'A' GRADE CHARACTER

Every parent wants their children to do well at school. When they receive their child's school report they look hopefully at it to see if they got any 'A's. But there is a set of 'A's that every parent should want for their child that will have a lasting benefit for their lives well beyond the school ground.

When it comes to helping their children learn, many parents confuse schooling for education. If you have to choose, choose education. And while your children's teachers are busy showing your children how to do well on the Government's Naplan tests, you might like to introduce six 'A's that you insist your children learn: Ability, Accountability, Awareness, Attachment, Actuality, and Awe.

and endurance produces character, and character produces hope
Romans 5:4

These six 'A's are the components of character. Character is the fabric of a person's soul. This fabric can be weak - torn by the slightest flutter, or it can be strong - able to withstand life's storms and adjust accordingly.

The story is told of a couple of friends who grew up together. One of the young men leaves his hometown and eventually builds a very successful business. Meanwhile, his childhood friend who remained in their hometown has become a struggling carpenter. As the years go by, the successful businessmen pines to return to his childhood hometown and does. The news of his return spreads around the town. He soon catches up with childhood friend and learns that he has become a carpenter. "That's great!" he tells his tradesman friend, "You can build my my new home!" The proposed house is grand. It is the biggest project that the carpenter has ever undertaken. Added to this, his successful businessman friend has offered to pay very generously for its construction. Without a contract, the two old friends shake hands and the deal is done.

As the carpenter is building the new home, he becomes angry. "How dare he come back into town and start throwing his money around like a big-shot!" he thinks. The more he thinks about how unfair life has been, the closer he gets to his hatching his scheme. He begins to reason that this old friend might be a good businessman, but he surely doesn't know much about carpentry and building. He further reasons that if he was to scrimp here and there and use second grade material rather than the first grade material he quoted on, he could increase his profit margin and his wealthy friend would never know the difference. But as he begins to swindle his friend he goes far further than he ever intended. But when the day comes to hand over the newly constructed house to his friend and client, he has a moment of guilt about what he has done but then quickly dismisses it because he reasons his wealthy friend can afford it. As he brazenly hands the keys of the new home over to his client he is then stunned when his old friend explains why he is giving the keys back. "I heard that things had been tough for you. I've done well in life and I'd like to do something for you. You've built me the finest house money could buy - and you've poured your heart and sould into building it. I'd like to give you this house as a gift!"

Character is the fabric of our lives just like the building material was the fabric of the house in this story. Just as a house can have a fancy façade and a coat of paint to hide its structural deficiencies, so we too can put up façades to hide our character deficiencies. These six 'A's are the ingredients to first-grade character development.

Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.
First Timother 4:15

1. ABILITY

Every child needs to develop their abilities. This can only happen when allowed to fail. It takes practice. (Most children do not naturally understand the difference between rehearsing and practicing). Developing abilities involves stretching present capactities, focussing for an extended period of time, learning from those with better abilities. It unavoidably involves setbacks. It requires persistence. Life demands certain abilities and the level of a person's character is how those demands are met.

To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
Matt. 25:15

2. ACCOUNTABILITY

None us of like to be corrected. But without the character strength to accept correction our children's characters cannot be developed. Children must be taught how to receive correction, welcome it, and apply it humbly. This is the process of accountability. Parents often don't want to correct their children for fear of nagging or discouraging, but children need to understand that being held accountable for their actions (what they've done) and responsibilities (what they should do) will set them up for maximising their life's potential. Accountability also involves congratulating, rewarding, and celebrating your children's efforts as well.

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
James 2:10

It takes an extended season of heat and pressure to turn a piece of coal into a diamond.

¶ In the end, serious reprimand is appreciated
far more than bootlicking flattery.
Proverbs 28:23

3. AWARENESS

Parents are responible to make their children aware of no only what is right and wrong, but also, what is appropriate and what is inappropriate. Learning the right and appropriate way to behaveis an essential skill for life. It requires the character trait of awareness.

¶ For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.
Second Corinthians 1:12

4. ATTACHMENT

When surveyed, the majority of employers said that they would employ someone who was moderately competent and able to get along with others, before they would employ someone highly competent. Getting along with others is a learned art. Parents may be proud that their child gets an 'A' for Social Studies (History and Society, "Sose") but if their child lacks social skills that 'A' means little. From the toddler years, parents train their children to share, to be polite, respectful of elders and those in authority, how to apologise, how to hold a conversation with appropriate eye-contact, and how to show sympathy.

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
Romans 12:10

5. ACTUALITY

Character is strengthened when reality is accepted. Our children may not like reality. They may not be willing to accept it. But as soon as they do they are best equipped to begin to deal with it. Apparently Denial is not just a place in Egypt! Playing in a Grand Final for the losing team. Failing an exam. Not passing a test. Being told you can't sing. Not being selected. Attracting certain people. Finding yourself repeatedly in similar circumstances. Earning money but never having any. Helping your child align with the actual world rather than the ideal world, will be one of the greatest training gifts you can give them.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
Romans 8:22

In the actual world, dishes need washing up (not just putting in the sink for someone else to do), clothes need folding and putting away, grass needs mowing, people let you down, people offend you, and you let people down and offend others. Parents should help their children to accept the actual world of reality in which we live and learn to forgive, forget, flex, and friend well.

6. AWE

If you add nothing else to your child's character, add this one thing: awe. This is a deep sense of reverence for God. It is a sense in which we take our right place in the universe (which is not the centre of it). We acknowledge that this universe is God's and everything in it - including us (Psalm 24:1). We live our lives in awe of what God has done. We admire it. We take pictures of it. We sing about it. But most of all we admire Him. We become a picture to the world of Him. We sing about Him.

A deep sense of awe centres around a profound devotion to Christ. This is why children need to learn that church is a delight. They need to see us model to them that when we are assembled in church we are in awe of God through the worship (sometimes despite the music and sometimes despite the engagement of those around us), in the midst of our fellowship with other believers, under the sound of the preached Word, and in the acts of service that we each contribute to the Lord's House.

I don't know who raised the young lady we met in the carpark at James River Assembly in Springfield Missouri. But they deserve badges or medals of honour for the outstanding job they did in raising their daughter! We drove into the church carpark when the temperature was -10ºC ! She was wearing warm clothing - beanie, mittens, thick jacket. But she must have been cold. As we drove into the carpark she was smiling as she directed the traffic. But that's not all she was doing. She was dancing. Yes, dancing! She looked genuinely happy to be serving the Lord in any way she could. That day I heard the famous pastor preach but was barely impressed. Instead, the best and loudest sermon I heard that day, was from this young lady! She was a picture of awe. She was in awe of her God and it showed because she was prepared to serve in the House of God in a way that few would have even been prepared to try. I can tell when people have a deep sense of awe for God. They too serve. If you look closely at our ushers this Sunday you'll see the word "awe" written on their souls.

¶ For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Psalm 84:10

And awe doesn't stop at the doorway of the Church building - it's refueled, re-calibrated, re-ignited so that we can enter into the world with an awe-full awareness of God and His works.

These are six essential ingredients to strong character that School Report cards tend to neglect but no parent should.

Ps. Andrew

What Happens When Dr Hugh Ross Visits Your Church

We've just hosted Astronomer and Astrophysicist, Dr Hugh Ross, for a five day Easter campaign. Before he arrived, after we announced he was coming to Launceston, we became aware of the campaign of opposition to his visit. I only looked at a fraction of the emails which were put in circulation among my colleagues calling for a boycott of his visit. In these emails, and printed materials, Dr Ross was accused of being "a charlatan", "a tool of Satan", "an atheist pretending to be a Christian", "divisive", "heretical", who "distorted the Bible", promoted "secular" science over the Bible, and did not take the Bible "literally". In the week he actually arrived in Launceston, one 'ministry' website declared that Dr Ross was "racist" because "he teaches that Australian aboriginals are not human!" 

In every instance (and I did not have time to challenge every opponent) when I asked if these opponents if they had actually read a Hugh Ross book or attended one his talks, the answer was: no. This was extremely disturbing.

Our first meeting was a Business Breakfast which was nearly sold out two weeks before the event. For those familiar with events in Tasmania, this was extraordinary! In fact, we sadly had people turned away at the door of this first event because we were fully booked out. Dr Ross was questioned about how he understood the "days" of Genesis 1-2 and gave a reasoned response showing that the expression, 'evening and morning' occurs no-where else in Scripture (and is not applied to the seventh "day") and that the Hebrew word translated "day" ('yom') has four literal meanings - (i) 24 hours ("Last Tuesday was her birthday."); (ii) Daylight hours ("While it is day, we will work.");  (iii) Part of the day ("It took us all day to drive from Launceston to Hobart."); (iv) A long period of time ("Back in the Romans' day there was a lot of bloodshed."). Of note, Dr Ross pointed out that the Hebrew word for era, long time, is the same Hebrew word, "yom" (often translated in English as "day", but the same Hebrew word used Genesis 2:4 is used to describe the entire period of creation from Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 1:26).

We held an Apologetics Seminar the same day as Business Breakfast which was nearly fully subscribed - quite remarkable for a mid-week, weekday event. One of the questions which came up during the seminar was about the physical laws such as gravity, the speed of light and the second law of thermodynamics.  Dr Ross stated that God created these laws to govern what He was creating. He cited Jeremiah 31:35 and 33:25 as straightforward examples of this Biblical claim. Thus, when someone attempted to persuade him that radio-metric dating techniques are unreliable, he simply pointed to the Scriptures to show that the Bible states it is designed by God to be reliable.

On Maundy Thursday we did a Radio Breakfast Show interview, where I pressed Dr Ross with some of the things that these anonymous emailers were accusing him of. One of the issues put to him was that he was interpretting the Bible with science - that is, despite the plain reading of the Biblical text only giving us thousands of years of existence, he was reading into the Text millions and billions of years. He responded by pointing out that the Bible does not give a date for the creation of the universe and the assumption of only thousands of years was built on a calculation of the genealogies which are known to be incomplete. He showed that the Hebrew expression, "father" was the same used to describe Grand-father, Great-Grand-father, Great Great-Grand-father and so on. [Listen]

We then filmed some interviews (keep an eye out for them on my YouTube Channel), had some private meetings, then did a sold-out Dinner meeting. Dr Ross showed that from the creation of the universe, the universe has expanded at an exquisitely fine-tuned rate. If it had expanded any slower, our universe would not have come into existence. If it had initially expanded any quicker, our universe would not have been formed. The margin of error for this expansion rate is so infinitesimally small that it is like driving then accelerating your car for a million kilometres at a speed/rate that must not waver to at least the 47th decimal place. 

Good Friday morning was held in our church at Legana and was full.

We then hired the largest hall in Launceston for our Good Friday evening service as part of the Launceston Easter Community Festival. Around 900 attended this meeting where Dr Hugh Ross gave the scientific evidences for the existence of the God of the Bible. He was quizzed on the law of decay (mentioned in Romans 8). He pointed out that this was a necessary component to God's good creation of the world. Dying, ageing, wearing-out, decay, running down, are all an essential part of life and without it life itself could not be. When a star, such as our Sun, gives off light, it is decaying. When we eat food, our stomach breaks down the food in order to draw the necessary nutrients for our bodies. We know that both of these aspects of decay were in play before the Fall of Man.

One of the comments from an attender was that Dr Ross had presented him with a problem. When I asked "How so?" He replied, "My vision of God was far too small - now I need a bigger one!" Another attender told me that they had previously been taught that science was corrupted because of the Fall and couldn't be trusted, but he could now see that this was utterly wrong and that God had decreed science to observe what He has done and to receive glory as we admire His works in the Book of Nature.

The night was made even more memorable by the presence of so many ministers of the churches of Launceston being in attendance. Bishop John Harrower even drove up from Hobart just to lend his support to the evening! While Dr Ross appealed to the head, I summed up his address and appealed to people's souls, Sonia Bowen and the assembled worship team appealed to the hearts of those present. This is partly why we referred to the Festival as a Festival of Art - Music - and, Thought.

Resurrection Sunday was full in the morning. This was quite a change in pace. Rather than have Dr Ross speak, I interviewed him. Because I knew Dr Ross, and some of the personal struggles he has had to overcome, I was able to draw these out in the interview. For many people this was the highlight of Dr Ross's ministry with us. People were particularly enthralled by his position on supernatural gifts and miracles.

Then Sunday night we nearly filled the Tailrace Centre. I interviewed Dr Ross so that people got a broad idea of where he was coming from, and then we took Q & A.  One of the questions, which was quite aggressive, related to the Old Testament genealogies and the ages of the fathers. Dr Ross attempted several times to answer the question without the freedom to do so by the listener. Here is some background information from Doug Ward about this issue-

Have you ever added up the numbers in the genealogies of Gen. 5 and 11 to compute the number of years from Adam to the Flood, and from the Flood to Abraham? I know that I have, at least a couple of times. I can remember my grandmother doing this sum on the back of an envelope when I was boy. She may have even assigned it to me as an exercise in arithmetic. 

If you have carried out this computation, you are certainly not alone. Bishop Usher's famous seventeenth-century estimate that Adam was created in 4004 B.C. was partially based upon it. The numbers are just sitting there, waiting to be added up. 

But is there any significance to the fact that the biblical text itself does not list the totals? The Bible does periodically give chronological information-e.g., Ex. 12:40 mentions that the Israelites were in Egypt for 430 years, I Kings 6:1 gives a figure of 480 years from the Exodus to the building of Solomon's temple, and Judges 11:26 states that 300 years elapsed between Israel's arrival in the Promised Land and the time of the judge Jephthah-but it is silent about the total time from Creation to the Flood and from the Flood to Abraham. 

The answer may be that the genealogies in Gen. 5 and 11 were not intended to give an unabridged record of the time before Abraham. In fact, an examination of other biblical genealogies reveals that these lists often skip generations. 

Some Examples of Omissions 

A prime example is the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1. When Matt. 1:8 mentions ``Joram begat Ozias''(KJV), three generations are omitted: Ahaziah (2 Kings 8:25), Joash (2 Kings 12:1), and Amaziah (I Kings 14:1). Later, in verse 11, Jehoiakim is left out (2 Kings 23:34). Here Matthew's purpose is not to give an exhaustive account of Jesus' ancestry; rather, he is establishing that Jesus was a descendant of David, as the Messiah was prophesied to be. The numerical equivalents of the Hebrew consonants in David's name add up to 14, and Matthew is emphasizing Jesus' Davidic ancestry by listing his genealogy in three groups of fourteen notable individuals (Matt. 1:17). 

Matthew gives an even more striking abridgment in the opening sentence of his genealogy: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.'' In [2], Walter Kaiser comments that if Matt. 1:1 were written in the style of Genesis 5, it might read something like,``And Abraham was 100 years old, and he begat David. And David was 40 years old, and he begat Jesus Christ.'' After all, Matthew 1 is intended to trace the messianic line, and Abraham was 100 when he begat Isaac, through whom this line continued on to David. Similarly, David was about 40 when Solomon, the next occupant of his throne, was born. 

Comparisons of other biblical genealogies reveal further omissions in a number of them, as Green documents in [1]. For instance, a comparison of Ezra 7:1-5 and I Chron. 6:3-14 shows that six names are left out in Ezra 7:3. Another example of apparent omissions occurs in Exodus 6:16-20, where four generations are given from Levi to Moses. There are several reasons to suspect that this account is condensed: 

(a) I Chron. 7:23-27 lists 11 generations (many more than four) between Levi's brother Joseph and Moses' successor Joshua. 

(b) Numbers 3:19,27 lists the total number of males in the Kohath clans at 8600 one year after the Exodus, including 2750 between the ages of 30and 50 (Num. 4:36). If there were only two generations from Kohath to the Exodus, then Kohath must have been very prolific indeed! 

(c) Kohath was born before the Israelites settled in Egypt (Gen. 46:11), so Kohath was at least 350 years older than Moses. There is room for many more than two generations in these 350 years. 

These examples and others suggest that the Gen. 5 and 11 may themselves contain omissions. The structure of the lists in Genesis also implies that the names could have been carefully chosen, as in Matthew 1. Both the Gen.5 and 11 lists include ten names, and each ends with a father having three sons. Enoch, the key name in the Gen. 5 list, is seventh in the list, paralleling Lamech, the seventh in the list of the generations of Cain's descendants (Gen. 4:17-19).  

But if the numbers in Gen. 5 and 11 are not meant to be added, why are they mentioned in the text? Green and Kaiser suggest that these numbers may be meant to show the effects of sin on the long lifespans that God apparently originally intended for man. Abraham's life of 175 years and Moses' life of 120 were significantly shorter than the lifespans of over 900 years recorded by Adam, Methusaleh, and Noah.

- http://graceandknowledge.faithweb.com/add.html

And more great articles at-

www.reasons.org

Lots of people contributed to making Dr Ross's visit to Launceston such a success. Without the efforts of several key people, this enormous event could not have happened. The feedback we received from seekers, struggling Christians, and non-Christians was incredibly encouraging. Many people stated that they now had good reasons to believe in the God of the Bible and to put their faith in Jesus Christ as Creator, Lord and Saviour.

Andrew Corbett

THE EASTER QUESTION

William was a handsome young man who was proud of his physique. Before commencing university, he and a buddy agreed to have summer holiday at a popular beachside tourist location with the one intention of, as he put it: “scoring”. He met a very attractive young girl, who was also holidaying there with her friend. But William’s hopes of “scoring” were dashed when he discovered that she was a Christian. William was also intelligent and thought the easiest thing way to win this girl was also a very simple exercise: show this girl why the claims of Christianity were untrue. This presented him with an immediate problem however. 

In William's circle of friends, none of them gave ‘God’ or Christianity a second thought. He realised that although he was raised by very nominal church going parents, he didn’t actually know what the claims of Christianity were. 

Upon returning home he maintained contact with this girl and he maintained his quest to disprove Christianity. To do this, he reasoned, he needed to go to the source documents. Consequently he bought a Bible and began to read about the life of the founder of Christianity, Jesus the Christ. He was struck by what he read. 

It wasn’t what he had been told or even thought about Jesus previously. He was somewhat shocked by the accurate historical account of Jesus in the Bible and stunned by what Jesus actually said. The Jesus of the Bible was authoritative, fearless, not swayed by popular opinions. 

William was challenged by the one Christian he now knew to "try church". But William's sporting commitments clashed with church services - until he injured his shoulder. During his time off sport he decided to attend a nearby church. He saw people worshiping Jesus. He was moved. He heard people praying who honestly believed that there was a God who was listening. He describes this first time in church as a shock to all his senses. As soon as his first church service was over he dashed out of the building but involuntarily stopped in the doorway. He says he was gripped by an overwhelming urge to return into the building and talk with the pastor. He did. They agreed to meet through the week. William also decided that since he couldn't join his sporting team on Sunday mornings, due to his recovering injury, he would give church a couple more goes. The more he went and the more talks he had with the pastor, the more the claims of Christianity began to make sense. 

But he had one question. 

“Why did Jesus die?” 

Shortly after this question began to weigh on his mind, he increasingly became aware of his own shortcomings. William said, "As I started reading the Bible, attending church, and talking with the pastor, without them directly raising the matter, it was as if my previously numbed conscience suddenly began working again. And I felt guilty. Very guilty." William then had an epiphany about the connection between his question and his guilt. He realised that Jesus Christ died in his place to pay the price for William' guilt and sin. 

This discovery of the answer to this supremely important question resulted in his life being transformed. William became a committed Christian. 

Why did Jesus die? This is the question that is answered every time we celebrate Easter. It is the most important question you could ever hope to answer because its answer has both a lifetime and an eternity of immense impact. Have you found the answer? Like William, many of us have also discovered why Jesus died. The answer has defined our lives - but the same answer is far too extravagantly good not to share. That's why we love the opportunities that Easter provides because it allows us to share its answer with people just like William. And in our city, there are thousands of Williams who need to know why we celebrate Easter.

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

(Romans 5:8)

Andrew Corbett

* This story was adapted from an account told by STR's Greg Koukl. 

DANIEL, ANTIOCH, AND THEIR COMMON GREATNESS

Recently our Prime Minister reinstated imperial honours. People who are Knighted or Damed in Australia are now receiving the highest accolades that Australia offers. The world awards many prestigious honours, but none of them can compare with highest earthly honour: to have the Bible list you as one of the greatest people to have ever lived! And only three people have ever attained to this most prestigious honour.

What qualifies a person for the Biblical honour of "greatness"? And why haev so few people attained it? Since Biblical greatness is no longer attainable, does the Bible give principles for attaining regular greatness?

The Bible ranks Daniel as one of the three greatest men to have ever lived.

Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 14:14

What made Daniel great?

you are indeed wiser than Daniel;
no secret is hidden from you;"
Ezekiel 28:3

Daniel was taken from his home and family while a teen. As Judah's invaders, the Babylonians, first stormed Jerusalem, they looked for, and took, the brightest and the best to serve the King of Babylon. Daniel was selected. As a boy he was different. He had a keen sense of God. When parents taught him how to read, he listened attentively because this would enable him to know more about God through reading the Scriptures. From a young age, Daniel became a reader - in an age when most boys his age just wanted play games and fool around and didn't want to read. Daniel's parents showed their son that the Scriptures should be read often, privately, publicly, aloud, reflectively and especially prayerfully. Later, at an age into his eighties, the once boy Daniel maintained this habit and was able to prayerfully deliver his countrymen from their captivity in Babylon (cf. Dan. 9).

¶ As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
Daniel 1:17

Daniel's prayerful reading of Scripture as a teenager opened him up to supernatural experiences with God. Not only was Daniel well read on matters of science, philosophy, and politics (as we note in Daniel chapters 1 and 2), he was firstly a reader of Scripture. But he quickly became Scripturally spiritual as well. That is, as he prayed to God in response to the Scriptures he was reading his spiritual discernment (his spiritual "ears") became sharper. Thus, we read of him hearing from God in extraordinary ways and able to prophesy God's Word with startling accuracy. What makes this all the more remarkable is that Daniel did this with little to no support - and in fact, often had to maintain such high spiritual disciplines in the midst of hostile opposition.

Few of us will ever face the opposition that Daniel had to face in his lifetime. He had an entire government adminstration passing legislation directed at indicting him with criminality (remember the 'Lions Den'?). Yet he maintained his happy devotion to God through Scripture reading and prayer! Daniel was horribly and repeatedly slandered. Most people who commit their lives to love and serve God will discover (initially to their surprise) that they will have others spread slanderous untruths spread about them. The Enemy often knows where we are vulnerable to hurt. Accuse a Bible teacher of lacking mercy and he will be put out - but accuse of being 'false' and 'lying' and you will be putting a virtual dagger into his heart. Accuse a pastor of being disorganised and he might be upset (he might even agree with you) but accuse him of not 'caring' or providing 'pastoral care' and you'll wound him deeply. Daniel was accused of disloyalty, treachery, and virtual witchcraft - you can begin to imagine how he must have felt in the midst of this slander (at least he could put faces to his slanderers. Today with the internet, slanderers can be 'faceless' - even on the ironically called: Facebook.)

Daniel displayed the traits of greatness from the earliest age. A simple trust in God. An undivided devotion to God. A commitment to be a daily reader of Sripture. A person of prayer. But many people start well. What sealed Daniel's greatness is that he finished well. As an old man he had a simple trust in God, an undivided devotion to God and a commitment to daily Scripture reading and prayer.

Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
Daniel 6:3

Added to this was Daniel's grand vision of what worship was. He saw not only these spiritual disciplines as worship. He saw his diet, his work, and his leisure as expressions of his worship. Thus, he strove for 'excellence' in everything he did, not to be merely 'professional', but to worship God.

¶ But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.Daniel 1:8

Where are the Daniels today? If you are a 'Daniel', we need you.

What lessons can we learn from Daniel? I personally find Daniel one of the most inspirational people the world has ever hosted. He is listed alongside Noah and Job as among the greatest men to have ever lived and rightfully so. The principles which governed his life and qualified him for greatness are still the same today. But I also wonder whether they are translatable to an entire church - a congregation of local believers? As I pondered this great question I was led to reflect on the church at Antioch. If ever a church exhibited the qualities that Daniel did, it was Antioch! In the church at Antioch we observe greatness. I'm sure if you ponder why the church at Antioch is honoured in the Book of Acts as the greatest local church in its day, you'll soon see that it is possible to reproduce it today. Surely Antioch was a "Daniel" type church and equally as surely we need more Daniels and more Antiochs today - for greatness' sake!

¶ Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Acts 13:1

Ps. Andrew