"To See God's Power" November 24 Readings: Daniel 5-6, James 1, Psalm 130:5–131:3, Proverbs 28:25–26

 

 

Reading the Bible in 2023

Each day this year we will read a selection from the Old Testament, the New Testament, a portion of the Psalms, and part of Proverbs. By the end of the year, you will have read the entire Bible. We read this way to give you a bit of variety. In reading four portions of God's word in a day, one of them is bound to speak to your life!

NOTE: If you get behind, do not give up. Read today's readings and try to catch up when you have a chance. The goal is not to "accomplish a task" but to meet God in his word. Read the word. Also, if you are short on time, READ GOD'S WORD and skip my devotional!

Bible Readings: Daniel 5-6, James 1, Psalm 130:5–131:3, Proverbs 28:25–26

    Scriptures linked to Bible Gateway in ESV version 

Daily Devotional:  To See God's Power

Wouldn't it be great if we could see the kind of miracles today that were seen in Daniel's day?  Three men were thrown into a fiery furnace and come out unharmed; a hand that writes a message to a pagan king on the wall; a man survives in a den of hungry lions - God did many great works. And I'd love to see things like that in this day.

But none of these works of power was done for entertainment value. They were performed in the lives of people who had risked their lives in obedience to God's Word. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood against an entire culture and refused to bow the knee to an idol. They were called before the king who demanded they acquiesce to his demands but refused. They were thrown into a fiery furnace that was intended to kill them. It was then - when they had risked their lives to the point of death in obedience to God - that God stepped in to act in power.

In Daniel 6, Daniel is an old man but still a loyal servant of the king. Darius trusted him and gave him great responsibility, which created jealousy and hatred among others in the palace. They conspired against him to bring him down. These schemers manipulated Darius to sign an edict that only he should be worshiped for 30 days, knowing that Daniel would violate that rule and continue to worship the One True God. Daniel ended up in a den with hungry lions because of his obedience and faithfulness. And God acted in power to preserve the life of the man who acted in faithful obedience to him.

We would all like to see the kind of power God displayed in biblical days when God performed miracles that would leave his people in awe and his enemies in terror. But those miracles were never curiosities. They were performed to accomplish great works and used obedient people who put their very lives at risk to serve God and obey him.

God's great miracles are acts of war in the great cosmic battle and they are witnessed by those who are on the front lines of that conflict! It is in the fiery furnace that God's presence is experienced. It is in the lion's den that God's power is released.

Would you like to see the mighty power of God at work in your life? You will not see it sitting in your easy chair. God doesn't do miracles through spiritual spectators! Present your body to Christ as a living sacrifice and give yourself fully to him and his kingdom's work. When you are on the front lines of the kingdom conflict, you will see the power of God in ways you never will in places of comfort and peace.

Father, I want to be on the front lines, not on the sidelines, so that I can see your mighty hand of power at work in me. 

Consider God's Word:

Did one of these passages speak strongly to you today? Which one? 

Is there sin in your life that needs to be confessed and dealt with that was revealed in one of these passages? 

Is there a struggle in your life that one of these passages spoke to? 

Are you on the front lines of the great spiritual battle?
Remember that God releases his great power to accomplish his great work. If you want to see the power, engage the work!