365 Reflections

How do you stand for God when everyone else is falling for lies? That is the most important question we can ask of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. The only three people in the world who stood for God at a time of global confusion. The world ebbs and flows into this sort of state, where at times people are utterly fooled into following nonsense. I consider the COVID-19 lockdown period one such time. I'm sorry if that offends, but it's truer now than ever. We were lied to, and few stood up for the truth because the consequences for doing so were somewhat severe.  It doesn't get more severe than burning to death.  Daniel 3:8–12 (ESV) Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden i...

Genesis 40:1–3, 6-7 (ESV) Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. ... 7   When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” Something beautiful happens when Joseph hits rock bottom. He starts being sensitive to the plights of others. One of the benefits of our trials is that they open our eyes to the reality of pain so that when others come under the same misfortune we have eyes to see them and hearts that go out to them.  The teenage Joseph might never have noticed the cup-bearer's and chief baker's downcast faces before. Consumed with is...

Revelation 21:21 (ESV)   And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. They are often the baseline for a joke. But they are far more than a joke. They are the gates of the City of God! And they will be beautiful. The story of a pearl is a clue to this beautiful picture John gives us. A Pearl is made from a mollusk in a very ordinary oyster. A piece of sand gets under the membrane and causes the oyster pain. Eventually the mollusk secrets a nacre that rounds off the piercing edges of that foreign object and over time a pearl is produced. Is this not a picture of heaven? Our lives are filled with foreign objects that invade us. Yet we have the Holy Spirit in us rounding off the rough spots in our lives to produce something beautiful. Eventually, in the sanctification process we have beauty from our pains. Earlier in the chapter, John records this reality in the new...

What is your commendation list? That little pile of accomplishments on which you are basing your value and worth in life? What does it look like? Are you proud of it? Are you still working for more of it... hoping and longing to cap it all off with a spectacular grand finale? Here is Paul's commendation list: 2 Corinthians 6:3–10 (ESV) We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet no...

The common saying, "God will never give you more than you can handle." Paul says that's just wrong . 2 Corinthians 1:8–9 (ESV) For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death... Paul, the powerful and mightily used Apostle of Jesus Christ. The one the Holy Spirit inspired to write almost half of the New Testament. The Apostle that brought the Gospel to the utter reaches of the world said, "We were in a place that was BEYOND OUR STRENGTH." "Beyond our strength." That sounds like more than he could handle. The thing about "Christian lingo" is that it often conflicts with scripture. It sounds good and helpful, but its not accurate and can do a lot of damage. Before you throw out that next "Christianese comfort phrase" to someone in a d...

Luke 21:12–13 (ESV) they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Did you see it? Jesus says when they punch you and hit you and try to destroy you, when they accuse you of evil and you're facing imprisonment, more beatings or death... don't be discouraged, this is your opportunity to bear witness.  Witness to what? That something better is in store for you as a child of the living God! I love how Jesus tells us to live.  Not reactive as if the world is against us! We are called to be proactive and positive in any situation! We are to be ready to bear witness to the hope we have in Christ. To show the world that even death cannot disturb us, we have a home in heaven waiting. Christ conquered the strongest threat they could hold over us. No matter how we die, we all will rise! Resurrection is co...