FOUR GOOD MEN

Today’s Reading: Daniel 1-2

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

Among the ruins of Ephesus is one of the largest ancient amphitheatres in existence today. The four great empires of today’s reading, including the one that built this gigantic structure, have come and gone. The Kingdom established by God through His Son, Jesus Christ (Messiah), remains forever!

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verses: Daniel 2:19-20

Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.”

Daniel, an outstanding man of God, served as a leader over the entire 70 year period of Babylonian/Persian captivity. He represented the true God so well that the emperors acknowledged the God of Israel as GOD as a result of Daniel’s ministry. This Old Testament book can only be compared with the New Testament book of Revelation for its prophetic content. God is “forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His!” (2:20).

Daniel chapter one singles out four young Hebrew men for their excellence of character. The king’s assessment, as a result of his interview with them, was that they were 10 times more qualified than the others. This provides a challenge for us to be people of excellence!

Chapter two moves us directly into the recognition that God alone knows the secrets of the human heart, and He alone can reveal that which people on their own can never know. Daniel pulls back the curtain and writes of four great empires. The current Babylonian one, and the Persian, Greek, and Roman empires yet to come. The confession of King Nebuchadnezzar in 2:47 is astonishing. This proud Emperor fell prostrate on his face and declared to Daniel, “Truly your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings!” From Daniel we learn to bring our witness for God into the culture, into government and into everyday life. This is happening today in the country called by Winston Churchill “the Pearl of Africa,” Uganda (more details tomorrow).

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I bow before You in recognition that You are my King! Rule and reign in my life, I pray. Reveal Yourself to me as I read Your Word and pray each day. Grant me, I ask, understanding and the wisdom to apply Your Word to my life in practical ways that will bless, not only me, but all those with whom I come into contact. I pray this in the Name of the One who did this at all times, Jesus Christ. Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I want to thank my sons with all my heart for their participation in this blog. I’ve mentioned before that Ron helps me (I’m semi-illiterate in computers) by formatting and posting the blog each day, every day. Tomorrow, God willing, I’ll try to connect readers with a prayer from Uganda’s President. This illustrates, as did Nebuchadnezzar’s experience, that, as a result of strong prayers and faith, God gets through to heads of state.

Yours for the fulfillment of God’s purposes in our time as demonstrated in their time by those four young men in today’s reading,

David