“Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.” — Daniel 9:13 (NIV84)

Yesterday we looked at the words of Jeremiah to a nation about to be destroyed because of their rejection of God and the principle of truth.  Today, we hear from Daniel. Daniel was a Jew who was among those who had been taken captive when their nation was destroyed. From captivity he pondered his fate and the fate of his nation, and his thoughts took him all the way back to Moses. Moses had warned the people before they went into the promised land that they would experience total destruction at the hand of God if they entered the land and soon forgot Him and what He had done for them. You see, the acknowledgment that God exists and an adherence to His truths is essential to living in peace and harmony in this world. Without God and truth there can be no peace. We are left with a humanity that tries to be god and defines truth as they see it. This leads to chaos.

In this verse, Daniel speaks to our society today. Look at all the things that are happening. Look at the devastating things that have occurred at the hands of men and women who say there are no God and no truth. More people died in the 20th century at the hands of humanistic thinkers than in the 19 centuries that preceded it. We need to heed the words of Daniel. We need to recognize that some of the devastation we experience is brought upon ourselves. We need to stop! We need to repent!

Paul said in Galatians, “A man reaps what he sows.” This is so true. We need to turn back to God and turn away from our sinful ideology. We need to turn back to truth. Daniel said we need to “give attention to Your truth.” Here is where we need to be. Remember from where Daniel wrote. He was in captivity. He had experienced the destruction and devastation that denying God brought about. To him the answer was easy: We need to remember that God predicted all this to Moses centuries ago. We need to return to God and to truth. We need to do it now.

Have you strayed from God and His truth? Have you found yourself a prisoner in a land that is not your own? Turn to God and He will turn to you.

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church