As I mentioned last time we've just started a series at church looking at the first half of Daniel. One of the things that Daniel wants us to see is that God is working behind the scenes - all the way through Daniel he writes that things happen because of God. So even if Nebuchadnezzar thinks it is his power and might and military strength that has led to the successful invasion of Judah - it actually only happened because 'God delivered...'
When we experience bad days do we have the eyes of faith to see God working out his plans? To recognise the presence of God - even when it looks like he's no where around.
Daniel and his three friends were the best of the best. If anyone was going to be able to make a go of it in Babylon it was going to be them. They looked good. They were charming. They were intelligent. They had everything going for them. But at no point in the story do they allow this to go to their heads. They remain humble. They remember that everything that they have, and everything that they are able to do is down to God. God has given Daniel the supernatural ability to interpret dreams, but their other gifts and abilities and talents also come from God - and they never forget this. When things go well and they are praised - they reflect that praise to God.
On the good days do we give thanks to God - or do we sometimes fall into the trap of patting ourselves on the back and thinking that it is all about us. Do we start to rely on our own abilities and strengths, rather than continuing to look to God?
But most of us, most of the time will not have good days or bad days - they will just be typical, normal, mundane, boring, routine days. We do the same things we do everyday. We get up at the same time, we eat the same thing for breakfast, we take the same journey to work. And after a day in the office we return home, and watch the same TV and then we go to bed - in order to start it all over again the next day!
And I suppose one question for us is: do we have the eyes of faith to see God at work in the ordinary, in the mundane, in the routine? Are we looking for God? Are we waiting for him to show up? Do we see his handiwork in the spider's web on our walk to work?
God is there - on the good days, on the bad days and on the boring days. Another question might be - if God is there, can you have a boring day...
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Friday, 21 June 2013
Behind the scenes
This week I've been reading through the book of Daniel, getting ready for a new preaching series that will start this week looking at Daniel 1-6.
Yes - I do know that there are another 6 chapters at the end of Daniel. But - I only have 6 weeks, and our Holiday Bible Club, is based on Daniel 1-6 (Scripture Union's Space Academy) so I thought it would be good to study these chapters ahead of sharing it with the children in a few weeks time.
One of the themes that comes through is how God is always working just behind the scenes. This is true even when things don't look like it. When Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar, and Daniel was carried into exile it was because of what God did - not because of who Nebuchadnezzar was or what he had done.
Similar themes to those we saw last week with Revelation.
Although Daniel was a captive rather than a refugee watch the following video and then try to imagine some of the things that Daniel was feeling and thinking. Yet his faith remained strong as he saw (with the eyes of faith) the hand of God behind even this disaster in Israel's history.
Yes - I do know that there are another 6 chapters at the end of Daniel. But - I only have 6 weeks, and our Holiday Bible Club, is based on Daniel 1-6 (Scripture Union's Space Academy) so I thought it would be good to study these chapters ahead of sharing it with the children in a few weeks time.
One of the themes that comes through is how God is always working just behind the scenes. This is true even when things don't look like it. When Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar, and Daniel was carried into exile it was because of what God did - not because of who Nebuchadnezzar was or what he had done.
Similar themes to those we saw last week with Revelation.
Although Daniel was a captive rather than a refugee watch the following video and then try to imagine some of the things that Daniel was feeling and thinking. Yet his faith remained strong as he saw (with the eyes of faith) the hand of God behind even this disaster in Israel's history.
Monday, 17 June 2013
Dear John...
I imagine that out of all the various authors who contributed to the Bible, when it comes to the length of the queue of people waiting in line with their questions, Paul and John are going to have some of the longest queues. Even other New Testament authors admit that Paul is sometimes difficult to understand, and when it comes to Revelation... I wonder whether John might have two queues: one for 'questions on the gospel and the epistles' and a much longer queue for Revelation.
A couple of days ago I asked what questions you would ask if you could meet John face to face. Yesterday we tried to imagine that situation in church with the arrival of a time travelling John - who may have looked a bit like Father Christmas.
When I tell people that Revelation is one of my favourite books in the Bible they sometimes imagine that I therefore have an idea in my head about all the symbolism and images and can provide them with a time line of events that start now and end with judgement day. But when it comes to a lot of the detail of Revelation I don't have a clue.
But how much of the detail are we supposed to be able to work out - or is it ok to see the big picture and not worry too much about the detail? The big picture of Revelation is surely that Jesus is King (even now) and in the end God wins. Therefore there is an encouragement to persevere through hardship and a challenge not to be on the loosing side.
I also think that the way that Revelation is written means that wherever we live and in whatever age the truths about the world remain relevant. Revelation provides a peep behind the scenes into what is really going on - and what is really going on is that we live in a world that is opposed to God and his people. And this is true in countries where this is obvious (such as N Korea), but also in places where it is less obvious. Places where there is freedom of speech or freedom of religion but where the way things work favour the rich and the powerful rather than those on the margins, those without a voice, the poor...The challenge is then - how do I live as a follower of Jesus, how do I not get sucked into systems and ways of thinking that are opposed to God's values...
A couple of days ago I asked what questions you would ask if you could meet John face to face. Yesterday we tried to imagine that situation in church with the arrival of a time travelling John - who may have looked a bit like Father Christmas.
When I tell people that Revelation is one of my favourite books in the Bible they sometimes imagine that I therefore have an idea in my head about all the symbolism and images and can provide them with a time line of events that start now and end with judgement day. But when it comes to a lot of the detail of Revelation I don't have a clue.
But how much of the detail are we supposed to be able to work out - or is it ok to see the big picture and not worry too much about the detail? The big picture of Revelation is surely that Jesus is King (even now) and in the end God wins. Therefore there is an encouragement to persevere through hardship and a challenge not to be on the loosing side.
I also think that the way that Revelation is written means that wherever we live and in whatever age the truths about the world remain relevant. Revelation provides a peep behind the scenes into what is really going on - and what is really going on is that we live in a world that is opposed to God and his people. And this is true in countries where this is obvious (such as N Korea), but also in places where it is less obvious. Places where there is freedom of speech or freedom of religion but where the way things work favour the rich and the powerful rather than those on the margins, those without a voice, the poor...The challenge is then - how do I live as a follower of Jesus, how do I not get sucked into systems and ways of thinking that are opposed to God's values...
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)