Books, Rainbows, and a Fiery Furnace

I wanna talk about books today.


I love books.  I love characters. I love getting the chance to get lost in a story and being completely oblivious to the world around you with a hot cup of coffee in your hand.


I like series.  I like getting to feel like I'm friends with the people in the books.  I know that's super weird... but this is my blog so I feel like I kind of get the opportunity to say what I like.  I really think I'm an honorary member of the Baxter family.  I've laughed with them, cried with them, and even mourned with them for over 10 books.  I have a few series like that, but the newest installment of that series is about to come out so its on my mind... Yay Karen Kingsbury!


I love classics.  Wuthering Heights is so twisted that I can't ever put it down when I start it for the 37th time.  The Great Gatsby is brilliant.  Pride and Prejudice is beautiful.  Anne of Green Gables is art.


I'm a fan of "children's" books.  The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and the newest addition to the list- the Hunger Games.  Adventure, friendship, and lessons learned are always there.  I warn you, if you pick up the Hunger Games you better not have any plans for the next few days because you will want to finish all three books as soon as possible.  Sleep will become a burden during your time with those books.


I LOVE C.S. Lewis.  I could rave about him for an entire blog, but I'l limit myself.  Mere Christianity... Wow.  He is so obviously inspired by the Spirit to be able to explain such complex truth that it leaves me speechless.  Praise Jesus for how He redeems and uses people!  I love the Great Divorce.  I love the Screwtape Letters.  Gracious, I just like all of his stuff. (See the Chronicles of Narnia reference above.) He's the person from modern history I would like to have dinner with.  I already have my list of questions prepared to ask during dessert.


I started to compile a list of my favorite books of all time... but that was far too hard.  Instead, here are some books that I've read lately.  The top 3, I've probably read a hundred times or so.  I consider them my comfort books.  If I have a few hours just to sit and read, these are the books I go to.

1. Anne of Green Gables

She's my namesake.  You didn't think my mom tacked the "e" on the end of my name for no reason did you? The writing is poetic.  The imagery is breath-taking.  The books should be considered art in my opinion. I could go on...

2. Wuthering Heights

Oh, Heathcliff. Need I say more?

3. Mere Christianity

I doubt a book besides the Bible has ever stretched my intellect so far as Mere Christianity.  I had to reread the introduction about ten times to fully embrace its meaning. THE INTRODUCTION. 

4.  The Hiding Place

Corrie ten Boom... Oh Lord, give me a forgiving heart like Corrie when she met that soldier! 

5.  Harry Potter 

I can pretty easily say that these books defined my childhood as much as anything from the moment that Mrs. Coon started reading them in my 3rd grade class. 

6. A Sweet and Bitter Providence

John Piper is brilliant.  Ruth is incredible.  This is an incredible commentary on a woman noted in the lineage of the Savior of the World.  I'd say she's probably a pretty good example to look at...

7. Facing Terror

Carrie McDonnall, will you disciple me? Please? Her heart for the Middle East and Arab culture after losing her husband there is... well, there just aren't words. Read it. 

8. Hunger Games

Tomorrow, I want you to go to Barnes and Noble or wherever you buy books, and get the Hunger Games.  You won't be able to put them down. I promise... They are insanely addicting. 

I'll stop there. This could get a little out of hand in a hurry, I can already tell... 

Now, I don't really know how to transition into the next part... so I'm just going to jump right in.

The most exciting, adventurous, page-turning, suspenseful, poetic, beautiful book you could pick up is the Bible.  Most books are simply words strung together on a page, some are strung better than other... cough Twilight... but even Anne of Green Gables is just ink on paper.  

The Bible is LIVING AND ACTIVE.  I don't know what else to say other than that.  Living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword.  It moves. It lives.  It guides.  It doesn't return void.  If you read it, it sticks in your heart.  You can't get it out.  Its power. Its alive.  

(See Hebrews 4:12 and Isaiah 55:11)

Have I mentioned its alive? Because that is just mind-boggling.

I didn't ever really pick up a bible until I was a sophomore in high school.  I didn't do Vacation Bible School (VBS) or any consistent Sunday School growing up.  As I grow older, I think I appreciate this more each day... because of things like this. 

The other day I was in the middle of a road trip with one of my best friends, Alex, and we got to talking  about the significance of a rainbow.

Who knew a rainbow was God's sign to us that He would never again wipe out the earth with a flood? I didn't until a few years ago. I used to think rainbows were pretty... Now they leave me awestruck.

So, that's amazing.  

God is so cool.

Before you read the rest of this, please try and forget anything you have ever heard about this story before.  Try to read this from a fresh perspective, like you've never heard it before.  Pray for freshness.  God is pretty faithful to answer prayers that let us see more of Him. 

Last year, I heard about some crazy men named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  

 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do:  As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.  Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.


  At this time some astrologers^[ came forward and denounced the Jews.  They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold,  and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace.  But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”




  Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,  and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?  Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”




  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”


  Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 


So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.


 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”


They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”


Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”


So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. 


They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.


Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”


Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.




So, let me get this straight...


They threw THREE men into the fire that was so hot that it burned up the soldiers that opened the door...


They saw FOUR walking around, unbound...


They came out without even SMELLING like smoke.


God is so cool.


What a story.


And its true.


Praise.

Blinded to Blessing.

Blessing: A means of happiness; that which promotes prosperity and welfare; a beneficent gift.

Sometimes, I am blind to blessing.  

Sometimes, I'm like the pharisees.

I interpret the blessings God has promised to me.  I think I have a general idea of what it will mean for Him to work all things for my good (Romans 8:28) or what His plan for good is for my life. (Jeremiah 29:11)

I don't struggle with if God will be faithful to His plan and His promise to work all for my good.  I know He will.  My issue is that I look for the blessing I am expecting.

The pharisees and all of Israel were promised a Messiah. Isaiah 9:6-7 speaks of their promised Christ:

 For to us a child is born, 

   to us a son is given, 

   and the government will be on his shoulders. 

And he will be called 

   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, 

   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

 Of the greatness of his government and peace 

   there will be no end. 

He will reign on David’s throne 

   and over his kingdom, 

establishing and upholding it 

   with justice and righteousness 

   from that time on and forever. 

The zeal of the LORD Almighty 

   will accomplish this.
Isaiah 9: 6-7

They expected a political figure.  They could not understand that the Kingdom of Christ is a Heavenly kingdom, not an earthly one!

Because they were looking for a blessing they expected, they missed Christ.  

Sometimes, I'm like Naomi.

"Don’t call me Naomi,"  she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.  I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

Ruth 1: 20-22

Naomi has bad circumstances.  Her husband and her two sons have died while she was in a foreign land.  She is now returning home without those who she left with, but she is taking Ruth back with her! Look at the very next verse, verse 23.

So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

Ruth 1:23

Ruth! Ruth is the woman who said to Naomi the words that we hear so often...

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

Ruth 1:16-17

Oh, Naomi! You have Ruth! She is so blinded by her circumstances that she fails to recognize the blessing the Lord has brought to her life in Ruth.

She isn't alone.  There are so many Ruths in my life that I forget to be thankful for because I am so blinded by my circumstance.  

The pharisees aren't alone.  There are so many fulfilled promises the Lord blesses me with that I don't notice because I'm caught up searching for the blessing I'm expecting.

The past week, I've been tempted to miss a lot.  This is me taking a moment to thank Jesus for the blessings I could've been blind towards the past few days. 

James 5:16 says: "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."

I didn't see this week coming.  Its not what I expected, but God has a way of shattering my expectations and working in mysterious ways.  He used beautiful, righteous people to pray for me so that I would be healed.  

How great is our GOD that He is bigger than my expectations. 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.

Isaiah 55:8

Taylor Tate:  

Thanks for being one of many Ruths while I was 

busy being Naomi this week. 

Hidden Treasure

Isaiah's account of the Heavens in Isaiah 6:1-7

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; the train of His robe filled the temple.  Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  And one called to another and said:

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!"

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.  And I said:

"Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.  And he touched my mouth and said:

"Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."

Today in church, we sang Revelation Song.  What a beautiful image to imagine the moment when I get to sing alongside the Heavenly hosts!  

Praise the Lord for giving me the opportunity to worship Him here on earth and get a small taste of what His presence feels like.

If you have time today, pick up your bible and read Revelation 4 to see John's account of the Heavens and compare it to Isaiah 6.  I promise it will take your breath away- especially when you take in to account that they were recorded over 800 years apart. 

The Bible is so full of hidden treasures like this.