Author: Lynden McGriff

Walk the Talk

Todays Reading:  James Chapter 1

As we enter the heart of summer, I am reminded of the years of the past with the down home family reunions. Being from Texas, we would have big family reunions that would last for the entire weekend.  The reunion would start with a gathering of relatives on Thursday evening.  On the following day, we would have a fish fry that would be sponsored by a cousin who would have just caught the fish that morning.  On Saturday, we would have the big gathering and barbeque, where you met family that you scarcely, if at all remembered.  But this was the purpose of the gathering, to meet your family from two to three generation past, present, and future.

Some of my precious and memorable moments were the conversations that you would have traveling to the reunion or during the late nights around the fire or in your great-aunt’s living room or kitchen.  These are the times you hear about your father’s youth or the cousins’ shenanigans. You also gain so much wisdom just by listening to your elders. For instance, here are some southern nuggets of wisdom: “Don’t let someone else pick your shade tree” and   “Let’s sit down and chew the fat”.  These are sayings that mean to choose your own way of living and being and let’s sit down and chat.

As we have traveled through our Biblejournal journey, we can see a little of the family reunion unfolding. Jesus, in all the gospels, is the gentle father who gives us advice and teachings in many forms: parables, examples, and direct action.  Then we have the uncles: Peter, Paul, John, and James.   Each of the uncles will give you different advice at different times and in their own fashion.  Paul is the uncle that has traveled the world and has different experiences that will relate to everyone in their own specific way.  Peter is the uncle that is calm and tells you the stories of times with Jesus and how things will be to come.  Then we have Uncle James.  He is the uncle that gives you the stories and then tells you the truth of the matter. He is the apostle that loves yet direct to the point.  This is sometimes the favorite uncle because you always know what he is thinking. James is the uncle that forces us to “Walk to the talk”.

Everyone has the opportunity to grow and mature. Sometimes it is easy to comply with the rules and policies.  At other times, it is harder to follow the rules to the law.  James asks us a Christians to not only know God and Christ, but to actually live, as we love them.  Throughout the book of James, he is reinforcing us to take deliberate and intentional actions to live our lives so that others may see God’s love in us.

A couple of nuggets that James gives are:

• Steadfastness: verse 1-4, 12
  • The true essence of a person is not discovered without some adversity or trails. When we are in the midst of hard, difficult, and challenging times this is the opportunity that we should be thankful and in awe of God’s presence in our lives.  It is once we have overcome that we are stronger and more capable of greater results.
• Ask God for Wisdom: verse 5
  • God is a loving Father and will give freely all that he has, but we have to ask for the gift.He is ready to give wisdom, knowledge and peace when we ask it.  We have been conditioned from the exit of Eden to shy away from God, but this is the time that he wants to bless us and we have to be sure of our relationship that he WANTS to bless us
• God is good and perfect and doesn’t want to tempt us : verse 17
  • We as humans and Christians are fallible and will fall often. It is not that God wants us to fail, but the desire of our hearts sometimes quiets the voice of God.  His presence is always there and he will give us an alternative whenever we are tempted, we just have to listen and be receptive.
• Quick, Slow, Slow: Verse 19
  • This sounds like a dance routine, but it is the verse “Be QUICK to hear, SLOW to speak, SLOW to anger”.
• True Religion
  • James puts the purest definition religion:
    • James 1: 27: religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
  • Doing good to those who are not able to provide for themselves is the Truest Religion

May we blessed to listen and follow these recommendations from James to bring God’s grace and love to those we interact with. Amen

 

Todays Reading Acts 27

Water.  This integral element has been an essential part of creation from the beginning of existence.

Genesis 1:2

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Through water we are borne, purified, and sanctified.  Water can be manifested in many ways: seas, lakes, rivers, dew, rain, and storms.  In these many different forms water can embody both: order and chaos. Order manifested as rivers, lakes, and seas: water is used for food, transportation, and cleansing.  Chaos manifested as rain, tempest and storms it can bring refreshment, cleaning, and clarity.

Throughout the bible, God uses storms to get our attention and bring a new revelation to our current situation.  God has many types of storms to get us to refocus and look to Him. The first storm that is mentioned is the storm with Noah. God uses this storm as a communication tool.  He used the storm and the flood to communicate His sadness of the people who wanted to turn away from Him and submit to their own desires and God offers this salvation to the world through cleansing.  Another time that God uses the storm as a communication tool is with Jonah.  During the time that Jonah is trying to escape his duties and obligations, God send a tempest to the sea where Jonah is traveling.  This allows God to communicate to Jonah, but it also is used as miracle moment where the sailors start to praise God for the awesome powers that they witnessed.

In the new testament, God through Jesus, shows the true power of Christ amid several storms.  These storms are demonstration devices.  In Matthew 8 and 14:

Matthew: 23- 27

²³ And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. ²⁵ And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” ²⁶ And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. ²⁷ And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

 

Matthew 14:23- 27

When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴ but the boat by this time was a long way^[b] from the land,^[c]beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. ²⁵ And in the fourth watch of the night^[d] he came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

These instances were demonstrations of the complete and ultimate power that Christ possess in the bible and in our lives.

In Acts 27, as Paul is coming to the closure of his mission, he is sent to Rome to be persecuted by Caesar.  In the previous chapters, Paul makes his case to Agrippa and then is sent to Rome by ship.  This trip takes several months to complete.  During this time, Paul can communicate and share the gospel with many of the crew members and the guards from Rome.  They all know this man as a decent man, but he is still considered a prisoner and not truly worthy of any grace.  But God uses this opportunity to produce some amazing miracle moments.

• Be strong in your convictions and knowledge of whose you are:
• • Acts 27: 21- 25: “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss.²² Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. ²³ For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, ²⁴ and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ ²⁵ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told
  • We to listen to direction from God and his messengers to be delivered and saved
    • Acts 27: 30- 32: And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow,³¹ Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” ³² Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go.
• When the time for deliverance is ready, we must be ready
  • Acts 27: 33-34: “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing.³⁴ Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength,^[f] for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” 

In all the storms that we have seen in the bible and in our lives, we should inquire: What is the revelation that God is presenting to me: Is it a communication tool, a demonstration device, or a miracle moment?   When we allow God to reveal this to us, then we must then be strong in our relationship with God and know that this is something that will create a deeper relationship and expand our work through Him.

 

Today’s Reading Acts 17

 

The Book of Acts is the periodical record of the apostles that chronicles the various journeys and adventures that they encountered.  In this particular adventure Paul and Silas were traveling through several cities and territories that in are someway common and foreign to the travelers.  The principle cities were Thessalonica and Athens. These two cities were very different from each other.  We are familiar with both either from biblical or historical significance.

We are familiar with Thessalonica from the books of the bible.   This is the city that Paul has written to on two separate accounts to the Church established there.  The purpose of the letters were to assure and clarify for the early Christians that the second coming of the Messiah will happen, but there is not a particular set time and they must continue their faith journey in the midst of persecution and unrest in the city.  In Chapter 17, the expectation of the travelers was that the people of Thessalonica would be open and receptive to the news of the gospel from their strong Jewish heritage and open and eager to advance their knowledge of Scripture and the fulfillment of the Scriptures. This however was the complete contrast at what happened. The Jewish people and the city officials began to persecute the travelers.  They not only forced them from their city, but when they became aware of the continued travels of Paul and Silas they continued to pursue the group. The theme of similar people persecuting each other is continued even after Christ has come into the world.

The second place that is mention is Chapter 17 is Athens.  This is one of the epicenters of higher and intellectual thoughts in the ancient world. Many of the known philosophers and thinkers that created logical understandings are found here: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle’s.  This is the capital of Ancient Greece.  This city is founded on the belief that the goddess Athena created the city.  This is a city that has several gods and goddesses that rule them and they worship.  Even in the chapter Paul refers to one of these

Acts 17:22-25 “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,^[c] 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

To this city and people, Paul was hesitant and somewhat cautious to this unknown.  This is a city whose existence is based on strong theology and dogma. This is an area that would create some anxiety to the unprepared, but Paul was prepared and courageous in his pursuit of proclaiming the gospel in the face of complete persecution, until death.  In this city Paul not only create a new church, but was pursed to continue to give more information about the risen Christ.

 

It is interesting that the known is sometimes the place we would receive so much opposition, and the unknown is the place that God allows us to grow and flourish in proclaiming his goodness and grace.

 

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for allowing us to be bold and courageous in all that we do in your name.  Thank you for the protection in the places that are unknown and known. Allow us to listen to the Holy Spirit for guidance in the midst of friend and foe. And thank you for the guidance to stand firm in our beliefs no matter the circumstances: for sometimes were blessed by foes and cursed by friends.  Thank you for your provision and protection. Amen

 

 

Today’s Reading Matthew 27

 

Webster defines Justice as 

1a: the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments meting out justice -social justice

b: JUDGEa supreme court justice—used as a title Justice Marshall

c: the administration of law a fugitive from justice especially  : the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity a system of justice

2a: the quality of being just, impartial, or fair questioned the justice of the their decision

b(1): the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action

(2): conformity to this principle or ideal: RIGHTEOUSNESSthe justice of their cause

c: the quality of conforming to law

3: conformity to truth, fact, or reason: CORRECTNESS

 

There are a couple of ways to look at the chapter and decide where is the justice and how it is applied. In the superficial and most poignant account of the Gospel, Jesus is the main defendant on trail and is sentenced to death.  But from a different perspective we can see our SIN, as the one on trial.

Paul account of the justice and account of sin is so profound in Romans that every ounce of the book of Romans clearly spells out that the justice and justification of the Passion of Christ for us in simply Devine mercy and grace.  In Romans 6: 23: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So with this information as we review the high points on Chapter 27, can we ask ourselves “Is this the true justice that is due to our sins that we commit continually?”

 

• Verse 23

Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³ And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

• Verse 26

Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged^[c] Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

• Verse 28

And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand.

• Verse 30

And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 

• Verse 35

And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 

These are a few of the examples that our sin was subjected in order to produce the love and passion that Christ had and has for us today.  Christ was not on trial, He was the vessel that held the Sin that we all have committed to God was on trial.  He was the only perfect vessel that would be able to properly cleans our Sins and reset the relationship with God.  Sin ultimately was on trial and Christ was the final victim.  Through this perfect sacrifice a Savior who was not shown justice in this human form has justified us.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for Your amazing sacrifice and trading our sin for justice.  Thank you for justifying us when we continually are not capable of producing this justice for ourselves.  Amen

 

 

 

 

 

Todays Reading : Mark 9

 

While preparing and researching for the blog today, I came across several headings and overall topics.  The heading that I found most interesting was “Slow Learners”. I think that this is intriguing because in the grand scheme of things we collectively are perpetual learners and sometimes others grasp ideas faster than others.  From the beginning of our journey from birth until we pass away we are learning in this Faith University.  Currently we are in the midst of graduation season, which makes me reminiscence of undergrad and graduate school.

The formal ceremony that the graduates attended is called Commencement.  It is the beginning of their journey with this newfound knowledge and confidence. Many will go into the world and succeed without question, yet there are many who continue to have life lessons that will allow them to continue to grow and mature.  The latter set understands that the process that started them at the beginning is not finite, yet a continual process.  These individuals see that the process might be slow, but the reward is great.

One particular time that I remember very well in undergrad as a Slow Learner is Organic Chemistry II.  This was a class that was required for my degree program. I enjoyed the class, but the lab session always created new adventures in learning.  Many of the labs were multi-week labs.  So you would start a certain portion of the lab, allow it to mature, then on the returning week the completion of the lab is finished and your results would be recorded.  Almost 90% of the time, my second week lab had some type of mishap that would happen and I would have to stay several hours later to complete the lab.  The only saving grace that made me smile during these weeks was the final product would be correct and the yield within the required range.

In Mark Chapter 9, Jesus is continually teaching his disciples some of the most important aspects of the journey in this Faith University.

• Take time to experience the presence of God without questions, concerns, or haste.
  • In Mark 9 : 2-6 : ² And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,³ and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one^[a] on earth could bleach them.⁴ And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.⁵ And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi,^[b] it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁶ For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
  • God does not need our outward show of grandeur or pomp; he just wants to share time with us. Sometimes He gives us a glimpse of Glory.

• Remember in all things enter any situation with prayer.
  • Mark 9:27 -29  ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. ²⁸ And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁹ And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”^[e]
  • After several of years with Christ the disciples had forgotten the basis of all the lessons: prayer. They had been given the Spirit to heal and cast out demons, but they had forgotten that the communication and relationship with God is the true power of the process.  It is more about the communication and relationship than the results.

• Open your mind to the different ways God will bless you.
  • Mark 9: 38-41³⁸ John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,^[f]and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” ³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. ⁴⁰ For the one who is not against us is for us.⁴¹ For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
  • Sometimes we forget that God chooses to bless us in the most amazing and uncommon ways. Let us pray that we allow God to open our eyes and soften our hearts to receive the blessings He has for us no matter how they are given to us.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for allowing us to have this journey in this Faith University and continue to teach and strengthen us daily.  God, thank you for being the Master teacher and mentor who will guide us through every possible hurdle with love and compassion.

 

 

Today’s Reading Matthew 6

 

Over the last several years, I have come to embrace the concept of the Reset.  It is a concept that allows you to manage the complexities of life with a reasonable expectation of change.   The definition of insanity is where you continue to repeat the same thing over several repetitions with the expectation that things will change.  The concept of Reset knows that the result will have an impact at a later time, yet not instantaneously.

I became familiar with the concept in the beginning of my career as a pharmacist.  At one of my first assignments as a newly credentialed pharmacist, I had the opportunity to work with many different individuals. One such individual would consistently finish a closing shift with everything in disarray.  Each morning after the individual worked, I would have to open the pharmacy, which was in a state of chaos and flux.  After a couple of weeks of this behavior, I allowed myself to listen to the concept of RESET.  I would come into the pharmacy without being disgruntled and upset and saw it as a chance to RESET the pharmacy and then create a place of healing and peace. This allowed me to take control of the situation and not allow others to determine my overall mindset and spirit.

Over the last several weeks, we have been able to enjoy the risen Christ and the Easter season. Until recently, I did not know that the season of Easter is 50 days, which span from Easter Sunday to the day of Pentecost.  This is a season of RESET.  Christ has reset the complete bounds of death and sickness and darkness.   Before the Passion and the cross, Christ was teaching about the RESET in his Sermon on the Mount.

In Matthew Chapter 6, Christ is resetting our perspectives on several critical points in life: Giving, Prayer, Fasting, Money, and Worry.  Anyone of these items would and can cause chaos in the absence of Christ in the first century.  These same items that are preached on at the mountaintop are some of the items that we still have issues with today if we are not in the company of Christ.  Even if we are in true devotion of Christ these five things still shake us daily, but we have a anchor in Christ to keep us focused.  So how does Christ walk through these five:

• Giving: Give without being boastful and give with a sincere heart. It’s not for the outside to know how much or how often you are giving.  God sees the heart and not the hand.
• Prayer: God knows the desires of the faithful and the prayers of your heart before you can create the words.  It is not the performance of the prayers, yet the time spent in devotion with him.
• Fasting: God does not take pleasure in your hurting and suffering as a show, but he wants the time of your devotion from other things( fasting) and focusing the time on Him. He will provide all of the things that you need for growth and survival and prosperity.
• Money: God creates the opportunity for you to have wealth and prosperity.  He doesn’t want money or riches.  He creates these with the spoken word, he wants you to desire His presence as much as the riches the world desire.
• Worry: When we RESET our purpose and understanding, then worry will cease to be.  We know that we will be cared for and reside in the promise that God has for us.  This knowledge will then allow us to not focus on the unknown, yet embrace the being of God.

Father,

As we reflect on the Sermon on the Mount, we see that is relevant today as it was when you spoke these words into existence.  Allow us to not get caught up in the chaos of the world, but be able to allow the Holy Spirit to RESET us daily in the knowledge of your mercy and grace. Amen

 

Todays Reading : Isaiah 52

The two elements that I think about during Easter are the bread and wine.  Two items that were the reminder of the Passover feast have become the representation of Christ’s new covenant with us.  But the choices of these elements werevery intentional and purposeful.  Christ chose these to give us a true representation of the sacrifice and process that would be necessary for our salvation.

During the traditional Paschal Feast, a lamb has to be sacrificed and the blood placed on the doorpost of the family to show that there had been proper sacrifice to atone for the sins of the family.  The process of sacrificing a lamb begins with the lamb being brought into the house of the family.  The lamb is brought into the house four days before the sacrifice. This originally was to emphasize the meaning of the sacrifice to the Egyptians, but then it became a symbol of the closeness that you had to be to the sacrifice.  The lamb had an intimate bond with the family and you knew the cost of the life given for you.  The lamb was taken care of and not harmed before the sacrifice.  Jesus was familiar with this custom as he was practicing his faith; but, he is revealing a new type of intimacy and price for sacrifice.

The elements that he intentionally uses are common among the people and they also have strong meanings.  Bread has been for several centuries the sign of health and food. Many times the people were so hungry that they only had a small piece of bread to eat and sometimes it was not available daily.   But Jesus had a different view of bread.  The seed of the wheat, first, has to be buried before it sprouts new life. Then once the wheat has grown, it has to be harvested and threshed.  The outer coating of the seed has to be broken to allow the inside of the seed to be use for nourishment.  Next the seed has to be crushed and grounded into a powder or flour.  Next the flour has to be worked until it is suitable for the loaf.  The process that transforms the seed into the bread, completely changes the form and the nature of the wheat.

The next element that he uses for the new covenant is the wine. Wine has for ages been the vehicle for celebrations, healing and ceremonies.  From ancient times to the modern times, wine was used to purify water in order to make it potable.  But the process of making wine is a very intricate process.  The vinedresser finds the correct fruit and then properly harvests the grapes.  Then the grapes are placed in a wine vat and pressed with extreme hard labor that crushes the skin and the essence of the grape.  The result is pulp and juice.  Then the juice and the pulp are stored for a time until the correct amount of fermentation has occurred and then the wine is ready to consume.

With the understanding of these elements it is easy to understand the verse of today: Isaiah 52:13-15

Behold, my servant shall act wisely;^[b]
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
¹⁴ As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
¹⁵ so shall he sprinkle^[c]many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.

Jesus was preparing us in the last supper for the transformation that was about to take place.  He was showing us that these were the true representation of His body and what was going to happen to it.  The process of his sacrifice was going to be unlike that of the traditional Paschal Lamb, he would have to endure a process that would change the physical, emotional and spiritual forms to produce something that was more power. He would not be recognized after the process.  “As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.”  This was the preparation to the eternal.  This is one reason that the women who came to see him after the resurrection didn’t recognize him, because they saw the marred and crushed body of the Messiah before he was transformed.   I am thankful for the sacrifice and the transformation of the body for my salvation.

Father,

Thank you for the awesome sacrifice and humility you endured to save us.  Thank you for the redemption and the elements to remind us of the love, power and glory you have.  Thank you for the remembrance of your victory over death and sin.  Amen.

 

Daniel’s longest night

Daniel Chapter 6

Over the last eight years, Jillian and I have had many long nights with our three children.  There have been nights where the kids have caught a virus or an illness and we are up all night with either child.   These nights have come and go as most parents can attest, but there have been some nights that have truly tested our faith. One particular night is when Oliver was in the hospital when he was six weeks old and had a procedure to secure nutrition.  He had to have a specialized intravenous preparation to give him the essential nutrients for his body to heal.  The procedure that her had to undergo would place an intravenous line directly into his heart and then he would be able to get the medication.  While in the procedure room with him the medical staff informed me that the next hours will be critical because of the risk of his body not maintaining the proper temperature and the risk for infection. After the procedure was completed, we returned to our room.   In the middle of the night we were woken with alarms in the room that he had dropped in temperature.  The drop was so significant the team had to use extraordinary measures to stabilize his body temperature and vital signs.  This was the longest night that I can remember.

In this chapter of Daniel, Daniel is presented with a long night as well.  To the causal onlooker, life and death are weighed in the balance, but for Daniel this was another opportunity to show God’s love and grace. In the previous chapters, God has revealed many times before that the circumstances that we are present with are chances for God to do some amazing work: for both you and the other person.   At this point in the journey Daniel is approximately 80 years old.  He has seen the height of the Jewish authority; been exiled into a new land; made high officer in three different kingdoms; interrupted and conveyed the hardest information to ruthless kings.  Through all of these years and experiences Daniel has seen the glory of God and how these situations worked out for God’s Glory.

Daniel  2: 46

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. ⁴⁷ The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 

 

Daniel 3: 28

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside^[f] the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”

 

Daniel 4:1-3

King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you! ² It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

³ How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and his dominion endures from generation to generation.

At the beginning of the chapter, Daniel is reappointed to the highest position in the kingdom and is not admired by many except the new king Darius.  Darius makes proclamations about praying to other entities and deities, except for him.  This proclamation backfires on the relationship that Darius has with Daniel and Daniel is sentenced to the lions’ den.  This is a punishment that others have seen as ultimate condemnation for the acts against the king.  But this a final testament of the faith of Daniel, he was blessed by God to survive the punishment.

As we go through our journeys we will face many difficult and dark times.  Some we are able to navigate easily and others may be challenging, but we must always remember that when we have a relationship and have an unwavering faith in God, we will come out in the morning with renewed sense of self and bountiful blessings.