11-10-2020

 Good Morning All, 

        Daniel 3: 24-25; “Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”  He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

     It did not quite go as King Nebuchadnezzar had planned.  He built a huge idol, and all the people were to bow down and worship.  Yet three men told him: “no.”  The king did not like being told no so he decided to teach these men a lesson.  So, he had these men thrown into a fiery furnace, so hot that the men standing outside of it were killed by the heat.  So, the king had these three men thrown into the furnace but when they looked in; they saw four men walking around.  The fourth looked like a son if the gods.

     There are many things we can take away from this story.  The one we want to look at today is that faith does not always keep us out of the fire.  Sometimes we face some huge challenges.  Some seem almost insurmountable and they are if we tackle them alone.  We can face struggles in our families.  Many sociological reports continually show the steady decline in the viability of the family.  In a few years, it would appear that the traditional nuclear family will be in a very distinct minority.  How do we face that challenge?

    We see struggles with our jobs and financial situation.  No matter how much we work or how hard; there never seems to be enough.  On those rare days when we do feel a little ahead, suddenly, the car needs some major repairs, and we start all over again.  Sometimes we struggle with our health and we wonder if it is ever going to be better.

    Sometimes we struggle because of our faith.  We are ridiculed; we are made illegal. We are called intolerant, arrogant, stupid and many other things; some by our own family.  “Get with the times; don’t be so old-fashioned!”  Where do we go?  We go to God.

    No matter what happens in our life, God is the only true hope that we have.  Only God and his grace will see us through.  Yet we might still have to face the fire.  We might still have to be tossed about by a sinful and broken world.  We might still have to face some pain in this world, but we do not have to face it alone.  God is always with us and he gives us his church to be with us as well.  We should always rest assured that our brothers and sisters in faith will stand with us.  Our brothers and sisters in Christ will give to us the consolation that God gives to us.

     In our passage, we often see the fourth man as Jesus.  Yet we could also see him as our earthly brothers and sisters who God sends to be with us at times of trials.  Either way, God is there for us with his Spirit of hope.

Dearest Father, when we face the fires of this life; keep us safe in your arms.  Hold us tight.  Be with those who are feeling the extreme heat at this time.  Keep them confident in their faith and give to them the comfort and the consolation that they need.  In the name of Jesus our precious risen Savior, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret