Revisiting Daniel 7

So I've been working on a sermon for one of my preaching classes. Daniel 7 was my assigned preaching passage. This passage has been preached so many times by Adventists that I was not sure how to preach a sermon that hasn't already been preached by someone. As I was studying, I got stuck on verses 15-18. Daniel tells about this vision then shares that he is completely terrified. Then he goes out in search of answers.

Daniel finds an angel that is willing to answer his question and asks, "What is the meaning of all of this?" I found it interesting that the angel didn't answer everything in detail like we are often so anxious to do. Instead he basically aid, "there will be four kingdoms that reign over the earth. Then God's people will inherit a Kingdom from God Himself. Simple. Concise. Anyone could understand. Granted, Daniel wasn't satisfied so he asked more specific questions to which the angel answered, point by point. But in the angel's eyes, this vision wasn't about beasts, or horns, or time frames. It was about God bringing salvation to His people. What a powerful idea! I'm not saying that the other stuff is wrong or unimportant, it's just refreshing to me to be reminded that regardless of what history brings, the bottom line is that God is working on behalf of His people to bring salvation. In uncertain times like these, that's welcome news.

Waiting

Isaiah 40:31
³¹ Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Ever since I can remember, this has been one of my favorite verses of Scripture. If I wait on the Lord, He will provide. It's an amazing message…that has really got messed up in my head. This is the verse I've turned to when things just weren't going right. In the midst of my struggles I'd pray, "Lord, I'm waiting for you to do something." It was more like, "Lord, I'll sit tight in my self-pitying funk, waiting for you to clear out the clouds of my circumstances and bring a rainbow of promise." Well, thanks to John Waller, I've got a new perspective. In his song, While I'm Waiting (from the album The Blessing), he writes something profound.

While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

Waiting on the Lord doesn't mean sitting around until God does something. It's actively serving. Actively worshipping. Actively joining God in whatever He's doing in the mean time. It's not the definition of waiting that I grew up with. Yet it makes so much sense. No matter how tough (or confusing, or unsettled, or frustrating) I think my life is at the moment, I still have the joy of serving God while He works to reveal the answers in my life. I want to be one who waits like that. You?

Adventist Evangelism

You know, we really need to re-think how we go about our evangelism. I've been in the Adventist church for my whole life now, and I can identify three types of evangelism that we generally try.

1. We do door-to-door evangelism, selling our books to unsuspecting vict-, I mean, people.

2. We hold public evangelism campaigns, inviting in for a four (or five) (or six) week series in which we seek to convince them of the truth as we believe it.

3. We write it off as old-fashioned and just avoid the whole idea of evangelism all together.

I can't help but wonder if there are other ways.

Mark Beeson has posted an interesting rant from Penn Jillette, you know, the Vegas magician who also happens to be a devout atheist. In the video, Penn tells the story of a guy who shared the gospel in a simple way. Two things strike me. First, this atheist skewers Christians who believe in "heaven and hell" yet don't care enough to share with those who don't know. Second, he comments on the way in which this guy shared the gospel. Unapologetic. Non-defensive. Full of genuine care and actual friendliness.

We have a message to share. We can't get away with just writing off evangelism. But it seems our evangelism has become more focused on producing baptisms than on investing in people.

I can't help but wonder: might we be more effective in our evangelistic effort if our M.O. was that we are people who care about other people? If we shared our message unapologetically, non-defensively, yet out of an abundance of genuine care and respect for the people we're sharing with, we might see that the beauty of the gospel and the people through whom it flows would have an attraction that we've never seen before. There's no doubt: there is a precedent in Scripture for mass evangelism, but some of Jesus' best work was one-on-one, demonstrating his care for the individual.

I know, Penn Jillette is only one voice. But how would our evangelism change if we listened carefully to his experience?

Good News

As the minutes dragged on into hours, we became increasingly more tired. First our flight was delayed by 20 minutes, then an hour, then two. Finally, the bright red CANCELLED flashed on the board next to flight 603. And with that we were stuck in Las Vegas. Yet this was just the latest twist in the adventure of trying to get home for Christmas. Icy roads. Delayed flights. Missed connections. It seems like we've had it all. It's one of those trips you just want to forget. Every part of it is just all wrong. I have to admit, I kept getting more and more upset. But every time I was overwhelmed by the rainclouds, my wife was there to bring the sunshine. "Good News," she'd say. When the security line was WAY too long and I thought we'd miss our flight, "Good News," she'd say, "we won't have to wait in the boarding area too long." When we got to Denver and realized that we'd missed our connection, "Good News," she said, "now we have time to get some lunch in the airport." When our flight was cancelled in Las Vegas, confirming we wouldn't make it to Portland that night, "Good News," she said, "now we can find a hotel and get a good night of sleep." At every turn, she was the bearer of good news and it made the trip much more bearable…even fun.

    It got me thinking. Why is it that I choose Christianity over all of the other religious systems out there? Every religion has their own philosophy, their own holy books, their own traditions, their own beliefs. What makes Christianity different? For me, the answer is simple: Good News. In Christianity, the story ends with good news. There's room for forgiveness. There's room for God to work. But not only does it the story end with good news, it is infused with good news. At every turn, God takes tragedy, frustration, failure, and brings Good News. What a God we serve!

Thoughts on the "Civil War"

So last night I was sitting and watching the "Civil War," the annual football game between the Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers. As it became clear that the Ducks were going to finish off a thorough destruction of the Beavers, the cameras began panning through the crowd. There they were, nearly 40,000 crushed Beaver fans. Grown men openly crying over the football game. "That's pretty sad," I thought. I mean, I am about the biggest sports fan you could find. I grew up rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs (I know, I SHOULD be crying this season). But as I saw all of those people visibly demoralized, it struck me that it doesn't make much sense to get so emotionally invested in something that will make no difference to us tomorrow. Whether a football team wins or loses won't affect how I live tomorrow. I may get to brag a little...or take the ribbing from someone else. But really? My quality of life doesn't change. I will keep living, serving God, going to school, and taking care of my family whether my Chiefs win or not. Why spend too much energy getting caught up in sports (or Hollywood. or crocheting. or seeking after the perfect piece of pie...)? It reminds me of Luke 12:34. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Treasure. Heart. Energy. Where are you putting yours?

Created in God’s Image?

So I was reading the latest Newsweek magazine (Sept 22, 2008) the other day and ran across an article called, "Is Morality Natural?" The article suggests that all people, regardless of ethnicity, culture, gender or any other factor, have a similar view of basic ethics and morality. The bottom line, in the author's estimation, is that, "nature handed us a moral grammar that fuels our intuitive judgments of right and wrong." This "moral grammar," as it's called sounds an awful lot like something in Romans 1:19, 20. In Romans 1, Paul writes that all people are without excuse before God, "because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them, for since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." I've always taken this to mean that through careful observation of the natural world, humans could gain an adequate understanding of God. But it seems to go much deeper than that. Much can be learned through the observation of the external. But this study suggests that God's moral code, His character itself, has been etched in the lives humans since the first one walked the earth. For years, the Bible has been saying that we were created in God's image. Now science is beginning to prove it.

Everyday Miracles

No matter how often it happens, it's seems like it's always just as exciting. You know, those situations where your back is against the wall, you've run out of options, and then something happens that you just can't explain. I had one of those experiences today. This morning, I had to take a Hebrew qualifying exam that would place me in appropriate Hebrew class here at the seminary. Unfortunately, I was not well prepared for the exam, having mastered only about 25% of the testable material. Although I was resigned to failing the test, I said a quick prayer. "Lord, I understand that I'm probably going to fail this test, but if you see fit that I should pass this exam, I will give You all the glory." With that I sat for the exam, doing the best that I could. And when the scores came back, I passed…but just barely. For a moment I felt like Daniel in the lion's den, being saved from certain death by Divine intervention. But then I realized that Daniel was delivered from his trial without a scratch. If I had been Daniel, I would have lost an arm or something. It got me thinking….sometimes we don't recognize miracles because they aren't the absolute smashing successes that Daniel or Gideon or Moses experienced. Every day, God is doing things around us and for us, yet we don't always see it. We think a miracle has to be outrageous to be real. But what about the everyday miracles? The flower that blooms, the strength that God gives just to survive, the little things that make life just that much more bearable. I'll tell you, I didn't escape from that test unscathed. I missed a lot of questions. But by the grace of God, I passed. Most people would look at that and say, "you're sure lucky that test was so easy." Honestly, that's me most days. But today, God got through. Reminding me of the moments where He is working, maybe not quite as spectacularly as the Bible records, but just as effectively. Reminding me of those everyday miracles.