Standing in the fire

Today: Daniel 1-3

Sometimes when people ask me what I do for a living, I'd like to answer, "Firefighter."

At times, it feels like an accurate description of my workday. And besides--firefighters are just plain cool--and hot at the same time. :)

Do I fight actual fires? Only on my BBQ grill.

Am I under life-threatening pressure? Not exactly.

However, I think Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego could have described their lives as firefighters...and not just because of the incident described in today's passage about the latter three standing in a fiery furnace.

These guys were superhero-cool. They had courage to stand in the fire literally, but also to put their lives on the line for God. They were smart. They were strong. They were leaders...even while they were held captive in another country.

What qualities helped them stand in the fire--both literally and as the minority God-fearing group of four faced with massive obstacles?

Bold faith. Conviction. A lot of prayer! Commitment to honor God. Courage. God's miraculous power. Vision.

With God's help, you and I can develop the same characteristics as these four famous firefighters. We face fires in our everyday lives--at work, home and even at church. One thing that's interesting about fire? It can destroy or refine things, depending on what they're made of. Fire destroys buildings, paper and trees--but it refines and purifies precious metals. The fires of our lives are like that--they can damage and destroy us or make us better.

Can you handle the heat?

Tomorrow: Daniel 4-6

Dragon training and lion chasing

Today: Proverbs 22-23

Last week I was hanging out in my living room with my sister. She was typing on her laptop.

"What are you working on?" I asked.

"A dragon training presentation," she replied.

"What?!?" I asked,"That sounds pretty intense!"

She smiled and explained that the course is about a software program called Dragon--and that no firefighters would be required to be present (darn!).

While the idea of dragon training sounded a bit odd to me, in the Bible, there were people who braved similar tasks. There were people who literally chased lions or killed giants, for example. Perhaps it's because of last week's conversation with my sister, but these two lines from today's chapters caught my attention:

The loafer says, "There's a lion on the loose!
If I go out I'll be eaten alive!"

Kind of weird, right?

As I read these lines over and thought about their meaning, a few possibilities came to mind:

• First, I think it could be saying, "Don't be a lazy person content to let big challenges or enemies run wild--get up and tackle them."
  
• Another possible interpretation? "Lazy people sometimes allow fear to run their lives." Is there really a lion on the loose? How do we know that the lazy loafer even looked outside or saw anything?
  
• The third possibility is a mix of the first two--"Fear can cloud reality and turn crazy cats into lions on the loose." Maybe the lazy person saw something, but because of fear, she turned a crazy cat into a "lion on the loose."

A few other observations?

• The lion was described as "on the loose"...which means it could symbolize something that is dangerous to other people. The lazy loafer is content to stay comfortable while a deadly predator could attack his neighbors. This strikes me as not only fearful, but selfish.
  
• The lazy loafer has no faith--she automatically jumps to, "If I go out, I'll be eaten alive!" rather than praying, planning a strategy, partnering with other people to capture the lion...you get my point.

I don't know if any of these possibilities are right...and maybe all of them are correct to some extent. I think the main point is that sometimes, you and I may be called to chase lions--to protect the innocent, to conquer fear and/or to trust God to help us face challenges directly.

Next up: Dragon training. Can I bring a firefighter? :)

Tomorrow: Proverbs 24-26

The Rescuer

Today: Exodus 10-12

If I described someone as a "rescuer," what would you picture?

Would you envision a firefighter? Chuck Norris? A knight in shining armor? A military officer? A soup kitchen volunteer? A drug rehab therapist? A couple of mice from a cartoon who attempt to help a young orphan girl escape dangerously mining for a diamond (I'm totally dating myself here!)?

Have you ever been rescued?

One interesting thing about rescuers is that many times, they're underappreciated. Their efforts are often unnoticed, unrewarded and unaccepted. And there are some people who ultimately choose not to be rescued even when rescuers are willing to help them.

In today's passage, we read about a few people who chose that path (like Pharaoah and many of his Egyptian leaders). They rejected God's rescue plan for His people...which ultimately, cost them a lot. God gave them opportunities (at least 10, to be exact)...but they chose not to follow His direction--I think largely because of pride. To be rescued, you must first recognize that you need some help, that you don't have all the answers. That takes some humility.

Let's take a look at a portion of God's rescue plan for His people:

Moses assembled all the elders of Israel.

He said, "Select a lamb for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.

Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the bowl of blood

and smear it on the lintel and on the two doorposts.

No one is to leave the house until morning.

God will pass through to strike Egypt down.

When he sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts,

God will pass over the doorway;

he won't let the destroyer enter your house to strike you down with ruin.
"Keep this word.

It's the law for you and your children, forever.

When you enter the land which God will give you as he promised,

keep doing this.

And when your children say to you, 'Why are we doing this?'

tell them:

'It's the Passover-sacrifice to God

who passed over the homes of the Israelites in Egypt

when he hit Egypt with death

but rescued us.'"

God's rescue plan here is very interesting. He could have chosen to just save the Israelites--I mean, He knew who they were without the blood on their doorways, right? But He required them to take a few little steps of faith--to follow His very specific instructions. They had to first believe they needed to be rescued and accept His plan in order to be spared by a sheer act of grace.

Tomorrow: Exodus 13-15

Love on the line

Today: Romans 4-7

"Attention! Attention, all associates!" a voice on the intercom blared in my office today. "Do not leave the building at this time. The police department has also asked that you back away from the windows facing the street. An investigation is actively underway. We will provide more information as soon as possible."

Of course, most of us had already looked out the windows before this announcement to see police blockading several streets with their large guns in tow, apprehending a suspect and containing a parking lot with a suspicious backpack. We watched Wall-E-like robots move and prod it. And we definitely heard the, "BOOM!" as the bomb squad proactively detonated the backpack (which didn't have a bomb by the way...I probably wouldn't be here writing this now if it did!).

It was amazing for me to see what the police and firefighters do to put their lives on the line...for hundreds of strangers.

In today's passage, Paul talks to the Romans about how God put His life and love on the line for all of us:

We can understand someone dying

for a person worth dying for,

and we can understand

how someone good and noble

could inspire us to selfless sacrifice.

But God put his love on the line

for us

by offering his Son

in sacrificial death

while we were

of no use whatever

to him.

That's pretty amazing, isn't it? The police and firefighters who protected my city today put their lives on the line for me. But they didn't put their love on the line, too. But God was willing to risk both His Son, His life--and His heart--for me (and you...and everyone in the whole world, too!).

Here's another way Paul explains it:

...sin didn't, and doesn't,

have a chance

in competition

with the aggressive forgiveness

we call grace.

When it's sin versus grace,

grace wins

hands down.

All sin can do is threaten us with death,

and that's the end of it.

Grace,

because God is putting everything together again

through the Messiah,

invites us into

life—

a life that goes on and on and on,

world without end.

The description of grace as "aggressive forgiveness" floors me. In the words of my favorite celeb stylist, Rachel Zoe, it's OOC (out of control!). That's what love on the line is all about. It's the "all in" bet where God threw Himself, eternal life and heaven into the pot. It's more mind-boggling than trying to count all the stars or really understand time, space and gravity. It's a promise that's backed up with the evidence of sacrifice.

Tomorrow: Romans 8-10