Let your roots grow deep

Let your roots grow deep

Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. – Colossians 2:7

Ephesians 3:16-19

 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources, he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.

 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

An ongoing quest of modern-day agriculture is to intensify crop production and sustainability. The challenge is two-pronged. On the one hand, there is the desire and need to increase food and biomass production. On the other hand, there is the need to respond to more significant weather variability effectively. Current agricultural research has demonstrated the importance of deep-rooting of crops.

Deep rooting can be defined as dealing with the soil from 3 to 15 feet in depth.

A simple solution is to use subsoils more efficiently. This can be efficiently done via deep rooting.

Deep roots are essential for healthy, vibrant, powerful spiritual life and development. Children of the King must be firmly rooted by faith in the Father’s love. “This is the true and abiding source of spiritual strength and of all other manifestations of the divine life”  (Hughes). Through the strengthening of the inner person by God’s Spirit and Christ’s indwelling in their hearts, children of the King are to be established in love (O’Brien).

Ephesians 3:17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

It may seem a bit odd that Paul would pray that the Lord Jesus Christ might make His home the hearts of children of the King. Why is this so? Because the Scriptures clearly teach that the Lord Jesus Christ already lives in each child of the King.

Romans 8:9 But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

The focus of this request is not on the initial indwelling of Christ but on His continual presence. The verb used in this prayer signifies a permanent indwelling rather than some temporary abode. Further, while Christ already dwells in every child of the King, Paul focuses on and prays for His indwelling with power (ESV Notes).

REFLECT & PRAY

The secret of strength is the abiding presence of the Lord Jesus Christ within our lives. He will gladly come into our lives. He awaits our invitation to bring us His strength (Barclay).

Father encourage me to allow the Lord Jesus Christ to comfortably abide within my heart in the fertile soil of Your love. At the same time, strengthen me to stay in Your love.

INSIGHT

The verb used by Paul in Ephesians 3:17 is a strong one. The Greek term translated as dwell in your heart is katoikeo. Katoikeo signifies a permanent indwelling, settling down rather than some temporary abiding.

Katoikeo metaphorically connotes the idea of the Lord Jesus Christ, via the personal choice of each child of the King, being permitted to settle down and to take up complete residence by the Holy Spirit in our hearts. The Lord Jesus Christ is pictured as making Himself at home and becoming comfortable within our hearts. Our hearts are intended to become His dwelling place.

Something marvelous happens when we allow Him to make Himself comfortable in our hearts. We become rooted and established/grounded in the rich soil of the Father’s love.

“Paul mixes his metaphors. Rooted is agricultural, and established (literally, founded) is architectural. But their significance is perfectly parallel. Like trees, our lives are to send down roots deep and wide into the soil of love. Like buildings, the edifices of our lives here on earth are to have deep, solid foundations of love. If we are properly rooted and properly constructed on a foundation of love, nothing will be able to shake us” (Hughes).

The Greek term translated as rooted is rhizome. Rhizome has the sense of being firmly rooted, established, constant, or strengthened by roots. The English word rhizome is derived from this Greek word. It connotes figuratively spiritual stability, being firmly established or strengthened.

The Greek word translated as established or grounded is themelioo. Themelioo offers a firm basis for belief, choices, and practice.

Being rooted and established in the Father’s love provides the necessary base for the superstructure of belief, confidence, and growth of all children of the King.

But there is more! The comfortable presence of the Lord Jesus Christ strengthens our inner being. His nearness and overflowing love provide the basis for a life of faith, the Spirit-filled life.

What is a life of faith? Faith is believing what God has promised, he will do. Faith is not a power or something we drum up inside ourselves. Faith is trusting that God will honor His promises. That’s all there is to it. Children of the King go about our lives, making decisions, handling crises, raising our families, and so on, trusting and believing that the Father will do what He said He would do (Stanley).

Not only is the Father there to guide us continually will make us into a well-watered beautiful garden of His design. We become a pleasant, warm source of loveliness, grace, and encouragement to others. We become like a well-watered garden that all can admire and enjoy and partake of.

Isaiah 58:11  The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.

This remarkable figure can only be truly appreciated against the background of the dry and desolate territory of the Near East.

Children of the King are enabled to live lives that exemplify and show off the Lord Jesus Christ. It is incumbent upon us to choose to allow the Lord Jesus Christ access to the deepest recesses of our hearts, soul, and mind. Our task is to let him abide in us as we abide in him (John 15).

How can we actualize these beautiful promises in our lives? We chose to open our hearts to allow the Lord Jesus Christ to take up full and complete residence. We seek to develop a “lifestyle of love” through faith via prayer and practice (Hughes).

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© Dr. H 2022

Have you ever asked? ∙

Have you ever asked? ∙

The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God – Hebrews 1:3

Hebrews 1:1-3

 1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,

 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature and upholds all things by the word of His power. 

In an article entitled “Knowing Persons,” David Matheson of Carleton University offered an answer to the question, What’s the difference between knowing about someone and knowing someone? He distinguished two types of knowing: impersonal knowledge and personal knowledge (Matheson, D. (2010). Knowing Persons. Dialogue Journal).

What is the difference? Impersonal knowledge is knowing about someone, while personal knowledge is experientially knowing someone. To know someone experientially requires what has been dubbed a “communication event” (Matheson).

As we have “communication events” with people, we get to know them. We become aware of the unique aspects of their personalities. We become aware of their temperament, nature, disposition, and likes and dislikes. We can often anticipate how they are going to respond. We find out what kind of a person they are.

Have you ever asked yourself what kind of a person the Father is?

The question may be somewhat surprising. Because usually, when children of the King think of the Father, we think of God’s attributes rather than God’s personality. The attributes of God involve His divine characteristics. He is eternal, holy, good, just, righteous, all-powerful, all-knowing, and infinite.

But what is the Father’s personality like?

When we consider an individual’s personality, we ask: are they friendly, warm, kind, or gentle; are they intelligent, funny, serious, wise; are they brave, protective, nurturing, and the like?

How can we know what the Father’s personality is really like? What kind of a person is He?

The Lord Jesus Christ came to reveal the personality of the Father. He and the Father share the same personal characteristics. They are two separate persons who share the same essence.

When we hear Jesus, we hear God. When we observe Jesus, we observe God. If we want to know what God is like, how he might act, or where he might go, we only have to watch Jesus.

Hebrews 1:3 He is . . . the exact representation of His nature,

The Greek term translated as exact representation is character. It was used as a mark or impression placed on an object, especially on coins, and came to signify a “representation” or “reproduction.”

In Greek, character means two things – first, a seal, and, second, the impression that the seal leaves on the wax. The impression has the exact form of the seal. So, when the writer to the Hebrews said that Jesus was the character of the being of God, he meant that He was the exact image of God. When you look at the impression, you see exactly what the seal which made it is like, so when you look at Jesus, you see exactly what God is like (Barclay).

Using very inadequate human terms, the Father has stamped or imprinted His being on His Son. The Son of God bears “the very stamp of . . .  [God’s] nature” (RSV).

The Greek term translated nature is hypostasis. It refers to the nature, quality, substance, and essence of something. In this passage, hypostasis refers to the very essence or being of God the Father.  

The Son is the exact representation, the embodiment of God the Father as He really is. His being is made manifest in Christ. To see the Son is to see what the Father is like (O’Brien).

When we get to know the Son experientially, we get to know the Father.

REFLECT & PRAY

The personality of the Father is revealed in the Scriptures. It is observed and known in His Son’s life, emotions, and actions.

Father please help me come to know You as a person, to enter a communication event. Allow me to be close to You and fall evermore profoundly in love with You.

INSIGHT

Sometimes we miss obvious things that are right in front of us because we are not paying attention. It seems as though it is part of human DNA. So it was with the apostle Philip.

John 14:6-9

 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.

 7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”

 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’”

The story is about a man who visited his doctor to have his hearing checked. The doctor removed the man’s hearing aid, and the patient’s hearing immediately improved! He had been wearing the device in the wrong ear for over 20 years!

There is a difference between listening and really hearing; Jesus often cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” This statement suggests that it takes more than physical ears to hear the voice of God. It also requires a receptive heart. When you hear his voice today, don’t harden your hearts (Hebrews 3:7-8) (Wiersbe).

Philip’s request shows that he has not yet understood the point of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Philip had not grasped that the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God, came to reveal the Father.

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself, God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

For children of the King, our close, intimate fellowship with the Father, through His Son, is our “communication event.” That is how we get to know Him as a person. The more we know Him, the more we love Him.

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© Dr. H 2022

Respect what is right

Respect what is right

Respect what is right in the sight of all men. – Romans 12:17

Romans 12:17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.

Proverbs 3:1-13

 1 My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart.

 2 If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying.

 3 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

 4 Then, you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.

 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

 11 My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline and don’t be upset when he corrects you.

 12 For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

 13 Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding.

Rodney Dangerfield was born in Babylon, New York. His given name was Jacob Cohen. Soon after Dangerfield’s birth, his father abandoned the family. Consequently, he became a victim of the absent father syndrome and grew up “unloved and unwanted.” His iconic catchphrase was born, “I Don’t Get No Respect.” The one-liner was his response to a difficult upbringing. It was his way of saying, “No one liked me.”

The phrase eventually cemented Dangerfield’s self-deprecating place in the world of comedy. He got his first big break, performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in the 1970s. Dangerfield then began to appear regularly on The Dean Martin Show and the Tonight Show. His “no respect” bit was the highlight of his routines.

“Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities” (Wiki). When Dangerfield died in October 2004, he had undoubtedly gained the respect he sought.

When we are wrongly treated, how are children of the King supposed to respond? The impulse of fallen DNA is to return injury for injury. However, this is not an appropriate response for the children of the King. Instead, we are “to be careful to do what is honorable in the sight of everyone” (Mounce).

But how do we know what is right and honorable? Emmanuel Kant asserted that a universal moral code or order exists regarding how life ought to be lived. This has been referred to as an innate sense of “oughtness.” For Kant, the only good thing in and of itself is “goodwill.” Kant reasoned that people have a sense of moral obligation to help others in need.

While this is logically possible, societal “moral codes” are often skewed and out of focus. Some question whether there is a universal consensus on what is good, right, and proper. This is all the more true as society descends into moral chaos. Does Paul intend for the children of the King to allow nonbelievers to set the standards for their behavior? Of course not.

Instead, what Paul is opting for children of the King are to live out the essence of the gospel. Society does not determine our standards of right and wrong or what is morally fitting. But instead, our standards are determined by the truth of Scripture. What are the standards for the children of the King?

The Lord Jesus Christ set the bar pretty high.

Matthew 5:39-44

 39 But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.

 40 If you are sued in court, and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.

 41 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.

 42 Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.

 43 You have heard the law that says, “Love your neighbor” and hate your enemy.

 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!

REFLECT & PRAY

“Doing good to all is something to be planned and not just willed” (Käsemann).

Father help me to anticipate ill-treatment and be prepared to respond appropriately in a fashion that honors You.

INSIGHT

The Greek word translated as respect is pronoeo. Pronoeo means to foresee, have regard, or respect. Pronoeo is derived from pro – before and noeo – to think or comprehend. It connotes the idea of thinking about something ahead of time so one can respond appropriately.

The various nuances of pronoeo are seen in the multiple translations.

Romans 12:17 Respect what is right in the sight of all men. (NAS)

Romans 12:17 Give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. (ESV)

Romans 12:17 Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. (NLT)

Romans 12:17 Consider what is good before all people. (NET)

Romans 12:17 Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. (NIV)

Romans 12:17 Try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. (CSBO)

“We should, then, take Paul’s words at face value: he wants us to commend ourselves before non-Christians by seeking to do those ‘good things’ that non-Christians approve and recognize. There is, of course, an unstated limitation to this command, one that resides in the word ‘good’ itself” (Moo).

“The Greek term translated as good is kala. Kala “is one of the two words which the Greeks have of describing that which is good, agathosreferring to intrinsic goodness, and kalos, our word here, to exterior goodness, or goodness that is seen on the exterior of a person, the outward expression of an inward goodness . . .” (Wuest). Our outward expression of goodness is intended to conform to our inward goodness and reality.

“But if the Christian assumes an outward expression which is patterned after this age, that expression not representing what he is, a child of God, but giving the beholder the impression that he is a person of the world, that expression is a dishonest one” (Wuest).

What we do as children of the King is observed by those around us. Our conduct, which is open to “the eyes of everybody.” It must represent the goodness of our Father and honor Him.

“The main point is that, instead of reciprocating evil for evil, we should think out ahead of time how we will respond when others attack us or wrong us in some way. By taking forethought, we can be ready to respond aright, with “good things,” i.e., in such a way that we bear impressive witness before the world” (Jack Cottrell).

1 Peter 2:12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

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© Dr. H 2022

Looking back ∙

Looking back ∙

Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God. – Luke 9:62

Philippians 3:7-14

 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

 8 Yes, everything else is worthless compared to the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ

 9 and become one with him.

 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,

 12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,

 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Plowing is the process of turning over and loosening the top layer of soil. Plowing fields turns organic matter, such as manure, into the soil, adding nutrients. This makes it easier for seedling crops to take root and has the added benefit of removing crop residue and weeds.

It isn’t easy to plow. One cannot plow when it is too wet, as it dries into rock-hard clumps. One cannot plow when it is too dry; it is like plowing blacktop. When the moisture is just right, plowing goes well.

Plowing requires that you plan an efficient route and know where you will need to stop and turn the plow. It is most important when you begin to plow; you pick a stationary object on the far side of the field, fix your eyes on it, and plow towards it. This keeps your rows straight. You do not look backward. If you turn your head back, you will veer off course. The results can be wasted effort or even catastrophic loss.

Being a disciple also requires focus and concentration. It is hard work similar to plowing. When a farmer does not concentrate and keep his eyes looking forward, things do not work out well. Discipleship requires discipline and sacrifice. When we allow the events of everyday life to distract us, we render ourselves unfit for discipleship in the kingdom of God. Discipleship requires faithful, focused following.

Philippians 3:13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead, I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead.

REFLECT & PRAY

In this world, success is measured by human achievement. The more we achieve, seemingly the more successful we are. But in the Father’s kingdom, it is not so.

Father encourage me to set my eyes on the things that really matter and consistently and faithfully pursue them.

INSIGHT

Discipleship is hard. It is very similar to becoming a world-class athlete or musician. It is about dedication and priorities. Discipleship is a master-apprentice relationship. The Lord Jesus Christ is the master, and the children of the King are His apprentices. To learn from Him and follow Him requires putting His teaching, directives, and demands before all else. This includes the usual claims of everyday life and family. The requirements of the Lord Jesus Christ for discipleship are among His “hard teachings.”

Many children of the King express interest in being disciples, but there are often hidden issues that soon surface. So it was for the three wannabes in Luke 9.

Luke 9:57-62

 57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

 58 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

 59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

 60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! You must go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”

 61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say goodbye to my family.”

 62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

The first man was very willing until he heard the cost: he had to give up his everyday home life. The sacrifice was more than he could make. The second man was called, but he was worried about his father’s funeral. Love for family is very important, but our love for the Lord Jesus Christ is to have precedence. The third man could not follow Christ because he looked back instead of forward. There is a place for loving farewells, but they should not get in the way of His call to action. One cannot move forward effectively while looking back. The results may be disastrous.

Although we may conclude that discipleship is only for the few, the brave, a prestigious elite, nothing could be further from the truth!

The reasoned final words of wise people are often considered among their most important. The cogent last words of the Lord Jesus Christ before he ascended to heaven involved discipleship. They are compelling and all-inclusive.

Matthew 28:18-20

 18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”

 19 “Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

 20 “Teaching these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The Lord Jesus Christ begins by telling His followers that He has all the authority necessary to accomplish the task He assigns them. Wherever they go, He is present with them. Most are very average people, even below average. Yet they are called and commissioned to do extraordinary things through His power.

1 Corinthians 1:26-28

 26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you.

 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.

 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.

Matthew 28:19-20 has only one imperative verb, one command: make disciples. The Greek verb translated as make disciples is matheteuo. Matheteuo means to make a disciple of someone, to cause someone to become a follower, and hence, to persuade people to commit to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek words translated go, baptizing, and teaching are three aspects of the process.

The Lord Jesus Christ invited each child of the King to follow Him, and He would make us “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). That is, His disciples would be enabled to become disciple-makers. Each of us has ultimately been created for this purpose. We are to spread the message of the gospel from wherever we begin to the ends of the earth. There are no exceptions.

We can confidently bring the truth of Jesus to the world because we have Jesus’ divine authority to back it up (Stanley).

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© Dr. H 2022

Does intolerance remedy intolerance? ∙

Does intolerance remedy intolerance? ∙

We must obey God rather than men. – Acts 5:29

Revelation 3:1-3

 1 “I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”

 2 “Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.”

 3 “So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.”

The late spring and early summer of 2020 were marked by justified outrage regarding a Minneapolis policeman’s egregious, sadistic murder of an American citizen. Violent mobs joined peaceful demonstrators.

The indignation and demonstrations turned violent, destructive, horrendous, and anarchistic. The demand for ideological conformity overshadowed demands for social and racial justice. The “woke” had taken the underlying flames of “cancel culture” and stoked it into a blazing inferno.

On July 07, 2020, Harper’s Magazine published a joint open letter from 153 prominent signatories expressing their concern that “the free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted.” Freedom of thought and expression granted under the Constitution of the United States has been assaulted by intolerance. It is being aggressively and violently coerced into silence.

In its place is emerging an oppressive environment of compulsory conformity: “an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty.” Presumed violations were met with harsh chastisement.

“More troubling still, institutional leaders, in a spirit of panicked damage control, are delivering hasty and disproportionate punishments instead of considered reforms. Editors are fired for running controversial pieces; books are withdrawn for alleged inauthenticity; journalists are barred from writing on certain topics; professors are investigated for quoting works of literature in class; a researcher is fired for circulating a peer-reviewed academic study, and the heads of organizations are ousted for what are sometimes just clumsy mistakes. Whatever the arguments around each particular incident, the result has been to steadily narrow the boundaries of what can be said without the threat of reprisal.”

The letter contends that injustice cannot be reversed by even greater injustice and mob rule. “The restriction of debate . . . invariably hurts those who lack power and makes everyone less capable of democratic participation. The way to defeat bad ideas is by exposure, argument, and persuasion, not by trying to silence or wish them away. We refuse any false choice between justice and freedom, which cannot exist without each other.”

Society itself, American culture, and civilization are under assault. Intolerance cannot be adequately countered by further intolerance.

How do we respond as children of the King? It is too easy to condemn and find fault with those we disagree with. Instead, we must examine ourselves and search deeply regarding our convictions and inconsistencies.

2 Corinthians 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!

Where necessary, we must repent and change our way of thinking. Are we truly living out our faith, or are we just going through the motions?

Does our love for the Lord Jesus Christ still burn hot within our hearts? Or has our inner fire been quenched? Have we left our first love? (Revelation 2:4)

Revelation 2:2-5

 2 I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars.

 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.

 4 But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!

 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first.

REFLECT & PRAY

Judges 21:25 Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Proverbs 21:2 People may be right in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their heart.

Father You know how foolish I am; my sins cannot be hidden from You (Psalms 69:5). Open the eyes of my heart that I might see, recognize my own faults, repent, change my ways, and walk humbly with You.

INSIGHT

Each of us must determine where we stand in our beliefs. And then take a stand and stand firm (Ephesians 6:13).

1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.

There is something insidious lurking beneath the surface. Protesters and writers had been attacking federal buildings, businesses, and law enforcement officials. But on August 01, 2020, something changed. They began to burn Bibles. Yes, Bibles! Ask yourself why.

Jordan Davidson wrote, “As they turn to burning Bibles, Portland rioters show their true colors” (https://thefederalist.com/2020/08/01). Who burns Bibles? What exactly does burning the Bible have to do with protesting for social and racial justice? Is it nothing more than a not-so-veiled attempt to dismantle centuries of tradition, freedom of religion, and Western civilization itself?

The prophet Daniel faced certain death by not heeding the coercive entrapment of an unrighteous law.

For various and sundry reasons, administrators, and high officials in his day, tried to find fault or a basis by which they could criticize and condemn Daniel. But he proved to be a faithful, consistent, responsible, trustworthy administrator in government affairs.

Daniel 6:5 So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.”

So they tricked Darius, the king, into signing an unjust law designed to ensnare only Daniel. The punishment for his “crime” would be a horrific death by being tossed into the lion’s den.

You know the rest of the story; the Father sent His angel, and Daniel was supernaturally protected and preserved alive.

We may have to risk becoming lion food for our faith and convictions. What you do is between you and the Father!

Acts 5:29 We must obey God rather than men.

Dare to be a Daniel!

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© Dr. H 2022