Tag: My Idenity is in Christ - Daniel 1-6

Daniel 1:7

And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

Tag: My Identity is in Christ

The world wants to identify who we are, or should be. The world puts out images of what we should look like. The world tries to shape our being and influence our thinking of what our body types should be; what our hairstyle should look like; what success looks like.  They are, in essence, trying to do what the Babylonians tried to do with the Hebrew slaves: Change their identity.  In the above passage we see that one of the first things they did was change the names of these four Hebrew boys.   Note what one commentator says about this "re-naming" issue:

(World Biblical Commentary)

Like most OT names, all three are theophoric. In other words, each has a divine element in it: either “El” (-el), which means “God,” or “Yah” (-iah), which is an abbreviated form of “Yahweh,” the proper name of Israel’s deity. Daniel means “El is my judge”; Hananiah, “Yahweh is gracious”; Mishael, “Who is what El is?”; and Azariah, “Yahweh has helped.” The chief official changed their names to Babylonian ones (1:7) since they were now servants of the Babylonian king. Daniel became Belteshazzar, which probably means “protect his life.” The Akkadian forms and meanings of Shadrach and Meshach are not clear. Perhaps they were deliberately obscured by the biblical writer because they contained the names of pagan gods. Abednego may be a corruption of abed-nabu, meaning “servant of [the god] Nabu.” Just as there is no struggle recorded over the curriculum, so there is no objection raised about their names, even though they may be pagan.

If the names themselves are not transparent, the significance of the naming is. It shows the dominance of the Babylonians over the Jews. Only one in power may rename another. Adam gave names to the animals, demonstrating that he had dominion over them (Gen. 2:20). God, the divine sovereign, sometimes changed the names of people: Abram to Abraham (Gen. 17:5), Sarai to Sarah (Gen. 17:15), and Jacob to Israel (Gen. 32:28). Also, human kings show their sovereignty in this way. Pharaoh Neco not only decided to replace King Jehoahaz with Eliakim, but he also changed his name to Jehoiakim (2 Kgs. 23:34). Similarly, Nebuchadnezzar put Mattaniah on the Judean throne when he took Jehoiachin into exile, and he changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah (2 Kgs. 24:17). A closer parallel to Daniel is Joseph, whose name was changed by Pharaoh to Zaphenath-Paneah when he came into royal service (Gen. 41:45).

The world wants us to conform to their image just as in this story.   So, God can and does not want that for us.  In Romans 12:1-2 we are told to NOT conform to the image of this world.  That was the challenge for Daniel and his three friends.  They served God and, even though renamed by the Babylonians, they refused to believe and therefore act like that Babylonians.  

Tag: Persuasive Speech - Proverbs 16

Proverbs 16:23 (ESV)

The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious

and adds persuasiveness to his lips.

Proverbs 16:23 (NASBStr)

The heart of the wise instructs his mouth

And adds persuasiveness to his lips.

Proverbs 16:23 (NIV)

A wise man’s heart guides his mouth,

and his lips promote instruction.

Solomon (and writers of Scripture in general) use the"heart of the wise", frequently (Solomon uses it four times, himself; see Proverbs 10:8; 16:21; 23:19).  In this proverb Solomon is making a familiar connection: Mouth, Heart, Lips.   The ingredients are familiar, as well: Wisdom, Instruction, Persuasion.   When we have the fear of The Lord in our hearts, we will have instruction coming from our mouths, and that will produce fruit, persuasion, on our lips.   Solomon is a product of this recipe.   The Queen of Sheba came to Solomon seeking wisdom.  Solomon let it role off his lips.   Nebuchadnezzar came to Daniel seeking it.  Daniel let what was in his heart (the fear of The Lord) roll of his tongue.   Joseph spoke the wisdom of his heart to Pharaoh.   If we wish to speak truth to our neighbor we need to have wisdom in our hearts.  If we have wisdom in our hearts we can be assured we will provide truth to those who ask an answer about the hope that is in us.  It all begins with the wisdom in our hearts.  It WILL produce persuasive language that is worthy for our hearers to hear.  In the ESV and NASB translations there seems to be more of an emphasis of "my adding" this to my life.   The character of the Proverbs is that there is more of a connection to the "fear of the Lord" in and the "great speech" out.   The connection of the heart to lips can't be ignored.   Those who have a heart for God can be assured they will have lips of knowledge for those who ask.  

Tag: We are His Sheep - Psalm 93-95

Psalms 95:6-7

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

Today, if you hear his voice,

Tag:  We are His Sheep

We are to praise God because He is both worthy to be praised (our Maker) but also because we are His people, His sheep.    He is our creator and possessor.  Today we don't think of God in the concept of "possessing" us.   Paul often called himself the "servant" of Christ/God.  He knew that God was the owner of all things, the creator of all things.  Note:

Colossians 1:15-17

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

When God calls us His sheep He is not insulting us.  He is simply establishing that we are His to be cared for.   Yes, sheep are not smart animals.  Yes, sheep will wander away.  Yes, she NEED someone to care for them.   But, the beauty in the above passage is that God takes ownership for us.  We have nothing to fear since God owns us and that obligates Him to care for us.  Yet, He does not do so out of obligation, but rather out of love.  For that we can rejoice.   

Tag: History Matters to a Place Today - 1 Chronicles 1-4

1 Chronicles 1:1-4 (NASBStr)

 Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Why does God include all the genealogies in the Bible?  What is the purpose of this book starting out with four chapters of names of people, we probably don't care to know?   It is important to understand the purpose of 1 and 2 Chronicles prior to reading all these names.   Even though God's Word says that ALL of it is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction (2 Timothy 3:16,17), we don't always see it.   When the book was written the nation of Israel was being allowed to return to the promise land after years of captivity under three different leaders/countries.   As they made their trek back to Israel in general and Jerusalem specifically, they found themselves without the structure and leadership of the past.   They had NO king.   They were under the rule of the King of Persia and had no political or distinctive Jewish structure.  The temple was destroyed, the city in ruin and the leadership gone.  Were they still significant as a nation?   Did they still matter to God?   Were the covenants with God still in effect and viable to trust?   These are all questions those returning were asking.   The chronicler wanted to remind them of where they came from and how special they were to God. He wanted to show them how they got where they were (including the disobedience).  He wanted to trace their steps back to the past so they could fully grasps the future.   Most people don't like family reunions.   Especially the younger generation.   This book is a paper trail family reunion.   It is written to show them they are connected with the past and still significant for the future.  For the church today and the believer it is important to remember the connection God's plan has with the past.  Nothing will derail what God has planned. His interaction in history has a purpose and it is all connected.  Each name we read is important to God and a small piece of His plan.  Just as our day-to-day walk with Him matters to us it matters to Him.  Our each step is ordained by God to accomplish His complete plan.  We are tied to the past; the past is significant for the future.   Don't simply forget it.   It matters to God.  It should matter to us.   These names matter to God.  But, more important to the reason the book was written, God wanted the people know He knew them and that He was in this with them.   When putting a culture back together you have to give them a sense of their past (the Lover archetype) and a place in history.   To start something (in this case a new Israel ... in their own land),  you have to know you belong to something greater than yourself.  

Tag: Owned by God - Leviticus 25-27

Leviticus 25:55

For it is to me that the people of Israel are servants. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Tag:  Owned by God

The entire book of Leviticus (and the entire Law, for that matter) is based upon the premise that God "owns" the people of Israel.  God "redeemed" them when He rescued them from Egypt.   God "choose" them when they were but seed in Abraham.   In Acts 7 when Stephen preached his one and only sermon, he spoke of the fact that God chose the nation of Israel:

Acts 7:2-3

And Stephen said:

“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’

You can't read the OT without understanding that God "owns" the nation of Israel.  Therefore, He, and He alone, can place claims on them.   In the NT believers in Christ are called, by Paul and other writers, Servants of Christ.  We are redeemed and therefore "owned" by Him.  We may operate under grace and not law, but the premise is still true: We are not our own, but we are "bought" with a price - the blood of Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:20).   It is only after we confess, believe and live in light of our redemption can we fully understand and follow God's demands for living.  We are His.  Therefore our serving Him is out of gratitude for what He did for us in the redemption process.  

Tag: Growing to Know Him More and More - 1 Thessalonians 4-5

1 Thessalonians 4:1-2

A Life Pleasing to God

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

Tag:  Growing to Know Him More and More

There is a fundamental aspect of life to reach "completion" in something.   We go until the work is "done."  We strive until a goal is "reached."  We are measured and when we meet the measurement there is a sense of pride in the accomplishment.  We want 100% on the paper, project or path.   For then we know that we have done the job.   We tend to look at life like bowling.  The score of 300 is called a perfect game.  We can't do better than that.  In golf, however, there is no "perfect" score - there is just a lower score.  In that sport we are measured agains the score of others.   The Christian faith is more like golf and less like bowling.   In faith we have no score it hit to say we made it.  That was Paul's fear, however, for the Thessalonians when he wrote the above passage.  He wanted them to know that they have done a good job, SO FAR.  But, that they were to strive to know God and obey Him, MORE and MORE.  They were not to be content with a score better than others.  They were to strive for the holiness of God.  That is not a measure on this side of heaven we can reach.  So, we are always striving for it, "in the Lord" (meaning that only through the power of Christ can we strive and reach holiness).  Our desire is to know Him, however, more and more.  Each day to grasp a new facet of His character.  We are to "please" Him. Our goal is not to "please" others, but our goal is to please Him.  To make Him glorified in our lives.  That is the goal.  It can't be reached, but is to be strived for.  It will be reached in glory.  But, for now, we strive each day to know Him more and more. 

Tag: Signs and Belief in Jesus - John 1-2

John 2:11

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

John 2:18

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?”

John 2:23

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.

Tag: Signs and Belief in Jesus

In these three verses we have the same English word, "signs" used to describe a miracle of Jesus.  The first miracle was the water into wine. It was a manifestation of Christ's glory.   The reason? Christ would take a simple thing of water and turn it into a useful thing of wine to celebrate the wedding.   Christ work in our lives would be to turn our useless bodies into something for His glory.   Christ was demonstrating the transforming power He has.  The Pharisees would want a sign to know they should believe in Him.    At the Passover He healed and changed people's lives.   These "signs" would be the evidence that others needed to believe.   The final sign was Christ's resurrection from the dead.  That gives us the greatest sign we need.   When we realized He overcame and defeated death, what more of a sign does anyone need?   Later we would read from the words of the angel at the tomb, "He has risen!"    That is the final sign.   Today people want miracles.   The only miracle we need is that HE HAS RISEN!