Daniel

A few of my girlfriends and I have been doing Beth Moore's 12 week study, Daniel, for the last 20 weeks.  Yes, that's right.   That's what happens when four mothers of 12 preschoolers try to do anything--someone's child is always sick.  I feel like if we could have kept the momentum we started with, I would have endless things to blog about on this subject.  The constant starting and missing a few weeks has made it a little difficult for me to stay focused.  But, wow, is this subject matter worth staying focused on.  I believe it completely speaks to the time we are living in.  Here is the basic premise:

Beth Moore makes a parallel between the Babylon Daniel is living in and our present day Babylon, the world we live in every day.  The similarities are unbelievable.  She poses the question how do we stay spiritually relevant without becoming culturally irrelevant.  In other words, how can we be who God wants us to be without becoming so radical to the world that we lose our credibility?  Personally, this is a balance that is hard for me to find.  I absolutely loved going back to all those stories I had heard as a child, (Daniel and the Lion's Den, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego in the fire, etc.) and looking back on them to find so much more than I could have ever gotten as a child in Sunday School.  One of my favorite things from those lessons that I will take with me forever was from the story of the three friends in the fire.  Three of her points that day were relating to the fiery trials we go through today.  She laid out, from that scripture, the three ways that God will deal with our fiery trial.  He will either deliver us FROM the fire, deliver us THROUGH the fire, or deliver us INTO HIS LOVING ARMS.  For the Christian, it is really a win-win scenario.  These trials will not defeat us.  Another thing she said from these early chapters of Daniel that still rings through my head is,"You do not have the one situation that God cannot handle".  Of course, in the context of the lesson that was more profound but it was speaking of how often we think our situation is so much worse, or so unlike someone else's.  But there is nothing that God has not seen and cannot handle.  Today, I was re-inspired by this study as she spoke on selfishness.  She was saying that when Satan realizes he cannot keep you from loving God, he then moves on to his next strategy-to keep you selfish.  She was using scripture to point out that selfishness is the root cause of everything that keeps us from letting God fulfill His purpose in our life.  When we continue to think, "It's all about me, It's all about what makes me happy" we are so limited from being able to live the sacrificial life that God wants us to live.  That one really rang loud for me--I am so selfish!  A major point she repeats throughout the 12 week study (or 20 weeks, whatever) is that if you want to be a Daniel in your present day Babylon, it has to be intentional.  Otherwise, without even knowing it, we will blend right into this world without anyone even realizing it.  That is so hard in this life that is passing by me in a blur.  But I accept the challenge willingly.  

Sorry about my rambling.  I am sure if I took out my notes from the study, I could be more succinct. But I figure, what ever has managed to make it from my notebook to my heart, is really what is going to stick with me anyway.  So that's what I decided to share.  

Our next study will be Esther.  I can't wait.