51st Week Daniel Intro and Chapters 1-3 (Click on Title for Video Introduction)

-


Click on Title for Video Introduction
Monday, Daniel Introduction
Daniel Intro
Jane Jones
January 27, 2005

THOUGHT
The Book of Daniel was written with the purpose of giving historical accounts of the faithful Jews who lived in captivity and to show how God is in control of heaven and earth.

Daniel, the writer, had been taken captive and deported to Babylon. There he served in the government for about 60 years. The book tells us how courageous Daniel was and how he held fast to his faith in his God. God was sovereign and was working out his plan for nations and individuals. The book of Daniel centers around this profound truth. We can be confident that God is in control.

Daniel envisioned that evil would be overcome, and we should wait patiently and not give into the temptations and pressures of the sinful way of life around us.  Through God’s faithfulness we can trust God to be with us through any trial because He promises to be there. Because He has been faithful to us, we should remain faithful to Him.

Daniel will tell us that God is in control. We need to trust Him, and know that through all of our hardships God’s plan will work out. Daniel’s visions are to wait patiently. We also need to do this.

PRAYER
Tonight we give You thanks and praise for all things in our lives. We know that You are in control and that You have plans for us. May we be patient and visionary like Daniel as we step out in faith to live a life pleasing to You, Father. We love You. In the Name of Jesus.  AMEN



Monday, Daniel Chapter 1
Daniel 1
Verse 8
Jane Jones
January 27, 2005

Verse 8:  But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.

THOUGHT
I had this verse underscored from a previous reading. I thought of Daniel and how he resolved not to eat this food because the meat was some food forbidden by Jewish law. He did this without question and obeyed God’s laws even though he was in a culture that did not honor God. How courageous he was. Turning down this food could have meant to him that he would not eat, yet he believed so strongly in it he did it anyway.

Resolve is a strong word that means to be devoted to principle and to be committed to a course of action.  When Daniel resolved not to defile himself, he was being true to a lifelong determination to do what was right and not to give in to the pressures around him. We too are often assaulted by pressures to compromise our standard and live more like the world around us. Merely wanting or preferring God’s will and way is not enough to stand against onslaught of temptation. Like Daniel, we must resolve to obey God. Daniel made his decision to be faithful to the laws of God. He decided on his commitments. Once that is established, you will be ready to say no when temptation comes.

I thought it was so neat how God intervened and changed the heart of the Babylonian official so that he would compromise with Daniel about the eating. By Daniel being totally devoted to God, the Lord blessed him with wisdom and understanding.

PRAYER
Thank You, Father, for this teaching of Daniel tonight. It so teaches us that if we are committed to You and resolve to follow You, that You will be with us in times of trial and temptations. We praise You for the courage to hold fast to our commitment to You. Forgive us where we fail. Help us not to fail. We thank You for divine intervention. We know in our hearts that You will always be there for us. Help us to be strong in times of trouble. We so want to please You. We love You tonight and always. In Jesus Name we pray.  AMEN



Wednesday, Daniel Chapter 2
Daniel 2
Verses 14-19
Kristen Strayer
January 30, 2005

THOUGHT
To summarize Daniel chapter two - King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and wanted it to be interpreted by his wise men, except he wouldn’t tell them what the dream was. His wise men said his request was impossible, so King Neb ordered that they all were to be executed. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in this group. Daniel asked for time to fulfill the king’s request, and the four men turned to God. God was faithful and revealed the mystery to Daniel, and all the men were spared.

Throughout this situation, there must have been terrifying moments for these Godly men. Instead of getting stuck in the circumstances, Daniel was a man-of-action.

Verses 14-19:“... Daniel spoke.. He asked... Daniel went... Daniel returned.. and explained... He urged... Daniel praised...” 

There were many men that were facing death, just like Daniel, but Daniel chose to act while relying upon God for deliverance. He could have gotten caught up in all the emotions of the moment, fear, self-pity, anger, and etc., but he choose to not let the emotions rule him. Instead, he was a man-of-action that was totally dependent on God.

In crisis in our lives, we often 1) don’t do anything or 2) attempt to do something about the problem independent of God. Daniel was humble enough to know he couldn’t do it without God yet wise and brave enough to act! May
we all be able to be like Daniel the next time we face a tough situation whether it is big or small!

PRAYER
Heavenly Father! Thank You for Daniel and the life he lived.  Help us all to have the humility we need to depend on You and the courage to use the abilities You have given us when facing challenges. We know You are larger
than anything we will ever face. Please remind us daily that there is nothing in this world that we have to fear and do not let fear stop us from taking action or depending on You. AMEN



Thursday, Daniel Chapter 3
Daniel 3
Verses 17-18
Kristen Strayer
January 31, 2005

Verses 17-18:  “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” 

THOUGHT
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego exhibited their loyalty and commitment to God in this situation. They knew the power of God and that He was capable of delivering them. They also knew that God might not deliver them, but despite the outcome, these men knew they had to obey God and honor their commitment to God.

PRAYER
Lord, help us to value obedience above our own personal comfort. Do not ever let us believe that the end justifies the means. Thank You for the loyalty these three young men exhibited and the example they are for us.  Help us to honor our commitment to You with consistent actions. We love You and want to live in obedience.  In the Blood of Jesus.  AMEN

Friday, Prayer
We glorify You for the Bible - that wonderful, written revelation of You and Your plan.  As snow and rain fall from the skies to meet our needs, so you have condensed Your thoughts - which are vastly higher than all human thoughts - into written-down form.  We are so grateful that You cared enough to communicate with us in this clear, unchanging, always-accessible way, so that Your thoughts are now available at all times to refresh and nourish and teach us.  

Thank You that in Your Word we can see Your face and hear Your voice.  We can discover Your will and Your patterns for living and serving.  We can develop deeper faith and confidence.  Thank You that the Holy Spirit inspired Your Word and uses it to enlighten and guide us, and change us more and more into Your image, from one degree to another.  

In the Name of Jesus. AMEN

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

210th Week, Song of Songs Chapters 5-8 (Click on Title for Video Intro)

-
Image
  Click of Title for Video Intro Monday, Song of Songs Chapter 5 Song of Solomon 5  Jane Jones THOUGHT The Book of Song of Solomon is really a truly amazing, love story. Solomon was very much in love; and just the fact that it is in the Bible, I think is truly amazing. It is a for sure fact that God definitely wants love to be first and foremost in our lives, first of Him, secondly for our spouse, and thirdly for our children. Chapter 5 tells us about a bad dream that Solomon’s lover had. Part of it referred to reaching out to her lover in the night, and he was gone. It was like a nightmare to her.  I’m sure we have all experienced nightmares at one time or other about our marriages, partners, or children. No matter what the nightmare, we do wake up in the morning to find that things are okay. That God has not left or forsaken us. We all have been praying so often, so hard, and so much for the Ruden Family. Our hope was that their house would sell soon, that Alan would fi...
Read more

3rd Week, II Thessalonians

-
Image
Week Three, II Thessalonians  Monday, Introduction II Thessalonians Intro Jeanie Boldt THOUGHT This letter was written by Paul about 2 months after he had sent the first letter to Thessalonica. Many in the church were confused about the timing of Christ’s return. Many thought that He could come at any moment so they stopped working for the Lord and just waited. Adding fuel to the fire was the continued persecution of the church. Many felt that indeed this must be the “Day of the Lord”. Responding quickly, Paul sent a second letter to this young church. In it he gave further instruction concerning the second coming and the day of the Lord. The letter begins with Paul’s trademark greeting. He mentions their perseverance in spite of their persecution and trials and uses this situation to broach the subject of Christ’s return. Paul shared that at this time Christ will vindicate the righteous who endure and will punish the wicked. We are closer to Christ’s second coming than the Thessal...
Read more

201st Week, II Kings Chapters 5-9 (Click on the Title for Video Introduction)

-
Image
  Click on Title for Video Intro Monday, II Kings Chapter 5 II Kings 5 Verse 13 Jane Jones Verse 13:  But his servants caught up with him and said, “Father, if the prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn’t you have done it? So why not this simple ‘wash and be clean’?” THOUGHT Why do we think that everything great that comes from God is huge, impressive, hard and heroic? Obedience to God begins with humility. These first five chapters have been such great lessons on humility. We must believe that His way is better than our own. We may not always understand His ways of working, but by humbly obeying, we will receive His blessings. We must remember that (1)God’s ways are best; (2)God wants our obedience more than anything else;  (3)God can use anything to accomplish His purposes. The only thing that Naaman had to do to have his leprosy washed away is similar to what we must do to have our sin washed away -- humbly accept God’s mercy. We need to be humbl...
Read more