Window-Watcher.

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. (Daniel 6:10)

“He knew that people were out to get him.” (Pastor Shane)

Daniel was committed to the One true God, and his commitment to God was not shaken by the leaders who sought to remove him from his position.

What would you do if someone threatened to harm you if you were “caught” in the act of praying? Pastor Shane noted that, for some of us, our strategy would perhaps be to change our routine: pray in secret, pray silently, or pray somewhere else. But Daniel continued to live out the routine he had established.

• His prayer was public; the windows were open.
• His prayer had a specific posture; he got down on his knees.
• His prayer was positional; the windows opened toward Jerusalem, the beloved land from which he was exiled.
• His prayer was positive; he did not wail about having been exiled, but rather gave thanks to God.

In fact, it seems that Daniel did not concern himself at all with his detractors. He knew that petitioning God was the right thing to do.

After Pastor Shane's sermon, Pastor Andy took the podium and said, “We stand in the midst of Babylon, open our windows, and declare that we trust in our God.” I pray that is true for all of us.

Where do you stand today? Are you a person of prayer? Are you afraid to be “caught” praying? Do you have a place to pray? Is your prayer life consistent?

Just Trust.

Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God. (Daniel 3:28, NASB)

During Sunday's sermon, Pastor Shane shared a brief illustration of trust. He asked a child to face away from him and lean backwards into a fall, promising that he would catch the child.

Did the child trust Pastor Shane? Eventually, yes. But initially, the child looked back at Pastor Shane several times, evoking laughter from the congregation.

Can I really trust you to catch my fall?

In Daniel chapter 3 we read the famed story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into a fiery furnace. The three young men offered an astounding testimony to King Nebuchadnezzar just prior to their being thrown into the flames: Our God can save us-- but we will take our trust in Him a step further. We will remain loyal to Him. Even if He doesn't save us, we will not bow to the idol you set up.

What about us? How sure is our loyalty to God? Will we still love Him if He doesn't rescue us?

I wish we could all avoid crises. But as we go through our challenges, people around us have the opportunity to see real faith in action: the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (see Hebrews 11:1). We trust God even as modern-day King Nebuchadnezzars rant and rail over our refusal to bow to the "ism"s of the postmodern age. We trust God as the flames are increased, destroying even the lives of those sent to toss us into the furnace. And we trust God as we walk in the midst of the fire. Why? Because we are accompanied by the Chief Fire-Walker, the One with burnished feet (see Revelation 1:10-18) who keeps us alive and well in the raging flames.

At the end of the day, God gets the glory. What did King Nebuchadnezzar say? "Wow, those guys are cool..."? No. He said, and the canon records, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego."

Lord, that is what we want! Take us through fires, floods, challenges, and crises. We are not afraid to walk through the fire, because we have full assurance that Your Spirit will not leave us. Spirit of Christ, thank You for sustaining us in the midst of ranting kings and raging flames. You prevail. You receive glory and honor. We promise that we will never abandon our faith and trust in You.

At Your Service...

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans... As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s personal service. As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm. (Daniel 1:3-4, 17-20)

Talk like a servant of the king. When King Nebuchadnezzar carried captives into Babylon, he was deliberate in his choice of captives. He only took the persons who appeared to have "ability for serving in the king's court." But, after taking them, he ordered his chief to re-educate them in the Chaldean way. After three years of re-education, the king took the best students. Daniel and his three friends had successfully mastered the Chaldean way, so much so that they were chosen to be the king's personal servants. Even though they were foreigners, they were given the highest serving positions available in the land.

But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials, and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.” But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.” So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables. (Daniel 1:8-16)

Live like a servant of the Lord. Daniel knew that the food and wine provided by the king would defile his body, and he spoke to his commanding officer to request that he and his three friends not be forced to defile themselves. Although Daniel was in Babylon, the ethic of Babylon was not in Daniel. Over the years of his captivity, he remained faithful to the directive of God.

What about us? How do we conduct ourselves in light of the pressure to live "the Chaldean way"? Let's take a lesson from the lives of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They did not pretend they were ignorant. They did not fight against the re-education process. God had given them wisdom and understanding, and they learned all that they could possibly learn. They were not embarrassed to be at the top of their class. At the same time, though, they understood that their true service was not to King Nebuchadnezzar. They were forever servants of the Most High God, and their choices of worship and lifestyle reflected their love for the Lord of all the earth. When the day came where they had to state their loyalty, it was clear to all that their loyalty was to the God of Israel.

Lord God, give us the wisdom to know all... and the wisdom to serve One.

Please, Please, Please, Read.

"I encourage you to dig into Daniel." (Pastor Shane)

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Shane echoed Pastor Sam's appeal of the previous two Sundays: it is the appeal of the Lord. Read your Bible. Read these passages that My servants faithfully documented. 

Pastor Shane noted that the first six chapters of Daniel give us the story of how Daniel came to Babylon (and what he experienced there). The storyline also takes time to recount the experiences of Daniel's three friends.

The book of Daniel is a snapshot of radical, revolutionary faith in God. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were not the only four individuals carried off to Babylon in exile. There were other young men, from nobility and from royal families, who found themselves conscripted into the service of a pagan king. But Daniel and his friends chose to remain faithful to the God of Israel, while the other young men bowed their knees to foreign gods.

Why does God keep pointing us to these stories of life in exile? Why does the Lord keep appealing to Bronx Bethany to become absorbed in these narratives, to learn from them, to study them, and to live them out in this twenty-first century? In this year which our leaders have themed Pursuing Holiness, Promoting Healing, why are the lives of Joseph and Daniel (and Esther) continuing to resurface? I will leave you, readers, to answer the questions. But I hope that you are noticing the move of God, and that you are heeding His call to "dig in" to His word.

In a world of quick fixes and lives lived by third-party hearsay, even the act of reading for one's self is a revolutionary move. I pray that we all will heed the call. Have you still not read the book of Daniel? Please read it, even if you have read it before. God desires to speak to each of us through His word. There are keys to appropriating revolutionary faith which the Lord desires to show us. Those keys, though they will be touched upon over the next few days of Glossa Water, are better and more fully discovered as we read our Bibles and seek God's wisdom for ourselves.

Do you desire to hear from your Lord today? Fix your eyes on His word; hear Him speak.

Consider Daniel... consider yourself.

No Fear Here.

In titling his sermon "Don't Be Afraid To Be Radical", Pastor Shane tapped into the paradox of post-modern life: We want to be unique, but we don't want to stand out.

Our pastor shared, and I paraphrase, that it takes a radical commitment to Christ in order to function as the the body of Christ. To represent Christ in the world is to choose to stand out as righteous representatives of an eternal kingdom, rejecting the lure of decadence and moral decay.

Pastor Shane showed a video that referenced the Azusa Street revival. At one point the narrator in the video asked, "What about now?" Good question. Where are the revolutionary moments of the twenty-first century? Where are the new conversions to Christ (as opposed to inter-church transfers)? Is the Lord's Christ still drawing men to Himself by means of the hands and feet and hearts of faithful workers? Are people still willing to stand out, apart from the world, as ambassadors of Christ?

Thankfully, the answer is yes. The Lord has called, and the people of the Lord have responded to the call. My prayer is that you, reader, are one of those people.

Are you radically committed to bearing the cross of Christ, no matter what? If not, why not?