Well, Daniel 3 is of course one of the most famous Bible stories of all ~ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace. What kid hasn't heard that one at least 20 times?? But still, what an incredible, undeniable work of God! Can you imagine the chaos that will have ensued when everyone ELSE realized these men weren't burning up though??
What I especially love is the courageous stand these young men take, knowing that God might not choose to save them. I think that's absolutely remarkable and definitely an inspiration to all.
Chapter 4 is the chapter where God reduces the mighty world leader, Nebuchadnezzar, to barely more than an animal to teach him who really is the Ruler of all. It's interesting how in earlier instances, Nebuchadnezzar seems to recognize God and acknowledge His sovereignty, yet obviously doesn't fully put his faith in Him. Until this event. This is (to my knowledge) the last we hear of this great king, so powerfully used by God to teach Israel a lesson and punish them for their unbelief. Virtually to the end of his reign, this man seems to view himself as a god, yet here at the very end (at least, as far as Scriptural record goes), he finally seems to get it. I like to think that after Nebuchadnezzar finally saw God for Who He really is, he lived the remainder of his life a believer. We don't know, of course, but it almost looks that way from his life account here in Daniel.
Then we move to Titus 2, the chapter many women I've come across in the blogosphere seem to be base their blog ministry/focus on. Specifically verses 3-5, obviously, where Paul tells the young pastor how to instruct the individual groups in his congregation.
As an aside, the pastor of OUR congregation is actually doing a short series on this book right now and I'm a little sorry I'll miss this Sunday's instalment ~ mostly because I like to see how gender passages get handled. My viewpoint has changed pretty drastically over the last couple of years and I'm disappointed how often these verses either get ignored, or the speaker tows the evangelical feminist line. I'm curious to see how our pastor handles it, but since we're out of town, so I guess I'll never know! (our tiny little church is quite low-tech, so I can't borrow the sermon CD or listen to it online next week!)
But one thing he high-lighted last Sunday about this chapter in his introduction to the series is something I found interesting and I want to draw your attention to it today. To some, this chapter sounds like a long list of archaic rules and some make up all sorts of excuses about why these don't really apply to us today. (Funny how it's usually just the wives being subject to their husbands part that people figure is purely cultural and has no relevance to today's society ~ no one argues about men being self-controlled or setting an example of integrity and good works. Or even about the SLAVERY part!!) But notice how often Paul gives the reason behind these guidelines for Christian living:
- ..."so that no one will malign the word of God." (v. 5)
- ..."so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us." (v. 8)
- ..."so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive." (v. 10)
I think too often we're concerned about Biblical texts infringing on our "rights," rather than seeing it as the handbook on how to make God look GREAT. Which is something we should all want, regardless of how counter-cultural it might be. I hope and pray this is our goal.
Tomorrow's readings: Daniel 5-7; Titus 3
1 comment:
That is absolutely my favourite part of the Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego story when they say "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up"
That is faith right there. That is courage. That is acknowledging the sovereignty of God.
That is the point we had to come to with Baret - to be able to honestly pray "God, we know that you are able to heal Baret, but even if You do not, we will praise and glorify Your Name."
That is the place God wants us to be in all areas of our lives.
Which totally ties in to the Titus passage. You're so right. The way we do everything in every area of our lives should be focused on making God great! Magnifying His name!
PS - maybe you'll have to ask your pastor for his sermon notes :)
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