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
How can I say what my walk has been this past week? Well a few trials….it’s a tough walk staying under that umbrella…. It was a little tough at work. After doing fantastic wonderful, knowing that the Lord was with me… It even got to the point that I had my bosses talking about my achievements… which of course I did not like. I felt like that jinx me.but I had to remind myself, that with my growth that should not matter. For some reason I realize that work is harder… I keep asking God what I need to be doing, what I need to do different. Of course I am looking for an easy yoke.
So now I start meditating, I like it, it makes me closer to God just for that moment. I also find myself a lot more boisterous… that I have to hold back on my opinions, but something just would not let me shut up. I was in church last week and there were this beautiful couple with this God bless baby. I don’t know what made me wanted to push the guy up for prayers. In so doing I realize that there was something heavy on the girls heart. I stop to ask her if they were married, of which she told me no and I asked her, why not. She told me that it was not something he wanted to do. I do not know why I told her, listen who told him that it was his choice. So somehow the message came to me to stop and speak to him, of which I did. I bluntly told him that god is not going to bless you until you do that which is right and get marry and take care of your family. Of course after I told him I felt like I should not of…. But you know what I don’t care, when you see I don’t do what the Lord ask me to do, I am usually the one getting the beating.
Then a few things reminded me that the Lord is still with me, just keep my ears out for the next lesson to learn. I was calling one of my owners and don’t ask me why I ended up praying for her, I did not know that she had a situation…. But God just used me that very moment to make that phone call and she was so appreciated, she even said that you had to call me this moment. So many times you think that you are doing things for yourself, when God is using you. It’s funny I realize that I love it when the good Lord uses me; it actually felt good to be able to help someone.
My other experience was at church, I had some trials, and I have not been able to figure it out. But the message was that we need to pray for Israel the country and someone jumped in and said that yes the Muslims are trying to come against Israel. OK, I really do not like anyone putting down any religion… I always tell people that God had 12 tribes and he called them to serve him differently. They are good people as well as they are bad people… they are Muslims serving God the same living God, the God of Abraham. They are fanatics in all religion, and that fanaticism comes from man believing that he is God and that they have the power to judge people. That they know the mind of God. We have this in all religion, and we simply have to listen to what God has to say to us individually. Then there was this woman who came up for prayer, and she confessed that she was once a Gospel singer and all she wants to do is sing Jazz, like she does not want to do the gospel music anymore. Because of this decision, she lost her marriage and apparently a lot of other things… and her only prayer is that she wanted to sing Jazz. I kept looking at this woman and realize that this is a woman that served God and loved the lord, but the love is still there, it just shows you how devious the adversary can be. What I saw was one of Gods Angels, that allowed the world to take her over, but I also saw that God loved her very much and he was not about to let her go.
I realize that this is something that can happen to any one of us. That why it is so important to get down on your knees and spend some time with God every day, asking for his blessings and to keep his protection over you at all times. Sometimes you may want to get weary, but you cannot afford to do that, you cannot afford to put down your sword…. The fight is constant; god will continue to give us strength in all of our situations.
That is why this story of Daniel tells us that we may be in all situations, we cannot afford to stop having God feed through our veins, and it is a lesson that tells you to be strong in the Lord and his promises. To be of good courage. For us to pray one for another.
So today my prayers goes out to Gods angel, who has lost her way… that the holy spirit may come in and administer, to heal her heart and her mind. To bring back the joy and love she had for serving God.. To love him with all of her heart and all of her soul. To understand that this world has nothing to offer us, it is only the goodness of the great Good God, that we exist, that we conquer over all diseases, poverty and heart aches. It is him who does all things. I believe in his promises and I believe that he will save you and restore all that you may think you had lost; I know he loves you and he will not let you go.
Oh bless my soul, oh my lord and all that is within me bless his holy holy name.
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