The Kingdom of God will Rule the Earth

Verses: Daniel 2 : 24 - 45

My thoughts about the verses:

Imagine the surprise on the King’s face when Daniel not only tells him the dream, but also interprets it.  You know that Nebuchadnezzar was worried about the dream.  If he wasn’t he would have never asked what the dream meant.  He worried that misfortune was going to befall him.

Have you ever had a dream that seemed realistic?  You are faced with a dream that makes you wonder what is really happening.  The fear rises up from the pits of your stomach.  Will this dream become a reality?  Will I be faced with a situation that I cannot handle?  Sometimes we are even more worried that the dream will not come true.  Either way we become worried over something that we have dreamed.

Many of us even seek out advice.  We wonder if someone can tell us what our dream means.  Have they experienced the same kind of dream?  We wonder what happened when they had the dream.   We listen to others describing their dreams to see if we compare ours with theirs.  Our fear is so intense that we are at a heightened awareness of the subtle things that happen to us.

Nebuchadnezzar even threatened death of his sages because they could not tell him his dream.  He felt if they couldn’t tell him the dream they could not properly interpret it.  Then all of a sudden Daniel stepped forward and was able to do what the King thought was impossible. 

Now we need to look closely at the dream.  The dream was not only important to Nebuchadnezzar but also to us.  The interpretation of the dream revolves around the kingdom of men and the kingdom of God.  The different governments of the world will tumble to the ground and the rulers will lose all their power.  Yet, God’s kingdom will overcome all the obstacles of the world.  In the end the only true ruler of the world will be God.

Let us look at this carefully many people have thought that this dream established certain powers that would rise and fall.  At the end of the last when the last one falls the end of the world will occur.  Yet, we are also told that we will not know the time or the day. 

I propose something a little different.  Something that is different that the norm.  The Kingdom of God is already here.  Jesus was the mountain that came and conquered the world.  The last ruler of the Earth was destroyed by God’s presence.  I am not referring to the typical rulers that we think of.  I am talking about the sin that has ruled the people of the world.  Jesus was able to crumble the power which was sin.   As the sin was destroyed by Jesus’s death the entire dominion of sin in our life was destroyed.

In the end we know that Jesus will return and claim victory once more.  At that moment the mountain will be the only thing of power on the Earth.  True we know that we are challenged by many obstacles in this would.  We know that Satan will do anything to feel us with self-doubt.  Yet with this being said when we lean on Jesus our burdens are lighter.  Sin cannot destroy us because our rock of salvation has smashed the sin in our life.  Even though we will sin after that moment it still doesn’t control our life.  The fact is that the rock that crushed the sin in our life lives within us.  Jesus protects us from the harms that sin produces.

Prayer:

Dear God thank you for your love.  Thank you for the power that you have over sin.  Help us accept the love that you have for us.  Help us overcome the temptations that we face.  In the name of the Savior and Foundation of Life we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you accepted God’s gift of grace?  Are you clinging onto the desires of the world?  Do you put all of your hope in the rulers of the world?  Is today the day that you ask God into your life?  Do you desire God to crush the sins that are in our life?  Is today the day that we stand behind the mountain which is Jesus’s power on this Earth?

Praise God for the Answers that are Revealed

Verses: Daniel 2 : 17 - 23

My thoughts about the verses:

Think to that moment in your life when God helped you accomplish the impossible.  We all know that we face situations that we thought we could never overcome.  Times when we thought we would face huge consequences because we just couldn’t do what was asked of us.  Then out of the blue we are able to get it done.  The impossible becomes possible when we call on God.

Daniel had already put his head on the block.  He had told the King if he could have a little more time that he could tell Nebuchadnezzar the dream he had.  The king gave him that extra time.  Daniel knew that if he called on God he would get his answer.  He trusted in God and felt the power that was more than the task presented. 

He went to God in earnest prayer.  This was also a moment when God could show the King that he was not as powerful as he thought he was.  The sages that believed in false gods could not get the answer.  Yet, the God of Daniel, The true living God, could answer the question at hand. 

Daniel not only prays to God to reveal the answer, he also praises God wants he gets the answer.  I think it is quite unique that the prayer asking for help is not written in the book.  Instead the praise that came from the answer was written.  I believe this is a very valuable lesson that we need to learn.  We are to praise God in all things.  God will provide what we need.  We need to thank God for making the impossible possible.

Let us look closer to the prayer of praise that Daniel lifted up to God.  First and most importantly Daniel establishes God as the one and only God.  God is powerful and rules the universe.  The rulers of the rule can be established through God or be destroyed by God.  The ultimate power comes from God above.

God knows everything that is happening. It doesn’t matter when things happen God is there.  God can help us understand the impossible.  God will provide everything that you need.  God is the same God from the beginning of time to the end of time.

We need to remember these things and lift up praises when God helps us.  We need to remember that our strength to overcome the impossible comes from God.  Our life is blessed because God dwells within us.  God knows us and will be there when we ask God for guidance. 

Prayer:

We praise you God.  We thank you for the wisdom that you have given to us.  We praise you for giving us the strength to overcome the impossible.  We worship you for all that you have created.  We honor your name for you love for us.  Help us be the people that you desire.  Help us to always remember to lift up praise to you.  In the name of the Holy One we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you asked God to help you?  Have you thanked God when your answer is revealed?  Have you praised God for the love that is shown to you?  Is there anything that you need to praise God for?  

People can Never Demand More than God can Do

Verses: Daniel 2 : 1 - 16

My thoughts about the verses:

Power can go to someone’s head.  They can come to think that they deserve things immediately.  They use their power to force others to do things that seem impossible.  When their desire isn’t completed like they want they react irrationally.

I am thinking about the time when the Taliban ran wild in Afghanistan.  They set rules that seemed possible.  Women were not allowed to go to school.  They also had to wear full coverings.  The Taliban ruled with an iron fist.  They would punish people that went against their rules.  The gun was the weapon of choice.  There was no compromise. 

Imagine being in a place where if you disagreed with the political power you faced death. This was the way people lived in Afghanistan.  Simple acts that were against the Taliban rules led to severe punishment.  They ruled the people by fear.  They also pushed people to believe their take of Islam.  If people did not agree they faced death. 

Nebuchadnezzar also led with this type of power.  You did what he said or you faced death.  He pushed the people to do things that were impossible.   At this moment and time he wanted the sages to tell him his dream.  It wasn’t enough to interpret the dream.  He thought they could lie about the interpretation if they could not tell him what he dreamed.  The wise men could not tell him the dream.  He called for their death. 

Daniel goes to him and says give me some time and I will tell you what you ask.  Now many of us are probably thinking that he is just trying to stall the inevitable.  Yet, Daniel knew that he had a power on his side bigger than the King.  Daniel knew that God would help him so that he could live. 

We experience this type of situations in different ways.  Some of us have a boss that demands things which are impossible to accomplish.  Some of us have teachers that demand more than we can do.  Some have parents or other family members that demand a lot more than they should.   We need to remember in these situations that God will help us if we call on the Most High.

Remember that you need to keep yourself in check.  Do not ask others to do more than you are willing to do.  When you ask for something to be done make sure that you understand if it is not done in the time frame you have given.  Remember that sometimes it takes more time to do something that you expect.  Be there to help those that you have authority over if it is needed.  When you help those around you, you build relationships that will benefit in the future.

Prayer:

We praise you for loving us.  We thank you for our strength.  Help us when we are faced with the impossible.  Help us overcome the obstacles that come our way.  Help us not allow power come to our head.   In the name of the Redeemer we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you been faced with people that demand the impossible from you?  Have you turned the situation over to God?  Are you letting power get to your head?  Do you need to ask God to help you not hurt others with your authority?

Serve God Even Under Hard Circumstances

Verses: Daniel 1 : 1 - 21

My thoughts about the verses:

We have times in our life that we are confronted with hard situations.  People who want us to do things that we disagree with.  Our spirit tells us that we should not do what they want us to do.  We have a major choice to face.  Do we do what they want us to do or do we do what we know we should do?

We need to be wise when we make decisions.  We need to ask God for guidance.  When we ask for that guidance we need to be prepared for what God tells us to do.  We have to understand that God will lead us to the right way to do things.

You can think back to that moment when your spirit told you not to do something.  I can remember that moment like it was yesterday.  I was in college and had a few friends that were not filled with the Holy Spirit.  One day I was at one of their homes off campus.  They were smoking marijuana.  They wanted me to join them.  I refused because I knew at the time that it was illegal and it wasn’t the right thing to do.

You can imagine the peer pressure I was in.  People were calling me all kinds of names.  Yet, I prayed to God that I would have the strength to do the right thing.  God was able to keep me calm under the pressure.  The next time I was with my friends they had a much different attitude.  They realized that I was not putting them down by making my choice.  I was just doing what  felt was the right thing to do.

You have to imagine what was happening with Daniel and his friends at this moment.  They were already captive people.  Yet, they felt that they should not eat food that had been offered up to other gods before being eaten.  They took their stand and trusted God would be there.  They asked for just vegetables and waters.  The person in charge of them was scared of the king.  Yet, they felt as if God would see fit with the decision they were making.  Sure enough God came through and they were healthier than the others who had eaten of the King’s food.

God will protect you when you make the right decision.  You have nothing to fear.  In fact, people will be shocked about the outcome of your life.  God will give you more than the thing that you avoided. 

So the next times you are tempted to do something that you feel is wrong take a stand and say no.  Pray to God to help you through the situation.  Be prepared for what will happen because of the choice you made.

Prayer:

Dear God thank you for your love.  We thank you for being with us.  Help us when we are tempted.  Help us ask you for guidance.  Be with us each day.  In the name of the Guide of Life we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Are you being tempted?  Do you need to turn over the situation to God?  Are you willing to walk away from temptation?

Pray for Your Brothers and Sister

Verses: James 5 : 13 - 20

My thoughts about the verses:

Think back over the last month.  How many times have you prayed for a situation that is occurring in your own life?  How many times have you prayed for someone in your family?  How many times have you prayed for a friend?  How many times have you prayed for a stranger?

Would guess for many of us we cannot keep count on how many times we have prayed for ourselves.  It is easy to ask God to help us in our times of need.  When we struggle personally we call for help.  We realize that we need God to help us.  We ask God to help us in both small and big things.  When we are sick we ask God to heal us.  When we are hungry we ask God to be there to help us.

We also have an easy time asking God to be there for our friends and family.  Not only do we want to be fulfilled because of their need, but we want it for ourselves also.  Knowing that they are well brings us relief.  We aren’t necessarily being selfish, but their well-being benefits us also.  Now think how it would feel if we did not know that God would hear us when we prayed for our family.  Wouldn’t there be a sense of brokenness in our lives.  

What is harder is praying for those that we do not know.  People we see on the street that need God are healing hands.  People we run into once in our life that need God’s comforting arms to surround them.  These are the people that we also need to pray for. 

I worked in a hospital setting for ten years.  It was not unusual to hear codes throughout the day. Working in an office setting you don’t know the people that need to be prayed for.  Yet, I felt like I was helping by asking God to be with the patient, the family and those that were responding to the code.  I felt like it was the least I could do to offer that moment of prayer.  I never knew the outcome of the situation.  Yet that wasn’t important.  What was important is that I took the time to pray for someone that really needed God’s gentle touch.

We have all be in situations where we can offer prayer up for someone that we don’t know.  How many of us are on Facebook or other social networks.  Think about the people that we could truly bless, if each and every time we saw someone post a prayer request, we stopped and prayed.  We could change the world one prayer at a time.  It isn’t hard to give someone comfort in their time of need.  Simply telling them that you prayed for them can give them a since of hope.  Many of these people are not our close friends.  They are someone we knew in school or at a job.  Maybe we are praying for someone that they know that we don’t.  God hears our prayers and will be there helping them with their true needs.

See we need to make sure that each and every day we pray for our brothers and sisters.  We need to pray for this world.  We need to pray for those that are lost and without Jesus in their life.  We need to show humbleness by not only praying for ourselves but for others.  As your prayer life grows you will soon to come to realize that it is easier and easier to pray.  The people around you will see you become more and more spiritual. 

When you are in prayer you are open up dialogue between you and God.  You have to remember also that we need to take a moment in our prayers to thank God for what has happened.  We need to praise God for our salvation.  We also need to stop and allow God to hear us.  It is in these moments that we will find what God has truly laid on our hearts.  Prayer can change your life and others if you only take the time to pray.

Prayer:

We praise you God.  We worship your holy name.  We thank you for all you have done in our lives.  We praise you for the many blessings that you bestow on our lives daily.  Help us come to you in prayer.  Help us to pray for our brothers and sisters.  Help us as we pray for the lost.  In the name of the Source of Peace we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Are you praying for your needs?  Are you praying for the needs of others?  Are you thanking God for the blessings that you have received?  Are you listening to what God needs you to hear?

Preparing for the Coming of Jesus

Verses: James 5 : 7 - 12

My thoughts about the verses:

What would you do differently today if you knew it was the day Jesus would return?  We would all do things differently than we have during any other time of our life.  We would be loving and kind to our fellow man.  We would spread the news that Jesus was coming.  We would prepare our hearts and souls for the coming Messiah.

We do not know the hour or day Jesus will return.  Should we not live like today is the day Jesus will return?  We need to love others equally.  We need to spread the good news of Jesus’s saving grace.  We need to make sure our hearts and souls are ready for the coming Messiah.

If we lived like today would be the day that Jesus returned our lives would have more meaning.  Instead of trying to get things of this world we would be working for our Heavenly Crown.  We need to evaluate our lives and see if there is anything that we need to change. 

I have a feeling that the first thing many of us would change the way we treat others.  In this crazy world isn’t it amazing how many of us treat our fellow humans as outcast?  We have decided that they are not worthy enough to be called Christians.  We hide behind our false securities believing that we are the only ones that are worthy of grace.

I believe many of us would find that we need to be patient with others.  We would see that it isn’t about being the first or the best.  Instead it is about sharing our love with the world.  We would walk with our eyes looking forward to the day that we would all go to Heaven.  We would no longer be inpatient about the little differences that separate us.  We would accept people just the way they are without trying to change them.

We need to realize that we make an impact on others each and every day.  We can help those that feel abandoned feel loved.  We can help those that are hungry be filled.  We can help the lost find Jesus.  We need to make sure that we treat each day as if this was the day that Jesus came back.

In all things speak honestly.  Live your life showing the truth.  When you do this you will make a greater impact on people’s life.  People will see that you mean what you say.  They will come to understand that you and Jesus truly care for them.  You can make the world become a peaceful place, if we only take the time to show the world love.  Let your yes mean yes and you’re no means no.  When this happens you will see that your life and the life of others will be changed forever.

Prayer:

We praise you holy God.  We thank you for your saving grace.  We ask that you be with us every day of our life.  Help us never forget that you are our Messiah.  Help us be ready for the day you will return.  In the name of the Savior we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you accepted Jesus as your savior?  Have you prepared for the day that Jesus will return?  What do you need to do today to prepare for Jesus’ return?  Are you honestly sharing the Good News?:

The Cries of the Harvesters

Verses: James 5 : 1 - 6

My thoughts about the verses:

How many of us dream of being rich?  We dream of having power and prestige.  We dream that we one day will have all the things that we want.  In our dreams we often don’t worry about those that we step over to get to the top.

Look at our own lives.  How many of us have been the victim of someone climbing the corporate ladder?  They do everything in their power to make themselves look fantastic.  The managers think that they are sheep.  Yet we know the truth that they are wolves in sheep clothing.  They would rather throw us under the bus than have we as competition.

I love watching certain reality television.  If there is a competition to win you can bet that I am watching the show.  I especially love the shows involving food.  There is something about watching people creating something out of nothing. 

Yet, when you watch these shows a villain often appears.  The person that sabotages the others chances of winning.  They often win the small challenges and think up ways to eliminate the ones that they feel are the biggest competition. 

I am shocked how often a really good chef goes out of their way to do the sabotage.  You feel as if they could have made it to the top if they just worried about doing their own thing.  Yet, they feel the work is inadequate and they need to eliminate the top competitors to even out the battlefield.

How many times do you see this happen in real life?  People going against the grain to prove they are better than the competition.  They do not care who falls under their feet on the way up the ladder.  Their goal is to get to the top and to have more than others.

The problem is when you work this way you hurt those around you.  You especially hurt those that you conquer over.  Your stride to the top is more like a stomping of those that had the same right to be where you are.  You only see them as casualties to your conquest.  The goal was to have power and riches and in the end you made it on top of the heap.

God does not want us to desire to be the victors over our fellow human.  God wants us to work fairly with each person that we come in contact with.  We are to treat each other equally.  We are not to look down on people.  When you look down on people you are actually pointing out your own flaws.

Those that climb the ladder of life without the help of God are eventually going to fall hard.  No matter how much you have on this earth if you do not have Jesus in your life you have accomplished nothing.  Your gain in life will be lost because it will not help you in the afterlife.

We have to ensure that we do not step on people to get to the top.  We need to concentrate on helping others find the love of God.  We need to set our hearts on reaching the Glory Land.  Riches will soon go away but a life in Heaven will last an eternity.

Prayer:

We praise you Holy God.  We thank you for your love.  Help us focus on leading others to your love.  Help us realize that fortune and fame are not what we need in this life.  In the name of the Savior we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Are you trying to gain fame and fortune?  Are you trying to live for God?  What must you do today to live your life for the benefit of God?  Are you willing to accept the grace that God wants to give to you?