Well the three Jews were ordered out of the fire as Jesus had protected them through it. The scriptures says there was no hint of even being in the fire...no smell, no burns, nothing. Look at the King"s response to the three Jews:
Daniel 3:28-29
28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! 29 Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”
The King noticed the faith of the three Jews. Even though they had disobeyed his command to bow to the golden image. He noticed their unwavering commitment to God as he stated in verse 28 "and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!" Brothers and sisters there will come times in our lives where we must stand for our God no matter what even if we are facing death! Unbelievers notice when we stand!
Look what the King did next! He praised God! "There is no other God who can deliver like this." He even made a decree that whoever says anything bad about God would be killed and houses burnt! Wow!
We have to make a stand for our God, not all will turn and follow who are unbelievers but atleast they will know how much we love and trust our God !
Tom
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Jesus will be with you in the fire!
Continuing on from yesterday. The three Jews did not bow to the golden image as commanded by the King. This made him very angry and he commanded them to throw the three Jews into the fire. The fire was so hot it killed the men who threw the Jews into the fire! This is where we pick it up today:
Daniel 3:24-25
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”
They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
When we stand for our Lord Jesus, He will be with you. In the good times or in the fire. I have read so many accounts over history of how Jesus was with those who were standing firm for Him. Some resulted in death and some were able to live. The point is Jesus WILL BE with us! I think of the Stephen the Martyr...the only time in the Bible we see Jesus standing at the right hand of God to receive one of His own:
Acts 7:54-60
54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Jesus was there with Stephen and He will be there will those who have put their trust in Him!
Keep the faith my friends!
Tom
Daniel 3:24-25
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”
They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
When we stand for our Lord Jesus, He will be with you. In the good times or in the fire. I have read so many accounts over history of how Jesus was with those who were standing firm for Him. Some resulted in death and some were able to live. The point is Jesus WILL BE with us! I think of the Stephen the Martyr...the only time in the Bible we see Jesus standing at the right hand of God to receive one of His own:
Acts 7:54-60
54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Jesus was there with Stephen and He will be there will those who have put their trust in Him!
Keep the faith my friends!
Tom
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Let it be known!
To give you a little back ground on this scripture this morning.... King Nebuchadnezzar had been told that these 3 Jews were not bowing down to the gold image that he had set up. This made the King very mad and he confronted them and gave them one last chance to bow and this is their answer:
Daniel 3:16-18
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
This gives me goose bumps! We have to ask ourselves this morning....if our necks are on the line and we have the option to stay true to our God or give in to a false god....what will we do? Do we have the faith of these 3 Jews? I love their response. God will deliver one way or another....we will worship nothing else! I pray this morning for all of us to have this kind of faith!
As the 3 Jews said "Let it be known", this morning may we believers in Christ also say" Let it be known" we will serve and worship Jesus only!
Tom
Daniel 3:16-18
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
This gives me goose bumps! We have to ask ourselves this morning....if our necks are on the line and we have the option to stay true to our God or give in to a false god....what will we do? Do we have the faith of these 3 Jews? I love their response. God will deliver one way or another....we will worship nothing else! I pray this morning for all of us to have this kind of faith!
As the 3 Jews said "Let it be known", this morning may we believers in Christ also say" Let it be known" we will serve and worship Jesus only!
Tom
Monday, March 7, 2011
God reveals to those seeking!
God....He is amazing. Before this verse God through Daniel reveals what the dream King Nebuchadnezzar had. This is the King's response:
Daniel 2:47 (New King James Version)
47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.”
God does reveal to those that seek Him. This brought to mind a story I read last week that i want to share with you. Some have already seen it. It was a rebuttal to a woman who had wrote an article about homosexuality. This woman basically says the Bible does not say homosexuality is wrong. In the rebuttal the write states the Bible clearly does state that homosexuality is wrong and a sin. While I want you to read this story, I also want you to read the comments afterward. I was shocked to see how many folks don't believe the Bible!!!! Many also claim to have read the Bible and than confirmed their beliefs that the Bible is wrong!
Here is the link to the story:
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/03/my-take-the-bible-really-does-condemn-homosexuality/
This verse in Daniel made me think about how God will reveal himself to those who seek Him. For some salvation is a secret that we must be about revealing!!! Are you seeking Him today. Are you revealing Jesus to others through your life and the Word? Be in prayer for this World of ours as it is very obvious many are not seeking God and if their is not a turning to Him we know what their final destiny will be my friends....hell.
Pray my friends....pray.
Tom
Daniel 2:47 (New King James Version)
47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.”
God does reveal to those that seek Him. This brought to mind a story I read last week that i want to share with you. Some have already seen it. It was a rebuttal to a woman who had wrote an article about homosexuality. This woman basically says the Bible does not say homosexuality is wrong. In the rebuttal the write states the Bible clearly does state that homosexuality is wrong and a sin. While I want you to read this story, I also want you to read the comments afterward. I was shocked to see how many folks don't believe the Bible!!!! Many also claim to have read the Bible and than confirmed their beliefs that the Bible is wrong!
Here is the link to the story:
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/03/my-take-the-bible-really-does-condemn-homosexuality/
This verse in Daniel made me think about how God will reveal himself to those who seek Him. For some salvation is a secret that we must be about revealing!!! Are you seeking Him today. Are you revealing Jesus to others through your life and the Word? Be in prayer for this World of ours as it is very obvious many are not seeking God and if their is not a turning to Him we know what their final destiny will be my friends....hell.
Pray my friends....pray.
Tom
Friday, March 4, 2011
Praise God for answered prayer.
God answers so many of our prayers. We can't thank him enough. Here in these verses God has answered Daniel's prayer that he could interpet and know King Nebuchadnezzars dream. God did and these verses are in response to God answering that prayer:
Daniel 2:20-23
So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said:
“ Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him.
23 “ I thank You and praise You,
O God of my fathers;
You have given me wisdom and might,
And have now made known to me what we asked of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
Do you take time to praise God for answered prayer? I know I don't enough. I ask for so much and I should be greatful enough to praise Him for the ones God answers and the ones He don't for God knows best!
Thank you Jesus for listening and answer us in our petitions.
Tom
Daniel 2:20-23
So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said:
“ Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him.
23 “ I thank You and praise You,
O God of my fathers;
You have given me wisdom and might,
And have now made known to me what we asked of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
Do you take time to praise God for answered prayer? I know I don't enough. I ask for so much and I should be greatful enough to praise Him for the ones God answers and the ones He don't for God knows best!
Thank you Jesus for listening and answer us in our petitions.
Tom
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Do you know what would defile you?
First let us define defile: to make foul, dirty, or unclean; pollute; taint; debase.
Daniel 1:8
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Daniel was a man of God. He wanted to stay pure before God. That should be the desire of us all who are children of the Lord. For the Christian it is pretty easy to define what will defile us before God....sin! Thankfully if we have received the shed blood of Jesus Christ for our sins we are pure before God. One of the problems with Christians today is not knowing what God's Word calls sin, I guess a better way to put it would be ignorance of God's Word. My brothers and sisters there are so many things God"s Word warns us about that we either choose to ignore or don't know the Word tells us is sin. For example turning our backs on the poor, pride, hoarding money, putting material things before God, and putting God somewhere else than #1 on our priority list to name a few. When we do these and other sins we defile ourselves before God and must confess our sin to Him.
I pray for all of us this morning that out hearts and minds will be in the same spirit as Daniel and choose not to defile ourselves before the almighty God. Make sure our noses are in the Word so we know what defiles us!
Tom
Daniel 1:8
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Daniel was a man of God. He wanted to stay pure before God. That should be the desire of us all who are children of the Lord. For the Christian it is pretty easy to define what will defile us before God....sin! Thankfully if we have received the shed blood of Jesus Christ for our sins we are pure before God. One of the problems with Christians today is not knowing what God's Word calls sin, I guess a better way to put it would be ignorance of God's Word. My brothers and sisters there are so many things God"s Word warns us about that we either choose to ignore or don't know the Word tells us is sin. For example turning our backs on the poor, pride, hoarding money, putting material things before God, and putting God somewhere else than #1 on our priority list to name a few. When we do these and other sins we defile ourselves before God and must confess our sin to Him.
I pray for all of us this morning that out hearts and minds will be in the same spirit as Daniel and choose not to defile ourselves before the almighty God. Make sure our noses are in the Word so we know what defiles us!
Tom
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Well do you love Jesus?
He said to him the third time, ’. . . do you love Me?’ —John 21:17
I read this verse this morning and was thinking on it. It is such a simple question that Jesus asked Peter. But really it is very deep. God is asking us the same question. Peter responded that Jesus already knew the answer and he was right. God does know the answer. Each day God asks us this question as we go through the day. You walk by a child who needs some clothes....can you hear God say "do you love Me?". A co-worker makes you mad and you are about to lash out at them and you hear God say "do you love Me?". Your friend needs to hear the gospel and you hear God say "do you love Me?". We can list a million things here. As the old saying goes talk is cheap. We can tell God we love Him but the proof is in our actions. Jesus told Peter to "feed my sheep". Love in action.
So this morning Jesus is asking "do you love Me?"....show Him how much you love Him!
Tom
I read this verse this morning and was thinking on it. It is such a simple question that Jesus asked Peter. But really it is very deep. God is asking us the same question. Peter responded that Jesus already knew the answer and he was right. God does know the answer. Each day God asks us this question as we go through the day. You walk by a child who needs some clothes....can you hear God say "do you love Me?". A co-worker makes you mad and you are about to lash out at them and you hear God say "do you love Me?". Your friend needs to hear the gospel and you hear God say "do you love Me?". We can list a million things here. As the old saying goes talk is cheap. We can tell God we love Him but the proof is in our actions. Jesus told Peter to "feed my sheep". Love in action.
So this morning Jesus is asking "do you love Me?"....show Him how much you love Him!
Tom
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