crumbs64

 

This contains some thoughts on Daniel 2:1-23

Crumbs from the Master ‘s Table 64

Facing the Impossible

Scripture Daniel 2:17-23 New International Version17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 

20 and said:“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
    wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;    he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise    and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things    he knows what lies in darkness,
    and light dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:    You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you,    you have made known to us the dream of the king.”

Crumbs

In this chapter we read of two different groups of people reacting to a terrible situation. The King wants the interpretation of a dream he is not willing to tell. Failure to provide the interpretation this will result in a horrible death for quite a lot of people.

The magicians argued with the distraught king and brought about the edict they so much feared. Daniel found out the facts of the situation in a careful manner, then saw the king without arguing about the edict, shared the facts with his friends and asked for prayer.

The prayer is wonderful. Daniel is praising the Name. In English if we said that a person had a good name we been they had a good character and reputation. Daniel confesses God as Lord of nature, the affairs of men and the source of learning. Daniel also revels in the fact that God is a revealing God who equips His servants for the challenges they face and answers their prayers

Questions1. Why is this passage in Scripture? 2. What does Daniel teach us about coping with life ? 3. How may Daniel’s prayer be a model for our prayers ?

Crumbs61

 

Crumbs from the Master ‘s Table 61

From the Cross

Good Friday ‘23

I do not know what order the sayings from the cross came. I see them into three groups. 1.The cries of relationship. Here is a man seeing to His relationships before He dies. 2. Cries of anguish. 3. Cries of Victory.

1.The cries of relationship.Luke 23:34 New International Version  Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

He who taught us to pray for those who ill treat us practices what He preaches.23:43 New International Version  Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Here at the cross hope cuts into the saddest of times Such is the nature of the Messiah. As He brings hope in the middle of hopelessness.

John 19:26 New International Version When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,”

We discover two attitudes of Christ, His attitude to the bereft and His attitude to family obligations. He loves and He cares.

2. Cries of anguish.Mark 15:34 New International Version And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

The price and pain of our salvation are beyond our understanding.

John 19:28 New International Version  Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

This is the cry of a desperate man. Here we see the deep humanity of the Messiah.

3. Cries of Victory.Luke 23:46 New International Version Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

This might have been a prayer prayed by Jewish children before they went to sleep. No pain remains. The Saviour does what we must all do. He commits Himself to God.

John 19:30New International Version When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Now no pain remains. His sacrifice, which is our salvation, is complete.

(N.B. In the above, the text in the upright “ Arial” font is Holy Scripture.)

Crumbs 60

 

Crumbs from the Master ‘s Table 60

The Lord Jesus Christ (according to Luke)

Scripture Luke 4:1-12 NIV Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread one.’ 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ 9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ 12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’

crumbs 63

 

Crumbs from the Master ‘s Table 63

Daniel : In Training

Scripture See Daniel 1. I post here some pivotal verses Daniel 1:8-16 NIV

8 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. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10 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.” 11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 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.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

Crumbs In the UK we live in a system in which Christianity was once the accepted religion. This is not true of the most of the world where Christians are subjects of an unsympathetic and sometimes hostile system. Much of the writing of the old and new testaments were written for people in a similar harsh set up.

In Daniel we see the Sovereign God in action. It was God who caused Daniel and his fellows to be exiled and brought before the king of Babylon. They may not have liked the situation but they did not approach it with loud condemnations or total surrender. They negotiated. God aided them in their negotiations and honoured them with success. Christians in 21^st cent UK could face similar situations. There were things about which Daniel was not prepared to compromise. This is true of Christians today and the lines drawn will be different for different Christians. We must love one another. Guidance may be found in 1 Corinthians 8, 10: 19-33.

Finally I note that Daniel was prepared to let his faith dictate what he ate. We are not subject to dietary regulation but we may follow Daniel in subjecting our everyday activities to the scrutiny of our faith, that is our relationship with God.

Questions1. How does our belief in a sovereign God affect our view of human history? 2. What does Daniel 1 teach about our conduct in a hostile environment ? 3. What lines should be draw for our everyday life?

Crumbs 62

 

My computer has to be mended next week’s crumbs may be late

Crumbs from the Master ‘s Table 62

Approaching Prophecy

Scripture 1 Peter 1:10 NIV 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care,

2 Peter 1:19-21 NIV19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Crumbs

With trepidation I approach the book of Daniel, with this study about prophecy and Scripture . Some of the Scriptures are prophecies and as we study how prophecy was formed we may discover some clues to how Scripture was formed.

We learn that the prophets were carried along by the Holy Spirit that they might speak from God. In 2 Timothy 3:16 we learn that Scripture is God breathed. The formation of Scripture is an interaction of humanity and Divinity. The initiative and power comes from the breath of God. His instrument is our humanity.

Something similar happens when we read and study Scripture. In this activity God and humanity must join. If we ignore God’s part the Bible becomes just another book, its study an arid academic exercise leaving our lives unaffected. It is also a mistake to ignore our part in Bible reading

. In Hebrews 4:12 we are told the word of God is active and will affect us profoundly. It is not merely a divine data base. It is much more than that. To read it is to to involve ourselves in a holy act. It is possible to spend much time asking questions about the Bible can fit in with 21^st century rationalism. We must ask “What is God telling us?”

Questions1. What is Scripture? 2. How should we read Scripture ? 3. What question should we ask as we search the Scriptures?

Crumbs 61

 

Crumbs from the Master ‘s Table 60

The Lord Jesus Christ (according to Luke)

Scripture Luke 4:1-12 NIV Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread one.’ 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ 9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ 12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’

Crumbs

In Luke’s gospel the second temptation is at a high place where all the nations of the world can be seen. The concern for other nations in our Lord’s ministry disturbed the Jews .. Historically the word was especially revealed to them but our Lord’s love extends to all of humanity. This was not a sudden switch in divine policy but is revealed throughout prophecy. It was always been there in Scripture.

Let’s not spend too much time on Satan. In John 8:44. Jesus teaches us that the evil one is a liar. Were the nations Satan’s to give? He saysChrist may have the nations if Christ worships him. Christ loves the nations and this was a temptation to have them without the cross. The temptations are about who Jesus is and his destiny of dying for the world The argument that follows is about worship. God alone is to be worshiped. Folk need God and it is sad to see the alternatives they have created. In His resisting these temptations Jesus has taught us we should feed on the Word. We must not see what we can get away in our relationship with God but our adoration must be God’s alone. Only Christ fulfilled these challenges and thereby became the Saviour of the world

Questions1. In what ways does Satan deceive our current generation? 2. To what are we tempted to give the worship that should be God’s ? 3. What do we learn about bearing trials and resisting temptation from this passage ?