A Bird's Eye View

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

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A few months ago I found a old video tape of a parade. Our boys were probably no more than 4 years old at the time. They were very excited to be at the parade and to hear the loud sirens and the music of the bands.

Naturally, they were not tall enough to see most of what was going on, so that meant that I ended up holding them so they could see. Taking turns sitting on my shoulders, they ended up with the best views of the parade. Almost a bird’s eye view as they looked down on the participants.

A familiar story in the Bible is told about a man who wanted to see what was going on, but he was too short to look over the crowd.

Zacchaeus is a very familiar character to us. Most people learned about him in Bible classes and from the song written about his encounter with Jesus. We mostly remember that he was a short man who climbed into a Sycamore tree in order to see Jesus passing by.

Zacchaeus was a very wealthy man. Although no direct information is given about how he acquired his wealth, many speculate that it was because he was in charge of collecting taxes. He not only collected taxes, but he was the supervisor of others who collected as well. Many of the tax collectors were crooked and would take some of the tax money for themselves. They were universally despised in the day of Jesus and most were assumed to be crooks.

Of course, Matthew was also a tax collector, but no evidence was given that he was dishonest. Yet, the charges against Jesus often included that He was a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

Jesus, Himself, used the image of the despised tax collector to put things into perspective. In the parable of the two sons in Matthew 21:28-32, Jesus describes the fate of those who say they will obey but then will not. In verses 31-32 He says,

“Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.”

On the positive side, at least Jesus is saying that these despised people can enter the kingdom of God.

Word had spread that Jesus was coming through Jericho and Zacchaeus wants to see Him. He has at least two obstacles to overcome in order to see Jesus.

First, because of his profession many of the Pharisees excluded publicans, tax collectors, from public activities. This bias would cause people to shut him off from being included.

Second, because of his short stature he would have trouble seeing anyone pass by on the road. The crowds that lined the streets were too tall.

Zacchaeus overcomes both obstacles and climbs a Sycamore tree in order to see Jesus. We are not told what the others thought of his actions at that point. But after Jesus sees Zacchaeus, He calls him by name and tells him to quickly come down because He is going to his house.

Zacchaeus is full of joy at this point, but the crowd is not. They all complain that Jesus has chosen to be a guest of a sinner. They have complained of this very thing other times as well.

Even in the time of Jesus, some people want a savior only if he does as they wish. It should be the other way around. We should always be willing to obey and follow what the savior says.

Luke 19:10 says that the “Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.” The religious people of that day trusted too much in themselves and despised others that appeared to be inferior. But God shows us that every soul is precious, whatever the race, sex or financial standing of the person.

Zacchaeus overcame a few obstacles to find Jesus, only to find that Jesus was looking for him as well.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we stop and contemplate that Jesus came to earth to seek us out even before we were born. May we then be full of joy to know that when we found Jesus, He also found us.

Our thought for the day: “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

Make A Stand For What You Believe

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/ywxk3k

Imagine if you will that you have a wonderful job. In fact, you have risen above most others and have garnered the trust not only of your peers but also of the head of your country. But before long you are asked to compromise your values. Not just a basic concept of right or wrong, but something more significant.

Imagine that your new job also requires that you worship a different god. Would you abandon your faith just to keep a job? Would you consider sharing your worship to God with another god in hopes that your benefits and security would not go away? Is your faith for sale? Or would you make a stand for what you believe?

The Book of Daniel describes a situation where three young men have risen to positions of great responsibility. These three men are friends of Daniel. They are Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, but we know them mostly by the names that they were given while in Babylonian captivity—Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego.

At one point King Nebuchadnezzar decided to make an image of gold about 90 feet tall. This idol was set up in the plain of Dura and a great event was held to dedicate the image. It was proclaimed that whenever the sounds of instruments were heard that everyone should fall down and worship that idol that the king had made. The penalty for not doing this was to be thrown into a furnace of fire.

However, these three young men were dedicated to the real God and refused to fall down and worship the idol. This came to the attention of the king who commanded that these three men be brought before him. Then in an effort to spare them, the king says, “Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” Daniel 3:15.

Now here is a real dilemma. If they fall down to worship the image they will go against their own God, but they will be able to keep their jobs, and their lives! But if they do not, then they will not only lose their position, but will immediately be sentenced to death in the furnace.

Self-preservation is a very strong part of human nature. We instinctively want to do things that will keep us alive and healthy. For many people this would be a very difficult choice to make. Is their faith strong enough for them to stand up when challenged, even in the face of death?

Well, these three never hesitate in their choice. Here is their answer in Daniel 3:16-18.

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from our hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

You know the rest of this story. They refused to worship the idol so the king commanded that they be thrown into the furnace. But instead of dying, they survived. Instead of being exalted as being worthy of worship, the king decreed that there was no other God than the God of these three men.

It takes faith to make a stand for what you believe. God’s lessons to us in this story are numerous. But among the points for us to learn are the following.

First, sometimes we will need to pass through difficult trials. James 1:2 says that the “testing of your faith produces patience.”

Second, God will deliver us. He will be with us in the trials and will see us through the trials as well.

Third, God’s furnace purifies, but does not destroy. Like the silver that is refined, the Christian who endures trials will be more pure and valuable.

Finally, we should always hold to our faith and never be tempted to betray God.

Do you have the courage to make a stand for what you believe? If not, you should.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we make an effort today to look for things that challenge our faith and may we stand fast in the face of those challenges.

Our thought for the day: “The fear of God makes a hero; the fear of man a coward.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

God Comes First

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

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We are so fortunate to live in a free country. Our government does not prevent us from coming together to worship God. Neither does it force us to do so.

Religious freedom was one of the motivations for people to come to this new country. State sponsored religion had shown itself to be ineffective and much politicized. People were rejecting that concept and longed for something more personal, more meaningful, and more righteous.

Religious freedom entails the free exercise of religion. A person may choose to worship one god or many gods or may choose to worship no gods at all. We are free to choose. No one will prevent you from worshiping and no one will force you to worship. We are fortunate.

But the day may come when we are not so free. Laws have been passed in other countries that control the exercise of religion. In fact, some countries still have state sponsored religions and restrict the presence of other religions.

How would we fare in such a setting? As a Christian, if our government passed a law declaring that we should all worship some other god, what would we do?

I would hope that we could all remember to put God first in our lives. Whatever else happens, we should never abandon what we know to be right.

We can look to Daniel as an example for us. In Daniel 6:1-23 we find the story of Daniel and his disobedience that landed him in the den of lions.

The king of that time was Darius. He placed 120 satraps, or princes, to be over the kingdom. And over these he placed three governors. Daniel was one of these governors, a very prominent position.

Daniel excelled in his position due to his excellent spirit and the king contemplated putting him over the entire kingdom. This displeased some of the others so they conspired to find some way to keep him from that promotion. But they could find no fault or error in him at all.

But then they found a way to cause Daniel to fall. It was in the way he worshipped his God. They manufactured a dilemma for Daniel. Approaching King Darius, they praised him and appealed to his ego. They placed before him a royal statute that would make it a capital crime to worship or pray to any god or man other than the king for 30 days. Taken with his subjects the king signed the decree.

This law was only in effect for 30 days, and according to their laws, once a law was signed it could not be changed. So here is the choice for Daniel. He can keep praying to his God like always or he can suspend that activity for just a month and pray to the king. His job and his life are both on the line. Which would come first—his life or his God?

Daniel 6:10 says, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open forward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees, three times that day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.”

Daniel’s faith was such that this law presented no dilemma to Daniel at all. There was never any doubt that he would be faithful to his God. His God came first.

The rest of the story is very familiar to all of us. The king is forced to place Daniel in the den of lions, much to the joy of Daniel’s enemies. Over that night the king is unable to sleep, wondering if the God of Daniel would save him. He did, and the king was overjoyed to be able to release Daniel.

His accusers were then thrown into the den of lions and the king made a new decree to the land. In Daniel 6:26-27, he said,

I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

When we put God first, all other things will find their rightful place. Be like Daniel in your life and put God first.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we thank God for the right to freely exercise our religion and worship in our country. May we also seize upon that right and worship faithfully and regularly.

Our thought for the day: “Since we fight for the liberty to worship, should we not make more use of that liberty?”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

Just Leave Me Alone

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.
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A little leaguer is crying in the dugout. He has just struck out…again. The weight of failure settles upon him as he knows that he has let the team down. The coach attempts to lift his spirits and give him hope for the future. But he wants nothing of it. The promise of success (a hit) seems too distant to him. “Just leave me alone,” he cries.

Leave me alone. Those are words with which we are all familiar. All of us have probably found ourselves in positions where all we wanted was to be left alone. Perhaps we made a mistake, embarrassed ourselves or let someone down. Perhaps we just found that we were having difficulty dealing with the stresses of life and just needed a break. Solitude is sought. Relief from review is desired.

There are certainly times when we deserve to be alone. We need time to recharge our energies and to feed our spiritual selves. However, there are some occasions where to be left alone may not be the answer that is best for us.

As the children of Israel were fleeing from Egyptian bondage, they looked behind them and saw the army of Pharaoh closing in. Ten plagues from God had been inflicted upon Egypt and the children of Israel knew that God was on their side. Yet, when they saw the army approaching they became less committed to their flight to freedom.

And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. Then they said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?' For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness." Exod. 14:10-12.

They had become so concerned with the immediate threat that they were willing to forego their future freedom so that they could go back and be slaves again. How shortsighted! Even in the shadow of the 10 plagues God wrought in order to set them free, they still lacked faith in God!

Exodus 14:12-14, Moses says to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” If they had only learned to trust God and always follow His direction!

The little leaguer could not see past the failure of the moment in order to envision the promises of future success. He just wanted to quit. Most everyone can relate to his experiences.

Have you ever reached the point that you just wanted to give up, find a cave somewhere and crawl into it just to get away? Successful people succeed not because they never encounter failure. They do fail. But they succeed because when they fail, they learn from the experience and try again, moving closer to their goal.

It is natural for us to become discouraged when things don’t go as planned. Maybe the coach could have inspired that young boy by telling him that Babe Ruth had more strikeouts than home runs. To be certain, no one is successful all the time. Putting things in perspective may have helped that situation.

William Feather said, “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” As Christians we need to understand that some hardships and persecutions will be coming our way throughout our lives. People who go it alone will probably let go. But we need not be alone. God is there for us, so hang on!

So when the temptation comes to withdraw and say, “just leave me alone,” be prepared to refresh your look to God and stand fast on His word and His promises. Don’t give up! Be faithful! Just like the Israelites, God has promised you a better land and He has faith that you can be faithful during your journey.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we focus our minds of the goal of heaven and always place our trust in God who has faith that we can live righteously.

Our thought for the day: “The price of success is much lower than the price of failure.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

Better Keep Your Bible

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

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There was a time when Bibles were so rare and expensive that they were chained to the pulpits in churches. Can you imagine only being able to have access to God’s word by going to the cathedral?

Of course, I’m not sure how much better off we are today if the only time we open our own copies of the Bible is when we are assembled for worship. The Bible is God’s word and we should all be diligent to study it and follow it.

Today it is not at all uncommon to be able to find the entire text of the Bible on sale for even as low as $1 each. Hotel rooms normally contain a complimentary copy of the Bible. Churches will give them out for free to anyone who asks for a copy. There really is no valid reason why anyone in this country should not have a personal copy of God’s word.

Bibles used to be treasured not only for their content but also for their material value. The Bible has become so common now that we sometimes take it for granted. In the celebration of our freedoms in this country, some people have sought to discredit or disallow the Bible. In many ways it is no longer fashionable or acceptable to follow the Bible.

One extreme case of note happened in Guyana, South America in 1978. Jim Jones had moved his People’s Temple membership from California to Guyana in the early 1970’s in an effort to establish a “utopian” society. While in the United States, Jones had often referred to the Bible in his teaching and writings. But then things changed.

Once people were firmly in the organization, which many describe as a cult, Jones began to draw his inspiration from other writings, of human origin, instead of the Bible. In fact, he began to declare himself as the Messiah and denounced the Bible as full of stories about a fictional “buzzard” god.

As his paranoia increased, Jones intensified his control over his followers. Many desired to leave, but were not permitted to do so. Eventually a congressional delegation from the United States was sent to investigate Jonestown on behalf of family members back home.

After a tense meeting between Jones and the delegation a few of the members were allowed to leave with the delegation and they made it as far as an airfield before being ambushed. Jones, fearing the next wave of investigators, initiated a mass suicide. When the next investigators arrived they found 909 dead bodies at that compound.

What they did not find anywhere on the property was a Bible. It had been forbidden.

Paul writes in 2 Tim 3:16-17, saying, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” God gave us the Bible so that we would know how to live and what life was all about.

That book is to benefit us in many ways. It is used for doctrine, or in other words, teaching. Doctrinal disputes in religious circles will inevitably occur when people stray away from what the Bible says. Better to lean on God’s word than on our own understanding.

The Bible is also useful for reproof and correction. These similar words both include the process of setting one back on course. Either through drifting away innocently or by walking away from God willfully, the word of God is still beneficial in bringing people back to God.

Finally, the Bible is shown to be of benefit in teaching us how to be righteous. God instructs us on what it will take for us to be pleasing to Him.

Many people today will reject the Bible as the authority of morality. Some do this by attacking the Bible and others by simply letting apathy take root. Either way, without God’s word as a force in our lives, we are sure to fall short of eternal blessings.

On Our Daily Walk today, take a few minutes and count how many copies of the Bible you have in your home. Then thank God for the freedom you enjoy to own His word. May we never take the Bible for granted nor allow it to be taken away as our guide.

Our thought for the day: “Men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself but because it contradicts them.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

Use What You Have

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.
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The television show, MacGyver, aired on ABC from 1985 until 1992. It was a very popular and entertaining show. The star of the show was not your run of the mill hero. He could take ordinary things and convert them into extraordinary tools, gadgets and weapons. He needed this ability since he seemed to always find a way to get into a fix.

To say that MacGyver was resourceful would be a tremendous understatement. He could convert a rope and umbrella into a grappling hook to scale a building. He could hot wire a car with a paper clip and create smoke screens with ordinary household cleaning supplies.

What this character represented was resourcefulness. With a seemingly calm and methodical demeanor he would assess his predicament, inventory his options and then set about to get his solution in place. In the end, you might say that he made do with what he had.

We usually can do what we really want to do. If your desire is strong enough you can find usefulness in just about any thing around you. And even though we aren’t saving the world from criminals like MacGyver, when we do succeed in making something out of nothing we do have a great sense of accomplishment.

Throughout the Bible God has demonstrated that we can accomplish His will with the resources we already have. Notice these examples of how God’s work was done.

In Exodus 4:1-5 Moses is unsure about his ability to convince Pharaoh to set the people free. Here is how God convinced Moses to use what he had.

Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’” So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), “that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

As we learn to trust God we can begin to understand how everything around us can be used for His purposes. Moses used what he had—just a rod in his hand. And with it he was able to confirm that he was God’s messenger.

Another example would be David in 1 Samuel 17:32-51. This is the story of the battle with the giant, Goliath. David was unable to wear the armor of Saul so he put that aside and instead reached down for a few smooth stones. When the time came to face the older, more experienced warrior, David began to run toward him and slew him with a stone from his sling.

Saul’s entire army feared this opponent. Yet David already had experiences where God had delivered him. He was able to kill a lion and a bear as he defended his father’s sheep. He knew that God would also deliver him this time, especially since the honor of God’s people was at stake. He used what he had—a sling and some stones, and he accomplished God’s will.

Andrew also had an experience with making do with what was available. In the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6:5-14, Jesus asked a question as to how they would be able to feed this many people. Philip, knowing that their financial resources were low, noted that even a year’s wages were not enough to buy for this many people.

But it was Andrew that looked around for the resources available. In John 6:9 he says, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

He received his answer when Jesus fed those 5,000 men. They ate their fill and still there were twelve baskets of fragments that were taken up afterwards. Andrew learned that God will supply our needs through what we have.

Isn’t it wonderful to trust in a loving God that wants us to succeed?

On Our Daily Walk today, may we learn to put our trust and confidence in God and learn to use every available resource to accomplish what He asks us to do. May we never allow fear or shortsightedness to get in our way of making do with what we have.

Our thought for the day: “Most of us will never do great things, but we can do small things in a great way.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.