lighthouse2014

Difficult circumstances that I can remember is that of learning that everything we have is not from our own effort, but that the things come from God himself. Learning to appreciate that the Lord gives us money, we should give back to him for the furtherance of the gospel and pay for the expenses of our church. In turn he gives me more, but he is not a slot machine that we use to gamble with. In sincerity he gives to us and we give back to him. Learning this gift of God can take a long time, especially if one is used to doing everything for himself and family. What God has accomplished in my life that he has paid the price for my salvation and eternal life. This is the gift of mercy that is indeed hard at times to grasp. I never really understood why God the Father would love us enough to sacrifice his only son for us, but once filled with the Holy Spirit, he showed me how much he loved everyone on earth. This love is so pure and sincere, if everyone on earth could realize or experience this love, they would fall on their faces and worship God. Genuine tested faith brings glory to Jesus, because after we have gone through trails and temptations for him, we have learned that the Son of God, Jesus, has through faith brought us forth from worldly things to the joy of total reliance on him. This brings joy to Christ who in turn presents us to the Father, we are better than refined gold, we have brought glory to Jesus and God the Father.

We Christians commonly act irrelevant in ways that offend God by using his name in vain, not loving other people, not helping the poor and not being kind to others, this causes us to become arrogant and full of pride. I indeed have changed my ways of living by giving to the poor, not being arrogant or prideful, giving to God the praise and worship that is due to him, paying our tithes to the church, and not hating our brothers and sisters in Christ, but loving them.

By Nebuchadnezzar's confession we learn what he has experienced and learned himself; that God is eternal; Gods kingdom never ends; God cannot be compared to human beings; God is sovereign; God is the King of heaven; God is accountable to none. No, I have never given a public testimony of what I have learned about God through trails. I have never had the opportunity to give a public account of my trails, I'm still going through them.

Pride showed itself in Nebuchadnezzar's life by his bragging of his great achievements, doing to others as he wished and not acknowledging God. Pride in my life, that I am proud of having accomplished a long work history, but in my heart knowing without God's help I would have never made it. Pride mask itself with humility by pretending to others we are doing good especially the poor. This helps us to feel like we are humble, but in reality we think it is all our own doing.

In Daniel 4:27 Nebuchadnezzar must demonstrate that he renounces and repent of his sins by doing what is right and repent of his wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. To repent of my sins I must do good to family and friends, give to the a Lord what is his. for being kind to the poor means we should share with them our prosperity, through food, clothing, shelter and sharing the gospel with them. As it was within Nebuchadnezzar's ability to do good to the oppressed and do that which is right before the Lord. God's decree can be conditional because he wants us to do his will for us and our neighbors.

In Daniel 4:23-26, the phrase "acknowledge that Heaven rules" is that the king will be as an animal until he can be humbled and admit that God rules over all the earth, giving kingdoms to anyone he wishes. This can be hard for a king to humble himself and admit that God has placed them their there by his power. Because of their family successors or being placed as king by victory over another nation, it is hard for them to realize God put them there. They become filled with pride and actually think themselves as god over their kingdom. We sometimes like to believe we have accomplished our goals in life and have achieved this all by our selves. This causes kings to become very prideful and leave God totally out of the picture. Because we become so prideful of our accomplishments, we begin to think of ourselves as very intelligent, skillful or worked our way over others who might have been in line for advancement ahead of us. We believe, because of our pride and actions, God had nothing to do with our achievements. We are in charge of our life, not God, we actually become so prideful we think god ought to be proud of our goals.

In Daniel 4:10-20, it appears after the king tells Daniel his dream, God enlightens Daniel to it's meaning. However, Daniel is afraid to reveal the true meaning of the dream to the king, he knows it is bad and could cost him his life. It also seems Daniel after many years of service to the king, is more of a loyal servant than an bearer of bad news. We are normally afraid to tell our Christian brothers and sisters the truth or hard things that must be said. We usually shy away and hope that someone else will tell them or that God will open their eyes to the problem. Perhaps we should pray about what we are to say to a Christian brother or sister in Christ. That the Lord will provide a way for us to lovingly and humbly tell them tell them what must be said, even if the other person gets their feelings hurt.

Gods part in securing our salvation is that he does the protecting, guarding and maintaining a watch over us. His guarding will continue until Christ returns and personally consummates our salvation. Our part in this guarding from God is activating our faith for this protection and salvation.

Forgiveness and obedience to Christ come as a package because we except Jesus as our savior, we are to obedient to commands to us. We are no longer of this world but citizens of heaven, Christ wants us to become just as he was to others, filled with his love, faith, and hope, to share the gospel with others. It is deceptive to think we can have forgiveness with out obedience. If we believe in Christ, but are not obedient to his commands, we have denied ourselves into thinking we are believers. A true follower of Christ will be obedient to his commands and want to do as the Lord has planned for us. Faith requires us to be obedient to Christ, we are saved by Gods grace rather than works. We can not work our way into heaven, but if we have faith our works will prove it.

A Christian who identifies more with his present homeland instead of his heavenly one is perhaps a Christian who has not, as of yet, began to trust the Lord for his being and sustenance. Also, it could mean that this person does not have a faith grounded in the Lord Jesus Christ. I have caught myself often doing the same thing as relating to present earth as my homeland. The Lord has quite often reminded me that my faith is weak and he will take care of me. This especially true in the finance department, keeping the tithes going and depending on God for help. Most of the time the Lord must take us through trails to get our attention and priorities straight. Through these trails we learn to depend on the lord instead of our own wisdom and effort.

Daniel uses his experience in the lions den as a testimony of God by telling the king that God found no fault in him and had sent an angel to close the mouths of the lions and he had never done any wrong to the king. If Daniel would have complained to the king of the injustice done to him, it would would have shown that his faith was weak and proved that he was more interested in the injustice rather than his faith in his God. The experiences in my life that God showed his mercy to me may be twice. When at approximately 1 year old, I feel into a gold fish pond, deep enough for me to drown. I feel to this day Satan wanted to drown me. In 2007 our family traveling from Oregon back home, had a rear tire blow out, the pickup rolled 3 - 4 times before coming to rest on it's top. The next day we returned to find the roof folded in at the center, forming what looked like angel wings. Neither my wife, I or two grand children had received as much as a scratch from the incident. In 2011 I stepped on a poisonous snake which had bit me on the right ankle. The E.R. observed me for 1 hour, I had not received enough venom to cause too much reaction. Though it had swollen somewhat and turned black and blue. I felt the Lord spared me great pain and suffering from the bit.

Daniels prayer practices were that of a devote Jew who loves the Lord. He prayed as commanded, privately, facing through an open window toward Jerusalem, keeping Solomon's plea, when Gods people prayed this way God would hear their prayers. I pray nightly, preferably outside under an open sky. By adopting the ways of Solomon, I would have a better prayer life, keeping me in line with Gods plan for me.

Daniels character qualities as a government official are that he is trustworthy, faithful to his duties, diligent, lets nothing slip by him, honest, takes no bribes and he personally is not corrupt. Daniel was a devout Jew and believed in his God with love and a complete compliant to the laws of Moses. My employees seen these qualities in me, knowing that nothing got by me without doing it correctly and no deviations.

The king seems up to the faith and commitment of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego by saying praise be to their God, who sent an angel to rescue his servants. They trusted him and defiled the kings command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any other god except their own. Yes, I would be willing to disobey a command or law if were to be unfaithful to God, even if it means going to jail. I pray if the time comes that I will be faithful to God even if it meant death. I might be held back if it involved the death of a family member.

The effects of the government officials who witnessed the 3 in the fiery furnace was with amazement. They crowed around the 3 to see that their hair was nor singed, clothes not scorched or did not smell of smoke. The king is amazed at what he has witnessed, a fourth person in the furnace, that appeared to be a son of God (angle). He has sudden respect for the servants of the Most High God. God receives glory because now the king gives God respect and praise, even all that all that witnessed the 3 men in the furnace, all give glory to God.

The Jews answer the king of Babylon by saying, that they do not need to defend themselves for not bowing before the idol of gold, even though they are going to be thrown in to the blazing furnace of fire. The God they serve is able to save them from it and God will rescue them from the king's hand. But even if God does not save them from it, they want the king to know that they will not serve or worship the image of gold the king has set up. It matters not whether God saves them or not, they will not bow down to the idol, their attitude was not disrespectful. For they will not serve other gods or worship the image. The God they serve is able to save them from it and will rescue them from the king's hand. They face with defiance knowing that God will rescue them, but if not they still won't bow down. This refusal to bow down to the idol of gold and worship shows that they have faith in God's delivering power and faith in his ultimate plan, that whether they are delivered or not God has not forgotten them.

In Daniel 3:8-15, the Jewish fellow government officials report Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to the king of Babylon because they do not bow to the idol of gold, they most likely hate the Jews. They are envious because Jew's rule over them instead of their fellow country men. The king gets angry because everyone and nations of people are to fall down and worship the idol of gold he has created. Shadrach, Meshrach and Abednego in their defiance to obey the kings command have indeed infuriated the king and their disrespect of his authority and power. The kings motivation in having the people bow down and worship his golden image is to prove to them that he is their king and they are to worship him as their god.

Hebrews 13:16-31, the request being made of God in the benediction are that the God of Peace through the blood of the eternal covenant and brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus and our Great Shepard, equips us with everything good for doing his will and that his work in us is pleasing to God through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. The things that please God are that we do his will and let him work in our hearts the fruit of the spirit, these things are to God. We should always be confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. therefore, we make it our aim, whether present or absent, we are to be pleasing to the Lord. We all must appear before the judgement seat of Christ that we, each one, may receive the things done in the body, according to what we have done, whether good or bad.

The sacrifices or offerings Christians are called upon to make in: praise, offering up the fruit of our lips in praise and worship to the Lord; and by our sacrifice and good deeds. We are to share what we have with others, this way others can see and give praise to God our Father. And we are to live out our life on earth as example of Christ. These are the offerings we are commanded to make, praising him with our lips and share with others, these things are a pleasing delight to the Lord.

Hebrews 13:8, this verse to the original readers and it's significance of it was that the believers of the early church were in the verge of falling back into Judaism and the old covenant laws, that Christ was the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Christ was the permanent priesthood, able to save completely those who come to God through Christ. This tells me that even though centuries have passed Jesus continues to be who he was and is. He promises then are good for believers today. This verse tells me that even though times and cultures have changed, Jesus made his promise he would never leave us or forsake us, he is the same today as he was then. Believers in the power of God know with out a doubt, that Jesus still heals, his miracles are the same today as when he was on earth, even greater things will we do, if we have faith in him.

We can recognize greed in ourselves by the fact we always want more than we absolutely nee, whether it is money, material things or more leisure time. The signs of this greed is the fact we spend all our money and time on things that we totally unnecessary. The antidote for this greed is pray that the Lord will help us to discover our priorities and spend our money and time on what is necessary for our lives and the help we can give others in need. The ear marks of a greed free life are, we give our tithes to the Lord, give to others the we may not need or have an abundance of and doing without ourselves to help others. It is well to save for our future upon retirement, but our security should be in the Lord our God, to provide for us instead of security in money. The promises we find in verses 5-6 are that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us. The Lord is our helper and we should not be afraid of what man can do to us.

Hebrews 13:1-3 visiting prisoners is related to brotherly love, because we are commanded to love one another as Christ loved us. We should visit those in prison, entertain strangers and those that are mistreated. We are to place ourselves in their position and pray for them. I'm stronger in brotherly love by praying for those in need at our congregation. I'm weakest by not visiting those in jail and in assisted living facilities. These people need prayer also, because they most likely have no one to turn to for guidance and intercessory prayer. Those in assisted living are elderly and are usually forgotten by their family and friends.

Hebrews 12:25-29, the fear of God is healthy, we know that our God is a consuming fire, we must take obedience seriously and fear the consequences of rebellion. When fear of God becomes unhealthy then we are no longer living in faith, but in fear of what God may do to us by torment. Fear of God does not fit in with 1 John 4:18, for there is no fear in love; but perfect love cast out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love, for we love Him because He first loved us

The author is not teaching that salvation comes by living a holy life, but believing in Christ as our savior, we should dedicate and desire to live a holy life just as Christ was holy. We can be a believer in Christ and still live a life of sin. We must live a holy life as we dedicate ourselves to the Lord. The habitual sin could deprive us of heaven if we do not strive to live a life that is holy, for without holiness no one can see God. Habitual sin can deprive us of heaven as stated in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, that we are not to be deceived, the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God and Galatians 5:19-21, the works of the flesh are evident and those practicing such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ( these verses were paraphrased for the answer, please read them in the New testament)

The phrase "God never punishes anyone" is false according to Hebrews 12:5-7. "For whom the Lord loves he chastens". He chastens us as an earthly father deals with us. The punishment or discipline that the Lord gives us is because he loves us and everyone he disciplines he calls sons and for this we can share his holiness. As earthly parents disciple their children they love, so the Lord disciplines us also. Of course the Lords discipline is to correct our ways and bring us closer to him.