Monday, November 15, 2010

patients...the ultimate test

i know i struggle with this particular virtue DAILY. on many different levels... whether its not getting mad at someone or just waiting for a txt. patience is such a key part in our lives... we use it all the time, even though we may not realize it! i personally have trouble in being patient with people that i think are being completely irrational and refuse to listen to reason.. and one my patience is spent i tend to get pretty heated. often times anger is a direct eaffect of patience. Only because we try to not get mad to the point that we explode on whatever is the primary focus of the situation. i know that God has helped me a lot with my patients.. i used to be HORRIBLE! like.. just plain difficult lol but once my faith became stronger and i prayed and asked for help with that fault of mine.. i began to see huge results.. i still struggle with this but thanks to you know who its much better. so i say just try and be patient. i know its ironic.. but it may take time. nothing is usually an instant change!

Daniel chapter three

1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide,[a] and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
 4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
 7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
 8 At this time some astrologers[b] came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! 10 Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”
 13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
   They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
 25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
   So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”
 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Daniel chapter 2

1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers[a] to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.[b]
 4 Then the astrologers answered the king,[c] “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
 5 The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. 6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”
 7 Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
 8 Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: 9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”
 10 The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. 11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.”
 12 This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.
 14 When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. 15 He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. 16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.
 17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said:
   “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
   wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;
   he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
   and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;
   he knows what lies in darkness,
   and light dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
   You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
   you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
Daniel Interprets the Dream
 24 Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”  25 Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.”
 26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”
 27 Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these:
 29 “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.
 31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
 36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
 39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
 44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
   “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
 46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”
 48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. 49 Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.

Daniel chapter uno


1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god. 3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility-- 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service. 6 Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. 8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you." 11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. 17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. 18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. 21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

give a little thanks

Make music with the gifts God gave you.. you dont have to have a voice to sing. use what you have to glorify him! sometimes you have more of a effect on people than you think! if you can draw use it to show people what he has done! if you can sing, sing to him! (or just sing in the shower like the rest of us that cant actually sing lol ) if you can write, write to make him known.. even if its in a small way God doesnt care. all he wants is our attention and hes selfish with his children.. he doesnt want anyone else to have us.. just like a mother does not want her child to be taken away. God doesnt want satan to take away what he has created.. even though he has given us a choice. i know that every time we make a bad choice or choose the wrong way, he has to feel the pain from that. i know what some people say, if he really is God why doesnt he just make us love him? the answer is he LOVES us UNCONDITIONALLY, with his WHOLE HEART, and think about it.....if you really love someone are you going to make them love you? or would you have them CHOOSE to love you back? there is no love that youve ever felt that is comparable to how the Lord loves. so why not show him your appreciation?! we have so much to thank him for, but i feel like people sometimes lose track of that sometimes. and it would be great to see that fire come alive in everyone more often!

Psalm 2

 1 Why do the nations conspire[a]
   and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up
   and the rulers band together
   against the LORD and against his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break their chains
   and throw off their shackles.”  4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
   the Lord scoffs at them.
5 He rebukes them in his anger
   and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 “I have installed my king
   on Zion, my holy mountain.”
 7 I will proclaim the LORD’s decree:
   He said to me, “You are my son;
   today I have become your father.
8 Ask me,
   and I will make the nations your inheritance,
   the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You will break them with a rod of iron[b];
   you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
   be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear
   and celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry
   and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
   Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Friday, November 5, 2010

lifes problems..

when God throws a problem at you at a thousand miles an hour its time to step up to the plate... show him your faith can overcome anything. show him that you are the person he created you to be. we are capable of so much and sometimes it isnt anyone else but ourselves that are holding us back from growing... we may be scaredof what people will think.. scared to take a risk , scared to put our neck on the chopping block. if you think about it... even if you are not a christian.. why does it matter what others think? if we are all going to die one day.. and it wont matter then. why should it matter now?  as a christian it only matters to me what God thinks.. and generally what makes him happy isnt too appealing to those of the world. but as i was saying.. when you are thrown a problem stand up and work through it.. day by day, pray.. it does help. i have a personal story i am goin gto share to prove my point.. i was homeless for almost three months. for a couple weeks i was living in my car with all of my belonging...every night i would pray that God would provide for me... and he did.. people at a local bar invited me over for dinner, and they had a potluck every Sunday... he provided for me with food even though i may not have been able to eat during the day he provided for me every night! not only that but as you can imagine, i had no job. so i also prayed and prayed that i would get hired at this gym as a salesman.. and a week after i applied i got it.. a really good job i might add! i had no experience in the field and had many things that they knew about that normally would have meant i couldn't get the job.. a main one was transportation. But still i was hired on. and not long after an employee offered for me to live wth him in his apt! God does provide.. in many ways and he will always help you no matter what. you just have to open your heart to him and be faithful to him!

Psalm 1

BOOK I
Psalms 1–41
 1 Blessed is the one
   who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
   or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
   and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
   which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
   whatever they do prospers.  4 Not so the wicked!
   They are like chaff
   that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
   nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

honestly..its honesty

honesty... sometimes the hardest thing to do. when faced with certain things it seems to be the hardest decition for anyone to make. but the hardest things are meant to be tests of out strength. i have failed in this many times. and it makes it harder when those around us dont tell everything honestly either. no one wants to look like the bad guy. sometimes to be able to tell the truth you have to look like the bad guy. the truth always comes out eventually, in a year, maybe less.. maybe more. but it will come out the world needs to learn to be more honest than it is. all of the social magazines, with their lies about celebrities, even if they are just stretches of the truth.. only to cause drama because that is what everyone wants to hear.. and it still baffles me to this day and makes me wonder why so many people strive on the problems of others. why is it that drama is what fuels most peoples lives? sometimes if there isnt drama intheir life everything falls apart. this is because of a need for attention.. they feel that people dont pay enough attention to them so they have to spread rumors or start them i order to cause drama or to cause problems for other people... i just wanted to bring this to everyones attention because it can ruin a persons life. the smallest thing you say can impact a persons life in an enormous way. words may be free but if not used properly they can become very expensive. im not talking about money.. im saying it can cost you many things in your life. friends.. your own morality,and the morality of others. someone can be the most careing gentle person in the world, yet if something is said about them or to them enough it can turn them the opposite... becoming bitter and angry with everyone. just because of some "harmless" words.