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The Story of God’s People Stuck in the Middle of a Mess They Didn’t Make! Today, Pastor Michael is continuing his study on Daniel and today we’re in Chapter 11. Even if you’ve been reading the Bible a long time, Daniel 11 is one of those complicated chapters.  Thankfully, Michael starts out with prairie dogs and that has to be a good thing.  His prairie dogs are living happy in their prairie dog home, only to find a herd of Bison to the north and south of their home.  They are seriously hoping these buffaloes move along.  A humungous bull buffalo steps out from each side and have a huge fight.  Big problem for the prairie dogs!  This fight is taking place right in the middle of their prairie dog town! So, this fight, goes on for years.  Whenever one buffalo dies, another one replaces him.  So, the buffaloes and prairie dogs are in a generational issue; why on earth didn’t the prairie dogs just leave?   They didn’t leave because there were buffaloes everywhere!  No matter where they went, they’d run into more buffalo.  No where to go.  Plus they’re little prairie dogs; what can they do to big buffaloes?  In the end, they were ‘getting by’.   One day, a big buffalo from the northern side comes into the fight and finally notices the prairie dogs.  And he starts stepping on the prairie dogs!  Andy, is the big, mean buffalo and he is the worst!  The prairie dogs finally band together, band up, and for a little while, Andy is gone.  But there is a story, in prairie dog lore that there will be a new, meaner buffalo that will be forthcoming, some day. This, in a nutshell, is the story of Daniel 11.  But without the prairie dogs. In the analogy, however, the prairie dogs are God’s people, trying to make a life.  The buffaloes are the two kingdoms of Greece, always fighting in the Promised Land, wreaking all kinds of havoc to the Jews.  Who were stuck in the middle of a situation that was mostly out of their control. (CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) 11:2–20. The detailed description of the interrelationship between the kings of the south and the kings of the north in Dn 11 has long challenged biblical scholars. The angel reveals to Daniel that three more kings (Cambyses, Smerdis, Darius Hystaspis?) will rule over Persia. The fourth (Xerxes I?) will try to incorporate Greece into the Persian Empire. Upon the death of Alexander the Great of Greece (“a warrior king,” 11:3), his kingdom was divided into four parts: Macedonia, Thrace, Syria (“the king of the North,” or the Seleucids), and Egypt (“the king of the South,” or the Ptolemies). Daniel 11:5–20 relates the rivalry and wars between the Ptolemies and Seleucids until the appearance of Antiochus Epiphanes. The heart of this story, is everyday people.   As people today, we also find ourselves in situations we didn’t create and that we have to live in.  We can be stuck in struggles that we didn’t cause, decisions made by people unattached to us.  The lesson here is pertinent to us today, just as it was to the Jews so many millennia ago. And everyday people can take heart in the fact that struggles and trials do not destroy faith.  It only destroys what we think is faith.   Verses can be found today in Daniel 11 and Romans 8: 28. Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Daniel and The Unanswered Prayer. Today, Pastor Michael is continuing his study on Daniel, a hero of the faith.  Daniel had legendary faith, so much that even Ezekiel named only three people: Job, Noah and Daniel, as heroes of the faith.   Three years after the “Lion’s Den” story, we find Daniel in Chapter 10, no longer a young man.  In Chapter 9, the Lord had promised that the Jews would return to the Promised Land.  Almost all of Daniel’s life, he’s lived in Babylon.  At this point in the story, God has moved the heart of Cyrus of Persia to allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem. So why didn’t Daniel return to Jerusalem?  Because it was a long journey and Daniel was in his eighties and potentially have to walk a long, long time (insert Proclaimer’s 1980’s song reference here). God wanted Daniel to stay and finish his work in Babylon, so he was there for the Lord’s purpose. Daniel was in prayer and mourning for three weeks.  He is laboring in prayer at this time.  So why is he so upset?  Didn’t God answer his other prayer…the Jews returning to their homeland?  This is the ‘next challenge’…it’s not over when one prayer is answered! Not all of the Jews returned to Jerusalem, some (perhaps even a majority) stayed in Babylon.  And Daniel was getting word back that some of those that did return, didn’t finish rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem and some were getting back into pagan idolatry.   So, Daniel had to be, needless to say, frustrated.  That’s why the laboring in prayer for three weeks., doing nothing but praying.  He wanders out of the city and is distraught.  This is one of the greatest heroes of the faith that has ever lived and he’s prayed for 21 days and he feels his prayer isn’t being answered.  While Daniel is out wandering around, he notices a white apparition down at the river.  He collapsed at the sight and wondered, “Who is this person by the Tigris River?”.  The being reached down and lifted Daniel up and said, “Daniel, you are greatly loved.  I have been sent with an answer to your prayers.” The angel, it turns out, was sent the first day Daniel started praying.  But here it is, 21 days later and he’s just NOW getting to Daniel.  The angelic being explains that he was held up by the Prince of Persia.  Who is this Prince of Persia?  The story involves a demon that had taken over the Persian kingdom and the archangel Michael was sent to deal with him.  So while Daniel was praying, the archangel Michael was dealing with a demon! The angelic being then tells Daniel of God’s peace to him and lets him know that the Persian empire is ending and Greece will be taking over.   Which was a lot for Daniel to take in. This vision overwhelms Daniel and the angel touches him 3 times to wake him up.  The angel strengthens him and assures him that the Lord loves him and wanted to reveal his plan to him. If we pray and the answer does not come when we expect it, it doesn’t mean God doesn’t care.  It means the answer will come in His time, perhaps not our time.   Don’t ever give up! Verses can be found today in Daniel 10: 1-21 and Ephesians 6: 12.   Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Daniel’s Prayer and the Vision of the Seventy Weeks. Today, Pastor Michael is picking back up with his study on Daniel.  In our past lesson, Daniel had predicted the rise of Alexander the Great.  When Alexander strolled into Jerusalem, the priests and rabbis brought out Daniel Chapter 8 and showed Alexander that their God predicted his coming and he was so impressed he didn’t destroy the city or the temple. In Chapter 9, today, Daniel is an older man now around 80 or even older.  He is reflecting about all that he has lived and how he saw the Babylonians take over, move him to Babylon and spend his career as a royal advisor to the King of Babylon.  Then he retired and the Meads and Persian empires arose and on the last day of the kingdom of Babylon and the king called Daniel out of retirement for a prediction and Daniel predicted the fall of Babylon.   Which.  Happened! Now Daniel saw a regime change and Daniel started seeking understanding by reading the scriptures, notably Jeremiah. He found in Jeremiah 25: 11-12, that it seemed like it’s time for God to bring His people home. (CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) Daniel 9:1-4. Daniel longs for the era of restoration, for the establishment of the kingdom of God and of the messianic kingdom. To this end he fasts and prays for the restoration of his people to the land (9:3). 9:4–19. Daniel’s prayer consists of confession and petition. In the confession he identifies with the history of his people, with their sin and punishment. The prayer of confession consists of a repetition of four themes: Israel’s rebellious attitude to the law and the prophets, God’s righteousness in judgment, the fulfillment of the curses, and the hope of renewal of divine mercy and grace. Daniel begins with an affirmation of God’s mercy, inherent in Israel’s confession of who God is (9:4). In contrast Israel has sinned against their covenant God (9:5). They have rejected the prophets (9:6). Therefore the Lord is righteous in his judgment. Yet the disgrace of Israel is apparent wherever they have been scattered (9:7). Their lot has changed by their own doing, but the Lord is still the same (9:9–10). Israel has received the curses of the covenant (9:11; cf. Lv 26:33; Dt 28:63–67). The Lord has been faithful in judgment, even in bringing about the desolation of Jerusalem (9:12). Again Daniel affirms the righteousness of God (9:14). Daniel throws himself on the mercy of God as he prays for the restoration of Jerusalem, the temple, and God’s presence among his people (9:17–19). We look around our nation today and wonder when unbelievers will get serious with God.  God looks around and wonders when believers will get serious with Him! Daniel didn’t say they deserved His help. He stated because of “His mercy”, showing the righteousness of God.  God sends Gabriel, the angel, to Daniel in a vision.  Gabriel tells Daniel that it will take 70 weeks (here weeks not being weeks today, but years then) to finalize judgment on sin, atone for sin and transgression and bring in everlasting righteousness, fulfill the prophetic word and anoint the most holy. One of the lessons here is that the Bible can be trusted.  It predicted to the year how things would transpire right in Daniel, chapter 9! Verses can be found today in Daniel 9: 1-27 and Jeremiah 25: 11-12.  Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Downsizing the Stuff of Our Lives. Today, Duncan Crook is standing in for Pastor Michael.  Duncan gives a wonderful story of taking care of his father as he was aging and how his dad had hoarded away quite a few items.  Items that meant something to him but the next generation wasn’t perhaps so sure and was tasked with cleaning it up.   And therein lies Duncan’s message today:  Things are either given away or taken away, and the biblical guidance is we should know what is valuable and set our minds on things above, not on earthly things.   Sooner or later we all lose control over things in our lives and it’s best to come to terms with that and not let things become idols. Be on your guard against greed and realize it’s not all about possessions.   (CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) 12:13–21. The next section is on possessions (12:13–34). First, Jesus warns against greed (12:13–15). A man wants Jesus to arbitrate in an inheritance dispute between his brother and himself (12:13). This would be typical work for a rabbi. But Jesus refuses, insisting that this is not his role (12:14). In 12:15 he warns of the root problem: greed. A greedy person thinks that the good life is found in things, but this is a distorted perspective. This discussion leads Jesus to relate the parable of the rich fool (12:16–21). The problem with the rich fool is not that he has bumper crops or that he decides to build more storage space (12:16–18). The problem is that he invests his entire life in his possessions (cf. 12:15). He draws all his security from his material goods (12:19) and fails to reckon with God. He is living as if he will never die and has forgotten the importance of spiritual riches (12:20–21). Such a shortsighted investment in temporal things is foolishness indeed. Verses can be found today in Luke 12: 13-21  and Ecclesiastes 2: 18-19. Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Can We Trust the Bible? Today, Pastor Michael is continuing his study on Daniel. At this time in history, Daniel is about 70 years old and this about a decade plus before the lion’d den that we know him so well for.  Daniel is praying and has a vision of himself outside a river and he knew well the river (Ulai) and the city (Susa) in his dream. A ram appears in his dream.  This ram has two, curving horns.  One of these horns starts out smaller but grows bigger than the other horn.  This ram starts a ‘rampage’ and is knocking over animals, everywhere.  Suddenly, from the horizon a goat appears, running so fast his feet don’t even appear to be hitting the ground. This goat has one horn between its eyes, a ‘goaticorn’, if you will, and he runs right into the ram and smashes right into him, hitting him so hard that both of the ram’s horns are broken off and the goat takes a victory lap on the ram. The goat, now grows bigger and stronger and seems unstoppable. Then, without warning, the goat’s horn breaks off and four, little horns, take its place!  Crazy! We learned in prior studies of Daniel that a horn represents a king or kingdom.  The ram has two horns, representing two kingdoms.  At first, the goat has one, big horn, which must be one, big, undivided kingdom.  Four horns growing out to replace it, become four more kingdoms. Just when it can’t get any weirder, yet another horn grows out of one of the four horns. Symbolic but weird, but hey, it’s prophesy, so we do have to pay attention to it! This newest horn, this little sprout of a horn, starts attacking the Holy Land.  Somehow, Daniel the uber-interpreter, is seeing all these strange things going on, takes it in apparent stride, because a figure appears by the river and a loud voice commands, “Gabriel, make this man understand!”. Gabriel tells Daniel that he has been sent to him to explain what will happen in the end times at the indignation.   Gabriel goes on to explain to Daniel that the Ram’s two horns represents the Meads and the Persians (in an alliance).  The horns growing dissimilarly represents the actual way the Meads declined and the Persians gained prominence.   The the goats big horn represents Greece.  When Daniel had this vision it was hundred of years before Greece became the power it would be.  And that large horn breaking off, likely represented Alexander the Great dying, which occurred after his arrival in Jerusalem. After Alexander the Great died, Greece was divided up into four, divisional kingdoms.  The last horn that grows represents one of the kings of one of those kingdoms, and it may be said to be Antiochus IV Epiphanes.  This is one of the great villains of history and most people don’t even know he existed! Antiochus loved clashing with the Greece-run side of Egypt.  Antiochus was so frustrated that he couldn’t take over Egypt, so he started persecuting the Jews, as Israel was smack dab in the middle of the two Greek run kingdoms. Antiochus thus became the first ruler that systematically persecuted the Jewish people.  He made the Jewish religion illegal, essentially.  Eventually Judas Maccabee lead the Jews in a revolt against Antiochus.  They purified the Temple in a holiday still celebrated as Hanukkah.  Antiochus did suffer a bad fate, being struck with intestinal parasites!  Yuck! How do we know the Bible is true, to get back to our theme?  The Bible can be trusted because prophesy is accurate.  And it has stood the test of time. The Word of God has prophesy and its fulfillment, time and time again.! All this shows us that the Word of God can be trusted.   Verses can be found today in Daniel, Chapter 8.

Easter Sunday. Along with, Unmet Expectations. Today, Pastor Michael is studying the resurrection and unmet expectations.  He is in the book of Luke and Cleopas and friends are walking towards Emmaus and thinking something was supposed to happen and it didn’t.  The something was Jesus and being crucified and dying; folks had expected him to be the Messiah and now he was dead!  Talk about unmet expectations! Another person comes along and starts walking with them and he asked them what they were talking about and why they were so sad.  Cleopas felt that this stranger knew very little about what all had been going on, but he gave the story of Jesus, hoping he was the Messiah and now he had been crucified and had been dead for 3 days.  Now, further evidence today shows that, the tomb was empty.  But they were going home, nothing had been confirmed, they didn’t really understand what all had been happening and yet this stranger felt this was exactly as it was supposed to be! The Messiah was always destined to lay down his life, according to this stranger, who went over all the background of the prophesy of what happened to Jesus and how it was predicted long, long ago.  This person gave them many prophesies about how he would suffer and die.  And that it was not really, unexpected! These folks walking along the road, asked the stranger to come to their house and have food with them.  When they asked him to bless the food, they recognized him but, he soon disappeared! They ran back to Jerusalem and let everyone know that they had seen Jesus!  The Risen Lord! (CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) 24:13–27. The first resurrection appearance recorded in Luke’s Gospel is found here in 24:13–35. Two people are traveling to Emmaus from Jerusalem (24:13). As they travel, they are discussing the events of the previous day, and Jesus catches up with them as they journey (24:14–15). They cannot recognize Jesus, not because he looks different, but because in God’s sovereignty they are prevented from identifying him (24:16). When Jesus inquires about the topic of their conversation, Cleopas (cf. Jn 19:25, which may refer to the same person; the identity of Cleopas’s partner is unknown, but perhaps it was his wife) responds by identifying Jesus as a prophet through whom God has worked in a mighty way (24:17–19). Nevertheless, he has been executed by the religious leaders, indicating that he could not have been the Messiah (24:20–21). To make matters worse, some women are saying that this Jesus is alive (24:22–23). They are right that the tomb is empty, but such a report could not be believed because no one has seen Jesus (24:24).   The “unknown” Jesus counters the belief of these two by pointing to the Scriptures. The OT Scriptures clearly teach that the Messiah must suffer before he enters into glory (24:25–27). For the texts that Jesus used, one should probably refer to the speeches in the book of Acts (Ac 2:14–39; 3:12–26; 13:16–41). Verses can be found today in Luke 24: 13-49. Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Daniel’s Vision of Beasts and Judgments. Today, Pastor Michael is continuing his study on Daniel.  Last week he covered Daniels dreams from Chapter 7 with the four fantastic beasts, that represented four world empires.  He only lived to see two of them: Babylon and Persian but Greece and Rome were coming down the line. Why would God bother to enshrine these empires in prophesy?  These four world empires played a huge part in getting the story of Jesus out to the world.   Babylon ensured that the Jews would take the Lord seriously and never turn back to idols.  The Persian empire gave them a fresh start in the promised land. Greece allowed a language that would be widely spoken across the civilized world. Rome owned practically everything.  It was safe to travel and they built roads and infrastructure.  We now have a world where the good news of Jesus could be spread across the world.   Salvation and renewal made it across the world because of these four civilizations.  God orchestrated the flow of human history so that we could get to know him through his Son.  So we pick up the story with the fourth beast, representing Rome.  There are ten horns on this beast and a little horn came up amongst the other horns and it had eyes and a mouth and was actually speaking! This represents another king and kingdom, one far worse that Rome.   Daniel 7:8 (ESV Study Bible Notes) Even more surprisingly, another small horn came up among the horns, uprooting three of the 10 others. This horn had eyes and a mouth that spoke arrogantly. If this vision corresponds to the statue in ch. 2, then it would represent the Roman Empire and emphasize its ruthlessness. The Roman Empire was significantly different than the earlier empires, for it far surpassed them in power, longevity, and influence. The world had never before seen anything like it. The 10 horns could emphasize the extreme power of this empire (five times the normal number of two horns), or more likely it signifies 10 rulers or kingdoms (cf. Dan. 7:24; from Julius Caesar to Domitian there are actually 12 Caesars; but two reigned for only a few months). The little horn was significantly different than the others, for it had teeth of iron, claws of bronze, and eyes like the eyes of a man. It started “little” but grew up to overpower three of the other horns. Some scholars understand this horn to refer to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, but many have understood it to refer to the Antichrist. Further along, we start seeing the Lord on His throne.  His hair is white, symbolizing wisdom and his clothes also are white, repressing purity.  He has a thousand thousand (likely how Daniel saw an uncountable number) serving him, likely the angels standing before him.  This is where the Lord judges the beasts. Daniel 7:9-10 (ESV Study Bible Notes) The scene depicts in powerful imagery a judge who has the wisdom to sort out right from wrong, the purity to persistently choose the right, and the power to enforce his judgments. Even though the beast with the boastful horn continued to mouth defiance at the heavenly court, it was swiftly slain and its body thrown into the fire. 7:10 Ten thousand times ten thousand is meant as a picture of an innumerable multitude, representing not one kingdom but all the kingdoms of the earth standing before God (cf. Rev. 5:11). The books that were opened represent God’s records of the deeds of those on the earth (cf. Dan. 12:1; Luke 10:20; Rev. 20:12, which echo this passage). The Coming of the Son of Man. After the beasts were judged and the fourth beast slain, Daniel’s vision turns to the coming of the Son of Man. (ESV Study Bible Notes) 7:13–14 The Coming of the Son of Man. The one like a son of man combines in one person both human and divine traits. Elsewhere, this phrase “son of man” often distinguishes mere human beings from God (e.g., Ps. 8:4; Ezek. 2:1). However, this son of man seems also greater than any mere human, for to “come on the clouds” is a clear symbol of divine authority (cf. Ps. 104:3; Isa. 19:1). This “son of man” is given dominion and glory and a kingdom (Dan. 7:14; cf. ESV footnote at v. 27; this is parallel to God’s dominion, 4:34), which at present resides in the hands of human kings such as Nebuchadnezzar (cf. 5:18). But he is far greater than Nebuchadnezzar, because he will rule over the entire world forever: all peoples, nations, and languages will serve (or worship) him, and his dominion . . . shall not pass away (7:14). Thus, he must be much more than a personified representative of Israel (cf. vv. 18, 27), and certainly more than a mere angel, for no created being would have the right to rule the entire world forever. Jesus claims he will fulfill this role (cf. Mark 14:61–62), and it is ultimately fulfilled in Rev. 19:11–16 when Jesus comes at the end of the age to judge and rule the nations. Jesus refers to himself as “son of man” more than any other title (see notes on Matt. 8:20; John 1:51). This title was used in the OT in two different ways, first, to refer to a mere human being (see esp. Ezekiel, where it is used over 90 times referring to Ezekiel), and second, to refer to the son of man in Dan. 7:13, who is a divine being dwelling in heaven with the Ancient of Days. When people heard Jesus use the term “son of man” for himself, they had to decide which type of “son of man” he was. Technically he was both, but it took faith to believe he was like the “son of man” in Daniel. At the end of Jesus’ ministry, when he claimed to be this heavenly “son of man” predicted in Daniel’s vision, his opponents said he had committed blasphemy (see notes on Matt. 8:20; 24:30; 26:64). The summary of all of this is, it’s a fantastical, hard-to-fathom story of Daniel’s vision of beasts and the Lord on His throne and judging these beasts (and therefore, the kingdoms they represent).  Yet it all is to open up the door to the entry of the Son of Man.  Jesus, our Lord.   “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” Verses can be found today in Daniel, Chapter 7: 7-28.

Fantastic Beasts. Today, Pastor Michael is continuing his study on Daniel and we’re in the seventh chapter of Daniel in the Bible.   The first six chapters were a narrative, telling a linear story.  But in Chapter 7 something different happens.  Chapter 7 describes something that happens 14 years BEFORE Chapter 5! So Daniel is famous for interpreting dreams, for years he did that.  So finally he gets a dream, similar to Chapter 2 where King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a huge statue of a man.  In this new dream, the four empires are represented by four, fantastic beasts.  These beasts are coming up, out of the sea.  The four winds blow on the sea and stir it up.  This represents the power of God.  These are empires that did not rise up from human intervention but God allowed them to happen in his providence.   The first was like a lion with eagle’s wings.  This would represent the empire of Babylon, whose symbol was a lion.  The lion being given the heart of man and standing on two feet, like a man, similar to what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. The second fantastic beast was a bear.  Raised up on one side and had 3 ribs in its teeth.  In the Bible the bear is a symbol of savagery and hunger.  So who came after Babylon?  The Meads and the Persians.  The three ribs?  They probably represent three fallen enemies: Babylon, Egypt and Lydia. The third fantastic beasts is a leopard with four heads and four sets of wings.  Leopards were symbols of strength and speed.  Four wings mean it’s even faster.  What empire was equivalent to the speed of a leopard?  Greece and Alexander the Great expanded the empire and made it HUGE.  He was undefeated in battle and partly due to his battle skills and soldiers but also due to God and His providence.  But he died at 32 in Babylon and the Greek empire continued on but was in four parts!  Hmmm…wonder if that’s related to the four heads? Spoiler.  Yes, it is related. Then came the empire that was greater than any before them. The fourth beast was dreadful, terrible, with huge iron teeth.  It was different than all the other beasts before it.  Daniel could not compare it to anything he had ever seen.  It even had ten horns on its head.  Iron is important because Rome was represented by iron in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.   It is clear from the book of Daniel that this succession of empires (Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome) was not the result of clever rulers.  God had a plan for it.  God allowed these kingdoms to arise and fall for HIS purposes.  We see these four empires in succession and that there is a greater purpose for these empires.  That God’s providential hand raised up these kingdoms for His purpose.  He has organized history so that you can get to know His son, Jesus. Verses can be found today in Daniel, Chapter 7.

Daniel and The Lion’s Den. Today, Pastor Michael is continuing his study on Daniel and today is the ‘famous’ Daniel story.  The one we *all* remember Daniel for.  Spoiler alert: The lions didn’t eat Daniel! What is not as well known is how Daniel wound up there in the first place! This message deals with a preying on a person’s need to feel that we are good for something and how we unconsciously organize our world to validate that perception.   Today’s story takes place about 60 years from the first chapter of Daniel.  Daniel is in Babylon and has lived quite the life and he thinks he’s finally retired but he would up being present at the very last day of the Babylonian empire and the Meads and the Persians have taken over.  Cyrus is the High King and Darius is ruling Babylon, under Cyrus. One of the three governors appointed to this role is Daniel.  He’s not young anymore but he’s doing such a good job that King Darius is considering appointing him over all of Babylon.  However, as is typical even today, his co-workers aren’t exactly crazy about his great work ethic.  “How can we trap Daniel?”, goes their thinking and they finally have their nirvana moment, “Hey, Daniel prays to that Jerusalem God” and that caters to the Devil’s playbook. His enemies go to King Darius and throw Daniel under the proverbial bus.  They ask the King to pass a law that the people of Babylon can only pray to King Darius for 30 days.  This obviously appealed to the King’s sense of divinity and was a cunning political move.   Daniel continued to pray to the true God of Jerusalem, whereas the snitches turn to the King and turn him in.  The King wasn’t happy with this, as he knew at this point it was a setup but he had to do what he decreed.  The King had to cast him into the den of lions and did so.  But Darius is holding on the the hope that Daniel’s god will save him. They lowered Daniel into the pit of lions but we know the outcome, don’t we?   When the sun rose, Darius went to the lion’s den and cried out to Daniel.  Daniel replied back and reminded Darius that he was in the den for nothing that he had done wrong! The story here is that God can deliver us from impossible situations! Bible for Hope Study Notes: A Glimpse of the Miraculous (6:23) King Darius and Daniel experienced the miracle of the lions’ den from significantly different perspectives. The king mouthed faithful-sounding encouragement when Daniel was thrown into the pit (6:16), but his sleepless night (6:18) didn’t show faith in God. Daniel, on the other hand, approached his sentence with complete confidence in God’s will. As a result, Darius was only able to witness the event as a spectator, only able to appreciate it from afar. In contrast, Daniel experienced the miracle firsthand and felt the loving, protective hand of God “because he believed.” When we trust in God, we will recognize His touch on our lives. Verses can be found today in Daniel, Chapter 6.

The Writing Is On The Wall. Today, Pastor Michael is back on track with his series on Daniel. This is the fifth (5th) installment of this series and Daniel is really in interesting person, once you start drilling down on his legacy. The story of the first half of the book of Daniel was about the Babylonians taking over Jerusalem, the “Babylonian Captivity”.  Lots of folks, including Daniel, were re-located to Babylon during this time.  Daniel not only found a way to survive, but a way to actually thrive, as one of King Nebuchadnezzar’s most trusted advisors.  Now, in Chapter 5, King Nebuchadnezzar is dead.  There is actually a huge gap in the timeline between Chapter 4 of Daniel and Chapter 5.   Daniel was maybe in his late twenties the last time we saw him and now in Chaper Five he is around eighty!  So where’s he been?  He’s been doing his job, serving the king and the Lord.  He was just being faithful! Nebuchadnezzar’s successors are out fighting and Belshazzar is appointed reagent of the Kingdom, being Nabonidus’ son.  Belshazzar was a ‘grandaddies money’ kind of guy.  And when the story opens, we find Belshazzar partying!  Now he’s partying with religious articles from the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem.  The timing of it, was equally as terrible, as a time to throw a party.  Cyrus the Great is outside the walls of Babylon, getting ready to conquer them!  The overall timing of everything here is just really bad on an epic scale.   A ghostly hand now appears in the room…bizarre!  This hand floats over to a well lit section of the wall and starts tracing words on the wall.  Belshazzar calls for his aids to interpret this writing…so all the wise men come in and they cannot ascertain the answer (third time in Daniel where wise men couldn’t help, by the way!).  Belshazzar’s mom hears the disturbance and informs them that she remembered Daniel used to help Nebuchadnezzar’s dream interpretations. Daniel gets called in and interprets the writing.  And the news isn’t good.  Daniel lets Belshazzar that he needs to humble himself and chides him for using the articles of the true Lord in his partying.  The meaning is “God has numbered the days of your kingdom and time is up”.  And up, TODAY!   The end of the Babylonian empire had come.  The empire fell that night and Belshazzar was killed. A new empire took its place, a partnership of the Meads and the Persians.  This is the end of Babylon but not the end of Daniel! What can we learn from Belshazzar?  He certainly didn’t learn from history, nor humble himself.  He needed to get ahold of God with both hands and beg his help and favor.  He is the example of what not to do! Verses can be found today in Daniel, Chapter 5.

Vision, Passion, Purpose. Today, Pastor Michael is taking a slight detour off the Daniel series he’s been covering, due to a freak winter storm cancelling our in-person services.  So, he’s chatting about how we started.   Vision, Passion and Purpose define that we represent at ReCreate Church and how we apply the Lord’s vision in what we do.   Michael speaks especially on “Passion”, which originally meant suffering.  God’s good purposes for your life will involve some struggle.  God will give us help in going through those times! Does God have a purpose for you?  Have you stopped and asked Him for His vision for you?   At ReCreate we are always asking, what does God call us to.  What does God want for our lives? Verses can be found today in Proverbs 29:18 and 55: 10-12 and 19: 21. 

Daniel and the Werewolf King. Today, Pastor Michael is continuing his series on Daniel.  And King Nebuchadnezzar is having another of his dreams…this time about a big tree and a ‘watcher’ (angel).  Daniel interprets the dream and the news isn’t particularly good…Daniel interprets the dream as the tree representing Babylon and its ultimate fall. Fast forward a year and the King has seen nothing happen and he feels embolden by how very rich his kingdom is, by his own design, through no help, apparently, from God.  Yet, a voice comes down from Heaven, telling the King that the kingdom will fall but the King still feels the kingdom is successful because of his own design. Judgement however, comes quickly. Nebuchadnezzar is banished from his kingdom, has to eat grass, and his nails become like claws.  The man who had everything and his pride knocked him down.  Seven years pass and Nebuchadnezzar looks up to heaven and his understanding returns. Only when he acknowledges the Lord, does he finally understand.  He discovers that everything is a gift from God; from Him and for Him. Verses can be found today in Daniel, Chapter Four (4). 

Daniel’s Friends and the Fiery Furnace. Today, Pastor Michael is continuing his theme of Daniel and we’re getting into Chapter 3.  From Chapter 2, we learned that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, it was interpreted correctly and he knew of the empire to come, after Babylon.  Yet, instead of him considering this was his real encounter, with the Living God, he went back to idolatry!  He commissioned a huge statue and an orchestra to create an anthem to him, to make his subject bow down to him. And if they did *not* bow down to him, they would be thrown into a furnace!   When the anthem played, only three did not bow down. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not.  The king’s advisors were so jealous of these three that they ratted them out and the king flies into a rage and commits them to the furnace!  The three answered the king, “…we do not serve your god nor the gold image…” (Bible for Hope Study Notes) When the three men were confronted and threatened, they offered a marvelous and courageous statement of faith: “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up” (3:16-18). Their tone was respectful, confident, and uncompromising. They only assumed God’s unlimited ability, not what might happen to them. They were clearly ready to die rather than deny God. The depth of our faith and our loyalty to God can only be measured against resistance. Threats of harm or whispers of compromise have this equal possible benefit in common: They provide an opportunity to test our faith. Sometimes, as in Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego’s lives, the test becomes a miracle! (Disciple's Study Bible Notes) SALVATION, Belief—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are examples of the kind of faith God wants people to have in him. Faith has such trust in God’s love and power that believers hold to God no matter what happens, no matter who seeks to change their minds, or what threats they face. Verses can be found today in Daniel, Chapter Three (3).

David and the Empire of Dreams. Today, Pastor Michael is continuing his series on Daniel.   Last week, we delved into Chapter One, where the Babylonians took over and took the Jewish people to Babylonia as slaves.   This week, we’re in Chapter Two, finding Daniel with this three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  For Daniel remaining true to his values back in Chapter One, God has rewarded him with an ability to interpret dreams and visions.  And in Chapter Two, King Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream.  So he summoned his wise men who asked him about the dream.  The king did not tell them, offering them that they had to tell him the dream and the interpretation or be killed.   Pretty much you can guess where that went…no more wise men!  Daniel, however, went to the Captain of the Guards and convinced him that he could read the King’s dream and interpret it.  The King agreed to let Daniel do this, so Daniel and his three friends prayed about it.  The Lord gave Daniel the dream vision and the interpretation.  So Daniel goes back to the King with the news.  The first part of Daniels dialogue with the King is to let him know that no man can predict the future.   (CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes). The manner of Daniel’s speech shows his confidence, and Arioch’s quick response reveals his trust in Daniel. In the presence of the king, Daniel gives God the glory, as, together with the sages, he admits that “no wise man, medium, magician, or diviner is able to make known to the king the mystery he has asked about” (2:27). Only Daniel’s God can and does reveal mysteries (2:28–29). Daniel humbly admits that he is a mere instrument in God’s hands and that his abilities should not be viewed as native but have been given to him by God (2:30). Then he proceeds to explain the dream. Daniel says that the King has seen a giant statue, made of precious metals.  (CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) Through the dream of the colossal statue consisting of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and feet of iron mingled with clay, the Lord reveals how one empire will succeed another empire: Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome (2:36–40). The resulting instability of the image is represented by the mixing of iron and clay (2:42–43). Then the stone it was on, grew into a huge mountain.  The King at this point is impressed as this was EXACTLY what he had dreamed! The interpretation of this dream is a revealing of the future of Empires: the empires that shall come.  The King is the head of gold, Babylon.  There will be another empire, the silver empire (Persia), which will be lesser than Babylon but will take over.  Then a third kingdom, represented by the Bronze shall take over, which will be Greece.  The last last empire will be Rome, taking over vast expanses of kingdoms. Finally, the feet, iron an clay mixed, will, at a time, be God in Heaven  obliterating all kingdoms and His kingdom will surpass all kingdoms on earth. The King is literally floored, falling on his face, before Daniel.  He promoted Daniel and gave him many gifts and made him also Head Administrator of the wise men.  He is a very high official now in the Government of Babylon.   The prophecies of Daniel are so precise the evidence is overwhelming! The empires of the prophesies.  Babylon, the head of gold.  The height of this empire was under Nebuchadnezzar and only a generation or two after him, Babylon fell.  Babylon was overtaken by the Meads and the Persians, the chest and arms of silver.  The Persian empire was crushed by a tiny army from Greece, the belly and thighs of brass.  Greece was dominant from 331 BC until about 63 AD.  Then they were overcome by an even more powerful empire: Rome.  The legs of iron, crushing everyone that opposed them.  Their empire went from England to India and south to Africa.  They had two divisions, eastern and western, lasting for 1,500 years. The king’s dream accurately depicted this succession of empires.  This shows clearly how accurate the Bible is, these prophesies have all come true! What did these empires do for our faith?  Babylon took the Jews out of the promised land and took them to Babylon where they got serious with God.  The Persians allowed the Jews to go back to their land and funded the rebuilding of the temple.  The Greeks spread their language and for the first time there was a trade language amongst a lot of people.  Lastly, the Romans were good at conquering even more than all the previous empires and built roads all over their kingdom, connecting people.  People can now travel and missionaries can travel, too! Later prophesy from Daniel and Revelation show Rome coming back and Jesus will be the great stone that obliterates the empires to be replaced by His kingdom! The rise and fall of empires, was created by God and He used it to bring good to everyone.  It was so the good news could come down through the ages. Verses can be found today in Daniel, Chapter Two (2).

One Hit Wonders! Today Michael is starting a new series on Daniel.  As our title today suggests, Daniel has a One Hit Wonder kind of reputation, known primarily for Daniel and The Lion’s Den fame.  But Daniel had so much more in his life, including Daniel and the Diet Plan, Daniel and the Heroic Goat, Daniel and the Ghost Hand and Daniel and the Fantastic Beasts just to name four out of twelve notable chapters in his life.  Today’s message is about Daniel and the Diet Plan.  This takes place about 400 years after King David and 600 years before Jesus, during the time of the Babylonian Captivity.   (Bible for Hope Study Notes) When Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in the summer of 605 B.C., Daniel was only a teenager. He and several others were taken captive by the Babylonians and placed in a three-year training program in which they were expected to learn the Babylonian view of life and religion. They were even forced to learn the Babylonian language and given Babylonian names. Daniel in Hebrew means “God is my judge”; his name was changed to Belteshazzar, which in the Babylonian language means “the god Bel is my judge.” It may have been as close as the Babylonians could come to translating the meaning of his name. So, Daniel is doing the Babylonian thing but he does take exception on the food.  Daniel realized that eating the king’s food would show him as accepting the kings loyalty.  So Daniel asked for veggies and water; hence the reason for the name, “Daniel and the Diet Plan”!  The official handling that was worked that the King would see him looking not-so-healthy.  Daniel offered to try it on a test basis and the official agreed. (CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) The issue of food and drink is highly significant to Daniel and his friends. The Lord has clearly designated certain foods as unclean (Lv 7:22–27; 11:1–47). Moreover, the royal court is closely associated with pagan temples, as food and drink are symbolically dedicated to the gods.  After the test diet of healthy foods, Daniel and his friends were reviewed by the King and found healthier than the others, those eating the King’s diet! Daniel’s faith was rewarded by the Lord in him receiving the ability to discern dreams and other gifts.   The moral of the story is, Daniel and his friends took a stand.  You can stand against the world, with God at your side!  Todays verses are found in Daniel Chapter One.   We will be going over a chapter in Daniel each week for the next 12 weeks.

Sanctity of Life Sunday. Our service starts off today with Luci Boudreaux giving a moving testimony to the unborn and her experience as a young lady living that.  It is a wonderful second version of our most popular podcast ever but here is only an introduction to Michael’s study on the sanctity of life.  In the days of the Roman Empire the Romans had a word, “Expositus” meaning exposure, where it was culturally acceptable for children to be left outside to die.  Even though this was 2,000 years ago, children are still sold into slavery and human trafficking in 2022. We have to realize, we are created in the image of God and every human life is the handiwork of God.  It would be better to destroy human artwork than disrespect human life….which is God’s artwork! There is a debate on when life begins.  From a biblical perspective, God counts us as people BEFORE conception!  You were conceived by God because God knew us before we were ever conceived.  Life is precious; it should be honored and protected and we know that we are loved by a God that created us in his image. Today’s verses can be found at Genesis 1: 26-27, Psalms 139: 13-16 and Jeremiah 1: 4-7.  

Snow Ice Cream Today Pastor Michael is house bound, due to snow, so he is expanding on the Biblical references to snow.   Pete Enns, The Biblical Teaching of Snow: It may interest you to know that the word “snow” (Hebrew sheleg, Greek chion) appears 23x in the Bible. And in every single instance, snow has either a neutral or positive meaning. Nowhere was I able to find a condemning word about snow. This is important, for biblical teaching on any matter must be consistent. Today’s verses can be found at Proverbs 15: 13, Isaiah 55: 10-11, Proverbs 26: 1, and Isaiah 1: 18.

Stress, Anxiety and Fear. Crazy title but today Pastor Michael is talking how in this crazy pandemic world we live in, our stress, anxiety and fear are amped up worse than ever.  But this is about a foundation that can endure the worst this world can deal out.  There is a foundation that can do that: Jesus Christ.   Not every kind of fear is a bad thing.  The right kind of fear can actually protect us.  The fear of God, for example, is such an overwhelming reverence for Him that we dare not do anything that would disrespect Him.  The right kind of fear keeps us from destroying what is good in our lives. Now, there is fear that is bad.  Anxiety drives more than we realize and control issues and perfectionism: they are often fear in disguise.  Addiction issues can also be found to have fear and anxiety at their core, too!   Now we can talk of a spiritual fear, a fear of refusing to accept God.  If you take human stress, anxiety and fear, they are built on lies (usually the devil’s!). This fear robs us our peace and blessings.  Marry human fear with spiritual fear and it truly is the devil working on his plan, that of causing all of this fear! There is always enough money to obey and trust God.  There is always enough energy to trust and obey God.  God does His best work when the odds seem to be against us.  Fear would have us believe the worse.  Yet Jesus paints a different picture: He tells us not to fear.  He gives us a reason, in Luke 12:32.  We are children of God.  That relationship changes everything.  You Heavenly Father wants to bless you. No matter what, you have lots of blessings, even if you’re struggling.  Ask yourself, what exactly do you want?  Trouble-free lives aren’t on this side of heaven! Stress, Anxiety and Fear: tells us we don’t have enough.   Faith says we always have enough! Let’s look at what the Bible for Hope notes on worry: (Bible for Hope Study Notes) …we all worry about our finances, our loved ones, our jobs, our health, and a host of other life issues. It may be hard to relate to Jesus’ words concerning worry. After all, Jesus had no children, no boss, no rent to pay. Jesus never had to grocery shop for a family and make dollars stretch, or car pool kids to sports, try to make the PTA meeting, and put dinner on the table. Jesus never had to take care of his elderly parents and help his teenagers plan for college at the same time. How can we apply His teaching about not worrying to twenty-first-century life? Actually, these passages are more for us today than ever. In a materialistic, consumption- minded, technological world, Jesus is telling us to order our priorities: “Seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you” (Luke 12:31). For most of us, however, there is a large gap between managing our day-to-day lives and seeking God’s kingdom. In order to achieve the peace of God, to not be overwhelmed by the pressures of life, we have to change. We read that we cannot add a single hour to our life by worrying and fretting, but because worrying is what we know best, it’s what we do first, especially in stressful situations. To seek first the kingdom means to pray first, releasing our fears and worries to the Lord. Today’s verse can be found at Luke 12: 32.

Grace. Today Pastor Michael is in Ephesians looking at one of God’s biggest proof of His love for us: Grace.  God’s grace is preeminent in ever aspect of salvation.  Pastor Micheal is showing how John Newton, whom lived in the 1700’s, discovered God’s grace.  And wrote, “Amazing Grace”.  How cool is that? (CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) God’s purpose in restoring and honoring humanity, in being kind to his rebellious creatures, is to demonstrate for all time the surpassing bounty of his forgiving grace (2:7). The point is not that God needs to flaunt it but that creation needs to see it. Paul now draws the obvious conclusion: if we were dead and therefore helpless, and if God intervened and by his own will revived us in Christ, then it is an act of his grace alone, a gift (2:8). (Disciple's Study Bible Notes) SALVATION, Grace—Salvation is the story of grace heaped upon grace (Jn 1:16). It begins with God’s grace and continues with a constant unfolding of that grace. His grace is supremely expressed to us through his kindness in Christ Jesus. Grace is appropriated through faith and is intended to result in good works. We are not capable of good works until he makes us his new work of art, the new creation in Christ. Today’s verses can be found in Ephesians 2: 1-22. Along with the message, we have linked Andrea Bocelli performing, “Amazing Grace”, from the Duomo di Milano, particularly moving at the end.   See the show notes for the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpXwOSHTwsY  

When Temptation Comes Calling Today Pastor Michael is in Romans, with Paul, in a general theme of discovering why it’s easier to do the wrong thing than the right thing.  Especially after we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  Paul here is chronicling inner conflict in his life before Christ.  A person desiring to obey God’s law and hating his sin.    (Gospel Transformation Study Bible Notes) Some think Paul is focusing more abstractly on how the law does its work, and is not concerned with whether a converted or an unconverted person is in view. Many believe these verses describe the struggle of believers, even under grace, as we find that we often act against our own beliefs and will (v. 15). Each of these struggles confirms the goodness of the law (v. 16) and the persistence of sin’s effects (v. 17). We must always acknowledge that, although the gospel has brought Christ’s goodness into our lives already, we are not yet perfected in him (vv. 18–19). There remains still a despicable presence of sin in our actions despite our cleansed status through faith in Christ (v. 20). Whichever interpretation we take, this passage drives home the profound and perplexing disorder that sin introduces into the human mind, a disorder that can be healed only by the even more profound grace of God in the gospel. In closing, Michael gave a story, very paraphrased here, as a man gave his live to Jesus and felt as if two , sparring dogs lived within him.  A dark dog, wanting to revert him back to his pre-saved days and a lighter dog wanting to embrace Jesus and His love.  He felt as if they were constantly sparring.  He asked a friend, which dog will win this battle?  The friend replied, “The dog you feed the most.” If we want to stay in Christ’s light we need to feed the Spirit.  By prayer, by reading the Bible, by being with other believers.  Seek to live by the teachings of Jesus! Today’s verses can be found in Romans 7: 15-25