Unshakeable - Week 2

 This month we are looking at the Old Testament book of Daniel to learn what it means to live with an Unshakeable faith. The book of Daniel is full of some of the most well-known stories in the Bible and one of them is Daniel and the lion’s den.  Before we look at the story in more detail, let’s separate out some facts from fiction.  When many of us think about this story, this is what comes to mind.  (pic)

We picture Daniel as a young man and the lions like big cartoon cats, but this wasn’t what it was like.  Daniel was an old man at this time.  He was taken as a young man from Judah and became a leader for King Nebuchadnezzar, then his grandson King Belshazzar, and then King Darius. Daniel is now 60 or 70 years old, having served for over 50 years in the administration of Babylon.  

And the lions were not cute cats, they would have been ferocious animals that were housed in an underground den and kept hungry and on edge so that when someone was thrown in, they would have been immediately torn to pieces.  This was not a cute and casual situation for Daniel, it would have been a harrowing and frightful situation where death was guaranteed.  

But as you may know, when Daniel was thrown in, he was not torn to pieces.  God sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions and the message we usually take from this story is that if we have an unshakeable faith - God will rescue us.  While that might be true, what is also true is that it was because of Daniel’s unshakeable faith that he ended up in the lion’s den in the first place.  

Many people think that when we when we place our faith and trust in God, that God will rescue us from all harm and that we will never experience any suffering or pain.  I wish I could stand here and tell you that this is true, but it’s not.  An unshakable faith doesn’t keep us from all trouble, it keeps us strong through the trouble.  Daniel’s faith and trust in God didn’t keep him from the lion’s den, it actually led him to be thrown to the lions, but then it did keep him safe in the lion’s den.  

What we are going to learn from Daniel is that sometimes living with an unshakeable faith is what leads to hardships and trials. Pain and problems are not always a sign that we have sinned and failed to live by faith.  What Satan wants most is to pull us away from having faith and trust in God, so if he can use pain and suffering to get us to question God and turn away from God, he will.  For Daniel, being thrown to the lion’s wasn’t a sign that he had done something wrong or that he had been abandoned by God, it was the evidence that he was doing something right.  It was the evidence that he was living with an Unshakeable faith.  

Here is one truth I hope you will consider and take with you today.  Our problems aren’t always a sign that we have done something wrong or that God is not with us, they might be the evidence that we are doing something right and that we are being faithful. 

For over 50 years, Daniel had been doing something right, he had been living with faith.  While he faced challenges along the way, Daniel stood strong and was able to share his faith in God with each new king in Babylon.  Daniel’s faith so inspired the kings that there were times they also worshipped God and called on all the people to worship God. But Daniel’s strong faith also came under attack. Not everyone liked Daniel or his faith and that is what led to him being thrown to the lions.  Daniel 6:1-3

It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.  

The first thing we learn about Daniel is that he distinguished himself in service.  The word distinguished is the Hebrew word: mitnassah which means to excel, to stand out, to prevail.  

This is the only place that this word is found in the Hebrew Bible.  Daniel’s work was so exceptional that God used a word that stands out in all of scripture.  Part of what it means for us to have an unshakeable faith is that we serve God with INTEGRITY.  

Serving God with integrity doesn’t mean we have a strong faith and trust in God just when we are in worship or among our Christian friends, it means we live with faith at all times and in all places.  Daniel served God by being the best leader and administrator he could while working for a foreign king.  Daniel may not have liked all that Babylon stood for and he may not have liked the King and all he did, but he served the King with integrity.  

Daniel was a man of his word.  He did what he was asked to do if it lined up with his faith, and if it didn’t line up with his faith, Daniel politely asked for permission to live according to his faith.  Daniel worked hard and he gained wisdom.  He showed up early and stayed late.  He didn’t bring a lot of drama to work, and he was supportive of his coworkers.  

Living with an unshakeable faith means we need to serve God with integrity not just here in worship and among believers, but when we are at home, at work, at school, at the store, in our neighborhoods, and when we are posting online and speaking anywhere in the virtual or face to face community. We need to live and work with distinction.   

If you talk with any employer today, they will tell you that finding people who will work hard, commit to learning the job and doing what is asked without complaining and arguing is not easy.  Finding people who won’t bring drama into the workplace but will speak well of others, be kind to those around them, and diligently learn how to do all that is asked and all that they see needs to be done - is not easy.  Part of having an unshakeable faith is having that kind of work ethic.  

As you may know, after 29 years in operation and serving our community, we had to close our daycare at the end of the year.  One big reason we had to close was that we could not find anyone to work in the classrooms.  Part of that was due to some difficult requirements for teachers and classroom aides set by the state, but part of the problem was just the work ethic of many people.  It was hard to find people who wanted to show up to work, show up on time and work hard.

But we had one employee who lived and worked like Daniel.  She did everything that was asked and more.  She started when she was in high school as an aide in a classroom.  She then worked her way to being a teacher and then one of our directors.  She never brought personal drama into work and quietly helped all her coworkers work through their problems.  She excelled and stood out.  She distinguished herself and I trust that God will help her prevail.  I know that whoever hires her will get one of the best employees they will ever have - if they will just give her the chance.  To me, she is serving God with integrity, just like Daniel.  That is how we all need to live.  

Everywhere we go we need to distinguish ourselves by our hard work.  Paul tells us, whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.  Colossians 3:17

This is part of what an unshakeable faith looks like and this is how Daniel lived and worked and served foreign kings for over 50 years.  While his service was noticed and honored by the kings, it caused some jealousy among his coworkers.  An unshakeable faith doesn’t always keep problems away, sometimes it makes us a target for attack and Daniel became that kind of target.  

Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever!  The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” So King Darius put the decree in writing.  Daniel 6:3-9

Because of Daniel’s distinguished service and hard work, his coworkers got jealous and looked for a way to cancel Daniel.  You see, “cancel culture” is nothing new.  And just like today, when they couldn’t find any grounds to tear Daniel down, they created one.  They set up a scenario where he would have to either compromise his faith in God or be unfaithful to the king.  A decree was put into place that said no one could pray to anyone or anything other than King Darius for 30 days.  This gave Daniel 3 options.

1. Daniel could stop praying.  He could have told himself that he could still be faithful to God, he just wouldn’t pray like he used to.  He would compromise his relationship with God and give up the practice that gave him strength and wisdom for 30 days.  

2. Daniel could pray silently.  For 30 days, Daniel could pray, but just not tell anyone he was doing it. He could change his habit and pray in secret.  Who would know?

3. Daniel could do what he had always done and make it known to everyone that he still prayed to and trusted God and risk getting thrown to the lions.  This is what he did.  Daniel went home and prayed just as he always did. Daniel 6:10

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.  

Just as he had done before.  Daniel prayed three times a day in an open window.  Daniel didn’t compromise or change his practice, he remained faithful.  The second step to creating an unshakeable faith is to trust God with CONSISTENCY.  

It’s not what we do occasionally that makes a difference; it’s what we do consistently.  If we want a faith that will stand up during a crisis, we need a faith that is consistent, a faith that we nurture and develop and stand on every day.  If we want to learn how to praise God through the hard times and find joy even during times of sorrow, we need to praise God every day.  Praise and worship need to be an ongoing and consistent part of our lives.  

If we want to find strength and comfort in God’s word when times are uncertain, then we need to be reading God’s word daily.  If we want our prayers to give us strength and peace when times are tough, then we need to pray without ceasing.  It is only by doing these things consistently that they become the source of strength and power when we need them.  

Our faith and trust in God will never be unshakeable if we only see God, speak to God, worship God and learn from God occasionally.  An unshakeable faith takes consistency.  Daniel faced this challenge as an old man after a lifetime of faithful service.  His faith had grown during good times, and it had been tested during difficult times so it could now be relied on in a crisis. Daniel kept living with faith.  

That is the third step of an unshakeable faith, we honored God with FAITHFULNESS.  Daniel honored God by continuing to pray 3 times a day, but he also took a posture of humility - he prayed on his knees.  

Daniel’s posture and prayer show us that his heart was humbled before God.  Instead of getting angry with God or demanding God help him because he had been faithful all his life, it says he gave God thanks and praise.  Even in the face of certain death, Daniel honored God and praised Him.  

An unshakeable faith honors God in humility and gives thanks in all circumstances.  Trusting God doesn’t demand God take care of us when we face problems but knows that no matter what happens, God will see us through.  After a lifetime of serving God in Babylon, Daniel was willing to stand strong even if he meant he would die, and there was no guarantee that God would step in and save him.  Daniel prays and honors God not knowing if God will rescue him, he prays and honors God because he knows it is the only faithful thing he can do.  

Now we know the rest of the story and that God did rescue Daniel.   

At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.  Daniel 6:19-23

An unshakeable faith didn’t keep Daniel out of the lion’s den, but it did keep him safe in the lion’s den.  God might not keep up from all problems, but he will keep us through all problems.  And when we stand strong, we make a difference in the lives of those around us.  

Daniel’s unshakeable faith not only made a difference in the life of the king but all the people of Babylon as well.  The king was so taken by Daniel’s faith and God’s power to save that he issued a decree that everyone should honor God.  This is what the king said:

“For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.

He rescues and he saves;  he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth.  He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”  Daniel 6:26-27

An unshakeable faith changed everything for the people then and another story of an unshakeable faith changed everything for all of us.  The story of Daniel and Jesus are amazingly similar.  Daniel lived with faith and integrity and so did Jesus.  Daniel’s peers were jealous of him and looked for ways to attack him, and so did  Jesus’.  Daniel was thrown into a cave where everyone thought he would die, and so was Jesus.  

Jesus was laid in a tomb, and it was sealed.  The world thought Jesus was dead, but when morning came, the stone was rolled away and just like Daniel, Jesus was alive and walked out of the tomb.  His unshakeable faith brought salvation to all the world.  

An unshakeable faith doesn’t always keep us from experiencing problems, but it can keep us and hold us and help us through the problems.  So, serve God with integrity, trust God with consistency and honor God with faithfulness.  

 

Next Steps

Unshakeable - Week 2

When have you chosen to do what was right, even if it wasn’t the easier decision. How did that grow your faith?

Read the story of Daniel in the lion’s den.  Daniel 6

An unshakeable faith grows with these three practices:

Serve God with integrity

● Where do you need to serve with more integrity?

○ Home?  School?  Work?  Church?

● What does it look like for you to serve God in these places?

● How does Colossians 3:17 speak to you today?  And Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.  

Trust God with consistency

● It’s not what we do occasionally that makes a difference; it is what we do consistently.

● Where is more consistency needed in your relationship with God, the church, or the world?  

● Adopt one practice this week that can help you more consistent in prayer, worship, study, or service.

Honor God with faithfulness

● How can you incorporate humility into your daily relationship with God, your family, friends and coworkers?

● What faithful step of faith is God asking you to take today even if you don’t know what the future will be?

Pray:  God, thank You for Your goodness. Help us to trust in You and Your plan no matter what the future holds. Help us to treat others with the same love You’ve given us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Unshakeable - Week 1

 Entering into a new year, we will all face new challenges.  For some, it might be the loss of a loved one or the change in health for you or a member of your family.  It could be the loss of a job or an unexpected move for you and your family.  The challenge could be the social and political climate we are in, the changing culture around us, or the financial highs and lows that bring anxiety and fear about the future.  In some fashion, we will all face a challenge or two in the new year, and as followers of Jesus, we need to move into the future with a faith and trust that is Unshakeable.  

At the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He said, 

Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  Matthew 7:24-25

This month we are going to learn how to have that solid foundation and unshakeable faith during uncertain and difficult times and we are going to learn these lessons from the Old Testament book of Daniel.  The book of Daniel begins with Jerusalem falling to the nation of Babylon.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.  Daniel 1:1-2

While this doesn’t sound bad, Nebuchadnezzar completely destroyed Jerusalem.  He tore down the city walls, burned people’s homes, and desecrated then demolished the Temple.  To completely undermine the faith of the people, Nebuchadnezzar took some of the holy items used in the worship of God to his palace and used them in the pagan worship of his god.  

The people were devastated and completely humiliated.  It seemed as if God had abandoned them, but did you notice in those opening verses that God was still in control?  It says the Lord delivered the king of Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon.  God was at work, and in Daniel 2:28 it says that there is a God in heaven.  

Even though it looks like all is lost - there is a God in heaven.  Maybe that is the most important lesson we need to remember in order to have an unshakeable faith - no matter what we are going through - there is a God in heaven.  No matter what challenges we face, what storm we are going through, what loss we are experiencing - there is a God in heaven.  Even when it appears that God has left us - there is a God in heaven.  

When Jesus was dying on the cross He cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me.  In a moment of intense anguish and pain when many think that our sin being laid on Jesus caused God to turn away from Him - there was still a God in heaven and God was going to work through the pain and suffering of the cross to bring about the salvation of the world.  An unshakeable faith means holding fast to the truth that no matter what we are facing or going through, there is a God in heaven and He is with us.  

And God was with His people Israel.  While it appeared that all was lost, we are going to see that God was still at work caring for His people.  So we continue on with the story in Daniel 1:3-7

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.

Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.  

The plan of Nebuchadnezzar was to take the best of the Hebrew people and make them into outstanding leaders in Babylon.  If he could do that, then all the people of Israel would follow.  If Nebuchadnezzar could undermine and destroy these young men’s faith and get them to compromise their trust in God, eventually they would abandon it altogether.  

That is often Satan’s plan.  Satan will use different circumstances to undermine our faith and work to get us to slowly compromise our trust in God so that over time we will find ourselves far from God.  What we have to do is find ways to be unshakeable and stand firm, and we learn one way from the three friends of Daniel.  Their names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and each of those names, along with the name Daniel, reflected the nature and character of God.

Hananiah - God is gracious

Mishael - God is strong

Azariah - God is my help

Daniel - God is my judge

The first step in undermining the faith of these young men was to change their name so that every time they were spoken to they would no longer think of God Almighty but one of the foreign and pagan gods of Babylon.  The goal was to literally change their identity so that they no longer saw themselves as children of God but children of pagan gods and citizens of Babylon.

Hananiah became Shadrach - command of Aku (moon god)

Mishael became Meshach - Who is as Aku is

Azariah became Abednego - slave of the God Nebo

Daniel became Belteshazzar - Bel will protect me

By giving them a name that would tell them that the gods Aku, Nebo, and Bel were strong and powerful and would protect them was one way Nebuchadnezzar tried to undermine the faith and trust these young men placed in God.  Nebuchadnezzar was trying to change their identity by telling them - you aren’t God’s children, you are now Bell or Aku’s child.  You belong to the world not to God.  Your strength will come from the powers of other gods and the forces of the moon and fire - not from God.  All of this was to get them to compromise their faith and erode their trust in God.  They were trying to change their identity which they thought would change their lives.  

One of the most powerful ways our faith can be shaken and destroyed is by having our identity challenged or changed.  When people say you are worthless or that you won’t amount to anything or that your faith is foolish and based on fairy tales, we need to stand strong and remember who we are.  We are God's children.  We have been fearfully and wonderfully made.  We have been created in the image of God so we have infinite value and worth and our faith and trust is not in a fairy tale but the divine truth of a loving and powerful God who has chosen us and loves us.  

When the world says, you're not strong enough to go through this, we need to say, no, I can do all things through Christ.  When the world says there is no God and you are all alone in this world, we need to say, no, God is with me and I know His love will never leave me.  No matter what the world says about us, no matter what others say about us or our faith, we need to hear God tell us exactly who we are - we are His, we are His children.

For years there was a woman who had been told that she was an outcast.  Her sickness meant that she couldn’t be around other people and no one wanted to touch her and have her part of their family.  Not only that, but she spent all her money trying to get better but all she got was poor.  No one ever healed her or helped her. The world told her she was nothing, less than nothing, an outcast, unworthy and unloved.  

In a desperate attempt to find healing, she reached out to touch the hem of Jesus' robe and when she did, she was healed.   

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”  Mark 5:30-34

Jesus made sure to tell her that she was not worthless or an outcast but that she was and is and always will be a daughter of God.  Jesus reminds her of her true identity.  What I love about this story is that I think the woman always knew she was a daughter of God, which is why she reached out to Jesus in the first place. She knew she had value and that her life was worthwhile which is why she stopped at nothing to find help. So Jesus didn’t tell her who she was, He reminded her that, yes you are a daughter of God.  

Like this woman, and Daniel and his friends, we need to let our identity in Christ Jesus define us and help us to stand firm in our faith.  If we can always see ourselves as loved children of God, children who have been given power and strength by God to endure and overcome all things, then we will have an unshakeable faith in the midst of all the chaos, storms and struggles we face.  

Not only do we need to remember who we are and who we belong to, we need to live that way and sometimes that means living with grace.  If we go back to Daniel and his friends, they not only were given new names but they were given a new diet.  They were told to eat the best foods from the King’s table. While that sounds good, the problem was that the food had been sacrificed to pagan gods or broke the dietary laws of the Jewish people.  To eat that food would be to compromise their faith and Nebuchadnezzar knew it

Instead of ranting and raving about how they would never compromise and eat the food of the king, instead of telling them how wrong they were to eat that food and how right they were to honor God, they were gracious and asked politely if they could simply follow the diet they had known.  

But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.  Daniel 1:8-14

Daniel asked for permission and he even said please.  Daniel didn’t demand anything, he didn’t throw a tantrum, he didn’t say, “look I’m right and you are wrong” and he didn’t try to argue his point, in humility, he politely asked for the opportunity to simply stand strong in his faith.  

In a world where the standard operating procedure is to demand your own way, throw a fit when you don’t get what you want, trash people and companies online when you don’t like things and shout as you argue your point, politely asking permission can be a powerful way we stand strong in our faith. We don’t have to give in, we can stand firm like Daniel, but we can do it with grace and humility,  allowing God to work things out according to His purpose and plan.  

We have all probably met followers of Jesus who come across as holier than everyone else and if you don’t do things their way or believe the way they do - they will denounce you.  They might be 100% right in what they are saying, but the way they are saying it, or the attitude they have toward others, turns people away from them and from God.  When it comes to standing strong in our faith and sharing it with others, we might want to ask ourselves: do I want to make a point or do I want to make a difference? 

Jesus could have come to the world and made a point by pointing out all the sin of the world, condemning all the practices of the people and telling everyone to turn away from it all or they would burn in hell, but he didn’t.  Jesus came in humility to love.  He didn’t want to prove a point, Jesus wanted to make a difference.

We have all heard John 3:16.  God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

But what about John 3:17, God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

God didn’t send Jesus to make a point but to make a difference and with humility and grace and love - Jesus made all the difference because He alone brought salvation and redemption.  God doesn’t ask us to condemn the world but to help save the world by living with faith and humility.  We need to speak the truth but we need to speak the truth in love. 

Daniel was not going to let the world compromise his faith, he had determined ahead of time that he wasn’t going to eat from the table of the king, but as he went about it, as he lived and shared his faith, he did it with humility and grace.  We need to resolve to stand strong in our faith, we might need to determine ahead of time what we need to do, but we need to do it with grace.  We might need to push back a time or two - Daniel had to ask more than once, but he did it with grace.  

Maybe the most powerful witness we can make in the world today is to stand strong in our faith with gentleness and compassion.  The Apostle Paul teaches us that in a harsh and loud world, the best way to live out our faith might be with kindness.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  Colossians 3:12-14

This is not a call to compromise our faith, but to live out our faith with grace.  For an unshakeable faith, we first need to stand firm in who we are and hold fast to our identity in Christ - we are children of God  Then we need to share our faith and speak the truth in love.  These actions can lead us to an unshakeable faith.   

Next Steps

Unshakeable - Week 1

What challenges do you see on the horizon in 2025?  

How have you weathered the storms of 2024?  

When has your faith been compromised and when has it been unshakeable?

What are some ways our current culture tries to get us to compromise our faith?

Read the story of Daniel and his three friends.

Daniel 1

● Why did they change Daniel and his friends' names?

● What did their Hebrew names mean? 

● What did their Babylonian names mean?

What names have you been called that have shaped your identity?  

● What good names do you need to hold on to?

● What negative names do you need to let go?

● How can you find your true identity in Christ Jesus and what God says about you?

In a loud world where everyone demands their own way and insists they know what is right, how can you resolve to follow Jesus with humility and grace?

How can your kindness and humility this week be a witness to others?  

Prayer

God, thank You for being our refuge and strength in times of need. We want to honor You in every area of our lives. Please help us to stand firm in who You have called us to be, and help us to love others well. In Jesus’ name, amen.

ONE THING to take into the New Year

 All this month we have been talking about holy moments and looking at some of those moments in the Christmas story.  I hope you have experienced some holy moments during this Christmas season.  If you haven’t been able to identify a holy moment, don’t worry, maybe it’s still to come, or maybe you have had a holy moment and you just haven’t realized it.  One of the leading authors and great thinkers of our time, Dr. Seuss said, Sometimes you don’t know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.  

In other words, there may have been a holy moment you experienced and you just haven’t realized how profound and holy the moment was.  Holy moments can seem ordinary at first, but the more we reflect on them and remember them, the more we see just how important or life changing that moment was.  Many of the holy moments I have shared during this series were pretty ordinary at first, but the more I remembered them and reflected on them, the more life changing and truly holy they became.  

So let me ask you, what experience do you need to reflect on and remember from this past year that might become for you a holy moment?  What one thing do you need to remember?  

This morning I’m going to ask 5 questions that can help us not only experience holy moments but might make all the difference for us in the new year.  Each question has the potential to lead us to a deeper faith and to a greater trust in God.  As I share each question, if something comes to your mind I encourage you to write it down.  Our next steps have places where you can write down your one thing so you can take them with you into the new year.  

So here is the 1st question: What ONE THING do you need to remember? 

 Looking back over the past year, or the past several years, what is one moment, or one lesson or one truth do you want to remember?  Again, sometimes we don’t know the value of a moment until it is a memory, until we ponder it.  

In the gospel of John we read about Jesus healing a man born blind.  Jesus had healed him on the Sabbath which was against the religious law and it really bothered all the religious leaders.  They repeatedly asked the blind man who had healed him so they could arrest him in front of all the people to make an example of him, but the man kept saying, I don’t know who it was.  The man gets so frustrated by being asked over and over again that he finally says, One thing I know. I was blind but now I see!  John 9:25

There was just one thing he knew and one thing he was going to remember.  He had been blind but now he can see.  That was one thing he was going to remember.  What is the one thing you need to remember?  It might not be as dramatic as having your eyes opened, but maybe it was a moment when the eyes of your heart were opened. Or a moment when you began to understand a life lesson.

About 35 years ago my grandmother had a stroke.  She was one of the most active and vital women I have ever known and in an instant her entire life changed.  While the moment was devastating for me in many ways, the more I reflected on it, the more I learned a valuable life lesson.  Life is short - so make the most of it.  A line from a movie that was in the theaters at this time said it this way, Carpe Diem.  Seize the day.  Remembering that truth, that one thing, led me to leave my job, go to seminary and begin a new chapter in my life.  I am reminded often that life is short and that I need to seize the day so that is one thing I want to remember. What is your one thing? What is one thing you want and need to remember?  

The 2nd question: What ONE THING do you desire from God?  

King David was known as a man after God’s own heart and while he failed many times in life, it didn’t stop him from wanting to always be in the presence of God.  David said, One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 27:4  

The one thing David desired was to be able to know and see and worship God at all times.  I don’t think he wanted to literally be in the Temple his entire life, but he wanted to experience the presence and power of God every moment of his life.  David desired that connection and closeness to God above everything else.  

David’s son didn’t want that closeness with God as much as he wanted wisdom from God.  When Solomon became King after his father David, God said I will give you whatever you want and the one thing Solomon asked for was wisdom.  What Solomon desired most was the wisdom to lead and care for God’s people.  What one thing do you desire from God?

Maybe it is the power to overcome an addiction or a sin that clings so close and never seems to let up.  Maybe what you desire most is healing for a relationship, or a physical healing for you or someone you love.  Maybe what you desire most is the ability to slow down and ponder the things of God because your life just seems too crazy and busy.  It’s important to identify this one thing and share it with God because God wants to give us the desires of our heart.  What one thing do you desire from God?  

The third question is: What ONE THING do you lack?  

A rich young man came to Jesus one day and asked Him what he had to do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus told him he needed to follow all the commandments and honor his parents.  He said he had been doing that all his life.  This rich young man was feeling pretty good about himself and his faithfulness, but he did have a blind spot - he didn’t know what it was he lacked in life.  But Jesus did.  

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Mark 10:21-22

This was not a general teaching to all people, but a reflection on the one thing this man lacked - he lacked trust in God.  He had been trusting in his own goodness and good works all his life and he trusted in his money to provide and care for him.  Asking him to sell all he had was one way Jesus could point to him the one thing he lacked - trust in God.  What is the one thing you lack?   

Like the rich man, we might also lack real trust in God, or we might lack the courage to take a new step of faith.  Maybe what we lack is a deep relationship with God - a relationship that feeds us and gives us life.  Or maybe we lack meaningful faith-filled friendship with brothers and sisters that can help us be more faithful in our walk with God.  Or maybe what we lack is a relationship or connection with the world around us where we are making a difference for God.  These three relationships, a relationship with God, the church, and the world, are how we talk about living out our faith and it might be that we are lacking in one of these relationships.

One way God can show us what we lack and need in life is by taking the 3 relationship assessment that you can find on our website.  bellefontefaith.com/3r.  The assessment can point out where we might be lacking and provide us with some ideas on how to grow in these areas in the new year.  

The fourth question is: What one thing do you need to let go?  

I don’t know about you, but there is a lot I need to let go as I move forward.  I need to let go of my own sin.  I need to let go of the shame that my sin brings.  I need to let go of holding a grudge against those who sin against me.  All of these things are weights that hold us back and we need to let go of our sin as we move forward.  

We also need to let go of our failures.  If you failed in some way this past year, or disappointed yourself or someone else, let it go and start again.  If you have struggled with fear and find that fear is holding you back, let it go and find the strength to move forward.  

Sometimes what we have to let go is how other people see us.  Too often our identity is shaped by what others say about us and not what God says about us.  At times we need to let go of the harsh words of others and take hold of the inspiring and truth-filled words of God.  God says we are valuable, loved, and precious.  God says we are gifted, strong and courageous.  God says we are forgiven, capable and able to do more than we can possibly imagine.  Can we let go of how others see us and how we might see ourselves so we can take up God’s vision for our lives.  

The Apostle Paul knew that there were things he had to let go. 

ONE THING I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

Maybe what Paul had to let go was the reminder that he had been the one to give the approval to have Stephen, a follower of Jesus, stoned to death.  Maybe it was that guilt and shame that haunted Paual, we don’t know, but whatever it was, he was working to leave it in the past and press on to all that God had for him in the future.  Too often we can’t move forward without letting go.  What one thing do you need to let go so you can press on into the future God has for you?  

The final question: What ONE PROMISE do you need to claim?  

The Bible is full of promises and God has said that His promises are YES and AMEN.  In other words, we can count on them, we can claim them for ourselves and our future.  So what one promise do you need to claim today?  

I provided just a few of the promises God makes to us so you can think about what one promise you need to claim.  It might be the promise that God will meet every need you have right now. God said, I will supply all your needs according to my riches and glory.  

Maybe the one promise you need is the promise of forgiveness.  Not only does God promise to forgive us but he promises to remove our sin from us - The Bible says, as far as the east is from the west so far will God remove our sin from us.  . 

Maybe the one promise you need is to know that right now God will work out all the craziness of your life and use it all for God.  God doesn’t say he will only give us good things but He promises to work for good in all things.  

Maybe the one promise you need is to know that you are not alone and that God will always be with you.  God will never leave you nor forsake you and God will be with you to help you in times of need.  God will guide you in times of uncertainty and God has promised to walk with us into the House of the Lord forever.  

God has promised to be our strength when we are weak and He has promised to give eternal life to those who believe in Him.  

What is the one promise you need to claim?  

What is the one thing you need to let go?

What is the one thing you lack?

What is the one thing you desire from God?

What is the one thing you want to remember?  

These 5 questions might be the most significant questions you can ask yourself these next few days.  I want to encourage you to take some time to reflect on them.  Ponder them.  Answer them and then take them with you in the new year.  Let this be the focus of your faith in the year to come and discover holy moments that will change your life.  

Holy Moments - A Moment to Ponder - Christmas Eve

This month we have been reflecting on some of the holy moments that make the Christmas story so powerful.  There is the moment the angel Gabriel told Mary that God had chosen her to be the mother of the Messiah and Mary surrendered herself to God's will.  There was the moment Joseph was told by an angel to take Mary as his wife because the child she was carrying was the son of God and that this child would save people from their sin.  Joseph was obedient and took Mary as his wife and he never looked back. 

There was the moment an army of angels appeared to some shepherds while they were working.  Not only were they told that the Messiah had come but that this was a Messiah for them.  Outcast shepherds that no one liked or found worthy were worthy of God’s love and they were included in God’s saving grace.  Salvation was for everyone and the shepherds were told they could find their Savior lying in a manager.  Once they found Him, they spread the news about this Savior to others.  If this was a Savior for them, then he was a savior for all the world.  

And then there were 3 holy moments that changed the lives of the wisemen.  There was the moment a new star appeared in the sky and they began their search for the new king of Israel.  There was the moment they learned a new truth.  The king wasn’t to be born in the holy city of Jerusalem but the lowly city of Bethlehem, and then there was the moment they found Jesus and worshiped him.  They not only gave Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh but they gave Him their allegiance and their devotion in worship. They gave their hearts and lives to Jesus and refused to return to Herod and tell him where the child was they returned home a different way.  Holy moments changed their lives and they helped save Jesus and his family.  

The Christmas story is filled with holy moments that shaped and changed people’s lives and if we can make these moments part of our lives, they can shape us too.  Like Mary and Joseph, all of us will experience moments when we will have the opportunity to surrender to God and be obedient to His will.  There will be moments when God will ask us to share the love of Jesus, and there will come moments of worship that will change our hearts and send us off in new directions.  That moment could be here and now!

While the Christmas story tells us that our lives can be filled with these kinds of holy moments, too often we miss them because in this season and all throughout our lives, we are too busy to notice.  For holy moments to bring us life, deepen our faith, and fill us with love and joy, we have to take the time to stop and reflect.  We have to slow down so we can look at and listen to all that God is doing.  We know God is calling us to slow down and reflect because we see a holy moment just like that in the Christmas story.

When we hear the Christmas story read, like we did tonight, too often we find ourselves focused on Mary and Joseph having to make a trip to Bethlehem. Or that when they got there there was no room for them so they had to use a manger as a cradle.  Or we celebrate with the shepherds the message of the angels and long for peace on earth and good will for all the people. But tucked in at the very end of this story is one verse we often overlook.  

After a difficult trip to Bethlehem with Mary 9 months pregnant, after giving birth in a stable or a cave and having to place their child in a manger, and after a group of dirty shepherds finally left, Mary and Joseph were alone and it says, Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  Luke 2:19.

Mary treasured everything that had happened that day, and everything that happened in the weeks and months leading up to that day and she thought about it.  She reflected on it.  She didn’t let this holy moment pass her by but took the time to ponder it all.  She weighed it in her mind and thought about what it meant for her and for Joseph and for her people and for the world.  

While we don’t know what Mary pondered, she may have thought about all the promises God had made to her and Joseph.  New parents often think about all that led up to the special moment of their child’s birth so Mary may have thought back to all that God had said to them.  Maybe she thought about the visit of the angel who told her that their child would be great and be called the son of the most high.  Maybe she thought about how Joseph told her that their child would save people from their sin.  Maybe she thought about the name the angel had used when he talked to Joseph.  The child would be called Immanuel, which means God with us.   

Surrounded by animals and with their son in a manger, did Mary ponder whether or not this was actually God with them.  Her cousin Elizabeth had told her that she was carrying the Messiah and the shepherds had just told them that a host of angels proclaimed that this was the Messiah.  So while it wasn’t what she and Joseph might have expected, could it be true.  Was this God in the flesh?  

Tonight, we need to ponder and reflect on the promise that Jesus is Immanuel.  Not God with them but God with us.  Jesus wasn’t just God with Mary and Joseph and the shepherds and the wisemen, He wasn’t just God with them 2,000 years ago, He is God with us - today.  

Ponder what it means that God has promised to be with you.  No matter who you are or what you are going through, God is with you.  In the middle of disease and death and doubt - God is with you.  In the middle of anxiety, uncertainty and fear - God is with you.  In the middle of feeling lost and alone - God is with you.  No matter what you are facing today, or what you have come through this year, or how far from God you may feel, or what you fear the future may hold - God is with you.  God isn’t here to be held in our arms as a baby but for us to be held in His arms. 

Mary did hold Jesus in her arms and she must have found a profound sense of peace because for all of us, there is nothing more powerful and peaceful than holding a child - when it’s asleep.  The moments Mary would have been able to ponder all that had taken place would have been those quiet moments when Jesus was sleeping.  I wonder if some of Mary’s peace came from knowing that God had chosen her and Joseph to raise the Son of God.  

Take a moment and ponder that same truth.  God has chosen you.  God is for you.  God loves you and He loved you first.  He loved you before you ever thought about loving HIm.  1 John 4 says that the only reason we can love God or love others is because God first loved us.  God loved us and chose while we were still sinners.  John 3:16, God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The world didn’t first love God and ask for a Savior, God first loved us and said, you need a Savior so I’m going to come and be your Savior.  At some point Mary pondered that thought and found a peace that goes far beyond the feeling of holding a child.  She was holding the one who loved her and chose her and came to save her.  

Don’t let the busyness of this night, or the days to come, crowd out that peace.  We can experience a peace that passes our understanding, a peace that can hold us no matter what we are going through, a peace that can overcome fear and doubt, and a peace that can assure us of eternal life if we remember that God loves us.  The Bible calls the Messiah the Prince of Peace and tonight we need to hold on to that peace as tightly and as lovingly as we would a child.  

Mary pondered the promises God made in the past, the peace God was giving her in the present and maybe the assurance that God’s power would be there for her in the future.  If God loved them and had chosen them and was with them - then they had the power to face whatever was going to come.  While Mary didn’t know just how much she was going to need that power, we do.  

Mary was going to face the loss of her husband at an early age.  She was going to watch her son enter ministry where he would be ridiculed and taunted and hated by those in power.  

She was going to hear about his miracles and then struggle with her own doubts and fears.  She was going to watch her son be put on trial and beaten.  She was going to stand at the cross and watch him suffer, struggle to breathe, and eventually die.  Mary was going to have her heart pierced by sorrow and pain but she was not going to be defeated because of the power God would give her.  

Tonight, you might need the assurance that God will give you the power you need for your future.  No matter what doubts, fears, problems or pain you are looking at right now, the power of God will be there tomorrow and in every tomorrow to come.  If you don’t feel like you will be strong in the face of problems, don’t worry, sometimes we don’t know the power God can give us until we need it - but if we will trust God - it will be there.  

Mary didn’t know all the ways she was going to have to be strong.  She didn’t know she was going to have to watch her son suffer, and that she would have to stand at the foot of a cross and watch Him die, but she did and she was able to do it because of the power God gave her.   God will give us power for our future.  The Holy Spirit gives us the power to endure and overcome all things. There is even power in death because Jesus overcame sin and death.   

Don’t let this holy moment pass you by.  Stop and ponder all that Jesus means for you.  Think about the promise God has made to be with you at all times and in all places.  Think about the peace that can be yours in knowing that no matter what you have done or where you have been or what you are facing, God has chosen you and loves you and is here for you.  Think about the power that God will give you in the future.  No matter what you will face, the power of God’s love will be with you and will see you through.  

We know all this is true because of another promise God made.  

If God is for us, who can be against us? 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:31, 35, 37-39

Ponder this promise - nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus

and find in this moment God’s peace 

and know the power of God’s love will be there for you - forever.