In the lion’s den?

All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction. When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. (Daniel 6:7–10)

The king was reminded that his decree could not be revoked, and was told that Daniel ignored it. He must suffer the consequences so was thrown into a den of lions.

Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ 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.” Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. (Daniel 6:19–24)

This reveals the power of God. I’m reminded of two things. One, it explains why Daniel was not with the other three in the furnace. God had a different plan for him. And two, this alludes to God's  protection from the destructive power of Satan. These NT verses come to mind.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)
But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. (2 Timothy 4:17)

Jesus is the life-giving Lion of Judah. Satan is the life-destroying enemy and is totally opposite Him. The lions in Daniel’s life point ahead to the ‘lion’ who wants God's people to stop praying and worshiping. Yet our God protects His faithful children. This roaring lion could not destroy an obedient Daniel and he cannot destroy us.

Jesus, in these days of increasing persecution, I often think of the truth that “You win.” Even if those who hate Your people hate us to the point of taking our lives, we go into eternal life with You. We win, as did Daniel and the Apostle Paul who escaped. You declared this true at that ancient den and keep declaring it — and because of You, I live forever, no matter what that evil lion can say or try to do.

Key to Success

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:1–8)

In this study of ‘therefore’ as a word about consequences, God is showing me how the OT points to Jesus and NT truths. That is, the OT events point to a greater reality. This passage is another one of them.

Moses and Law remind me of the promise of a Messiah and that God’s people wanted to obey but continually failed to keep the law. Then the death of Moses changed leadership. Joshua. Because Moses died, Joshua was given leadership into the land of promise. And I know this does not point to heaven but to a difference in their lives.

Joshua means “Jehovah saves” — another phase in the history of redemption. If I look at it as part of a salvation journey, it points to being set free from slavery to sin and learning how to walk in that redeemed freedom. It takes a lifetime and without the power of Christ, I cannot do it, just as the OT people of God struggled in their battle to live out the will of God in the land He gave them.

Again, this is not heaven. If it were, there would be no enemies and no battles, no lessons in how to live in total surrender to the God who saves. This is why He told Joshua and He tells me that He will be with me. All blessings are mine, and no one can take that from me. Obedience is vital to my success. So is reading and thinking about God's will day and night.

Fear and becoming down-hearted are my enemies so He adds: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9–10) This is not about emotional stability but about remembering and knowing that He is with me — all the time and wherever I am.

Jesus, Your presence is always with me, like the air around me. If I forget that, my life goes sideways or upside-down. It is never Your fault for You are faithful to Your word. May I alway be mindful that You never leave me alone. You are my strength and my obedience, my Savior and success.

Lots of words, same conclusions

Judges 1; Jeremiah 14; Matthew 28; Acts 5

These days of reading four passages and listening for God’s rhema word to me, I often struggle with hearing truth upon truth and cannot narrow it to a specific thought. I’ll write what I hear today and see if it comes together at the end.

Judges is a history book. God’s people vowed to follow Him but this book has a pattern. They didn’t keep their vow, God sends an enemy to put pressure on them, they cry out to the Lord for help and He sends a judge to deliver them.

The phrase, “Every man did what was right in his own eyes” is common throughout. However, the first chapter begins well. Two of the tribes conquered enemies in the land God gave them. I noticed that what they did to one of the kings was his pattern of dealing with those he conquered. He said, “As I have done, so God has repaid me.”

“Paradise Lost” is an imaginary description of hell. In it the author describes levels of torture that matched the major sins of those in that level. If they were adulterers, they lived in a constant state of adultery but never being satisfied. A liar would be with liars and never hear anything true.

That makes me think of Satan, the Father of lies. He dwells in darkness and cannot ever know or see the truth. In our world right now with the contradictions and media reports, people are saying “they are all liars” yet not having truth is unsettling like a ship without an anchor. Thinking about “getting what we deserve” comes to mind and I shudder.

Jeremiah speaks sharply to God’s people because they have been listening to false prophets who tell them in so many words that they are God’s so don’t worry, be happy, nothing will happen to you. This attitude is an assumption that they can do what is right in their own eyes and God will allow it, even bring them peace and comfort as they do it.

I think of two news items. One was a choir in a church that defied government guidelines about large gatherings. Instead of obeying Romans 13, they wound up with most of them getting Covid-19. The other was a video of police trying to convince church-goers that it was not safe to gather. One woman yelled at them with, “I’m covered by the blood of Christ. Nothing bad will happen to me.” Was that the same line Jesus heard in the Garden of Gethsemane, “You are the Son of God; nothing bad can happen to you?”

Matthew 28 is the climax, the time in history where God stepped in to rescue us rebels. The women who loved Jesus were at His tomb. An angel appeared and said to them:

“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” (Matthew 28:5–7)

At that everything changed . . .  or did it? God’s people are now those who follow Jesus with new life and the aid of the Holy Spirit to obey Him. Yet our wars go on in a different venue. Our battles are not on the hills of Galilee but in the attitudes of our hearts. The desire to do my own thing resists the Spirit who loves me into wanting the will of God.

This shows up in Acts where two people lost that battle and their lives. They wanted to look good and lied to do it. The realization of their sin stopped their hearts. This is a warning to not play around with ego-protection. This same chapter show how the Lord empowered His workers; they defied those who came against them, not with lies or pretense but with the truth. Jesus was their Messiah who came to die for the sin of the world and bring forgiveness and hope to those who acknowledged their need for it and confessed their sin to Him.

Besides hearing God in these readings, I found a quote that says, “Confession no more creates forgiveness than a cheque creates money that you don’t already have in your account . . . it just releases it.” This also speaks to me. He has filled my account with Jesus and because of Him, I can choose to faithfully follow Him.

APPLY: Before salvation, my account was without any resources. But now Jesus is here. He is all that I need to stop sinning and to trust and obey Him even when life is tough and full of tests. I know my way does not work well because Jesus is full of grace, always showing me what is far better. He tells me to keep listening and knowing that He is God and I am not.

 

The right answer, the only answer . . .

A little joke once went around Sunday Schools that if you didn’t know the answer to the teacher’s question, say “Jesus” and you would likely be correct.

All joking aside, Jesus is the focus, the answer. When I sin, He is my need and solution. When I fall short of love and obedience, He is at work to perfect me. In all of life, I’m to be like Jesus . . .

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:1–6)

Being like Jesus isn’t easy. If I am kind and compassionate, tossing the money-changers out of the temple seems so contrary. If I am strongly against sin, then forgiving someone caught in sin runs against my concept of a holy and just God. Obviously, this is reason to focus on Jesus. Otherwise I may do what comes easy rather than obey the Spirit of God especially when His guidance does not make sense to me.

I can recall dozens of times when this happened. We were trying to rent a certain house by phone in another city. The house was rented to someone else. The Spirit insisted we call again. We moved in about a month later.

In Alaska, my hubby (often a spokesperson for the Holy Spirit) told me to call a store about a coat we saw on sale. I didn’t want to because the flyer said it would be. However, I obeyed and was assured it would have that lower price. But when I got there, it was marked back up at full price. I said, “But I called . . .” and was given the needed jacket at the sale price.

The problem with strong personal convictions or tendencies is that obeying Jesus can sometimes seem the wrong thing to do. When someone needs a hug and I want to give them a tongue-lashing or when someone needs a sharp rebuke and I give them a hug. When someone needs encouragement to move forward and I want to advise them to wait, or when someone needs to wait, and I tell them to go for it.

Being like Jesus requires at least these two things: keeping short accounts and being obedient. Short accounts means to quickly admit sin and rely on the Advocate to clear things with my Father. Without the intercessory work of Jesus, I have no access to the throne of God.

Obedience keeps me there. It keeps me in tune with what God is doing. He keeps me up-to-speed, so I can both hear and obey wherever I fit into His plans. Without Jesus, I cannot hear God. I cannot love Him or love others. I cannot ever care about His will. All of that comes from Jesus Christ who lives in me.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, You are all that I need. Being like You is certainly challenging, yet You are so powerful and so good that there is hope, even for me:

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” (1 John 3:1–3)