No Matter What

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When King Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem he made sure to preserve the best of her population and forced them to live in Babylon. Daniel and his friends, Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah were among them. You may recognize these latter three by the names King Nebuchadnezzar "gave" them, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. King Neb (can ya blame me for the abbreviation?) wanted captives to become Babylonians, fully immersing them in the culture and customs...names and all.

The three men had been promoted to governmental positions thanks to God and
their friend Belteshazzar, or Daniel. Apparently, though, their positions meant little to the king.

During one of King Neb's "how great am I" moments, he demanded that all people, regardless of culture, religion, etc. would bow down to and worship a golden statue he'd erected after having a dream in which a similar statue was the subject. (Read Daniel 2 for that equally awesome story!) But back to the mandated worship time. Everyone was to bow down to the statue when they heard the music being played. Everyone did. Well, except for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. King Neb found out, asked them to bow again (just in case they hadn't heard correctly and didn't understand the ramifications of NOT bowing). They'd heard. They still refused.

King Neb didn't just get mad; he was irate. He ordered the furnace be stoked seven times hotter than usual and the men to be thrown in. The part of the story that grabbed me (yes, apart from throwing live humans in a furnace) was their reaction to the king's outrage and execution order: "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..."(Dan. 3:17-18) 

We know the story. God delivered the men; they were unharmed...didn't even smell like smoke. But, I guess all the times hearing/reading that story I didn't focus on the men's response. They were not going to forsake God, no matter what. They had no guarantee that they'd walk out of that furnace unscathed.

I thought about the fiery furnaces in my christian life...rejection and ridicule and more. That's scary.  However,  that's a smaller price to pay than burning alive, is it not? God may deliver us from our fiery furnaces, and He may not. It is up to us to be determined to be faithful to Him no matter what.

Daniel

Josh and I have watched most of the miniseries, "The Bible." The latest episode was about the prophet Daniel and his being taken to Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem. Daniel's trust in God and resolve to worship Him no matter what is tested time and again. I've never read the entire book of Daniel, so, I am. 

In my Life Application Study Bible a summary is given of each chapter. After the latest tragedy in Boston, imagine my pleasant surprise when reading this from Daniel's intro: "...International and personal tragedies make our world seem a fearful place, overflowing with evil and seemingly out of control. And the litany of bombings, coups, murders, and natural disasters could cause us to think that God is absent or impotent. "Where is God?" we cry, engulfed by sorrow and despair. Skip a little. God is sovereign...And he is here now! Despite news reports or personal stress, we can be confident that God is in control."

And those are an editor's words before I've even delved into the Scripture!! 

I honestly pray for faith like Daniel's...to trust God in the bleakest of times. And, I'm reminded of Christ's promise from Matthew 28:20: "...and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." 

I'll post more as I read through Daniel:)

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Finished the Book

I finished Singer's "The Judge." The second half wasn't as compelling as the first (somewhat repetitive, but then again, I find myself thinking lots of books are repetitive lately...weird), but it was still good, nonetheless. Ultimately, this book reminded me of how much I've yet to learn about the greatest book on Earth. God doesn't mince words when he tells us to be doers of the Word, not hearers only. How do we do what we don't know?

"Hiding Place"

It's so easy for me to say, "God, you're in control." It's another for me to actually stop worrying and truly allow him to work. I have become very aware of my own worrying as of late and find myself thinking of and going to Psalm 32:7..."Thou art my hiding place: thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah."

A Must, Gotta, Hafta Read

When you're reading a good book, what do you have to say about it...I just can't, or at least, don't want to...put it down! If Ronan is napping, I'm reading it; when everyone else goes to sleep, I'm reading it. At this rate, it'll probably take me weeks to finish, but I couldn't wait til then to share!

Quick premise...rich guy diagnosed with terminal illness, pays for the production of a reality tv show where the contestants must present, defend, and live their respective faiths...christian, muslim, hindu, buddhist, and scientist (Singer establishes real quick that science/christianity aren't mutually exclusive...)  

Aforementioned rich guy will determine how to enter the hereafter based on who wins the show...

There's a sinister plot behind the plot involving an Assassin, but don't let that deter you (you may be further intrigued, who knows?) But, the writing is good, and so far, the character, Finney's presentation of his Christian faith has been outstanding...powerful and beautiful. 

Worth your time.

Prayer Partner

Have you ever been called on to pray in public or even in front of a large group of family or friends and felt nervous heat immediately course through your veins? Is that just me? Why is that? One of my reasons is that I’ve heard what sound like great prayers from great men and women of God. They seem to use the right phrases, pray for the right amount of time (whatever that is), always remember the prayer requests, and they just pray…well…good! I worry too much about what the hearers around me will think when I pray aloud, rather than what is in my heart or what God will hear. That’s something I’m working on.

But even in my private prayer life, when I’m on my knees, in my car, walking through the grocery store, wherever I might be praying, I sometimes come up with…not much. I feel like I have a lot to say; my heart can be heavy, yet I still don’t know what to say. Leave it to God to solve that problem. Romans 8:26 reads: Likewise, the Spirit helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (KJV)

My Mom actually quoted this verse to me several months ago when I was struggling in my prayer life. I’ve gone back to it several times since and have taken comfort in these words. The Life Application Study Bible has this to say about the verse: “As a believer you are not left to your own resources to cope with problems. Even when you don’t know the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit prays with and for you…”. Wow!

Be Seen, Be Heard

In Matthew 21:17, the Herodians attempt to trick Jesus by asking him if it was okay to pay taxes since he put the ways of God above man's. His answer in Matthew 21:21, paraphrased, is to give Caesar what belongs to him and give to God what belongs to God. So, yep, it is lawful and Biblical to pay your taxes;) That's all well and good, but it's my Study Bible's commentary on this verse that caught my attention...entitled "Church and State." Uh-oh...that gets people riled up, talking about the two.

Church and State are both "divinely ordained institutions" and should be kept separate. BUT, separating the two does not mean that Christians shirk social responsibility. We should pay attention to our world, obey the laws by which we're governed, and pray for those in power...even aspire to be those in power (there are Christian politicians, aren't there?;)

Sharing the Important Stuff

For those of you who've known me for long probably have at least heard of, and may have even read "Subtle Saturday," my prequel blog! It didn't have much of a direction; I just wrote about this and that, observations, reservations, and as the subtitle suggests, a few revelations:) And I've been wanting so badly to write again, whether anyone reads it or not, but I want to write with a more defined purpose. So, "Saturday" is gone, and "Sunday" is here!

I intend for this blog to take a spiritual direction. I want to share scriptures I've read, thoughts I've had regarding those scriptures and, sometimes, the commentary accompanying them. I'd like to pose questions to anyone who's interested in discussing spiritual matters, and I'm super interested in gleaning wisdom and insight from others who are willing to share their own. So, even if you're not into commenting and sharing your own thoughts in this particular blogospot, I invite you to read a few posts!