Daniel 1
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god.
3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, 4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9
And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.”
11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”
14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. 16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.
17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
18 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.
21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.
Blessing. Adversity. Fear. Salvation.
Jeremiah 39
11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, saying, 12 “Take him, look after him, and do not let any harm come to him; do for him whatever he says.”
The Second Exodus of Israel is well documented by cuneiform.
God's Mercy has been at work every day.
1 Chronicles 4
9Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” 10 And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only You would bless me and enlarge my territory! May Your hand be with me and keep me from harm, so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted the request of Jabez.
Pain created the need in Jabez to seek and find God's Help and Blessing.
In 2002, we had a very wonderful afternoon filling our house with Christians from Sheffield, England. We had a group of people reading in our outdoor spa with books held high above the water. People visiting all over the breakfast table. The house was filled. The Consensus of the afternoon was discussed at the end of the day. Why had World War II crippled the Churches of Europe and the U.K.?
The Liturgy has been read for Centuries. Usually this is usually a morning Psalm, an evening Psalm, a reading from the Old Testament, Epistle - a Book from the New Testament, and a Gospel Reading. Usually travelers find comfort knowing the Liturgy, read for a millennium or more, is being read world wide to create uniform prayer. A unity of the communion of saints.
The question that day - so long ago - why did the Scriptures and the worship fail to bring the people of God to Church in the years following the Wars? Why didn't the Liturgy sustain people?
People in great trauma rarely lead one another well. Winston Churchill feared nothing involved in the World Wars would ever recover. And the people of Sheffield at my house said it was read as if it was tradition and not the Salvation of mankind in this fight - today.
A lot of times the Liturgy, when placed together like a puzzle - can challenge you to find in the Living Word of God - the connection of your thoughts. But in dire times - people, perhaps, are overwhelmed.
On Saturday, I was reading Luke 4, Jesus in the Synagogue of Nazareth and the Spirit of God moving outside of borders. Jesus was attempted to be stoned. The next day, I was reading John 10, people decided to get Jesus again for proclaiming Himself Shepherd, True Shepherd. And both times the people came to Jesus in multitudes.
Leading to the reading of Matthew 25. The Ten Talents and the one talent servant. The Servant with Ten Talents, believes God is Good. To whom much is given, much is required. Jesus Believes, Today, God is Good. The Servant with Ten Talents is sure God's Purpose is Good. And Jesus being attacked, believed God would work all things for good for those serving His Purpose.
In War, people are depressed. The whole world seems hostile and destroyed. And God says Believe something will arrive in the favor and goodness of God's Mercy.
To know the Scriptures is to Know the Power of God.
Romans 8:28
And we know
that for those who love God
all things work together for good,
for those who are called according to His purpose.
God never leaves nor forsakes us. What does God do when mankind can not fill every dot and iota of Scripture with faith themselves?
Mark 10 explains
32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.
God never leaves nor forsakes us.
When we are of little faith, God will help. We just ask Jesus. He will do what He has done for others who were weak or afraid.
John 21
After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.
9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.
12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”
Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Even our difficulties - create the time to realize our worth in God. To realize our Faith. To realize we have willingness to God. A reason to find gratitude.
Abba,
We Thank You every day Your Mercies Renew. You send us people to pray with. You give us Love and Loved ones. You give us Fellowship.
Thank You for the favor You have given to those I Love. Thank You.
You have told us to pray Impudently for our needs. To believe You to be our Friend, our Jesus, our Father. You were so Impudent, Jesus told us to pray when we felt an Evil Judge was in charge. You do not leave nor forsake us. We will impudently pray expecting relief, refuge, Love and Mercy.
We pray even more pleasing to You to remember to pray to Seek You first, and Live in Love, Peace and Joy. To Love You is to have Joy.
Help us each day to remember our Blessings. To never let go of Your renewing Mercies. To hold on to Jesus and our Truth.
Let us not decide what our Blessings should be and fail to see what You Provide.
We Thank You for the rain in Australia. Thank You.
We are praying for China and Sars Corona Virus healing. We are praying for Elliott and his family. Praying for Dee for healing. To live Seeking Your Kingdom in Love, Peace and Joy. We ask this for our Nation and all Nations seeking Jesus Christ.
May Your Blessing, Father God, drive us, guide us, encourage us and bring Love forth spilling over as Living Water.
In Jesus we ask, Amen.
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