330 Thursday, November 26, 2009

330 Daniel 10 – 12; 1 John 2

First, let me wish you a happy Thanksgiving! Those religious outlaws from England came to settle a colony called Plymouth. Over half died that first winter. The leaders reached out to the Indians of that area and those Indians taught them how to survive. The Indians had a tradition of a harvest festival and the colonist adopted that tradition. I can only imagine that the Colonist were happy to give thanks since now they were not dying off at a significant rate. What are you thankful for?

I am thankful for Daniel! For three weeks Daniel fasted and prayed. I am sure you noticed that he ate some food, but abstained from the lets say, the “good stuff” and did not take a bath. He did this because of his people's suffering. Nehemiah mourned over his people and their suffering. An Angel speaks to Daniel by the Tigris River and even explains why the answer to his prayer took so long. This angel was in fight with an angel prince of the kingdom of Persia i.e. a demon, but Michael the chief angel-prince intervened on this angel’s behalf. This is one of those times where you read real slow and start connecting the dots. This is a picture of what goes on in the unseen world. This is the O.T. telling us that our fight is not against flesh and blood but against principalities set in high places (Ephesians 6:10 ff.). Also, another scripture that goes with this is 11 Corinthians 10:4-5. These wars have to do with God's people and the future of the promise. God has to protect Israel for the Messiah comes through their bloodline. The spiritual warfare behind the scenes results in war here on earth. Our weapons are that of Daniels--prayer.

How can a person be sure they are a Christian? This, believe it or not, in many circles, is a huge issue. A person says they believe in Jesus Christ, but they do not bother to keep His commandments--are they a Christian? If you say no, then a group of people will say you believe in works salvation. If you say yes, they are a Christian, then the other group will say you believe in cheap grace. I say both are missing the point. How can "you" know you are a Christian? There is the internal witness of His Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are His children (Romans 8:16). There is also the external witness of my keeping His commandments. When I sin I confess that sin and that is an external witness as well. I cannot say who is in and who is out, but God wants "us" to have assurance of salvation. If a person says they believe, but they do not behave in like manner, there is no way they can know for sure they are a child of God. You and I can argue all day long about whether or not they are a Christian but how can we help this person experience transformation. John says, "Here's how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep His commandments." How can we be sure we are one of His--keep His commandments. This does not get us into Heaven, but it helps us to know if our heart has been changed by the power of His Spirit.