Daniel 5:17-24

Everything comes from God…every little thing…to God be all glory in heaven and in earth. He will not tolerate strange gods before Him. Be humble and give thanks to God for all that you have been given for it is His to give and His to take away.

Daniel 5:17-24

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸ O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. ¹⁹ And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. ²⁰ But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. ²¹ Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.

²² “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. ²³ And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.

Luke 6:12-16

Before you make any major decisions in your life…PRAY! Here we find an example of Jesus spending time with God before an important event in His life. Jesus all man/all God needed direction from His Father before making decisions. In all things with prayer and supplication place your questions at the feet of God and then expect an answer. God calls whom He chooses. It is not up to man to understand.. it is his to obey.

Luke 6:12-16

¹² Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. ¹³ And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

Luke 16:19-26

Any one who believes that the gifts that God has provided you are not to be shared has not read the Scriptures.  All things come from God and a compassionate, merry giver pleases Him.

The standard by which the rich man treated others was applied to him. In his lifetime he lacked compassion, so now there was no compassion for him.

Luke 16:19-26

¹⁹ “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. ²⁰ But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, ²¹ desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

²⁴ “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 

Luke 11:34-36

This little light of mine I’m gonna let it shine. If we keep our sights on the truth of God in Jesus Christ and our life reflects it….others will be drawn to that truth. Our life must show His goodness, mercy and grace. God hates hypocrisy. He wants us to come willingly to a relationship with Him and invite others to join Him. If we look for evil we will find it but if we pursue goodness it will overcome the evil of this world. There is a fine line that separates the Christian (by faith) from the Scribes & Pharisee (by Law).

A person who concentrates on what is good (God’s teaching) is healthy. But a person who focuses on what is bad (the false teaching of the world) is full of darkness. A person can become like light, a living picture of what God’s Word teaches, by concentrating on the light of the truth.

Luke 11:34-36

³⁴ The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. ³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

Mark 3:1-5

You can do the right thing for the wrong reason, the wrong thing for the right reason and then ultimately fulfilling God’s thing for His reason.

You can do the right thing because you want to be seen as good like the Scribes and Pharisees or the right thing like healing on the Sabbath for the good of someone else disregarding the strictest interpretation of the Law simply because you love God and you are obedient to Him.

Jesus laid down His unblemished life for all of us fulfilling Scripture for God’s ultimate purpose….because the Father loved His creation and Jesus loved His Father.

The Sabbath controversy continued as Jesus visited the synagogue. The Pharisees, watched Him closely, not to hear the words of life but to accuse Him. Christ put the meaning of the Sabbath to the test. Certainly it was more consistent with the intention of the law to restore this man’s afflicted hand, even on the Sabbath, than to destroy his hopes for the sake of keeping human tradition. 

Mark 3:1-5

3 And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. ² So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. ³ And He said to the man who had the withered hand,  “Step forward.” ⁴ Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. ⁵ And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

Philippians 1:9-11

Our human value system is based on many things...acceptance, rejection, mutual values, societal parameters, education or lack of.....a whole lot of who and what we value is based on our conceptions of how or what is good or acceptable to us as a culture. 

God’s ways are above that. We cannot absorb into our conscience or have empathy for what we do not understand. But Jesus did not leave us alone..help is ever present in the Holy Spirit who will take the things of Jesus and give us understanding. May He fill us with the fruits of His Spirit... of which  the greatest is love.

The love that Paul sought for the believers is the highest form of Christian love, based on a lasting, unconditional commitment, not on an unstable emotion. Discernment in the Greek word means moral or ethical understanding based on both the intellect and the senses. The word implies perception or insight into social situations. The purpose of increasing in love, controlled by knowledge, is to be able to evaluate people and situations correctly.

Philippians 1:9-11

⁹ And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, ¹¹ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Isaiah 58:6-9

What does the Lord require of us? (Micah 6:8) He requires us to be fair, love mercy and remain humble! Remembering that there but for the grace of God go I.

Yoke is a metaphor for social oppression. The poor who are cast out refers to those whose lands and houses were expropriated in payment of debts. The light dawned with the advent of Christ.

Isaiah 58:6-9

⁶“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,

To undo the heavy burdens,

To let the oppressed go free,

And that you break every yoke?

⁷Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;

When you see the naked, that you cover him,

And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

⁸Then your light shall break forth like the morning,

Your healing shall spring forth speedily,

And your righteousness shall go before you;

The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

⁹Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

John 4:46-54

Faith alone pleases God. Because we believe, we ask His help and when we ask for His help we receive answers to our prayers for ourselves and those we love. We know through Scripture that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Praise be to God alone....there is power in the blood! May the world never become so sophisticated that it no longer believes  in miracles!

The nobleman believed Jesus’ promise that his son would not die. But believing that Jesus can and will heal is not enough to save. What was it that the nobleman believed? The miracle that Jesus performed was His second sign. These signs were performed so that people might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing they might have life. When the Jewish nobleman realized that his son had been healed, he knew that Jesus was more than a mere mortal. The nobleman placed his faith in Jesus and was born again.

John 4:46-54

⁴⁶ So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”

⁴⁹ The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!”

⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. ⁵¹ And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!”

⁵² Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” ⁵³ So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household.

⁵⁴ This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

Isaiah 46:9-10

❉God always has the final word! It isn’t over until He says that it is over. All knowing, seeing everything and all powerful...He is in total control.

God can do anything He desires. His pleasure includes the salvation of His people and the worship of their hearts.

Isaiah 46:9-10

⁹Remember the former things of old,

For I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like Me,

¹⁰Declaring the end from the beginning,

And from ancient times things that are not yet done,

Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,

And I will do all My pleasure,’

Luke 15:8-10

We do not earn mercy it is the gift of God in Jesus Christ and we should freely give mercy to others. In the measure that  we can rejoice in the salvation of others is the measure that we can be made whole in God’s grace. In their self proclaimed righteousness the scribes and Pharisees believed that they did not need to repent because they were not lost.

Luke 15:8-10

⁸ “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ ¹⁰ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Book of Ezra

Our God is faithful to accomplish that which He promises. He will restore us when we repent, asking for forgiveness, turning to Him for our salvation. He is faithful for a thousand generations. Christianity is all about restoration and building up the Body of Christ.  God’s plan from the beginning of time knowing man would fail was to provide a way to salvation in Christ Jesus. With God within us nothing is impossible.

Ezra reveals God’s continued fulfillment of His promise to keep David’s descendants alive. Zerubbabel, the grandson of Jeconiah, is part of Jesus’ earthly genealogy. It may seem insignificant that the remnant of David’s extended family had to return to Jerusalem, but it isn’t. The positive turn of events sets up the good fortune that will give way to the Good News of Jesus. Without access to the original “land of promise,” Jesus couldn’t have been born in Bethlehem, which was a requirement for the Messiah. As Ezra documents the return from Babylon, the soundtrack of forgiveness and restoration plays in the background. It is a melody line that will accompany the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is music to God’s ears to hear His people confess and repent.

The Book of Ezra is a remarkable witness to God’s faithfulness to His people. Together with Nehemiah, Ezra describes the events leading to the return of the Judeans from captivity in Babylon and the discouraging experiences of that small community in the harsh world of the Promised Land. But through every experience God proved Himself faithful. Through the leadership of Ezra and Zerubbabel, God fulfilled His promises announced by His prophets to restore His people from Babylon, to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem, and to renew their hope that the Davidic kingdom would be restored.

Ezra 1:2-4

² Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:

All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. ³ Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. ⁴ And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.

John 12:44-50

For God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die for your sins....could you do that? If we do not accept the salvation that He offers we have condemned ourself.

Jesus insisted that anyone who believed in Him was at the same time exercising belief in God the Father. Jesus explained that He was the personal manifestation of God. 

John 12:44-50

⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. ⁴⁵ And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. ⁴⁶ I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. ⁴⁷ And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. ⁴⁸ He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. ⁴⁹ For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

The Great Commission

God gives us insight into Himself so that we can share that knowledge with others....He wants everyone to hear the Good News of the Gospel. The Holy Trinity wants no one to perish...no not one. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is given to us to empower us to do that which we could not do on our own! In the unity and power of the Holy Spirit nothing is impossible.

The plan of God as outlined in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms was being fulfilled in Jesus. This threefold categorization of the ancient Scriptures summarizes the contents of the Old Testament. The disciples’ comprehension involved seeing how God’s plan, as outlined in the Scriptures, fits together. Two parts of God’s plan had been fulfilled. Jesus had been crucified and raised from the dead. Jesus summarized the mission of the disciples as preaching repentance, calling people to turn from their own selfish ways to Christ, the One who had died for them. The content of the disciples’ preaching would center on God’s gracious offer of forgiveness to all who would believe.

Forgiveness and blessing come only through the work of the risen Jesus. The message of Jesus’ salvation can go to all nations, to Jews and Gentiles alike. The offer is made to anyone who will receive it. The disciples’ mission would begin in Jerusalem where Jesus died; from there, it would spread out into the entire world.

Peter called the promise of the Father.....this coming of the Spirit “the beginning”  because the real fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation would start in those people united by the Spirit to establish the church.

Matthew 28:18-20

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Mark 16:14-18

¹⁴ Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ¹⁶ He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Luke 24:44-49

⁴⁴ Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” ⁴⁵ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

⁴⁶ Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ And you are witnesses of these things.⁴⁹ Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

Daniel 3:13-18

Whatever we go through in this life....God is with us! We are never alone or forsaken.

While the faithful men knew that God could deliver them, they were also aware that God may have chosen not to do so. Faith in God may not translate into victory in every circumstance. To these men the outcome was irrelevant, for what was at stake was not God’s ability or their own lives, but their faith and obedience to serve Him regardless of the cost.

Daniel 3:13-18

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? ¹⁵ Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Jeremiah 50:20

Since the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, our battles are spiritual not physical. In Christ we are preserved! The Lord God fights our battles and praise be to Him alone....He wins!

The Lord had used Babylon to punish Assyria for deporting Israel; He would use another foe from the north to inflict punishment on Babylon. The result would be the restoration of Israel and Judah and the pardoning of their iniquities and sins, the very reason for their demise.

Jeremiah 50:20

²⁰In those days and in that time,” says the Lord,

“The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none;

And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found;

For I will pardon those whom I preserve.

Jeremiah 39:15-18

Over and over God lets me know that He takes care of those who place their total trust in Him! What does He require of us? To love Him above all and let our actions show that love to others. Trust God and do what Jesus would do.

 What a loving, kind, compassionate, merciful God we serve!

Ebed-Melech, who had carefully rescued Jeremiah from the muddy cistern in the prison court, was promised safety and deliverance by the Lord because of his assistance to Jeremiah and because he had put his trust in God.

Jeremiah 39:15-18

¹⁵ Meanwhile the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, ¹⁶ “Go and speak to Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be performed in that day before you. ¹⁷ But I will deliver you in that day,” says the Lord, “and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. ¹⁸ For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me,” says the Lord.’ ”