Strangers - Part III

The King had a dream....

Recently I heard a series of messages given by Dr. Mark Labberton of First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley. All credit here goes to Dr. Labberton. Below are my simple attempts to process the thoughts of this kind pastor. The series of talks was entitled, Strangers in a Strange Land. The Scripture is from Daniel Chapter 2.

The primary question many of us spend lots of time asking in our lives is:

"Is God able to handle this situation"

Indeed. Is He? Can He? Will He?

In every human heart, there is a longing for a genuine spiritual encounter. Our culture is replete with seeking people; those who want something real, something substantial, not a just a "show" of Christian sounding platitudes. However, if people are longing to experience God, and are seeking Him, how will they know when He has, in fact, "shown up" - made His Prescence real to them?

This was the dilemma of King Nebuchadnezzar. He was seeking for a real,authentic, and trustworthy voice from God. He gave Daniel a real acid test, involving the threat of real violence if he did not get what he wanted. Are we alert and listening to those around us who, more subtly express the same kind of need for God, and that He could actually be known. How well do we listen to those around us, and how often do we tend to "cubby hole" people into categories?

In the midst of the rage of the King, Daniel responded with discretion. Daniel and his friends had practiced their indentity. They were grounded people, they knew to whom they belonged. Are we prepared to trust God for a vision that exceeds our normal grasp of things around us? Daniel and his friends believe that they serve a God who influences all those around them, those who claim to know him, and those who do not. This attitude and the prayer of Daniel clearly distills the character of God who is far larger than our ideas of him.

More coming....