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god gives gifts

9/25/2018

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              God Gives Gifts 
As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.  (Daniel 1:17)
 
DO YOU HAVE CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN? Have you noticed that they’re not alike? God gave knowledge and skill to these four young people. God gives knowledge and skill today. We’ve been programed to think that all our differences have to do with our genetic inheritance and that we should look no further than our genes to explain everything. The passing on of blue eyes and brown eyes has generated a lot of interest, and rightly so.
 
BUT IS THERE ANOTHER EXPLANATION FOR SOME OF OUR DIFFERENCES? Without question, God has been endowing newborns with certain, identifiable traits since the beginning of time. Our differences cannot all be explained solely by genetic codes. The fact that you were not born in China or born during the Roman Empire may not be as accidental as the secularists want to believe and want you to believe. I’m glad God sent me to Medlock Hollow in 1934 and to the parents I ended up with. I learned things in that little mule-farm that I could not have learned in town.
 
I'VE TAUGHT A GOOD NUMBER OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS and some unavoidable facts confronted me. For example, there was the teenager who wasn’t much with a football but was a whiz on music. While he was in high school, he began studying piano with a piano professor at Jacksonville (Florida) State University. One day he announced that he wanted me to take him on as a piano student and work with him on reading music. “But, your piano teacher at JSU has a Ph.D. in piano. What can I possibly teach you?”
 
HE COULDN'T READ PIANO MUSIC. He played his assignments by ear. He would take his assignment, go to the public library and check out the piece he was studying. He would play it a few times, listen to it and then sit down and play it by ear; Complicated stuff; Bach, Beethoven. His greatest fear was that the professor would put a new piece of music in front of him and tell him to play it and he would stall out in the second measure. His secret would be out, and the professor would drop him as a student. This wasn’t beginner stuff. He was playing things that only upper level students could play…by ear!
 
GOD GIVES GIFTS TO PEOPLE IN THE WOMB to do things others cannot do. All your children are not alike. “Why can’t you do math like your sister?” Don’t say that! Ask yourself why God made one child to be a whiz in math, another one speaks and writes perfect English and another one can tear down a diesel engine and put it back together like a pro but does not read well and could never get the hang of Algebra. Albert Einstein and Thomas A. Edison frustrated their teachers and were the dunce of the class. Mark Twain and Sir Winston Churchill hated school.
 
FIND THE THING YOU ARE THE BEST AT DOING OR THAT YOU ENJOY DOING and find a way to work at that. It’s miserable to hate going to work every morning. Some people are too lazy to holler suey! if the old sow is eating them up. Don’t blame God with that.  God does not endow anyone with the “gift of laziness.” The Bible has some things to say about people who can work but won’t work. That’s not our subject today.  
 
THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES GIFTS TO PEOPLE, apart from the gifts they are given at birth.
But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?  (Ephesians 4:7-9) And then, God told us: As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.  (1Peter 4:10)
 
GOD DIDN'T LEAVE YOU OUT. You are significant! God has a purpose for everyone being born. God loves everyone in whom He breathed the breath of life. That includes those who live short lives and those who can’t turn themselves over in bed and those who can’t feed themselves or have to use a bedpan. God even had a plan for the sixty million babies in America whose mothers gave a doctor permission to kill their baby in their womb. A few had to choose between the life of the baby or their own life, but not many.
 
WHO CAN TELL HOW MANY GIFTED CHILDREN have been denied the exercise of their gifts because they were dropped into a trash can? How many medical cures are missing because their mission was cut short? God gives gifts that benefit others.Ω
 
If you need to go back and read the longer piece on the historical setting of Daniel, here is the link that will connect you to the archive. http://www.biblewalking.com/blog-morning-minute/historical-setting-of-daniel
 
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 – WEDNESDAY
 A.M. Isaiah 7-9   P.M.  Galatians 4
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
A Good Verse to Memorize:
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.  (Daniel 12:3)
 (Write verse on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
Song for Today: 
Marvelous Grace (3:03) (Samonte)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xUYE8s_Efw
Give it a little time – You may need to adjust the sound.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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prove thy servants

9/24/2018

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          Prove Thy Servants  

Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.  So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.  (Daniel 1:12-14)

YESTERDAY'S ARTICLE ON THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND of Daniel provides a setting for today’s study. Every time I read about these four teenagers standing for God in Babylon, it strengthens my resolve to live for Him. It’s more important what God thinks than what people think. Jesus brought this up when He said: How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?  (John 5:44)
 
WHO ARE WE GOING TO PLEASE? Our land is cursed with the scourge of political correctness. How can you be your own man or your own woman if you are more concerned about the opinions of the crowd rather than the opinion of God? We need to consider these four teenagers in Babylon who had been raised on a silver spoon as royalty but somehow had great faith in the God of Heaven.

PUT US TO THE TEST! Prove thy servants! We’ve heard it said: “Put up or shut up!” They didn’t fold. They were teenagers! How old do you have to be to stand up for God? “As thou seest, deal with thy servants.”

IN MY YOUTH I HEARD A LIVELY SON THAT SAID:  “If you have named the name of Jesus, if you’re known as one of His; Remember that the world is watching To see how your vict’ry is. WHAT YOU ARE speaks so loud That the world can’t hear what you say;  They’re looking at your walk, not list’ning to your talk, They’re judging from your actions ev’ry day.  Don’t believe you’ll deceive By claiming what you’ve never known;  They’ll accept what they see and know you to be, They’ll judge from your life alone.” (Key of A-flat) (P.60, Songs That Touch the Heart, Vol.1)

 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 – TUESDAY
 A.M. Isaiah 4-6   P.M.  Galatians 3
 (Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
A Good Verse to Memorize:
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.  (Daniel 12:3)
 (Write verse on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
Song for Today: 
Something About That Name/I Will Serve Thee (4:17) (Gaither Men)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKsbiH4xZR4&start_radio=1&list=RDLKsbiH4xZR4&t=0
Give it a little time – You may need to adjust the sound.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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historical setting of daniel

9/23/2018

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    Historical Setting of Daniel

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) (Matthew 24:15)
 
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.  (Luke 24:44)
 
THE BOOK OF DANIEL IS BETTER UNDERSTOOD and remembered if we look at the Biblical and historical setting before him. Jesus calls Daniel a prophet in Matthew 24:15 (above).

DANIEL WAS DEPORTED TO BABYLON WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 15 YEARS OLD, and lived to be an old man, perhaps 100 years old, and presumably died in the custody of King Darius of Persia. His book is the key to Biblical prophecy, although he was not officially a prophet.
 
THE BOOK OF DANIEL IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE JEWISH OLD TESTAMENT  PROPHETS. He is listed in the Writings section. Jewish scripture is divided into three sections: Law, Prophets, and Writings. Why was he not classified in the Jewish Bible as a prophet? Because he was not a preaching, admonishing prophet on the street or in the Jewish Temple. “His position was that of governmental official and inspired writer, rather than ministering prophet.” (J.B. Payne) He was a statesman rather than an official prophet. And yet, his writings turned out to be the key to prophetic revelation in the Bible.
 
“OTHER WRITERS INCLUDED IN THE WRITERS section of Jewish Scripture, are: Job, Psalms and Proverbs, the historical books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, along with others not considered either the Law or the Prophets.” (Walvoord)
 
OUR  PICTURE FOR TODAY PORTRAYS THE EXODUS OF THOUSANDS OF JEWS from Jerusalem in 586 B.C.at which time the Temple was destroyed, and the city was laid waste. The best talent and affluence of the southern kingdom of JUDAH was being deported to Babylon. They were following in the footsteps of their sister-nation to the north: ISRAEL, which had been sacked and deported into Assyria 134 years earlier.
http://www.abideinchrist.com/messages/babyloniancaptivity.html
 
FROM THE TIME OF JUDAH'S DEPORTATION IN 586 B.C. and afterward, Jerusalem was under the control of gentile rulers and the Jewish kings were appointed by gentiles. It ushered in “The Times of the Gentiles.” John MacArthur writes:
“the times of the Gentiles. This expression is unique to Luke. It identifies the era from Israel's captivity (c. 586 B.C. to Babylon; cf. 2 Kings. 25) to her restoration in the kingdom (Revelation 20:1-6). It has been a time during which, in accord with God's purpose, Gentiles have dominated or threatened Jerusalem. The era has also been marked by vast spiritual privileges for the Gentile nations (cf. Isaiah 66:12; Malachi 1:11; Matthew 24:14; Mark 13:10). (Emphasis in red added.)
 
CENTURIES LATER, JESUS SPOKE OF “the times of the Gentiles.” And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.  (Luke 21:24) Jesus’ reference was not to the beginning of the Times of the Gentiles, but a continuation of the Times of the Gentiles.
 
GOD DESTROYED SOLOMON'S TEMPLE (586 B.C.) AND THE CITY OF JERUSALEM after His pleading for repentance from idolatry was ignored to the point of rejection. At this time, Daniel had been in Babylon for twenty years (deported in 607 B.C.). Ezekiel had been in Babylon for eleven years (deported in 597 B.C.). The southern nation of Judah was being taken to Babylon to think about their idolatry for 70 years.
 
EARLIER HISTORY: There were Kings Saul, David, and Solomon. After Solomon’s death in 791 B.C., Rehoboam became the new king. Solomon had imposed high taxes on the nation for his aggressive building program and other spending programs, which went beyond the building of the Temple. The people asked the new king, Rehoboam, to ease the tax burden. But the young advisors led Rehoboam to boast that he would tax them even more than Solomon had taxed them. Big mistake. The ten northern Israelite tribes revolted against Rehoboam over high taxes. As we shall see, high taxes were the “obvious” thing, but it was much deeper than that.
 
JEROBOAM BECAME THE FIRST KINGK OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM. This put an end to the United Monarchy that had existed under Saul, David and Solomon. The ten tribes in the north retained the name: Israel. The two tribes in the south: Judah and Benjamin, around the city of Jerusalem, were called: Judah.
 
THE TEN TRIBES WERE WITHOUT A TEMPLE, so Jeroboam, their new king, made golden calves for them to worship so they would not continue to go up (south) to Jerusalem to worship. In the north we read about seven bad kings and finally Elijah showed up as a mighty prophet, finally calling down fire from heaven on the evening sacrifice on Mt. Carmel.

The people talked big about the Lord being God, but it was skin deep. Such names as Ahab and Jezebel come out of that scene. Elijah and Elisha are big names from that time. But the preaching and miracles of these two did not purge Israel of their idolatry.
 
BUT, WHY DID IT HAPPEN? In a nutshell: because King Solomon turned his heart away from the Lord. He ”got too big for his britches” and forgot the Lord who had made him king, made him wise, made him wealthy. When Solomon left God, he led the whole nation into idolatry. There’s no substitute for reading the Scripture on Solomon’s spiritual downfall. When men and women drift away from God, they take people with them.
 
And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.  (1Kings 11:6-7)
 
And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.  (1Kings 11:8-11)
 
Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.  (1Kings 11:12-13) 

TO REPEAT: The ten tribes, Israel, were the first to be judged by the Lord for their idolatry. They were taken captive by Assyria (the dominant power before being taken over by Babylon) and dispersed throughout the land of Assyria to prevent rebellion against Assyria and to destroy their national identity. They inter-married with Assyrians and this not only mixed the race but infused them with the idolatry if Assyria.
 
ARTHUR PINK, IN HIS CLASSIC BOOK: ELIJAH, WRITES: “Israel (the 10 northern tribes) had grievously and flagrantly departed from Jehovah, and that which directly opposed Him had been publicly set up. Never before had the favored nation sunk so low. Fifty-eight years had passed since the kingdom had been rent in twain following the death of Solomon (791 B.C.).”
 
“DURING THAT BRIEF PERIOD NO LESS THAN SEVEN KINGS HAD REIGNED OVER THE ten tribes, and all of them without exception were wicked men. The first was Jeroboam. He made two calves of gold and led the people to worship them. “And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.” (!Kings 12:28-32) Pink comments: “Let is be duly and carefully noted that the apostasy began with the corrupting of the priesthood, by installing into the Divine service men who were never called and equipped by God!” (A.W. Pink. ELIJAH, p.11-12)
 
PLEASE NOTE THAT DANIEL WAS NOT PART OF THE NORTHERN TEN TRIBES. Daniel was of the royal blood of the southern two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, called: JUDAH. It is important to get the picture of what happened in the northern kingdom of ten tribes before JUDAH followed them into the same sin and into the same kind of judgment 134 years later.
 
THE WHOLE OF THE ORIGINAL NATION OF ISTARL (12 tribes) would fall into the same intolerable sin of idolatry and would suffer the same punishment of being driven from their nation into captivity, into the hands of their enemies who hated them. This was in keeping faith with the covenant God made with them that is recorded in Deuteronomy 28.
 
And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.  And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:  (Deuteronomy 28:64-65)
 
Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.  (Deuteronomy 9:4)
  
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 SEPTEMBER 24, 2018 – MONDAY 
 A.M. Isaiah 1-3   P.M.  Galatians 2
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
A Good Verse to Memorize:
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.  (Daniel 12:3)
 (Write verse on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
Song for Today: 
Let the Rocks Cry Out (2:48) (Cal. Mem.Church -Sou. Pines, NC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RB339rbvNU
Give it a little time – You may need to adjust the sound.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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teenagers on a diet

9/19/2018

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    Teenagers on a Diet 
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (Daniel 1:8)
 
DANIEL AND HIS FELLOWS WERE 14-20 YEARS OLD when they asked their Babylonian caretaker, “if you don’t mind, we would like just some vegetables to eat. What you gave us offends our God and we belong to Him.” They were not ugly about it and they were not on a fad diet. It had deep roots to it. Their convictions were based on the Word of God (Leviticus 11:44-47) like Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms (court proceeding) who declared: “My conscience is bound to the Word of God. Here I stand, so help me God, I can do no other.”
 
MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIED WHOSE CONSCIENCE WAS BOUND to the Word of God. In our day, we watched on TV while ISIS paraded a group of men dressed in orange, and as the men in orange kneeled, ISIS took a sharp knife and cut the heads off each man kneeling in the row. The four Hebrew teenagers might have suffered a similar fate except for the hand of God and His plans to use them in this foreign place.
 
50,000 JEWISH CAPTIVES WERE IN BABYLON who had thought that their feast visits to the Temple in Jerusalem would protect them from Babylon. But, they were wrong. Some came in 604 B.C., some in 598 B.C. and the rest came in 586 B.C. at which time the Temple was destroyed, and the city laid on the ground. Altogether, some historians estimate that about 50,000 Jews were deported to Babylon.
 
GOD BROUGHT THEM TO BABYLON BECAUSE HE HAD RATHER FOR THEM to be inside a pagan nation, going through God’s correction than to be in Israel and living like pagans against the Word of God. They were in Babylon for 70 years of “time out” while they thought about their rebellion against God and their love for idols. God’s intent was to purge Judah of its idolatry. When the ten tribes were taken into Assyria 134-150 years earlier, various fragments of aliens were gathered up and sent into the captured land and intermarried with the poorest of the land who had been left behind.
 
IN THE PROCESS, THEY ADOPTED A PERVERTED VERSION OF JUDAISM and the “Samaritans” were hated by the southern two tribes in Judah that retained the Temple in Jerusalem. The southern Jews would not even travel through Samaria and if they had to, they would stomp the dust off their feet when they crossed the border back into their own territory.
 
OF JESUS, IT WAS SAID THAT “He must needs go through Samaria.” That’s where He met the woman at the well in John 4. When the Babylonians captured Judah 134-150 years later, they did not repopulate it. They left the poorest of the people to take care of the land which lay empty for 70 years.
 
JUDAH HAD HEARD PLENTY OF PREACHING FROM GOD'S PROPHETS but turned a deaf ear to God’s message. They could have repented and could have avoided this upheaval in their lives. God knew what they needed. So, in mercy, He let them think about it for 70 years.
 
THE 10-TRIBE NORTHERN NATION WAS CALLED ISRAEL and the southern two-tribe nation was called Judah.  Hosea was an earlier prophet to the northern ten tribes. He was to them what Jeremiah was to the southern two tribes known as Judah. Hosea’s really bad experience with an adulterous wife was a picture of his nation’s adulterous rebellious practice with Jehovah. …And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.  (Hosea 1:2)
 
HOSEA COMMENTED: MY PEOPLE ARE DESTROYED for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  (Hosea 4:6)
 
SOUTHERN JUDAH KNEW ALL ALL ABOUT HOSEA'S BAD EXPERIENCE and certainly knew all about their northern sister being sacked and hauled off. Judah had grown used to her idols and paid no attention to the fate of her northern sister. How dense can a nation be? Perhaps as dense as present-day America, when we assume there is no connection between God and the prosperity of the nation. Our elected government has sanctioned the Supreme Court’s wild permit to slaughter 60 million innocent babies in the womb and sanctioned the Supreme Court’s wild permit for the of marriage of homosexuals.
 
WHEN THE BABYLONIANS CCAPTURED A NATION, they made a practice of bringing in the royal seed, the best and the brightest, to help govern the captured territory. The captives went through an intense program of  brainwashing. They were supposed to eat like Babylonians, dress like Babylonians, and think like Babylonians.

McGEE WRITES: “Daniel knew nothing of the opportunist's policy of "When in Babylon, do as the Babylonians do." Daniel was not conformed to this world, but he was transformed by the renewing of his mind, and the will of God was the all-absorbing purpose of his life. “Daniel and his friends represented in their day that Jewish remnant which God has had in all ages. This is the remnant of which Paul spoke in Romans 11:5—"Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace."

THE BOOK OF DANIEL OPENS THE DOOR WIDE for us to see what is coming down the road. It displays the fallen, self-centered nature of human beings and shows how they are even worse when they have political power and money power and social power. It also shows the power of an all-knowing and all-powerful God who interacts with His creatures. God’s work has always been done through a faithful remnant because a remnant is all there has ever been.
 
NOAH'S BOAT HAD ROOM FOR HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE but only only eight human passengers got on board before God shut the door. When God burned Sodom and Gomorrah, only Lot and his two daughters made it out alive. Even his wife didn’t make it out. When Elijah was preaching and calling down fire from heaven in the northern kingdom of Israel, he thought he was the only one living for God. But God told Elijah that he had 7,000 that had not bowed their knee to Baal. (1Kings 19:18) Elijah didn’t know it ‘till God told him. Still, Elijah stood for God when he thought he was the only one.
 
HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO STAND FOR GOD BEFORE YOU STAND? Does Political Correctness work on you? Political Correctness didn’t work well on Elijah, nor on Noah nor on these Hebrew teenagers. How old do you have to be before you stand for God? I thought it was important the week I got saved when I had been nine for one month. I had been practicing cussin’ for over a year so I would fit in with a rough bunch of boys. God transformed me in one hour.
 
ISAIAH COMPLAINED TO GOD, But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.  And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.  (Isaiah 64:6-7)

ISAIAH DIDN'T KNOW OF ANYBODY CALLING ON GOD.  He must have felt alone, but he stood for God alone and at last was put in a wooden box and sawed in half. A.T. Pierson said: “History is His story.” God writes history in advance of its unfolding.
 
WE MAY NOT KNOW WHO WE REALLY ARE UNTIL THERE'S A LOT ON THE TABLE to gain or lose. There were more than four teenagers of the royal seed taken captive into Babylon, but only four of them showed their stuff for God. This was a test and it was an example for all of God’s people who would come after them. Peter ran into this when he warmed by the fire of Jesus’ enemies and said: “I don’t know Him.” After Jesus rose from the dead, He confronted Peter and said: “Peter do you love Me?” That was the issue.
 
THAT'S ALWAYS THE ISSUE. All the disciples followed “afar off.” After Jesus was dead, they hid. They refused to believe He had risen from the dead. Mary Madgalene had more faith in His resurrection than the disciples. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.  (Mark 16:9)
 
WE CAN "DO A LOT OF THINGS FOR GOD" WITHOUT LOVING HIM. Jesus asked Peter: “do you love Me?” three times. Perhaps it was because Peter denied Jesus three times. Is the Word of God your authority? Is Jesus your authority? Our culture has been persuaded that there are no absolutes and that the Bible is an old, irrelevant book.
 
MANY AMERICAN CHURCHES HAVE ADOPTED THAT IDEA and have become institutional churches that house traditions, perform marriages and funerals and keep the building looking respectable. But, the Bible is no longer the authority. The Spirit of God is no longer welcome. Their message is inclusivism. That is, because God is love and Jesus preached love, come in and love with us and we won’t talk about repentance. You can live your own lifestyle as long as you talk a lot about love.  It is a perverted gospel. John the Baptist, Jesus and all the disciples included repentance in their preaching. Paul preached repentance.
 
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.  (1Corinthians 6:9-11)  (They had repented.)
 
PAUL CONCLUDED BY GIVING THE REASON WHY WE SHOULD NOT BE LIVING like the rest of the world. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.  (1Corinthians 6:19-20) “Which are God’s.” God owns you. You don’t belong to yourself. Because God owns you, do what He says for you to do. I think that about covers it. Bloom where you’re planted. Ω  
 
  Read Through the Bible in a Year
  SEPTEMBER 19, 2018 – WEDNESDAY 
 A.M. Ecclesiastes 7-9   P.M.  2Corinthians 11:1-15
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
A Good Verse to Memorize:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  (Colossians 3:16)  (Write verse on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
Song for Today: 
Standing on the Promises (1:49) (Calvary Christian School -Repeating this one more day – Very good!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOhhrDxc0HI&t=37s
Please Note: When the video opens, under the picture push the time bar back to the left, to the beginning. The time line is flawed.
Give it a little time – You may need to adjust the sound.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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THE QUARTET...

9/17/2018

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                The Quartet…
Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.  (Daniel 1:6-7)
 
NOTICE THE WORDS: "AMONG THESE...." We need to borrow some words from Bible Knowledge Commentary to shine a light on these words. All the royal seed that were deported to Babylon (Iraq) from Judah were not outstanding and God-fearing, it seems. We need to be careful and not go too far in assuming things. However, as the story unfolds it’s only these four that stand for God and pay the price of the lions’ den and the fiery furnace.
 
WHO WAS THE MOTHER OF THESE YOUNG MEN? The father was evidently the King of Judah since they were of the royal seed, princes. Upon the death of their father, they would have been candidates for the throne to replace their father. We can assume that the royal seed had several different mothers. That’s how things were done in this setting. BKC comments: 
 
“NO MENTION WAS MADE OF HOW MANY CAPTIVES were taken but four are mentioned here by name because of their later significant role in Babylon. Because all four bore names that honored Yahweh, the God of Israel, their names were changed. El means God and -iah (or -yah) is an abbreviation for Yahweh, thus suggesting that the young men’s parents were God-fearing people who gave them names that included references to God.
 
“DANIEL, WHOSE NAME MEANS "GOD HAS JUDGED" (or “God is my Judge”), was given the name Belteshazzar (Bēlet-šar-uṣur in Akk.), which means “Lady, protect the king.” Eight of the 10 times “Belteshazzar” occurs in the Old Testament are in the Aramaic section of the Book of Daniel (Dan_2:26; Dan_4:8-9, Dan_4:18-19 [3 times]; Dan_5:12). The other 2 occurrences are in Dan_1:7 and Dan_10:1.
 
“HANANIAH (“YAHWEH HAS BEEN GRACIOUS") became Shadrach probably from the Akkadian verb form šādurāku, meaning “I am fearful (of a god).”
 
“MISHAEL ("WHO IS WHAT GOD IS?") was given the name Meshach, which possibly was from the Akkadian verb mēšāku, meaning “I am despised, contemptible, humbled (before my god).”
 
“AZARIAH ("ZARIAH)(“YAHWEH HAS HELPED") was named Abednego, “Servant of Nebo” (Nego being a Heb. variation of the Babylonian name of the god Nebo). Nebo (cf. Isa_46:1), son of Bel, was the Babylonian god of writing and vegetation. He was also known as Nabu (cf. comments on Dan_1:1 on Nebuchadnezzar’s name).
 
“THUS THE CHIEF COURT OFFICIAL (Ashpenaz, Dan_1:3) seemed determined to obliterate any testimony to the God of Israel from the Babylonian court. The names he gave the four men signified that they were to be subject to Babylon’s gods.” (BKC)
 
THE MOTHERS OF THESE FOUR YOUNG MEN HAD THE EARLIEST and the most dominate influence on their sons. It works that way today. The mother is dominant in the life of most boys for the first 3-4 years. After those formative years, the boy wants to be like his daddy. So, the mother gets the first shot at shaping the life of her son. Make it good. 
 
IF THE MOTHER MUST GO INTO THE WORK PLACE and the child is placed in kindergarten (meaning: a garden of children), the teacher of that group has the most important job in the whole school. She is not merely there to keep the children safe. She is also their co-developer alongside the parents at home.
 
MOTHERS AND TEACHERS ARE NOT MARKING TIME until the child is old enough to “learn something important.” Learning to count and recite the ABC’s are important, but not as important as what the child develops in character traits. The child comes out of the womb learning. The first five years of the child’s life is the most important five years. Child development experts who know a lot more about this than I, also believe it.  
 
MY GRANDMOTHER RICHARDS (my mother’s mother) named me. She took the initiative in ordering a Bible story book for me and the cover of the book featured Daniel in the lions’ den. As I went to church and mingled among grownups at outdoor Sunday dinners, they would ask me: “Are you the Daniel in the lions’ den?” After a steady diet of that, a boy has to wonder who was this Daniel in the lions’ den?
 
FROM THE BIBLE STORY BOOK, I learned mostly by looking at Daniel on the book cover. They didn’t read the book to me. I guess they thought it was above my head. It was in my grandmother’s house and I looked at it often. Sometimes it was used as a door prop of the bedroom door. Later, it was replaced by a big green frog made from chalk.

NEVERTHELESS....THAT EXPOSURE, AS FLAWED AS IT WAS, went deep and influenced me for life. My name was Daniel and it came from the Daniel of the Bible. I wasn’t born with a label tattooed on me. They gave me that name! Why?
 
TODAY, A GOOD NUMBER OF BOYS AND GIRLS ARE BEING GIVEN BIBLE NAMES. My strongest impulse is to say to each one: “You have a good name. Who named you?” Another thing that surprises me is the number of young mothers who are praying for God to save their children when they name them. Some mothers are asking God to call their sons to preach or to be missionaries.
 
DID YOU KNOW THIS IS GOING ON? Evangelist Paul Ferguson’s mother prayed for her son to be a preacher. They are heavily influenced by the story of Hannah, praying for a child and giving him to he Lord. I have no explanation for why I began “preaching” at a little table when I was five. It just seemed like the thing to do.
 
AMERICA NEEDS HUNDREDS OF GOD-CALLED, GOD-ANOINED PREACHERS preachers more than it needs politicians. (It needs both but I think the need for God-anointed preachers is the greatest need.)
 
LET'S NOT WRITE OFF THE STORY OF THIS QUARTET OF TEEN-AGERS that God placed on the stage of His program. God never leaves Himself without a witness. Like these stalwart teens in Babylon, today there are some of the finest teenagers who love God and are paying a price to be different from the rest of the crowd. Don’t be surprised at what God does with young people today He has laid His hand on to serve Him.
 
PRAY FOR THEM AND PRAY FOR GOD TO RAISE UP THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE today to serve Him as faithfully as did this quartet in the Book of Daniel. They paid a price to serve God. To begin, they were castrated and made into eunuchs to serve the king of Babylon. That was God’s appointed place for them. When God calls you to do this or that, don’t try to be like anybody else. Just be what God called you to be and do what He has called you to do. Ω
 
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 – TUESDAY 
 A.M. Ecclesiastes 4-6   P.M.  2Corinthians 10
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
A Good Verse to Memorize:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  (Colossians 3:16)  (Write verse on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
Song for Today: 
Standing on the Promises (1:49) (Calvary Christian School)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOhhrDxc0HI&t=37s
​
Please Note: When the video opens, under the picture push the time bar back to the left, to the beginning. The time line is flawed.
Give it a little time – You may need to adjust the sound.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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bible concentrate

9/16/2018

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                                           Bible Concentrate… 
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.  (Psalm 119:11) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  (Colossians 3:16)
 
BEFORE WE CONTINUE IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL, we need to look at the value of “Bible Concentrate.” Several verses in the Book of Daniel need to be memorized. That’s why I’m diverting a bit before we go further in our study. (I still work at memorizing. I was 84 yesterday.)
 
ALL THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD, but some of it is more useful to us, and applies to us more than other parts. For example, we don’t live in Israel and therefore all the Scripture that applies to the day-to-day living in Israel doesn’t apply to us. We don’t sacrifice bull calves and lambs in Jerusalem, so all those verses are not binding upon us as a duty. It is important that we know what they did and why, but not so we can also do it. Buried in those Scriptures are principles of our relating to God and to each other.
 
SOME SCRIPTURES, WE NEED TO DWELL ON MORE THAN OTHERS. The best way to “dwell on” Scripture is to read it often or to single out certain verses to memorize and then study the best way to memorize them. More about “how to memorize” at the bottom of this page. Jesus taught us that some parts of Scripture are more important than others:
 
Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.  (Matthew 22:36-40)
 
JESUS POINTED OUT THAT TWO COMMANDMENTS ARE ABOVE ALL THE OTHERS because they include all the others. These two commandments are master commandments. The Bible tells us how to get to Heaven and how to live on our way to Heaven. As you read the Bible, some verses will stand out as being more relevant to you than other verses. As you continue to read and study the Bible, even more verses will become more relevant to you. It is a life-long process. It is the Holy Spirit who is teaching you as you seek the mind of God in His Word.
 
THE KING JAMES BIBLE IS MADE UP OF 31,173 VERSES AND 1,189 CHAPTERS. Verse and chapter numbers were added hundreds of years after the Bible was written. Verses and chapters are for the purpose of indexing and locating places in the Bible. How many verses should we memorize? I don’t think in terms of how many verses one should memorize. We don’t need to memorize 31,173 verses or 1,189 chapters of Scripture.
 
THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANY VALUE IN A CERTAIN NUMBER OF VERSES. But there is value in memorizing key verses that give us a strategic grasp of the Scriptures. If you need a number, then try 300. We need to memorize at least 300 verses to get a good grip on major Bible things we need to know. If you need another number, then try the number: 1,000 verses. Some people are wired that way, needing numbers to measure what they’re doing. Whatever number of verses you want to memorize, do it thoroughly. Be tough on yourself.
 
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY VERSES I HAVE MEMORIZED. Not enough. I’m still at it. For many years I worked at memorizing several verses every year. That practice has served me well and helps me to recall and locate verses when I am thinking, writing and preaching. I’m still working on memorizing. Mostly I spend time reviewing verses I already know because they get gummy and slow. But, I keep finding verses that I need to memorize.
 
WE DO NOT TAKE IN BIBLE TRUTH BY VERSES. We take in and remember Bible truth by phrases. They stick to us as we hear sermons and Sunday school lessons, as we read printed material and as we read the Bible. But, these phrases that have become a part of us are “somewhere in the Bible.” Many of them we could not find if our lives depended on it.
 
AND...THAT'S NOT ALL BAD. They are still in us and they are available for our minds to use when they are triggered. But, it would be even better if we can locate them in the Bible, so we can see what comes before them and after them and how they fit into the larger picture. Therefore, it is profitable to memorize Bible verses and to remember the reference. Say the reference before and after the verse. When memorized, if you hear or see the reference, you can recall the verse. If you hear or see the verse, you can remember where it’s found in the Bible. There’s no way to improve on that.
 
NUMBERS ARE HARDER TO MEMORIZE THAN WORDS because numbers cannot be associated with anything. If you memorize ten verses in a chapter, it is much easier to memorize because you only have one reference to remember and no verse numbers. If you memorize ten verses at different places, you must remember ten times as many numbers.
 
FOR FORTY YEARS I LOOKED FOR AND READ EVERYTHING I COULD FIND on memorizing and then reduced it down to the simplest terms. If I heard or read about someone who was memorizing Scripture, I bought everything they had, read it, marked on it, and filed it away for safe keeping. That was before computers came along. The U.S. Army had a book on how we learn, so I begged it from my school mate who spent time in the Air Force and absorbed it. Radio preachers, magazines and books contained suggestions on “how to memorize.”
 
IT COMES DOWN TO: desire, determination, diligence, and demanding of yourself that you do it. Otherwise, you will end up with a pile of books and do nothing about memorizing. Do you want to memorize 300 verses of Scripture? You will have no problem. As soon as it becomes important to you, you will get on the trail and you will do it. If you want to know God’s Word, “nobody or nothing” can keep you from it.  
 
MY 2ND GRADE TEACHER HAD US TO RECITE JOHN 3:16 every morning for four months. Got it! (It was her determination.) For four months we recited John 3:17. (We had 8-month school years.) When I got saved two years later, Evangelist Dan Graham had a box of New Testaments printed for soldiers (WW2) and he would give a New Testament to everyone who memorized ten verses. Before the meeting was over, I had memorized eight verses, plus the two I already knew and had my New Testament. (I still regret losing it.) It was a precious book to me.
 
HERE'S THE SUREST, EASIEST WAYY TO MEMORIZE SCRIPURE. Go to Staples or some other office supply that does custom printing and buy two packs of 3x5 cards with lines on one side. They may have colors. Pick your color and have them cut the cards in half. If it’s a husband-wife project, get the pink for the wife. If it’s a family project, get pink for the girls and another color for the boys. I do not recommend blue; there’s not enough contrast in the ink and the color of the card. I like the bright colors. Right now, I’m using green. If Staples does not have your color, go online to Amazon. I bought an assortment of cards there last year. You’ll have to pay Staples to cut the cards unless you have a paper cutter. DO a good job on the cutting. You will respect it more if you do.
 
KEEP A DOZEN OR SO BLANK CARDS WITH A RUBBER BAND AROUND THEM in your shirt pocket with a black ball-point pen. When you decide on a verse, write the reference at the top-left of the card. Write the verse and when finished, write the reference again. You may need to write only the reference at the top and look up the verse when you can. Carry up to a dozen cards with verses written on them (no rubber band) for reading or reciting. This gives you about 25 cards in your pocket. No more than that at a time.
 
KEEP YOUR MAIN BANK OF WRITTEN CARDS AT HOME WITH A RUBBER BAND around them. At home you will have: 1. Blank cards  2. Memorized cards. Review these cards once a month.  3. Reading cards (cards you are simply reading). 4. Cards you are memorizing. Pick out one of these cards and work at memorizing it for a week. Repeat it at least 5 times a day. Write it 5 times a day. When you can write and repeat the verse easily without hesitation, place it in the 2. Memorized stack. If you choose to follow this plan, you will memorize a verse per week or 50 verses in a year.
 
SOME VERSES ARE EASIER THAN OTHERS. Repeat and write hard verses more often. If you “stall” on a verse in the “Memorized” stack, moved it alongside the one new verse you are memorizing until it writes and recites without effort. THAT’S IT! That’s all you need to know about memorizing. Mix the above with: desire, determination, diligence, and demanding of yourself and you will have 50 verses in a year.
 
SLOW, STEADY WORK WILL DELIVER THE GOODS. Jack rabbit spurts are better than nothing but not much better than nothing. Learn the system as well as the verses and it will serve you for life. One last thing: submit to everything God shows you while you are memorizing verses. The Bible tells us to: HEAR, READ, STUDY, MEMORIZE, and MEDITATE on the Word of God. (HRS of M&M’s --- memorize this too.)
 
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 – MONDAY 
 A.M. Ecclesiastes 1-3   P.M.  2Corinthians 9
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
A Good Verse to Memorize:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  (Colossians 3:16)  (Write verse on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
Song for Today: 
Thy Word Have I Hid in my Heart (1:11) (Cedarmont Kids)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UuMu1tzzN4
Give it a little time – You may need to adjust the sound.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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background of daniel

9/13/2018

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                   Background of Daniel  
And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.
 
Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.  (Daniel 1:5-7)
 
“THE PURPOSES IN WRITING THE BOOK ARE SEVERAL: (1) It presents a divine philosophy of history. God is represented as the Sovereign over all of history. He moves men and nations according to His will (4:35).  (2) It provides a prophetic framework for the future─that period called by Jesus “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24). The world empires mentioned in chapters 2 and 7 show the ultimate fortunes of Gentile powers.
 
“(3) IT EXPLAINS OTHER PORTIONS OF SCRIPTURE. The Book of Revelation could not be understood apart from the Book of Daniel.  Revelation 4-19 is a commentary on the events of Daniel’s “seventieth week” (Daniel 9:27). (4) It served as a book of encouragement to the Babylonian exiles, whose hearts were no doubt lightened by Daniel’s predictions of the ultimate triumph of Israel over her enemies.” (The King James Study Bible – p.1268)
 
DANIEL IS A HEAVY BOOK and to understand it, we must put it into its historical setting. Shortly after the death of King Solomon, Israel split into two kingdoms. The ten tribes of the north broke away from the capital city of Jerusalem and formed the northern capital city in Samaria. God raised up Elijah as a last effort to salvage the ten tribes (Israel) from destruction. On Mount Carmel, Elijah called down fire from heaven that devoured his sacrifice, the water and the stones of the altar.
 
THE CROWD OF SPECTATORS WERE IMPRESSED and declared their allegiance to Jehovah. But, it was skin-deep and nothing changed. At last, God sent the Assyrians into the ten tribes of Israel and carried them into Assyria and dispersed them all over the land so that they “disappeared.” Gradually, another power known as Babylon, or “The Chaldeans” came to power and overcame the Assyrians.
 
FAST-FORWARD 150 YEARS ND THE REMAINING TWO TRIBES KNOWN AS JUDAH, are about to be taken over by Babylon. The king’s seed and the most skilled people of Judah are going to be marched into Babylon in chains for 70 years until they understand that God means business about their idolatrous practices and forsaking their covenant with Jehovah.
 
THEY LEARNED NOTHING FROM WATCHING TEN SISTER TRIBES DISAPPEAR into Assyria 150 years earlier. Their glorious temple built by Solomon was going to be leveled to the ground. The walls of the city would be destroyed, and Jerusalem was going to be gutted and virtually destroyed.
 
NEBUCHADNEZZAR RULED BABYLONIA FROM 605 TO 562 B.C. The prophet Jeremiah had counseled Jerusalem to submit to Nebuchadnezzar, whom he viewed as the tool of God’s wrath (Jeremiah 27:6). King Jehoiakim of Judah ignored Jeremiah and resisted Babylon until Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem.
 
THE JEWS WERE TAKEN TO BABYLON IN THREE DEPORTATIONS beginning in 605 B.C. and the last deportation and the destruction of the Temple occurred in 586 B.C. The first deportation in 605 B.C. began the occupation of Jerusalem by a foreign power, which Jesus called: “the time of the Gentiles.” (Luke 21:24).
 
EZEKIEL WAS TAKEN TO BABYLON IN 597 B.C. DURING THE 2ND DEPORTATION. After the destruction of the Temple in 586 B.C., the final dismantling of Jerusalem and the 3rd deportation of the Jews, Jeremiah was set free by the Babylonians to do as he pleased. The Temple was gone. The government of Judah was gone. The walls of Jerusalem and her best buildings were gone. The best and most skilled workmen of Judah were gone. Jeremiah was taken by some zealot Jews into Egypt where he preached to the Jews that were there.
 
IF WE STUDY THE BOOK OF DANIEL, WE WILL SEE THAT GOD PRESIDES over the nations of the world as well as individual people in the world. The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.  (Nahum 1:3)
 
THERE IS ONLY ONE BOOK THAT TELLS THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD: it’s the Bible. The Book of Daniel is the foundation book of Bible prophecy. Please read a chapter every day in the Book of Daniel during the next twelve days. Thank you. Ω
 
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
  SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 – FRIDAY 
 A.M. Proverbs 25-27   P.M.  2Corinthians 6
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
A Good Verse to Memorize:
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?  (Psalms 11:3)  
(Write verse on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
Song for Today: 
The Holy City (5:59) (Pierre Garby Fountaine)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gus1egjquFc&start_radio=1&list=RDgus1egjquFc
Give it a little time – You may need to adjust the sound.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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the prophet daniel

9/12/2018

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                      The Prophet Daniel  
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.
 
And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.  (Daniel 1:1-4)
 
WITH THESE WORDS, WE BEGIN OUR STUDY OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL, the foundational book for the study of Bible Prophecy. It is the weight of prophecy that draws stray minds to the Bible to consider its claim to be the Word of God.
 
I HAVE TWO BRICK-SHAPED PIECES OF IRON ON MY BACK PORCH. One piece, I use in making kraut, to weight the plate on top. This helps fermentation and helps to prevent spoilage. The other piece of iron I put on the lid of a churn containing cat food to keep the coons out. If the mama coon gets the lid off the cat food, she will have to struggle. When enemies of the Bible encounter the prophecies of the Book, they are forced to struggle. Nobody can predict the future…but the Bible does it.
 
ISAIAH PUT IT THIS WAY: Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:  (Isaiah 46:9-10)
 
THE BOOK OF DANIEL IS ONE OF THE MOST DESPISED BOOKS IN THE BIBLE, because it claims to be able to predict future things. The next most-hated book of the Bible is the book of Genesis, because it tells us that God made us and that we did not make ourselves or just appear on the scene without a designer/maker. The earth and the universe are strong evidence of a designer and maker.
 
FULFILLED PROPHECIES AND THE MILLIONS OF DESIGNED THINGS on the earth and in the universe are extremely heavy and challenge the challengers who do not want these things to be true. It is amusing and yet tragic, how so many people struggle ‘till they’re out of breath trying to keep true things from being true. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:  (Rom 1:20)
 
I AM AT A DISADVANTAGE IN EMBARKING ON A STUDY OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL because so many people of this era have decided they prefer pictures over printed words. I was given a book 20 years ago entitled: The Vanishing Word. Twenty years before that and I would not have believed it. But I do believe the printed page is vanishing with each generation. Read to your children. Let them read to you. Make a big deal out of reading at your house.
 
IF I COULD MAKE THIS STUDY INTO A VIDEO, the viewership would be larger than a mere readership. Newspapers are going broke and closing because so many people don’t like to read. Nevertheless, there ARE those die-hard, stone-age readers who draw their breath through printed words in a book. Take away their books or their hand-held readers and they would die of suffocation.
 
IT IS FOR THESE FOLKS I'VE DECIDED IT'S WORTH WRITING FOR. Also, it was our Almighty Designer and Maker who thought that languages made up of words in a vocabulary is a good idea. Pictures are nice, too, of course. But, nothing takes the place of words and the printed page.
 
SOMEONE MAY BE ASKING: “Is all this chatter worthwhile?” I think so. In a not-so-subtle way, I’m asking our readers to determine that you will read the stuff I dig up and send your way from the life and book of Daniel. If it’s old hat, you will enjoy visiting with an old friend. If it’s brand new, then read with full attention and do your homework that may be asked of you. Keep your Bible opened to the Book of Daniel. Ω
 
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 SEPTEMBER 13, 2018 – THURSDAY 
 A.M. Proverbs 23-24   P.M.  2Corinthians 4
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
A Good Verse to Memorize:
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?  (Psalms 11:3)  
(Write verse on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
Song for Today: 
2nd Graders Recite Psalm 1 (1:13) (Calvary Christian School)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djIug0-Az8g
Give it a little time – You may need to adjust the sound.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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seventeen years...

9/11/2018

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               Seventeen Years… 
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?  (Psalms 11:3) Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.  (Proverbs 14:34) Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.  (Psalm 33:12-13)
 
IT WAS A WAKEUP CALL. We were a united nation for a few days. American flags were flying everywhere…for a few days. Americans talked about God…for a few days.
More people died in the 9/11 attacks than died in the attacks on our Navy Fleet docked in Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.  

THE DEAD IN THE TOWERS, THE PENTAGON AND FLIGHT 43 in Pennsylvania were 2,996 plus 6,000 injured.  Afterwards, of the people who lived or worked in the area 1,140 died of lung cancer or lung problems. Of the emergency responders on that day, 1,400 died of lung cancer and other lung problems.
 
AND THEN SOMEONE IN OUR CONGRESS made a speech and quoted this Bible verse:  The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.  (Isaiah 9:10)
 
BUT, THE CONGRESSMAN THAT MADE THE SPEECH and quoted the verse from Isaiah, did not quote the verses just before that verse: The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,  (Isaiah 9:8-9)
 
THE POINT ISAIAH WAS DRIVING HOME WAS THAT THE NORTHERN KINGDOM had been chastened by the Lord and the national leaders said in defiance that they would replace fallen bricks with hewn stones and replace sycamores with cedars. The brick was a make-do substitute for stone and did not last long. When exposed to weather it begins to deteriorate. Stone structures can last thousands of years. The sycamore tree was a common tree that grew on the lowlands of Judea. The cedar was a precious wood with attractive odor and long-lasting quality.
 
THE JEWS WERE SAYING IN DEFIANCE OF GOD'S CHASTISEMENT that they would repair what was destroyed with even better. I don’t know if our congressman bothered to look up the Bible passage to know what he was talking about. He surely didn’t. If he had read the other verses, then he was deliberately in defiance.
 
AN INTERESTING THING ABOUT THIS IS THAT WHEN THE TWIN TOWERS CAME DOWN,  an historic church building was on the outer edge of the building collapse and was damaged. There was an old Sycamore tree near the church building and it was destroyed. During the repair work of the church building, a landscape company removed the remains of the old Sycamore tree and replaced it with a…Cedar tree. This is reported in The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn, a Jewish Christian preacher. The book is available at Amazon.
 
LIKE SOME OF YOU, AFTER I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL to turn on our TV, I sat there the rest of the day and watched. It is hard for me to look at the picture above because it is so deeply buried in my memory. It was raw and cutting; emotional devastation to watch. It is the same today as we review it.
 
TWO THINGS COME TO MIND AS I REMEMBER SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: It was, I believe, God’s wake up call to America that everything is not alright between God and America. We have become a very wicked nation. The second thing that comes to mind is that President George W. Bush made a terrible mistake when he told America that the attack on the Twin Towers was by a few radical Islamic zealots who had hijacked the peaceful Islamic religion.

THE HISTORIC RECORD OF ISLAM SHOWS THAT THOSE PEOPLE were playing it right out of their book, the Holy Koran and its supporting books. There are many peaceful Moslems, but they are not in harmony with their book. The system is against them and if they become vocal, they won’t live long. The open aim of Islam is world conquest. They are dead-serious about it.

GEORGE WASHINGTON AND OUR EARLY GOVERNMENT had to deal with them. Our Marine Hymn mentions it: “From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli.” There are some peace-loving Moslems, but that is totally irrelevant. They are not in charge of Islam. There were peace-loving people in NAZI Germany, but it didn’t matter. They were not in charge of the war machine or the slaughter of six million Jews.
 
THE NATIONS THAT OPEN THEIR BORDERS TO ISLAM become the captives of Islam. It is powerful, and it is as much a threat to the United States as Communism ever was. We need to know the facts. The media and our educational systems are not giving us the facts.

​I HAVE READ AT LEAST A DOZEN BOOKS BY VARIOUS AUTHORS to learn the truth about Islam. The most comprehensive book is: The History of JIHAD from Muhammad to Isis by Robert Spencer (Amazon Books). Don Boys, Ph.D., has written a good book on Islam and has a free informative website at: http://www.muslimfact.com/  Become informed and understand why it is imperative that we seal our borders and control our immigration system.
  
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 – WEDNESDAY 
 A.M. Proverbs 21-22   P.M.  2Corinthians 4
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
A Good Verse to Memorize: 
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  (2Chronicles 7:14)
(Write verse on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
Song for Today: 
Battle Hymn of the Republic (5:18) (U.S. Army Field Band/Chorus)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy6AOGRsR80
Give it a little time – You may need to adjust the sound.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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rooted as trees...

9/10/2018

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Picture
 
      Rooted as Trees
 
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.  (Psalm 1:3)
 
YESTERDAY, WE RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM OUR GRANDDAUGHTER, JENNIFER CLARKE, in Winston-Salem, NC. It included 68 pictures of the Toddlers Class at the Pinedale Church they attend. Avery, our great-granddaughter, is the middle child in this picture. She will be 2, October 6. Debbie Nifong and two other adults taught the class. I’m not sure which lady this is in the picture.

JENNIFER WRITES: “Here is the email from Avery’s Sunday school teacher. I couldn’t fit it all in the shared album, but I definitely wanted to share!” Following this, there is a short letter to the parents of the eight children in the class. The letter begins: 

“Sept 9, 2018,
“WELL, THIS MORNING WAS GREAT WITH 8 TODDLERS participating in class. I just love big classes and this one is looking like it may be pretty big. I want you to know that I regularly pray for each of your children, including family. I believe prayers should be specific if there is ever anything that you need uplifted to our dear savior I will do it.”
The letter continues:

“THIS PAST WEEK I GOT THE JOY OF RIDING DOWN THE VIRGINIA CREEPER TRAIL with a couple of work friends. It was an amazing day in God's creation. For those of you that don't know about this trail let me tell you about it. It’s in Damascus Virginia which is about 30 miles north of Boone the same way you go to App. State. You rent a bike then a van takes you up a mountain in a 30-40 min drive; they let you out with your bike and you ride the mountain back down to the rental place.

“17.6 MILES DOWN AND 3 HOURS LATER I was totally in awe of God's creation. We followed a mountain stream and saw fishermen trying to catch rainbow trout. I saw huge boulders in the side of the  mountain and trees with deep, deep roots planted on the edge of cliffs. The trail is a gentle slope not too scary for my age, so it was fun.

“I KEPT THINKING THIS WEEK I want to be planted deep in God's word like the trees that were so beautiful along the cliffs. I want my children and your children to be anchored with deep, deep truths so that when the hurricane comes they will stand strong and not fall. I kept seeing signs, "watch for falling rock," as we rode.

“THE ROCKS WILL FALL NO MATTER WHAT WE PLACE ALONGSIDE THE MOUNTAINS. The rocks are like stress falling into your life, it will come - but how will you deal with it? Will you lift the boulders to God or will you yell at your child? Oh, I have done that, I'm no perfect parent but I serve a perfect Savior that listens to my every stress and knows me better than I know myself. Dear parent I'm praying for you today!
I love you,
Debbie Nifong”

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL PIECES I HAVE READ IN A WHILE. The dedication of this teacher (whom I have never met) is obvious. She is already a tree and already rooted in the God of the Word and longs to be more deeply rooted in the Word of God. There was a man sitting in the floor in one of the pictures. I assume he is the father of one of the children in the class.

AND THIS, DEAR FRIENDS, IS THE HOPE OF AMERICA. One Sunday school class at a time. One dedicated mother and father at a time in the home, day after day modeling Jesus Christ to their children.

ACROSS AMERICA THIS IS GOING ON IN SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES and homes dedicated to God and in Christian Schools. In church assemblies where the Word of God is being read and explained to people interested in the Word; interested in building Godly homes and Godly families and the hope of Godly children as the outcome.
 
THE DEVIL IS MAD BECAUSE HE KNOWS HIS TIMES IS SHORT.  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.  (Revelation 12:12)
 
HE WILL DESTROY YOUR CHILDREN IF YOU WILL LET HIM. If you ignore the souls of your children, Satan will not! Satan will destroy your children if you do not fight for them. Your strongest ally is an active Bible in your home and its effect on your life before them and your connection with a strong Bible church. If God is your daily close friend, your children will have something to copy. If you are lazy and slack about the things of God, your children will have little to copy in their own lives.
 
ON THE OTHER HAND, MANY PARENTS ARE GODLY and give their children the best of training and the children do not embrace it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.  (Hebrews 4:2) In that case, you weep and pray for them with your last breath. The enemies of God’s people are: The world, The flesh, and The devil.
 
P.S. Today is my Grandpa Richards’ birthday: 143 years old today. We always had our birthdays together. I was the last grandson of his old age. He was the best of the best. Ω
  
 Read Through the Bible in a Year
 SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 – TUESDAY 
 A.M. Proverbs 19-20   P.M.  2Corinthians 3
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
 
A Good Verse to Memorize: 
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  (2Chronicles 7:14)
(Write verse on scrap of paper and put in your pocket to memorize.)
 
Song for Today: 
Holy, Holy, Holy (2:36) (David Phelps Family)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0KFKj6n1Oo
Give it a little time – You may need to adjust the sound.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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    Author

    Dan Carr is a "retired" pastor, writer, teacher and continues to write at this website. This blog and other articles are e-mailed free to anyone who wants them. Go to: 
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    Dan and Barbara live 
    at Flat Rock, AL between Chattanooga, TN and Huntsville, AL. on Sand Mtn.
    We enjoy gardening, reading, church, family and friends.

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