We cannot approach God without a Mediator, not even with praise. As Isaiah 64:6 informs us, our righteous acts are not only defiled by sin, they are themselves defiling, as defiling as that which is contaminated during menses (Leviticus 15:19-24.). Daniel prayed toward Jerusalem, the place of atonement, and did not pray without this mediation. This kind of praying brought Daniel into difficulty with the authorities in Babylon.
We are commanded to give thanks to God always. Our confidence is in God alone, not those who are in authority over us. From ancient times most rulers have demanded that their subjects worship them as divine, but Daniel 4:17 informs us that our rulers are ordinary folks, not noble in themselves or set apart from the rest of us. Indeed, says Daniel, political leaders are taken from the lowest of humankind and are often lazy. What comfort does this afford us? We don't find much comfort in thinking that John F. Kennedy was an ordinary man, not necessarily any smarter than the rest of us, as he brooded over what to do during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. But that was the reality of the situation then, just as with George W. Bush and the conflict in Iraq today. Our only confidence in history and the basis of our thanksgiving is that God is in control of everything, the big stuff and the little stuff. We give thanks because God is in complete control and our faithful Savior was tempted in all the ways that we are: we are not alone.
SERMON ACTIVITY
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After serving Grace Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Louisiana, Bob was honorably retired on Sunday, September 27, 2015, and given the title "Pastor Emeritus." This was forty years to the day after he became their pastor.
He now works for the Presbytery of the Gulf South as...
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