Daniel 9

It seems like every conversation I have with someone on the topic of social confession one of us always brings up Daniel 9. I have read it many times but never before has it stuck out to me so strongly as it has this last month or so. Join me won't you as I explore the account of Daniel's confession of behalf of Israel.

9:1 In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus, who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom- 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

Before we go any further I would like to point out what brought Daniel to this confession. It was not that he himself had done anything wrong. Notice it said he read and understood scripture specifically Jeremiah the prophet. He took what Jeremiah has said to heart and recognized that the 70 years was almost over. Therefore in my opinion Daniel's confession is not based on personal sin but a sin of his people for which he takes it upon himself (accepts some responsibility for) and pray the following.

9:4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands. 5 But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. 6 We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.

Notice here in 4-6 the pronouns that get translated WE not I and not THEY. Why is that significant. Because he recognized that he could not separate himself from his people, nor was he the one to blame. No he saw himself as part of the society and culture that brought the judgment described by Jeremiah and he confessed it for himself and for the rest of his people.

9:7 “Lord, you are in the right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you. 8 O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. 9 But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. 10 We have not obeyed the Lord our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice.
“So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin. 12 You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem. 13 Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth. 14 Therefore, the Lord has brought upon us the disaster he prepared. The Lord our God was right to do all of these things, for we did not obey him.
15 “O Lord our God, you brought lasting honor to your name by rescuing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. But we have sinned and are full of wickedness. 16 In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors.

I would like to point out here that Daniel accounts for the sin of Israel, from the time they left Egypt to his present day from the Kings to the common man, woman, and child. He intercedes on their behalf and pleads with the Lord for His loving mercy. Now I am not going as far as to say he is praying for the dead or anything like that but he is acknowledging the length and breadth of the sin. It would be similar if you were lead to pray for a generational sin that has plagued your family, passed down unknowingly through the years. Acknowledge the start of the rebellion tracking it through the generations will often reveal to you a way out from under its control. That is what Daniel is doing here. And in the process he intercedes for and entire nation.

9:17 “O our God, hear your servant’s prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary.
18 “O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.
19 “O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.”

Daniel ends his prayer with one last plea for mercy. Not just for himself but for everyone of his country men. That is true social confession. He recognized that he was part of the culture that brought this upon itself. And he also knew that it was an issue larger than just himself. This is a work that had started in him as if you read the entirety of Daniel's book you will see spreads to many in both Israel and other nations.

Dear reader blessing to you. I hope you are enjoying our look at key scriptures that help us understand our calling as Christians. Remember to send your confessions that you take to the Lord. I love to hear what the Lord reveals to the hearts of my fellow believers.

Jonah 4

The book of Jonah is a short book stuck in the middle of the minor profits right before Micah. This book is most notable because of its first chapter where Jonah gets swallowed by a large fish (whale?) then spit out on shore 3 days later. But what I want to look at today is chapters 3 and 4.

Chapter 3:
Here we see that Jonah finally listens to the Lord and goes to Nineveh and delivers his message from the Lord. Much to Jonah 's chagrin they heed his warning and repent. Yes, that's right even the King declares fasting and praying in order to atone for whatever it was they had done that would cause God to want to destroy them in 40 days.

Chapter 4:
Now lets look at Jonah reaction when the peoples of Nineveh repent. "4:1 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. 4:2 He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.""
Now we understand why Jonah has not wanted to go to Nineveh in the first place. His heart was hard for the people of Nineveh and he hated the fact that if they repented God would be merciful on them and let them live. Yes, that is right. He wanted then to pay for there abominations before the Lord no matter what. And he knew that if they repented God would be merciful.

This is a powerful warning by dear brothers and sisters. How heard are your hearts to those who once they hear the truth of Christ repent. Will you be like Jonah and be angry with God for showing your new brother or sister in Christ the same love He has shown you? The same warning is true for brothers and sisters in Christ who fall away or "backslide" if God shows them mercy will you be okay with that?

So often when this story is presented we focus only on Jonah's running from God's direction for him and his subsequent voyage on the boat and in the fish. And we fail to recognize the warning that is so clear at the end. Why? do we not want to think of ourselves as having this same issue. Does this not preach from the pulpit? Dear readers when the final Harvest is upon us many will turn to Christ, and we must be accepting of them when they finally embrace the truth no matter their past.

A personal note on this word. This word came so clear to me through several unrelated conversations I had yesterday and when preparing to last nights youth group. When I opened my bible to read this book I could not believe what i had read and nearly fell off my bar stool. Since then the Lord has been revealing to me just how many times in my heart I have reacted the same way Jonah did (YIKES). As a good Christian we would never say we hate someone or with them ill, but I confess I have. I will not tell you who or when as that is not something that I wish to be made public. But the Holy Spirit is showing me those things and in turn I am bringing them be for Jesus and asking Him to forgive my sinful heart.

Should you be reading this and the Lord reveals to you something similar, now is the perfect time to humble yourself before the Lord and ask His forgiveness. He Loves YOU and He will show you the same compassion He showed the people of Nineveh.

John 14: 5-14

Friends,

I, like Thomas, have asked the Lord to just show me the way and I will gladly follow. I have sought and searched and strained to see the path to the next thing to do for the Lord. I have told myself that this walk must take me somewhere and I want to get there as soon as yesterday. I have asked the Lord as Thomas does,14:5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

Now most of you understand what it means to know something and then one day finally get the meaning of it. Well it seems that only recently have I finally understood Jesus' answer to Thomas. 14:6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

Since I became a Christian I have "known" this verse. Only recently has it come to life with new meaning. This is what it means to be a Christian. We worry far too much about what the next knitting ministry will start and who is going to bring the pie for the pot-luck. I have come to realize that what the Lord wants from us is just us. That is the way to knowing the father and eternally communing with Him.

Shortly after this revelation I found myself asking what Philip asks. 14:8Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." You see I like all others what it to be well with me. I long to serve the Lord with all my waking moments, even if serving the Lord today or tomorrow means just worshiping or sitting still and listing to Him. Bu like Philip I want this to be well with me, and I could not figure out (and I still think it is a bit fuzzy) how fully devoted life to Christ even if that means praying to him all day without other distractions is supposed to support my family financially and all the other things that my flesh worries about.

And then of course is Jesus style the answer is in the next verse. 14:9Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

I know what you saying, "how is that the answer." Well it is. I am not 100% sure just how yet but I know deep in my heart that that is the answer. And my impression of Him is that when we finally stop for a moment and let Him tell us what He wants us to do He will also take care of our "other" needs. The Lord does ask for sacrifice but He also know and understands you. Some thoughts that I know to be true that have encouraged me through this:

He gave me my wife, and my son. I know this to be fact not faith or belief. Therefore He will also care for them. Now it is my duty, responsibility and privilege to seek the Lord daily to know what He wants from me and what I am to be doing.

I hope this encourages you, and you see through this His invitation to be with Him. He wants to be your first priority. Trust in the Lord seek His face and devote you whole life to Him and He will make your path straight. Proverbs 3.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and may you learn to hear His still small voice as you rest yourself in His lap and lay your head on His chest. The Lord loves you and is calling you to Him won't you answer His call.

Galatians 3:26-29

Galatians 3:26-29 26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Listening to the news and talk radio today has made me sick to my stomach. What sickened me today is not that there is racial discord in the country (although that is just as appalling), but that this racial discord is preached from the pulpit. Look I cannot help that I am a white male. I did not choose it anymore than anyone chooses their race. But I did chose Christ! And So did You. Look at the words written by Paul to the Galatians, "we are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ". To suggest otherwise calls question to all Christianity.

When we defect to the Kingdom of God by following Christ as our Lord and "King", we are not just aligning ourselves with a new kingdom but we are being adopted into a family. This adoption is however different from any man has ever conceived. This is adoption paid for by blood bought by our rightful father, the one seated on the throne of the universe.

To confess Christ as your savior and then to question the brotherhood of a fellow believer baffles me. The last part of chapter 3 clearly states that we become united together as 1 people to preach anything other than that is a SIN and it grieves the Holy Spirit.

This my brothers and sisters is why I confess with you and for you. When I read this passage my Spirit leaps for joy to know that we are now one in Christ Jesus. There for if you hurt I hurt if you fall short I fall short and vice a verse. As you take a moment and read some of the confession on my page and maybe email me to add your own. You will see that I make no distinction between my sin and the sin of my brother except that when I realize that my sin is a result of a systemic idea that permeates this culture (Social Confession). I do not mark any confession social simply to distance my self from the particular sin or to point out that "THEY" did this sin not me. As one family if our culture is in sin then guess what I am part of that culture and there for share the guilt.

YHWH did the same for us, He sent His son who became part of our human culture and though He remained sinless bore the punishment for us because as part of us now, He had to.

Brothers and sisters in Christ I implore you, head the words written by Paul. Embrace each other the way Christ embraces you. "When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will." - Abraham Lincoln.

Isaiah 23

Tyre is what man has built. God destroyed it and caused that power to lay dormant for 70 years the life span of a King (represents man made authority) then it will be rebuilt but this time its money and power will be used for His purposes.

Explanation
Isaiah 23:1-3 You heard while you were out making money that your home (what you had built with that money and power) was destroyed but you did not trust or believe it until you returned and saw it for yourself.

4-7 You are shameful in the worlds sight because what your money and power has produced is now worthless. Morn all you who trust in the worlds economy. You will be mocked because you have nothing to show for your labor. What you built was once great but now lies in ruins.

8-12 This disaster is not from the enemy or other world power, The Lord caused it to destroy your Pride and show you His contempt for all human greatness. The Lord is shaking the kingdoms of the earth because they stole His Glory. The Lord says you will no longer be able to rejoice in the work of your hands (you will no longer get the glory).

13 You can see the evil and also the justice that came upon Babylon but you don't see it in yourself.

14-18 Morn, your old way of life is gone. Until man's authority is dead (until we give up our false authority) What once was by your authority and your building will be forgotten. But, I will allow things to be rebuilt by man and it will seem like nothing changed. However this time the Profit from these evil schemes you build will not go to nor will you be able to hold onto them. They will be unknowingly used to do my work.