Category: Daniel

Today you should read: Daniel 2:1-17

Talk about flying off the handle! Nebuchadnezzar really wanted an interpretation of his dream, but he could find no one to give such a thing to him. He upped the stakes for the “wise men of Babylon” because he was tired of their fake words. Here’s what he wanted: someone to not only give interpretation, but to recount the dream as well without him giving any inkling as to the content of the dream. He wanted a quasi-psychic, mind-reading fortune teller. At the end of the day, nobody met these requirements…. and he had them all killed.

Nebuchadnezzar is a prime example of an overly proud and power-hungry autocratic authoritarian. He had no sense of real justice. He did not serve the true God. People were literally (and fatally) expendable resources. This kind of rule would soon merit harsh judgment.

God used these dreams to get Nebuchadnezzar’s attention and God used Daniel as His mouthpiece to get the point across loud and clear. We all approach this story in scripture with a downward eye on Nebuchadnezzar, but before we throw a stone his way, should we pause to see ourselves in this story?

We may not be killing people and ruling in an unjust way but every single one of us has sin struggles. We all fight to be the god of our own lives. We want it our way and we want our name in the spotlight. So… how is God trying to get your attention?

A recent sermon?
Seeing the downfall of a friend/family member due to sin?
A verse of scripture that won’t leave your head?
A close friend’s rebuke?
A season of discipline from God?
Consequences from a wrong decision?
________________________?

My advice (to myself, and to anyone reading):

Stop.
Listen to the voice and heart of the God who loves you.
Obey.

Posted by: Todd Thomas

Today you should read: Daniel 1

Today we begin the book of Daniel. This is such an amazing book filled with so much for us to go through together. From the very first chapter we see several things happening. Judah has fallen to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and several of the prominent people of Judah have been taken to Babylon to serve the king. Much of the book of Daniel is the story of four of those guys, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (aka, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) We see today that they have been taken prisoner and forced to come under the king of Babylon’s service. One part of their preparation to serve was to eat of the king’s food. This food was strictly forbidden for them to eat so they had a choice, eat and disobey God’s laws or disobey the king and be killed. This was certainly a “rock and a hard place” moment but these guys knew they had a God they could trust to deliver them. As we read through this book we will see this lesson time and again.

We can trust God to deliver us from impossible circumstances

Daniel and his friends knew that obeying God was more important than anything, even death. But, more than that, they knew that God could deliver them from this tough situation.. and, He did.

What about you? Would you have that kind of faith? Maybe you have gone through a tough spot and you still relied on God and left the outcome in His hands. If not, I want us to think, pray and consider today :

Do I trust God to deliver me from impossible circumstances?

Posted by: Robbie Byrd