Settle Down Pussy Cats, No Meal Tonight!

Holy Land Picture of the Day

Beit She'an Today's picture is of ruins of the Greek amphitheater at Beat She'an, on the crossroads of the Jordan and Jezreel Valleys in northern Israel. The theater, and the Galilean hills in the background remind us of 1 Corinthians 12:13; "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit"    “He said, ‘O man of high esteem, do not be afraid.  Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!”  Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, ‘May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.'”  (Dan. 10:19) Hey Gang:  How many out there would agree with me that Daniel was one tough dude.  Now think about what was dealt to him as a teenager.  He was captured,  taken to a foreign land, his country was destroyed and his people taken into bondage,.  To this we add  that he was in a strange culture and perhaps most pressing was being chosen to be a satrap in training in the king's court which placed him under the threat of death at any time. He certainly had to make some tough decisions.  They attempted to mold them into a true Chaldean including changing his name.  But when it came to his eating habits, he would have no part of defiling himself by eating of the kings food which had been sacrificed to idols.  When the rubber-hit-the-road Daniel declared, “I will not defile myself”.  Daniel had purpose in his life and he knew who he was in God’s eyes.  Do you ever feel the need to take a stand?  In this age when everything Christian is under attack, have you faced times when you need to shout “No, I will defile myself”? We need to take a peek at Daniel’s life and find one of  the keys that gave him the backbone to trust in the Lord under any circumstance.   First, he was a fervent pray-er.   He knelt three times a day before open windows toward Jerusalem, and prayed and gave thanks before his God.  This he did even though a trumped up decree was pushed through, in the dark of the night, forbidding anyone from praying to anyone or anything but King Nebuchadnezzar.  Daniel knew the sleaze bag club would run to the king and report his dastardly deed – praying to Abba Father. We note that Daniel did not get all in a dither for he knew that God had placed him there for a purpose and  if his mission was completed, so be it, but if not, then he would close the pussy cat's mouth.  We know the rest of the story. Soooo. Gang, Can we, too, have such trust and faith? Not without being in constant contact with Abba Father,  keeping the Armor of God in place, and filling our heart with the Word of God.  Folks, this I can guarantee, today you will come face to face with something that is contrary to God’s will and way for your life;  you must choose – will you allow yourself to be defiled? or will stand in the face of adversity and say, “No way, I will not allow myself to be defiled”? Blessings, Gramps