Thursdays

How I love Thursdays!

I anticipate Thursdays all week long.

Why?  Bible study day. 

For some reason our ladies group has met on Thursdays for as long as I can remember.  It is a little bit like a preview for church on Sunday.

Don't get me wrong.  I am not saying that church days are the only days that I get fed spiritually.  That is not true at all.  I am responsible for opening God's Word on a daily basis.  He speaks if we will make the time. 

But I love the people part.

I love Sundays because I get to see my church family.  I love the hugs, the smiles, the tears, the corporate worship, the testimonies, the salvation stories, the baptisms and so on.

Wednesday nights are fun too but usually rushed.  The kids have Awana and I spend the entire time in the choir room.

BUT Thursdays are super special to me.  It is for the desperate ones.  And I certainly fit into that category.  We come in with all of our stuff.  We shoulder each other's burdens.  We pray through tears.  We believe for miracles.  We take our time.  We talk about some hard stuff.  We are challenged, convicted, and hopefully a little bit at a time...changed....for God's glory.

This morning our video was on Daniel being thrown into the lion's den.

This is one of the more familiar stories if, like me, you were raised in church.  We were talking about this one in pre-school.

One interesting fact I did not remember was that Daniel was in his 80's when he encountered the lion's den.

Also, the fact that I can toss "lion's den" around in such a casual way means that I have given in to the notion that this wasn't somehow terrifying.

Lions.  Real, huge, hungry, predatory lions.

Have you watched Animal Planet lately?

Maybe you should.

Then you (and I) would give God and Daniel a little more respect.

The bible says that an angel shut the mouths of the lions.  (Daniel 6:22)

The lions probably wanted to rip Daniel to pieces...they just couldn't.  Their maker had decided to close their mouths. 

Beth (Moore)  paralleled this verse in Daniel with a passage from the New Testament.  1 Peter 5:8 says:

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

Even though we are not Daniel and don't have to worry about literally being thrown into a den of lions we are still being hunted.

So.....things haven't really changed that much in thousands of years.

The bible warns us to be alert.  Be on guard.  Stay faithful.  Trust God.

If we do that....He will shut the mouth of the lion again and again and again.