NCarolinian

Daniel had the proper resolution in Daniel 1:8.  "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine,..."   He had the proper response in Daniel 2:14. "When Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact."  Thirdly, Daniel had and knew the proper reward for himself in Daniel 5:17.  "Then Daniel answered the king, 'You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else.  Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means."  But Daniel did not get a chance to even react to the charges brought against him in Daniel 6:16.  "So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den."   However, it is interesting to note that the king at that time, King Darius, must have liked Daniel because Scripture previous to that says, "When the king heard t...

Daniel's friends and brothers in the faith - Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were all insulted as captors by having their names changed.  Their original names reflected their Jewish background or belief in Yahweh.  The king now called them Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - after the gods the Babylonians worshiped.  Then in chapter three of Daniel we read about a very proud King, Nebuchadnezzar, that sets up an image of himself to be worshiped whenever the musicians make a certain call on their instruments. Whether or not the king knew he would get a certain reaction out of Daniel's friends is mere speculation.  However, the decree was made, "the astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews" for not following the decree and the three Jewish captors were escorted in to the king's presence by a summon from the king himself. "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?  .......if you ...

Daniel 2: 14 - 49 Daniel was not around for the ordeal that took place between his highly advanced-in-knowledge staff and the king of Babylon. Talk about being on the short end of the stick!  Daniel did not even hear that he, his Jewish brothers, and his Babylonian counterparts were sentenced to death until almost the last minute. Daniel's approach in Scripture is what initially halted a whole cabinet of officials and potential knowledge from certain death.  Verse 14 says,  "Daniel spoke to him [Arioch, commander of the king's guard] with wisdom and tact." Daniel then "asked the king's officer" (v.15) about Arioch's charge, sought the king's presence and "asked for time" (v.16) so that he may fulfill the desire of the king to both speak the dream and it's interpretation.  Then he got a prayer team organized (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) and asked, actually Daniel instructed his brothers - "plead for mercy from the...

Daniel 1:6-20 The phrase " But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine" (v.8) implies to me he was not happy with his name change and those of his fellow Jewish brothers (v.7).  God rewarded Daniel's resolve not to defile himself by causing the official to show "favor and sympathy to Daniel" (v.9) , by supporting Daniel in a ten-day test of a particular diet, and by giving "knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning" (v.17) , plus the understanding of "visions and dreams of all kinds" (v.17) to Daniel. Daniel found what he could control and dedicated that to God.  In the midst of Daniel's captivity in Babylon and after a recent slap-in-the-face name change, God honored Daniel's resolve and Daniel's concern for the official's life.  The official was afraid that the diet would make the Jewish men appear undernourished, therefore his life would be required of him by t...

Have you ever owed so much that you may be spending the rest of your life repaying your debt(s)?  Have you ever been so indebted that no amount of time you have could ever help pay back the debt? The obvious area of our lives that comes to mind concerning debt is money .  Unfortunately, money, instead of love, is what makes this world go 'round.  However, there are many other things that we can be indebted too.  Such things as priceless advice, from an invaluable person, right on time to give us direction - how do you pay that back?  Other areas we can be indebted too are time, energy, and talents.  Many of the handicapped community will never be able to get beyond a hug or simple "thank you" offered back to those caretakers who pour loads of time and energy and talents into care and hopefully cures.  For them it is hard to pay back in full. Then there is someone who pushes you out of the way of a Mack truck and dies instead of you.  You...

God NEVER changes, BUT His mind seems to.  A little more to the blog CAN WE REALLY CHANGE GOD'S MIND (Things That Make You Go Hmmm). There are a handful of Scriptural passages that speak to God not changing.  The most well-known, at least in my mind, is Hebrews 13:8 - "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. "  Another one is Numbers 28:19 - "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. "  In addition,  Psalm 110:4 - "The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek . "  The theme continues in Malachi 3:6 -  "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. "   The New Testament gets involved with the previously mentioned Hebrew passage and  James 1:17 - "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like sh...

I need forgiveness.  I feel like I am worse than Paul, at times, when it comes to being the worse sinner of us all. "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.   As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.   I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." - Romans 7:15, 17,18  "But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners , Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. " - 1 Timothy 1:16   What is the difference between forgiveness provided by Christ through His death on the cross and the forgiveness He says He will NOT give unless we forgive others?  How is it that a believer can be saved/born again, his/her sins forgiven, the penalty of sin paid for in full and y...