One of my favorite books in the bible is the book of Daniel. It's written by an amazing Jewish man who was taken into captivity as a youth and lived the rest of his life in a foreign country under an often hostile government. In this book he encounters one of the most wicked leaders of history and through his influence in the king's life and prayers for the king you see a king who changes completely. In the midst of a government opposed to his faith he prayed and saw God work in this ruler's life and in this foreign country.
Whatever your views of our next president I encourage you to pray for him. He needs our prayers.
This is an exciting time to be a Christ follower and to trust God to work in our country and world. Soon the Lord will return to rule and reign on planet earth, but for now our task is to continue to serve him, pray for our leaders, and to share the good news of the gospel with a world that desperately needs to hear about God's love and message of salvation.
Mr. Obama, I will be praying for you.
15 comments:
Thank you for your great words this morning. It's hard to be excited in this time but we know that God is in control so we should be excited to see Him work. Thank you for a bright spot today.
Daniel was my example on my Facebook as well as my blog yesterday.
Amen to that.
All that fuss and I forgot to get my free cup of Starbucks and my free scoop of Ben & Jerrry's for voting. What a waste of time. ;)
Christ is returning "Soon"?? I didnt get that news flash. I do remember another guy sayng that and his name was the apostle john in the book of revelation, written 2000 years ago.
Great thoughts, Mike. I hope Obama turns out to be a great president but no matter he is indeed my president and I will very happily pray for him his wife a daughters.
To anonymous: as for Christ returning 'soon', Mike says that because the Lord Jesus said that very thing, "I am coming soon", 3 times in the last chapter of the book you mentioned.
Since "soon" clearly did not mean within 2000 years we just repeat what Christ said because all we know is that Jesus told us He's coming. And He's coming soon.
Great example of the proper response to new leadership. I will join you in praying!
Psalm 75:6-7 (New King James Version)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
6 For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
7 But God is the Judge:
He puts down one,
And exalts another.
So how can he be coming soon, but not yet? Soon implies a near moment in time.
Dearest Anonymous,
My prayers and God’s blessings to you.
"Soon" is defined in God's perfect timing, not mine (He would've returned already if that was the case).
In His Grip,
Bob
Peace be with you Bob. The problem with saying soon doesnt really mean soon to us but rather to god is that opens a can of worms for other passages. like does a day really mean a day in the first chapter of genesis, etc...I was always told to take the bible literally but what i find is poeple take it literally unless it messes with their theology, then they start comprmising to make things fit. I guess i was hoping for a consistent model of interpretation but in reality it appears our theology and biblical interpretation needs to be flexible and open. Live and learn.
anonymous: I'd really enjoy this discussion, but I just read Mike's "The Rules" (sorry I didn't read that before, Mike!) and so will follow them.
Brandon,
Feel free to reply. I welcome your thoughts to anonymous. The rules are for me, and don't have to apply to you....say what you wish. What were your thoughts?
Ok. Thanks Mike.
Anonymous - Thank you for your thoughts. Peace to you as well. This is meant to be a discussion and a friendly one at that. Please allow that I intend only kindness.
There are several angles to take here. And you are quite right that one can open a can of worms and we must be cautious in what we say the Bible means. But words do have meaning and they have meaning only in context.
Soon is a relative term - it has meaning only in relation to other words. Using the definition in English, soon can mean at once, without undue time lapse, or in a prompt manner. The Greek word used in Rev. 22 means either 'soon' or 'quickly' as in the NASB.
If the Lord Jesus says to John, "I am coming quickly" or "I am coming in a prompt manner" or "I am coming without undue time lapse", we must assume He meant what He said.
It has now been near 2000 years since John received that vision and was inspired by the Spirit in writing it in Revelation. One of the questions we always have to ask with Bible interpretation is "what is the normal way of understanding this?" Unless we are given some reason to think otherwise, we stick with what words normally mean.
In the case of this passage, we are confronted with two realities: 1) Christ said that He was coming soon and 2) He has been a long time in coming from our perspective. That stated, we are confronted with 2 other options. 1) Either you are misunderstanding what it is that Christ meant by "soon" and merely have the wrong perspective or 2) Christ does not understand what He said and/or He is a liar.
I cannot assume to know very much at all. But I know what Christ said. And I know He has not returned. When He said, "soon" He must have meant a time other than what we apply to soon.
However fluid or flexible your interpretation of Scripture, Christ always has the right perspective. He is not a liar and He is the Lord of all and He's coming back.
What He meant by soon can be, obviously, a matter of debate. That He is coming (the central point of Revelation) is not debatable. That He is coming in judgment and to make right all things is not debatable. And that we are to live each day and moment as if the one who we most yearn to please will come rescue us at any moment - well, I hope that's not up for debate.
But I do hope He comes soon.
G&P Mike,
Brando-well done, well done.
In His Grip,
Bob
Thanks for your comments Brandon and the rest. This was a good exercise in hermeneutics and logic. Sometimes the two don’t fit neatly together which indicates a need to be flexible and tolerant, both in our personal understanding of scripture and in how we view other peoples interpretations. There just isn’t one right way to read and interpret scripture. Understanding that opens the door to humility, tolerance, and respect for those who see things differently from ourselves. Which is a great example of Christ’s love in action.
Farewell
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