(October 6, 2011)
Prayer House News!
Tonight the Mighty Men meet at 6:30pm at the church. Come for a time of fellowship, bible study, and coffee. Following Mighty Men will be RPM at 8:00pm.
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Devotional
I Have Prayed For You
Consider Daniel’s life. Daniel had a testimony of being a person that sought God. Because of his favor with God, Daniel was growing in influence. Daniel was one of three commissioners appointed to watch over the 120 satraps. A satrap was in essence a king or governor over slaves who had great authority.
“And over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss.” Daniel 6:2
Daniel’s influence with the king was making the satraps jealous so they determined to snare Daniel by designing an injunction making it illegal to pray to any god. They convinced the King to sign the injunction. Daniel learned of the injunction but it did not keep him from praying. He knew that it would endanger his life to pray to his God, but he continued on.
“Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (in the roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before God, as he had been doing previously.” Daniel 6:10
Daniel’s perspective of faith was different from that which is common today. He did not see faith as something that would keep him from all harm.
We see in verse 11 that the satraps caught Daniel praying, “Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before His God.”
Because of this, the king was forced to put Daniel in the lion’s den. Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lion’s den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.” Daniel 6:16.
Daniel’s God did deliver him! However, isn’t it interesting to think that it was a direct result of Daniel’s prayer life that he came into this trial? His persecution/trial came because of the fact that he sought God. However, it was also a direct result of his prayer life that Daniel was able to walk out of the lion’s den. Daniel’s pursuit of God did not assure him a comfortable life. It actually brought trouble to him. However, neither did Daniel panic over the thought of something not going right.
Our perspective of faith is what is making the church just as neurotic as the world. Faith is being taught as the thing we exercise to keep us from anything negative. All things must be positive, all things must be healthy. When we see faith as the thing we exercise to keep us from any kind of trial or trouble, we will always live with instability, because that’s not real life. The Bible is filled with illustrations of real life. James says, “Count it all joy when you come into trials.”
If, on the other hand, we see faith as the thing that will deliver us from any situation we may get into, we then live with a wonderful freedom that expresses it’s trust in God’s ability to care for us under all circumstances. Daniel’s faith was like that. He said in essence, regardless of what I go through, I know I will go through, and I will come out on the other side still a believer.
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Medication: A Merry Heart
Random Acts of Thinking
I want to become a vegetarian, but I'm not sure I can quit
eating meat cold turkey.
I wear glasses. Doesn't that mean that *everything* I see is
an optical illusion?
I paid my psychiatrist with a reality check.
Do fishermen live in the reel world?
You want to know a really, really hugely annoyingly bad
habit? Over-exaggeration.
I may not be a great artist, but I am really good at drawing
a blank.
My wife and I love each other. I rub her back and she
massages my ego.
You can't stop progress, but you can unplug a good
Prayer House News!
Tonight the Mighty Men meet at 6:30pm at the church. Come for a time of fellowship, bible study, and coffee. Following Mighty Men will be RPM at 8:00pm.
==================================
Devotional
I Have Prayed For You
Consider Daniel’s life. Daniel had a testimony of being a person that sought God. Because of his favor with God, Daniel was growing in influence. Daniel was one of three commissioners appointed to watch over the 120 satraps. A satrap was in essence a king or governor over slaves who had great authority.
“And over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss.” Daniel 6:2
Daniel’s influence with the king was making the satraps jealous so they determined to snare Daniel by designing an injunction making it illegal to pray to any god. They convinced the King to sign the injunction. Daniel learned of the injunction but it did not keep him from praying. He knew that it would endanger his life to pray to his God, but he continued on.
“Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (in the roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before God, as he had been doing previously.” Daniel 6:10
Daniel’s perspective of faith was different from that which is common today. He did not see faith as something that would keep him from all harm.
We see in verse 11 that the satraps caught Daniel praying, “Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before His God.”
Because of this, the king was forced to put Daniel in the lion’s den. Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lion’s den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.” Daniel 6:16.
Daniel’s God did deliver him! However, isn’t it interesting to think that it was a direct result of Daniel’s prayer life that he came into this trial? His persecution/trial came because of the fact that he sought God. However, it was also a direct result of his prayer life that Daniel was able to walk out of the lion’s den. Daniel’s pursuit of God did not assure him a comfortable life. It actually brought trouble to him. However, neither did Daniel panic over the thought of something not going right.
Our perspective of faith is what is making the church just as neurotic as the world. Faith is being taught as the thing we exercise to keep us from anything negative. All things must be positive, all things must be healthy. When we see faith as the thing we exercise to keep us from any kind of trial or trouble, we will always live with instability, because that’s not real life. The Bible is filled with illustrations of real life. James says, “Count it all joy when you come into trials.”
If, on the other hand, we see faith as the thing that will deliver us from any situation we may get into, we then live with a wonderful freedom that expresses it’s trust in God’s ability to care for us under all circumstances. Daniel’s faith was like that. He said in essence, regardless of what I go through, I know I will go through, and I will come out on the other side still a believer.
=============================
Medication: A Merry Heart
Random Acts of Thinking
I want to become a vegetarian, but I'm not sure I can quit
eating meat cold turkey.
I wear glasses. Doesn't that mean that *everything* I see is
an optical illusion?
I paid my psychiatrist with a reality check.
Do fishermen live in the reel world?
You want to know a really, really hugely annoyingly bad
habit? Over-exaggeration.
I may not be a great artist, but I am really good at drawing
a blank.
My wife and I love each other. I rub her back and she
massages my ego.
You can't stop progress, but you can unplug a good
chunk of it.
A chrysanthemum by any other name ... would be easier
A chrysanthemum by any other name ... would be easier
to spell.
Some days the best thing about my job is that
Some days the best thing about my job is that
the chair spins.
My life no longer needs an extreme makeover. Now it just
needs a complete do over.
A friend of mine has a nose ring. She keeps the volume
pretty low, though, and sets it to "vibrate" at the movies.
Yesterday I pushed my luck. It was clearly too weak to move
by itself.
My life no longer needs an extreme makeover. Now it just
needs a complete do over.
A friend of mine has a nose ring. She keeps the volume
pretty low, though, and sets it to "vibrate" at the movies.
Yesterday I pushed my luck. It was clearly too weak to move
by itself.
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