Daniel 6:5-6

The administrators and governors sought to find some charge against Daniel, but they could find no charge or wrongdoing or fault against him because he was faithful. Then the administrators said, “We will find nothing against Daniel unless we find it in the laws of his God.”

Personal Challenge

I look at Daniel and the life that he lived for his God and then examine mine to see if no fault could be found. Unfortunately, I find that there are many holes in my life both past and present that would make it easy for an accuser to discredit my relationship with my God. Fortunately, I have the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ to cover my sins, but it is not too late to start living the rest of my life where no fault could be found in my faithfulness to my God. Will this be easy? No way! But I do have the Holy Spirit to help me on that journey. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Daniel 3:40

So let this be our sacrifice before You today,
And may it be accomplished for those who follow You;
For there is no shame for those who trust in You.

Encouraging Words

No matter what I do, whether good or bad. No matter whether I sin throughout the day or make it through living a godly life. No matter what, my God still loves me beyond any level of love that I can imagine. And in that love, He is not ashamed of me. So too, can I try to live my life for Him, loving Him, honoring Him, and not being ashamed to proclaim Him as my Lord.

Susanna 22-23

Then Susanna sighed deeply and said, “I am hemmed in on all sides, for if I do this thing, it is death for me; yet if I do not, I will not escape your hands. But it is better for me not to do it and to fall into your hands, than to sin against the Lord.”

Personal Challenge

This verse today poses an interesting dilemma that is very similar to dilemmas that we might face in our lives. The situations might be different but the fact that we are forced into situations where we must make difficult decisions has not. In this story, we find that Susanna, a beautiful woman of nobility has been trapped in a position where two nefarious noblemen are trying to force her to submit to them sexually or they will tell a lie that will condemn her to be stoned to death. It is a lose-lose situation for her. She does not choose the lesser of the two evils. She chooses to do the right thing, tell them “No!” to their threats, and take her chances with the process of proving her innocence in the courts against two witnesses. Her choice was to be obedient to God and trust that He would acquit her. This is such an awesome story and one worth reading over and over again.

So, how does this tie to difficult decisions that we must make today? There are many times that we find ourselves in situations that look like we will lose no matter which way we decide. What we often do, though, is choose the option with the least pain or the least impact on our lives. In other words, we choose the lesser of two evils. A case in point here is our current climate for political candidates. We are told by mainstream media that we only have two candidates. I hear over and over again that people are choosing to vote for the lesser of two evils, whomever that might be because they have no other choice. But in reality, there are other candidates, other options. We do have choices that might be more in line with our moral expectations. If that is the case, then the right thing to do is to vote that way rather than settle for the lesser of the two evils. We do have choices. We must study our options and choose what we think God would have us do and let Him do the rest.

Ezekiel 34:15-16

I shall feed My sheep and refresh them; and they will know that I am the Lord,” thus says the Lord and Master. “I shall seek the lost, bring back the misled, bind up the broken, strengthen the fallen, protect the strong, and feed them with judgment.”

Encouraging Words

It is such a blessing to know that we are loved so deeply by our Father in heaven. As a father myself, with children, step-children, and their children spread all around the world, I definitely appreciate the joy of bringing those who have been spread across the lands back together again. I know how much I love and miss those who are so special to me. It boggles my mind to think how much more my Father feels His love for us. Glory be to God!

Lamentations 3:52-54

“You heard my voice;
Do not hide Your ears from my supplication.
You drew near at my call on the day I called upon You.
You said to me, ‘Do not fear.’
O Lord, You pleaded the case for my soul;
You redeemed my life.”

Personal Challenge

It often amazes me how often people act like they speak for God and condemn others who don’t act, think, or live like they do. In doing so they call out these different people as being condemned and even hated by God. However, the scriptures and teachings of our church fathers clearly point our that our loving and merciful God hears the voices of those who sincerely call out to Him. He has throughout the history of mankind redeemed men and women who have committed every manner of sin. Sin is sin and it separates us from the love of our God. That is why He came to us and became one of us. He lived as a man in a sinful world and did not sin so that we can call out to Him and have Him hear us. That is true love and I am commanded to love those around me with this kind of love. It is not for me to judge another person’s sin for mine is bad enough. It is for me to love my neighbor and show them God’s love. Glory be to God!

Judith 8:14

You cannot plumb the depths of the heart of man, nor grasp the thoughts of his mind. How then do you expect to search out God, who made all these things, and come to understand His mind or comprehend His purpose? No, brothers! Do not provoke the Lord our God to anger.

Personal Challenge

We have reached a place in our modern culture where we act as is we know what goes on in the mind of God. Wait! This verse was written over 2,000 years ago and was dealing with the same problem then. Solomon reminded us when he wrote Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun. Just as the author of Judith was trying to inform his readers that God is so far beyond us that we will never be able to understand His ways, so must we be reminded that our modern expression of what God thinks or what God would do is so far from the truth. We are not God and we must not try to dictate what God thinks about the conditions of our world or the state of the hearts of people around us. What we must do is live our lives in accordance with the teachings that He has given us. And the way that I understand these teachings, they boil down to two things: love God and love my neighbor. If I can master these then I will be much closer to seeing knowing God. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Jeremiah 40:6-9

‘Behold, I bring her health and healing for her wounds, and I will show them how to obey. Yes, I will heal this city and bring about peace and faithfulness. I shall return the captives of Judah and Israel and will restore them, even as before. I will cleanse them from all their wrongdoings by which they sinned against Me. I will not remember their sins by which they sinned against Me and withdrew from Me. This shall be for the gladness, praise, and majesty of all the people of the earth, who shall hear all the good things I will do. They shall fear and be provoked concerning all the good things and the peace I shall bring upon them.’

Encouraging Words
God loves us…no matter what! He loves us enough to forgive us of our sins…all of them! He loves us so deeply that He gave His Son to pave the way for us…forever. Here we have Jeremiah and his prophecy of how God will restore us to our relationship with Him to where it was before the fall. Glory be to God!

Jeremiah 36:5-7

Build houses and dwell in them. Plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands; and be multiplied and not diminished. Seek the peace of the land into which I carried you captive. Pray to the Lord for them, for in its peace you shall have peace.

Encouraging Words

I love how much of the Old Testament is an image of New Testament times. As Christians, we are exiled in a land that is not our own. We are ambassadors here waiting to be called to our real home. But until that time, just as the people of Israel were told by Jeremiah to be productive citizens in the lands that they were exiled to, we are told to be productive citizens where we are placed. We are to be lights of love, joy, and peace and not beacons of gloom and doom. We are to be encouraging and pointing those around us to the promise of a better kingdom and not people that tear others down. We do have a promised land that we are headed to, but are also recipients of the promise of life today. Glory be to God!

Jeremiah 23:23-24

“I am a God who is near,” says the Lord, “and not a God afar off. Can a man hide in secret, and I not see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.

Encouraging Words

So, where is God when we need Him the most? He is right here with us. It is usually the condition of our heart that keeps us from seeing or feeling Him in our lives. God is everywhere, always. Some early church fathers even taught that if we were to descend into the depths of hell, He would be there, because that is the first place that Jesus went to upon His death. He went there to free the captives and to break down the gates of hell so that it could never hold us captive again. These fathers also taught that if I desire to know my God fully then I too must descend into hell. How do I do that? By becoming active in the lives of those around me whose life is filled with hell. The downtrodden. The depressed. The broken. The addict. The homeless. The poor and even the rich. The person whose lifestyle or belief or whatever is unacceptable to me. Really, is all of my stuff acceptable to God? What must be acceptable to me is that every person is created in the image of God and if I want to profess Him as my Lord then I must love my neighbor as He does. Unconditionally! Totally! Sacrificially! Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, THE sinner!