Celebration

Tim Oakes
Apr 7, 2017
2 min read

Hello Friends,

This week, I’ve had a couple of things happen that sort of lit a light bulb in my brain. I thought I’d take this time to share them with you.

The first came as I was preparing for our Wednesday Bible study on the book of Daniel. We probably all know the story from childhood of how Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for refusing to obey the command to only pray to King Darius. I can’t even imagine how many times I’ve read or heard this passage taught. But this time something came to mind that strongly spoke to me.

In our day, many times we take for granted the importance of prayer in our lives. If we oversleep, or if the phone rings, or a buddy calls and invites us over, our prayer time gets put on hold until we get around to it. But that was obviously not how Daniel saw things. After hearing of this edict, he continued to do as he had always done, praying at his window facing Jerusalem. And this prayer was not one of begging for God to spare him, but a prayer of thanksgiving! And this was so important to him that he continued to do so even though he knew that it could cost him his life. What faith! Makes me feel very puny by comparison.

The second thing that happened this week was the final four. I’ve watched ACC basketball since I was a little fellow watching the ACC Game of the Week in the early 60’s on a black and white TV. I looked up to my older brothers, who played basketball for Martinsville High School (go Bulldogs!), and wanted to be like them. And when I started watching, I remember becoming a huge fan of one of North Carolina’s players, a red-headed (so the announcer said) center named Rusty Clark. Ever since then, I have been a Tar Heel fan. So you can imagine how I felt watching them win their way into the national championship and then winning it all Monday night. Of course, I wasn’t the only one celebrating the victory. I watched on television as the crowds filled Franklin Street to greet the return of the victors. Everyone loves to see their team come out on top.

This was also true in bible times. This Sunday morning, I’m going to be talking about what that celebration has to do with religious observances that are taking place this weekend. I hope you can be there to learn more. If you’re not able to be there, I’ll fill you in the next time I post. Until then;