Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man, a title he took from this very chapter. In chapter seven, Daniel wrote about a dream he had of beastly kingdoms and the hopeful future of a perfect human finally taking his rightful place as King over all creation on the throne with the Most High God.
Many of us have heard of the amazing story of Daniel being thrown in the lion's den and his miraculous rescue. Many of us have heard of and wished for his great faith. But is that really the point of the story? Is Daniel the hero of this story? Who else shows up in that den of lions to bring rescue? Who is the hero of this story, really?
A new king is in town… and he’s a bit of a fool. His drunken party leads to some foolish actions against the true King, the God of Israel. God visits him with a message that he is unfit to be ruling over the kingdom God gave to him.
What about you and I? Do we measure up? Are we fit to stand as God’s representatives before the rest of creation? Thankfully, we are able to only by being brought to maturity in the fullness of Christ’s glory.
Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful person on earth while he was the king of Babylon, but all that authority had been given to him by a much more powerful King. Still, he would need to have it all taken away and be humbled to the lowest point possible before he would realize the King who truly has power, authority, dominion, and glory over all the earth forever.
When the whole world bows down to the world power and seems to have gone mad, three young men stand firm in their faith in the one true God. They do not lead a zealous rebellion. They do not form a religious boycott. They quietly yet firmly, resolutely yet respectfully, honor their king while honoring the true King of all kings. And yet, they are not the heroes of this story. There is a fourth man who appears in their distress and rescues them. The King the whole world really longs for.
What began as a terrifying dream causing Nebuchadnezzar to bring terror upon his own kingdom, God used to bring hope to His people and rescue for all. In chapter two of Daniel we see that God chose to reveal something to the enemy of His people. This reminds us that God is at work in His world, even through those who do not yet trust Him.
All humans live our lives with daily rhythms that shape us. Everyone eats. Everyone listens to something or someone. Everyone has something to say. In light of who God is, what He has done for us in Christ, and who He has made us to be, what does it look like for us to do those things in line with our new identity? What if we did those things with an intentionality of sharing the good news of Jesus? Because of Christ, we can live out our BLESS rhythms of Blessing, Listening, Eating, Speaking, and Sabbathing for the glory of God.
Our doing flows out of our being, and our being comes from God's doing, not our own. Who are we now that God has brought us out of darkness and into light? Now that we who were once dead have been made alive? Now that Christ has given us a new identity? We have been made a family of servant missionaries, continually learning to follow Jesus in all of life.
Often we try to make our own way, create a name for ourselves, or find our identity. When we start there it is like frosting a cake before you bake it… we’re going backwards and it gets messy. Better yet, it’s like trying to be made without the Maker. Instead, what if we begin with asking the question, Who is God? From there, we can begin connecting the dots to see who we are truly meant to be and how we can live in this world.
In Luke 22 and 23 we see a number of different types of people as they participate in or look upon the death of Jesus. Some of them are calling for Jesus’ death, many attest that he is innocent, but two see him in light of the kingdom. Luke tells us that Joseph of Arimathea and one of the criminals on the cross next to Jesus were looking for the coming kingdom of God and saw Jesus as one entering into that kingdom. It seems most others in this story were looking to some other kingdom. Which kingdom are you looking to?
The night Jesus was betrayed, arrested, and taken away to his death, he shared one last meal with his friends. This wasn’t just any meal. This was the Passover meal; a meal which held great significance for the deliverance of God’s people. The bread, the wine, and the lamb were all signposts back to when God had saved them from slavery to Egypt, and signposts pointing them forward to when He would save them again from their slavery to sin. Jesus became the bread, the wine, and the Lamb at this meal, and he invites us all now to sit at the table and feast with him.
Chapter 21 of Luke shows us Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem, the week of his death. Everyone he is with is enamored with the beauty of the temple, but Jesus is not impressed. He is more concerned with what is going on inside of the temple and inside of the hearts of the people within it. He is more concerned with creating a new temple for him to dwell in. He is more concerned with establishing a kingdom and a throne that will last forever.
A simple question, 'when is the kingdom coming?', has sparked all kinds of debate and confusion. Jesus addressed two different groups as he answered this question; the pharisees and his followers. At the heart of his response we see the same message to both: don't miss the kingdom of God by building your own.
Long thought of by many as a depiction of the afterlife, Jesus once told a fictional story that had much more to do with how God's people were living their current lives on earth, and how they were treating others made in God's image. The call of God's people has always been to use their blessings to be a blessing to others, inviting all into the loving community and kingdom of God. The main audience for this story Jesus was telling had lost that calling. What about us? How are we living out this call?
What does prodigal mean? The reckless and extravagant use of resources.
Jesus once told a story of two brothers; the younger who ran away from home and squandered his father’s inheritance, the older who stayed home and squandered his father’s presence. But the story is really about the father, who lavishly spent all of his resources to bring both of his sons into his loving arms.
