Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?

Student : Absolutely, sir.

Professor : Is GOD good ?

Student : Sure.

Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?

Student : Yes.

Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent.)

Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Is satan good ?

Student : No.

Professor: Where does satan come from ?

Student : From … GOD …

Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student : Yes.

Professor: So who created evil ?

(Student did not answer.)

Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, who created them ?

(Student had no answer.)

Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?

Student : No, sir.

Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?

Student : No , sir.

Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?

Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student : Yes.

Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.

Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Professor: Yes.

Student : And is there such a thing as cold?

Professor: Yes.

Student : No, sir. There isn’t.

(The lecture theater became very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)

Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?

Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?

Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?

Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.

Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)

Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class was in uproar.)

Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?

(The class broke out into laughter. )

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.

Student : That is it sir … Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.

By the way, that student was EINSTEIN.

Prayer for wisdom, understanding, patience, and love. Prayer for the future. my future, and the everyday of whoever I end up with in life. 

The Dream is Fulfilled. 

Alright, so King Neb (new nickname) had this dream about a tree. Daniel interpreted the dream as a metaphor for King Neb, his future, and the future of the kingdom.  Certain things the king does really makes me like him … others not so much, but! I love the fact the next part of the story opens with King Neb (about a year later) walking on the roof of the royal palace. The roof? Did he have some lawn chairs up there?  I bet he did … Alright, so he is walking and a voice came down from heaven (can you even imagine?). The voice basically says: hey kid, you are not all that - I am all that - to teach you a lesson, I am stripping you of all your power, having your people drive you out from your kingdom AND you will have to eat grass like cattle while live like a wild animal. Basically, exactly what the king dreamed. 

Immediately, what had been said, was fulfilled … the king ended up in the wild, drenched in dew from the heavens. He also ended up with long hair and long nails. Can I be honest? I bet that was a really nice break for him. Maybe not, but to get out of the palace and back to nature was probably really great for him …

Seven years into his walkabout, the king turned his eyes to heaven and praised the  Most High; he honored and glorified him. Finally. This is what he said: 

His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
All the people of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the people of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: “What have you done?” - I feel like sometimes I say things in times of trial like - “Why god?” - I need to remember that God never gives us more than we can handle, he has a plan, and he never tempts us … basically, I need to learn not to question him …

At the same time the king glorified God, his sanity was restored, his advisers sought him out, and his throne was restored to him. Neb never forgot to prise the King of heaven and glorify him … He realized that those who walk in pride are humbled … A great lesson for all of us. 

Prayer for wisdom, understanding, patience, and kindness. 

Daniel Interprets the Dream. 

Remember that dream that Nebuchadnezzar had? The weird one about the tree? Well, thank goodness (or God) for Daniel because he explains it all in this next section. Side note* I keep forgetting Daniel’s name is also Belteshazzar. Maybe one day that will be relevant to the story. Like when he starts working for the CIA (that doesn’t happen). Side note over. 

Alright so Daniel was perplexed over the kings dream. The Bible says he was even terrified - you know what this tells me? That he and the king were friends. I think by this point, Daniel had come to really like the king … must not have been all bad aye? He definitely seems to be one to admit to his mistakes and take action quickly. Hey Daniel, I like that in a person too. So, Daniel is in a state of unrest and who comforts him - the King. He says, hay Daniel, don’t worry about the dream or its meaning. When one person panics sometimes it helps … makes the other person oddly calm. 

Daniel didn’t seem like he was at all comforted by the king and professes his wish that the dream applied to the king’s enemies and not the king. If Daniel had said that to me, I think my cool-as-a-cucumber take on the situation would have dissipated immediately. Daniel went on to explain the dream to the king, let me break it down for, well, me. Hey future self reading this … I hope you find it is clever the second or ninth time around. Anyway, the dream.

So the tree in the dream is a metaphor for the King and his kingdom. It is strong, it reaches far and wide, and is visible to all the earth - all the beasts of the field (people and maybe actual beasts of the field / birds of the sky) live off the land/food the king provides. A messenger, a holy one (Daniel?), comes down from heaven (probably not Daniel or maybe I don’t know) saying - cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump and roots.  (This part confuses me a bit … who is the messenger talking to? Is he telling the king to cut down himself? or maybe it is about self destruction? like you are living in a way that is only going to hurt yourself? Blah. Not sure. Anyone reading this with any ideas … shoot them my way.)

 Ok now here is where it gets a bit tricky … we kind of switch from the metaphor to directional talking/ emphasis … hopefully that makes sense. Daniel says the king will live like a wild animal for seven years (without shelter or companionship). After seven years, the king will acknowledge the Most High as sovereign over the kingdoms. All is not lost though, the purpose of the root and the stump is to show the king that he will be restored as the ruler of his kingdom, once he acknowledges that Heaven rules. (Odoyle Rules!- movie reference, unimportant)

Now, Daniel then says exactly what I would have said - hey king, friend, why don’t you just skip all that and go ahead and believe what I am telling you/ in the Most High .. it isn’t so bad, it just means that you renounce your sins (probably not feeling to great about most of those anyway) and ya know help out the oppressed instead of being corrupt. At this point, I wasn’t sure what happened next, so I just took a gander at the title of the next section - The Dream is Fulfilled. Well … Guess the king decided to go in a different direction than Daniel advised. 

I wonder how often I miss blatant signs and instructions and just do my own thing? Probably quite a bit … 

Does anyone else feel like Daniel, as a book, is kind of all over the place? We are interpreting dreams - and then Daniel disappears and the three guys go into the fire - and then we are back to interpreting dreams … Maybe Daniel isn’t the best writer … learn to make a cohesive story sir … goodness … jk (kind of) 

- prayer for wisdom, understanding, and peace of mind

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of a Tree

Alright. So. Nebuchadnezzar is the best dreamer in all the world… I am convinced. He has these dreams that are just, well, seemingly crazy. And it seems to happen a lot. I can’t decide if I would like that or not - to constantly have a dream that needs interpreting. I kind of like my fanciful dreams (like last night - I was part of a convoy in my dream, and pregnant, but everyone in my dream was pregnant - it was a pregnant convoy. Very strange but completely devoid of any real meaning - I hope). Anyway. Nebuchadnezzar has this dream involving a tree. He calls all his magistrates and wise men and none are able to interpret his dream (I think he should have just gone straight to Daniel in the first place but maybe he didn’t want to give up on these “wise men” just yet). When none are able to interpret the dream, he calls Daniel.

Now, here is where we hear about the dream in full. It was crazy. There was a tree, a huge tree which was lushus in all respects - it had fruit and shade and was massive. All the animals lived in/around it. God calls down from heaven and tells (I am guessing Nebuchadnezzar) to cut down the tree, trim off the branches, strip its leaves and scatter its fruit. He (God) says to let the animals flee from its base and the birds to fly from its branches. But! to leave the stump behind. Ok so now here is the confusing part - for me - God continues to talk and says (I am just going to write it directly) 

“Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him.”

I have no idea who the him in this passage is referring to - maybe Nebuchadnezzar? Blah. If anyone knows… please feel free to fill me in …

Alright, so the first part of this chapter is just Nebuchadnezzar’s dream … which is confusing … (I feel for the “wise men” … I would have been left scratching my head too).

The second half of the chapter is Daniel’s interpretation of the dream … all the answers probably come from here … or research … wich I will do, if I am still lost tomorrow. :)

Alright. I am going rogue. I think in order for the Beth Moore study to be effective you have to have the tapes … otherwise … it is very difficult to follow along. So, going out on my own. 

Chapter 3 of Daniel is devoid of Daniel. I am not really sure where he was during the stuff that happened in chapter 3, maybe chapter 4 will tell us … it would be interesting to know. Regardless, so chapter 3 contains the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Here is what happened - King Nebuchadnezzar built this giant gold statue - 90 feet high and 9 feet wide - crazy big. He then demanded that everyone bow to the statue whenever music was played … it sounded absolutely crazy … not sure what King Neb was thinking. 

So, Schadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow, so they were thrown into a huge fire - heated to 7 times the usual heat. Before they were thrown in, the three men were pretty bold - they stood up to the king saying: 

O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand. O king. 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. 

Pretty cool stuff. I especially like the part where they say they will not bend, even if they are not saved. I appreciate that. 

Well .. they were saved. They were thrown into the fire and yet … they were saved - not even a hair on their head was singed. The king was amazed - praised the king of kings and promoted the three fellas. 

I really appreciate how committed the guys were … how they stood up for what they believed in. I don’t do that enough with that much conviction. 

Daily Treasure: He changes time and season, he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. Daniel 2:21

Prayer for wisdom, understanding, patience, and a clear path. 

I like the way Beth talks about providence in this section. I need to remember it. Here is what she says: Providence is not a principle of orderliness or reason; rather, providence is the will of the Creator who is actively involved in moving His creation to a goal. History is not a cyclical process of endless repetition; history is being moved toward the predetermined end. 

So, many of you know that I have been struggling a lot lately with what direction my life needs to go in. Especially as it concerns work. I have been so stressed, I think it has been making me sick and constantly tired. It is exhausting to worry all the time about your future. This message about providence gave me so much peace today. I really believe that God has a plan for me… that people come in and out of my life at certain points for a reason … that opportunities come when they do for a reason … and that when things are right, a path just seems to open up. I think I believed in providence before I truly understood what it meant. Maybe I just had the definition before I had the word .. that ever happen to you?

Beth talks a lot about praising God and how Daniel praised God. She says he not only extols God as intimately watchful over the nations but also over the life of His child. Pretty cool to think about huh? That God has even taken an interest in us, when really, we should probably be nothing more than ants to him. Ants in a giant ant farm .. running around, thinking what we are doing in our day to day is so very important … man God is cool. 

I like the verse that Beth ends the day with - Ps. 126:3: The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. 

Seems like today would be a great day to read the second half of Daniel - 2: 24-49. 

Daniel Interprets the Dream

Wow. Never have I felt more like a wise man than I do right now. That sounds weird. I am not talking about Daniel. Rather his buddies and maybe the other guys in the kingdom considered to be wise men. You know, the ones without any answers. But come on. No wonder nobody could interpret the kings dream. I mean, he had a weird dream. Most of the time the king’s dreams were about famine or something familiar like that … kind of easy to interpret and maybe even a little easy to guess. Seems like for the most part, the wise men could have said: you dreamed of an animal and it was either getting really fat or really skinny … am I right? Anyway, that wasn’t the case here.

Here is what he dreamed: basically he dreamed of a statue, made from all kinds of minerals - gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay. This statue was destroyed by a mountain/rock (representing a kingdom that would be raised up by God and that could never be destroyed) that was cut with something other than a human’s hands. 

Now, at first, I have to say, I thought bam! got it, his dream was about idols. Man, so easy right? God is going to destroy all these idols in Babylon. Call me a wise man. Nay. Wrong. Not at all what the dream meant. Instead, each section of the statue stood for a different kingdom that would rise up… the the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar being the head. 

I am not sure about you, but if I were the king I wouldn’t count this as a great story/dream. I would be anxious. Sure this dream was a representation of the future, but how distant a future? However, he seemed pretty happy. He lied prostrate on the ground in front of Daniel and honored him. Now, before Daniel shared the dream with the king, he gave all the glory to God, saying the reason why nobody else could interpret it was because they were actually powerless. He told the king the only person who could really reveal a dream to a person was God. Anyway, after telling the king the dream and what it meant, the king was like well shoot - yeah - your God must be the God of the gods and the Lord of kings. I mean it was undeniable at this point. 

The king made Daniel a ruler over  the entire province of Babylon and a high rank in his court (put him in charge of all the wise men). But Daniel, he was a stand-up guy and didn’t keep all the power to himself. Instead, he requested the king appoint Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego to be administrators over the province. Power to the prayer group … literally. What a guy. 

Daily Treasure: During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. Daniel 2:19

Prayer for wisdom, understanding, peace, and happiness. 

When the stakes are high, bow down low. Ya know, I don’t think God has ever talked to me directly. I relate the most to Daniel’s pals. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Those three were right there with Daniel, on their knees, praying … but God didn’t talk to them directly, he talked to Daniel. Sometimes you have to trust the people around you. 

Beth makes a good point in the study. Look at the pronouns used in Daniel 2:23 - “You (God) have made known to me (Daniel) what we (the other fellas and Daniel) asked of you.”

Daniel had to feel some kind of pressure. Can you imagine? Three of your friends and you sitting around praying for something … in a life or death situation (I don’t believe I have ever been in a position quite like that … with so much on the line). I don’t know about you, but right about then, I think I would be praying for peace as well as answers. Goodness. Pressure. Sometimes, I don’t handle stress the best. Mentally, I am usually ok, but my body definitely reflects when I am stressed - I have arthritis that kicks in, my heart races, my face turns read .. all kinds of things. Cool as a cucumber upstairs (in the brain department) but everything else just goes haywire. I don’t think that would promote trust among my prayer warriors. I am sure Daniel was nervous, and the others probably felt that. But I don’t know, something tells me he just had it together ya know? 

So urgent prayer answered calls for urgent praise. This makes me think of almost car accidents .. or almost accidents in general, the immediate - Thank God. Wish that I did that with more mundane things like just waking up in the morning. Ya know?

Honestly, I haven’t been my normal happy self for a bit now. I think I am just trying to work out my life. Sometimes that requires taking a hard look at who you are, who you want to be, and who you want on that journey with you. Sometimes that requires looking at your life a little harder. Seeing things you don’t like is not always pleasant. Eh … too emotional I know. It is hard putting feelings out there. Especially in a forum like this. I have been feeling selfish, jealous, hurt, and uncertain lately. But joy is as much a choice as those feelings. So I am giving them up and choosing joy. 

Prayer for wisdom, understanding and health. I am on the cusp of a cold … again. Everyone at my office is sick or getting sick. It is no good. So lots of water for me and oranges. 

Daily Treasure: 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. Daniel 2:18

Tact. Beth talks a lot about tact in this section of the study. Daniel had to have a great deal of tact when dealing with the head executioner. Tact and maybe a little gumption. I mean, here he was, daring to talk to the head of the executioners. Not only that, he was asking a question about the kings decision. That could have easily been seen as a criticism of the king. Tact. My man Daniel had it. 

Alright, so Beth challenged us to think of the last time we wanted to respond to someone with rudeness. I don’t think I want to answer that question. The reason: although, I am sure she didn’t mean it this way, it seems like it offers the opportunity to be rude in a round-about way. I am going to guess that 90% of the story would be my anger toward another person or a situation. The remanding 10% would be my want to respond to the person in a tactless fashion. Seems a bit skewed. Instead, just know I have definitely had those moments of weakness and pray for me. 

Hmmm. So what is tact exactly? Well thank goodness Beth has done her research. According to Marrian Webstar and Beth, it is implying delicate and considerable perception of what is appropriate. This makes me think of my Grandmother. She was such a wonderful example of how a Christian can present themselves. I definitely learned a lot about tact form her. and Kindness. My goodness, she was kind. Anyway, so how exactly was Daniel tactful? I would have like to have been there to hear exactly how he asked his question. The words were simple - Why did the king issue such a harsh decree? but said the wrong way, they could have been deadly. 

Alright, so he asked his question with tact, which led to him having the opportunity to keep his lovely head and try to interoperate the kings dream. His next step - prayer. And not just by himself - oh no - he enlisted his friends, his prayer warriors. To help him in their time of need. Beth talks about how good it is to have a group to turn to in times of need, in times of prayer. I have my mom, who I am thankful for daily. I think I might have given up on myself (as far as my faith goes) years ago. She is definitely my prayer warrior friend.