Reflecting God – Tuesday, 3 December 2013
– “But There Is A God . . .” - Scripture Reading: Daniel 2: 26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able
to tell me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel
answered the king, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to
the king the mystery that the king is asking, 28 but there is a God in heaven
who reveals mysteries, and he has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will
happen at the end of days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay
in bed were these: 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed, came thoughts of what
would be hereafter, and the revealer of mysteries disclosed to you what is to
be. 30 But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me because of any
wisdom that I have more than any other living being, but in order that the
interpretation may be known to the king and that you may understand the
thoughts of your mind.
31 “You were looking, O king, and lo!
there was a great statue. This statue was huge, its brilliance extraordinary;
it was standing before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of
that statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and
thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of
clay. 34 As you looked on, a stone was cut out, not by human hands, and it
struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. 35
Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, were all broken
in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the
wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone
that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
36 “This was the dream; now we will tell
the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings—to whom the God
of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, 38 into
whose hand he has given human beings, wherever they live, the wild animals of
the field, and the birds of the air, and whom he has established as ruler over
them all—you are the head of gold. 39 After you shall arise another kingdom inferior
to yours, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole
earth. 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron
crushes and smashes everything,[a] it shall crush and shatter all these. 41 As
you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall
be a divided kingdom; but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, as you
saw the iron mixed with the clay. 42 As the toes of the feet were part iron and
part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you
saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another in marriage,[b]
but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in
the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall
never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall
crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever;
45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands, and
that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The
great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain,
and its interpretation trustworthy.”
Daniel and His Friends Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his
face, worshiped Daniel, and commanded that a grain offering and incense be
offered to him. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and
Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal
this mystery!”
Footnotes:
Daniel 2:40 Gk Theodotion Syr Vg: Aram
adds and like iron that crushes
Daniel 2:43 Aram by human seed(NRSV)
“But There Is A God . . .” by Debbie
Salter Goodwin
When small children come to my house, I
pull out the multi-colored blocks. They build towers and castles and bridges
and roads. Before I can finish admiring their engineering skill, they knock it
all down.
Do you sometimes feel that your world can
be taken down as swiftly as that? Someone’s decision, some diagnosis, some turn
of events, and crash; your world falls in pieces at your feet. Into the
unpredictability of Wall Street and a possible lay-off, you want something you
can depend on, that won’t give way no matter what. But here’s the problem. If
you choose what seems dependable, it is almost certain to let you down. “But,”
as Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar, “there is a God.”
What change do you fear? There is a God
stronger than anything or anyone that might take away what you depend on. There
is a God who saw our desperation and gave us Jesus so that we might know a
secure foundation. There is a God this Christmas who wants you to see His heart
by receiving Jesus. Don’t ever forget, there
is a God, and He is for us!
Hymn for Today:
“Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus” by
Charles Wesley
1. Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.
2. Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.
Thought for Today:
“The more we know about the integrity of
God’s character, the more passionate we become about submission” (Debbie Salter
Goodwin).
Prayer Needs:
Developing Christian leaders in Albania.
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Global Church of the Nazarene
Global Ministry Center
17001 Prairie Star Parkway
Lenexa, KS 66220 United States
Phone: (913)577-0500
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