Daniel Devotional Day 12-21
The following came about as we began to fast and seek the
Lord as to what strongman there is over our community. The purpose of this devo
is to look at our lives and change what is necessary so we don't empower outside
what is inside.
Click on number to
take you to particular day
12
13 14
15 16 17
18 19 20
21
Day 12
Read Daniel 5:18-31
"O king, the Most High God gave
your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor.
Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of
every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he
put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote,
he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. But when his heart
became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne
and stripped of his glory. He was driven away from people and given the mind of
an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his
body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most
High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he
wishes.
"But you his son, O Belshazzar,
have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set
yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple
brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank
wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood
and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God
who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. Therefore he sent the hand
that wrote the inscription.
"This is the inscription that
was written: mene, mene, tekel, parsin
"This is what these words mean:
Mene: God has numbered the days of
your reign and brought it to an end.
Tekel: You have been weighed on the
scales and found wanting.
Peres: Your kingdom is divided and
given to the Medes and Persians."
Then at Belshazzar's command,
Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he
was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
That very night Belshazzar, king
of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the
age of sixty-two.
A man of his word.
Can you imagine yourself in Belshazzar
situation? He gets loaded (drunk) and sees something that scared him so bad his
knees buckled and gave way and I suspect sobered him up pretty quickly as well.
He has no idea of what to make of what he saw. So Daniel gets called in to
interpret the message, he proceeds to give a brief history lesson and remind
Belshazzar of what happened to his father when he got self righteous. After the
interpretation Belshazzar keeps his promise and places Daniel as the third
highest ruler in the land.
The lesson I learned from this is what
both Jesus and James said in Matthew 5:37 & James 5:12 …let your 'Yes' be
'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'. Both passages imply anything beyond that will
lead to grave consequences. We live in a society that thinks nothing of people
not keeping their word. Many people will break an appointment if something
better comes along and not even think twice about it. This ungodly king kept his
word even after receiving a rather embarrassing word. (I dare say if this
happened in most churches this way someone would storm out of church and darned
sure take their tithe with them!) As those are salt and light lets make sure our
lamp produces a clean light.
Let’s be people that keep our word even
if it costs us something.
Father I declare today that I will
be a person of my word. I determine that, even if it costs me, I will let my yes
be yes and my no be no, in the name of Jesus.
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Day 13
Read Daniel 6:1-17
It pleased Darius to appoint 120
satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with three administrators over them, one
of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king
might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the
administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king
planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the
satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of
government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption
in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally
these men said, "We will never find any basis for charges against this man
Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God."
So the administrators and the
satraps went as a group to the king and said: "O King Darius, live forever! The
royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed
that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays
to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be
thrown into the lions' den. Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing
so that it cannot be altered--in accordance with the laws of the Medes and
Persians, which cannot be repealed." So King Darius put the decree in writing.
Now when Daniel learned that the
decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows
opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed,
giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a
group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king
and spoke to him about his royal decree: "Did you not publish a decree that
during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O
king, would be thrown into the lions' den?"
The king answered, "The decree
stands--in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be
repealed."
Then they said to the king,
"Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king,
or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day." When the
king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel
and made every effort until sundown to save him.
Then the men went as a group to
the king and said to him, "Remember, O king, that according to the law of the
Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed."
So the king gave the order, and
they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel,
"May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!"
A stone was brought and placed
over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and
with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed.
When we have been in the presence of
God people notice. Do you hunger so much for God that those around you notice
there is something different about you. We need to live in the world in such a
way that our co-workers, bosses, family, and friends “see” in our lives that we
belong to Christ. That doesn’t mean we have a pulpit Bible under our arm,
correct every ungodly thing or refuse to sit with sinners. But it does mean that
we need to take time out of our lives and spend time with God. The time spent
with God will bring us closer to Him and the closer we get to God the more like
him we become. It is not about doing but becoming. (There’s a good place for an
amen!). In our day to day lives we need to honor God in all things.
A number of years ago my wife and her
friend wandered into a “new age” shop. Once they realized there was nothing
there for them they started to leave when one of the shop owners sneered at them
and said to the other shop keeper “their Christians”. There was nothing that my
wife and friend did that was overtly Christian but the two others noticed their
“Spirit”.
According to 2 Cor.1:21b-22 …(He)
set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit,
guaranteeing what is to come. That seal I believe is a sign that is seen in
the spirit realm to identify us as Gods possession. The enemy counterfeits that
mark in Rev. 13:18 with “the mark of the beast”.
Some of the harassment,
misunderstandings, or mistreatment you receive is due to what is being seen
“spirit to Spirit” in the spiritual realm. In other words, the other person,
operating under a false spirit, is responding to Holy Spirit living in you. The
result is agitation toward you from that other spirit.
Daniel didn’t call for the intercessors
to gather, proclaim a time if fasting, hold corporate worship gatherings and
make public decrees and declarations to deal with this new threat on the
“church”. Instead he continued on with his life in the way he was accustomed to
doing and God “drew near to him”. Believe me, I am all for the gatherings,
decrees, declarations and intercession as I have made clear in many parts of the
devotional. In fact Daniel did all theses things as well, but, he had a
lifestyle of drawing near to God. When God draws near to you He leaves an aroma
of His presence in you and that aroma will be sensed by others.
Pray “Lord I desire to make you the
mainstay of my life. I desire to draw near to You because you desire to draw
near to me.’
‘Help me to see that it is not the
person who is bothering me but the spirit of the world.”
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Day 14
Read Daniel 6:18-28
Then the king returned to his
palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being
brought to him. And he could not sleep.
At the first light of dawn, the
king got up and hurried to the lions' den. When he came near the den, he called
to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your
God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"
Daniel answered, "O king, live
forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have
not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any
wrong before you, O king."
The king was overjoyed and gave
orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den,
no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
At the king's command, the men
who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions' den,
along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the
den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
Then King Darius wrote to all
the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: "May you
prosper greatly! "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must
fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
"For he is the living God and he
endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will
never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the
heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions."
So Daniel prospered during the
reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
“Here I come to save the day” Remember
that little tune? Here I am dating myself again. (Yah, but how many of you
finished the verse!) that (for you young’ins) was the opening song for the Might
Mouse cartoon show. Well God wants you to sing that song about Him. He is a God
that has come to save your day.
When Daniel was thrown into that lions
den he was in a situation where there was nothing he could do to change the
outcome. Nothing. The end was certain, he would be killed and eaten by the lions
and the only hope was that it would be quick and painless. But God! Here I come
to save the day!
What are you experiencing that you
absolutely know what the outcome will be (or you think you know what the out
come will be!!). I don’t care how certain you think something will turn out God
can step in and totally change the outcome. I have seen it in my own life and
the lives of others innumerable times. When I was in AA I learned a very
important principle “Let Go And Let God”. I sometimes would let go of the
situation and give it to God only to take it back again 30 seconds later. I
would then give it back to Him to handle and maybe go 1 minute. Eventually I was
able to release it completely and the MOUNTAIN that was so big at the time, I
don’t even remember what it was.
Some trust in chariots and some in
horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Psalm 20:7. What
chariot or horse have you put your trust in?
Say the following out loud:
Lord God, You are the living God and
You endure forever; Your kingdom will not be destroyed, Your dominion will never
end. You rescue and You save; You perform signs and wonders in the heavens and
on the earth. You have rescued me from the power of the lions."
Lord, I repent for putting my trust,
faith, hope in anything but You. I speak to my spirit man and say “Listen up!
You will not rule me I put my trust in God, the One who sustains ALL things by
His powerful word.” I place my total body, soul and spirit in Your hands because
You who began a good work in me will see it to completion. Amen
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Day 15
Read Daniel 7:1-21
In the first year of Belshazzar
king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he
was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.
Daniel said: "In my vision at
night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up
the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of
the sea.
"The first was like a lion, and
it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was
lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of
a man was given to it.
"And there before me was a
second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides,
and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and
eat your fill of flesh!'
"After that, I looked, and there
before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it
had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given
authority to rule.
"After that, in my vision at
night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast--terrifying and
frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured
its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all
the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
"While I was thinking about the
horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them;
and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like
the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
"As I looked, "thrones were set
in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as
snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with
fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out
from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten
thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
"Then I continued to watch
because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the
beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. (The
other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for
a period of time.)
"In my vision at night I looked,
and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.
He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given
authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every
language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not
pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
"I, Daniel, was troubled in
spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached
one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this.
"So he told me and gave me the
interpretation of these things: 'The four great beasts are four kingdoms that
will rise from the earth. But the saints of the Most High will receive the
kingdom and will possess it forever--yes, for ever and ever.'
"Then I wanted to know the true
meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most
terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws--the beast that crushed and
devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. I also wanted to
know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up,
before which three of them fell--the horn that looked more imposing than the
others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I watched,
this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them,(emphasis
mine)
As Christians it is our calling to be
in battle. Sorry, but that’s what you signed up for. What? Nobody told you that
before? Opps, hate to be the one to tell you now!
Daniel, in today’s reading, had a
vision where he saw among many things, a war waging against the saints (V21).
Guess what, it was satan 1 saints 0. I believe we are in a war with a similar
score, I believe we are in one of the greatest battles of all time. Today’s
prophets have been shown that in fact we are in the sixth year of a seven year
war cycle.
In any war there are casualties, but it
is our job to know the enemy and his plan and to keep casualties to a minimum.
In this war today there have been injuries and in some cases fatalities, just
recently a prominent pastor stepped down from his church due to a scandal. I
have seen people who have stepped out in war and have taken a direct hit from
the enemy. But like any solder we need to stop, look at what we did, see where
our armor was down, and get back into the fray.
When a hurricane is heading toward a
navel port the ships are moved out to sea. The reason is because they will be
damaged or destroyed if tied up to a dock. A ship was designed to be at sea not
tied to a dock. As Christians we are “designed” to be in battle. Remember Ephes.
6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Our enemy is always looking
for ways to attack us, therefore warfare is a lifestyle not a weekend calling.
Recently the USS Intrepid a retired US
Navy aircraft carrier was supposed to moved to dry dock for repairs. It had been
sitting at a dock in the Hudson River for over twenty years. When they attempted
to move it they found that the mud had swirled all around the bottom of the ship
and locked it in place so it couldn’t move. The Navy had to bring in special
dredging barges to clean all the mud from around the hull of the ship so it
could be pulled from its mooring. The principle here is if we sit still and
don’t do what we were designed to do we will end up stuck in place and
ineffective. That carrier was designed to be at sea and defend our country. When
it is put in a place that it was not designed for it becomes unproductive.
We are in the Army of the Lord, like it
or not that’s what we’re in. We have a choice, do what a solder is called to do;
fight or sit back and be ineffective. What’s it going to be?
Lord I ask you to refresh in my mind
the calling you have placed in my heart. I ask you to bind up my wounds so I may
go back to battle with my head high and with the weapons of my warfare in place.
I ask you Lord to set me in place on the line that I have been trained for and
will inflict the most damage on the enemy. Protect my heart and mind I pray in
the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen
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Day 16
Read Daniel 22-28
As I watched, this horn was
waging war against the saints and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came
and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time
came when they possessed the kingdom.
"He gave me this explanation: 'The
fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different
from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down
and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom.
After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will
subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints
and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to
him for a time, times and half a time.
" 'But the court will sit, and
his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the
sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be
handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an
everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.'
"This is the end of the matter.
I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I
kept the matter to myself."
“Until the Ancient of Days came”. What
powerful words. When God shows up things happen.
I remember hearing the dreaded words
from my mother, “wait until your father comes home”. In our house those weren’t
empty words for when Dad came home judgment would be served. I was usually the
one who heard the words and received the punishment from my dad!
As I did some research on the dreams
and visions of Daniel I found that there have already been at least four times
in history when what we read here has come to pass. In the New Testament the
disciples came to Jesus and asked Him what will be the sign of the coming of the
end. Jesus, in Matthew 24, gave a list of things to watch for and he concluded
with “…this generation will not pass away until all these things happen.” As a
result of that statement the church has had this “take me outta here” mentality
for a number of years instead of a “Thy Kingdom Come” mentality.
I believe there will be a generation
who so loves and serves the King that Jesus will look from heaven and turn to
His Father and beg God that He be allowed to go and take His Bride.
A number of years ago I had a vision
where I saw a woman standing at the altar in her wedding dress. There was no
groom and no minister. The church was full and everyone was looking at the bride
in disbelief because as she turned to look at the congregation her face was
dirty and the front of her gown was dirty. She had a look on her face like
“what’s wrong”. She had no clue that she was a mess for her wedding day. The
Lord spoke to me about that vision and said, that is what the Church is like
today, they think they are fine yet they are dirty. I felt the Lord say that He
would not come for a bride that was not prepared and ready for His coming.
I believe the church has had two
thousand years to get ready, but we keep missing it. I also believe there will
arise a generation that will bring His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Its time to possess The Kingdom!
Father, I submit my will to Yours, I
acknowledge that unless You come my battling is in vain.
I declare it is time to possess Your
Kingdom, I declare it is time for Your sovereignty, power and greatness of the
kingdoms under the whole heaven to be handed over to the saints. Lord I desire
to be in that company, to be the generation that will usher in Your Kingdom.
When we decide that we desire to please
God more then anything else He will come to our side. We all live busy lives and
it is easy to get caught up in all the rush of our circumstances, but we must
make God the center of everything we do. Jesus needs to be in everything not
first but the center of everything we do. I say not first because if we wake up
and there is some emergency, very quickly the emergency becomes first and God
becomes second. But if He is the center of what we do everything will revolve
around Him and we will naturally look to Him to deal with whatever comes along.
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Day 17
Read Daniel 8:1-14 In the third
year of King Belshazzar's reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had
already appeared to me. In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the
province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. I looked up, and
there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the
horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. I
watched the ram as he charged toward the west and the north and the south. No
animal could stand against him, and none could rescue from his power. He did as
he pleased and became great.
As I was thinking about this,
suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came from the west,
crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. He came toward the
two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great
rage. I saw him attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his
two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him; the goat knocked him to
the ground and trampled on him, and none could rescue the ram from his power.
The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was
broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds
of heaven.
Out of one of them came another
horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and
toward the Beautiful Land. It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and
it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set
itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily
sacrifice from him, and the place of his sanctuary was brought low. Because of
rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it.
It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.
Then I heard a holy one
speaking, and another holy one said to him, "How long will it take for the
vision to be fulfilled--the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion
that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host that
will be trampled underfoot?"
He said to me, "It will take
2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated."
He did as he pleased and became
great.
Because of rebellion, the host of
the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it.
A spiritual law we often miss is “what
we worship we empower”. We see in today’s passage that principle enacted. When
we do and serve our selves (the flesh) we will empower it and we will become
slaves to the flesh rather then the flesh becoming a slave to the Spirit man.
Jesus did not die to redeem us from our
flesh. He died to redeem us from our sin. There is a big difference. Our flesh
or soul has been born after Adam’s nature. As long as we are alive, before we
are transformed into our spiritual bodies, we will have to deal with a soul that
is in rebellion to the things of God. This is the reason people think they if
they do the right things they will become more like God. You will never get
closer to God by doing things! The opposite is in fact true; you will do godly
things because you are closer to God. You don’t fast because you have too in
order to win His approval, but you fast because he approves of you.
The only way to get closer to God is to
realize that you can do nothing to get closer to Him, that He is in control of
everything, and to get close you must be consumed by Him. You must die to every
thought that does anything that will remotely make you something. (take every
thought captive) The moment you begin to try and earn His favor you must stop
and tell yourself “I can’t earn His favor, I’m already His favorite”. This is a
life long process. Don’t give up or say I can never make, when you realize you
are walking in the flesh turn your eyes to God and begin to worship Him and
start again. It’s not impossible!
When we say we won’t do something we
are in rebellion. That can have two sides to it. When Israel realized that they
were serving Baal they rebelled against that authority in their lives and choose
to serve God. But it wasn’t long in their history before they rebelled against
God and choose to serve Baal. Many kings, judges and leaders in the history of
Israel would set out to destroy the false gods but rare were the ones who
completely destroyed the pagan articles of worship. The result was that once
again people began to worship the idols and in so doing empowered them in their
lives again.
Today make a decision that you will not
do as you please but will do only what you see the Father doing.
Father, I desire to only do what I
see you doing and say what you would say, help me to yield control of my life to
You. I renounce rebellion in my life, amen.
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Day 18
Read Daniel 8:15-27
While I, Daniel, was watching
the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked
like a man. And I heard a man's voice from the Ulai calling, "Gabriel, tell this
man the meaning of the vision."
As he came near the place where
I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. "Son of man," he said to me,
"understand that the vision concerns the time of the end."
While he was speaking to me, I
was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised
me to my feet.
He said: "I am going to tell you
what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the
appointed time of the end. The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings
of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn
between his eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that
was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will
not have the same power.
"In the latter part of their
reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master
of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power.
He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He
will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. He will cause deceit to
prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will
destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be
destroyed, but not by human power.
"The vision of the evenings and
mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it
concerns the distant future."
I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay
ill for several days. Then I got up and went about the king's business. I was
appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.
“I beg your pardon, I never promised
you a rose garden” another song from way back when.
A modern misconception of Christianity
is that once you come to Jesus all your problems will be over. Many people who
have made a “decision” for Christ have fallen away when everything didn’t work
out the way they thought it should
God loves you so much He’ll take you
just the way you are, but He loves you to much to leave you that way.
Three time in the gospels Jesus said
“They will be wars and rumors of wars.” Take heed when something is repeated
several times. We look at this as global or national but it is also personal.
God allows wars in our lives in order to build our character. The only way that
you will ever get strong is through resistance.
A person who desires to strengthen
their body has to exercise. As much as I would like to sit in my recliner and
eat candy and wish my body would develop muscle, it will never happen. The only
way to develop muscle is through resistance and repetition. A number of years
ago my wife bought me a membership to the YMCA The first time I went a weight
trainer put me through different exercises. By the next day I was so sore that I
though my wife had set me up to use the weight trainer to kill me! I started out
lifting low weights but as week after week went by I began to see that I could
increase the weight I could lift and the pain lessened but after each work out I
was still sore. I came to the place of embracing the resistance because it was
the thing that actually made me feel good. I felt good because I was trimming
off pounds, I had more energy, and I felt like I was accomplishing something
good for my self.
The resistance of life (trials) are
designed by God to strengthen us. To kill the flesh. It has been said that when
God gives a test we never fail it we just keeping taking it until we pass.
Repetition, also spelled G-R-A-C-E. God allows us to go through theses things so
we might, through them, drew close to Him.
Have you ever gotten lost and found
that you kept ending up at the same place you started? You began to say “this
looks familiar” I’ve been here before. I want to come to the place that I will
embrace my trials and grow more like Jesus rather then have to keep going over
the same ground again and again.
The things Daniel saw were terrifying
but he didn’t stop he kept going and is one of the great cloud of witnesses in
heaven today. God is indeed in control.
Will you make the following scripture
your prayer today?
Lord, whatever was to my profit I
now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a
loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain
Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from
the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes
from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his
resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him
in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained
all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that
for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Philip. 3:7-12
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Day 19
Read 9:1-27 In the first year of
Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian
kingdom-- in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the
Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet,
that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the
Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in
sackcloth and ashes.
I prayed to the Lord my God and
confessed:
"O Lord, the great and awesome
God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands,
we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have
turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants
the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers,
and to all the people of the land.
"Lord, you are righteous, but this
day we are covered with shame--the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all
Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us
because of our unfaithfulness to you. O Lord, we and our kings, our princes and
our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. The Lord
our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we
have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his
servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away,
refusing to obey you.
"Therefore the curses and sworn
judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out
on us, because we have sinned against you. You have fulfilled the words spoken
against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster. Under the
whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.
Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us,
yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins
and giving attention to your truth. The Lord did not hesitate to bring the
disaster upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet
we have not obeyed him.
"Now, O Lord our God, who brought
your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name
that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. O Lord, in keeping
with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from
Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers
have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
"Now, our God, hear the prayers
and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your
desolate sanctuary. Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the
desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you
because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O
Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay,
because your city and your people bear your Name."
While I was speaking and
praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request
to the Lord my God for his holy hill-- while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the
man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time
of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now
come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an
answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed.
Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision:
"Seventy 'sevens' are decreed
for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to
sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up
vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
"Know and understand this: From
the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed
One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It
will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the
sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The
people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The
end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations
have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the
middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a
wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until
the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
Identificational Repentance –
Daniel chapter 9 is one of the passages
I believe shows us the importance of repenting of the sins of our region, state
and nation.
Daniel, after reading the scriptures,
realized that Israel was supposed to come out of captivity so he began to fast
and pray. In that process (similar to what we have been doing the last 19 days)
Daniel begins to pray a prayer of repentance. Daniel doesn’t say “those people
from the past have sinned and don’t hold it against me”, rather he says several
times “we” have sinned. In so doing he is “identifying” with those who have
sinned in the past and includes himself with the guilt of that sin. Daniel fully
acknowledges the sin, recognizes the effect of the sin, and asks for forgiveness
of the sin. He then asks God to have mercy on the people.
This is a process we need to look at
and address. For these next several days, especially those of you born in this
area, ask God if there are sins of the forefathers of this area that we need to
identify and ask for forgiveness for.
I wonder how many times we have asked
God for something only to give up before we received our answer. When Daniel
prayed God sent a messenger with the answer. (We will see this again in chapter
10 where the messenger was held up due to a conflict in the heavenlies.) Is it
possible that had Daniel given up praying his prayer might not have been
answered? I think it is a good possibility.
There are times when we pray that we
only need to ask once and it is done. But, there are also times when we need to
keep knocking and keep asking. So which is right? Both are. It all comes down to
listening to that still small voice inside, He will speak and you will know what
to do. There are times in healing where I have seen God manifest and heal
instantly, but there are also times when I have to continue to come before the
throne and keep on praying. There have also been times when I expected a certain
answer and the total opposite came to pass and people have even died. Does that
mean I didn’t pray right or long enough, or with enough faith? NO! When I
encounter those times I need to say I don’t know why the outcome was as it was.
In fact I’ve have had to burry people I prayed for to receive healing that I
thought would be healed. That doesn’t deter me from praying nor does it mean
that God doesn’t heal. It just causes me to want to pray all the more to see the
Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. So let’s pray expecting! Let’s “Pray
without ceasing!”
Lord, we ask you to reveal to us any
area of our lives that is out of order with you. We ask you to reveal any sin
past or present over our region that is hindering You from visiting our region.
We repent from all lawlessness and sin in our lives in Christ’s name. We ask you
to have mercy on Your people and on this land.
"Now, our God, hear the prayers and
petitions of your servants. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on this
desolate area. Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation
of the region that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we
are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive!
O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because this region
and your people bear your Name." AMEN!
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Day 20
Read Daniel 10:1-21
Daniel 10:1-21
In the third year of Cyrus king
of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its
message was true and it concerned a great war. The understanding of the message
came to him in a vision.
At that time I, Daniel, mourned
for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I
used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.
On the twenty-fourth day of the
first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I
looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the
finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like
lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of
burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
I, Daniel, was the only one who
saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them
that they fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone, gazing at this great
vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless.
Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep,
my face to the ground.
A hand touched me and set me
trembling on my hands and knees. He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed,
consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I
have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
Then he continued, "Do not be
afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding
and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come
in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me
twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me,
because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain
to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a
time yet to come."
While he was saying this to me,
I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. Then one who looked
like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to
the one standing before me, "I am overcome with anguish because of the vision,
my lord, and I am helpless. How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My
strength is gone and I can hardly breathe."
Again the one who looked like a
man touched me and gave me strength. "Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed,"
he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be strong."
When he spoke to me, I was
strengthened and said, "Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength."
So he said, "Do you know why I
have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and
when I go, the prince of Greece will come; but first I will tell you what is
written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael,
your prince.
Standing in the presence
Daniel was a man of prayer. Daniel had
a deep relationship with God. Daniel knew how to touch heaven and bring heaven
to earth. Everything he did reflected his love of God.
Are you ready for a life like that? Are
you ready for angelic visitations? Are you fit enough to take the “glory”?
While I have never experienced a
manifestation of the spiritual like this I have heard from others who have.
Their experiences are similar to this in that they became so weak they were
unable to stand during the experience. When Solomon dedicated the temple to the
Lord scripture tells us that the Glory of the Lord was so powerful the priests
could not enter the temple. When God showed up at Mt. Sinai the people were so
terrified that they actually forfeited their right to hear directly from God. ("Speak
to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we
will die." Exodus 20:19). An angel showed up and Mary was terrified. John
heard Jesus and fell down as though dead.
Are you really ready for that kind of
experience? I suspect many have never really considered the possibility of this
happening to them. We have a good Sunday meeting and think we’ve ‘entered in”, I
thing the opposite is true in that we don’t enter in, He enters in and when God
enters into our reality there will be something significant left behind.
As His glory is manifest on earth and
in YOUR life will you be able to stand? Lets prepare our hearts, minds and
bodies to be able to stand in His presence.
Lord, let you glory cover my life, I
desire to see you manifest in my life in such a way that I will never be the
same again. Help me Lord to not keep you in a box but to release you to do and
be what You desire to be in my life. I yield to You today and ask You to order
my steps in all I do. Amen
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Day 21
Read Daniel 12:1-13 "At that
time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will
be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations
until then. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written
in the book--will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth
will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who
lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. But you, Daniel,
close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will
go here and there to increase knowledge."
Then I, Daniel, looked, and
there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the
opposite bank. One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the
waters of the river, "How long will it be before these astonishing things are
fulfilled?"
The man clothed in linen, who
was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand
toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, "It will
be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been
finally broken, all these things will be completed."
I heard, but I did not
understand. So I asked, "My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?"
He replied, "Go your way,
Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.
Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue
to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will
understand.
"From the time that the daily
sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up,
there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end
of the 1,335 days.
"As for you, go your way till
the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive
your allotted inheritance."
“There’s going to be a test”, the words
I dreaded to hear in school.
As we have been reading through Daniel
we have seen many times Daniel is told by the angelic messengers things like, do
not be afraid, these thing must come to pass, and be strong. Is it no wonder
Daniel had to be warned with what he saw was going to happen. When I have
received prophetic words I think they should come to pass ASAP. But as we see
here and in other Biblical prophecies it often takes hundreds if not thousands
of years to come to pass.
Over the last 21 days you have received
revelation from God concerning things which are now and are to come. But now
comes the test. Can you wait for it to come to pass. Can you be trusted to seal
up the things God has shown you if it is not time to reveal them? Often God
shows us things prophetically about someone or something, not for us to share
with them but to pray about them. Other times God reveals things to us to speak
them into existence.
There are times when God allows
stumbling blocks to be put in our way to direct us and strengthen us. When Isaac
left Gerar his herdsman dug a well to water their livestock. The first well they
dug they discovered water but the locals claimed the water for themselves and
Isaac moved to another location. At the second location they dug another well
and the same thing happened. Finally after the third well was dug and water was
discovered no one claimed it for themselves. So Isaac settled there and said
“God has given us room”.
Isaac could have fought with the first
two groups who claimed the water. He could have bound the demonic forces or
physically taken it by force as he had many servants capable of fighting. But
Isaac knew the voice of God and recognized that God was using this as a way to
get him to the place of blessing. God will put obstacles in your way and set His
face against you to get you to the place of blessing.
We need to know the voice of God and
His ways in such a way that we will know when He is allowing something to block
our path. When there is an obstacle in your way first ask God, is this from You
or from the enemy. If it from God ask Him what do you need to do to overcome it.
If it from the enemy take authority over it in the name of Christ and overcome
it.
Don’t waste the trials in your life,
embrace the trials you go through they are the very thing that will draw you
closer to God.
Lord I thank You for the
lessons learned over these past 21 days. I thank You that You have spoken to me
in ways I don’t even understand yet. Lord please give me revelation to know when
You are allowing obstacles in my life. Help me to not kick against the prodding
of Holy Spirit in my life. Help me to embrace my trials so I will be more like
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