Our perspective changes when we get a picture from God of the end game. That’s the benefit of gathering together, fellowshipping, and sharing the truth of Jesus Christ. And our great expectations of Him. That’s what happened with Daniel after his vision of the goat (Alexander the Great’s Greece and afterward) destroying the ram (the Median Persian empire) in Daniel 8. It was a reminder and an encouragement that God’s will would be done. Daniel was blessed with both the vision and the explanation about future events, but he was also reading Jeremiah’s word about Jerusalem’s fate (9:2). Daniel turned to the Lord and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting (9:3).
That’s what I hear John in this passage pleading with us to do. To confess our sins and turn to God in complete obedience and great expectation for what Jesus is doing and what He is going to do.
The Commander of heaven’s armies can be challenged - and indeed will be. But Jesus, the Prince of Peace cannot be defeated. He watches from heaven and patiently invites people to respond to His call as He builds His Kingdom.
I encourage and challenge you this morning to read Daniel’s prayer of confession in Daniel 9:4-19. It is powerful. And I believe needed by each of us, and indeed by the Church.
We are challenged by John to imitate Jesus (1 John 2:6). And yet we war and bicker and complain about our plight. Instead, like Daniel, we must pray - and revel in what God is doing. When have we last heard a prayer of accountability affirming God’s goodness, his righteousness, and admitting our sin and wrongdoing? Too often our communions are only for “those who have had a rough week” or some other soft soap. Like the Greeks foretold in Daniel 8:23, we seem to be “at the height” of our hypocrisy in the modern church. And oddly so many decry the erosion of traditional values yet at the same time worship wordlines and fail to fear God or have shame for our rebellion and disobedience. John is telling us we must turn to God and, like Daniel, plead with God in prayer and fasting for confession, repentance, and renewal.
God is faithful and just. He can’t be hoodwinked. Hypocrisy arrogance and wrongdoing result in judgment and the curse of God. But the Bible’s message is that those called by the Alpha and Omega be faithful people who fear God (Nehemiah 7:2). It is not our job to emulate the world or to try and take God’s place. Let’s let God be God. He is the Master. Not us. It is His job to save and His job to take revenge. Too often we get this backward.
Let's do as John pleads with us to do. God is going to rescue us from this evil world - indeed Jesus already has! Jesus will return to earth. He will create a new heaven and new earth. That’s the story of God, the story of the Bible. It’s a story of how God is building His Kingdom.
I’m encouraged today (despite a tough week) that God has lost no power. God is building all things new today. He continues to speak. We have to listen.
In Daniel 9:9 it says, “But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.” Amen to that. God will always keep his side of the bargain. The question is always us. We too must be merciful, for Jesus calls us to follow Him in every way. We come to Jesus knowing that He alone can save us. Our plea is one of helplessness. We can’t achieve anything of eternal value on our own. But with God, we can do everything of value. We are fully reliant on our Resucer and His mercy.
John tells us to confess our sins to God. Let’s do that today. Plead with God for mercy. And may we not be “blinded by the darkness.” Instead, may we live our “lives as Jesus did” (2:6). That is our mission. On this Father's Day, we are truly thankful for our Father who we know loves us beyond all measure. Amen.
Comments