December 2018 - Page 8 of 9 - Libertyville Covenant Church

Dec. 7 – Thoughts on Daniel 5-7 & 2 John

It is interesting how many foreign, godless, oppressive rulers receive messages from God. Begin with Abimelech in Gen. 20, warned in a dream that the woman he had taken wasn’t really Abraham’s sister but his wife. Next, we find Pharaoh of Egypt who had a message from God in the form of a dream. Seven fat crops are swallowed up by seven skinny crops, and seven fat cows are swallowed up by seven skinny cows. God sends the ruler of Egypt a warning about a coming famine. And just in Daniel alone we’ve found Nebuchadnezzer dreaming about a statue with feet of clay, and a tree that covers the whole land yet is chopped down. His son Belshazzar has an encounter with a disembodied finger writing a message on the wall. And the list goes on, stretching all the way to Pilate’s wife who’s dream led her to try to get Jesus pardoned rather than crucified.

Our readings in Daniel have led to a very interesting fact: though God communicated with these foreign, ungodly rulers, they could not understand the message. It took a man of God to interpret the message for them. And in this we should get a clue about our evangelistic efforts.

People outside our church, outside our denomination, even outside our faith are receiving messages from God. God speaks to everyone; we don’t have the market cornered when it comes to God’s communication with the world. This should humble us and remind us that God goes before us in all of our outreach, however creative or trailblazing we may believe ourselves to be.

But these messages will not make sense to people who don’t know the faith. While God is speaking, He is also calling us to be there when He does to interpret. This, too, should help us remain humble as we reach out, knowing our job is not to save them, or rescue them, or bring them up to our level of spiritual maturity. It is just to tell them what God means.

December 7, 2018/0 Comments/by Steve Larson

Dec. 6 – Thoughts on Daniel 3-4 & 1 John 5

Pastor's Blog

I always loved the “Where’s Waldo” books when I was a kid. Finding Waldo in the midst of a crowd of similarly dressed people always gave me such satisfaction. But once found, I could never un-find him, and so the book was finished and solved. Reading it again brought no joy.

Finding Jesus in the Old Testament is a bit like a “Where’s Waldo” book. There are many people throughout the Old Testament, and many of them look a bit like Jesus. Moses speaks freely with God, Elijah and even moreso Elisha do miracles, the prophets speak in parables, yet none of them IS Jesus. Yet He is there. And when you find Him, it is so satisfying. But unlike the Waldo books, I can read these stories again and again, finding Jesus again and again with the same satisfaction.

He’s there in today’s story. And in this one, He’s a bit more obvious. Thrown into the fiery furnace, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are joined by a fourth, “who looks like a son of the gods.” Found Him!

Remember yesterday when we read that the gods “do not live among humans”? Well, God does. And while we might not call this “living among” humans, it is God and He does show up for these three servants. And from this encounter, Nebuchadnezzer proclaims that nobody is to speak badly of God. But as usual that doesn’t last long. A while later, Daniel interprets another dream for him, and a year after that we find him losing his mind for seven “times” because of his arrogance. And he is restored only after he once again proclaims God as the one true God.

If you look closely, you can see Jesus all over the Old Testament, from creation itself through the prophets and finally in His birth, life, death, and resurrection. Watch for Him and you will never be disappointed.

December 6, 2018/0 Comments/by Steve Larson

Dec. 5 – Thoughts on Daniel 1-2 & 1 John 4

Pastor's Blog

And so in the very first chapter of Daniel we find the story of Christmas, and in the second chapter we find Easter. Did you see it? Did you hear it?

Asked to do the impossible, the wise men rely on themselves, their power and cunning. But these are not enough to suffice the king. He wants them to not only interpret his dream, but to tell him what it was in the first place. “No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans,” they cry. In Babylon, the idea of a god of Incarnation was foreign to them. That a god might come and live among humans was anathema. But for Daniel and friends, God had always lived with His people. From the burning bush to the Ark of the Covenant to the Temple itself, God had dwelt with His people. And then hundreds of years later, God made this manifest in the clearest way He knew how, through Jesus Christ. In the Incarnation, God dwelt among us, or in the words of John’s prologue, “God tabernacled with us,” which means He pitched His tent among us. This is Christmas.

So, having relied on their own abilities, these wise men face death from their own king. But Daniel steps in and calmly takes their place before the king, revealing the Truth of God and saving their lives from death. And hundreds of years later, Jesus would stand in our place and save us from death. This is Easter.

It’s amazing that God’s story has been consistent since the beginning of time, and that He would reveal His plans to people like us. If, that is, we are able and willing to listen.

December 5, 2018/0 Comments/by Steve Larson

Dec. 4 – Thoughts on Ezek. 47-48 & 1 John 3

Pastor's Blog

God is Pro-Life! Yes, “them’s fightin’ words” in today’s culture, but I’m not stoking an abortion argument here. I mean it in it’s truest form. And I’m also reflecting on this beautiful image from the 47th chapter of Ezekiel. There we find a river running east out of the temple. From the threshold of the temple, it is merely a trickle, but as it flows east, it deepens from a trickle, to ankle deep, to knee, to waist, and finally to a river “no one could cross”. But it’s not the miraculous flow of water that Ezekiel is pointing out. It is the Life that flows with it!

Along the river, trees bloom in the wilderness and bear fruit every year. At the end of the river, it flows into the Great Salt Sea, aka the Dead Sea. This body of water has rivers and streams flowing into it, but nothing flowing out. The only way water escapes is through evaporation. And when salt water evaporates, it leaves it’s salt behind. And nothing can live in that level of saltiness, hence the name Dead Sea. Yet this sea, famous the world over for it’s lack of life, will have as many fish as the Mediterranean Sea, which is known for it’s plethora of sea life. Because of this river flowing from the Temple, the dead will gain new life and all life will flourish.

This river flows not from the temple but from the God who dwells there. From Him, streams of living water flow and bring life everywhere. Death is no match for that which flows from God. In fact, this is the very gospel in a nutshell – death has lost the battle and life in Christ has won for all eternity. This is our message and this has to dominate our lives in every way. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to value, pursue, and fight for life everywhere we go because He does.