“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” - Psalm 119:18.
Date: Monday, September 15, 2014
Today's Chapters: Daniel 1-3
Message Title: A Test Of Faith
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Daniel is the twenty-seventh book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains twelve chapters. The author of the book is Daniel and it was first written to the Jews that were held captive in Babylon, the timeline for these events took place about 434BC. The purpose of the book was to show how God rules the affairs of all men and nations. What we are to learn from the book is that God is above all gods, He gives honor and protection to those who worship only Him. “Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.” - Daniel 3:28.
Daniel was one of the captives carried into Babylon, he was quite young, perhaps even a teenager. Soon after his capture, he and three of his friends were favored and assigned newBabylonian names, which would hide their true identity as Jews to make them appear as citizens of Babylon. The name Daniel means God is Judge, but his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar means prince of Baal. The king's intent was to brainwash the wiser of the Jews into living the way they lived, turning away for the only living God and to their false god, but his plan did not go as planned, Daniel and his friends would not defile themselves by giving into the kings bribes.
“And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” - Daniel 1:3-5,8.
They can try to bribe, lie, and brainwash believers into turning away from Jesus and to their false gods, but God knows who are His, and He will always take care of His own. We might have to face some affliction once in a while, but He will never leave nor forsake us. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.” - John 10:27-30.
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had all sorts of opposition, but they never gave up on God, they could change their names, but they could not change their faith in God. One day, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that he wanted interpreted, the catch, he wanted someone to tell him what he dreamed of first. He got sorcerers, astrologers, and even magicians to try to reveal the dream, but none of them could, even they admitted that only a god that is not seen could do that. Out of anger Nebuchadnezzar ordered all the wise men in Babylon killed, includingDaniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Once Daniel found out why they had a death sentence on them he asked to speak to the king, and God gave Daniel the interpretation of the dream. The king not only thanked Daniel, he made him a ruler. “Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.” - Daniel 2:46-48.
The first mistake Nebuchadnezzar made was thinking that those men were wise in the first place, but Daniel approached the king confidently, knowing that even if he died God was on His side. I imagine God's objective in all this was for Nebuchadnezzar to realize not only that God was number one, but to put his false gods away and only serve Him, but all he did was acknowledge God's existence. Many people know who Jesus is, and that only He can save them, but very few actually get saved. Merely knowing of Christ does not save us, only by receiving Him can we be saved. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” - Romans 10:9,10.
Now, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's faith was about to be put to the test, Nebuchadnezzar had a golden statue built, and every time music played every person was to stop what they were doing, bow down toward this statue and worship it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to bow down and worship this idol, stating that they would die before they would bow down to any god other than God Himself. Nebuchadnezzar had these men thrown into a fiery furnace, seven times hotter than it had been. That fire was so hot that the men throwing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace were burnt to a crisp and died, but not a hair was burned on these men, in fact, something amazing occurred, Jesus was in the midst of them, and Nebuchadnezzar witnessed it.
“Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.” - Daniel 3:24-26.
No matter how many times I read this part, I cannot help, but wonder, how did Nebuchadnezzar know that the fourth man was the Son of God? Proof that, Jesus was, and always will be a Saviour to those who receive Him, but will not accept anyone who will not accept Him. As Christian's, we are going to be faced with lots of opposition, even more so because we choose to live our lives by following Jesus Christ. Take a person that believes in God and one can be accepted, but say that you believe in Jesus and that acceptance can utterly turn into hate. For this reason many fear telling people that they walk with Christ. However, we need to stand true to God even in the face of death, when we do. With God Nothing Is Impossible! We can overcome every obstacle with God. “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.” - Romans 10:11,12.
Today's Prayer: God, As much as we think and even know that all things are possible with You, when difficulties and pressure comes our way it can be hard to remember that. Lord, give us Your power, wisdom, and guidance. Help us to look beyond our difficulties and remain faithful to You, trusting that all things are possible with You. Also, give us the strength to stand by Your Son, and not buckle under pressure to those who want to see us fall. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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©2014 I'm Following Jesus
Today's Chapters: Daniel 1-3
Message Title: A Test Of Faith
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Daniel is the twenty-seventh book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains twelve chapters. The author of the book is Daniel and it was first written to the Jews that were held captive in Babylon, the timeline for these events took place about 434BC. The purpose of the book was to show how God rules the affairs of all men and nations. What we are to learn from the book is that God is above all gods, He gives honor and protection to those who worship only Him. “Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.” - Daniel 3:28.
Daniel was one of the captives carried into Babylon, he was quite young, perhaps even a teenager. Soon after his capture, he and three of his friends were favored and assigned newBabylonian names, which would hide their true identity as Jews to make them appear as citizens of Babylon. The name Daniel means God is Judge, but his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar means prince of Baal. The king's intent was to brainwash the wiser of the Jews into living the way they lived, turning away for the only living God and to their false god, but his plan did not go as planned, Daniel and his friends would not defile themselves by giving into the kings bribes.
“And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” - Daniel 1:3-5,8.
They can try to bribe, lie, and brainwash believers into turning away from Jesus and to their false gods, but God knows who are His, and He will always take care of His own. We might have to face some affliction once in a while, but He will never leave nor forsake us. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.” - John 10:27-30.
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had all sorts of opposition, but they never gave up on God, they could change their names, but they could not change their faith in God. One day, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that he wanted interpreted, the catch, he wanted someone to tell him what he dreamed of first. He got sorcerers, astrologers, and even magicians to try to reveal the dream, but none of them could, even they admitted that only a god that is not seen could do that. Out of anger Nebuchadnezzar ordered all the wise men in Babylon killed, includingDaniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Once Daniel found out why they had a death sentence on them he asked to speak to the king, and God gave Daniel the interpretation of the dream. The king not only thanked Daniel, he made him a ruler. “Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.” - Daniel 2:46-48.
The first mistake Nebuchadnezzar made was thinking that those men were wise in the first place, but Daniel approached the king confidently, knowing that even if he died God was on His side. I imagine God's objective in all this was for Nebuchadnezzar to realize not only that God was number one, but to put his false gods away and only serve Him, but all he did was acknowledge God's existence. Many people know who Jesus is, and that only He can save them, but very few actually get saved. Merely knowing of Christ does not save us, only by receiving Him can we be saved. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” - Romans 10:9,10.
Now, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's faith was about to be put to the test, Nebuchadnezzar had a golden statue built, and every time music played every person was to stop what they were doing, bow down toward this statue and worship it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to bow down and worship this idol, stating that they would die before they would bow down to any god other than God Himself. Nebuchadnezzar had these men thrown into a fiery furnace, seven times hotter than it had been. That fire was so hot that the men throwing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace were burnt to a crisp and died, but not a hair was burned on these men, in fact, something amazing occurred, Jesus was in the midst of them, and Nebuchadnezzar witnessed it.
“Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.” - Daniel 3:24-26.
No matter how many times I read this part, I cannot help, but wonder, how did Nebuchadnezzar know that the fourth man was the Son of God? Proof that, Jesus was, and always will be a Saviour to those who receive Him, but will not accept anyone who will not accept Him. As Christian's, we are going to be faced with lots of opposition, even more so because we choose to live our lives by following Jesus Christ. Take a person that believes in God and one can be accepted, but say that you believe in Jesus and that acceptance can utterly turn into hate. For this reason many fear telling people that they walk with Christ. However, we need to stand true to God even in the face of death, when we do. With God Nothing Is Impossible! We can overcome every obstacle with God. “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.” - Romans 10:11,12.
Today's Prayer: God, As much as we think and even know that all things are possible with You, when difficulties and pressure comes our way it can be hard to remember that. Lord, give us Your power, wisdom, and guidance. Help us to look beyond our difficulties and remain faithful to You, trusting that all things are possible with You. Also, give us the strength to stand by Your Son, and not buckle under pressure to those who want to see us fall. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure That You Are Going To Heaven? Visit: God's Price
Like Us On Facebook: I'm Following Jesus
©2014 I'm Following Jesus
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