Author: Ross Blumhorst

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the holiday season is finally upon us and the end this rollercoaster of a year is coming close. For those of us who haven’t already done so, it’s time to start preparing for Christmas. Time once again to put up the Christmas tree, pour yourself a cup of eggnog or two (or the whole bottle, in my case), get your gift ideas together, and build up the mental fortitude to get through what will be a very different Christmas season than usual. Among the rigor of what our culture seems to commodify into a more stressful holiday every year, we need more than ever to set aside this time to prepare our hearts for reflecting on the blessings of Christ this season.

Growing up in the Catholic Church, I remember lighting the candles on our Advent wreath every Sunday evening leading up to Christmas and weighing those serene, meaningful moments against the Scriptural theme of that morning’s service. The first candle symbolizing the hope we find in Christ’s promises, the second one our preparation for His return, the third the joy & celebration of His birth, and the fourth, the love we feel for our Savior, who came down to earth from heaven for our sakes. These lessons have reminded me every year since why we do all this at Christmas time, about how all the presents and decorations and festivities are secondary to our living Savior’s appearance.

Advent is a season of centering focus on Christ’s coming to earth, to give due diligence to the miracle of God humbling Himself by being among man; the incredible sacrificial love shown by sending His son to earth to die for our sakes. When Christians began celebrating Advent as a time of remembrance back in the 4th or 5th century, it has been a time of reflecting upon Christ’s promises, for preparing new Christians for baptism and for penitent prayer and dedication to studying the Lord’s word. It was as much an act of anticipation of Christ’s second return as His first, but at some point the focus turned more towards His birth.

Just as equally as His first coming to Earth, in this time, we can prepare for Christ’s second coming. While we traditionally use this time is for celebrating that quiet night many years ago, just as much as it is for readying for that day when Christ will make all things new and we will dwell with Him. It’s about looking back on the promises God has already fulfilled in Christ’s birth, as foretold in Numbers 24:17: “A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.”. But just as we celebrate God’s fulfilled promises, we proclaim our faith in the promises He still will fulfill, like in John 6:39 & 40: “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Just as we celebrate Jesus’s rise out of Israel, we can focus our hearts on Christ until that last day arrives.

So as we explore Scripture throughout Advent centered on Christ’s birth and prepare our hearts for the Christmas season, think about not only the joy and love Christmas morning symbolizes, but on the hope for salvation Christ’s return will herald, and the preparation our hearts and minds need to remain faithful amidst our exile until that day. Amidst the kindnesses we get ready to show our families and communities, we reflect on the perfect selfless act of Christ’s love, and for His deliverance to come. I pray God’s love fill all of you in this time, and may this Advent season be a thoughtful and penitent one as we use this season to focus on Christ as the center of our lives.

There is incredible power in good leadership. A parent firmly adhering to God-centered parenting can make an enormous difference in their child’s growth. A caring manager who listens and acts according to the strengths and best interests of their teams can skyrocket workplace productivity and morale. A politician who listens carefully to all constituents and works tirelessly to compromise on effective policy for all citizens can make any place much more harmonious and prosperous. So what happens when those who try to lead do so selfishly, with what serves them instead of what serves God and His people?

In John 10, when confronted about healing the blind man at the temple, Jesus uses an analogy about sheep listening and following their shepherd by the sound of his voice, and how the sheep safely enter and exit their pasture through the shepherd’s will. Others who seek to deceive and steal these sheep may sneak in, but the sheep will run from those they don’t recognize. He uses this to demonstrate what He has come to do: to be the rightful leader of God’s people how no one else could, in a way the thieves of God’s kingdom could never impede.

The context in which Jesus tells this story of people trying to falsely lead God’s people to destruction makes it a powerfully defiant move. The Pharisees have all gathered here together after Jesus restored the sight of a blind man, solely to judge the work of a man who has done this on the Sabbath in violation of the law. No celebration of this miracle, no thanking God for healing this man of his affliction. Just doubling down on demanding to know his sins and questioning Jesus for invalidating their authority. Then Jesus responds by telling how the sheep will flee from the voice of a stranger, how we may enter heaven only through Him, and those who came before were thieves and robbers.

This declaration that the Pharisees have failed in leading God’s flock is full of tough truth. They used their power and authority simply to enforce their rulings of the written law, rather than listening and obeying God’s commands and leading the people to Him. Unfortunately, Satan finds footing in the hearts and acts of even incredibly intelligent and apparently God-centered men like the Pharisees when they only act according to their own strength and knowledge.

It’s as written in 2 Corinthians 11: 13-14: “Such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” Or 2 Peter 2: “False prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” We are warned constantly in Scripture of those who would lead people seeking truth in the direction of destruction instead. And for good reason: 1 Peter 5:8 warned us, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” It only makes sense that the Devil would twist truth as an easy means to get into the hearts of men.

Instead, we must listen to Jesus’s words in verse 3: “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” We must first and foremost seek out Christ: for He is the Good Shepherd who has laid down His life for us, and only He has conquered death in the process. Only He can grant us passage into the Kingdom of Heaven, and only in Him can we never be separated from God. So we must look for wisdom and truth from Him; finding answers in Scripture and guiding each other to God’s word for the answers to our questions, rather than not looking past our flesh and feelings for guidance. We must be wary for sin in our own hearts, and search for support in fighting and defeating our sin only in Him who knew no sin, alongside those who mirror our same pursuit in both word and action.

Finally, I’d be remiss in not concluding this with a statement of thanks; it is that time of year to reflect on what we’re thankful for, after all. God gave us leaders in our families and communities for a purpose, but only He can lead us to everlasting life. Only Jesus Christ our savior can open the gate into the pastures of eternity, where we will never be snatched out of His hand. I am thankful today for our Good Shepherd, who would lay down His life for us so that we may reside with Him forever. I pray for renewal in our minds and hearts, that we would seek and follow only Christ’s voice now, that we may ignore the voices of all others who seek our demise, and steadfastness until our eternal reward with Christ has arrived.

I’ve been thinking lately about the effect my friend Hank has had on my spiritual journey recently. Hank is an older man at the small country church I grew up in, who helped out with the youth group back when I was in high school. He has been a very caring and good friend in the years since, especially in college as I struggled heavily with depression and anxiety and needed the help of a friend such as him. He frequently made hour-long trips to see me on the weekends to make sure I was fed, gifted me many books on thought-provoking and encouraging scripture-based life advice, and helped me find a new church in a new area when the peak of my social anxiety would have made that a monumentally difficult task on my own. He’s always been a good friend and a wise mentor in walking with Christ. Even now, Hank still seems to know when to send encouragement and kind words my way when I need it most, and even occasionally sends candy or coffee for my wife & I to enjoy together.

Above all though, Hank has shown me the profound effect of following Christ by example can have on others. When I think of the Christ-like example Hank has shown me, I think of Paul’s words in Phillipians 3:14-17: “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus… brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” Or in 1 Peter 4:8-10: “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” I think of how I’ve grown through the actions of Hank and others like him who’ve shown grace and love, acting as good stewards of the gracious gifts God’s given them, and using those gifts by outwardly building up others through example in their own walk with Christ, and through the words and wisdom they share. From experiencing Christ’s radical love shown through this form of mentorship, I have grown closer to Christ myself, learning and seeing the value of walking your whole life with Him. Hank’s love of Christ points me in Christ’s direction, and demonstrates the patient, kind love that only Christ offers. It also shows me through my first-hand experience, how important it is for me to teach and lead others through example by always living by Godly principles.

So today I offer a simple reminder of the importance of sharing what Christ has taught you with those around you. If through following Christ’s teaching at home with your children, mentorship of those younger than you at your church, or simply leading a life wholly devoted to Christ as an example for the younger generation, showing the change God has brought into your life never goes unnoticed, nor unrewarded. I really could never put it as well as Paul does in Phillipians 3:8 & 9: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” When your walk with Christ lead others to Christ and your help strengthen their relationship with Him, you are helping others find an immeasurable gift: peace with God. And what could be more rewarding and worthwhile that being a light to God’s shining glory?

I don’t need to tell you how peace has been tough to come by these days. Even before the COVID era, but especially throughout this time, it’s seemed as though every day, people find something new to be unnecessarily concerned about. It’s no wonder 40 million American adults suffer some kind of anxiety disorder (a number I’d be interested to see the increase of in these times!). I deal with anxiety a lot myself, as do a lot of my close family members and friends. That’s why I felt compelled to write this week about Isaiah 26:3: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

I’ve been keeping that verse close to my heart this year, and it has helped remind me constantly of what is important. As Isaiah was prophesying here about the Assyrians’ and Egyptians’ comeuppance for antagonizing the Israelites, he knew that more important than his own concern was that God was in control over all the heavens and earth, and that He would provide salvation and security no matter what. When I am gripped by worry and anxiety of the future and of the world around me, this verse points me to the Lord, who provides peace instead. And I know in those moments, God can take my troubles and replace them with songs of praise. “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. So what exactly does this verse tell me?

a) Peace, truly harmonious peace, comes only from Christ – not a momentary ease, but as Christ says in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.” In all things, the Lord satisfies more than our immediate physical need, not “as the world gives”, but serenity brought only by a trust greater than earthly sources could guarantee.

b) Perfect – as is all things from Him, God’s peace is infallible, incomparable. Psalm 18:30 “His way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true.” When I’m troubled by the reflection of a broken world, to know God’s promise of peace is not like the world’s temporary peace, offers assurance beyond what my words could describe.

c) To focus on God – it seems often like my anxieties come from focusing on myself, and my own selfishness. This reminder to shift perspective beyond myself helps me analyze my priorities – how can God use this situation? What good would this worry do for in my work for God? How is God moving me to action through this right now? I thank Paul for his reminder to Colossae in Colossians 3:1: “Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.”

d) Trust – to trust, not that I’ll be without worry, but that I can come to God and He will be there for me. It seems so many of my anxieties can be traced to a lack of trust. How useful it is to remind myself with this verse: trust that God’s got this! That we would have a friend, a confidant, a source of comfort in God, Who we could pour our hearts out to and know He is listening and He guides us through it: that is peace!

In these reasons and more this verse helps point me to God in times of anxiety and stress, to know I can take my worry to Him and He’s got it taken care of. I thank the Lord that He turns these many worries into songs of praise. I thank Him that he would give me opportunities to share with others where my peace comes from, that I could tell of a perfect, soul-filling tranquility from heaven to those who need to know. And I pray that you too could focus on God over all else, and when inner harmony would seem nowhere to be found, that in Christ you would find peace.

John 3:16; one of the greatest messages and reminders we have today of God’s love. We may all be considered the children of God as John 1:12 would put it: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” Yet only Him – the Him this verse displays the light and radiance of, the one John 1:14 goes on to speak of saying “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus – the Word of God, the Word that commands all else; a glory we know that gives us hope, that we would gladly give our lives to; this is God’s only Son, the only Begotten of God, the true light that would light our way, the only one worthy to atone in sacrifice for the weight of all men’s sins; that is the Son of God who died for us!

But though we may call ourselves children of God, only Jesus Christ alone is unique Son of God and Son of Man, part of the Holy Trinity, the Godhead, three in one. Tracy had an invigorating journal earlier this week about God being absolute, perfect truth, revolving around John 14:6: “Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” I thought of that verse while writing this too; only in Christ can we find salvation. Only through Him can we hope to come to & know God. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:5: “ For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Who else is worthy to stand in front of God on our behalf? When our own sin damns us, who else but the perfect, true Son of God would be able to grant our pardon from what we’ve deserved? Only Jesus Christ, Son of God, could save us!

There is none other like Jesus; no one else to live a sinless life in the flesh, who could satisfy the wrath of God. No other could step down from heaven to earth, and demonstrate to us what it means to be different from the world. In prayer today, I thank God for His Son, the one and only, who did what no other man could do for us: dying a death in the flesh so we may live a life beyond it. I praise God for the unique role He set aside for Christ, and I praise Christ for being willing to step up to that role for us. I humble myself in awe at the magnitude of His plan, of His perfection, and pray a simple prayer that in this perfect love Christ showed, I could look and learn a little more every day how to love more like Him. I hope you can join me in this prayer as well. Together, may we flood a world in need with a love resembling His unique love for us.

We recently stayed with my wife’s family while traveling, and while praying over a meal, her stepmom specifically asked “that Satan would have no hold here,” which has been on my mind since. In the line of Philippians 4:6, we experience the power of prayer in our home all the time, and have seen how God answers our constant pleas for help with worry, anxiety, and freedom from sin. But this one line in our family prayer got me thinking about finding complacency in God’s protection. It’s a trap I occasionally find myself falling into: that feeling of security and protection leads to me being lax in focusing on God, which the deceiver can so adeptly slip through. It’s nice to have those occasional reminders of our need for vigilance. It’s as 1 Peter 5:8 says: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

In all ways the devil can attack us, God offers protection. 2 Samuel 22:3 says “my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.” Or Psalm 9:9, “The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” Or Psalm 27:1 – “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear; The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Though his evil may constantly hound us, God offers no sway to the deceiver. In times of turmoil, our God is our stronghold, our impenetrable fortress to hold against any siege. In all times, Satan can find a hold on our hearts if we let our guards down and try to find safety and security in our own means. It happens to me time and time again, as will everyone else admit to sometimes: it just seems to be our prideful nature that lets us believe we’re doing ok and don’t need any help. But as time and time again have shown… no, we can’t. Only in God, our stronghold, comes victory over evil. It requires embodying such reminders as James 4:7, “submit yourselves to God; resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Or as Paul says in Ephesians 4:27, “give no opportunity to the devil.” Those constant prayers for no holds for the devil, that reliance on Biblical foundations, on God’s power over evil are where our hope lies.

When a stronghold is well-maintained and well-stocked, it can outlast sieges from even the largest of armies over extended periods of time. But our enemy has been telling lies and spreading for far longer than we’ve been around. When we try to build our own defenses against the sadness and pain of this world on our own, surely Satan will find a way to tear them down. But God is our perfect stronghold, our defense, our shelter; when we surrender our lives to His calling, He upholds His promise of guidance through the pain and oppression and times of trouble this sinful, broken world besieges us with. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 says it well: “the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” Only in God will we find a safety and a home that stretches beyond this life & overcomes death. As Paul says, we must be watchful; always reliant on God, always focused on a pure heart of service towards Him that we may give the devil no hold. Today, I implore you to extend this prayer we shared with your own families: that God would be your stronghold against the evils of this world, that He would protect your hearts and minds from the many lies of Satan, keeping hearts devoted to Christ that would make the devil flee in terror.

One of God’s traits I keep coming back to over and over in my reading, writing, and thoughts is His sovereignty. To know my God is our sovereign God – the rightful, unquestionable, unrestrained leader, creator, decider, and controller of all –  has been a priceless comfort in this life. When I am overwhelmed with the state of the world; when I feel powerless to the happenings in my life outside my control; when I feel not up to the task of handling things I can control on my own; when my own negativity and pessimism drown out all other rational thoughts; when my sorrow and grief feels discordantly crushing; every time these things happen, I learn more and more the value of belonging to the Lord, instead of relying on myself for these things. Romans 8:28 reminds us, “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” When God is singular Lord over us and all that ails us, we know in all these things we further experience His goodness and His holiness by trusting those facts over ourselves. Through Scripture, we know we don’t need to worry of any of these – we know God’s got it all under control.

In this way, I understand the prophet Habakkuk’s sentiment in Habakkuk 3:19 – “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” When confronted with the inequity of man’s action, he finds joy and strength in the promise of the Lord’s promise of deliverance and rule over all that assails him. Or the understanding of Simeon in Luke 2:29, the righteous man who waited patiently at his life’s end to see Christ with his own eyes, declaring “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” Knowing the Lord has created and resided over all His people and planned their salvation from the beginning brings me the deepest peace I could know. God’s incontestable claim over me consoles me that none could separate me from Him. God’s hand stretched over all creation and all time helps me know that of course the Lord will see me through all things to do good in His name.

Take the time with me today to ruminate on what Romans 11:36 means in your life: “From him and through him and to him are all things.” Paul’s words to the Church in Rome all those years ago still ring true submission to the sovereign rule of Christ – all we have and all that is, He created. Not for me, or for any of us, but to Him, for His glory. I think – when I say that God is the one and only creator and king over all there is and all I have, do I consider these things from, through, and to Him? Does thanking God for what comes from & through Him go hand in hand with knowing and acting on how all should go to further His glory as well – how all I have, I desperately need to give to God? One constant prayer of mine is for a heart that would do less for myself and more for Christ, and I know God answers this prayer when, at the times I need it most, 1 Corinthians 10:31 comes into my head: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Our God is the sovereign Lord over all – the one and only, no-holds barred ruler over all that was, is, and is to come. Pray that all the world, created in His glory, may receive with open hearts His word so that all would proclaim the glory of God that is rightfully His. Pray that all you would go to Him to further His kingdom here on earth. And, today and every day, be thankful for the claim our Lord has on us!

Numbers 24:17 –

“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.”

This verse has been a great reminder of the extent of the Lord’s sovereign rule. In a time of tumult across the globe, when it can be so easy to worry over works of evil done by man, when the deceiver’s influence on a broken world is more evident than ever, and when our culture grapples with a problem with authority, to recognize the true reward of the wicked is sobering. As Psalm 94:24 puts it, “He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the Lord our God will wipe them out.”

Here in Numbers 24, Balak king of Moab seeks the destruction of the Israelites as they have clearly been blessed beyond his means to control. He seeks help from the prophet Baalam, by all accounts a wicked and despicable practitioner of demonic sorcery, in the form of a curse against Israel. But the Lord our God can even use the most wicked of men to bring glory to Him. He fills Baalam’s mouth with words of praise of Him, and blessings for the people of Israel instead, including Numbers 24:17, a clear foreshadowing of the Messiah’s coming to the people of Israel to overcome death and deliver hope.

We tend to think of a scepter as a form of an ornate, ceremonial staff that would be carried by royalty, or some so of leader, as a symbol of power and authority. But the interesting thing is the Hebrew ‘shebhet,’ which can translate as the rod a king would wield to signify power, can also mean more along the line of a simple staff, as, say, a shepherd would use. We consider Jesus a “shepherd of men,” giving this verse the interesting insight into how He who would lovingly seek & save the lost (Luke 19:10) would also be the symbol of God’s might, who would “crush the forehead of Moab” – or destroy those who would look to oppose God’s will and seek to do evil to His people. Or how the “lamb of God” (John 1:29) would “break down all sons of Sheth” – translated a little more in our day & age as “the sons of tumult” – those who would engage & delight in misdeeds and wrongdoing.

Ultimately, this scepter rising out of Israel – this light of Jacob’s lineage (as Jacob foresees in Genesis 49:10 – “he scepter shall not depart from Judah nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”) – would be Jesus Christ. And similarly to how a king would wield a scepter to show his authority, God shows His unquestionable authority over every force, including all the wages of sin beyond death itself, through Jesus’s death and resurrection. This verse shows a glimpse into His grand plan for our salvation when thousands of years later, Jesus would come to earth to definitely display God’s authority to man.

Hebrews 1:8 says “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.” Jesus, in His blameless life, selfless death, and limitless power over death in resurrection, shows us the glory & majesty of God’s kingdom for all men, those who do good or evil, to see. In His life, Christ demonstrated that “with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits” (Luke 4:36), and will cast all evil aside on the day He returns. Thank the Lord today for sharing His son with us, that we may know of His triumph over evil, know to cling to what is righteous and good, and know that He is Lord over absolutely all.

There’s a reason the ‘mystery’ genre is so popular across all forms of media; who doesn’t love a good thrilling tale of someone encountering an impossible scenario and deducing their way to the truth? The draw of fiction’s most apt detectives & crime solvers is undeniable. Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, Humphrey Bogart’s performances as Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe, Hanna-Barbera’s Mystery Inc. – all figures revolving around their keen sense of navigating danger & unraveling complex mysteries. I’d say one of the genre’s more satisfying qualities as well is the resolution – arriving at the solution at the end of the tale, and having the conflict wrap up nicely. If only real life worked the same way – if we were able to scrap together some clues and come up with a solution to any problem on our own. Unfortunately, as we all know, real life is not as smooth as these tales.

In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar is struck with a dream in his sleep that troubles him; he knows it is important, more than just an everyday dream, but he can not place his finger on what it means. He calls all the mystics in his kingdom to help under threat of punishment upon failing to prescribe its meaning, but they’re all as in the dark as he is. Ultimately, the task falls upon the resolutely faithful Daniel, held prisoner as a refugee of Babylon’s siege on Jerusalem. Daniel has one response to this request: turn to God, and seek the answers to the unknown in Him. And as Daniel says to Nebuchadnezzar, blessed with the wisdom from God to help, in Daniel 2:29: “To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and He who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be.”

How often do we come across questions in life that we can not answer on our own? Whether it be us having to ask ourselves the questions of how to handle our insurmountable problems? How to move on when we don’t know where life will take us nest? Or even where to get the motivation to get out of bed and face another day? When tasked with a burden we either don’t know how to handle, or know we can not handle, how do we solve the problem before us? Nebuchadnezzar’s mystics all reacted to this mysterious dream the same way: faced with something they could not overcome, they panicked at the newly revealed ignorance of  things beyond their own understanding. Therein lies the doomed discovery of those who search for answers in this broken world: life is full of mysteries, difficult questions and answers that seem unfair and unreasonable… and if you rely on your own understanding, you will not find an answer, no matter how hard you look.

What a great example Daniel sets for us here, showing the difference between how we in Christ, and those not in Christ, can face such uncertainties. Tasked with something he could not understand on his own, Daniel knows wisdom in discerning truth beyond one own’s understanding can come only from God. His prayer of thanks in verses 20 to 24 elaborates beautifully upon what God reveals to His believers:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

    to whom belong wisdom and might.

He changes times and seasons;

    he removes kings and sets up kings;

he gives wisdom to the wise

    and knowledge to those who have understanding;

he reveals deep and hidden things;

    he knows what is in the darkness,

    and the light dwells with him.

To you, O God of my fathers,

    I give thanks and praise,

for you have given me wisdom and might,

    and have now made known to me what we asked of you,

    for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

In our faith, when we must find answers to tough questions, we know when we come to God in prayer, He can provide a wisdom beyond our own. That movement in your heart that follows prayer, when you know God is telling you something important; listening for God’s word in those moments can stir us in a way our own rationale never could. We could never hope to understand from our own efforts, as Paul calls in Ephesians, “the mystery of His will.” Attempting to parse this meaning ourselves that only He could know surely results every time in the result Nebuchadnezzar’s mystics found: silence, fear, and threat of a hopeless death. But when we recognize and humble ourselves before God’s sovereign wisdom, we know He will equip us with understanding to see us through all of life’s mysteries. As Nebuchadnezzar puts it upon this realization: “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries.”

John 3:2 – This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

These days we often think and discuss of Jesus, among His many names, as “Teacher.” Which is an important trait; we always have more to learn as people, but especially so when it comes to embodying, applying, and sharing Scripture. But seeing as Christ came to earth among God’s people in Israel, it’s important to recognize how He did bring a radically different teaching that you could only come to God through faith in Christ Jesus, but that He was also an important teacher in their culture and time, earning Him the name “Rabbi” in many instances.

If you were like me before looking more into this matter, you may have considered Rabbi simply the Hebrew translation for “teacher.” Besides, as John 1:38 says, “And they said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’” There’s a definite notion that Rabbis were the teachers of Scripture and God’s commands, and often enacted the law based on their interpretation of God’s word in the case of the courts such as the Sanhedrin. But that apparently was a miscommunication, more of a Western way of thinking about the student-teacher dichotomy. Turns out the original Hebrew רַבִּי has that implication, but ultimately means more along the lines of “master”, or “my master” specifically. And to think of referring to Jesus in that manner seems more fitting. In calling Jesus “Rabbi”, one would admit their submission: their future found in Christ and His teaching.

It’s worth noting too with this context in mind that it’s Nicodemus talking to Jesus here in John 3:2, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, acknowledging His sanctity. One of the spiritual and legal leaders of the Jewish people at the time was calling this man their teacher, their master; how fitting that even one who would lead and teach those of Christ would recognize His authority above their own. Though Nicodemus would eventually fail to sufficiently speak up for Jesus’s sake in regards to this belief (a failing Jesus would have surely anticipated here, even as he taught Nicodemus about being born again into the Kingdom of God), he still recognized and believed that only the Son of God can truly point the way to the Father.

So when we consider how Jesus is Rabbi, we can consider Him as our teacher, from whom we find wisdom about how to live in a holy manner, but that marks only the beginning. We consider Jesus our master, our mentor, our leader; someone we can look to to learn the lessons of Godly, sanctimonious living. Jesus took the Law based on following God’s commands, and turned it on its head, instead teaching that only through faith in Jesus Christ and our death and resurrection in Him could we be by God’s side. To call Jesus Rabbi is to follow His teachings; to submit to His interpretation of the Law that we read about in Scripture; to know the world is saved through Him; to know that “everyone who believe may have eternal life in Him.” (John 3:15) In doing this, we declare Jesus Christ is our master, our Lord, the Son of God. Consider today in what ways the life you lives reflects Jesus being your own master in this way. For as everyone sees how the Rabbi leads the student, so will the world learn about Christ through His students’ actions.