Now
when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his
upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he
got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done
before.
Monday, March 31,
2014, 4:10 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put the song “Fully Ready” in mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Daniel 6 (quoting selected verses NIV).
Fully Ready! / An
Original Work / June 19, 2013
Based off Acts 20-22, 26; Mt. 28:18-20; Ac. 1:8
Why are you weeping
and breaking my heart?
I’m fully ready to
suffer for Christ.
If I must die for the
sake of His name,
I am convinced it will
not be in vain.
Glory to God and to
His Son Jesus,
Who has redeemed us;
bought with His blood.
May I speak to you?
Jesus came to me;
Asked of me, “Why do
you persecute me?”
He said, “Now get up
and stand on your feet.
Go, and you’ll be told
all I have for you.
I have appointed you
as a servant,
And as a witness; you
have been sent.”
“Go into the world and
preach the gospel.
Open the blind eyes.
They will receive sight.
Turn them from
darkness to the light of Christ;
From power of the evil
one to God,
So they may receive
forgiveness of sins,
And a place among
those who’re in heav’n.”
False Charges
It
pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with
three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel... Now Daniel so
distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his
exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges
against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do
so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and
neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, “We will never find any
basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with
the law of his God.”
So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the
king. They tricked the king into issuing a binding decree, which could not be
altered, which said that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the
next 30 days, except to the king, should be thrown into a den of lions. So King
Darius put the decree in writing.
It appears to me here that these other administrators and
satraps were jealous of Daniel and/or that they were threatened by him in some
way, perhaps because of his honesty and integrity and/or their lack thereof. When
people walk in the darkness of sin and rebellion against God, they hate the
light of Christ and his gospel, and so many of them put forth a concerted effort
to try to discredit the Lord’s servants and/or the word of God and/or to bring Christ’s
followers under some type of persecution so as to silence them and/or to lessen
their realm of influence in other people’s lives. The Pharisees in the New
Testament were notorious for this, as they often tried to discredit Jesus and
his followers and to bring false accusations against them, even arresting,
falsely accusing, beating and killing some of them. And, we should expect to be
treated similarly if we are standing strong in our faith in Christ, and if we
are being the Lord’s witnesses in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As He Had Done
Now
when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his
upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he
got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done
before.
Awesome! Is that not the kind of response each one of us
should have? We should never fear humans and what they might and can do to us, but
we should continue in our faith, doing what we have always done, even in the
face of severe persecution and the threat of death for the sake of the name of
Christ and his gospel. Nothing should shake us or make us retreat, but we
should stand strong in our faith and commitment to Christ despite any and all persecution
raised up against us, because God is greater than all, and he is able to rescue
us, either to rescue us from the threat of danger itself, or from the fear of
man; or to rescue us spiritually through giving us increased strength, courage
and perseverance, or to rescue us through death in taking us home to be with
him.
The Trickery
Then
these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So
they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not
publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god
or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’
den?”
The
king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and
Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
Then the men informed the king that Daniel didn’t pay any
attention to the king’s decree, but that he still prayed three times a day to
his God. This greatly distressed the king, because Daniel was highly favored with
him, so he tried to rescue Daniel, but to no avail. So, he was forced to give
the order to have Daniel thrown into the lion’s den. Yet, he said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually,
rescue you!”
The Miraculous Rescue
The king couldn’t sleep that night. At dawn he got up and
hurried to the lion’s den. He called out to Daniel, inquiring of him to see if
his God had indeed rescued him. Daniel replied that God had sent his angel to
shut the mouths of the lions, and that he was not harmed. So, the king ordered
that Daniel be lifted out of the den and that his accusers and their wives and
children be thrown into the lion’s den instead. Then, the king issued a decree
that the people in every part of his kingdom must fear and reverence the God of
Daniel.
“For
he is the living God
and he endures forever;
his
kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.
He
rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He
has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
This is awesome how God worked in Daniel’s life and in his circumstances
to show that God himself is the one and only true God. Yet, we know from the
life of Jesus, and from the lives of his followers since Jesus’ death and
resurrection, and from the teachings of Christ and of his gospel, that God does
not always rescue us miraculously from our difficult circumstances, though he
may. Yet, he will always deliver us through them, if we are willing, and if we
will place our trust in him and not give way to the fear of man. God works in
many ways, some of which may not make sense to us at the time they are
happening, yet he always has a plan and a purpose, and he will work all things
out for good for those of us who love him and who have been called according to
his purpose. We just need to keep on keeping on doing what he has called us to
do and to never ever give up!
Wait! / An
Original Work / February 8, 2014
Wait for your Lord. Be
of courage.
Be strong, and take
heart today.
God is always watching
o’er you.
Trust Him with your
life always.
Sing of your Lord.
Praise His blessings.
Believe in His
sovereignty.
He delivered you from
your sin;
Gave you life
eternally.
Rest in your Lord.
Know His promise.
Beneath His wings rest
secure.
Your God has a plan
and purpose.
Let your faith in Him
endure.
Trust in your Lord.
He’ll not leave you,
Because He is
faithfulness.
He will lead and
guide; protect you.
In His love you can
find rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment