Category Archives: Favoriticism

Daniel: Treasured By God!

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(NOTE: This Continues A Series Of Posts On Daniel’s Life)

-God Makes Us Valuable In Christ!

In the 10th chapter of the Old Testament book of Daniel, there’s an incredibly encouraging word, spoken by an angel, to Daniel:  “He said to me, ‘Daniel, you are a man treasured by God…’” (v.11).  God treasured Daniel; and, because God “…does not show favoritism…” we can be assured that we, also, are treasured by Him (Romans 2:11). He places great value on each one of us! As believers, we’ve been purchased by the precious blood of His Son, Jesus; and, we’ve been adopted into God’s family. We are actually said to be “…heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…” to all the eternal riches of heaven (Romans 8:17).

-Why The Delay To Prayer Answers?

He longs to communicate with us; just, as all parents enjoy talking with their children!  He takes time to listen to our prayers! But, this chapter, in Daniel,  sheds light on the fact that sometimes the answers to prayer are delayed by unseen spiritual forces! By way of personal application, don’t assume that God isn’t listening to your prayers! Remember, that the text says that God heard Daniel’s prayer from the 1st day he prayed it! Starting in v.13, the angel told Daniel that “…the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for 21 days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia…” Because Michael is also known to be an angel, in Scripture, it’s best understood that “spiritual warfare” was taking place here! The angel tells Daniel that Michael assisted him when a “…prince of the kingdom of Persia…” opposed him—this “prince” is best understood to be part of a demonic force opposing God’s work, at this time, in this place.

-Could It Be Spiritual Warfare?

Have you ever considered that the reason you’ve not yet received an answer, to a certain prayer, is because of spiritual warfare? It could be! God hasn’t ignored you! There’s a delay, which God has allowed, for the ultimate purposes of His Sovereign plan. Pastor Geoff Thomas put it like this: “Wherever there is a flock of Christ’s sheep there are wolves that want to destroy them. Whenever the Church advances, dark principalities are at work against it.” Daniel’s story may give us insight into delayed answers to our own prayers.

-It May Take Years!

Don’t quit praying for God to work! Don’t give up on revival just because God hasn’t answered your prayers thus far! God, in His eternal wisdom, may have very good reasons for allowing the spiritual warfare to take place all around us! This 10th chapter, of Daniel, gives us a rare peek behind the curtain dividing our realm from the spiritual realm. Daniel was given rare insight into the battle & the warfare that’s normally invisible to us! While it would be easy to obsess over the spiritual aspect of this text, let us not give in to “tangents.” We need to be aware of what happens in the realm, of the supernatural; but, only in as much as the Word of God reveals it to us! Everything else is speculation! Scripture gives us all we need to know!

 

 

Parenting Adult Children

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If Your Meddling, Stop It!

All the struggles & mistakes & rebellion of my adult children can be attributed, in large part, to the sin nature I passed on to them! Bad parenting begets bad parenting! The answer is NOT to try harder to fix them! Your adult children will resent your “meddling” in their lives! The answer is NOT to read the newest “self help” book on the subject, either!

Do You See A Pattern Here?

Genesis 37 contains the sordid story of Jacob & Rachel and their dysfunctional family. Pick it up; and, read it all over again! What you will see is a pattern of sin learned from the previous generation. When Jacob’s sons deceived him with a robe covered in goat’s blood, they convinced him that their brother,  Joseph, had been killed. They learned to lie & deceive from their own father, Jacob, and their grandmother, Rebekah, who hatched up a scheme to deceive her husband, Isaac, to bless Jacob instead of his older brother, Esau! Where did Isaac & Rebekah learn to deceive? From Isaac’s parents, Abraham & Sarah, who cooked up a story that Sarah was his sister (Genesis 20) over fear that a king would kill Abraham to obtain Sarah for his wife! You’ll also find “favoritism”, “passive parenting”, “jealousy”, “hate”—all being passed on from one generation to the next! “The apple never falls far from the tree!”

What’s The Answer?

The answer to the dysfunction in our homes—and all of our homes ARE dysfunctional—is the Gospel! The “good news” of the Gospel says, “I cannot; but, God can!” I can’t save myself; but, God can save me! I cannot overcome my hurts, habits & hangups; but, God’s Spirit can help me overcome them! I cannot fix the dysfunction in my relationships with my children; nor, can I fix the dysfunction they’ve brought into their marriages & families! But, God can—that’s the Gospel! God alone can help us overcome the sinful dysfunction we all bring into our homes! Jesus took all our sin, our guilt, and our shame with Him to the cross & He paid for it all! His work atones for even our bad parenting if we’ll humble ourselves & confess to Him that we’re incapable of fixing it! Extend grace to your adult kids like God did to you!

Don’t Become Their Judges

It’s easy to become judgmental, of our adult children, when it seems they don’t want to hear our opinions anymore. Maybe we need to listen more & talk less! If we don’t change the way we parent, as they become adults, relational tension will develop between us. If you desire to be a blessing to your adult children, begin by confessing your own brokenness to them & to God. Then, pray relentlessly for the Spirit to work on you & your adult children! Trust God to do the Spirit’s work that you cannot do. When you act like the Holy Spirit in their life, all they’ll hear is nagging! Give them over to God! They are His!

To Judge Or Not To Judge

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What Does Jesus Say?

Jesus’ words, in Matthew 7, provide us the best answer to this much-debated topic.  And, what we find is this: rather than telling us NOT to judge,  Jesus is actually telling us HOW to judge! He begins, v.1,  with the words, “Do not judge…” Let’s suppose, at that point, that His disciples say, “Amen”; and, they interrupt His teaching time by getting up & saying, “We’ve heard all we need to hear on the subject of judging others! Thanks, Jesus! We’ll be going now! We’re going to spread your word—Jesus says, ‘Do Not Judge.’” That might sound a bit far fetched; but, that’s exactly what we do if we don’t listen to the rest of Jesus’ teaching about judging others! His message is altered if it’s not quoted or read in context with the rest of the passage. He uses the word “judge” twice in v.1; the 1st half & the 2nd half—it’s a teaching technique; a “parallel” for balance! “Don’t you judge, so that other’s won’t judge you” is literally what Jesus is saying.

The New Testament Meaning Of That Word “Judge”

That word “judge” has several N.T. uses. It can mean “to draw a conclusion from the outward appearance.” It can also mean “to show favor one over another” or favoritism. To judge can also mean “to condemn or to determine as guilty.” So, because Jesus uses “parallelism” here, what He’s really saying is this:  “Don’t draw a conclusion from the outward appearance” of others, so that others “won’t draw a conclusion from the outward appearance” about you; and, “don’t show favoritism against certain individuals”, so that others “won’t show favoritism against you”;  and, “don’t condemn or determine people are guilty”, so that “others won’t condemn or determine you are guilty.” See it? That’s how it unpacks; and, that’s the only way the “speck & log” illustration, in v.3-5, makes sense! If Jesus meant that we are never ever to judge, He would have taught His disciples NOT to remove the speck from the other persons’ eye, right? Leave it there! Don’t judge your brother over the speck in his eye! No! What He says is to judge “rightly”—judge yourself first so you can accurately judge another!

The Standard By Which We Judge

Because of our fallenness, most of our judging isn’t very righteous! We’re incapable of judging “rightly” in our spiritual brokenness! We need God, His Word & the indwelling Spirit to help us-we’re NOT the standard by which we judge! God alone is the perfect Judge! Only what He calls “sin” do we “judge” as sin! Nothing else! Imagine how beautiful the church would be if we quit judging on the basis of appearance; or, if we quit being harsh in our judgment; or, if we were quick to forgive; or, if we quit judging on the basis of our own self-righteousness & only judged sin as God judges it; or, if we stopped the liar or gossip in their tracks. “God, help us grow in this area so the world will see how beautiful the bride of Christ can be!“-Amen!Judge