Steadfast Resolve
After some hedge trimming, lawn mowing and packing we headed off to Breckenridge for our first vacation since the end of last May. It took our handicap van to haul all the luggage and paraphernalia needed for me and the grandkids.
We stopped by Beau Joe’s Pizza in Idaho Springs on the way up to Breckenridge which brought back many memories of trips from past years. Stephanie was looking for the napkin she decorated from 1980’s, but I don’t think it made the cut as they trimmed down the number of “napkin art” that has adorned the walls of the restaurant over the years.
McKenzie has taken some time to get adjusted to her Colorado grandparents. I was glad that she was in such a smiley and giggly mood. So we took advantage of it with a quick picture.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…“If our God, whom we honor, can save us from a blazing furnace and from your power, he will, Your Majesty. But if he doesn’t, you should know, Your Majesty, we’ll never honor your gods or worship the gold statue that you set up.” Daniel 3:17,18
The “three Hebrew Children” taken captive to Babylon refused to bow to the statue of King Nebuchadnezzar. The furnace of fire was set up for anyone who would disobey the command to bow before the statue as the instruments were played. These three coming from a land the Lord allowed to be taken captive because of idolatry showed a firm resolve that they would die before committing this act of idolatry.
They showed the “enduring confidence in the Lord” that Paul hundreds of years later would commend the Thessalonians for. Because of this the Lord “showed up” – literally to save them from the furnace of fire. The King exclaimed that three men were thrown into the fire but he saw four and the fourth “looked like a son of the gods.”
Rich Dixon is a retired high school math teacher. Some years ago a freak fall off a ladder let him paralyzed from a spinal cord injury. Rich recounts his story in the book entitled, “Relentless Grace.” In the early pages of his book he makes the point that what made the difference in the midst of this crisis was that Christ entered his struggles and personal crisis with him.
In those moments when we need Him the most, we find the Lord with us entering into our circumstance to bring His presence, peace and encouragement. When He works the miracle we hope for He is God alone. When the miracle we hope for turns into another miracle of His sustaining grace in the midst of ongoing weakness He is still God alone to be worshiped above all others.