Twice this week, I have been taken aback by something my son has done.
He has always wanted to seem bigger and older than he is, which is typical of little boys. He has never liked having to hold someone’s hand whether it be to cross the road or to help him walk when he was first learning. He places a high value on being independent – on showing he can do [whatever] all by himself. Yet twice this week, he has reached up and wanted to hold my hand.
Both times were identical in circumstances. Both times were in Buccees (once going on vacation and the second on the return trip). Now, if you have ever been in Buccees – at least all of the times I have been – it is crowded and busy and loud and boisterous. Picture a gas station with the energy and chaos of a toddler. It is almost too much for me, and, apparently, it was too much for him because he reached up to hold my hand.
Don’t get me wrong here: I was glad to be needed, glad to be a comfort to him. But it threw me nonetheless because my little, independent-not-scared-of-things-he-should-be son was unnerved and a bit frightened. I tried to ask him if he was okay, but he didn’t want to talk. I tried to tell him it was okay to be nervous – that I myself was nervous, too. Both times, his response was the same: “I just want you to hold my hand”. Both times my response was merely quiet contemplation.
Today, we just walked around Buccees hand-in-hand. He slowly came out of his shell and was pointing to this and that as we navigated the crowd to walk where he wanted to walk and look at what he wanted to look. While we were walking, I saw something that filled my eyes with tears then and does now even as I type. I saw the same event between father and son taking place in a different perspective.
The dad was likely in his late fifties or early sixties, dressed as dads of that era do all Americana on vacation. That was not different as I was sporting my generation’s dad travel gear. What was different was that he was holding the hand of his grown son – every bit my age with special needs. They were talking about how Buccees was too much for the son but how everything was okay because daddy was there. And, sure enough, as long as he was holding his daddy’s hand, all was right and all of the frightening and alarming and anxious events taking place around droned out because he had his daddy’s hand in his.
What a beautiful picture. What a sobering and humbling reality.
See, the other dad surely knew what I did – that there was nothing magical about our hands, that there were dangers that we are not enough to battle against as much as we would try. That’s why I tried to talk to my son both times, to help him more that I felt my hand could accomplish on its own. But there is a hand that is stronger than ours.
I have been thinking of 1 Peter 5:6-7 ever since we left Buccees:
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
The “mighty hand of God” is a symbol of His strength and His power. That strength and power protects His children, but it also disciplines. It chides against enemies but also chastens His children. It is a hand of unimaginable strength, but it is also gentle and loving.
The same hands that formed Adam from dust and Eve from a rib are the same hands that can strike down mountains and nations.
They are the same hands that became small when He came as an infant. They are the same hands that did hard labor as a carpenter.
They are the same hands that were strong enough to carry our cross and bold enough to take the nails in crucifixion.
They are the same hands that eternally bear scars from those nails.
And they are the same hands that will one day wipe away the last tears from our eyes.
Things are often overwhelming, and life is hard. Some things are more than we can bear. Our Father knows that. He does not seek to beat us down but that we would humble ourselves, repent and cry out to Him to be lifted up.
The picture of 1 Peter 5:6-7 is the same that I saw in Buccees, a Father reaching down to His children to lift them up when the world is too much. And, thankfully, I can share with my son about the “mighty hand of God” to carry Him through when my own hands are too weak for the task.
Maybe things are too much for you right now. Maybe you feel like there is nowhere to turn or no one to turn to, but let me assure you there is a hand that will reach down and can pull you out of death and give you life. If you would humble yourself and come to Him, He will lift you up because “He cares for you”. And His hands are strong enough to care for “all your anxieties”.
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.[1]
1 John 5:13-21
Greetings, Sojourner!
We are at the end of our study of 1 John! And, as John does in his letter, we will take this last passage in chunks to cover the text similarly to how he does. Hopefully, this will help you see the difference between 1 John being Scripture – “breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16) and “not produced by the will of man, but [man speaking] from God as…carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21) – instead of just a letter from a pastor to his flock. The words that he wrote are God’s words – to his original audience and to us today.
Each of these closing remarks fit with the message of Life, Light, and Love in the rest of 1 John. And they fit in with John’s ultimate purpose – “that you may know you have eternal life” (v. 13). This verse is similar to the closing of his gospel: “…these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). It is my hope that studying 1 John has given you opportunity to know that you have life in Him by “confess[ing] with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believ[ing] in your heart that God raised Him from the dead” (Romans 10:9). The good news here is that, if you have believed in Him you will “not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16) and that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13).
What can be known “concerning the word of life” (1:1) is clearly very important to John, and Danny Akin very aptly compiled a list of the things John helps us know in 1 John that I believe can be beneficial to us as we close out this study:
“We can know that we know God (2:3, 13-14; 4:7). We can know that we are in God (2:5)…. We can know the truth (2:21, 3:19). We can know that Jesus is righteous (2:29). We can know that we will be like Jesus (3:2). We can know that Jesus came to take away sins (3:5). We can know that Jesus is sinless (3:5). We can know that we have passed out of death into life (3:14)…. We can know love (3:16, 4:16). We can know that God abides in us (3:24, 4:13). We can know the Spirit of God (4:2) [and the difference between] the Spirit of truth and…of deception (4:6). We can know that we love God’s children (5:2).”[2]
And God, through John, has a few more things that we can know that are shared in this closing section – things that we can believe. So, listen to what God’s Spirit would have us to believe through this closing section of 1 John.
We can know God answers prayer. (vv. 14-15)
We have looked earlier in this letter about what it means to have “confidence before God” (3:21) to “not shrink from Him in shame at His coming” (2:28), giving “confidence for the day of judgment” (4:17). This confidence is an abiding one that dwells in our hearts when our lives shine His light and share His love. Now, we see we can have confidence that our prayers are reaching Him – that He is hearing what we pray and answering it.
This is not the first time that John has spoken on this. In 3:22 he tells us that “whatever we ask we receive from [God], because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him”. When we add the aspect of praying “according to His will” (v. 14), we get a clearer picture of what He wants from us in prayer; He wants us to pray as He taught His disciples to pray – “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10). You see, seeking His will is key in having one’s prayers heard and answered. God is not bound by some set of magic words to give whatever we request. He is not a genie that we can recite some code to command His response. Instead, He is the holy (“hallowed be [His] name” – Matthew 6:9) and sovereign God of the universe. Seeking His will puts us on the same page as Him, giving us appropriate desires and thereby appropriate prayers. In the same way that we are to “be transformed by the renewal of [our minds to test and] discern what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2), we should seek to have Him transform our prayer life to want what He wants.
As for what is and is not God’s will, we do not have to perform a séance or ritual. Rick Warren said it well: “God’s will is found in God’s Word – stop looking for a sign and start looking for a verse.” So, for us today, think of all the things that we have studied in God’s Word – look back at the list of things that we can know just from 1 John. If we want our prayers to be heard and answered, they must align with God’s will, and God’s will always aligns with His Word. Once our prayer life is aligned with His Word, we can absolutely know that He is hearing us, and, in His hearing, He is responding.
We can know how to pray for our brothers and to keep them (and us) from sin. (vv. 16-18)
If you read verses 16-18 and thought, “Hmmm, I am not sure what I just read.” You are not alone. We will tread carefully here and let the context of the surrounding sentences, paragraphs, and the letter as a whole guide us so that we have the surest interpretation. There are two things that cue us specifically to what John is talking about. First, the verses just prior to this section are talking about prayer – as does the end of v. 16. So, John is talking about praying for this “brother” who is “committing a sin”. Second, we can look back in 2:1 and see what that “if anyone does sin” they “have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”. So, one whose sins are covered (cleansed – 1:9) by Jesus Christ the righteous is saved/born again/has eternal life.
While these verses are indeed difficult (especially v. 16), we are going to keep to the simplest interpretation that fits best with the rest of the Bible, so, even if we err here, we fall back on what is clear in the Word. The simplest interpretation sees two different groups of people: 1) those whose sin “does not lead to death” (v. 17), and 2) those whose sin “leads to death” (v. 16).
The Bible is clear that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), that everyone who is in Christ was once “dead in the trespasses and sins in which [they] once walked” (Ephesians 2:1-2). The only way to move from death to life is to be “made alive together with [God who has] forgiven all our trespasses by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands…nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:13-14). This fits John’s teaching that Jesus is our propitiation (2:2, 4:10). So, if “anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death” – seeing one who professes faith in Christ but is actively sinning – “he shall ask, and God will give Him life” (v. 16). We need to hold one another accountable and specifically pray that God will grant repentance (and life) to those who say that they are His yet are living in sin. This is trusting God to take care of your brother (His child) and asking Him to restore him.
In this interpretation, the “sin that leads to death” (v. 16) would be not believing/trusting in Christ. This is consistent with Jesus’ teaching in John 3:18 that “whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God”. Those who have not repented of sin and trusted in Christ are still dead in their sin – they still face condemnation for their sin (Romans 8:1). The issue lies in how you can tell the difference. For that, I do not put your brother on the stand but your own life. “All wrongdoing is sin” (v. 17); “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); and “…the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Those are all clearly true from the Word of God. It is also true that “everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning” (v. 18). We must examine our own lives according to these truths, and, if we profess to belong to Christ, we must pray for God to grant others repentance as well as our own selves (2 Timothy 2:25-26).
We can know Him. (vv. 19-21)
Ultimately John’s goal is for us to know Christ. He ends as he began, showing us “that which was from the beginning” (1:1) – His friend and Savior who he heard with his own ears, saw with his own eyes, touched with his own hands. He had met Jesus and lived the rest of his life sharing the Life that Jesus gave to him, shining the Light of Christ into the darkness of the world around him, and loving others with the Love that Christ loved him.
He wants us to know that even though “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (v. 19) that we can know we belong to Jesus. He wants us to be able to trust that God’s Word is the true because Jesus Himself is truth (v. 20, John 14:6). He wants us to be able to distinguish between the real Christ and idols (v. 21).
Beloved, Sojourner, what a beautiful picture of love – someone wanting to make sure that, in the midst of evil and terror and all of the negative and depressing things in the world, there is a Savior whose name is Jesus who is everything we need. The world produces more idols (if we are honest, our own hearts produce most of our idols – Jeremiah 17:9, Proverbs 17:20) than we can successfully fend off. We need to be rescued. And that is exactly what we find in Jesus – a Rescuer, a King who left His throne to become a servant so that people can be saved. He is a beacon that shines in the midst of darkness showing all men the Way. He is love even in the face of hatred. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, and one day His name will be spoken and “every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.[1]
1 John 5:6-13
Greetings, Sojourner!
As I sit and write to you today, I find my mind fixated on this past weekend spent at the Beautiful Feet ministry in Ft. Worth, TX. I could write to you about how jarring it is to see people living in such poverty-stricken conditions. I could write to you of the desperate situations that led many of the people that we met, talked to, and prayed for onto the streets, but, instead, I find myself thinking about John’s words in v. 13 of today’s passage: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” – and that is what stands out in my mind about Beautiful Feet – the eternal life offered and the example of those who are now believers.
This was my second time to go and witness the work that God is doing through Beautiful Feet (the Feet), but there were two things that grabbed my attention this time: 1) the impact that being saved (truly brought from death in sin to eternal life in Christ) has on people, and 2) the beauty of the testimony that God Himself bears about His Son. I believe both fit hand-in-hand (or in-foot, as seems appropriate here) with this week’s passage.
As John continues bringing his letter to a close, he focuses in on the testimony concerning Jesus. We focused last week on how God molds the beliefs of those who are “born of God” (5:1) to share in His love (5:2) and exhibit that love in keeping His commandments (5:3). This week’s passage shows the three-part testimony of the Son (water, blood, and Spirit) through the Father and what it is like for Him to be the object of our faith!
The Testimony of Water – He Was Born
When it talks of water here, it is referencing Christ’s birth (think of a mother’s water breaking when it is time for a baby to be born). The birth of Christ is important, and more than a mere holiday, because it shows His humanity. Part of that testimony is that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). We see in these verses that Jesus’ birth was one of extremely specific timing and circumstances – at just the right time in human history, “foreknown before the foundation of the world but…made manifest in the last times for” our sake (1 Peter 1:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Because “sin came into the world through one man” (Romans 5:12), Adam, all men would inherit a sin nature and the struggles that come with it. None of the sacrifices of the Old Testament system could take away sin, they could only point to the One who could, Jesus. Sin produces death (Genesis 3, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:1-2), and, as we have seen earlier in 1 John 1:9, we need God “to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” – to cancel “the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands” (Colossians 2:14). Our debt from sin needs to be paid, but everyone on earth is in debt just the same, unable to pay their own way much less anyone else’s.
The only acceptable payment would be via propitiation (2:1-2, 4:10), but no one on earth is worthy to make the sacrifice for us (Romans 3:10, 3:23). So, God Himself stepped down to sacrifice Himself (John 1:14) meaning that the eternal God willingly became mortal. He lived the life that no other human on earth was capable of living (1 John 1:8, 10) – sinless perfection (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15) as the “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). And He, in the Person of God the Son – fully God and fully man – “emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant…[and] humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-7), which is the second testimony.
The Testimony of Blood – He Died (Yet Lives!)
Blood was an important part of the sacrificial system in the Old Testament. Just as we saw our need for salvation through our forefather Adam in the first section, we see that the first physical deaths (God taking the lives of animals in the garden for their skins) were to cover the shame of Adam and Eve’s nakedness (Genesis 3:21). In the same way, our sin – and its shame – can be covered and cleansed by the blood of Jesus (1:7).
Jesus’ death on behalf of sinners shows love like nothing else (John 15:13). As I write this, it is Memorial Day, and I cannot help but think of those who gave their lives for the United States where I live. The way of life that is celebrated in America is bound up in the sacrifice of those brave men and women who died for their country and the ideals it represents. Their sacrifice points to the greater sacrifice of Christ, and we should be moved by and appreciate what He has done for us.
Think of the magnitude of His dying in our place: the God of the universe, “who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it” (Isaiah 42:5), “shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Just as it was important that He was born “in the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4), we see that “at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). He died the death that would provide cleansing of sins for all who trust (believe, have faith) in Him! Through His death, “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, [makes] us alive together with Christ”, saving sinners by His grace (Ephesians 2:4-5). On the cross, He took the “record of debt that stood against us” because of our sin and “set it aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). The old hymn “It is Well” sums it up beautifully[2]:
“My sin – oh, the bliss of this glorious thought – my sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more; praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh, my soul!”
We do not have to mourn His death – thanks be to God! Jesus did not stay dead, and we can rejoice with the angels who said, “He is not here, for He has risen, as He said” (Matthew 28:6)! The “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) was different than other sacrificial lambs – He is risen forevermore as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David”, the “Lamb standing as though it had been slain” on the throne (Revelation 5:5-6)! And through His death, and especially His resurrection, we see the victory that overcomes the world (5:4-5) and can echo Paul when He praises God for the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:57: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” who is alive and well!
The Testimony of the Spirit (and the Evidence of Eternal Life Where He Abides)
The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are irrefutable evidence from heaven, but He shows Himself to be true here on earth because His “Spirit is truth” (v. 6). This is important because His Spirit dwelling in those who are born again is how God abides in His children (4:16). If we claim to have Christ, we have His Spirit. Now, this is difficult because many people treat the Spirit awkwardly by either keeping Him at a distance and calling it reverence or treating Him like parlor tricks and calling it charisma. This is where last weekend at Beautiful Feet challenged what we far too often are willing to accept regarding being filled with God’s Spirit.
Beautiful Feet is more than a ministry that feeds hungry and clothes the poor. If you read the history of their ministry, you see their motto “Sharing the Gospel, Serving the Poor”, which is the entire scope of their ministry – the heart that God Himself has given them for the least-of-these in Ft. Worth. They want to share Christ with people in equal portion to the physical needs that they meet. They want to bless those who cannot bless them in return by giving them everything that Christ has to offer (and food, clothing, medical care – which pale in comparison to the gift of His grace). The thing that was most striking to me is the number of people who 1) are born again because they found faith in Christ through His grace and mercy and 2) those who are saved, after being discipled in the Word and finding employment and housing (which they desperately needed), are seen returning to the Feet to share the gospel (and meet physical needs) with others who were like them.
The Spirit is evident in their lives because they live out the gospel. The Spirit is not a parlor trick for them because tricks do not save (2 Corinthians 4:2); fake does not fool those who have been turned out on the streets; and only the love of Christ transcends “word or talk” to live in “deed and in truth” when sharing His love with others (3:18). God blessed these disciples through the Feet and servants of God who had “the world’s goods”, saw their brother and sister in need and opened their hearts because of the love of God poured forth in their hearts by His Spirit. These servants shared that love by laying their own lives down as worship – in response to the Life God gave them (3:16-17). How sad it is that this seems so foreign among church-people today!
Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7 in Romans 10:15: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” This is more than a theme verse for this ministry – or evangelism in general; they literally seek to be God’s feet as part of the His body – the Church (1 Corinthians 12:12). And, in serving with them this weekend, I realized that my feet do not carry the gospel as readily as they should. Forgive the crude parallel here, but I need a bit of a spiritual pedicure – for Jesus to cleanse my gospel feet that I may have share with Him (John 13:8).
John says that “the Spirit and the water and the blood” testify to who Jesus is and agree (v. 8), but he tells us that the “testimony of God is greater” than that of men because “whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in Himself” (vv. 9-10). I have had to look at my life and ask whether it agrees with the testimony of God, and I am asking that He arrange my life so that it testifies more to Him than about me, that my feet can be about His business rather than shod in Sunday shoes in the comfort of a church building or propped up serving my own laziness. I ask that He help you to do the same in your own life and grant the repentance and cleansing to walk His gospel out in the community He has planted you.
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?[1]
1 John 5:1-5
Greetings, Sojourner!
Our study of 1 John is winding to a close; we are in the last chapter! I am thankful for the opportunity to look deeply at John’s heart for those he wrote to and God’s heart for us who read these words today. What good news it is that Jesus has provided for us to partake of His Life, Light, and Love and get to share it with others wherever He plants us!
As I mentioned last week, I am amazed at how God’s Word shows Itself to be eternal and prophetic by how what He wrote so long ago fitting perfectly with what we experience today. And, like the loving Father He is, God provides what we need in the midst of our experiences – before we need them, in the midst of our trials, and eternally as His children!
Today’s passage looks at some beliefs about God and how they are supposed to affect our lives. I would like to urge you to pause here and ask God that this be a time where you can look at your beliefs and make sure they line up with God’s Word. I pray the same thing for you as I do myself when reading the Word: if there be any beliefs out of sync with the Word God, He will grant repentance and correct them.
Jesus is the Messiah (v. 1)
One of the most beautiful things about John’s writings is how his love for Jesus – his amazement by Him through the years – shines brightly. That is why, as he begins to close his letter, he emphasizes Jesus so clearly. Here, he gives us a non-negotiable and necessary belief for followers of Jesus: “Jesus is the Christ” (v. 1). The word “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name. It is the English form of the Greek word for Messiah – literally “anointed One”.
Believing that He is who the Bible says He is means more than intellectual knowledge! To genuinely believe that Jesus is the Christ to fully put your faith, hope, and trust in Him – not in knowledge but actual and indwelling hope. It is one thing to believe that a bridge will hold your weight; it is another thing entirely to drive a car across it. In the same way, it is one thing to know facts about Jesus; it is another thing entirely to live one’s life according to His teachings with the hope of eternal life – like we know that this world is not all there is. The difference is of eternal significance, as John noted in ch 2:2: “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist….” This means that there is no fence position in relation to believing (having faith/trust/hope) in Christ; you are either in Christ or antichrist.
God’s Children are Born of Him (vv. 1, 4)
The idea of being “born of Him” (v. 1) has been developed throughout 1 John. We see it first when John says, “If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him” (2:29) and will see it wrap up later when we study ch 5:18. The whole idea is wrapped up in Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3. It is talked about various ways: “born again” (John 3:3, 7; 1 Peter 1:3, 23) and “regeneration” (Titus 3:5), which mean the same thing. The term “born again” is used synonymously with being saved/being a Christian, but it actually means what it says: being born a second time.
To be “born again” begins with the fact that those who are in Christ were dead in our trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13). Belief in Him gives the gift of eternal life (John 3:16; Romans 6:23, 10:9) bring actual life to what was once dead (Ephesians 2:4-5, Colossians 2:13)! So, to say that we are “born of God” (v. 4) is more than simply a religious term – it is a statement of faith that originates in the Person and work of Jesus, God in flesh (John 1:14, 2 Corinthians 5:21), and culminates in our lives. I love the way that Danny Akin describes this:
“Jesus did not come to die on a bloody cross to make us kinder and nicer persons. He came to dramatically, personally, radically, and eternally transform us and make us new people. It is by the new birth that He accomplishes this glorious work. Therefore, you must be born again.”[2]
As always when studying these passages, we find ourselves needing to examine our own lives. These first two beliefs leave no wiggle room for us – no room for religious talk or labeling, only for being adopted by Him (Galatians 4:4-5) or left in our sins. Here is a good time to ask: Do you believe? Are you born of Him?
God’s Family is Defined by Love for Him, Love for One Another, and Keeping His Commands (vv. 1-2)
We have talked about this at length over the past few weeks, so I will reference you back to our studies from May 6, 13, and 20 for what it means to be loved by God and love Him. The difference today comes from what John says at the end of v. 2: “when we love God and obey His commandments”. He clarifies that one’s love for Him means that the individual will keep (follow, obey, live life according to) His commandments.
There is a danger here that we see very often, and it is known as legalism. Legalism is when one looks at the things that God has commanded (His Law) and wrap all our efforts into living them out for the purpose of earning our salvation. That is why I am glad that God lays out His Word as He has; before He mentioned keeping commandments, He clarified that there is no earning salvation (how does one earn birth?) but that it has its beginnings and endings in Him.
So, how does one balance keeping and following His commandments but not falling into legalism? Unfortunately, I cannot offer you much in the realm of practical suggestions here. I struggle with past legalism and can probably offer more ways to mess this up than I can living it out appropriately. But I am learning that the key to this is found in the end of v. 3: “His commandments are not burdensome”, which beautifully shows the heart of Jesus:
Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Legalism requires labor, but following Christ (including keeping His commandments) is a service of love and appreciation. Legalism leaves people “heavy laden”, but in Christ “will give you rest”. Legalism is a yoke that will break your back and your spirit, but the yoke of Christ comes with His strength, especially when our own is lacking because He promises that His “grace is sufficient” and His “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
I think that keeping the commands of Christ are like all that goes into bridal preparations for a wedding day. Normally, taking hours and hours to dress and primp and prepare would be a terrible burden. Hearing actors and models discuss all the time it takes to go through make up and costuming sounds like a laborious job, but brides willingly subject themselves to such things merely to get through a 30(ish) minute ceremony and reception. There is a whole industry devoted to helping people elope so that they do not have to go through the burden of such things! So, why would any bride do this? Simple: to please the groom – so that, when the doors open at the back of the church and she is presented to him, his knees will go weak and the moment will be seared into his memory forever.
For that bride, none of the burdens are burdensome. They are labors of love. It is the same for the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:27, 32). For those “born of God”, keeping His commandments – especially and specifically loving Him and people (Matthew 22:36-40) – begins out of the overwhelming love and appreciation we have for Him and flows into what naturally occurs over the years as we simply follow Him. Keeping commandments earns nothing but expresses affection from the Bride of Christ to her husband, Jesus Christ Himself.
(faith in) The Overcomer of the World (vv. 4-5)
Remember how we specifically defined the word “believe” above? The word for faith in v. 4 and believe in v. 5 are one and the same. So, when John says that “everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world” and that “our faith” is victory, he does not mean that we, in and of ourselves, have won anything. Rather, he is clarifying that we are believing – putting our faith – in the Overcomer Himself! Look at the confidence and strength in the way that Jesus talked about His victory (in past tense, no less) before He died on the cross: “take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33)!
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Beloved, sojourner, I hope this devotion finds you well, but, more than that, I hope that it also has you to look at your beliefs and make sure they align with what God has for you rather than merely being religious.
As always, know you are loved and prayed for. If you have questions or prayer requests, feel free to reach out.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish….
32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.[1]
Greetings, Sojourner!
Have you ever had something on your mind so much that you cannot let it go? When that happens, it is like you feel like it shows up in everything you look at – commercials, conversations, stores. It even seems like it is all you can talk about. That is what the past few weeks have been like for me, and the topic that has been the epicenter of my focus has been church – not a church, my church, or your church: the Church.
I have preached on it several times during these weeks. Even as I studied and planned to write on 1 John 4:7-21 today, the Church has been on my mind. Verses like 1 John 4:11 (“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” and 4:20 (“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen”) have me thinking of the way that the Church is to share the love of God with each other and the world around them. In 1 John 4:9 when John says that “the love of God was made manifest”, that is the love that was shown to, and now through, the Church. And, when you read passages like ours in Ephesians 5, you see that love is to be at the center of everything in the Church because Christ loves His Church and calls her His Bride.
What a beautiful image that is – the Bride of Christ!
Look at how the voice (“of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder”) speaks of the Bride of Christ in the end times:
Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”…. (Rev. 19:6-8)
The picture I see painted in Scripture here is the arrival of Christ’s Church in Heaven to be a marriage celebration – His Bride will finally have arrived! I think back some fifteen years ago when I laid eyes on my bride when the back doors of the Church open. That moment is seared into my memory and is clear and fresh on my mind today; it is a watershed moment for me. But, the magnitude of that moment, is but a tremor compared to Christ receiving His Bride.
Yet many of us do not see the Church in the same light. When we think of the Church, we think of buildings or denominations or traditions or religion or someone who professes to be a member of a particular church who we think lives more like Hell than Heaven. I have heard people say that they do not have a problem with Jesus; their problem lies with the Church (or with a particular church they have in mind). How does that fit with the way God’s Word talks about His Bride?
In Ephesians 5, we see a passage that often appears only at weddings. It seems to talk about this ideal marriage where a husband loves his wife with this self-sacrificing love. It absolutely is! It lays out that husbands are supposed to give themselves up for their wives in the same way that Christ did for His (v. 25). It shows how husbands are supposed to set their wives apart, loving them with the same care that they give to their own bodies (v. 28). But, while it highlights the way that earthly husbands should absolutely love their wives, it does so by looking at the way that Christ loved/loves His – He died for her, but He also lived for her!
It seems so easy to look at the church as a building or a house of religion. It is another thing entirely to look at her as Christ’s bride. Take the example above where people say they have no problem with Jesus, just the Church. How would that work if said to an earthly husband (even a mediocre one)? “Hey, man, I like you well enough, but I cannot stand your wife!” Any husband worth his salt would at least have a salty retort, and, at most, feelings would not be all that get hurt!
Jesus loves His Bride. He gave Himself up for her, knowing full well her faults and all the difficulties that would come as He – through His Word and His Spirit – grows her, sanctifies her so that “in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (v. 27). He knew her/our blemishes. He knew the wrinkles. He knew the sin. Yet “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
He gave us the example of Hosea who loved his wife even though she was a prostitute when he met her (Hosea 1:2-3) and had sold herself into physical bondage to another man. Just as Hosea went to that man and purchased his wife from him (Hosea 3:1-5), Jesus paid the price for us – His life – so that we could be free from the bondage of sin (Romans 6:6) and be His alone (1 Peter 2:9). Except in this scenario, the Church has a husband who loves her enough to die for her – but He LIVES for her despite death, “because it was not possible for Him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24)!
What a beautiful image that is! Yet I find my heart hurting as I think about the Church more and more. You see, part of the reason that the Church has been on my mind is noticing that the more I study the Word and the closer I get to Christ, the more precious the Church becomes to me – the more precious getting to be part of the Church becomes. And, when I see how the Church is treated around the world, facing persecutions and distress and dire circumstances, it both breaks my heart and fills it with joy and hope.
It breaks my heart because I am afraid that I would fail and fall away if such treatment began here. I am afraid that I would care more for the safety and comfort of my family than I would being a part of Christ’s Church. As bad as I hate to say it, I am afraid.
I see how many churches have shuttered their doors, even before the onset of the pandemic. I hear of people citing the recommendations – yes, they were merely recommendations and not laws where I live in Mississippi – of our state government as reasons to shut the doors of our churches. Now, I realize that most of this was done out of an abundance of caution (the recommendations and the decisions), but I wonder what the cost has been. I also do not fault the government for recommending such things. Are we to expect worldly government to recommend biblical teaching? I do not fault churches who, out of caution for their members, made decisions to go virtual or meet outside or have church in the parking lot or gather in homes. The Church is not a building, remember?
There are churches like Grace Life in Alberta, Canada who, when it was genuinely against the law to gather and worship Christ in their location, kept gathering anyway. Even when their pastor was arrested and jailed and fences (yes, plural) were built around their building, the Church was not stopped because “the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands” (Acts 7:48). The same goes for His Bride.
Multiple churches in California faced similar situations and, pending legal appeals, face tens if not hundreds of thousands in fines even today.
I am trying to be careful and gracious when I talk about this, but I am reminded of Peter and John’s words when they faced something a bit stiffer than recommendations: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). If you keep reading, Peter and John did not heed the threats of the powers-that-be but kept preaching (Acts 4:23-31). And the result was more people added to the Church (Acts 4:32-37).
Where does that leave us today? I want to ask you where you stand regarding Christ. Do you belong to Him? Are you a part of His Bride, the Church?
Where I live in the Southern U.S., we have largely lost what it means to be a part of the Church or to be a part of a local church or congregation of believers. We use the word “member” like we would a member of a country club or a fraternity or sorority. But that is not the way the Bible uses it:
Ephesians 2:19: So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God….
Romans 12:4-5: For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
1 Corinthians 12:12: For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
Are you a member (like a dues-paying, sort of part ownership), or are you a member (like an arm or a leg)?
Pardon the pun, but I feel like my message here is a bit disjointed. I do not want you to miss my heart. So I will speak plainly: the Church has been on my mind, and I am afraid that we treat her too casually. I fear we have grown complacent and comfortable, not realizing our playing around is dismembering Christ’s Bride.
There is a set of verses that often get quoted in this context. I have quoted them myself often and increasingly more recently, but I think there is a greater message here:
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:23-25)
It is not hard to see why this verse seems so appropriate. But, I think I have been emphasizing the wrong part. I have been focusing on what “is the habit of some” and not why that is not good. Plain and simple, we need each other. No, we do not need bodies to fill roles and carry out programs and ministries. We do not need teachers and leaders. We need the members of the body of Christ – we need the members of His Bride – to “hold fast” to “He who promised” more than His promises. We need each other to “stir [us] up…to love and good works”. We need to be “encouraging one another” – and “the Day” is “drawing near”! We need the body of Christ to be whole once more.
I pray this helps whomever it is meant to. If you need help finding a church home, I would love to help you.
There are so many distractions around us. Everywhere we look there seems to be more trouble and more distraction than ever before. It gets harder and harder to keep our focus when our eyes are constantly wandering from issue to problem to…well, whatever.
I am reminded of times when my children have been upset or in trouble – when they have been inconsolable. When they are torn with grief and cannot stop sobbing, when their breathing catches in their chest and they are afraid, when their whole little world seems to their limited experience to be falling apart, I tell them to look into my eyes and trust me. I remind them that as their daddy I will do everything in my power to help – to make it as right as I can.
For my kids, there is only so much comfort that looking into my eyes can bring. I cannot fix everything. I know it. They know it. And that is a good thing. They do not need to look to me to fix everything. I make a poor savior and a worse god.
But we have a heavenly Father we can look to. One day, our faith – “assurance of things hoped for, conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1) – will be made sight. We will no longer believe out of faith because we will see Him face to face! Oh, how we should long for that Day!
But until then, let us “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2 NIV84). Let us “set [our] minds on things that are above”, on “Christ who is your life” (Colossians 3:2, 4). Let us seek the Lord for “the eyes of [our] hearts to be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19). Let us look to and have faith in King Jesus.
That’s what we are singing about this week, our great God and Savior Jesus Christ who reveals Himself to us through His Word and His Spirit and has made a Way for us to be with Him for all eternity – who loves us and cares for us enough to die and LIVE for us!
Here are our songs:
Ephesians 1:15-23
15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. 12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. 13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? 14 You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. 15 You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
I hope to see you with us, whether you gather in person, in the parking lot via speaker, or on Facebook or YouTube live!
If gathering in person, please remember that masks are recommended and that we need to remain vigilant in our social distancing measures. Continue to pray for those who are sick – not just our members but all those around the world.
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share in Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.
1 Peter 4:12-13
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 5:8-11
Greetings, Sojourner!
It has been so good these past few weeks to look at God’s faithfulness throughout the trials of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. This world can be a scary place sometimes, and we need to remember that God is in control – His sovereignty and power know no bounds! It is also important to remember that God’s faithfulness is not dependent upon our own faithfulness.
Through the examples of these young men, we have seen what one’s relationship with God should look like before, during, and following difficult times. Thankfully, most of us have not had to endure a fraction of the suffering that they did. We followed them from the beginning of their exile, their endurance of tyrannical leaders and near death experiences (through furnace and lions’ den). But where does that leave us?
I believe that the guidance we have in 1 Peter helps us to see how we are meant to live our lives in the face of the “various trials” (1 Peter 1:6) that will – or already have – come our way. Depending on what date you hold 1 Peter to, it was either written in the period right before or right after the Roman emperor Nero came into power. There is a saying that goes with Nero’s rule, particularly how he reacted during the Great Fire of Rome in 64ad: “Nero fiddled while Rome burned”. Whether or not he started that fire or played the fiddle, we will never know, but his persecution of the Church in Rome was wicked and terrible. King Nebuchadnezzar would have been proud.
Looking at Peter’s advice and encouragement to his original audience (and to us today through the Holy Spirit), we can pull out some principles that will help us to live out our faith in the midst of whatever trials may come our way.
1. Trials and Tribulations are Part of the Christian Life
Trials and tribulations are constants throughout Church history – from the time of Christ to the present. “…[A]ll who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…” (2 Timothy 3:12). Peter is trying to relay this in our first passage today. He is showing us that we can and should prepare so that we are not shocked when times of difficulty arise (4:12).
Many believers in the world at the time of Peter’s writing faced trials (5:9), and many around the world today face them as well. Are you? I think it is important to examine our lives to see: 1) whether or not we are suffering because of our faith, and 2) if we are suffering, is it for our faith and not situations of our own making. I do not think that suffering is something that we necessarily need to covet or invite, but we do not need to walk with Christ in such a way as to prevent it out of fear nor avoid it when it comes.
2. Our Trials Identify Us with Christ
So often Scripture perplexes us when it talks about rejoicing in the midst of suffering (James 1:2, Romans 5:3), but Peter helps us to see why we are rejoicing. We are not supposed to rejoice that we are experiencing misery – that would be crazy. We are not supposed to relish in the pain – again, nuts. We are supposed to rejoice because we get to be identified with Jesus and “share in [His] sufferings” (4:13).
Jesus Himself promised such treatment for being identified with Him:
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
Oh, to be identified with Christ – to live for Him in such a way that the world looks at us and sees Him! That is, after all, what the word Christian means: little Christ. And it was meant as a slur to Christ-followers long before our people began to wear it as a badge of honor (Acts 11:26, 1 Peter 4:16).
3. These Trials are Not Meant to Be Faced Alone
If we are not careful, all this talk about trials and tribulations can scare us. That is not the intent of the Bible, and it is not my intent here. As we move to our second passage where we see the devil depicted as a “roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (5:8), we could be tempted to be afraid. I would definitely feel fear if I encountered a hungry lion! So, let me remind you of the words of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah:
“I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
In regard to encountering the devil, I do not want to downplay his strength and ferocity. I just want you to remember that there is a greater Lion.
I believe it is for this purpose that Peter begins this section with the command to be “sober-minded”. We need to keep our minds clear from all of the thoughts and desires that tend to take it captive (Romans 7:23, Colossians 2:8) and, instead, allow the Holy Spirit to rule in our hearts and minds and destroy the strongholds of the enemy, especially fear (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). In our sober-mindedness, we find ourselves able to “be watchful” so that we can “resist him” and remain “firm in [our] faith”. You cannot have one without the other.
The interesting thing about these commands is that all of them are plural. In Mississippi, we should have no problem with translating this because it is like Peter is saying, “Y’all be sober-minded; y’all be watchful; y’all stick together and resist him; and y’all be firm in your faith.” The Holy Spirit, through Peter, is reminding us that we are supposed to be part of a local church – a local expression of the body of Christ. There is no such thing as lone ranger Christianity. He designed us to work together like a human body with Him as the Leader and Head (Colossians 1:18). When we are walking with the greater Lion, the devil knows that he cannot lay a claw on Him.
4. All Trials and Tribulations are Temporary
Peter describes the length of time that our trials last as a “little while” (1:6, 5:10). I do not know about you, but I have never experienced a difficult time and thought of it as being short. Some Mondays seem two weeks long and some seasons of life seem never-ending. It is all about perspective. And that is exactly what Peter is trying to give us here.
He is wanting us to look at our trials with eternity in mind. At the end of this earthly “little while”, those who put their hope and trust in Christ will be “called…to His eternal glory”. When we are with Him in eternity, our final tear will be wiped away, death will no longer be a threat, and mourning, crying, and pain will have all surpassed their expiration date (Revelation 21:3-4). Just like a new mother forgets the excruciating hours of labor when she holds her child, we will forget the pains of our labor from this earth when we kneel at the feet of King Jesus with the rest of the saints around His throne!
Ultimately, that is what this whole study has been about – perspective. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were able to continue serving the Lord because He had never forsaken them in their whole relationship. Daniel could turn to prayer in the face of execution because He was constant in prayer. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah could walk confidently in the fiery furnace because their faith had been tested by fiery trials all along their journey with the Lord. And Daniel was able to faithfully continue going to the Lord in prayer rather than fearing the lions because the Lord had faithfully cared for him all of his long years.
It is supposed to be the same for us. If we look for this life to be fulfilling and never disappointing, we will be empty of everything except disappointment. But, if we look to Jesus as the “founder and perfecter of our faith” and long to be with Him, we can “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and…run with endurance the race set before us” (Hebrews 12:1-2). The “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” will outweigh the pain of any trial or temptation (Philippians 3:8). My prayer for you is that you examine your life. Are you living for Christ or for yourself? Do you want to please Him or yourself? I think that Jesus’ question in Luke 9:25 is a good place for some self-examination this morning: “For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” May you see the surpassing worth of King Jesus and worship Him in the good times, cling to Him in the bad times, and be with Him for all time in eternity.
1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; 2 and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”
Daniel 6:1-5
10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.
Daniel 6:10
Greetings, Sojourner!
Well, just when we thought 2020 could not get any stranger, we decided to hold an election. The United States is split, and divisiveness seems to be at an all time high. But, to quote my friend and fellow teacher Chuck Crouch, “The world is not falling apart; it’s falling into place.”[1] How can that be amid things seeming to be in such disarray? Oddly, our answer comes from King Nebuchadnezzar after God finally got his attention:
“…I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored Him who lives forever, for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His Kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’”
In the first devotion in this series, we saw how terrible and wicked Nebuchadnezzar could be. Then, in the second installment, we saw how irrational and tyrannical he could be. And, last week, we saw the full extent of his desire for power and recognition as he demanded worship and threatened death to everyone who did not bow to him. But – and this is especially important – the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar is gone and has been for millennia. In fact, his son Belshazzar who took over from him (Daniel 5) is gone, too. The same can be said for so many kingdoms. But there is a King of kings with a Kingdom that will not and cannot be shaken (Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 12:28)!
Ultimately, this is the biggest lesson to be learned from Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They were of God’s chosen nation, yet that earthly kingdom was allowed to be taken over. They were given places of esteem and renown within arguably the greatest and most powerful kingdom of its time. But their allegiance was to a greater Kingdom. When the laws of the land contradicted the Law of God there was no question as to where their obedience would lie. They faced certain death with a faith stronger than the powers-that-be could or would ever understand. Even though they lived thousands of years before Jim Elliot, they embodied the message he proclaimed with his life and these words: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
In today’s passage, we do not see Daniel the youth, but, rather, we see Daniel as an older, seasoned man. He has served his Lord continually and served under three kings and two major world powers – Babylon and Media-Persia. By all accounts it seems as if everything had fallen into place for Daniel; at least that is the way I have always heard his situation portrayed. But was he any less an exile or eunuch because he had renown and a high-profile job? The world had certainly not forgotten that he was “one of the exiles from Judah” (Daniel 6:13). No, Daniel was a servant of the Most High God throughout his life, and the kingdom of the world would continually hold that against him.
So often, we see Daniel and his companions characterized as heroes because of their survival, but God is the hero of their life stories. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were not naturally flame retardant, and Daniel was not immune to the teeth and claws of ferocious lions. God caused the flames not to burn. God shut the mouths of the lions. What did these guys do, then, that causes us to still speak of them all these thousands of years later?
They prayed to their God.
They worshiped their Lord.
If we are honest with ourselves, their only remotely heroic acts – the actions that are heralded as examples of civil disobedience and contending for the faith – are the actions that we find the most mundane and practice the least in our walk with the Lord. It must also be noted that these acts of prayer and worship were not done in the public square. They were not done in grandiose gestures that draw attention to movements or positions or any such thing. Their prayer and worship took place in their private lives – just between them and the Lord. The only reason that we have even heard about it is because one’s personal relationship with the Lord is the only thing that fuels courage in the face of death – the only thing that straightens the backs of Christ-followers when an emperor demands bowed heads and knees.
For Daniel, the situation was different than we probably realize. It is easy to look at him as a “Bible hero”. That gives him a sense of other-ness and allows us to excuse our lack of faithfulness. Daniel was not different. He had to feel the tension to give in just this once. You see, Daniel was a legit disciple; his personal worship included study of the Word, specifically the writings/prophesies of Jeremiah. And it was through this studying that he learned that the end of their exile was coming to an end (Daniel 9:2). That means that this trial hit differently. He had lost so much over the years in exile, and, now, as an old man he faced the chance of losing his life when he was so close to being released and going home.
I cannot imagine what went on in his heart. I would like to believe that he struggled like I do. I know that is selfish of me, but I think of how much I struggle to weigh the benefit of being and ministering where God has planted me against the difficulties of actually being in those situations. For Daniel, the years of constant prayer and continued faithfulness from God to him outweighed the possibility of death. The life that God had given him (John 14:6) and the hope for a future (Jeremiah 29:11) that came from his faith in the Lord kept him faithful even when times appeared dark. So, rather than giving up or giving in, Daniel “got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously” (Daniel 6:10; cf. Daniel 2:23, Daniel 9:3-19, Psalm 138:2, 1 Kings 8:48).
That continued faithfulness had an impact on those around Daniel, too. Of course, many of those people – those belonging to the kingdom of darkness and vying for a temporary earthly position – wanted him dead, but Darius wanted him to live. Do not misunderstand me here. It was Darius’ worldly foolishness that put Daniel in this situation. But God showed Darius something through the witness of Daniel.
Most of us have much more in common with Darius than we do with Daniel. Darius knew he had messed up and tried his hardest to undo the situation himself. “…[H]e labored till the sun went down to rescue him” (Daniel 6:14b). But, truth be told, Darius made a terrible Savior. It is a good thing that Daniel did not need Darius to save him. No, Darius tried all that he could but was unable to come up with a plan to save Daniel. At his wits end – at his most hopeless, he saw the hope that Daniel had and made an amazing proclamation: “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you” (Daniel 6:16)! Daniel’s continual service and faith in God was evident. If someone were to call upon the God we serve continually, would King Jesus be the one to respond or would we be at the mercy of the mute idols that receive our time and worship (Habakkuk 2:18, 1 Corinthians 12:2)?
With Darius’ plea for help from Daniel’s God, Daniel was lowered into the pit where ferocious and hungry lions were waiting to devour him. A stone was laid over the entrance of the lions’ den. And Darius was forced to wait until morning to find out if Daniel had been delivered or devoured.
As I said earlier, it is a good thing that Daniel did not need to rely on Darius as his Savior.
I find this part more comforting as an adult. The lions’ den terrified me as a child, even though I knew Daniel would walk out the other side unscathed. Now, I know that there was a stone rolled over a door hundreds of years after Daniel and the lions’ den. That stone covered the tomb of a lion, and Satan and his earthly forces – just like those who plotted Daniel’s demise – relished in the excitement that they had shut the mouth of that lion. But that lion – the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, our God and Savior Jesus Christ – would walk out of the tomb of His own accord! And it is because of Him that Darius – and all who put their hope and faith in Him – could rejoice like John in his vision of heaven:
“And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered….’ And…I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain….”
It is that Lion – “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) – who gave Daniel the rescue that he so desperately needed and can rescue us as well.
When the stone was rolled away from the lion’s den, Darius asked (Daniel 6:20) a very important question: “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions”? God had, of course, shut the lions’ mouths (Daniel 6:22, Hebrews 11:33). And His power to save is still available today.
I do not know what difficulties you face. I know that many people are afraid of the way things in this world are heading. But God is still on His throne. The question for us is: where are we? Are we on our knees like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah? Are we continually serving the God we claim to trust? The good news for us is that He is willing to accept us should we call out to Him (Romans 10:9-10, 13).
I would like to leave you with a song this week. This was written nearly 500 years ago by Martin Luther, and I think it would do us well to have this song in our hearts today:
“And tho’ this world, with devil’s filled / Should threaten to undo us / We will not fear, for God hath willed / His truth to triumph through us / The Prince of Darkness grim / We tremble not for him / His rage we can endure / For lo, his doom is sure / One little word can fell him.”[2]
Amen.
[1] After telling Chuck that I wanted to quote him for this week’s Refresh & Restore, he quickly told me that he felt that he had gotten that thought from a Christian song and did not want to take credit away from the original author. Ye olde Google told me that the original quote comes from the song “Just Be Held” by Casting Crowns. So, listen to Chuck, and click the link if you would like to listen to the song.
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands? 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Daniel 3:13-18 ESV
Greetings, Sojourner!
I am writing this on Sunday, November 1. I had originally planned to wait until Wednesday to write this week’s devotion since the election is Tuesday. Somehow, in my mind, I felt like this would be more relevant having all the context that making it through November 3 would give. But God’s Word is always relevant for all our circumstances!
My son, Xander, unknowingly convinced me to go ahead and write this today. After church, I always ask him what he learned about in Sunday School because I love to hear the way he phrases things. He has this cool mixture of excitedness and nonchalant fact in the way that he retells the lesson. Here is the gist of today’s:
“There were three friends who didn’t want to pray for the big statue. And the king threw them in the fire oven. But – guess what – they didn’t burn up because God send…there was four guys in there…an angel…and the fire…it didn’t work!”
Oh, to get to go back and hear the amazing tales of God’s faithfulness for the first time! I got to see the joy on his face when I was able to tell him that this was true and not merely a story! I got to see the delight in his eyes when he found out that God can do more than what comic books heroes or movies can try to point to. So, I can say with full assurance that whatever November 3 has held – whether we now be in World War III or are having a casual American Thursday – the God of Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael is stillbigger and still sovereignly seated on His throne.
For the past few weeks, we have been looking at the examples of these four young men as they were exiled in a foreign land. The first week showed us how simple faithfulness is necessary in the easy times before we ever see it worked out in our difficult times. Last week, we saw how that simple, every-day sort of faithfulness is expressed once the hard times begin. But this week is something else entirely!
I can remember hearing this story as a kid. Like Xander, I was fascinated with the fire that “didn’t work” and the fourth presence there in the furnace with them. And, now, as an adult I am finding more hope than fascination. It is amazing to look at the way these young men grew from beginning to walk out their faith in the Lord into older men who live out that faith on the grand scale that we see in Daniel 3.
I want us to focus on what their response was and what it was not. This all started because they were continuing in their regular practice of faith. Their faith was a normal part of their life, and it continued uninterrupted from before their exile and in the unknown periods of time between Daniel 1-2 and 2-3. In fact, people expected them to practice their faith. What they did not do is fear. They did not stop trusting in the God that they had walked with for so long. They just kept on walking by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7), even when their current situation began to look darker.
King Nebuchadnezzar tried to deny the reality of his nightmare and Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 2:31-47) by building a giant statue – and in the same plain as the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:2)! In both monuments we see man trying to take the place of God. In the case of Babel, they wanted to be wise and glorious like God. But, in Nebuchadnezzar’s case, he was already wise in his own eyes; he wanted to be worshipped. Nearly everyone bowed the knee. Everyone, that is, except for Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah – because they had bowed the knee to God Most High consistently and continually.[1]
When people fall into idolatry – when they succumb to the pressure of temptation, they are angry at those who do not. Many of the people who were bowing to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue were exiles just like these young men. They were of many “peoples, nations, and languages” (v. 4) and victims of the same brainwashing and persecution that they tried to force on Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Yet these other exiles bowed the knee to the king long before he built the statue. That made it easier to march to the beat of his drum when he struck up the band. And it made them angry to see people not bowing with them.
One would think that the courage to stand in the face of certain doom would be labeled as heroic. But their faith found retaliation instead of renown. Nebuchadnezzar used fear and intimidation to get worship. No doubt those exiles who bowed the knee did it to escape both the fire of the king’s wrath as well as his furnace. Yet our young men silently and faithfully carried on. They bowed their heads and hearts to God and continued as they always had – bowing their knees to God only.
When the king heard about their steadfastness, he had them drug in before him and gathered a large audience. He pulled out all the stops. If he could not get these young men to bow the knee, he would secure his hold over the masses by executing them publicly. He wanted to establish his place as their god and squelch any faithfulness or worship to any god aside from himself.
Imagine yourself in the place of these young men – and there is a time coming where we may not have to imagine (2 Timothy 3:1, 12-13). They were stood in front of a large audience, mocked and berated by the king. He reminded them that they were far from their home and that their livelihood and safety were in his hands. He had the band queued and ready. As soon as the music started, all they had to do is simply bow the knee. He made it sound so easy – so reasonable – so harmless. He asked them what god could rescue them from his hands (v. 15). Little did he know, there is a God in heaven who could rescue body and soul – one way or another (Matthew 10:28).
Their response is recorded in the verses at the beginning of the devotion (vv. 16-18). Look at the way that their response exhibited their faith. First, they let the king know that they did not have to answer to him (v. 16). Then, they declared that their God was “able” to and would deliver them indeed (v. 17). Finally, they let him know that should God choose not to rescue them from the flames they would not bow to the pressure and squander their worship on him or his false gods (v. 18).
That last part is especially key. While this is not a popular view on the subject, God would be no less God if these young men had died in the furnace for their faith. Their fate was sealed by their faith, and, just as they said, they knew God would deliver them one way or another. There are people all over the world, even today, who are martyred for their faith. People see their devotion to Christ and get to see His power through the witness of the faithful. Their faith is not lessened by their deaths. Just as they close their eyes in death as an act of worship, they open them again in heaven, looking on the face of the Savior who died for them and are happy to worship Him forevermore!
Do not hold their lack of execution against Nebuchadnezzar. He was good at being bad. He could not help it that, just as Xander said, his fire did not work! Their faith “quenched the fire” (Hebrews 11:34)! Nebuchadnezzar watched joyfully, expecting to hear screams from the dying and see groans of submission from the audience. He had a front row seat, wanting to see these men die. But much to his surprise, he saw the power of the Lord (vv. 24-25)!
Nebuchadnezzar witnessed all of this with his own eyes. One would think that would be enough to turn his heart – and it looked like it did for a minute (vv. 28-30). But, just as Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah came out unsinged with no smell of smoke (v. 27), Nebuchadnezzar’s view of himself remained unchanged (Daniel 4:27-34). His desire to keep his status and the status quo outweighed his desire to bow the knee to God Most High.
So, I ask you: to whom do you bow the knee – to Jesus or something lesser? I am sure that if Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah could talk to you today they would remind you that “if you confess with your mouth that JESUS is LORD and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, emphasis added). No matter the beat of the drummer who was elected two days ago – if a decision or consensus has even been reached – Jesus is truly the King of kings and Lord of lords (Philippians 2:9-11), and that is not up for election or debate!
Let me remind you again that what we practice in peace is available to us in persecution. If you are tossed about like a rowboat on the ocean by every unknown fear in times of peace (James 1:6), your whole world will crumble when the rain and floods come (Matthew 7:24-27). But “those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever” (Psalm 125:1)! The kingdom of the Lord “cannot be shaken” and God alone is worthy of our “worship, with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28).
Let us practice what the psalmist wrote in peace so that we are not shaken when things get truly difficult:
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling…. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
And may our daily worship and devotion begin to mirror the faith of three young exiled eunuchs in the midst of their “fiery trial” (1 Peter 4:12) – “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us” (v. 17).
Xander Harris, illustrator
[1] Many people wonder why Daniel was not part of this narrative and whether or not he bowed the knee. Daniel 2:49 clarified that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were given authority “over the affairs of the province of Babyon” but Daniel’s responsibilities called for him to remain “at the king’s court”.
I learned a long time ago that you need to have a good hook in your writing and that, sometimes, a quote is a real attention-getter. My first thought was to go with a good Winston Churchill quote like, “Kites rise high against the wind, not with it.” But it was a little too abstract. I found a few more that would work for what I was looking for and decided to go with a tried-and-true idiom: “don’t shoot the messenger”.
Social media platforms are mainstays in our current culture. There are few who do not partake, and its uses vary widely. When Facebook first reached this area, it was used predominantly by college students to reconnect with people from their earlier school years. It has branched out quite a bit from that point and is used to connect with old friends, share pictures and life events with distant family, be a political platform, and everything in between. It leaves me wondering, for the believer, what our social media presence should be like.
As I sit here typing these thoughts, I must admit that I am afraid. Over the last twenty-four hours, I have watched self-proclaimed believers eviscerate other believers for warning against a cult-leader spouting medical knowledge in a viral post. I have seen self-proclaimed believers copy and paste rhetoric to support their stance against mask wearing that came from a basis of support in pro-choice abortion in contrast to their former pro-life stances. I have seen enough to scare me to the point where I vastly overanalyze everything that I consider posting to the point that I rarely post more than a few Bible verses and the devotions I send out weekly. Where is the gospel in all of this?
The word translated gospel can literally be translated good news, and good news is hard to come by on social media these days. In Romans 1:16, Paul tells us something about how our attitudes and lives should be shaped by the gospel: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Paul exhibited this in his life by having the sharing of the gospel as a defining characteristic in his life. His calling was to be a missionary to the Gentiles, and Scripture tells us that he consistently shared the gospel message wherever he went. He was clearly not ashamed of its message or the Christ he proclaimed. But, most importantly, his continual sharing of the gospel showed that he genuinely believed that it was “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes”.
I believe that we should allow the Bible to define the gospel message a little bit more. If one were to look to individual passages of Scripture to concisely define the Gospel, I have laid out a few that are more commonly known:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
“For I delivered unto you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures….” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
“For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Each of these passages very clearly present Jesus Christ. One might argue that more context is needed for any of them, and I would wholeheartedly agree – that is what sharing the gospel truly is, opening the Scriptures and pointing to Jesus! This information is extremely important. Furthermore, it should be a part of our life, our speech, and our conduct (Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
Before we go any farther in this discussion, we must ask ourselves the following questions: (1) do I truly believe the gospel of Jesus has the power to save people, (2) do I truly believe that Jesus has the power to change the lives of the people He saves, and (3) am I presenting other solutions for peoples’ salvation instead of the gospel?
Now, as I have discussed this with people recently, I have heard these two counterarguments most commonly. The first counterargument is that there is nothing wrong with posting other, non-gospel things on social media, and, to that, I mostly agree. We can post whatever we want. I am not arguing that our social media platform should look like what people perceive the church to look like. I am not calling for a removal of all memes, articles, songs, etc. I am not advocating for anything more that for believers in Christ to look at the message we are presenting to the world. Rather than me try to define what I want for my life and the lives of other believers, it would serve us all better for God to do that as He already has in His Word. Colossians 3:17 tells us, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” This is a good admonition in Scripture that I fall short of quite often, but that does not change the fact that it is a good admonition for believers to strive to match up with – both in-person and virtually.
The second counterargument is that believers should be involved in politics. I do not disagree with this stance; however, I think we should define what being involved in politics is and is not. Firstly, I do not think that non-stop sharing of political memes and any article put out by members of your particular political party can be called being “involved” in politics. No political change is going to happen sitting on one’s couch. People often hail back to the founding fathers who were believers, and I think they set a good example. They did not merely write out the Declaration of Independence and sit back to watch others share it about in the villages and towns around them. The sharing of a document did not change the landscape of the new world. That would be ridiculous. They sent that declaration to King George, got off their rear-ends, and were active in their cause – not just on election days. Secondly, I find that little thought goes into much of what is viral in the present. I have seen people share articles from Snopes – a fact-checking website – because of their agreeing with the headline and ignore the fact that they are actually proving themselves wrong with the content of the article. We need to be discerning in what we say (James 3:1-12), whether with our physical mouths or through our thumbs via an app.
If we genuinely believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to change lives, it should be present in our lives. And before it can ever impact anyone else, it has to have impacted us in our own hearts. This means that the lack of gospel in our social media presences will not be fixed by merely adding some Jesus-y content to our regimen of copying and pasting. It means that we have some repenting to do in how we interact with others. We need to ask ourselves if Jesus would be pleased with the content we put out. We need to examine whether or not Jesus would agree with the overall message that we are presenting. It means we should repent – as often as necessary – and spending more time in prayer to God and in His Word than we do on social media in the first place. Maybe you need to go over to the settings on your phone and look at the screen time percentage for social media. I just looked at mine, I and am ashamed. I had to stop writing and repent to the Lord and to my family. We have had screen time limits for our daughter and content restrictions on all of our phones, and, before finishing writing this, we now have screen time limitations across the board.
Not only should the gospel be present in our lives, but it should also show up in the content we put out. I would urge you to look back on your social media platforms and see whether or not there is any gospel content going out. Are you proclaiming anything that you believe people need to see and learn? Are you proclaiming solutions for people’s lives that come from worldly places more than from God’s Word? If so, you need to repent. It is something I have had to do myself. It is not easy, but it is absolutely vital.
I do not want this article to be a finger-pointing, judgment session, and I am afraid that it will be taken as such. My hope for you is the same as I have for myself – that we continue to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, Him bringing change in us. I have fought against the urge to write this for some time now, and, if you are reading this, I can assure you that I have prayed for you in your reading. But, rather than have me continue to type my own words, let me offer you some words from Scripture that I constantly try to bring to my mind when I get off-balance in my thinking and speech. Romans 12:1-2 are verses that I try to post on my desk at work and try to post in my mind as often as needed. I believe they have that gospel influence that I have been writing about and hope they help you on your way:
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Just Keith Harris 