Daring to be a Daniel

Brrr.... it is has been so cold the last couple of days! This morning I decided it was the perfect soup weather and so I began digging around in the fridge for the left over chicken, green beans, and corn. As I was peeling potatoes, browning hamburger, and cutting carrots and onions I was thinking how these ordinary veggies and meat were going to become an extraordinary dinner... once they simmered in the crock pot for several hours!

Just like the variety of veggies strewn across my counter, God used a variety of ordinary people to do extraordinary things... and a lot of times, they had to go through the heat to get there. Some made mistakes, some tried to run away, but in the end they all accomplished exactly what God had intended.

What was the defining factor in these people's lives, the common denominator? For Daniel it was commitment to his faith and his God, our God. Our first hint of Daniel’s greatness comes in his quiet refusal to give up his convictions. He had applied God’s will to his own life, and he resisted changing the good habits he had formed. Daniel Chapter 1

Both his physical and spiritual diets were an important part of his relationship with God. He ate carefully and lived prayerfully. One of the benefits of being in training for royal service was eating food from the kings table. Daniel tactfully chose a simpler menu and proved it was a healthy choice. No matter the consequences of his decision to stay true to God and his laws, Daniel stayed the course... and God not only protected him... he blessed him!

While Daniel limited his food intake, he indulged in prayer. He was able to communicate with God because he made it a habit. How often do we pray? Is it a ritual or is it habitual? How often do we actually talk to Him... or are we just talking at Him?

Do you hold so strongly to your faith in God that whatever happens you will do what God says? Such conviction keeps us a step ahead of temptation; such conviction gives us wisdom and stability in changing circumstances.

This year, I am daring to be a Daniel and I am going to start by indulging in prayer! Let's prayerfully live out our convictions in everyday life and trust God for the results! I am excited to further explore the book of Daniel and see just what other characteristics and actions turned him from an ordinary boy to an extraordinary man of God! Will you join me?

Refrain: DARE TO BE A DANIEL by Phillip P. Bliss
Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known.

Let Us Pray

James 5:16 "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

I was watching the news this morning and saw where a Hollywood agent/publicist had just left a movie premiere and was shot multiple times.  One minute heading home, going over tomorrows "to-do list" happy the movie she had been publicizing looked like a hit...and just that quick...her life on earth ended.

A woman goes for a routine mammogram and the next thing she knows she is hooked up to chemotherapy and shopping for wigs. A man goes to the doctor because he is tired and lethargic and finds he has mere months to live.  A family living in "Leave-it-to-Beaver-Land" is split wide open because one person just doesn't want to be married anymore.  Jobs are lost, friends suffer, illness takes hold, and accidents happen.

Devout Christian or not... Life can turn on a dime... sometimes there are warning signs... sometimes not.  No matter how much we plan... no matter the contingency, sometimes life just gets turned upside down and inside out leaving our emotions spent and our nerves raw. It is during these times when most people turn to prayer.  You've heard the old saying... "When there is no place left to go, go to your knees."

Sometimes people want to use prayer like it is some kind of magic formula or think of God like a genie a bottle... "Lord, I can't fix it - please, please fix it for me."   They want some kind of big booming voice to emanate from the sky with words of wisdom... or a lightening bolt to strike the "problem" down.  That kind of attitude and expectation can and will only lead to more disappointment. Now, don't get me wrong here, I definitely believe in miracles... I have seen them and BELIEVE in them... it can happen.  What I'm saying is... it's a "heart thing."

In reality, prayer is opening up our hearts and pouring out all that is contained therein... frustration, hurt, anger, sin, thankfulness, praise, worship.  There are times we feel like we just don't have the words... sometimes it is simply lying prostrate sobbing and groaning. Sometimes... we just have to start with a song...

When we empty our hearts of self and focus on HIM... and trust me... this is, at times, so much harder than it sounds... we are praying with a right heart... in righteousness... It is then and only then, that we can hear, we can understand what it is that He has planned, what He has in store for us... it is then we can receive what He has to give us... even if it is simply comfort and peace. ahhhhh... comfort and peace... it is what we all long for, isn't it?

Then the PRAISE comes welling up from within our souls.  Praise Him in the good times and in the bad times... in the fruitful times...and in the lean times. Sometimes praising the Lord is as simple as singing to Him. I think prayer and singing go hand-in-hand after all, singing is worshiping God... even if you sound like an old toad doing it!

There really is power in prayer...the power is not ours, it's not in the singing, not in the words spoken... it is in the very act of prayer itself... it is in the communion with God... the power comes from HIM!  It is so easy to turn to God in prayer when times are tough... it seems like everyone does that.  But do we maintain that communication with God when times are going smoothly or are we like those who walk and live in the world and only seek God's face when life hands us a curve ball?

James 5:16 (b) The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 

Psalm 100 and Thanksgiving

Psalm 100 is among the first verses that Jake learned and could recite in its entirety. I can remember like it was yesterday the Thanksgiving our entire family sat around the folding tables at the local fire station. Jake was maybe seven or eight. It was the first time the family had all been together since our oldest sister, Carol, had passed away.

As the planning for the meal progressed Jake came to me and asked if he could say Psalm 100. It would be a wonderful addition to our celebration of thanks and told him as much. As I penciled him in on the agenda you could see happiness spread across his face like a rising sun.

However, as Thanksgiving Day approached he began to get nervous. What if he messed up? What if he couldn’t remember it all? I assured him that God would not inspire him to share the scripture with the family and then not allow him to remember. It would be fine. That only placated him for a little while. I told him that he could take his Bible and read it if that would make him more comfortable. He agreed. Still he waffled all week. We prayed together and I would assure him he would do a good job. Finally, I told him it was his idea and his decision in the end.

As we took our seats around the table the noise so common among families who have not gathered in a long time died down. Each person began to say what we were thankful for; jobs, health, each other, friends. When it was Jake’s turn there was a long pause.

As everyone watched and waited, he slipped his Bible out from under his sweat shirt and stated quite firmly, “I am thankful that I don’t have to read this but that I want to read this.” The entire family sat silently as he read Psalm 100. He finished to rousing applause and amen’s.

It was his choice… for the first time he chose to suppress his fears, trust in the Lord, and share His Word. Being able to witness that time in my little boy’s life will always bring me joy and comfort.

My prayer is that as his deployment rushes in upon us that will always be the case. That Jake suppresses his fear, trusts in the Lord, remembers His Word, and shares it with others. Surround him, Oh God, with your protection, Your mercy, and Your Love. Let him always feel Your presence.

Psalm 100 “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” ~KJV~ (King James is still Jake’s favorite version of the Bible)

A Soldier's Mother's Plea

Sleep evades.
Tumultuous thoughts invade.
A young son prepares for war.
And the rain begins to pour.
A mother’s heart wrestles in unrest.
Will God listen to her behest?
To keep him safe in heart, body, and soul,
Has always been her prayerful goal.

He serves our country with pride.
Oh, God, please be his guide.
Keep him close and make him aware,
You are always there.
In times of struggle and distress,
Put your hand upon him, relieve the stress.
Keep his mind sharp and give Your direction.
Surround him, Father, with Divine protection.

His adoption was a gift from above,
A testimony of Your love.
Yet Eighteen years flew by so fast.
Dear God, please don’t let this hug be our last.
The tour of duty is only a year.
Still, Lord, I can’t help but shed a tear.
No longer a boy; not quite a man.
How far away is Iraq and Afghanistan?

Send him, Father, if You must.
In You I place all my trust.
In my weakness I see Your strength.
For Your love goes beyond any length.
As peace replaces fret,
Assurance that You will not forget,
Your child in a faraway land.
He is safe and secure in the palm of your hand.

From bed to knees and knees to bed,
Thank You, Lord, for calming the chaos in my head.
As night turns into dawn,
I stretch and yawn.
Emotions drain.
Still the rain…
Tumultuous thoughts evade.
Sleep invades.