. In every true Christian, God has placed the precious gift of salvation by His Son Jesus Christ. This gift truly is ‘unspeakable’ as Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 9:15. It is a gift that transforms our heart and life. It changes our eternal destiny. It makes us new creatures in Christ and puts a flame of holy desire in our soul. And we never can thank God enough for this gift! But we all must be careful, lest this gift be neglected and the flame burn low. We must guard ourselves against spiritual sloth and the many worldly influences that dull the reality of this great salvation. How we need to continually ‘stir up’ the gift God has given us! Like poking the embers of a fire this requires holy activity on our part. We must set aside time to seek God in prayer, in His Word and in personal worship and adoration. God promises that those who seek Him with all their hearts will find what their hungering souls need. By God’s grace, let us stir up the precious gift He has given us.

“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew‬ ‭2:11‬ ‭KJV‬‬. We know little of these wise men and what prompted their long journey to find the Christ, the newborn King. Perhaps they had heard of the ancient Jewish prophecies of the coming Messiah. But what we do know is their amazing response to Him! With such little knowledge they made tremendous personal sacrifice and came a great distance just so they could worship Him and present their gifts to Him. But what is our response today? We have the full revelation of Jesus Christ and the record of Who He is and all that He has done for us. We know that He is the crucified and risen Son of God and has provided our salvation. We know that He is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings! And yet, what is our response to Him? Do we make any personal sacrifice in order to give our best to Him? Do we deny ourselves as He has called us to and as He did for us? Today, most people won’t suffer even a slight inconvenience to come and worship Jesus. Almost any little thing will keep them from giving their best to Jesus. But let us be sure, the example of the wise men will stand before us.

“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for He shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew‬ ‭1:21‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Most people read these words thinking only of the Christmas story and the miraculous birth of Jesus. But what a profound announcement this was of the purpose of Jesus’ coming into this world. The Angel said, “He will save His people FROM their sins”. It is tragic that most of modern religion has tried to water down this great word. Most churches tell people that Jesus saves and leaves you in your sins. Others claim He saves from the guilt and punishment of sin, but not from the power of sin over your life. And hearing these sad words, most church people live to these low expectations. They are constantly failing, being defeated spiritually and overcome by sin, because they do not understand that Jesus is a Great Saviour! But thank God, Jesus didn’t come to give us a halfway salvation. Rather, He came to save to the uttermost! He came to break the chains of sin and liberate us. He came to open the doors of the prison house and set the captive free! Thank God, He is still able to deliver us OUT OF the bondage of sin! Let us rejoice and live in the light of this glorious truth.

“For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all…” ‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2:5-6‬ ‭KJV‬‬. How often we take for granted this truth that Jesus Christ is our Mediator. But without this reality, no man would have any access to God. Without Him, our sins would forever prevent us from coming to God in any way. Without our Mediator we would be hopelessly lost. But thank God, Jesus came and in His perfect life and atoning death, He became the Man in the middle! Because He is both God and Man, He is able to touch both the absolute holiness of the Father and the sinfulness of our condition. He not only understands our desperate need, but He made the way for all of our needs to be met! He took our sins upon Himself. He died in our place. He made His soul an offering for our sins. In doing all of this, Jesus went lower than we could ever go so that He might be able to lift us up from that awful pit of sin and restore us to relationship with the Father! How we ought to praise Him, that we can bring all of our burdens to Him and He understands us. And in great mercy, He presents our case to the Father. He declares that by the price He has paid we all can have access to His Father, and we can know Him in personal relationship as our Heavenly Father.

“He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”Daniel‬ ‭3:25‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This is one of the most encouraging and uplifting scenes in the history of God’s people. The 3 Hebrew young men have taken their stand for God. They refused to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s false gods. And now they have been thrown into the fiery furnace, which meant certain death. And the king thought he had shown everyone that he was in control. But thank God, there is a God in Heaven Who still rules over the affairs of men! And God came down in Christ, into that furnace and changed the very laws of nature for His children! Hallelujah! Do we realize today, that same Mighty God walks with us? And He has promised us, even when we walk through the fires they would not burn us. Let us have the faith in God like they did then. Let us stand for God and then discover, that He will stand with us in the worst situations we will ever face. And let us rejoice, that the Same One Who walked with them in the fire and delivered them, is with us in all that we go through in this life.

“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Daniel‬ ‭3:17-18‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This is one of the most dramatic scenes in God’s Word. These godly young men have been brought before the most powerful king on earth. They knew he could have them killed with just a word. They knew he had commanded everyone to worship his gods. And yet they stood courageously before him saying, “Whether we live or die, we are going to be faithful to our God!” They understood, that God had the power to deliver them physically, but even if that was not God’s plan, they would be delivered spiritually and eternally. And so, they took their stand. And we know how God miraculously delivered them, not from the furnace, but right IN the midst of the furnace! How we need a generation of believers today with that kind of spiritual backbone! Willing to say, “We will not bow to the gods of this world!” May we have that same courage and devotion to Christ  that will cause us to stand against all the pressures of this ungodly world. As we do, we have the assurance that He will stand with us.

“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself…” Daniel‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭KJV‬‬. The story of Daniel and the 3 Hebrew children in Babylonian captivity is very familiar. We recall the mighty and miraculous deliverance from the lion’s den and the fiery furnace. But too often we forget their stedfast devotion to God that led them into those life and death situations. And we overlook the truth, that while we expect God to be faithful to us in the big things, He also expects us to be faithful in the little things. So it is clear, that Daniel’s heart was set on pleasing God in all things. As Jewish young men, they were taught strict rules about what they should eat and drink. And to them, compromising even in these small things was unacceptable. They understood that the small things in life are revealing of who we really are in our relationship with God. Today, we are in a religious generation that is failing in the big things because they continually defile themselves in things that seem small to them. But may God help us to understand, that we are called to live clean and holy lives in every way. And may we, like Daniel, purpose in our heart, that we will not defile ourselves with the ungodly things of this world.