The Bible in 2020

Today’s Reading

Daniel 1-2; First John 2

Selected Verses

And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure. Daniel 2:44

And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. First John 2:17

Reflections

Daniel, a young Jew in the time of the Babylonian Captivity, was taken to Nebuchadnezzar’s palace and given special training to assist the king. He was not among the “starting lineup” on the royal advisory team so he heard about his death sentence without knowing the reason. By God’s grace and mercy, Daniel was able to save his life and that of other wise men by telling the king what his dream was and what it meant. No one else could do that. As a result, Nebuchadnezzar learned that his kingdom would one day be replaced by another, and that one by still another. Ultimately, none of those kingdoms would last because the God of heaven would set up an indestructible kingdom and crush all the opposing kingdoms of the earth.

To his credit, Nebuchadnezzar accepted the interpretation and honored Daniel with gifts and a promotion.  Most importantly, he recognized the God of gods and Lord of kings of which Daniel had informed him.  Even the most powerful king of Daniel’s day bowed to the sovereign God of Israel.

John in writing his letter urges his readers to reject the love of this world and the things of this world.  He tells them plainly that the world is passing away along with its desires.  It’s all gonna burn!  What will last?  “Whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Think about it 

To abide forever we must do the will of God.   But how do we know the will of God?  We need to know God’s word to know His will.  Once a crowd asked the Lord, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”  Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:28-29).  Our first duty is to believe in the One God sent to reveal the Father to us and to be the propitiation (sacrificial offering to satisfy the wrath of God) for our sins.  God looks for faith in His Son.  That is what pleases Him (Hebrews 11:6). Be sure you are trusting Him and nothing in this world. It’s all gonna burn.

© 2017 John A Carroll  Used by permission

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