David Bahn – Reflections

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In 1968 Jerry Snell opened a door in the hallway outside our first hour chemistry class. He invited me into what I discovered was a darkroom. Soon I was on the school newspaper and annual staff as a photographer. Later I learned that Jerry was a Lutheran who was planning to become a pastor. A few years later I was not only a Lutheran, but I was heading off to seminary to become a Lutheran pastor, too. Jerry followed a year later and served as a pastor in Missouri until his untimely heart attack and death. I thank God for Jerry and enjoy photography still today – not to mention rejoicing in having served as a Lutheran pastor in congregations in Utah, Colorado, Arkansas and Texas. I’ve retired now and serve part time as a Congregational Support Specialist for the Texas District of the LCMS. I also provide coaching and leadership training through various PLI cohorts and with individual congregations and organizations. David Bahn is a follower of Jesus Christ, husband to Diane, father and grandfather. He is an avid amateur photographer. His photo website is “Flowers by God Photos by David” He also publishes a devotional blog DavidBahn-Reflections.com. He and Diane live in Cypress Texas and enjoy visiting their grandchildren who live in the United States and Germany. He graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in 1979, and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1991. Diane, his wife, is now retired from PLI (PLIleadership.org). They have offered presentations on Marriage and Ministry Partnership, Leadership, Changing Your Congregation’s Culture, and Missional Living. They look are working with PLI International training pastors and wives of the ELVD Diocese of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania. David’s personal mission statement is “Leading people to realize Jesus’ calling and plans for their lives.”

Frantic Measures

Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. 6 Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. 7 The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed. – Daniel 4:5-9

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Baby’s Breath | Henry Leu Gardens | Orlando, FL | January 2018

It was a very difficult lesson. The assignment was due on Friday. It wasn’t turned in until the following Monday. You might think that would be OK; the teacher could let it slide. But it was not to be. The student would not be eligible for the National Honor Society – even though the grades were all sufficiently high.

The failure to get the assignment turned in was a threshold that was final and irrevocable. It took the wind out of the sails of academic excellence; scholarships were lost. Opportunities evaporated. Could it be that final?

Nebuchadnezzar is dead. His son rules in his place. In an overly-confident display of his wealth and enviable status, Belshazzar sets himself up for a fall. The assignment will not be turned in on time. The plans will not move forward.

Desperate the king seeks someone to interpret the handwriting on the wall. Bravado and hubris give way to panic and frantic measures. Who will give the interpretation? Who can tell us what this means?

When we say that the handwriting is on the wall, we are saying that the inevitable is about to happen. The pink slip is going to show up. The medical report is going to come back. The credit card statement is coming in the mail. The news is not going to be good.

Those who know the rescue and redemption stories of the Bible know that this is a set up for what God will do through Daniel. An even greater deliverance has been accomplished by Jesus, God’s Son. Just when we think there is no more hope, God would have us remember Jesus’ rescue, look to him, and wait for his deliverance.

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One response to “Frantic Measures”

  1. Quilting Crosses with Threads of Hope Avatar
    Quilting Crosses with Threads of Hope

    I tend to wonder about the lives of the onlookers (those not central to the biblical account) of God’s stories and how their hearts might have been touched even changed by all they witnessed and whether their obedience to kneel before the authorities in rule, affected a place that might otherwise be theirs in heaven. I’m guessing yes but maybe no. Since there would be much they could not have yet understood, would the spark of faith to which I may be referring, be snuffed by the wrong kneeling? … hmmm … just another question that I doubt can be answered.
    Even with the unanswerable, this from your post is wonderful to hear. I never tire of hearing it! “Just when we think there is no more hope, God would have us remember Jesus’ rescue, look to him, and wait for his deliverance.” Boundless GRACE is ours until the stroke of midnight! 11:59 this side of heaven is still 11:59.

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