Observations:
* King of Judah - Jehoiakim
* King of Babylon - Nebuchadnezzar
* God allowed Neb to invade Jerusalem and seize it
* Neb took vessels from the temple and took them to the house of his god
* Neb ordered his chief eunuch to bring some Israelites (royalty and nobility) with certain qualities (good looking and intelligent) and teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. (Their language was Aramaic)
- fed a portion of king's food
- given a portion of king's wine
- educated for 3 years then stand before the king
* Among the youths were
- Daniel (given the name Belteshazzar)
- Hananiah (Shadrach)
- Mishael (Meshach)
- Azariah (Abednego)
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Philippians
I just finished up a study on Philippians and I do not want to forget what God taught me. Two lessons stood out above all others.
1) I am not supposed to be insecure. Humility does not equal insecurity. Humility is knowing who I am in relationship to who God is. Rather than be insecure, God desires that I be confident. My confidence is not in me. Since I know who God is, and am certain that Christ lives in me since I have become His, my confidence is in Christ! I can do all things through Christ who give me strength! (Phil 4:13) Paul is an awesome example of this confidence. He wrote that "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil 1:6) He is confident in His God. He knows God's promises and is confident that God will work in and through Paul to complete His work. How freeing that is to me! My job is to obey God's calling on my life, day by day, moment by moment. When I lay my head on my pillow at night, I can sleep in peace knowing I obeyed (or have confessed when I fall short) and that God is powerful and sovereign and will complete His work. Hallelujah!
2) I need to keep an eternal perspective. If I keep my eyes on eternity, circumstances will not bend me. I can be firmly rooted in this life despite what goes on around me if I keep my eyes focused on the prize. The prize is completeness in Christ. "But our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." (Phil 3:20) May my life on earth be all about praising God for this glorious promise and telling all those I can about God's beautiful gift of salvation!
Romans 8:31 "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
Romans 8:38 "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anythings else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
1) I am not supposed to be insecure. Humility does not equal insecurity. Humility is knowing who I am in relationship to who God is. Rather than be insecure, God desires that I be confident. My confidence is not in me. Since I know who God is, and am certain that Christ lives in me since I have become His, my confidence is in Christ! I can do all things through Christ who give me strength! (Phil 4:13) Paul is an awesome example of this confidence. He wrote that "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil 1:6) He is confident in His God. He knows God's promises and is confident that God will work in and through Paul to complete His work. How freeing that is to me! My job is to obey God's calling on my life, day by day, moment by moment. When I lay my head on my pillow at night, I can sleep in peace knowing I obeyed (or have confessed when I fall short) and that God is powerful and sovereign and will complete His work. Hallelujah!
2) I need to keep an eternal perspective. If I keep my eyes on eternity, circumstances will not bend me. I can be firmly rooted in this life despite what goes on around me if I keep my eyes focused on the prize. The prize is completeness in Christ. "But our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." (Phil 3:20) May my life on earth be all about praising God for this glorious promise and telling all those I can about God's beautiful gift of salvation!
Romans 8:31 "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
Romans 8:38 "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anythings else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
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