Hey Happy Monday! I pray that your weekend was well! Today's reading in the Daily Daniel Series is Daniel Chapter 4 in the New Living Translation. What particularly stuck out to me in today's reading was the fact that although Nebuchadnezzar was a witness many times to the Sovereign power of the Lord, the mind-blowingly awesome and awe inspiring hand of the Lord, he still had a little problem with pride. I find that the best remedy to dealing with that pesky part of ourselves that feels we are entitled to things, or even that we have built up everything grand by our own hands is the very remedy that Daniel gave to him, which is to stop sinning and break from those patterns, for continued prosperity. Are there some other remedies that you use to bring you back to remembering God's Sovereignty in your life and that you can do nothing without Him?
Here are 7 points we can glean from today's reading loosely translated from the New Living Translation Living Faith Bible:
1. Jesus will rule as King over all Nations forever and ever! (Luke 1: 32 -33 ;Daniel 4:3)
2. When we become a Christian the Spirit of the Lord dwells within us. (Romans 8:9 ;Daniel 4:8)
3. The Lord has Supreme authority and everything over all Nations! (Daniel 4:17)
4. We should show mercy to the poor and strive to do right! (Daniel 4:27)
5. We should praise and worship only the Lord, The Most High God! (Daniel 4:34)
6. God is All-Powerful He can do anything He wants in both Heaven and on Earth! (Daniel 4:35)
7. God can humble those who are so proud. (Daniel 4:37)
Stay Tuned!! God Bless!! Stay Encouraged!!
Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)In today's reading the famous story of the fiery furnace!! You all probably know the story so take a listen and read along with fresh ears.
Here are six points we can glean from todays reading loosely translated from the New Living Translation Living Faith Bible:
1. We should hate the worship of idols. (Daniel 3:5)
2. We should worship the Lord and serve Him, and no one else no matter the circumstance. (Daniel 3:12)
3. There have been many who have given their lives, persecution has no exemption, even Godly people go through it. (2 Timothy 3:12;Daniel 3:15)
4. God is a rescuer, He is able to save us from the evil that individuals may plan against us. (Daniel 3:17)
5. It was the Lord who rescued and delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the death that would have occurred right away in that furnace heated seven times hotter than usual. (Daniel 3:25)
6. We should rather die than to bow down, worship, or even serve any false gods. (Daniel 3:28)
Standard Podcasts: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)In today's reading in the Book of Daniel, Day 2, Chapter 2 we encounter God's faithfulness to the prayers of Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The king of Babylon unsatisfied with the lack of understanding and scared to death regarding a dream that he had, has called on his best magicians, enchanters, sorcerer's and astrologers to come and aid him in deciphering the dream. But he is aware of their ways of trickery, the ways they try to weasel just a bit of the story out of him to say that they have an interpretation, and he threatens them, saying that if one of them can interpret the dream he will give them many gifts and honors. However, the flip-side was that if they could not he would kill them, since not one of them that he had called upon could interpret the dream he made a decree that all wise men of Babylon be killed. The one who was sent to kill Daniel and the three Hebrew men his friends, Daniel was quite discerning and asked the meaning behind the decree and then went to the king to request a little more time to interpret the dream. Daniel then went home and told his friends and they prayed that God reveal to them what the dream was and that they would also be given the interpretation. God was faithful and granted them this and Daniel praised the Lord! Then Daniel went to see the king with the interpretation, the king was pleased and gave Daniel a high position, and made his three friends in charge of all the affairs in Babylon.
Here are 10 points that we can glean from todays reading loosely translated from the New Living Translation Living Faith Bible:
1. There are some humanly impossible things, but it is possible with the Lord! (Matthew 19:26; Daniel 2:11)
2. Daniel handled the kings decree to execute all wise men in Babylon with wisdom and not fast reaction and discretion he was particular about who he told. We could stand to do well in approaching situations in the same way. (Daniel 2:14)
3. If we ask God will show His mercy to others for us. (Daniel 2:18)
4. It was God who revealed the kings dream to Daniel in a vision, no other source. (Daniel 2:19)
5. God is sovereign over the whole earth, over all the nations, and thats just it! (Daniel 2:21)
6. The wisdom we have that God gives us is minuscule in comparison to His wisdom which is infinite! (Daniel 2:22)
7. The Lord God reveals secrets, whether thats about here and now or what is going to happen in the future. (Daniel 2:28)
8. Those four great empires Daniel told about in the interpretation of the kings dream, came to power over the course of five centuries. (Daniel 2:38) (for the history buffs out there)
9. That nation that will stand forever, that no one will ever conquer, that is the Kingdom that the Lord Jesus Christ will reign over forever and ever. (Luke 1:32-33 ;Daniel 2:44)
10. The Lord our God, is Lord over lords, and King over kings, and God over gods. (Daniel 2:47)
Standard Podcasts [00:08:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)Today we start a new series in the book of Daniel! Many know the story of the four hebrew boys, but I challenge you to listen and read along with fresh eyes, fresh insight, and fresh listening! Here are five points we can glean from todays reading loosely translated from the New Living Translation Living Faith Bible:
1. When the Lord says something is going to happen, it happens. The Lord foretold that the Babylonians would defeat and crush the kingdom of Judah and it happened even though many doubted it would come to pass. (Isaiah 39: 5-7;Daniel 1: 2)
2. Ceremonial cleanliness is very important to God, He wanted this for His children Israel, for them to be free of any kind of defilement. (Leviticus 11:46-47; Daniel 1:8)
3. We are responsible to protect our purity before the Lord, its a tough job but necessary, even in compromising situations. (Daniel 1:11)
4. We are to Honor and Obey the Lord, and although we may not get it perfect He does bless our efforts at attempting our hardest to do so. (Daniel 1: 15)
5. Daniel was blessed with a special ability to be able to understand what dreams and visions meant. (Daniel 1:17)
Standard Podcasts [00:03:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)Today we wrap up the series in the book of Ecclesiastes. The Teacher admonishes us to thank God, to remember God as we are young because once we get old we probably won't enjoy living much as we start degenerating, ouch. He goes on to describe the effects of being old, this was one of the funniest and entertaining reads for me in the Bible and it wasn't even an action scene. But what really stuck out to me was when the Teacher said that there are lots and lots of wise sayings and guiding words and advice, its endless and if we chose to head them all it would take more than we have in this lifetime, and so it is better to Fear God and Obey His commands.
Here are three points we can glean from today's final reading in the book of Ecclesiastes loosely translated from the New Living Translation Living Faith Bible:
1) We should not put off worshiping, knowing, and obeying the Lord. (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
2) As we grow older we will have less strength to enjoy life and live for the Lord, it's just a part of the process. (Ecclesiastes 12: 3)
3) It is our duty as creation of God, to fear Him, and obey His commands. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
Standard Podcasts [00:02:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)Today's teachings shared by the Teacher in Chapter 11 of Ecclesiastes really resonated with me. It was tips I had always heard but wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, and coincidentally it is something I have been adopting for the last couple of years without even recognizing. The Teacher shares that generosity and diligence are good things and that they have return value. Additionally that we cannot always plan things so perfectly because the truth of the matter is that if we wait for perfection the time may never come for that new venture. And interestingly enough the part that resonated with me is the admonition to push forward planting a variety of crops and staying active.
Here are two points we can glean from todays text loosely adapted from the New Living Translation Living Faith Edition:
1) It's not a bad idea to share our money and give generously as well as invest in broad ways. (Ecclesiastes 11:1)
2) We shouldn't procrastinate because in reality the conditions will not reach perfection. (Ecclesiastes 11:4)
Stay Tuned! Stay Encouraged! God Bless!!
Standard Podcasts [00:01:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)Today the Teacher had a couple of ironies to share about how when digging a well one could fall in, or while on is knocking down a wall be bitten by a snake, or being crushed by stones while working in a quarry. He also shared some observations he made like how those with power make grave mistakes by giving authority to fools, those who have not proven themselves over those who are wise instead giving the wise lowly positions.
Here are four points we can glean from todays reading loosely adapted from the Living Faith New Living Translation:
1) We should seek to be wise in all kinds of situations whether they are large or small. (Ecclesiastes 10:1)
2) When you make a big mistake, don't give up so easily, try again and again! (Ecclesiastes 10:4)
3) Everything we aspire to do, every endeavor we pursue has some type of risk to it. (Ecclesiastes 10:8)
4) It makes no sense to listen to fools who claim to know the future. (Ecclesiastes 10:14)
Stay Tuned! Stay Encouraged! God Bless!!
Standard Podcasts [00:02:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)The Teacher shares in this text that the lives of people are in God's hands and we don't know whether or not and to whom God will show favor to in this life. He also shares that it is the fact that death comes to everyone that there are those who go on living wickedly, feeling no need to choose good since we all end with the same fate of death. He says something about wives too, that they are a gift, a reward for earthly toil. And that as we work, we should do it well because once you die you don't get to do all of that. Additionally, he shares that no one knows when hard times are going to come and that often it comes through sudden tragedy. And that wise people are often overlooked, especially if they are poor, and that a wise person can overcome weapons of war but a sinner can destroy much that is good.
Here are four points we can glean from todays reading of Ecclesiastes 9 loosely adapted from the Living Faith New Translation:
1) Enjoy every good thing that God gives you, every happiness He gives you, it is pleasing to Him, especially with this short time we have on Earth. (Ecclesiastes 9:7)
2) We should take advantage of every good thing and great opportunity God gives us. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
3) If we get it out of our heads that life should be fair, it will help us get along alot better with the blessings we do have. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)
4) As unfortunate as it is, we should not be surprised when tragedy strikes. (Ecclesiastes 9:12)
I pray God's Blessings, Peace and Comfort Over You. Have blessed and pleasant weekend! See you Monday, Lord Willing!
Standard Podcasts [00:03:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)The Teachers shares with us that there is a wonderfulness that comes with being wise, to have the ability to analyze and interpret different things, it's like a light. He also shares that doing wickedness will not save anyone. Additionally, he shares that when people commit crimes and there is no action taken, the wrongdoer is not handled that others feels its safe to do wrong as well. And finally that we should enjoy the life God has given us.
Here are three truths that we can glean from todays reading loosely adapted from the Living Faith New Living Translation:
1. Face it, it's not like the movies, no one can escape the reality of death. (Ecclesiastes 8:8)
2. Its unfortunate, but there are lots of people who go their entire lives doing wickedness and not getting punished for it, but you don't have to be about that life, stick with the straight and narrow. (Ecclesiastes 8:10)
3. We should thank the Lord daily for the pleasures of life, He gives us. (Ecclesiastes 8:15)
Stay Tuned! God Bless!
Standard Podcasts [00:03:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)The Teacher shares some wise facts to heed our lives by, how we should reflect on life after death, because it's coming eventually. I know that's really daunting but he does have a point, it will make you take life more seriously and not spend it wasting away partying and doing useless things. He says patience is better than pride and its better to finish something than to start something. He also says that sadness has a refining influence on us. Also how we should enjoy prosperity but also realize that hard times come from God too. That a wise person is stronger than ten leading citizens in a town, and we should be careful of seductive women, and seduction for that matter overall, in fact we should flee from it, and though God created people to be upright it is the people who have turned to follow their own downward paths.
Here are six points we can glean from today's reading, loosely adapted from the New Living Translation Living Faith Bible:
1. It's important that we take the time to reflect and consider the outcome of our lives, and the end of our lives. (Ecclesiastes 7:2)
2. If you're going to receive criticism its better to get it from a wise person than to put any consideration into the criticism or even the flattery of fools. (Ecclesiastes 7:5)
3. Eh, it doesn't really make sense to spend time pining away about the good ole' days, just keep it moving forward. (Ecclesiastes 7:10)
4. Hey man, life is unpredictable, so quit trying to seek ways to avoid everything, but be wise and fear the Lord, walk the middle path. (Ecclesiastes 7:15)
5. No one, yeah, no one gets it perfectly right, there is no one on this earth who is perfect and without sin. (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
6. See a seducer? Run!! That's the wisest thing you can do, you play with fire you will be burned, there is no escaping, so don't walk into it in the first place! (Ecclesiastes 7:26)
Stay Tuned! I pray your comfort and reconciliation with your families during this time of regrouping and restoration after Hurricane Sandy! God Bless!
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