And now I think with that we're ready for our daily devotional.
Sometimes it's the only thing we can do with this broken world.
Right.
Is just go to God's word.
Yes.
And today we are on day four of unshaken on you version.
Four of ten.
Infinite is the title today.
In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, he had dreams.
The spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.
Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans
be summoned to tell the king his dreams.
So they came in and stood before the king.
And the king said to them, I had a dream.
And my spirit is troubled to know the dream.
Daniel 2, 1 through 3 is where we set the stage.
King Nebuchadnezzar thought that the task of interpreting an untold dream was too difficult for his gods.
But Daniel exemplified that nothing is too difficult for our God.
The God of Daniel still speaks to us through dreams, prophecies and visions.
He still provides interpretations through scripture and community.
And we begin to see in these verses that wisdom and revelation are in sync with each other.
The spirit gives wisdom and provides revelation that allows us to discern what God is doing
and saying in our everyday lives.
He reveals deep and hidden things, he says, in Daniel 2, 22.
Similarly to the prophet Isaiah, who wrote,
He reveals hidden things we have not known in Isaiah 48, 6.
And announces new things before they spring into being, Isaiah 42, 9.
Psalm 51, 6 affirms that God teaches us wisdom in the secret place.
Let's be challenged by the actions of Daniel and his friends.
Instead of panicking when their lives were on the line, they petitioned God with prayer.
They went to the source.
They cared more about their relationship with God than they did with the end result of how the king would view them.
They didn't make anything up or compromise their belief in who God is.
They believed that the God who holds all knowledge also makes, mysteries known.
Ultimately, it's this quickening of obedience in Daniel's spirit
that causes him to ask God for the revelation to interpret the dream.
God hears and honors their obedience and character by revealing the dream.
Daniel and his friends, possessed character that sustained their calling,
this chapter teaches us that we cannot devise information,
but we must possess patience on a heavenly revelation.
We know God is a revealer.
He is the source of all wisdom.
Waiting on a revelation from him enables us to then walk with confidence,
with the impartation to be obedient.
To take a step of faith.
Ultimately, by Daniel's example, we see that the revelation of God,
coupled with Daniel's quick obedient steps, resulted in a transformation.
May God's revelation and our obedience change the lives around us
and strengthen our faith.
And may it remind us if we just have information,
then to wait, ask, and seek God to have a revelation.
Think of a time when you were asked to do more than you could do.
Lord, we just want to give you the problems that seem to us
that are infinitely hard, just like in the unfortunate situation of suicide,
Lord, when others feel hopeless and they feel it's infinitely impossible
to have any other solution.
Lord, help us to just give it all to you.
Help those voices in our head and those voices in the community
to be positive ones and to encourage us and others
to be infinitely wise and have infinite patience.
Lord, we know your promises will forever hold true
and that you will show up in a big way, in your way.
We thank you for these challenges because we know you will show up.
We have that faith in you Lord.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen.

And now I think it's time to move on into our daily devotional. Yes. We are on day three of unshaken.
Discipline today.
So far we've had identity and faithfulness. Correct. So today is discipline. This is from unshaken on you version. Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs
had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
Test your servants for 10 days.
Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.
Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths
who eat the king's food be observed by you
and deal with your servants according to what you see.
So he listened to them in this matter
and tested them for 10 days. At the end of 10 days, it was seen
that they were in better appearance and fatter in flesh
than all the youth who ate the king's food.
So the steward took away the food and the wine they
were to drink and gave them vegetables.
As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill
in all literature and wisdom.
And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
At the end of the time when the king had commanded
that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs
brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
And the king spoke with them.
And among all of them, none was found like Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
Therefore they stood before the king.
And in every matter of wisdom and understanding
about which king inquired of them,
he found them 10 times better than all the magicians
and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.
That was in Daniel 1, 11 through 20. I always wonder sometimes if Daniel's friends gave in
to the culture at some point,
because by the time they're in the furnace,
they're no longer Mishael, Hananiah, and Azariah.
Those are the Greek names.
Daniel's is the only one that continued
to be called Daniel all the way through. Good question. I don't know. Daniel and his friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
also known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
had to go through an intense training of Babylonian culture
that lasted three years.
The discipline found within their studying also echoed
within their spiritual life.
In response to the king's orders,
they willingly did a 10 day fast
of only eating vegetables and water.
They went in not knowing what God would do,
but believed that God could do abundantly more
if they chose to honor him. In Matthew 1820, we're reminded for where two
or three are gathered in my name, there I am among you.
These four friends exemplified what it means
to truly be anchored in whose they are.
They visibly displayed that God was on their side
and as a result of their risky faith,
God honored them with visions and dreams of all kinds.
God gave knowledge and understanding
in natural and supernatural ways.
Results do not happen overnight. It often requires discipline.
In weight training, it's a painful process
as old muscles are torn down and new muscles are rebuilt.
In these verses, we see four friends go through
displaying great discipline together.
Additionally, they held each other accountable
to their true identity as people chosen by God.
As a result, God provided a unique favor and anointing. Mm-hmm, maybe something to think about, what area of your life
do you need more discipline?
Over the next seven days, consider embarking on a fast.
That's something that our pastor has also asked us to do.
Ask God to help reveal ways to develop more discipline
within your life.
Discipline is kind of hard to obtain.
I mean, it takes work.
Discipline usually includes sacrifice
and that is the first step towards gaining anything
in God's favor as we must first give up.

FROM UNSHAKEN BY KIERSTEN TELZEROW

SHOW NOTES: I think it's about time to get into our devotional. It sure is. We are on day two of unshaken. Faithfulness is today's title, Day Two of Ten. But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine that he drank.

Therefore, he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the side of the chief of eunuchs.
And the chief of eunuchs said to Daniel,
I fear for my Lord the king who assigned your food and your drink,
you would endanger my head with the king,
as he was explaining that he would look weaker. That wasn't the case.
Daniel was incredibly faithful to the Torah, God's word.

He wasn't just familiar with God's word, but rather he meditated on it day and night.
Therefore, according to verse eight in the amplified version,
Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile or taint or dishonor himself.
In other words, Daniel refused to compromise in areas he knew God wanted him to be faithful in. Very good. Yes. Indeed. Also in Joshua 1 8 in the ESV,
this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth,
but you shall meditate on it day and night,
so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.
For then you will make your way prosperous,
and then you will have good success.
And in Isaiah 55 9 it says,
Whereas the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways, higher than your ways, and my thoughts, than your thoughts. Yeah, I recite that one a lot in my mind. These actions are an example of Daniel being anchored in who's he was, like you pointed out yesterday. The verses echo similar words found in Isaiah 55 9 when God says,
My ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.
God's way is always best.

Short cuts delay the promised land.

Compromise in one area often means compromise in every area.
Defiling oneself always affects someone else.

Daniel was faithful from the start, regardless of the consequences,
and it resulted in a favor and a compassion towards him. So the question might be,
What daily rhythms help keep you connected and faithful to God?

Well, it is supposed to be a rhythm.
It's supposed to be part of your habits.

Yes, daily bread, daily, daily, daily. That's why the day is a cycle, right?
Sundown, that's one complete day. And if you don't do it now, just as Pastor talked about this last Sunday, just takes 21 days of consistency for you to start getting used to that habit.

That's right. So if you're not in God's word every day and you want to make that a habit,
just do it one day and then another day and then another day.
And 21 days, evidently, supposedly is the magic number.
And regardless of that number, it will become a good habit if we just become
consistent at it. Sometimes it takes years to get into that.

It did for us. Now, finally, it's here. And if you're just listening to this, just occasionally,
maybe just get into the habit of listening every day. Right. And that might help. Well, and I like the Bible app, the U version,
because if you sign up for a plan, it'll notify you every day.
Oh, by the way, you've got a devotion to do today. Exactly. Don't forget your devotion. Exactly. So the best thing to do would be
to sign up for this devotional that we have.

And then just go to U version to the app, sign up for the devotional,
and then get to day two for today.

And you can follow along. Yes. And then tomorrow will be day three and you can read it with us.

That'd be awesome.

What a great idea. Thank you to U version and the authors there for all the hard work that they do in providing...

SHOW NOTES :

Unshaken by Kiersten Telzerow

Today is Celebration of Life Day.

Right celebration of life.

And so we're going to celebrate life and get into God's word. Where are we studying today?

Well, in the next couple of weeks, we're actually going to be studying about Daniel.

Daniel, yeah, he was kind of a little troublemaker, wasn't he? Most of those people in the Bible were, I think.

Right.

So let's get started on today's devotional called Identity. That's the title for today's devotional. The devotional itself is called Unshaken by Kiersten Telzerow, Identity - day one.

Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all those surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. Moreover, I will banish them from the voice of my earth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years. Jeremiah 25, 8 through 11.

So God is saying, you're not obeying me, this is what's going to happen. That is where the story of Daniel begins.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiachim, King of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it, and the Lord gave Jehoiachim, King of Judah into his hand and some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shannar, to the house of his God and placed the vessels in the treasury of his God. Then the king commanded Asphenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, use, without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding, learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Michel, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names, Daniel he called Belsazar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, and Michel he called Mishach, and Azariah he called Abednago. That's the beginning, Daniel 1, 1 through 7.

We start this chapter right out of the gate, between a rock and a hard place. Daniel's time was at the beginning of the 70-year captivity prophesied by Jeremiah. Babylon attacked Jerusalem and took noble Israelites captive, like Daniel and his friends. Due to sin and rebellion, the people are devastatingly placed in Babylonian captivity, and yet a hope found within the promise of Jeremiah 29:11 for his chosen people states that the story is not over. And Jeremiah 29:11, as we know, and I'm not wearing this sweatshirt today, but it says,

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

So within the first few chapters, Daniel's identity as a Jewish man was being challenged. He was chosen to serve the king and learn the language and culture of the Babylonians. I would call it indoctrination.

Sounds a lot like it.

It was different and something new for him, but he had to make a choice. What identity was going to continue to shape him? Yet Daniel chose to anchor his identity in whose he was, as someone chosen by God. We are all given the decision to root our identity in...

Admiral William H. McCraven delivers one of the most stunning commencement speeches ever given at the University of Texas in 2014.

A short motivational moment brought to you by Hale Multimedia, website and marketing services since 1996.

A short motivational moment brought to you by Hale Multimedia, website and marketing services since 1996.

A short motivational moment brought to you by Hale Multimedia, website and marketing services since 1996.

A short motivational moment brought to you by Hale Multimedia, website and marketing services since 1996.

A short motivational moment brought to you by Hale Multimedia, website and marketing services since 1996.