Month: June 2010

There’s been lots of gear going down lately regarding good leadership and bad leadership. The Australian Labour Party figured that Kevin Rudd didn’t have the goods to take the party to win the next federal election. So they chucked him out hoping that Julia Gillard will do a better job. What makes a good leader good, and a bad leader bad? What we think about good/bad leadership is insignificant compared to what God thinks about good/bad leadership. What does God think? Daniel 4 and 5 will help answer.

In chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar has another hectic dream (4:1-18). It’s about a massive tree that gets cut down. The stump from the tree (which really sound like a man), is then forced to live among the wild animals. Daniel is then called into action to interpret the dream (4:19-27). Neb is the tree, and he will live among the animals until he acknowledges “that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes” (4:25). This is exactly what happened (4:28-37). Neb repents of his arrogance and acknowledges God’s rule over all the kingdoms of the world.

What’s the point? All leaders (and in fact all people) must humbly acknowledge that God is the true king. Any human rule and leadership is to be exercised under the dominion of our Sovereign God.

Continue reading “Never Be Destroyed Part 5 – Know Your King (Daniel 4 & 5)”

It’s easy to compromise. Sex. Parties. Alcohol. Popularity. These are just some of the areas where it is tempting to think and behave like the rest of the world rather than how God would have us think and behave. Sport. Career. Possessions. These are good things that, like the rest of the world, we are tempted to turn into god-things. What will help you to not compromise in your life as a Christian?

In both Daniel 3 and Daniel 6, God’s people are called to compromise their faith in God by giving their total allegiance to Babylon. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are told that every time they have hear certain music they are to bow down and worship this massive gold statue set up by Nebuchadnezzar; if they don’t they will be thrown into the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:1-15). Likewise for Daniel, during the reign of King Darius, it was decreed that anyway who prayed to a god other than Darius would be thrown into the Lion’s den (Daniel 6:1-9).

What would you do in the circumstances? Maybe you could bow down to the statue, but on the inside say that you are worshipping the God of Israel? Or if you were Daniel, you could still pray to the God of Israel, but just do it in secret?

Continue reading “Never Be Destroyed Part 4 – Know The Cost (Daniel 3 & 6)”

Our 21st Century global community is full of many impressive empires: Apple™; Google™; Facebook™; Coca-Cola™; McDonalds™; Hollywood™. So much of what these empires do as they conquer the world is very impressive. When Christians compare their humble little gatherings™ with the impressiveness of the world, it’s easy to feel intimidated. In Daniel’s time, the Kingdom of God looked pretty unimpressive: exile in Babylon. Chapter 2 gives a much bigger picture of kingdoms that will come and go.

The scene kicks off with Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man in the world, troubled after having some nightmares (v1). So he gathers together all of the magicians, tarot card readers, witch doctors and psychics; he wants answers (v2-3). But he doesn’t make it easy for the dream team, he won’t even tell them what the dream was, yet expects an interpretation (v5-6, 8-9)!

The dream team plead with him to at least share the dream (v4, 7). He doesn’t. The astrologers answered the king, “There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men.” (Dan 2:10-11 NIV)

Continue reading “Never Be Destroyed Part 3 – Know Your Team (Daniel 2)”