Free At Last!

I am taking a break from our pal Daniel for a bit.  God has been doing so much in my life lately and none of it is feeling good.  When I can sit and organize my thoughts, I will definitely share.  In the meantime, I feel that we all need to take a break!  A break from the headlines, the news, and the gossip and praise God for the three women and child that were found alive in Cleveland Ohio.

These three women were missing for approximately ten years.  That's around 3,650 days which seems incomprehensible to me.  We will never know the details of what those women endured from the inside of that home.  We cannot begin to understand how to deal with the loss of this many days.  We can't even try to understand what the families are going through right now.  The media will share what they think will get ratings, highlighting the details they deem important and eventually, we will be left with old news.

The problem is that this situation is not uncommon.  There are people that have been kidnapped and either locked away or sold into slavery all over the world.  I bet you did not realize that 27 million people have been sold into slavery.  "What....slavery" you ask, "I thought that was abolished years ago?" Sadly it's true.  You can look on enditmovement.com and see for yourself.   Below is an excerpt from their site.  I encourage you to take a look and see how you can help.

YOU KNOW IT. WE KNOW IT. AS A COUNTRY, WE'VE OFFICIALLY KNOWN IT SINCE 1863. BUT HERE'S SOMETHING YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW -- SLAVERY STILL EXISTS. WE WANT EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE 27 MILLION MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN, JUST LIKE THEM, LIVING IN THE SHADOWS. IN BROTHELS. IN FACTORIES. IN QUARRIES. WORKING AS SLAVES. IN 161 COUNTRIES. INCLUDING OUR OWN. WE ARE HERE TO SHINE A LIGHT ON SLAVERY. NO MORE BONDAGE. NO MORE SEX TRAFFICKING. NO MORE CHILD LABORERS. NO MORE, STARTING NOW.

In the meantime, with all the conversations and top stories, I encourage you to pray.  Pray for the victims of this heinous crime.  Pray that these women can lead a life free of fear.   Just a simple walk to the store will never be the same for these ladies.   Pray for their reunions with their parents and siblings. After ten years and completely different living situations, they will have little common ground.  The families can't even begin to understand what they went through.  Parents will need to learn how to parent them again.  Pray for their lives as they are probably confused on how to live one at this point.  Pray that they do not return to bondage.  Though they will not return to that home, they may kill the pain and fear by inviting a new kind of bondage into their lives via drugs, alcohol, or bad relationships.  There is so much to pray for surrounding this amazing miracle.  So let's start now!

"Lord, we want to stop, be still, and thank You!  We know that You are God!  It was no mistake to You that yesterday would be the day that the cry was finally heard.  We are so thankful that You are giving these ladies a chance at life outside of bondage.  We praise You for the parents hearts as they learned their girls were found alive.  We pray for the heart of the girl who learned that her mom was no longer with us.  God we praise You for allowing these ladies to be found alive.  But God there is a lot that goes along with this miracle.  There are lives torn, not just torn God but shredded!  These women walked out of bondage into freedom and we pray they know what to do with it.  God, I can't imagine the emotion running through those families, the closure God, it's amazing to me.  This road is going to be long and painful as the road out of bondage always is.  They have a lot of decisions to make.  Who are they to become?  What do they want to pursue?  Will they buy into the fear that it will happen again?  Will they believe the lie that they deserve crappy relationships because they are used goods?  God we pray You are known and felt throughout this process.  We pray that You are at the forefront of this situation.  We pray for forgiveness to set into the hearts of all affected, and yes Lord, that means us too.  We pray that Satan will not be successful and his lies will wash down the sewer drain on that street.  We thank You for being Sovereign and keeping track of all.  We thank You for loving us even in suffering.  You are no stranger to it as You allowed Your Son to suffer on that cross.  Lord, You had to turn Your eyes away as the sin was placed on the shoulders of Jesus.  That slight time of separation must have felt like eternity, yet it was a vapor.   Thank You for never leaving us Father, it is in Your Sons name that we pray.  Amen"

Life Could Be a Dream (part 7)

Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! ~ Daniel 4:19

As chapter 4 begins, we think all is going well.  Nebuchadnezzar starts off speaking of the Most High God and what He has done for him.  In verse 3 he says “How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders!  His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion endures from generation to generation.”  So it would appear that he got it.

The second paragraph begins the change of mind yet again.  Nebuchadnezzar has another dream that disturbs him.  He calls in the troops to make known this dream.  Of course after all the so called psychics fail to know what the dream was, Daniel shows up.  Verse 8 says “at last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods”  

Ok, let me stop there.  How many people have prayed for others to just get it?  To understand the love the Father has for them.  When we finally see that they understand and praise God for who He is, they go back to their life quicker than we ask why.  Is it because the roots were never formed?  Could it be because they were faking it?  Possibly, but I imagine that the plans go deeper than we can understand.  I also wonder if some don’t feel that they deserve the love of this God that they believe in so they must go with the old stand by that hasn’t let them down.  I know I have felt like this, actually we all have.  Any time we go to that vice that so welcomes us away from the daily stress, we have been here.

Nebuchadnezzar, to me, seems clueless and frustrating, that is until I look in  a mirror.  He is no more evil than me.  He is a grown man who acknowledges God, yet falls victim to what he has known.  Let’s head back to his chambers to see what’s next.

When Daniel hears the dream, I love his reply in verse 19 “Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies!”  I love the love that Daniel has for Nebuchadnezzar.  He knows the man is about to fall and he knows the reason is denying the only true God, yet he doesn’t want it to happen.  So as flies on the wall, let’s see what Daniel says next in verses 20-26.

“The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth.  And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’ this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules.  Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

There it is, not only the dream’s interpretation, but the warning.  Could he have said it any plainer?  Neb God is on to you, He has made you great and if you don’t clean up your act, you will be no more than the animals you feed.  Call me crazy but it doesn’t appear that would make him change either.  

Perhaps there are people in your life who are going no where fast.  You warn them and they seem to get it.  They know the consequence of the lifestyle that they are living but do not revere Him enough to change.  Maybe they don’t think they are living life wrong, maybe they think God loves me enough to cover my wrong lifestyle.  They may even throw the verse “past present and future” out to justify where they are in life.  All the while God’s word follows that up with live as Christ (1 John 2:6).  I can’t begin to get into the heads of others and why they do or believe what they do, however, I do know that without the word of God in their lives and the reverence to it, the only thing they will sow is death.

It didn’t take long before our filterless friend spoke up.  It says in verse 29 that just twelve months later he spoke the words “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”  I can just see you hit your forehead with your palm in frustration.  So you can probably guess what happened.  Yep, it says while the king was still saying the sentence, God spoke. He said “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.”   Immediately, the word was fulfilled.  

But this chapter does have a happy ending.  It says that at the end of the time, his reason returned to him.  He blessed and praised the Most High.  He also told how his kingdom was restored to him.  His lords and counselors sought him out and he was established in his kingdom.  He went on praising God throughout the remainder of his reign.  It is amazing how many chances God gives us.  I mean seriously, Neb was like a ride at Cedar Point.  He changed his mind and words more than the weather in Cleveland Ohio.  But God, in all of His wisdom and might.  In all of His splendor and Sovereignty.  In all of His Holiness and Righteousness, gave Nebuchadnezzar another chance.  Let’s pray:

“Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for second and third chances.  Thank You for never giving up on us.  Thank You Father for loving us when we don’t even comprehend what that means.  Lord, You prove over and over in this world that You are the only way.  We see headlines and shake our heads in disgust, yet You sit on the throne, waiting to embrace those who return to You in this time.  We thank You God for never sleeping (psalm 121).  We thank You for giving us light in this dark world.  We pray for those who lost family members in Boston, be the God of peace to them.   We pray for those who lost limbs, help them to discover the plans that You have for them.  We pray for those that died, Lord, that You knew them and they may rest and dwell with You.  I pray these things in the mighty, redemptive, loving name of Jesus Christ.  Amen”

Fiery Trials (part 6)

Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

How quickly the tables turn.  We discussed last time how important it is to be careful of who we associate with.  Remember, if someone treats others poorly, they will eventually turn on you.  Our king Nebuchadnezzar was just fine with our boys until his boys ratted them out for not bowing to the image.  Just like that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were put on trial so to speak.  He, I am sure, expected the three to bow as he explained the rules once again, just in case they missed them.  Verse 19 says "Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego."

The king got so angry, he ordered his men to turn the heat up seven times hotter than normal.  This blaze was so hot that the men who brought them up to the entry were killed by the heat.  So there went our three friends, fully trusting God and His will.  Of course, in true God fashion, the heat didn't matter, nor did the fire for that matter.  The king watched as the four men walked through the fiery furnace.  Wait!  Did I just say four?  You bet I did, and if you can't figure out who the fourth one is call me, we'll talk. :)

The king, amazed by what he saw, called the men out of the furnace.  Imagine his surprise to see that not a hair on their heads were singed.  Nothing was wrong with them.  These three men were put in a furnace.  A furnace so hot, mind you, that it killed the men who brought them to the door, yet not an ash was seen on them.  God is good!  Verse 28 says "Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God."  Did you get that?  Blessed be the God of...  He just said blessed be God!  Our drama king then went on to make another decree stating that if anyone speaks badly about God, they will be torn limb from limb in true Nebuchadnezzar fashion, but he seems to be getting the picture. 

I pray that you get the point.  These three men stood firm before a king.  They told him of their convictions and stood by them.  They accepted the consequence without a fight and yet came out of a blazing hot furnace unscathed.  They let God do the fighting.  This is where the verse "Be still and know that I am God" comes in handy.  The words penned in Psalm 46 are telling us to stop and to let it go.  God wants us to trust Him in our trial with everything, not just the details but the outcome and the judgement.

I watched sadly yesterday as a young man, who is completely lost, mock a courtroom and his victims families.  My heart is broken for all that are affected.  It was so hard to hear the families address the young man who stood waiting for his sentence.  The pain in their voices made it apparent that the healing had a long way to go.  It's almost as if the actions caused wounds to be torn open as acid was dripped inside.  Let me tell you all there is an enemy and we will have trials.  It's what we do in those trials that paves our walk.

I pray for the families involved to be able to begin to heal.  I pray that they believe justice was served.  I pray the young man will have sorrow for what he had done.  I know that there will be a final judgment for the guilty one, however, don't forget that we all must stand trial one day.  What we do with our trials and how we respond toward God and the ones who hurt us does matter.  The three fire walkers could have cursed God as they were thrown into the blaze yet they didn't.  They walked the trial with God and allowed Him to decide the judgement.

I don't know where you are right now.  Some of you are walking some pretty tough roads.  This is when it's hardest to be Christian.  This is when we want to react, but this is when God seems to be saying "Be still and let me fight this fight.  You just walk with me and I won't let you be harmed"  Imagine if we did this, how many people would turn toward our God.  How many people would praise the God of (your name here).

The Fiery Furnace (part 5)

Here we go into chapter 3.  Remember that in Chapter 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that bothered him so badly, he couldn't sleep.  Desperate to find out the meaning, he summoned all the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to help him.  He asked them to tell him the dream and then it's meaning.  If they could not, he would have them cut into pieces.  

The kingdom's weather report called for a whole lot of body parts until Daniel and his boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego prayed to God for the answers and received them.  Daniel told the meaning of the dream about this image and what it meant in the kings life.  If you need a refresher, peak back at part 4.

So when I opened the pages of chapter 3, I was amazed to see the first sentence. "King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon."  Really Neb?  Really?  Then I thought, how many times are we warned in life that if we walk too close to that sin we will be sucked in, yet we keep walking the line.  We think, for whatever reason, that we will be able to withstand the temptation.  Well, we need to think again and apparently so does Nebuchadnezzar.

The story goes on to say that the king calls all of his officials and announces that as soon as anyone in the kingdom hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, people were to fall down and worship the golden image or there was a fiery furnace waiting for them.   Of course our friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not follow suit, so they were reported to the king.  

When Nebuchadnezzar told these three the decree again, their answer made me laugh.  In verse 16 the reply goes like this “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter."  They go on to tell him that God will deliver them, but even if He didn't, they would never bow down to the golden image or any other god.

Are you that strong?  Have you been able to stand up in this kind of heat, no pun intended?  I for one, have not been able to on many occasions.  Have you been put in a situation to bow down to some other god's golden image?  If we are thinking literally, most of us could probably say no, but let's get real here.  How about gossip?  If someone is speaking ill of someone else, can we be strong enough to say "O ________, we have no need to let our conversation go this way.  I refuse to gossip as it is not of my God."  What about the television?  "O remote, we have no need to stop at that channel.  The temptation it causes is too much and my God will deliver me from it if I refuse it."  OK, some of you may be feeling pretty good.  How about "O devil, we have no need to be tempted by that addiction, because when I resist, you have to flee." (James 4:7) Or maybe "O thoughts, we have no need to think on that fear because God's word says to trust Him."

Remember in chapter 2, after our boy Neb finds out the meaning of the dream, the king gives God the props and promotes Daniel.  The king even granted Daniels wish to have Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be over the affairs of the province of Babylon.  Now, one chapter later, the same three are facing a fiery furnace at the hand of their pal Nebuchadnezzar.

One more point before we go and we will finish the chapter next time.  Have you ever kept company that you know you shouldn't.  Someone who has hurt others, yet you thought if they were your friend they wouldn't hurt you?  Can I tell you from experience, this is not the case.  Things may seem OK for a while, however, that person will turn on you quicker than you can say "crazy traitor say what?".  1 Corinthians 15:33 says "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company ruins good morals'."   Over and over again, the bible tells us that we need to be careful who we hang around.  It tells us that evil waits at the door for us, and even if we don't open the door to sin, it will spring up from it's crouched position the minute we crack it open for something that isn't that bad.  

I saw a church sign that said "A half truth is a whole lie."  This comment is truer than we want to believe.  If something you enjoy is even 1% bad, it's all bad.  There are two percentages of sin, 0% and 100%.  If we listen to music that has a great beat, yet the lyrics are downright wrong, the entire song is wrong.  If the faith based book we are reading is by and author that believes the bible is 99% true, than the author is 100% avoidable.  We are responsible, as Christians, for what we read, who we support, who we stand behind and who we admire. 

Obviously, the three in this chapter cannot avoid the king, however they do need to respect him.  In Daniel, you never see the three as they are being questioned by the king, disrespect him.  They do not listen to his request but they do not disrespect him.  1 Peter 2:13 says "Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable."  Remember, it does not say bow down to them, it says to be submissive and treat them with respect.  I would guess that at this point in Daniel, king Nebuchadnezzar has become unreasonable.  So let's read the rest of the chapter and meet back here again to see what happens with our three amigos.  Let's pray:

"Lord, I pray for this chapter.  Even as I write, You are bringing things to mind that I bow to each day that is not of You.  Your word says that if we just bow to You, You will lead us where we need to be.  It seems weird to thing that when we respect those in authority, even if we don't agree with them, that we are bowing to you.  It's kind of backwards, however, in chapter 2, Lord, You say that You set up the kings and remove them.  So crazy as it sounds, You allow us to face blazing furnaces now and again for Your purpose.  Thank You for using us God, even if we don't quite understand how.  Lord, I pray for all who are reading to have their eyes opened to what You want them to see in this chapter.  Lord, I pray for lives to be changed as we try to carry on our journeys with a little Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in each of us.  Thank You for Your word and for letting us be able to read it.  It's in Jesus name that I ask these things~Amen."

"What's in a dream" (part 4)

 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.  As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.   Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” Daniel 2:31-35

Remember in our last “Just a thought...” we learned that Daniel, after praying with his friends, received the answer from God on what the dream was and what the dream meant.  After receiving the word from the dream, praise God, Daniel did just that; praised God with this prayer:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

to whom belong wisdom and might.

He changes times and seasons;

he removes kings and sets up kings;

he gives wisdom to the wise 

and knowledge to those who have understanding;

he reveals deep and hidden things;

he knows what is in the darkness,

and light dwells with him.

To you, O God of my fathers,

I give thanks and praise,

for you have given me wisdom and might,

and have now made known to me what we asked of you,

for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

Can I just be real for a minute here?  When was the last time that you received an answer to prayer?  One that you have been in close contact with God requesting an answer and He spoke?  Did you praise Him?  Honestly, did you stop and worship Him for who He is and what He is capable of?  I am guilty here, how many times have I prayed for an answer and upon receiving it, I probably threw a “thank You God” out there and went along my day.  By the way my stomach feels as I write this, I am guessing more times than I care to admit.  I have to give props to Daniel.  He stopped and did not move forward until he took some time to praise the One who delivered the prayer.  

Let’s also remember that the king wanted to tear him into pieces, can you imagine receiving the answer that will save your life and being calm enough to stop and give proper thanks to God.  Go Daniel!

So then Daniel goes to the king and after giving God the credit, he tells him the dream.  He explains the dream to Nebuchadnezzar.  He tells him that there was a great image.  A mighty image exceeding in brightness.  He explains the different parts of the image and what they represent.  He tells Nebuchadnezzar that he is the head of gold.  

Daniel tells him that God put him in the position of authority.  He says that another kingdom will rise up, represented by the silver chest and arms.  The third kingdom, which is the middle and thighs of bronze will rise up and rule over all the earth.  He said there will be a fourth kingdom, as strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things.  He said the feet and toes, partly of clay and partly of iron, will be a divided kingdom, with firmness of iron standing in it.  Daniel goes on to say that God will then set up a kingdom that can never be destroyed and will not be left to a person.  He said it will break the other kingdoms and bring them to an end.  The rock, not cut out by human hands is that kingdom.

Ok, so what does all this mean, well if you are like me and didn’t pay attention in history class, here’s the run down.

Head of fine gold Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom

Chest and arms of silver Medo-Persian Empire 

Middle and thighs of bronze Greek Empire

Legs of iron Roman Empire

Feet partly of iron and clay to be determined

rock cut out not by human hands Jesus “eternal kingdom”

Once again, Daniel gives all glory to God before Nebuchadnezzar and calls the interpretation trustworthy.  Can you imagine standing before someone that has asked a question that you have the answer to?  What if that question was hard to answer?  Daniel had to tell this king that another kingdom would rise up.  I am sure these are not words that Nebuchadnezzar wanted to hear.  So Daniel, I am sure, waits with bated breath to see how the king will react to his pungent words.  In true Godly fashion, the reply is unexpected.

Daniel 2:46-47 says “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”

Can I get an Amen?  This is our very purpose in this world, to direct others to our amazing God.  Crazy part is that He is God, He doesn’t need to use us.  Maybe we should all just stop here and spend a few minutes in prayer thanking God for using us.  If you are anything like me, you are a hot mess, so the fact that He uses us to show others His glory and magnitude is so unexpected that other’s cant deny Him.  

Daniel 2:4-49 says “Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.”

Did you catch that?  “at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon” v 49.  He never forgot his buddies.  The ones who hit their knees along side of him, Daniel mentioned to the king to be promoted as well.  Let’s pray:

“Heavenly Father, thank You for the lessons in Daniel.  This walk has been delayed for a bit as you have been chipping away at this sinner.  Though the chipping process is painful, the fruit is overwhelming so we thank You for the process in our lives.  Lord, thank You for this example of Daniel.  How true it is that we should be more like him, going to You in prayer, praising You for answers, giving You glory, and finally, remembering those who were in the pits with us and helped us out.  All too often, Lord, we are lifted out of the pit only to put our garment of pride back on, heading toward the next pitfall.  Help us Lord to “be still” and have awareness that besides You, there is no other.  Thank You for knowing all.  Thank You for loving all.  It is in Jesus name that we pray~Amen.”

I wanna be like Daniel (part 3)

“There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean.  The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with the flesh.”  Daniel 2:10-11

Last week, my son was given homework to write a speech named “I have a dream”.  The students had to choose a topic that they wish would not be an issue in the world and write a similar speech to the late Martin Luther King Jr.  I was blown away by my sons speech regarding his dream to end child abuse and wanted him to experience the “speech” for himself, so I googled it on Youtube.  I encourage each of you to listen to this speech again.  Hear the words of the great Martin Luther King Jr.  Whether you are black or white, whatever the denomination, listen to his words and be inspired.  Not only did he have the vision, but expressed it.  Oh if he could be here today to see the fruit of his obedience.  What started with Abraham Lincoln all the way to Martin Luther King Jr. along with many others, the dream has become a reality.  Though we are a far cry from peace in the world, the dream of living as one body able to hold hands as brothers and sister has come true!

Nebuchadnezzar also had a dream, definitely not full of peace.  In his second year as king, he woke up troubled by this dream, so troubled in fact, that he called all the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and Chaldeans and told them to tell him the dream and it’s meaning.  After the request was made known, the Chaldeans spoke up first.  They simply explained to the king that there was no way they could tell him the dream that he had and then interperate it.  If the king would just tell them the dream, they could interperate it, no problem!  The king did not take that answer and was obviously pretty perturbed.  He began to threaten them, telling them that they would be torn limb from limb if they could not tell the king his dream.  They replied with the coolest answer in verse 10 “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand.”  verse 11 says “The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with the flesh.”  Little did the king know that he was about to meet up with a God who dwells within the flesh.  He was about to meet up, yet again, with Daniel, who knew this God.

The king got so mad with their reply that he ordered all of the wise men of Babylon to be destroyed.  At first word of this, Daniel requested time of the king to be able to interpret the dream.  He gathered our old friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to help him pray.  So they did and once again, God delivered.  He made known the dream of the king to Daniel.  

After making time for proper praise, Daniel went to the king to tell him of the dream.  But this is the cool part, when the king asked if he knew the dream, Daniel set the king up to hear the reason for Daniels very existence.  His reply: “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days” verses 27, 28.  Daniel went on to explain the dream, which we will talk about next time. 

So Daniel once again finds himself in a difficult situation.  He is definitely in tune with his God, so he knows just what to do, pray!  Why does it take us so long in our trials to turn to prayer?  I know in my own experience, I pray all day, yet when it gets crazy, I try to make sense of it rather than make prayer of it. 

I’m sure none of you have received a death sentence such as our friend Daniel has, but I wonder if we would take that sentence as an opportunity to share the magnitude and abilities of God.  Would we embrace the fact that we have been chosen for a certain time and hit our knees with open ears ready to hear where God wants us and when.  There is another great example of this in Esther.  She and her people have received a death sentence due to their faith and Esther realizes that she has been placed in her exact place for “such a time as this.” Esther 4:14

The prayer that Daniel says in Daniel 2:20-23 explains what he believes.  Please read it again and as you do, ask yourself if you truly believe God in these areas.  If not, ask God for forgiveness of unbelief.  Pray that God would increase your faith to align with these words.  Nothing goes by God without Him being aware.  He was, He is, and He will ever be.  He sees everything, He knows everything, He is everywhere and He loves every one of us!  I pray that you will sit in chapter 2 for a while longer.  Reread it and find yourself familiar with the pages so we can discuss Nebuchadnezzar's dream as well as it’s meaning.

I wanna be like Daniel! (part 2)

“In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.  And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God and brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god.”  Daniel 1:1-2

In the first verse of the first chapter of Daniel, we have hit a low point.  The king of Babylon has taken over Jehoiakim and his kingdom.  We’re not off to a good start so far.  But remember that “all scripture is God breathed” 2 Timothy 3:16, so let’s keep reading and watch God show up.  This book starts off telling us that everything was taken from the house of God and put into the house of Nebuchadnezzar’s gods house.  It then goes on to tell us that Nebuchadnezzar commanded his chief eunuch, Ashpenaz, to bring people from Israel.  He didn’t want just anyone, he wanted royalty, noble people, beautiful, smart and easy learners to be brought to his palace.  He would then keep them there for three years to learn their language so that they may competent to stand in the kings palace.  This is where we meet Daniel.

He, along with a few friends named Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were brought to begin this process.  They were renamed in order to change their identity.  Daniel was changed to Belteshazzar, Hananiah to Shadrach, Mishael to Meshach, and Azariah to Abednego.  I know that sometimes, I could stand a name change in my house, especially when the kids have been lacking sleep, but what if someone changed our names to mean something we didn’t believe in, or worse yet the opposite of our entire existence? 

Names always stood for something in those days, so to have their names changed to their captors gods had to be painful.  They may have experienced the first cases of identity theft.  Daniels name went from “God is my judge” to Belteshazzar meaning “Bel will protect”.  Hananiah from “Yah has been gracious” to Shadrach “inspired of Aku”.  Mishael from “Who is what God is?” to Meshach “belonging to Aku”.  Lastly, Azariah from “Yah has helped” to Abednego, meaning “Servant of Nego”.  Bel, Aku, and Nego were names of their gods who could not hold a candle to our God.

Though they could not control the changing of names, Daniel stood firm on his belief of the food he was able to consume.  The Lord gave favor to these four men and they were able to eat the diet they followed, all vegetables, allowing them to look and feel better than the rest.

How about you, has anyone stolen your identity?  Do you have someone in your life that no matter how long it’s been, you find yourself having to act a certain way or explain yourself once again?  God created each and every one of us, whether we believe it or not.  He named us by His standards.  We have the choice wether or not we are going to let those from our past rename us.  It’s hard to stand firm on our faith when those around us just don’t get it, but you have to remember that just as the Lord gave Jehoiakim over to Nebuchadnezzar, He allows those around us to “just not get it”.  There was a day, not too long ago, that we “just didn’t get it” either.

There isn’t anything that happens in our lives that God has not put His stamp of approval on.  Some of you are dealing with some heavy stuff in life, but when you look at scripture, the people written about were not exempt from the tough stuff either.  Daniel and the others were living their lives just like you and I.  They were serving their God and following the rules and one day it all changed.  The Lord handed them over to the enemy, what?  This is probably the hardest thing to comprehend about God, why does He allow bad things to happen to His people.  I don’t know how to answer that other than saying “He is God”.  There is no way to know why things happened but remember His ways are not our ways nor His thoughts like ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah had a choice to make, bitterness or trust.  I am so thankful they all chose the latter, man what role models!  They found themselves in an unfair situation, yet they chose to hold true to their standards.  They could have decided to eat what they were given, they didn’t need to hold their conviction of the veggie diet, besides it wasn’t their fault they were in this mess anyway.  But it’s what we do when no one is watching that counts (Matthew 6:4).  God sees our hearts not our actions.  Just as the food we eat becomes visible in our pants size, so do our actions as they will only follow what the heart believes, especially in private.  I pray you will read ahead to chapter two so we can continue to walk these pages of scripture together.  Let’s pray:

“Lord, wow this book has been speaking so loudly to me.  Thank You Father for this tough lesson of just because I am Yours doesn’t mean things will be easy.  Thank You for these men, especially Daniel to be our example on how to withstand adversity.  Thank You Father for the strength to forgive those who have hurt us, to work hard though we are spit upon, to love though we were flat out wronged.  Thank You for giving us the true name Christian, which means “follower of Christ”.  Help us to live that name out.  We ask this in the mighty name of Christ, Himself...Amen”