Wednesday, March 13, 2013

God Gave Daniel A Long Life and Ministry (DAn. 1:21)



SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/13/2013 8:22 AM
My Worship Time                                          Focus:  God Gave Daniel A Long Life & Ministry
Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Daniel 1:21
            Message of the verses:  “21 And Daniel continued until the first year of Cyrus the king.”  As I read over what Warren Wiersbe wrote in his commentary on this last verse in chapter one of Daniel I am reminded of my friend who suddenly died a week ago today.  We go to his funeral later on this morning and some of the things that I have read in the commentary fit my friend.  Now he was not perfect, but no one is except the Lord, but my friend served the Lord during the time that God allowed him to serve the Lord on this earth.  We read in Psalm 139 that God allots us so many days and some of us have more days than others.  We are to use those days to bring honor and glory to the Lord, to learn more and more about our Lord, and to tell others about what our Lord has done for us.
            Daniel was probably over 83 years old before the Lord called him home, and he could have said what the Lord Jesus Christ said just before He was to be crucified “I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given me to do.”  (John 17:4)  What a fitting end to all who belong to the Lord, however as Dr. Wiersbe writes some of us are conformers and transformers.  “Each believer is either a conformer or a transformer.  We’re either being squeezed into the world’s mold or we’re transforming things in the world into which God has put us.  Transformers don’t always have an easy life, but it’s an exciting one, and it gives you great delight to know that God is using you to influence others.”  I can truly say this about my friend who is now with the Lord, for people waited for over five hours to walk by him as his body lay in the casket.  He had many friends and influenced many to turn from their sins and turn to the Lord and was not bashful about telling others about the Lord Jesus Christ. 
            As we look at the events that we have seen in chapter one of Daniel we too can learn from the life of Daniel.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The events recorded in this chapter should be a great encouragement to us when we experience trials and testing’s and become discouraged; for when God is not allowed to rule, He overrules.  God is still on the throne and will never leave us nor forsake us.”
            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is my desire to be a transformer and not a conformer in the days that the Lord has given to me.  I probably won’t visit 2000 prisons and lead many people to the Lord, but I desire to do the things that God has given me to do and do them faithfully.  I will miss my friend a lot, but I can truly say that I did not lose my friend for I know exactly where he is, for he is with the Lord Jesus Christ hearing Him say “well done my faithful servant, enter into your rest.
My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to continue to use me in the way He desires and to give me the courage to stand up for Him so I can tell others about Him and what He has done for me.
Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-6
            1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  3 When I kept silent about my sin my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.  Selah.  5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.  6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
Answer to yesterday’s question:  “God Almighty” See Exodus 6:3
Question for Today:  “What was Zacharias unable to do after the angel spoke to him?”  Answer in tomorrow’s SD.
3/13/2013 8:56 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment