Friday, April 8, 2011

Daniel 3

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Ha. I beat the black hole! It would have gobbled up my thoughts again today if I had not copied them to my clipboard first. Now if I can just remember to make a habit of that!

"They were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god other than their own." v28

Death used to be the thing that frightened me. How it would happen, how long it would last, how much it would hurt. Also fearing the same things about the death of my children.

I have prayed for years that God would free me from those fears and make true the verse "Oh death, where now is your victory, where is your sting."

In the past few years God has been gently leading me into a place of peace and calm in regards to death. A willingness to embrace and welcome it in whatever form it might take because it will bring about the culmination of all my hopes and heart's desires, to be united with the one who loves me and gave Himself up for me.

Foxe's Book of Martyrs has been instrumental in bringing about this change in my life. I have to admit that at many times the parts of the stories based on liturgical tradition really weird me out, but at the same time I know there is foundational truth in the lives of these men and women who bravely and stalwartly laid down their lives for what (who) they believed in. They died more gory deaths than I will most likely ever have to face, and they did it with hope and joy in their hearts. I stand amazed by the testimony of this cloud of witnesses.

Chris said...

When it comes to facing death, I think more about the people who are affected by it here on earth than actually about the person (myself) having to die. I don't like the idea of torture, but at least there is an end with a glorious finish afterward!

What the NIRV version says makes me think of is a sermon I just heard. The verse says "They would rather die than serve or worship any god except their own God." The sermon talked about not wanting to to anywhere without the presence of the Lord going ahead of you. I know it was from a particular scripture, but I can't think of the the character right now. The idea that if even if God gave you the desires of your heart, but He wasn't going to be with you, that it would mean nothing. That is a beautiful attribute of a believer. May we be filled and completed with the presence of our God.

Shailey said...

"Shadrach,Meshach,and Abednego replied,'O Nebuchadnezzar,we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace,the God whom we serve is able to save us.He will rescue us from your power,Your Majesty.And even if he doesn't,Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the statue you have set up.'"v 16-18

We should all stand up for what we believe in.We should not be afraid to die because when we do die we will be with God in a much better world than this one.Sometimes I think I could be one of Daniel's three friends and I would be able to go into that blazing fire,but sometimes I feel like I would be to afraid.We should all love God enough that we would die instead of worshiping other Gods.Right now I feel like I could die for God.

Unknown said...

Exodus 33:15, Chris? I love that.

Elisa said...

"No other God can save people that way. So I am giving an order. No one from any nation or language can say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. If they do, they'll be cut to pieces. And their houses will be turned into piles of trash." vs-29

God is the most powerful God no matter what some people think, as a matter of fact he is the only God there is. And king Nebuchadnezzer learned that an idol can't do anything but God can do anything, even save people from blazing furnaces.

Nikki said...

There is so much in this passage that amazes me; such power, such inspiring obedience. But I am personally convicted of how I let circumstances dictate my understanding of God's will & my obedience to it. I so often assess the circumstance before I follow the Lord into it. These young men followed the Lord with confidence into a situation that was clearly bad news for them. I want such a pure faith. Oh Lord let me learn this lesson from Your Word not from my experience!

Berry Girl said...

I love their faith.
"...our God whom we serve IS ABLE to deliver us...BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT ...we are not going to serve your gods..."

God can deliver us, but even if He chooses not to and we die a horrible death, we will still choose to be faithful to Him.
Beautiful.