Lent 2010 #14

Daniel 3:19-30 (NRSV)

¹⁹Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary, ²⁰and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. ²¹So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. ²²Because the king's command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³But the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire. 

²⁴Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, "Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?" They answered the king, "True, O king." ²⁵He replied, "But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god." ²⁶Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. ²⁷And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them.

²⁸Nebuchadnezzar said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king's command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. ²⁹Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that utters blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way." ³⁰Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

THOUGHTS:

This is an amazing story.  King Nebuchadnezzar wants everyone in his kingdom to worship and serve the gods.  But these three guys Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse.  They tell the King, go ahead throw us into the fire.  God will protect us.  I have to admit I don't know if I could have done that.  I don't know if my faith is strong enough.  The point is not to worry about how strong our faith is, but rather to place our trust in God.  And maybe, just maybe our trust in God will bring others to faith just like

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trust in God brought King Nebuchadnezzar to believe in God.

PRAYER:      

O Lord strengthen my faith so I can trust you like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did.  Use me in whatever way is appropriate to witness to your love and care of all people.  Amen.

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Thoughts by Rev. Tom Knoll
Pastor First Trinity Lutheran, Washington D.C.

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These devotions for young adults are provided by:
Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University http://www.gmu.edu/org/lutheran
Lutheran Student Association at the University of Maryland http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~lutheran/lsa/
DC Young Adults http://www.dcyoungadults.org/
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Lent 2009 #3

Daniel 9:16-19 
16 O Lord, in view of all your righteous acts, let your anger and wrath, we pray, turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because of our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become a disgrace among all our neighbors. 17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his supplication, and for your own sake, Lord, let your face shine upon your desolated sanctuary. 18 Incline your ear, O my God, and hear. Open your eyes and look at our desolation and the city that bears your name. We do not present our supplication before you on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of your great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act and do not delay! For your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people bear your name!"

THOUGHTS:

     Daniel prays that God spare the people, but not because they deserve it.  As humans, we like systems of justice, where everyone gets what they deserve.  Yet, in reality, we all stumble and fall short.  We pass buy the man who is homeless sleeping on a park bench.  We ignore the man who is hungry and carrying a sign saying "will work for food".  By God's rules, we all miss the mark sometimes.  

     As Daniel knows, God's forgiveness is about what we've earned.  We aren't forgiven because we are good enough. (If we were "good enough", then we wouldn't need forgiveness.)  Daniel is essentially saying "God, I know that we aren't worth listening to based on what we do, so don't pay attention for our sake.  God, listen because your nature is to show mercy. Listen because that's who you are."  Daniel has faith that God hears us because God wants to listen.  Daniel knows that God forgives us because God wants us to be forgiven.  

    The reason we are worth God's attention is simply because God loves us.  To God, we are worth more than we could possibly imagine or describe, all because God loves us.  Our relationship with God is based on the foundation of God's love.  As you journey through Lent and life, don't let your view of things become a barrier between you and God.  Always remember that God loves you, no matter what.  Period. 

PRAYER:

God, we lift our hearts to you.  We thank you for loving us first, and we ask that you help us view ourselves through your eyes.  Enable is to grow closer to you, rather than creating divisions in this relationship.  We want to know you more.  All this we pray in the name of Christ Jesus.  AMEN.

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These devotions are provided by Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University.  Feel free to share them with your friends!  

You can subscribe to these devotions by RSS or email from http://lentendevotions.blogspot.com

For more information on our ministry and events, see http://gmu.edu/org/lutheran