Gospel Wabi Sabi: Good News For Imperfect People

When this prophecy came to Daniel it made him sick. It was disturbing. But then we’re told: "Yet he got up and went about the king's business." Daniel is given a many layered, complicated vision of evil things that will happen in perhaps several different fulfillments, but he doesn’t throw in the towel. He keeps doing God’s business. What helps you to keep functioning faithfully in your daily life? Daniel didn't need every detail decoded to remain faithful—he needed a right posture toward God amid what he couldn't fully understand. What's one area where you're being invited to trust God's sovereignty rather than demand full clarity?

Everybody’s favorite Bible topic: The Anti-Christ! Who is he? When will he appear? Is he here already?  For the first time in this chapter, we find out how Daniel himself is reacting to all of this — and honestly, who could blame him for being alarmed and confused? His visions point to massive, world-shaking events, and Daniel has no idea when they'll happen or exactly what they mean. The world moves from one crisis to the next. So what does all of this mean for us as Christians? What should we do — or better, what should we be — in light of all this? (2 Peter 3:11). God’s good news about Jesus anchors everything. Find out more in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.

People have been predicting the 2nd coming of Christ since the very first century. And they all have one thing in common - they’ve all been 100% wrong! But that doesn’t stop people today from thinking they’ve got it all figured out, and unfortunately they find an audience in those who are desperate for signs of hope. Our true hope can only be found in Jesus, not in false teachers and preachers who are really just con artists. Find out more in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. 

God showed up in the lion’s den. It was like the coming kingdom of God where the lion will lie down with the lamb. Where God reigns there is peace and safety and no more death, no more violence. Do you see in Daniel the foreshadowing of Jesus? Daniel foreshadows Jesus, despised and rejected for being good. For being God’s true man. Shut in a cave. But then...! Find out more in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.

“The writing is on the wall!” That ominous phrase finds its origin in chapter 5 of Daniel. It’s a warning about pride, about arrogance, about thinking we don’t need God - we can save ourselves. Well, in this story the king finds out otherwise.  The writing on the wall predicted an immediate disaster. What message would God write on your wall? Find out in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.

Ever have a really bad dream? An upsetting dream? Long before Freud took up the challenge of interpreting dreams Daniel was on the job. God used dreams to speak to King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel told him what those dreams meant - and he didn't like it. Daniel had to rely on God's presence and God's persistence, otherwise he would lose his head. Find out more in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.

“Bow or burn, your choice.” That’s the predicament Daniel’s friends faced before King Nebuchadnezzar. Worship the golden statue or be thrown into the inferno. But Daniel’s friend found another option. Trust God. They knew that God could send a miracle and deliver them from the furnace, but they didn’t know if he would - so regardless of the outcome they decided to trust God. What does it take to have that kind of faith? Find out more in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi. 

Do you now what a Magic 8-Ball is? It’s a toy, a black ball the size of a cantalope with a small glass window where messages will appear to answer your questions. The answers are on a 20-sided die that floats inside: answers like “not very likely,” or “outlook good,” “most definitely”, or answer “hazy try again later”. I got my Magic 8-Ball out this week because I’ve noticed there’s a whole industry out there of people who are trying to do just that. Trying to figure out where the world is headed. Pollsters, stock market analysts, political pundits, Hollywood stars, talk show hosts, pod-casters, psychologists, futurists, as well as star gazers and palm readers – a bushel of people who make it their business to try and predict what lies ahead for our nation, our world, or for your personal life. King Nebuchadnezzar had the same itch to know the future because his dreams were tormenting him. See what happens when Daniel enters the king’s presence in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.

Most people know a little bit of Daniel’s story – something about Daniel in the lions’ den, or Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego in the fiery furnace. Often these tales are thought of as just quaint Sunday School stories for children. So, what’s the relevance of the book of Daniel for us in the real world of the 21st century? I think you’re going to discover that Daniel is possibly THE most relevant book in the Bible for sincere Christians in our time, because it is the true story of how God can make a difference through the lives of dedicated believers in hostile circumstances. Daniel is going to teach us how to live in a difficult world with courage and confidence because of the promises and the presence of God. Find out more in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.

The world around us is based on the principle of balance. Our planet is perfectly balanced as it spins through space but it is tilted at an angle of 23.5° which allows us to have seasons and in fact allows life to exist. It rotates without any vibration at exactly the right distance from the sun. If the Earth were a little bit closer to the sun we would burn up and if it were a few miles further away we would freeze to death. The world is in balance. All through your life, in everything we look at, it all focuses toward equilibrium -- the principle of balance. God wants our lives to experience this sense balance because when you're not in balance you are in for a bumpy ride. Find out how to find your balance in this episode of Gospel Wabi Sabi.