GROW- Daniel 7

Go to God in Prayer

Read - Daniel 7

Observations

This is a chapter filled with prophecy, and there is so much here to dive into that I am going to leave that to the Biblical scholars.  Instead I want to take a brief glimpse into God's court, this is the time to study from a sensory awareness perspective.

Daniel 7:9-10

“I watched till thrones were [d]put in place,
And the Ancient of Days was seated;
His garment was white as snow,
And the hair of His head was like pure wool.
His throne was a fiery flame,
Its wheels a burning fire;
10 A fiery stream issued
And came forth from before Him.
A thousand thousands ministered to Him;
Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.
The [e]court was seated,
And the books were opened.

Place yourself in this place, imagine the immense of the clothing and the hair.  So white that it is blinding.

Feel the heat of the fiery throne with wheels of blazing fire.  Then even more heat from the river of fire.

Now watch the flurry of angels - thousands and thousands are attending to God. What are they doing exactly?  What would you be doing if your only job was to attend to God.  

Then there were millions and millions standing before God.  Why were they standing there?  Because they were about to be judged by the all knowing and all powerful God. What would be going through your mind if you were before God waiting to be judged?  Fear of going to hell for eternity or excitement and anticipation of learning what rewards you will receive?

Write the Lesson

I hope and pray that you are a believer in Christ because He has already taken your punishment upon himself when he died on the cross.  Your debt is already paid.  All that is left is to be judged by how well you have lived out your life in Christ in order to receive your rewards in heaven.  

Exodus 20:1-4

And God spoke these things all these words, saying,

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image - not any likeness of anything that is from in heaven above, or anything that is from in the earth beneath, or that is from in the water below under the earth, 

Typing out verse 5 and 6 to try to get the words in my brain :-)

you shall not bow to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.

GROW -Daniel 6

Go to God in Prayer

Read - Daniel 6 

Observations

Most know the story of Daniel in the lion's den and the miracle God performed when He protected Daniel from the lions.  But the reason he was thrown in the lion's den in the first place is just as fascinating.

Remember that the Medes have taken over the kingdom, and Darius, the leader of the Medes has put Daniel in a high position.  Verses 1-2 tells us that there are 120 princes and only three governors to supervise the princes. Daniel was one of these governors.

Daniel 6:3 

Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire.

Verse 3 tells us that Daniel was filled with the Holy Spirit and because of this he was doing a much better job than the other 2 governors.  The king was thinking of promoting him to govern over the whole kingdom!  

From Daniel's perspective, he was doing what was right in God's eyes.  He was filled with the Holy Spirit and very in tune to God.  He was able to be so receptive to God's guidance because of his devotion to the Word and his prayer time with God.  

Now imagine how the other 2 governors would react to this.  What is their perspective?  Even though they were also named as governors, they were not performing as well as Daniel.  Daniel is simply doing better than they were and it angered them.

Daniel 6:4

Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. 

The governors found themselves jealous of Daniel and obsessed with finding some fault in him.  They were looking for a way to get him fired.  But because Daniel was so devout there was no fault in him.  

What was left to do but turn his goodness and his faith against him.  They came up with a scheme that tricked the king into making it illegal to show devotion to anyone other than the king. They knew that Daniel was devoted and would continue to pray, which would now break the law. What did Daniel do when he heard about this law?  

Daniel 6:10

But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. 

Did he run and hide when he prayed?  Not at all! He never faltered and never changed how he worship God.  His main priority was to pray to God, to be close to Him, to worship Him.  So when this new law placed that relationship in jeopardy he did what he had always done and he continued to pray.  The priority to worship God remained Daniel's priority. He was willing to suffer the worldly consequences because he was not willing to let man and man's laws come between him and God. 

Write the lesson

The lesson for us in how to walk through life is laid out nicely in verse 4.

• be faithful to God and devoted to Him
• be responsible and always do the right thing.  If you are not sure what the right thing is, ask God 
• be trustworthy, never give anyone a reason to not trust you.  In other words, always be honest and dependable 

The lesson for how to respond to the world around us is in verse 10.  No matter what the world is doing or what laws are put into place, if they are against God we should not follow them.  Nothing should ever come between our relationship with God.  

I have only been doing memory verses here on Mondays but I decided this is not frequent enough for me.  I am using an app called Remember Me and it provides a few verses to review or learn daily.  I am reciting them to myself daily, but I need the extra help of writing them out to see if I am learning them correctly.  I will only type daily what the app tells me is due.

Today the only passage due is Exodus 20:1-17, but I still have only learned verses 1-4

And God said spoke all these words saying  "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness not of anything from that is in  heaven above, or of anything from that is in the earth below beneath, or of anything from  that is in the waters under the earth.

GROW - Daniel 5

Reminder of the GROW method that I am using to study these chapter...

G - Go to God in prayer

R - Read the selected scripture passage

O - Observe such as Who, What, Where, When , Why or use sensory application such as imagining the heat of the fire, the smells of the scene such as the smells on the ark, the sounds of the crowds etc

W - Write the lessons you have learned today

Go to God in prayer

Read Daniel 5

Observations

This was a night of celebration.  Imagine being at a grand royal feast with a thousand noblemen.  The food would be the best you have ever had, the best musicians playing, everyone dressed in their very best.  It would be have been exciting and enchanting.  But it wasn't enough for the king.  He remembered all the treasures that King Neb had looted from the temple all those years ago.  He ordered them to be brought to the feast so that they could drink from them.  This seems to be the first step in his downfall.

They made toasts to their pagan gods and drank from the very cups that had been dedicated to God. In verse 5 it says Suddenly, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall...  God immediately began to correct them.

The chapter goes on to find Daniel interpreting the writing and explaining to the king what it all meant.  He also explained why King Neb had his downfall and how he recovered from it.

Downfall - Daniel 5:20 But when his heart and mind were puffed up with arrogance, he was brought down from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.

Recovery - Daniel 5:21 He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God rules over the kingdoms of the world and appoints anyone he desires to rule over them.

Essentially, pride is the downfall, and freedom comes from understanding that God is the Creator of the Universe.

Daniel then chastises the current king in verse 22 for not learning the lessons of King Neb.  He goes on to list the four reasons why God is about to cause his downfall as well.

Daniel 5:22

1. you have not humbled yourself.

Three points from Daniel 5:23

2. you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you

3. drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone

4. you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!

 And the result of his pride, defiance and dishonor is that he was killed later that night.  Babylon was overthrown by the Medes.  The golden head of the statue in King Neb's dream has been toppled.

Write the lesson

We are told in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  We are just like those golden cups that were dedicated to God.  When we allow Satan to fuel pride in us we are defiling God and He has no choice but to cause a downfall so that we may learn the it is the Lord Most High who rules and is in control of everything.

GROW - Daniel 4

Go to God in prayer

Read  Daniel 4

Observations

Even after the miraculous events of Daniel telling King Neb his dream and the interpretation and then the events of the furnace, we see in verse 8 that King Neb is still not fully believing in God.

Daniel 4:8 He was named Belteshazzar after my god,

By stating "my god" King Neb is still holding the Babylonian god in his heart.  God is about to strip King Neb of his kingdom until he knows that God is the one and only God. 

Daniel 4:26 This means that you will receive your kingdom back again when you have learned that heaven rules

After the king tells Daniel his dream, Daniel tells him in verse 19 that he wishes that the prophecy was not meant for him.  Many years have passed since Daniel first knew the king and they now appear to think fondly of each other.  Daniel pleads with King Neb in verse 27 to repent.  

Daniel 4:27 “‘King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.’

Here he has gone beyond that fond friendship and into a godly mentor type relationship,  When we see a fellow believer that is clearly stuck in sin or refuses to move away from the worldly temptations then we need to take on a mentor role to work with them, to help them break free from whatever it is that is holding them back from prospering in a godly life.

Write the lesson learned

The only way to live a righteous and godly life is to "stop sinning and do what is right".  We often need to break free from the worldly temptations that are binding us to this world,  We often need to break some cycle of sin to move on and be able to prosper.  

GROW - Daniel 3

Go to God in prayer

Read Daniel 3

Observations

Gosh there is so much in this chapter that I could write several posts.  But I think the main observation I found in reading this chapter today was in verses 19-23.  Here are the highlights from a sensory perspective...

Daniel 3:19 

Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.

We need to remember from the last chapter that King Neb (I am not typing out his full name lol) was so impressed with these three that he had elevated them to be in charge of the province of Babylon (Daniel 2:49).  This could be part of the reason why King Neb was so furious - he had done them a huge favor and promoted them and now they refused to worship him.

Have you ever been so angry that your face is distorted with rage.  How about yelling so loudly that even your dogs leave the room.  Anger is bad enough, but rage is ugly.

Rage can be irrational and become more harmful to those around you.  King Neb was so enraged he ordered the furnace to be seven times hotter.   What sense did it make to make the furnace hotter?  It was on fire, it was already deadly.  Rage makes you irrational!

Daniel 3:20,22 

20 Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind

22 And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in.

Even though King Neb had given the order to some of the strongest soldiers they were not strong enough to survive the more deadly furnace.  Even being near the results of King Neb's rage had serious consequences.  The soldiers were simply obeying orders, but suffered because of the deadly environment caused by King Neb's irrational rage.

Write the lesson

Being overcome with rage not only hurts you but those around you because of the consequences of rage induced irrational decisions.  

GROW - Daniel 2

G -  GO to God in private prayer

R - Read  Daniel 2

O - Observations

Typically when reading chapters such as Daniel 2 we are focused on the prophecy that is given.  Today though, my mind was still on Daniel and his three friends who would not defile themselves with the Royal food in chapter 1.  It is important to remember the they had been brought into the kings court to serve the king. Then in Daniel 1:17 we are told what kind of service they were in.

   Daniel 1:17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

    In Daniel 1:20 we are told  he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

Clearly the four of them were in the group that the king ordered to be executed in chapter 2.  But what does Daniel do when finds out the king has ordered them to be executed?  He asks for more time.  This is a bold move that the king surely did not have to honor that request.  But because the king held them in such high regard he did allow them more time.

In verse 18 Daniel directs them in what they should do and they immediately go to God in prayer. 

    Daniel 2:18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery,

In a quick read of the rest of the chapter it is easy to miss something else.  We often think of Daniel as the leader of the group and he is the one to go back to the king with the answer to the mystery.  But take note of the pronouns in these verses....

    Daniel 2:30  As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me,

    Daniel 2:36  This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.  

Based on the pronouns of these verses God gave Daniel the answer to the first part of the king's request - to tell him exactly what the dream was.  Then God gave all of them the interpretation to be presented to the king.  It may have been Daniel speaking, but think about what was happening in the time between when Daniel urged them to plead for the answers until they presented the answers to the king.  The four of them would have prayed and talked to each other about what God was revealing to them as He was revealing it.

Then there is another element to this.  If they had not refused the royal food in chapter 1 would they have been in a place or an appropriate mindset to even be able to hear God speaking to them?  They were not taken up with the worldly temptations such as the royal food that would have defiled them.  Instead they were so focused on God that they were ready and prepared for when He spoke to them.

Write the lesson - turning away from the world and turning to God allows you to be more open to hearing Him when he speaks to you.  Surround yourself with other Godly people to remain focused on Him.  We should all have a core group of believers to walk through life with.

ps..I have no idea why there is white highlighting.  I tried to take it off and could not figure it out without making a bigger mess.  So I am ignoring it and going to clean my kitchen lol

GROW - Daniel 1

 GROW Method of Bible Study:

G - Go to God in private prayer

R - Read Daniel 1

O - Observe

W - Write

There are so many paths I could go down just by reading these first few verses in Daniel Chapter 1, but the verses that jumped out today are the ones about food.  Maybe because I am so hungry right now and I can smell supper cooking away in the kitchen.  

Observations...with those smells in the kitchen I can easily imagine the table set before Daniel and the others. In verse 5 it is described as the "food and wine from the king’s table".  I recently read about a king who insisted on having hundreds of choices for every meal because he didn't know what item might capture his taste at that moment.  

    The table set before Daniel clearly would have the finest selections.  Literally anything they wanted it was right there before them.  Is your mouth watering yet imagining what would be before you if you were at the same table>

    And yet they remain faithful to their customs and in order to not defile themselves they choose only water and vegetables.  The result after 10 days is that "they looked healthier and better nourished"

Write the lessons learned today...

Maybe these verses stood out to me because I have been struggling to lose weight.  Even though I have been going to the pool consistently I have not dropped more than a couple pounds.  So when something isn't working, something needs to change.  

I also have the book and the study guide on the Daniel Fast sitting on the stand next to my chair...collecting dust.  Ok God, I hear you, time to dust that off and make some dietary changes. 

GROW - remain faithful to God.  When He is clearly speaking to you then you must remain faithful to Him.  If you ignore His guidance you are defiling yourself. 

catching up...

I am so far behind!!! We had two weeks of swimming lessons then a week of VBS where I was the games leader, this was followed by a week of sniffles and trying to catch up at the house. In addition to that I received a homeschool catalog in the mail and got very distracted in researching kindergarten curriculums. Unfortunately for anyone who reads this blog (and I am not sure that there are more than 2 or 3 who do) the first thing that always seems to not get done is blogging :( I did complete the homework, I just have not blogged about it. I simply have to go back through my notes for week 4 and 5 to make the posts, and then will backdate the entries until I catch up. Can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Daniel Week 5 - Day 1

Belshazar, Fact or Fiction

Today's homework revealed one of those mysteries that I love to hear about.  A portion of Bible history that was eventually confirmed by world history.

King Nebuchadnezzar (I hope that is the last time I have to type that name - sheesh) has long been gone and the current king is named Belshazzar.  Not to be confused with the name given to Daniel which was Beltashazzar.

According to the Bible, Belshazzar was the last king of Babylon.  However, according to other historic records a man named Nabonidus as the final Babylonian ruler.  For centuries this was considered one of the inconsistencies of the Bible, causing many to believe that it was a fictional story.

But wait!  How cool is this which I will quote from the homework, "Behold the words of researchers since the late nineteenth century: "abundant evidence has come to light that demonstrates not only that Belshazzar did live but that he was both the son of and co-regent with Nabonius."  And this also explains why Belshazzar offered the third position to Daniel.  Nabonius was first and Belshazzar was second.

Daniel 5:7 "Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom."

The Bible is true, complete, and all of it can be taken literally.  Yes, including creation which by the way is so much fun to study with preschoolers!  We are on Day 3 right now and I have beans sprouting on my window sill to show them how God first provided light, then He made dry land and water, then seeds and plants.  It is so cool to see them understand how God gave seeds to put in the ground, and light and water to nourish the seeds to grow.

God reveals answers to Biblical mysteries in His time and for His purposes.  I personally can hardly wait until He reveals the location of Noah's Ark or the Ark of the Covenant containing the 10 Commandments!

Daniel Session 5

The Handwriting on the Wall

Daniel 5:30-31 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain,  and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

Prophecy is being fulfilled!  Babylon falls to the Medes.
 
But what caused the handwriting on the wall?  What was the king doing that caused such a response from God?
 
Daniel 5;3-4 So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

During their great banquet they started to drink from the gold goblets taken from God's temple.  The NLT states that they then began to drink "toasts" to the various gods of their culture.  They treated the holy as unholy.  The goblets were holy objects from the tabernacle, everything in the Tabernacle was holy.
 
Leviticus 8:10 Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Tabernacle and everything in it, thus making them holy.
 
 
This can be applied to us as well, because we are considered holy...
 
Ephesians 1:4 Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
 
What the king did with the goblets is exactly what Satan wants to do with us.  Treat the holy as unholy.  We of course are holy, but he can make us think we are unholy.  He will do everything he can to convince us we are defiled and that there is nothing sacred about us.  It pleases him when he finds something in us that he can draw us to by toasting to it and making us think we are unholy.  But this is just so not true! We are holy!  Nothing can change that fact.  Isn't that simply mind-boggling!  Nothing Satan can do will change it, we simply need to believe in what God tells us so we can stand firm against the enemy.
 
1Corinthians 1:21-22 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Daniel Week 4 - Day 5

Break Off

Another look at Verse 27

Daniel 4: 27 `O King Nebuchadnezzar, please listen to me. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past by being merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.'

 The NKJV uses the phrase "break off".  There are things in our lives that we simply have to break free from or make a clean break from.  The homework said this "Some things - substances, activities, relationships - are so toxic to us that moderation won't work... Some things don't need to be cut back. They need to be cut off."

If you have struggled with alcohol or drug addiction, "just one" may be impossible.  If you have someone in your life that is destructive to you, you may have to use "Tough Love" and cut them out of your life - completely!  If there are things in your life that are keeping you from increasing your faith or getting closer to God - cut them out, break free!

Daniel Week 4 - Day 4

Stripped Leaves and Scattered Fruit

In the homework we were asked to draw a picture of the images in the dream. I can hardly draw a stick figure, so let's do a picture study instead!

Daniel 4: 10-12 " `While I was lying in my bed, this is what I dreamed. I saw a large tree in the middle of the earth. The tree grew very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see. It had fresh green leaves, and it was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches. All the world was fed from this tree.

A large flourishing tree reaching to the heavens...

 

 

Wild animals lived in its shade...

birds nested in its branches...

fresh green leaves and loaded with fruit for the whole world to eat...

Imagine the size and beauty of a tree that can feed the entire world!!!

Now imagine it being cut down...

 

But there is so much more to it than that!  God will cut down what needs to be cut out of us but he will not destroy us! As it says in the homework... His desire is to "re-grow us free from the fruit-rotting parasite of pride.  God is not trying to destroy us.  He's trying to keep us from destroying ourselves."

If we have been cut down or hit 'rock-bottom' we can look up and see that all that is left is God guiding our re-growth!

Daniel Week 4 - Day 3

Stubborn Minds

Daniel 4:8 Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)

Nebuchadnezzar still did not believe that God was the one true God.  He still referred to Daniel by the Babylonian name, named after a god, and he used "gods" in the plural form.

It may be frustrating for us when we are trying to share God's Word with unbelievers.  We may even share with and pray for the salvation of loved ones for years and years.  But it that person's salvation and their understanding of the Word is completely out of our control.

Luke 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

1Corinthians 2:14 But people who aren't Christians can't understand these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them because only those who have the Spirit can understand what the Spirit means.

Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes

Does that mean we should give up?  Of course not, it means that we should try harder and pray more!  God is working through us to reach the lost.

Daniel Week 4 - Day 2

The Lap of Luxury

Today we take another look at this verse.

Daniel 4:4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous.

Contented and prosperous.  What do think of when you think of contented and prosperous? Is it happiness, satisfaction, wealth?

The word 'prosperous' is translated as flourishing or luxuriant.  The king was lounging in the lap of luxury.

The word 'contented' is translated as 'at ease, at rest' which is a sense of contentment and security. 

In the homework it states that we can "picture a life that has finally discovered a means of security in which it can contentedly rest."  How can we find that life and achieve that security?  Simple - it can be found with God!

Psalm 62: 1-2  My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.   He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

The purpose of life is not a pursuit of prosperity, wealth or luxury.  True prosperity, and where we find true contentment is only with God.  When we seek a relationship with Him, we are achieving the true purpose of our lives!

Daniel Week 4 - Day 1

Week 4 - Day 1
My Pleasure To Tell

Daniel 4:2 It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

This was Nebuchadnezzar's testimony.  A testimony is simply how we share how God brought us to Him and we became Christians or how God has worked in our lives.  A testimony is how we share the greatness of God.  We need to be very careful of being prideful when we share about ourselves, the purpose is to glorify God not to show how well we do something or how well we stay away from sin.  Satan will use any opportunity, including puffing up our own egos as we try to share about God.  

We can take "pleasure" in sharing our testimonies but our intent should always be to glorify God.

Daniel - Session 4

Session 4 - Farewell Lessons from Nebuchadnezzar

Be merciful to the poor

In the session, Beth Moore makes a comparison of verses 4 and 27 of chapter 4.

Daniel 4:4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living in my palace in comfort and prosperity.

Daniel 4:27 `O King Nebuchadnezzar, please listen to me. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past by being merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.

King Nebuchadnezzar was living the high life in style and ultimate comfort with apparently no end in sight to his increasing wealth and prosperity.  However, his dream was a warning that he was about to fall and fall hard.  Daniel interpreted the dream and then gave the king a warning in verse 27.  In all his lavish lifestyle Nebuchadnezzar (by the way, it is still not easy to type his name) had no concern for the poor or their needs.

The translation for the word merciful is defined as "to be favorable, be kind, be gracious; to pity, have mercy, to bestow; to complain; to make lovely". The last part of this was interesting in that "complaining" is a form of having mercy.  There is so much poverty in this world but not many stand up and publically 'complain' about it.  Not many stand up and try to make it right.

Beth Moore said something in this session that struck me deeply, "if you can buy a book and be able to read it you are among the rich and privileged of this world".  We are so spoiled in this part of the world that we easily take books and education for granted.   As I recall all the time I spent in the last few days reviewing so many curriculums I am amazed at how many choices there are - and that is just for kindergarten!  And part of why I am homeschooling kindergarten is because Sam cannot start public school until next year - which is a free option available to anyone who lives in this country!  We have so many choices for educating our children,  so why are there so many issues with the education system.  Perhaps in this area this country has become too content living in comfort and prosperity??


The tree dream

Daniel 4:23 Then you saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, "Cut down the tree and destroy it. But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven. Let him eat grass with the animals of the field for seven periods of time.

We all know that there are times in our lives when God has to bring us down so far that the only way we can see is up to Him.  This vision of the tree being cut down to the stump is the same idea.  Nebuchadnezzar had to be cut right down until he could recognize God and the one and only God.

But isn't it comforting that God did not destroy the tree, instead he wrapped the stump with iron and bronze.  He would allow it to grow back.  It is comforting to know that we are always protected, being wrapped in His arm, even as we are being conformed!

Daniel Week 3 - Day 5

Week 3 - No Smell of Fire

Day 3 - If He Does Not

What is your greatest fear?  Many people would answer that they are afraid of dying.  But when we understand God's desire for us that fear should be replaced with anticipation.  Just as the homework stated "God always abides with us, but we are wise to remember that His ultimate goal is for us to abide with Him".

If we are faced with a trial we may be delivered from it by a miracle or delivered through it.  Either way our faith is strengthened.  But what about those times that seemingly do not make sense, such as when a Christian loses a battle with an illness.  Death is also an end to a fiery trial.  To those of us left behind it is difficult, and that may be a trial we are to endure.  But for the person that is gone from earth they are experiencing something incredibly glorious, he or she is finally in the presence of God! 

So if it seems that He will not deliver you from the trial you are enduring, then praise Him because you are about to be released from this world and join Him!  How glorious and wonderful!!

Daniel Week 3 - Day 4

Week 3 - No smell of Smoke

Day 4 - The Heart of Loyalty

I simply love how a study can change your view of a simple word.  Today the homework was about loyalty and how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednago did not have to stop to think about the options.  Their reponse to the king was immediate, no more questions needed to be asked - they would not bow down to the king.  Their loyalty was entirely to God.

Okay, I think we all get that they were loyal.  The common definition of loyal is to be faithful or a constant devotion.  But the homework went further and took us to 1Chronicles 29:17 where the word loyal is used.  The word in Hebrew means:
- to be firm, be established, be steadfast, be faithful, be sure, be reliable, be fixed, be certain

This definition fits what I thought of as the definition of loyalty - no surprises there.  The surprise came as the definition continued with...
- to be ready, be prepared, to be determined...signifies initial preparation ot formation, actual preparation for a future event.

Pretty cool!  Our loyalty to God is shown in many ways, but as we study His Word we are getting ready and being more and more prepared for Christ's return.  I love that - don't you?

The homework also asked a question that I wanted to also put here...
"Could any circumstance (such as an unhealed disease, unanswered prayer, loss of a loved one, an incarceration in a country where Christianty is illegal, or other situations) make you renounce your faith in Christ?   How do you answer this question?  My answer is NO!  I know that there is no situation and I also know that the more I study, the stronger that NO is.  I suppose it is because I am becoming more prepared and more loyal!!!

Daniel Week 3 - Day 3

Daniel Week 3 - No Smell of Smoke

Day 3 - The Apple of His Eye

Today's homework made reference to a verse that uses the phrase "apple of His eye".  Of courese, we have all heard this phrase and it is quite common but how well do we know it in reference to God?  So I thought I would explore it...

What do you think about when you hear the phrase "apple of my eye"?   Generally I think about how I feel about my kids - in terms of a great affection, cherished, precious.   But how does the Bible use it? 

Here are the verses where I found the phrase in the NIV.  I have added the end of Deut 32:10 from the NLT to better show how it is used.

Deuteronomy 32:10 In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye,
NLT he guarded them as his most precious possession.



Psalm 17:8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings


Proverbs 7:2 Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.


Zechariah 2:8 For this is what the Lord Almighty says: "After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you--for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye--

These verses are not showing the kind of affection that we have come to view the meaning of "apple of my eye".  Instead it is a term of guarding - a fierce protection!  But can it be both?  I think it can!

Right now we have a stray mother cat and her kittens that have adopted our deck as their home.  The mother cat we call Patches, is perfectly tame and will even seek out our attention any chance she gets.  Her kittens on the other hand are perfectly wild and I can not get near them.  Patches has no concern at all about me trying to be near her kittens, but watch out if one of the dogs tries to get close!  She fiercely protects and guards them against any threat, but allows what she knows as loving affection. 

God fiercely protects and guards us as well as showing us loving affection.

Daniel Week 3 - Day 2

Daniel Week 3 - No Smell of Fire

Day 2 - Another Side of Self-Absorbtion

Today's homework cast a new light on the idea of self-absorbtion.  In previous lessons we learned about the Babylonian mentality with the motto of "I am and there is none besides me".  This can come out as a feeling of superiority such as having others bow down to you.  The other side of this mentality is insecurity or a feeling of inferiority.  The homework states it like this "constantly thinking little of ourselves is still thinking constantly of ourselves."  Change the above motto to some of these and see if it fits you better!
"I am ugly, and there is none uglier than me."
"I am a fool, and there is no bigger fool than me."
"I am untalented, and there is none as untalented as me."
"I am scatterbrained, and there is none as scatterbrained as me."


So how can we get ourselves out of this struggle of insecurity or inferiority?  By doing everything for God.

Matthew 6:33 and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.