Daniel 3

Oh the ever famous story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We all know it. When told they must bow down to the king's statue they refused. So the king ordered for them to be thrown into the furnace. But they told the king that their God would save them from the furnace. Although I've heard this story a thousand times, something new was recently pointed out to me. They responded to the king and said something that really makes me think.

"But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

They really believed that God would save them. But if not, they still would not bow down to the king's statue (and not only because they would be dead and couldn't). They would only worship their God. I want God to do so many things in my life, but sometimes if His plan isn't the same as mine I get frustrated. I want things to go the way I think is right. But I need to remember that if not, I should still worship God. I should still ask things of Him but all the while knowing that things may not turn out the way I want them to, but that's okay. So then the story goes on and of course, they are thrown into the furnace and they come out alive. God saved them, but the point is that they knew that even if God didn't, that was okay too. Whatever God's plan turned out to be, they were going to be happy with it. God, help me to know that even if things don't go the way I think they should, You have a plan and I just need to trust You.

Daniel 1

We've been going through the book of Daniel in Sunday School and it has some pretty interesting stories so I decided it would be a good place to try to get my quiet times going again. Daniel and his brothers chose not to defile themselves by eating the kings food even though it was the best food they would probably ever eat. By asking for permission to be allowed to eat only vegetables they showed how much faith they had in God. Their request could have easily been declined, but it wasn't. They knew that God would take care of them and make a way for them to do what was right. He will always make a way for us if we only ask. Sometimes I forget that. God will always make a way.

Daniel in the Lion's Den

So I was reading that story today in Daniel..one of my favorites that I remember being told since I was so little! Anyway, something I caught that I hadn't really paid attention to before was in verse 10 (chapter 6):

10Daniel heard about the law, but when he returned home, he went upstairs and prayed in front of the window that faced Jerusalem. In the same way that he had always done, he knelt down in prayer three times a day, giving thanks to God. (Contemporary English version)

Daniel knew all about the law, but he prayed anyway. He didn't happen to get CAUGHT praying (which is what I kinda thought growing up). He knew full well that he was going against the law, but he refused to alter his beliefs or his everyday actions.

Sometimes I don't do certain things or say certain things that should be said if I know it will offend someone. I do what I do based on the world's standards and norms. But, to be like Daniel, I should lay aside everything this world says is "right" and normal (tolerance) and just live for God regardless. Knowing full well that it might offend people, get me in trouble, etc.

This may not have made sense to anyone else but it did to me :)

Jeremiah 3:10

"And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense," says the Lord.

Pretense... I wish I knew exactly what that word meant, but I'm on this dumb computer at school and it won't let me open up another tab to go to wikipedia. Here's my definition. Pretense - from the Latin root word pretend, meaning insincere, fake, mockingly. I don't want to be insincere with God. I see it all around and it makes me incredibly sad, not just for the person doing it, but for all of Christianity. Eventually, everyone sees through pretense. It's not something you can keep up for long. God sees through it from the start.

Lord, help me to seek you with my whole heart. Examine me and remove any pretense from my life.

- Blu

Psalm 27

As I was sitting in church tonight waiting for Facing the Giants to start, I started flipping through the Psalms. I was looking for one that spoke about trusting God. I scanned a few of them and then my eyes fell to Psalm 27. It spoke so much to where I am right now. It's 14 verses, but I'm going to try to memorize it. Something that I know God wants from me is to memorize Scripture. I have like the best memory in the world, but I have never really used it to honor Him, so I want to. It's weird..before church I started memorizing the first verse and then all throughout the movie it just stayed in my head. I guess that's what happens when you really meditate on God's Word. It stays with you. Anyway, I digress. :)

Ok so I was sitting there reading this part (v. 8) "When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, Oh Lord, I shall seek." Right then (Blu was playing some background music) the song lyrics said "I close my eyes, and I see Your face..." It was weird. It was like God was telling me that in the midst of everything else that is going on in my life, He wants me to seek His face. No, actually not in the MIDST of everything else. BEFORE everything else. That's ALL He wants me to do, is seek His face.

As for the Samuel situation, the last verse really spoke to me "Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord."

God, please help me to seek Your face every second of the day. Help me to be able to wait for You.

~Darbi

Daniel 9

Ok, real quick cuz I don't have a lot of time anymore. But I did want everyone to know that I'm still doing my quiet time! I think Daniel 9 contains one of the greatest prayers in the bible. It's honest, passion-filled, and God centered. Daniel has a legitimate request for God (to save them) but the way he looks at the situation is cool. He knows that it's their own fault for messing up, but he asks God to save them for His glory. Verse 18 says, "for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.

What will move God to action? Anything that brings Him glory. Not, "O Lord, help me out cuz I want this." But "Lord, move in this situation so that honor and glory and praise are brought to Your name." Cool.

Daniel 5:22

Being humble is a big thing to God. I guess it comes back to the basic idea that He's in control and we're not. Anytime something good happens, I have a tendency to think that I'm the one doing it. But when something bad happens, I'm driven to my knees to seek God more intently than if everything went the way I wanted it to. I wish I could just get it down where I sought God and depended on Him and humbled myself before Him at all times, not just when I don't know what to do... That way God wouldn't have to get my attention through external circumstances. He would already have it.

Lord, help me to humble myself before you and realize that when I depend on you, I've got everything I need. And when I depend on myself, I just mess things up.

Galatians 3:3

"Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?"

Good question. I could often be accused of this. Honestly, it's so much easier to just say, "here's the rules, now follow them." It's easier to teach and explain that rather than something like, "walking in the Spirit." But rules are not what following Jesus is about. I know, I know, there's a difference in a life when someone turns to Christ. We do follow His commandments. But following His commands isn't necessarily what he wants. All it is is to submit to God. When we become saved, we don't really do anything except say, "God, I'm all yours." And that's what it is for the rest of our lives. Not doing anything for God, but simply submitting to His plan over and over and over. It sounds simple, but it's so much more incredibly complex than just following a set of rules. I can't hardly even explain it... so I just ramble.... and occasionally use the italics button I just found...

But that's what I want. Not to try to be something great for God and try on my own to become perfected by my actions. But just to submit to Him...

Sacrifice

So I was reading last night in 1 Samuel, because I was interested in the story of Hannah. Two huge things struck me about her. First of all, she totally did not care what anyone else thought about her when it came to her relationship with God. She is praying and in her own world with God, and Eli accuses her of being drunk! I realized that I would be so upset because I tend to care so much what people think of me! But Hannah didn't.

Secondly, she was willing to sacrifice everything for God. She was so happy that God had blessed her with a son that she turned around and (literally!) gave him back to God. I can imagine her heart breaking and overflowing with sadness and joy at the same time as she knew that he would grow up to be a man of God. I realized that in my life, rarely do I even stop to thank God for the things He has blessed me with, much less be willing to give them back to Him!

God, help me to care less what others think of me. Help me to see daily how much you have blessed me with and to be willing to sacrifice everything to you.

~Darbi

Luke 17:6

Faith. It's such a small word so why is it so hard? "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you." Faith like a mustard seed. That's barely any faith at all. Yet with that much you can do something as big as telling a tree to move and it obeys? Wow. I'm struggling a lot with having faith right now...but God says that even if I only have a little that can do great things. The problem is I sometimes feel like I have none at all. God, help me to have faith in You. To know that You have a plan and that everything will turn out ok.

Psalm 98

God is great. Sometimes I forget that. I'm always complaining and I have to admit the majority of the time I can be quite a pessimist. It's just hard for me to see the good things sometimes. But I should always praise God for the things He has done. If I were to make a list there are so many more good things in my life than bad. But I still choose to focus on the down side of things. "The Lord has made known His salvation." That alone should make me jump for joy.....Lord, help me to learn to look at the good things in life and to know that You have done great and wonderful things.

2nd Corinthians 5:18-19

I needed some encouragement this morning... Sometimes it's hard being in ministry. Paul knew all about it. Reading Acts, I see all this great stuff that happened and I really desire God to do that in my own life and in our church. But when I think about it, I notice that I often just glance over the things that were probably very discouraging times for Paul. Virtually everywhere he went, there were people that didn't believe. And actually the ones that didn't believe were usually more than the ones that did, and they were more persuasive because he usually got ran out of town! Things definitely aren't that bad for me! I'm sure he got discouraged, but he didn't look at the circumstances, but the call of God on his life. He says, "[God] has given us the ministry of... reconciling the world to Himself." That's a big job! One that can't be given up on and is bound to be difficult. Besides, it's not me that has to accomplish the job. It's Him.

-Blu

Romans 3:10-12

"There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All who have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

I'm not good enough. I can't understand the things God does. They are too great. I can't know what God is doing unless He reveals it to me. It's all God. Not me. Nothing can be done on my own. I can't make all the decisions for myself BY myself. I want to be used by God so badly that sometimes I try too hard. I try to do it without Him. I try to find ways to fix or accomplish things without talking to Him first. But sometimes I need to sit back and look at it all. He knows what He is doing. He has a plan. If He wants to use me He will. He will show me what He wants me to do. But I can do nothing worth while on my own. It doesn't work. If it's not a part of God's plan it won't happen. Just a little reminder I need from God every once in a while.

Acts 27:32

It's encouraging to see how God takes care of us. We really just have to trust Him, though. Paul told the guys on the ship that they would all be saved. I'm not sure if they believed him right then or not, but after 14 days, apparently they did. They were about to jump ship, use their only means of salvation (the lifeboat) and Paul warned them. So they cut it away. Cool! They didn't just raise it back up and say, "well, we'll wait a little longer and see if it works out." They completely cut the ropes so that they didn't have the option of getting into the lifeboat. It's a good practice I guess. To remove even the option of disobeying God. They obviously trusted Paul and his God at this point, but they also recognized their own weaknesses and took preventative steps to take care of it. Good idea!

Acts 24:22-27

What a sad passage! Felix was well-acquainted with the Way (v. 22) and got to hear first hand from Paul himself. But the bible gives no indication that he ever accepted Christ as his savior. He knew all the stuff... it even scared him to think of God's coming judgment (v. 25), but he didn't take it to heart. All he said was, "When I find it convenient, I will send for you."

When I find it convenient, I will do what God wants me to. I don't want to be like that! If I'm just sitting around waiting for the perfect opportunity when everything is pleasant for me, then I will never do anything for Him. But the truth is that a lot of times I only do what is comfortable and not what I know needs to be done. Lord, help me to follow You at all times no matter the cost...

-Blu

Acts 23:1-5

And Paul said, "I was not aware, brethren, that he was high priest; for it is written, 'you shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'"

This is an interesting story because the high priest in charge was doing something wrong (commanding Paul to be beaten before he was condemned). And Paul called him on it, but took it back when he realized it was the high priest. Even if my leaders (in church, my school, in government) are wrong, it's still not my place to speak evil of them or about them. It's about respect for authority, because nobody is in authority unless God places them there. This is hard for me to do, especially if I disagree with the way people in authority are doing things. They are there by God's command. I've got to deal with it and work with them, not against.

Psalm 88

This psalm justs reminds me that you are never too low to pray. Sometimes, when things just don't go right, we turn away from God. We are so consumed by our problems that we leave God out. But He wants us to talk to Him about our problems. The psalmist did not praise God once in his prayer. He just wanted answers. " O Lord, why do You reject my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?" He was so low that He felt He couldn't find God anymore. But he still cried out to Him. Even when we can't see Him, God is always there. Even if our prayers aren't praises, He wants us to pray. To talk to Him about what's going on and what we are feeling. Even if it's only asking for answers and explanations. God, help me to always turn to You. To pray even when I just don't feel like it. Help me to remember that You are always there, and that You never leave me no matter how low I get.

Psalm 121

Sometimes it's hard to fully rely on God and put all of your faith in Him. "He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber." God is always watching over us. He never sleeps and oversees all. He will not let us fall. "The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever." He has His hand on you always. So why do we worry so much? It's hard to trust things we can't see. But it's not faith if you use your eyes. I worry so much about the future and what it holds. I don't know what I want to do with my life and that scares me. But God already knows. He has plans for my future. Lord, help me to trust that You have control over my life. Remind me daily that you have a plan for me and that I don't need to worry about my future.

An Old Hymn...

I've always thought that it's hard to trust in Jesus--that it's the kind of thing that requires hard work to be able to trust in Him, and something that I have to work on. But yesterday in the car, I heard a song that I have probably heard 200 times growing up. The words really spoke to me though.

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, (It's SWEET to trust in Jesus, not a hardship!)
Just to take Him at His Word, (to just trust what the Bible says and not look for tons of other signs)
Just to rest upon His promise
Just to know, thus saith the Lord. (just to know that whatever God says is so cool!)

And then the last phrase:
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus
Oh for grace to trust Him more.

That last line really got me. When it is hard to trust Him, all I have to do is ask for Him to give me grace so that I CAN trust Him more. It's really made me see trusting God more as a privilege and not something that is so hard.

God, help me to trust you with all the craziness going on in my life. Help me to see trusting you as something sweet. Please give me grace so that I can be able to trust you even more.

Darbi

Acts 20

Maybe I'm reading too much into this joy thing, but it's there again. Paul is talking about the end of his life and "finishing the race" (v. 24). I've always looked at that as straining ahead, enduring hardships, suffering in order to finish well. But today I saw it in a different light... "so that I may finish my race with joy." I suppose it is a struggle, but it's supposed to be with joy! How do I get there? here's what it says, "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy..." I often find my joy in the Lord slipping away when I begin to give things in my life too much significance. Not enough money? Too little time? Not enough sleep? Those things are somewhat important I guess, but not in comparison with "the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." It's strange, but there's a deep sense of joy and peace when someone decides to give up their life. Just before people commit suicide, they say there is a euphoric feeling because they've decided and it's done and now out of their hands. Joy comes from giving up on my life and making it totally His.

- Blu

Acts 19

There are some things about God that I just can't figure out. And until I stop to think about it, it frustrates me, because I love to explain things. I like things to fit together nicely and have some easy explanation for everything about God... but it just doesn't work that way. He's too big. I can't get my mind around Him. I can't explain Him. I heard Chris Tomlin sing about "the Godhead, three in one" today and that's kind of what got me thinking of this... I once tried to explain the Trinity, but stunk it up real bad. Why? Cuz it doesn't all fit within my logical world. But the song goes on to say "How great is our God." He's too great to be explained. Verse 6 of this chapter says that those that believed received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. I read that and thought, "you know, God could have just left the whole tongues things out and it would have been much easier to understand and explain." But it's there. How do you explain that?

Then I come to the conclusion that it's better this way. What good is a God that only fits within what I understand? What is there to look forward to? Where's the expectation and hope if He's only what I can conceive of? Lord, help me to stop trying to explain everything (and automatically doubt things I don't understand), and help me to enjoy the mysteries that are in You...

Psalm 51:12-13

The Christian life is centered in joy! Sometimes I forget that. I get caught up in the overwhelming task of bringing the gospel to teenagers in Alvarado. There is a desperate need for these kids to know Jesus, it's true. But that doesn't mean that we can't have fun and enjoy ourselves while we serve Him! In fact, the joy of the Lord is one of the primary reasons for ministering to others. "restore to me the joy of Your salvation... Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You." it's cool to see how those two things work together! Joy without teaching about Jesus? Anybody can do that... besides, it doesn't change lives... Teaching without joy? I'm afraid too many people do that... But put them together and sinners will turn to the Lord. That's what we need. Lord, help me to be joyful in serving you!

- Blu

Acts 18

There are lots of things that I can learn from Paul and the way that he did ministry. He spoke to the crowds and told them about Jesus, but his most effective work was with a few individuals. I guess this is the way Jesus did it too, with his 12 disciples. But Paul lived with Priscilla and Aquila and worked with them. They were some of his best disciples and you can tell because in verse 26, no their own initiative, they took Apollos aside and taught him more accurately about Jesus. Then Justus from verse 7 is said to be called Gaius later and was someone that was a strong believer within the church at Corinth. I want to be able to do that. Lord, show me how to equip other believers to do ministry and not just try to do it all on my own.

-Blu

Isaiah 55:2

"Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance."


Basically this passage just reminded me that I do not need to go searching for things of this world to satisfy me. Physical things here on earth will never be enough, so I don't need to spend all I have searching for things to make me happy. It will never work. Possessions, popularity, or anything else that one may try to obtain are things that will only last for a short time. I do not need to live like a hedonist who strives only for pleasure. Earthly pleasures are nothing in comparison to the satisfaction, peace, and happiness that having a relationship with God can give you. He is the only one who can satisfy all your needs. He is the giver of life.

Psalm 50:8-15

"I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are continually before Me. I will not take a bull from your house, nor goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills... if I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness... Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble and you shall glorify Me."

This wasn't where I was supposed to be reading in my quiet time, but I wound up there. It's a not-so-subtle reminder to me that God doesn't need me or my abilities for anything He wants to do. He's certainly not going to rebuke me for trying to serve Him, but I need to be constantly aware that He can do perfectly fine without me. All I am required to do is show a complete dependence on Him. To offer thanksgiving, praise, and call out, recognizing my need for Him. Then He will be glorified. It sounds so simple. But letting Him have control is so hard.

-Blu