After a long time looking forward to it, I’ve finally started a series on the Book of Daniel.  It should be lots of fun because on the one hand it’s very well known for its stories about Daniel in the Lion’s Den and Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego in the fiery furnace.  But at the same time, a lot of people have never dug into the prophecy in the second half of the book, which is so interwoven with many of the other Old Testament prophets in scripture, and New Testament writings,  including the Book of Revelation, which has intricate connections with Daniel.

So this first part is an introduction that sets up the book, and gives a little taste of the history and political environment leading up to Daniel’s life.  I hope you enjoy it!

Click the Podcast link to listen.

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1^st Corinthians 15:55-58 “Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?”  ⁵⁶For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. ⁵⁷But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.  ⁵⁸So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

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Psalm 96 ¹Sing a new song to the Lord!  Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! ²Sing to the Lord; praise his name.  Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. ³Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.  Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. ⁴Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!  He is to be feared above all gods. ⁵The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens! ⁶Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty fill his sanctuary.

⁷O nations of the world, recognize the Lord; recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. ⁸Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!  Bring your offering and come into his courts. ⁹Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.  Let all the earth tremble before him. ¹⁰Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”  The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.  He will judge all peoples fairly.

¹¹Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!  Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! ¹²Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!  Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise ¹³before the Lord, for he is coming!  He is coming to judge the earth.  He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with his truth.

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It seems like Christianity is becoming less and less popular in pop culture and mass media.  So maybe all of us Christians should just give up and become atheists. They’re even killing off our brothers and sisters in Africa and the Middle East.  Now’s maybe a good time to get out before it gets that bad in the U.S.  Then again, Jesus did warn us that following him wouldn’t be easy.  Maybe we should take him at his word, count the cost, and live out our faith with some real commitment.  Just an idea.

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Have you ever noticed that when you run into problems that it’s a whole lot easier to look down than it is to look up?  We all get thrown some curve balls in life.  And when the going gets tough, we like to feel sorry for ourselves and wish things were easier.  But when you come to the place where you hit bottom, you finally look up and see the direction that you should have been going all along.  It takes work to climb out of a hole.  And the truth is, it’s a whole lot easier to climb out before you hit bottom.  But regardless of how deep you sink in your sorrows, it’s not until you look up, that you can start climbing in the right direction.

Some people will look at this world and see all the evil that people do, and be hopeless because of it.  But if you look up, and turn your eyes upon Jesus, there is always hope.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:30 — 21.7MB)

Did you know that there are a number of passages in the Bible that tell Christians to meet together to fellowship and worship.  It’s not only good to have church, but you could argue that a person isn’t a very good Christian if they avoid going to church on a regular basis.

Of course just going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.  However, a real Christian, who cares about Jesus and the Bible always looks forward to meeting with fellow believers to be encouraged in his work for the faith.

And that’s so important.  Because even more often than it talks about worshiping together, the Bible tells Christians to preach God’s Good News to the world.  And if you’re not doing that, well what good are you to God.  That’s our most important task.  A Christian who doesn’t go to church is like an athlete who doesn’t go to practice.  But a Christian who doesn’t share his faith is like a firefighter that refuses to put out fires.  The first will just lose you the game, but the second will cause lives to be lost.

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Have you ever taken a big trip somewhere?  It usually a lot of fun to get out on the open road (or skies or seas–whatever the case may be) and travel to someplace new and different, and enjoy the sights and experiences.  But what if you were forced to go on a long trip that you didn’t want to go on?  That happened to Paul.  He went on plenty of trips that he wanted to take because he liked being a missionary.  But there was one pretty disastrous trip that he didn’t have a choice about.  And you know what?  In spite of all the difficulties and his life being endangered a number of times, he seemed to make a pretty adventurous trip out of the ordeal.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:40 — 17.7MB)

I think it’s funny how people portray Heaven as a white cloudy kind of place where people dress in robes and have halos and play harps.  And then people look at that made up idea and say it’s boring, so they’re not all that interested in going.

Of course the reality of Heaven is beyond our imagination.  The Bible says it’s massive and full of color and lights and trees and flowing water.  But it’s also a place of worship.  It will be like church 24/7.  And people will be singing praises to God and worshiping him non-stop.  Of course that idea doesn’t appeal to anyone who doesn’t believe in or like God.  So they probably wouldn’t be interested in Heaven anyway.

of course everybody who admits the truth, understands how great God is and how worthy he is of our worship and obedience, and how limitless the blessings of a relationship with God is.  But they like to hold on to the idea that Heaven is like winning the lottery and doing whatever you want without interaction with God.  Many people think they can con God into letting them into Heaven in spite of their sinful hearts and lives and that somehow their hearts and minds will magically change when they die.  But the scary truth is, your heart and mind are judged for what they are and if you’re not purified before you kick the bucket, you’ll be pitched out and burned with all the other impurities that aren’t worthy of entering God’s presence.

What do you think of that thought?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:24 — 17.6MB)

We all know that Jesus was brutally flogged and then nailed to a cross to die a terrible and painful death.  But the kind of suffering and death he went through was not that uncommon in his day.  Lots of people were flogged, and crucifixion was a normal tool for Roman capital punishment.

What makes Jesus death way different (besides the fact of his innocence) is that Jesus died voluntarily.  If a bunch of trained soldiers tie you up to a post and proceed to whip the flesh from your back, there’s probably not much you could do about it.  And if your limbs are connected to wooden beams by iron spikes driven through your hands and feet, what are you going to do?  But at any point, Jesus could have snapped his fingers and stopped it all.  I doubt you or I would have the strength and commitment to endure that kind of torture for more than a few minutes if we had the power to end it.  But Jesus held strong for hours of gruesome pain and suffering until his body couldn’t take any more and finally died.

Praise the Lord for his dedication, because otherwise none of us would have any hope.

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When you were a kid did you ever get in trouble?  What did your folks do about it?  Did you deserve the punishment?  Did it help you learn to do better?  Has your life benefited from correction or discipline?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:05 — 25.7MB)