Still Here...

It's been a while since I've posted anything other than some links...I've been way too busy! The Lord continues to teach me when to slow down and focus on the things that matter most. The more I study His Word and continue to try and submit to His ways the more I learn that He is always teaching me to keep my eyes on Him.

We were going through Deuteronomy 16-18, Daniel 3, and Revelation 5, 6, and 7 at our gathering last night and it amazes me how awesome the Lord truly is! I can't even begin to fathom His greatness but I catch these little glimpses all throughout His Word.

One thing that jumped out at me was how we have such little control in our lives. Yet the Lord is in COMPLETE control and His love extends far beyond us. He promises to keep those who are His and we see that in the book of Daniel when king Nebuchadnezzer had Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego - their Babylonian-given names) thrown into the fiery furnace for their refusal to bow down and worship the image of gold that the king had set up. Nebuchadnezzer, in his fury, ordered the three men to be thrown into the furnace and he heated it 7 times hotter than before, so hot that it killed the guards who were throwing the young Hebrews into it. Yet Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were protected in the furnace. Nebuchadnezzer saw them and a fourth man whom he said looked like the Son of God. Yeshua (Jesus) kept Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego safe through the fire.

In Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29 we read that our God is a consuming fire. It's by fire that He will judge the world and if we're not submitted to Him then we will be burned up in His judgment. The fire of king Nebuchadnezzer's furnace was nothing compared to our God.

I can't imagine being put in the position that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were put in, yet if/when the day comes that I am I pray that I will trust in Him to protect me, even if that means death for His name's sake. If that's the case, it's nothing that isn't coming anyway...as I see it I'm going home at some point and only He knows when that is because He's in complete control.

He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lillies of the field...will He not take better care of His sons and daughters whom He loves?