As we prepare for worship this Sunday, I think that it’s appropriate for us to take some time to honor our brother Jerry German. In the several conversations that I’ve had with Jill this week, she has gushed over Jerry’s faith, faithfulness, care, and love for her over 56 years of marriage. What a wonderful testimony of God’s goodness and grace in Jerry and to Jill! Please pray for Jill and her family in the coming days and weeks.

We’re continuing our series on Biblical priorities with a look at “First Understand”. This week’s passage is Daniel 10:1-14, but I would encourage you to read Daniel 10-12. While not directly part of our passage, chapters 11 and 12 will provide a good context for what Daniel is being taught. We’ll see that Daniel is in a time of tension and uncertainty, and thus he is driven to pray, asking the Lord for understanding. God’s answer is a vision of a glorious, holy heavenly being who tells him about the rise and fall of nations with the people of God ultimately left standing alongside God and resting in Him. In a lot of ways, what God wants Daniel to understand is that God is in control of all things, from the major changes in the global balance of power to the small things of Daniel’s life. God is in control. That simple truth has wide-reaching implications for us. It changes the way that we deal with an uncertain future and a difficult present. Hopefully this Sunday we will see that being on this side of Christ gives us a far better view of God’s control than Daniel had, and that we have far more revealed to us about the goodness of God’s plan. Hopefully, we will be encouraged to live faithfully in the present, secure in the knowledge that the Lord is in control, no matter what life’s twists and turns bring. And hopefully, we will learn to practically apply that knowledge in trusting Him in new and radical ways. See you Sunday.