AfterWords: Discipline of Daniel

 

Daniel 6

For those who were in worship with us this past Sunday, all I can say is, “Wow!” Our children really stepped up as they led our worship service. Besides all of those who helped in service leadership and music, Anna and Julian shared from their hearts how God had been there for them just as God was there for Daniel when he was thrown into the lions’ den.

“Daniel in the Lions’ Den” is one of those stories that we often tell our children, a story we too often associate with Bible School or children’s Sunday School. However, God has a profound truth for all of us in this story. Daniel serves as an example for us. Daniel refuses to allow anything—even the threat of death—to keep him from his discipline of prayer. How easily are we swayed from our practice of spiritual disciplines?

When we join the United Methodist Church, we take our “church vows”: to pray, to be present, to give, to serve, and to tell our story of faith. We call them vows, but really these are spiritual disciplines—things we do that bring us closer to God, closer to one another, and closer to becoming who God wants us to be. How do we measure up beside Daniel in maintaining our disciplines?

Prayer? “I don’t have time today.” Too often, it an occasional ‘emergency parachute’ for difficult times. For Daniel, he would not begin his day without it—no matter the cost.

Presence? “If it’s convenient…” is some people’s attitude too often. We forget Christians around the world dream of the freedom to gather. We forget that men and women who have to work on Sundays long to be in worship this morning.

Giving? The evil one whispers, “You might not have enough. Wait! Don’t give yet—let’s see how things go.” But God promises to bless those who “bring the tithe” into the storehouse.

Serving—Using our Talents? “Hey…you show up…isn’t that enough?” Too many are reluctant to commit. Yet, God gives us talents and gifts that we might serve Him and others.

Story—Telling Others of God’s Love and Grace? Well, if we’re not doing the first four, we probably won’t have many stories of God’s love and grace. If the only story we have is the story of our coming to faith, then we’ve never grown out of being spiritual babies. We were “born again” as Jesus calls it in John 3, but we’re still in diapers. When we pray, show up, give, and serve, we gather story upon story of God’s love and grace and provision.

Daniel is for us an example of holding to the disciplines of faith no matter the cost. Daniel knew putting God first meant everything else in his life fell into order.

Sunday, August 24, 2025
“Discipline of Daniel”
Watch/Listen: HERE

AfterWords: Facing Giants

 

I Samuel 17:1-11; 32-50

We often associate the story of David & Goliath with children’s Sunday School or Vacation Bible School, but this is anything but a children’s story. The plot fills the stories of literature and film—the underdog overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I see this story in every John Grisham novel and in so many films, including my favorite: Star Wars.

Today’s giants are not 9’ tall with 30-pound spears. Rather, they’re regular people with 3-pound laptops; they’re ideas and ideologies; they’re economics and politics. They are any of those “rulers…authorities…powers of this dark world and…spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). Like Goliath, the giants of our lives shout us down, curse us, and do all they can to instill fear in our lives. They threaten to break apart all we’ve made.

One giant threatens our relationships, our friendships, our families. When our family and friends walk in directions we think wrong, this giant raises his head to break us apart. Decisions, inaction, politics, spending—all of these are weapons of this giant. And, we need the right smooth stones to bring to these situations. One stone to combat this giant is silence. A shocking fact for many is this: We don’t have to respond to people; we don’t have to share our opinion. This important to remember, as is Paul’s admonition in his letter to the Romans: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (12:18). A second stone we bring to this giant is “gentle speech.” We can respond without diving into a brawl.

The “3 Practice Circle” teaches us to approach divisive conversations with disarming words and a desire to listen. Rather than roar back with fighting words, we use this simple phrase: “I’d be curious to know….” No one is threatened by mere curiosity. “I’d be curious to know what led you to this idea.” Then, we listen. We allow the other person to explain. And, we don’t respond—we don’t fire back with all the flaws we see in their explanation. Instead, we say, “Thank you for explaining—I understand you better.” We’re not agreeing. We’re not saying they’re right. We are saying in effect, ‘I heard you.’ And that is something we all crave—to be heard.

Financial uncertainties give space for another giant to plan worry and fear in our lives. This giant sees the taxes, tariffs, and rising costs-of-living and yells, “You don’t have enough!” We respond to this giant with the stone of trust—the very trust in God that has brought us to this moment, to this day. God has brought us this far, and God will carry us forward. We also have the stone of frugality—if we choose to pick it up. We chose to live simply and live through difficult times. Paul in his letter to the Philippian church says, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (4:11-13)

We face so many different giants today: Threats and taunts from illness, relationships, job situations, and more. We face these giants by gathering the smooth stones we find in Scripture.  With these stones and with God by our sides, we too will fell the giants before us and live a life of victory. 

Sunday, August 17, 2025
“Facing Giants”
Watch/Listen: HERE

AfterWords: "Christians & Politics"

 

Matthew 22:15-21

In 32 years of Christian ministry, I have never overtly touched the theme of politics in the pulpit. This past Sunday, that changed. We see so much division and disruption in our society today because of politics, I decided it was time. But, what to say? Where to start? I would never dream of using my place of leadership to turn our pulpit into a partisan megaphone…dividing things further. So, what to do? I decided to start with Jesus.

Where does Jesus stand on politics? He says very little to or about the political powers of his day. In today’s reading, he does recognize both the realities and separateness of earthly powers and God’s kingdom: Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. He says little else about/to the political reality of his time. However, his selection of disciples reveals something important. In Matthew 10, we find Galileans (sort of outsiders), a tax collector (working for the Romans), and a Zealot (one passionate for the Jewish faith and culture). In Jesus’ band of disciples, we find people from all political walks of life…much as we find in our congregations (at least in our larger, urban congregations). Since Jesus chose who he wanted, this reveals a lot about Jesus’ response to the political landscape.

Where do we Christians often go wrong in this endeavor of politics? If we have followed Jesus, if we have read the Gospels, we know that Jesus was fiercely dedicated to the Kingdom of God, the Reign of God. We see what this kingdom-life looks like in Jesus and his teachings. In Luke 4, Kingdom work includes proclaiming good news to the poor, declaring freedom to the prisoners, declaring recovery of sight to the blind, and setting the oppressed free. In Matthew 24, Kingdom work means feeding the hungry, giving the thirsty something to drink, welcoming the stranger, clothing those without clothes, taking care of the sick, and visiting the prisoners. This is what Jesus focuses on in his ministry and calls us to focus on. No follower of Jesus would dispute this. We go wrong, however, when we expect the government to embrace this work and bring it into reality. If they do, great! But, we should not expect a mere temporal country to embrace the universal, eternal work of God. Countries and governments are about self-perpetuation, not about the Kingdom of God.

So, how do we live as faithful Christians in the 21^st political mess we have? First, we can follow the example of Jesus who says little to or about political realities, we embrace and take up Kingdom-work in our daily lives, and we let go of expectations of government to do the work we’re called to. With the freedom of speech we enjoy in the US, we should use our voices—gently and persistently—to nudge our nation, our government, and our politicians towards Kingdom values. But, let’s not get lost in the political muck, putting our trust in governments and politicians instead of putting our trust in God. And, let's not allow politics to divide us and rob us of the peace and joy God offers us.

Let's trust the goodness of God. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus. Let’s do the work of the Kingdom…today, now, where we are. Amen.

Sunday, August 10, 2025
“Christians & Politics”
Watch/Listen: HERE