PT-3 "God's Glory versus Man's Disgrace" (Dan. 6:28)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/11/2013 8:59 PM

My Worship Time                                             Focus:  God’s Glory versus Man’s Disgrace PT-3

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Daniel 6:28

            Message of the verse:  With this SD we will come to the end of the sixth chapter of the book of Daniel and so that means that we will go back to the book of Isaiah in our next SD. 

            God’s Servant Prospered (Daniel 6:28):  “28 So this Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”

            We know that this Darius was sixty-two years old when he came to rule in Babylon for the Medes and Persians Empire, however some speculate that Darius was a title like President of Prime Minister or even Pharaoh and so Darius could well have been Cyrus.  We don’t know the end of his rule, but we do know that he praised the God of Daniel and also Daniel prospered in his time.  Remember that verse 28 can be translated “Even in the reign of Cyrus the Persian,” and this is why some believe that they are one in the same person.

            I don’t think that we know about all of the influence that Daniel had while living in the city of Babylon, probably much more than we realize.  For instance some think that it was because of the influence of Daniel and the prophecies that he wrote caused the magi to travel to Bethlehem after the Lord Jesus Christ was born.  Daniel succeeded because of his obedience to God and so God blessed the ministry that He had given to Daniel.  We will even see when we get to the ninth chapter of Daniel that he is called favored in heaven as Gabriel tells him in that ninth chapter. 

            God sent His people to Babylon because of their disobedience, but did not give up on them as there would be a remnant who returned.  While they lived in Babylon I am sure that they were encouraged by the three men whom God saved while in the fiery furnace, and also encouraged by Daniel saved from the mouth of the lions.  God was using Daniel to not only write this wonderful book but to encourage His people and to continue His plan of Salvation that comes through Jesus Christ.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  With obedience like Daniel I too can please the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Proverbs 3:5-6.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 46:1-10. 

            1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.

    6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. 7 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. 8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. 9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. 10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “The son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

Today’s Bible Question:  “What did a woman do to be healed from an issue of blood?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

8/11/2013 9:17 PM

PT-2 "God's Glory Versus Man's Disgrace" (Dan. 6:25-27)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/10/2013 2:45 PM

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  God’s Glory Versus Man’s Disgrace PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Daniel 6:25-27

            Message of the verses:  We will look at the second sub-point under this forth main point from Dr. Wiersbe’s outline for this sixth chapter of Daniel.

            The Lord was Glorified (Daniel 6:25-27):  “25 Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language who were living in all the land: "May your peace abound! 26  "I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; For He is the living God and enduring forever, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, And His dominion will be forever. 27 “He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.’”

            It was mentioned in the last SD that God could have kept Daniel from going into the lion’s den, but one of the reasons that God allowed Daniel to go into the lion’s den was so that He would receive glory and we see that God did receive glory from the king in these three verses.  At the beginning of the chapter Darius declared himself to be God, but now he declares the God of the Hebrews to be God.  Now we know that not all of the people who lived in the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians began to believe in God, but it was a wonderful thing that the king declared God to be God, and it was because He delivered Daniel from the mouths of the lions. 

            Now here is something we should remember from the story and others like it that we find in the Scriptures and that is that when we get ourselves into some kind of trouble we most generally pray that God would deliver us from that trouble, but perhaps we should pray that God would see us through the trouble and that by doing that He will receive glory.

            I mentioned in an earlier SD’s that whenever a kingdom would conquer another kingdom they would take the gods of the defeated kingdom and put them into the temples of their gods showing that there gods were superior to the conquered peoples gods.  In this story in Daniel and others like it we see that even though the Babylonians put the vessels they found in the temple of their gods, the God of the Hebrews is still seen to be the One true God, even though the Jews were defeated in 586 B. C. 

            One more thing to take note of and that is that the things that Darius said about the Lord are as true as what Moses or David or even Paul said about the Lord, and we don’t know whether or not he actually knew the Lord in a personal way.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Remember that there are times when God will see me through the trouble that I am in and not just take the trouble away.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Proverbs 3:5-6.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 46:1-9

            1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;  3 though the waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.  Selah.  4 There is a river whose streams make glade the city of God the holy dwelling place of the most high.  5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved, God will help her when morning dawns.

            6 The nations make an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted.  7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.  Selah.  8 Come behold the works of the Lord, who has wrought desolations in the earth.  9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “A chamber (house or room) (2 Kings 4:8-10).”

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who shall sit in the temple of God trying to act as God?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

8/10/2013 3:21 PM    

PT-1 "God's Glory versus man's Disgrace" (Daniel 6:24)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/9/2013 2:04 PM

My Worship Time                                          Focus: God’s Glory versus man’s Disgrace PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Daniel 6:24

            Message of the verse:  We begin the last main section in Dr. Wiersbe’s outline on Daniel six by looking at the first sub-point.

            The Traitors Were Judged (Daniel 6:24):  “24  The king then gave orders, and they brought those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and they cast them, their children and their wives into the lions’ den; and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.”

            I know that there were not computers or I-pads or internet or facebook, but I am sure that the news about Daniel spending a night in the lion’s den spread life fire through the city of Babylon.  I God desired He could have prevented Daniel from going into the lion’s den, but by him spending the night there without any injuries this would bring great glory to the God whom Daniel served.

            What happened to Daniel and then his accusers is seen perfectly from Proverbs 11:8 “The righteous is delivered from trouble, But the wicked takes his place.”  Not all of the 122 officials were thrown into the lion’s den, but only those who came to the king accusing Daniel of breaking this law.  It was the law of the Medes and the Persians that their families had to be executed too, so that should have given enough incentive for these men to watch what they were doing, but it didn’t and they became feed for the lions.

            Let’s look at another Proverb:  “He who digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him (Proverbs 26:27).”  An early example of this Proverb can be seen when Pharaoh gave orders for the male children of the children of Israel to be killed because he was afraid that they would overpower the Egyptians.  The last plague given by God was that all of the firstborn of the Egyptians would die and they all did.  The way that Pharaoh decided to kill the babies was to drown them in the Nile River and then all the Egyptians who were following the children of Israel across the dried up Red Sea drowned.  Haman tried to kill all the Jews but died on the gallows that he had made for Mordecai as seen in the book of Ester.  When we look around at all of the thing that sinful people do to the innocent and don’t see them come to judgment on this earth we can be sure that they will get their just reward as seen in Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am so glad that my sins were paid for by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as He willingly took my place on the cross and game me His righteousness in exchange.  Amazing Grace.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  As I remember of what Jesus did for me on the cross I want to live for Him while He gives me life on this earth.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 46:1-9

            1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 though its waters road and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.  Selah.  4 There is a river whose streams make glade the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the most high.  5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved, God will help her when morning dawns. 

            6 The nations make and uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted.  7 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold.  Selah.  8 Come behold the works of the Lord, who has wrought desolations in the earth.  9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spears in two; He burns the chariots with fire.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Ecclesiastes.”

Today’s Bible Question:  “What did the woman at Shunem build for Elisha?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

8/9/2013 2:47 PM

PT-3 "God's Power versus Man's Authority" (Dan. 6:19-23)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/8/2013 11:14 AM

My Worship Time                                   Focus:  PT-3 of “God’s Power versus Man’s Authority”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Daniel 6:19-23

            Message of the verses:  Today we look at the third and last sub-point in this third main point that is found in Dr. Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on Daniel.

            The Lord Victorious (Daniel 6:19-23):  “Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?" 21 Then Daniel spoke to the king, "O king, live forever! 22 "My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime." 23 Then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.”

            When we look at this section of Scripture we see that Darius gave a kind of weak statement about Daniel’s God being the One True God.  We also see that God had sent an angel to not only keep the lion’s mouth’s closed, but he also kept Daniel company for the night.  When Daniel’s three friends were cast in the fiery furnace we also saw and angel with them in the furnace.  We will eventually see other times in the book of Daniel that angel’s are at work, and the subject of angels is indeed a very important subject when we are looking at the Word of God, for God uses angels to do His work, and to protect His children.  The author of Hebrews writes that there are times when we may be entertaining angels and not even know it.

            In his sermon on this sixth chapter of Daniel, John MacArthur stated that there were some people, (liberal theologians) who believed that these lions that were in the pit with Daniel were not hungry.  I think that is kind of humorous because these same lions would kill many people in the next section we look at.  I think I will just believe the story as Daniel tells it.

            Now we come to something that we will not always understand, and have to take by faith, and that is why God would save Daniel from the mouths of the lions and yet in other cases not save others who are written about in Scripture, and not only in Scripture but in the Church age that we now live in.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “God saved Daniel because it brought great glory to His name and also, because he still had more work to do.  God’s servants are immortal until their work is done.”  When we look at the “faith chapter” which is Hebrews chapter eleven we find that in verses 1-35 the story is about those who demonstrated great faith, and yet the Lord delivered them from trial and death in some miraculous ways.  Now as we look at verses 36-40 the story is different for it describes the “others” that also had great faith and yet were persecuted and martyred.  An example of this is that James the brother of Jesus was killed by the sword, and yet Peter was let loose by an angel to continue his ministry until God was done with it and then he also was martyred for the cause of Christ.

            At this time I want to quote an interesting endnote from Dr. Wiersbe on this subject:  “"The Lord so worked that King Darius obeyed his own law and yet Daniel was still delivered from death. This reminds us that God has worked in a similar way in His great plan of salvation. 'The wages of sin is death' (Rom. 6:23), so Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world and paid the debt we cannot pay. But He arose from the dead so that He might forgive all who will receive Him by faith. God obeyed His own law and is therefore 'just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus' (Romans. 3:26, NKJV)."    

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are some very interesting things that are written in this section of Daniel, and things that I don’t understand fully, and so it takes faith to believe that what we read is true.  Daniel is one of the books that liberal theologians like to target because of all the miracles that are found in it and also because of all the prophecies that are found in it that have already taken place and some that will still take place.  If you take out the miracles and the prophecies in the Bible it is just another weak book. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to increase my faith as I study His Word.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 46:1-9

            1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 though the waters roar and foam, thought the mountains quake at its swelling pride.  Selah.  4 There is a river whose streams make glade the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the most high.  5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved, God will help her when morning dawns.

            6 The nations make an uproar the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice the earth melted.  7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.  Selah.  8 Come behold the works of the Lord, who has wrought desolations in the earth.  9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;  He burns the chariots with fire.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Seth” (Genesis 4:25).”  I have to say that I am not sure that I agree with this answer, but I will leave it to the readers to draw their own conclusion.  I get these questions from a game called “Bible Challenge” and am learning things from the questions too, but as I said I am not sure if I agree with this answer.

Today’s Bible Question:  “Which book states ‘Vanity of vanities; all is vanity?’”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.  8/8/2013 12:07 PM

PT-2 "God's Power Versus Man's Authority" (Dan. 6:14-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/7/2013 12:00 PM

My Worship Time                                            Focus:  God’s Power Versus man’s authority PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Daniel 6:14-18

            Message of the verses:  The sub-point we will look at under this third main point in Dr. Wiersbe’s outline is what we will look at today.

            The king distressed (Daniel 6:14-18):  “14  Then, as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to rescue him. 15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, "Recognize, O king that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or statute which the king establishes may be changed." 16 Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, "Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you." 17 A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel. 18 Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.”

            One thing that we continue to learn from this book of Daniel and also in the book of Ester is that the laws of the Medes and the Persians could not be revoked once they were signed into law.  Perhaps the reason that the king was so distressed is that he did not consult with Daniel before he had signed this law into being the law of the land.  He was put into a similar place that Herod was put in when his step-daughter came and asked for the head of John the Baptist after he had bragged that she could have anything she asked for.  Darius liked Daniel very much and it can be seen and one of the reasons he liked him was because Daniel would give great wisdom to him which would aid him in ruling the country.  God had Daniel in this position to work things out the way He wanted them to work out.  I believe that God allowed this putting Daniel into the lion’s den for several reasons:  First it would bring glory to the Lord, as the king put his seal on the stone so that everyone would realize that Daniel’s God had saved him from the jaws of the lion, and thus this would bring glory to the Lord.  Also those who were Daniel’s enemies would be removed from power as the lions would eat them for lunch and thus they would be gone.  Speaking of this the lion’s den, it was a large pit with a fence in the middle of it that could be lifted up so that the lions could be on one side and this would allow the keeper of the lions to come in and clean the cage and feed the lions when there were no executions to take place, but we can be sure from this story of Daniel that the lions were kept hungry so that they could do their job.

            The king prayed that Daniel’s God would save him from the jaws of the lions and after that he put his seal on the rock, probably using some wax between the rock and where it closed the lion’s den.  He went off to bed, but could not sleep, and deprived himself the things that kings could have to help him sleep.  We remember in the story of Ester that that Persian king could not sleep one night and so he had someone bring in the chronicles that were written to record what happened to be read to him. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Daniel had a great faith in God as he went into the lion’s den, a faith that is the kind that is wonderful to have, and one of the reasons I believe he has such a faith was because of his willingness to study the Word of God and his willingness to pray in a systematic way. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  “23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 46:1-9

            1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  2 Therefore we will not fear thought the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 though the waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.  Selah.  4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the most high.  5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved, God will help her when morning dawns.

            6 The nations make an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted.  7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.  Selah.  8 Come behold the works of the Lord, who has wrought desolations in the earth.  9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire. 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Philippi” (Acts 16:12, 25).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who was the third son of Adam and Eve?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

8/7/2013 12:37 PM

God's Power Versus Man's Authority (Dan. 6:12-13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/6/2013 7:56 AM

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  God’s power versus man’s authority PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Daniel 6:12-13

            Message of the verses:  We begin the third main point in Dr. Wiersbe’s outline for the sixth chapter of Daniel remembering that the forces we are seeing in this sixth chapter often will be seen in different settings in life, settings like our families, our churches or even in our job locations (corporations), and finally can be seen in our governments.

            Daniel accused (Daniel 6:11-12):  “12  Then they approached and spoke before the king about the king’s injunction, "Did you not sign an injunction that any man who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions’ den?" The king replied, "The statement is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked." 13  Then they answered and spoke before the king, "Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you signed, but keeps making his petition three times a day.’”

            We have already mentioned that Daniel prayed three times a day to the Lord with his window open towards Jerusalem, and that Daniel was 80+ years old and so he had done this for a long time and had seen some amazing answer’s to his prayers, and so it is no surprise that he continued doing this same thing. “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Paul wrote these words to the Philippian church, and we know from our study of Daniel that he too believed this.

            I wonder what went through the mind of Darius when these men came to tell him about Daniel’s disobeying of the new law that the king signed.  Do you suppose the first thing he thought of was that he had made a grave error in signing this law because he knew that Daniel prayed to the Lord three times a day?  I think that the king knew that he had egg on his face but did not know how to wash it off.  God would take care of this and in doing so would bring glory to Himself, and Darius would know that Daniel’s God was the One true God.

            Some quotes from Dr. Wiersbe on this section:  “As they take their stand for what is right and what the Lord has commanded them to do, God’s people in every age have been falsely accused, cruelly persecuted, and unjustly killed.  ‘Yes, and all who desires to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution’ (2Tim. 3:12, NKJV).  The Puritan preacher Henry Smith said, ‘God examines with trials, the devil with temptations and the world with persecutions.’  Another Puritan, Richard Baxter, said that God’s people should be more concerned that they deserved the persecution than that they be delivered from it, because deserving it would be evidence of their faithfulness to the Lord.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I believe that persecution will soon come upon those who live in our country, and my prayer is that I will not waver from my trust in the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Proverbs 3:5-6.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 46:1-9

            1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.  Selah.  4 There is a river whose streams make glade the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the most high.  God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved, God will help her when morning dawns.

            6 The nations make an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted.  7 The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our stronghold.  Selah.  8 Come behold the works of the Lord, who wrought desolations in the earth.  9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Simon Peter” (Luke 5:5).

Today’s Bible Question:  “In what city did Paul and Silas sing in jail at midnight?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

8/6/2013 8:30 AM

PT-2 "Believing Versus Scheming" (Dan. 6:10-11)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/5/2013 11:16 AM

My Worship Time                                                           Focus:  Believing versus Scheming PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Daniel 6:10-11

            Message of the verses:  We will pick up where we left off yesterday in our study of the sixth chapter of Daniel.

            Daniel’s Response (Daniel 6:10-11):  “10  Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.  11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God.”

            I wonder what went through Daniel’s mind when he read the document that stated that everyone had to only pray to Darius for a month.  I would think that perhaps the first thing that he did was pray to the Lord for wisdom, and yet Daniel knew that by following the provisions of the document that he would be blaspheming the Lord, and Daniel knew that death was better than doing that.  Daniel knew what had happened to his three friends and how God had protected them in the fiery furnace, so he knew that God could protect him from the mouths of the lions.  Perhaps that is how Daniel prayed that God would shut the mouths of the lions, or perhaps the thought came into his mind that his ministry was complete and this is the way that God was going to take him home.  However if we look in the book of Ester and see that the plot was against all of the Jews, perhaps this document would have done the same thing and not only Daniel would be killed, but all the Jews who prayed to the Lord.  At any rate Daniel did not change his times of praying to the Lord with his windows opened towards Jerusalem, just as Solomon had said for the Jews to do when they were not living in Israel.  Solomon made that statement when he dedicated the temple to the Lord early in his reign over Israel. (1 Kings 8:28-30):  “28  "Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today; 29  that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, ’My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place. 30 “Listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear in heaven Your dwelling place; hear and forgive.”

            We see again in the life of Daniel that there was no compromise in his life when it came to the things of the Lord.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “No, a man like Daniel feared only the Lord; and when you fear the Lord you need not fear anyone else.  ‘We ought to obey God rather than men’ (Acts 5:29).”

            We read at the end of Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on this section the following:  “The most important part of a believer’s life is the part that only God sees, our daily private time of meditation and prayer.  ‘You pray as your face is set,’ said British theologian P. T. Forsythe, ‘towards Jerusalem or Babylon.’  Most of the world begins the day looking toward the world and hoping to get something from it, but the Christian believer looks to the Lord and His promises and enters each new day by faith.  Outlook determines outcome, and when we look to the Lord for His guidance and help each day, we know that the outcome is in His hands and that we have nothing to fear.  ‘Real true faith is man’s weakness leaning on God’s strength,’ said D. L. Moody, and we might add man’s weakness transformed into God’s strength (Heb. 11:34).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Two things:  Don’t compromise and only fear the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Proverbs 3:5-6.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 46:1-9

            1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea, 3 though the waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.  Selah.  4 There is a river whose streams make glade the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the most high.  5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved, God will help when morning dawns.

            6 The nations make an uproar, the kingdoms tottered, He raised His voice, the earth melted.  7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.  Selah.  8 Come behold the works of the Lord, who wrought desolations in the earth.  9 He makes wars to cease; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in tow; He burns the chariots with fire.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Enter the straight gate” (Matthew 7:13).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who said ‘Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing:  nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net’?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

8/5/2013 11:46 AM