The king assigned them a daily portion of the royal rations of food and wine. They were to be educated for three years, so that at the end of that time they could be stationed in the king’s court… But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine (Daniel 1:5,8).
During June and July, I plan to highlight principles we can draw from Daniel, chapters 1 – 7 about living in a post-Christian world.
In Daniel’s day, God’s people found themselves in a world of uncertainty and confusion. In 586BC Nebuchadnezzar had sent his army into Jerusalem; the city was destroyed and the stones of Solomon’s great temple razed to the ground. Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest had devastated the Jewish people. Their national pride was in tatters and their religious faith was challenged to the core for they believed that their God was the one true living God, sovereign over all the gods of the nations.
An important part of Nebuchadnezzar’s strategy was to take the cream of the Jewish people to Babylon and give them a top-rate education and cultural program. Nebuchadnezzar expected men like Daniel and his friends to welcome the intellectual and cultural challenges.
However, Daniel drew a line when it came to the food menu. The words, Daniel resolved…, suggest that he was wrestling with his conscience about this. The result was that he made a personal determination to take a stand on a principle.
Daniel may have stood firm on the matter of food because in diplomatic circles eating a meal with someone often implied an alliance. He knew that he was a member of a nation that was bound to Yahweh, the Lord God. That loyalty came first.
And there was probably something else: Daniel was surrounded daily by dozens of temptations to turn away from his walk with God, temptations he knew might well succumb to. If he was to remain true to God he would need great self-discipline.
He could not afford to let himself be softened up by the king’s hospitality. There may have been nothing morally wrong with enjoying the delights of the Babylonian royal cuisine, but it symbolized a threat to his own spiritual commitment.
Reflect. If we are going to live as believers in a secular materialistic society we need to have the courage to be different. Pray for God’s grace to identify where you need to make a stand.
Optional. You may like to read Daniel 1; and Ephesians 4:17-32.
The terrorist acts in Manchester and London over the last two weeks remind us of the fragility of life. Two young Australian women were amongst those who died in London. Our hearts go out to families who have lost loved ones. And we pray for them.
Because of the increasing uncertainties of life, it’s important that we stop and ask ourselves what we really believe. I suggest this because in troubled times we need the assurance of faith for our own sake and for the sake of our testimony to others.
HG Wells, author of The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine, wrote: “I am an historian. I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”
Why would a professed unbeliever say that ‘Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history’? What is it about Jesus of Nazareth that has captured the attention of great and lesser minds, from amongst all peoples? Is it the power of his words, the magnetism of his personality, the integrity of his life even in the face of the gross injustice perpetrated against him? Or is it his extraordinary feats, noted by contemporary historians such as Josephus?
There’s something we often forget about the New Testament Gospels: they were not written by just one narrator, or even by Jesus himself. There are Matthew and John, who were amongst the twelve eyewitnesses to Jesus over three years. Also, there was Mark who most likely obtained his information from Peter, another one of the twelve ‘witnesses’. And there was Luke the physician, who assures us of his careful and thorough research. Given Jesus’ unique claims and his teaching, his authority and his compassion, it is important we are assured that the facts are true.
In tough times, it is useful to recall examples of Jesus’ authority and care for his people. Luke 8:40-56 tells us of two sets of people faced with suffering and anguish – the first, a woman who had an incurable hemorrhage for twelve years; the second, a man whose twelve-year-old daughter was dying. Both turned to Jesus for help. In him, both found the help they needed.
Mysteriously awesome. Jairus, a recognized synagogue ruler, was charged with ensuring that the law of Moses was taught and upheld. Yet he made no claims to his position when he met with Jesus. Rather, he fell at Jesus’ feet, humbly asking for help. And when the sick woman interrupted Jesus’ progress to his house, Jairus did not object, despite his anxiety. He had a quiet confidence in Jesus. During the delay, news came that his daughter had died. With breathtaking confidence, Jesus urged him not to fear. Rather ‘believe’.
His words underline a major theme in Luke 8. With Jesus, the fear that grips us can give way to the release which faith allows. Arriving at Jairus’s house, Jesus passed by the mourning and disbelieving crowds. Going to the girl’s bedside and taking her hand he said, ‘Child, arise.’ At that she rose and was given food.
Jesus’ miracles point to his real nature – he is truly God in human form. Furthermore, they are mini-portraits of the deeper blessings he offers our suffering world. He invites us all to lean on him in our time of need. He will not always remove our suffering now, but he does promise to be with us. He is also committed to providing a future where there will be no crying or pain.
So important is this theme that we are addressing it and related questions at the Anglican Connection Conference in Dallas next week (June 13-15). Dr Paul Barnett, one of the keynote speakers, is addressing the theme, ‘Good News that is True News.
Prayer Almighty and everlasting God, you have given us your servants grace by the confession of a true faith to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and by your divine power to worship you as One: we pray that you would keep us steadfast in this faith and evermore defend us from all adversities; through Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP Trinity Sunday)
There are times when we feel cut off from God – by feelings of failure or unworthiness, feelings of ignorance or unbelief, or by feelings of abandonment.
In times like this it is important we remember Jesus’ words to his disciples during the last hours before his arrest and crucifixion: “If anyone loves me, they will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23).
The disciples were grief-stricken at the thought of Jesus’ going, but he was assuring them that his going would mean the coming of the Comforter, the Helper, the Holy Spirit – who comes from the Father and the Son.
Tomorrow, Thursday, is Ascension Day. It’s a good day to reflect on Jesus’ physical departure following his death and resurrection. With that we also recall his promise that he would be sending his Spirit to be his people and to work in the world.
For many, Christianity is little more than a moral code that they must struggle to observe, or a creed to be recited mindlessly every week. Their experience of faith is legalistic and dull. In the hours before his arrest, Jesus assured his followers that he wanted them to know and enjoy a deep relationship with the One who is at the heart of the universe. ‘It’s about knowing me and having me live with you through my Spirit,’ he said.
We don’t have to despair that we’re not good enough for God. We don’t need to languish in ignorance or unbelief because the idea of God seems so utterly foreign to us. The Christian faith involves knowing the love and the beauty of Christ through his Spirit in our lives. ‘God in the soul of men and women’ is how one ancient writer put it.
But Jesus knows – as we do when we think about it – that relationships are only meaningful when they are based on truth. His following words are most important: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).
One way we can be assured that the Bible is true is found in these words: “The Spirit will teach you all things…” The Spirit enabled the disciples to recall exactly what Jesus said and did. Furthermore, he enabled them to interpret the events of Jesus’ Person and work truly and accurately. What the disciples taught and what they wrote comes with this authority.
So, John 14:26 is not primarily a promise for us, for the simple reason that we were not there to listen to Jesus. We arrived too late! But we do have the great assurance that the disciples got it right. Their preaching, their teaching, their writing, is true because the Spirit of God was at work within them. He was inspiring them – breathing into them God’s Word of truth.
This is enormously encouraging, for it means that we can enter a true, authentic relationship with the living God. Our faith is not about some vague, mystical experience that may or may not be true.
The Bible is more than memories of a long-dead hero – more than the teachings of a wise man. The Bible enables us to listen to what God says and what Jesus says, so that we can grow in the riches of that relationship. If we ignore the Bible our relationship with God will grow weary and weak.
“If anyone loves me,” Jesus says, “we will come and make our home with them.” This is a wonderful privilege, a wonderful experience – God with us and in us. There is nothing second rate in this promise. Jesus couldn’t have spelled it out more clearly.
Have you thought about this? Have you asked Jesus to make his promise real to you? I am not talking about some mystical experience or speaking in tongues. I am talking about knowing deep down in your heart, in your soul, the love, the joy and the peace of Jesus Christ in your life – not just in the good times, but at every twist and turn of life.
In Romans 8:15ff, Paul the Apostle writes: ‘You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons and daughters, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him’.
Once again I am touching on some very big questions. And so important are these matters that we are addressing them at the June Anglican Connection conference.
If you are unable to attend yourself, why not encourage someone else to go? Don’t miss out!
Prayer O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: do not leave us desolate, but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to where our Savior Christ has gone before, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for evermore. Amen. (BCP, Sunday after Ascension)
Have you ever wondered why, if Christianity is true, churches are not filled every week? Should Jesus have stayed around longer after his resurrection, or made a personal appearance once every hundred years or so?
As the Easter Season with its focus on the resurrection draws to a close it’s worth considering Jesus’ promise found in the Gospel reading this Sunday – from John 14:15ff. It forms part of the record of Jesus’ final hours before his arrest and crucifixion. He had told his disciples he was ‘going away’ (John 14:3), and they were frightened.
We see in John 14:15ff a tenderness not seen elsewhere as Jesus tells his disciples he would not leave them bereft: “If you love me you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with and will be in you…” (John 14:15ff).
This reference to the Spirit might initially give us the impression that Jesus is speaking about some impersonal power or force – as in Star Wars. Indeed, Acts 8:18f tells us Simon Magus thought the Holy Spirit was a force he could buy.
But with the personal pronouns ‘him’ and ‘he’, referring to the Spirit, we see that Jesus is saying the Spirit is not a force but a person. In the Greek, ‘Spirit’ is a neuter noun – an ‘it’ word. But John breaks the rules of grammar. The ‘hims’ and the ‘he’ of John 14:17 are strongly emphasized pronouns: He dwells with you…
But if we think of the Holy Spirit as an ‘it’ we miss Jesus’ promise. He says that with his going away he is to be replaced, not by an ‘it’, but by a ‘he’ – the Spirit, the ‘Helper’.
The word Helper translates two words – the preposition, alongside, and the verb, called. With his approaching physical absence Jesus promises the Spirit who would perfectly match the need for a Helper, a Comforter.
And this Helper or Comforter is not just ‘a comforter’ like Linus’s blanket, nor simply a hot water bottle for cold, hard times. The Spirit comes to strengthen us – to put strength into our hearts, into the backbone of our lives, especially when we are challenged.
Significantly Jesus says, ‘The Spirit of truth is not known by the world, but ‘you know him…’ (14:17). With his physical going, the age of the Holy Spirit will come. Jesus is now at work in the world through his Spirit.
This is very encouraging. When we go back to the Old Testament we read that God’s people dearly wanted God to live with them. But they found this concept hard to grasp. King Solomon asked: ‘But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you;…’ (1 Kings 8:27).
The answer to Solomon’s question was, ‘Yes’. The Temple in Jerusalem was not only a place of worship. It symbolized God’s dwelling with his people – his special relationship with them.
Furthermore, in Ezekiel 37:27 God says: ‘My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people…’ What Solomon thought God was too big for, God said he would do. He would dwell with his people.
This was something that bothered Stephen Hawking in his Brief History of Time where he wrote: ‘We are such insignificant creatures on a minor planet of a very average star in the outer suburb of one of a hundred billion galaxies. So it is difficult to believe in a God that could care about us or even notice our existence.’
However, Dr Henry Schaefer, one of the world’s leading quantum computational chemists writes: ‘I take a different position… There is no compelling evidence to date that life exists elsewhere in the universe. Human beings, thus far, appear to be the most advanced species in the universe. Maybe God does care about us! Stephen Hawking surveys the cosmos and concludes that the principal characteristic of humankind is obscurity. I consider the same data and conclude that humankind is special. I must be quick to add that a Christian worldview does not exclude the possibility of life, even sentient life elsewhere in the universe…’ (HF Schaefer, III, Science and Christianity: Conflict or Coherence? 2003, p.66.)
The amazing thing is that God notices us and cares for us more than we can begin to imagine. At the beginning of his Gospel, John tells us that God came among us: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
These matters and more we will be taking up at the June Anglican Connection conference. Here is a link you may want to check out: Effective_GospelCentered_Chuches_Invite
Prayer. O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: do not leave us desolate, but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to where our Savior Christ has gone before, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for evermore. Amen. (BCP, Sunday after Ascension)
It is sometimes said that anyone who insists on a right understanding of God’s Word can prevent the Holy Spirit from bringing about renewal and church unity.
Yet the irony is that a right understanding of God’s Word is essential for an effective gospel ministry and the unity of God’s people. Jesus himself said it: “Those who worship him (God) must worship in Spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
It’s important we consider Jesus’ words here for they are often misunderstood. ‘Spirit and truth’ are not synonyms for sincerity of heart. Heartfelt worship as opposed to just outward form was always required of God’s people. In Psalm 51:17 David says, The sacrifices of God are a broken and contrite heart…
Jesus’ words are far-reaching and profound: “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him…” (John 4:23).
‘Spirit’ and ‘truth’ are key words. Indeed, when we read John’s Gospel carefully, we see that these two words are bound up with the very person and work of Jesus.
So, in speaking of ‘spirit’ here, Jesus is not referring to God’s non-material nature, but rather to the new age that is dawning when the inner life of God will become available to men and women through him (Jesus).
Further, when Jesus speaks of ‘truth’ he is not speaking about sincerity. Rather, he speaking of the inner reality of God which, hidden in the past, is now revealed in Jesus.
Jesus is saying it is only when we receive the spiritual life and the spiritual reality of God that are bound up in his (Jesus’) unique Person and work, that we can truly worship God. He calls for a heart response, not to some vague, mystical view of God, but rather to himself. “I am the way, the truth and the life,” he says, “No-one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the architect of the 16th century English Reformation, understood this. It is why he was committed to the systematic reading of the Scriptures in Church, together with the faithful preaching of God’s Word.
He also wanted to ensure that the truth of God was clearly stated in the Prayer Book he crafted. As his first Prayer Book (1549) did not set out clearly and unambiguously the significance of Jesus’ Person and Work – especially in the service of The Lord’s Supper – he produced a second Book in 1552. There he removed sections that were ambiguous and confusing in their theology.
So, in in the service of The Lord’s Supper, he removed any reference to the Spirit and the Word coming on the bread and wine (called an epiclesis – ‘a calling down’ of the Spirit). In 1549 he had left open the idea that we partake of Christ because he is physically or mystically present in the elements. Christ is physically in heaven.
Thus Cranmer’s calling down of the Spirit (epiclesis)is at the beginning of the service where we pray: Almighty God… cleanse the thoughts of our hearts through the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, so that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Further, Cranmer also took out any sense that we contribute to our salvation through our very participation in the Communion, or because we are in some way offering a good or meritorious work. Our salvation is through Christ alone.
In the prayer immediately before the Communion, Cranmer’s language is clear and unequivocal: Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who of thy tender mercy didst give thine only Son Jesus Christto suffer death on the Cross for our redemption; who made there (by his one oblation of himself once offered) a full perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world…
How can we more effectively reach people who long to find the truth? How can we effectively hold out a gospel ministry that enables more and more people to worship God ‘in spirit and in truth’? Surely we will want to read, study, preach, and sing God’s Word. We will also want to ensure that God’s truth is consistently found in the Prayer Book of the church.
Clearly I am only just touching on some very big questions. Yet so important are these matters that we are addressing them at the June Anglican Connection conference.
Prayer.Almighty God, you alone can order the unruly wills and passions of sinful men and women. Help us so to love what you command and desire what you promise, that among the many and varied changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys may be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP Easter 4 – adapted)
