This is a simple statement, but a powerful one. Jesus sits down and the disciples went to Him…seeking Him…ready to listen to Him…wanting to understand Him. They intentionally placed themselves in His presence and humbled themselves into submission to His teaching. Lord, help me to be ready to submit to You in every way.
Jesus powerful words to the disciples are not “follow Me, and work hard to be fishers of men”…but rather “follow Me and I will make you fishers of men”. That is a big difference! How easy it is to fall into the trap of self motivated change, working hard to do the right things, and all the while feeling like a fisherman in a disguise as an evangelist.
Lord, allow me to be surrendered to You in every way so that You can transform me. You must do the work to make me into the person perfectly suited for Your calling on my life. Help me to see when I am trying on my own and hand that over to you.
What a gracious God to intentionally place these 5 women into the lineage of Jesus the Messiah! God uses all of our own messy story to ultimately highlight His own grace and mercy. Only God can take our jacked up lives and turn them into a beautiful tapestry woven together into a masterpiece…just like He does in the genealogy of Christ by highlighting these women. Lord, help me to trust that you continue to be at work in my life and in the lives of my children…
As Daniel is watching this world drama unfold, unimaginable power is on display by their vast armies and wide sweeping conquests. Yet several times in this chapter God puts a bit of reality into the conversation reminding Daniel and the reader, that only He is in charge and has appointed all of these things.
The reminder for me is that God has appointed times for my life as well, not only for kings, but for His servants. God is sovereign and cares about every detail of life. Lord, give me the strength to trust you with every large or small detail of my life!
What a powerful prayer that Daniel is confessing for the whole nation. Then he asks God to act, not for the people but for Gods own great compassion. What a great reminder of the Gospel! We are saved by His work, grace, mercy and compassion…literally nothing of our own efforts!!!
It’s interesting that this is included in Gods revelation to us because, it is really hard to understand. Even Daniel gets a personal interpretation but he was still confused in the end. However, I find it interesting that God sends an angel to provide some insight…enough understanding to make it valuable for Daniel and for us. Lord, help me to trust that You will do the same for me, even when things are hard to comprehend…I want to trust in You!
Amidst the chaos Jesus is ushered in forever. That is such a relief that we know He is in control and we can trust Him!
