Day tres: Daniel 5,6,7,8

Greetings everyone!
Today was a day of rest and aches and pains. I went through a surgical procedure today and had lots of stiff muscles and a sore side. I hope to feel like myself again soon. Needless to day, I am banned from lifting heavy things (such as my Bible) and did not have any desire to type on my blog, however, the Lord has given me strength and I have figured out a way to lay in bed and read without feeling pain. So with that being said, Daniel 5-8.

Daniel 5
First of all, the king mentioned in this chapter, his name is epic. It is King Belshazzar! Admittedly, this is the first time I can remember ever reading Daniel 5. This is a good thing. I need to be enlightened and taught more about Scripture, so it is nice to be informed of a new portion and not find myself re-reading and growing stale in what I know. That will make the parts of Scripture that I do know mean so much more and have a new life, when I return from reading new passages.
What I can take away from Daniel 5 is that you cannot be arrogant with high position and sovereignty that comes from being a leader. The king could not even learn from his father's mistakes and was so arrogant with his high position, too.

I want to be sure to learn from both king's mistakes and be sure to put my pride and arrogance aside as a leader in ministry. I am a natural leader with natural desires to lead and guide people. However, I need to remember that leadership qualities are a precious gift from God and I need to make sure that my leadership is reflective of God and not of myself. I need to be sure that all I think, do and say is glorifying the Lord. Thank you Lord, for teaching me about leadership in the book of Daniel with king Nebucchadnezzar and king Belshazzar!

Daniel 6
Wow! Love the lion's den story! The king's admin and satraps wanted to get a charge against Daniel but they could only get the king to create a law forbidding people to praise anyone but him for thirty days. Daniel did pray and praise the Lord, and as a result was thrown in the pit with a lion. Verses 4-5 reads, "At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally, these men said, "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God." It even says that the king tried to prevent Daniel from going to the den/tried to help him get out of it and could not sleep or eat the night that Daniel was left in the den for dead.

In the end, the king finds that Daniel is alive and untouched by the lions in the morning. The king says in verse 26-27, "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions."

Wow, God is so good! I took from this the obedience and diligence of Daniel to constantly serve God Almighty, no matter the laws or the decrees issued. He was reverent and still in the presence of God. I love that.

Daniel 7
Daniel talks about his dream and how visions entered his mind. Dreams and visions from God are something I was so unfamiliar with until someone pointed it out to me in Scripture. It is so clear that God wants to communicate with us in more ways than simply reading His Word and in prayer several times throughout Scripture. He wants to invade our sleep and give us dreams and visions from Heaven. How cool is that? I really like these verses from Daniel's dream, (verses 13-14), "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." WOO! I love that! Praise the Lord for mighty promises and great dreams and visions before Christ's coming : ) Poor Daniel, getting so much amazing insight and information for the end times in one night! It says he was terrified but kept the matter to himself. He must have felt so troubled and confused. It says that the dream was interpreted and laid out in this way in verses 23-27! Check it out and take notes! This is a slightly different translation than the NIV that I read but I really like to mix translations and get new insight. Here is the New Living Translation (NLT):

23 Then he said to me, “This fourth beast is the fourth world power that will rule the earth. It will be different from all the others. It will devour the whole world, trampling and crushing everything in its path. 24 Its ten horns are ten kings who will rule that empire. Then another king will arise, different from the other ten, who will subdue three of them. 25 He will defy the Most High and oppress the holy people of the Most High. He will try to change their sacred festivals and laws, and they will be placed under his control for a time, times, and half a time.

26 “But then the court will pass judgment, and all his power will be taken away and completely destroyed. 27 Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey him.”

Daniel 8
Daniel is rocked by God and is given even more insight and yet another example to help him understand the wrath of God that is to come in the end times. Then the angel Gabriel comes to him and tells him the interpretation! He was SO afraid, again! What an amazing and God-fearing experience that must have been for him! What an honor to be given that valuable information. I enjoy reading verses 19-25 because it paints the picture of the end times. I like in verse 25, "He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power." AMEN! I love how God allows us to understand that the end times will be very planned out and gives us the signs ahead of time. And how He so easily tells us, that He already has the victory! Hallelujah!