Daniel

Daniel 1

New International Version (NIV)

Daniel's Training in Babylon

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia^[a] and put in the treasure house of his god.

³ Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king's service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility — ⁴ young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.^{[b] 5} The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service.

⁶ Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ⁷ The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

⁸ But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your^[c] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you."

¹¹ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹² "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." ¹⁴ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. ¹⁶ So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

¹⁷ To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

¹⁸ At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. ²⁰ In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

²¹ And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
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I feel like the story of Daniel keeps coming up in my readings lately.  I am inspired by Daniel's faithfulness to God during all the changes he had to endure.  Daniel was stripped away from his home and everything he knew, but he didn't crumble under the pressures of his new circumstances.  Daniel had to adapt to his new life, while at the same time he knew he had to remain faithful in his relationship with God.  Daniel provides us with an outstanding example of how we should tackle change in our lives!  I encourage you to read through the book of Daniel and note his openness to learn and grow while still staying committed to God and not compromising his beliefs or his relationship with God!


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God Bless

Jon Abercrombie
holybloggers.blogspot.com

Wide Awake by Erwin McManus: Intro and Chapter 1

In case you don't remember, a few weeks ago I made a post about an online "book club" idea (see the post here).  The following post is basically everything that I thought was interesting in the introduction and the first chapter.  I will continue to make posts for each chapter as I read through the book.  I would love to hear what those of you reading this book thought after reading each chapter so definitely leave comments! Even if you aren't reading through the book, feel free to read the quotes and comment on any that might strike up some thoughts or emotions in you!

Awaken: The Hero (Introduction)

• David. (to Elijah) This morning was the first morning I can remember, that I didn't open my eyes and feel that sadness...I thought the person who wrote that note had an answer for me.                    Elijah. (to David) That little bit of sadness in the mornings you spoke of? I think I know what that is.  Perhaps you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing. M. Night Shyamalan's film Unbreakable. (pg. xi)

•  There is nothing like feeling fully alive and dreaming wide awake. (pg. xi)

• (But) the process of finding the right dream and then moving it into life sometimes keeps them from making their dreams a reality. (pg. xii)

• (But) the devil, of course, is in the details--or in this case, in the process. (pg. xii)

• There is a hero within you waiting to be awakened. (pg. xiii)

• I have come to the place where I simply think of every human being as pre-great. (pg. xiii)

• People are the most underused and undervalued resource on the planet. (pg. xiii)

• Most of us don't choose the worst life; we just don't choose the best. (pg. xiii)

• We should never confuse fame with greatness. The former is about what you do for yourself; the latter is about what you do for others. (pg. xiv)

• (After all,) he placed us in paradise and expected us to take care of his creation--so much for a good start. (pg. xiv)

• Jesus came to bring out the best in us. (pg. xiv)

Chapter 1 Dream: The Artist

• Long before I was looking for God, he was looking out for me. (pg. 10)

• Sometimes the limitations you are willing to accept establish the boundaries of your existence. (pg. 10)

• Sometimes getting up and walking is more about your head than your legs. (pg. 10)

• How you imagine yourself and your future has a huge effect on what actually happens. (pg. 11)

• When you begin to understand that you are at the core a spiritual being, it begins to make sense why you need the Source of all creativity active in your life to fully live out your God-given potential. (pg. 12)

• They wanted power and prestige, but Jesus was offering servanthood and sacrifice. (pg. 14)

• God is not going to invest himself in a dream fueled by greed, arrogance, self-indulgence, and self-centeredness. (pg. 14)

• When God is at the core of our lives, he becomes the inspirer of our dreams. (pg. 15)

• If you had Jesus right in front of you and he asked you, "What do you want?" what would you say to him? (pg. 16)

• Is it possible that you are not living the life of your dreams because God has asked you what you want and you are asking for way too little? (pg. 16-17)

• I think a lot of our prayers make God wonder why we think so little of him. (pg. 18)

• God gives God-sized dreams to people with God-shaped hearts. (pg. 21)

• Even when you have the right dream, you can make the wrong choices.  The way you begin to live out your God-given dreams is to become the person God desires you to be. (pg. 22)

• As soon as you begin to dream, all the things you're afraid of start haunting you. Doubts, insecurities, the secret things no one else knows start popping into your dreams and can turn them into nightmares in a moment. (pg. 28)

• God is waiting for you to recognize that you cannot control the four winds, but he can. If he commands you to act, and if you will trust him, you will see all of creation move in concert to accomplish in you what you were created to do. (pg. 31)