September 12, 2012 … Bloom Where You’re Planted !!

Chronological Bible Reading Plan - Day 256

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Daniel, Chapters 1-3 To study these chapters, go to this link - 
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Highlight Passage: Daniel 1: 1-2; 4; 6-8; 20-21 : [NLT] … 1 During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it with his armies. 2 The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah. When Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon, he took with him some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God and placed them in the treasure-house of his god in the land of Babylonia. … 
4 [Nebuchadnezzar to the Court Leader, Ashpenaz] “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good sense, and have the poise needed to serve in the royal palace. Teach these young men the language and literature of the Babylonians.” … 
6 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. 7 The chief official renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego. 8 But Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief official for permission to eat other things instead. … 
20 In all matters requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, the king found the advice of these young men to be ten times better than that of all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. 21 Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus’s reign. 
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Highlight Passage: Daniel 2: 45-49 : [NLT] … [After Daniel interpreted the dream of the King] 45b … “The great God has shown Your Majesty what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.” 46Then King Nebuchadnezzar bowed to the ground before Daniel and worshiped him, and he commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the God of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.” … 48Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men. 49 At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.  
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Highlight Passage: Daniel 3: 1; 5-6; 12; 16-19; 25; 28 : [NLT] … 1 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. …
[Message from the King] 5 “When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. 6 Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” … 
 [The Astrologers reporting to the King] 12 “ But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They have defied Your Majesty by refusing to serve your gods or to worship the gold statue you have set up.” … 
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” 19 Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. … 
25 “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire. They aren’t even hurt by the flames! And the fourth looks like a divine being!” … 
28 [After the men were extracted from the furnace, untouched by the fire] Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 

My Journal for Today: Well; … well, … well!! How does one find one journal topic to write about from these character and topic rich first three chapters from the Book of Daniel, which I’ve been “assigned” to read from my chronological reading program. One could journal, teach, or preach for weeks on the subject matter from these three chapters. So, with this in mind, let me take a simple topic which bubbled to the top of my consciousness today to make my journal entry personal. But I do hope you review the three chapters, at least from the passages I’ve copied above, or in more depth by using the link to Gateway Bible Search above.

I’ve titled my blog today, “Bloom Where You’re Planted,” because that’s exactly what Daniel and his three young Jewish friends did when they were taken captive, transported to a foreign land and culture, and had to become God’s shining lights in the midst of a very idolatrous and sinfully-darkened culture. God transplanted these four – VERY YOUNG – believers into a new soil overrun by weeds of idolatry and ungodliness. And what did they do – with God’s grace - as they faithfully held on to their Jewish beliefs and practices? … They bloomed where they were planted!

Sometimes, as a believer, who’s been planted in this world and culture of post-modernism and worldliness, it’s easy to feel like we’ve been transported to Babylon; and certainly Daniel and his three buddies, had to have felt that way. But even though they were very young believers, they were faithful believers; and they deftly, and carefully, … but very faithfully, … held on to their God-held beliefs and even their religious practices.

And yes, it led them to a number of threats and persecutions, … even that famous one in the industrial-sized furnace, which we likely all know about. Wow! Talk about faith!! And though their actions, blessed by God, may not – at this point at the end of Chapter 3 – have fully converted Nebuchadnezzar, the King was, most certainly, impressed enough to declare that the God who was worshipped so faithfully by Daniel and his friends, was decreed, by the King, to be the #1 God in Babylon. There’s more to that story of witness; and the King would likely be converted later as a believer; but we’ll leave that for a future blog (maybe!).

But we can say that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, our four transplanted Jewish seedlings, bloomed very fruitfully where they were planted. In their faith, and by their faith, God blessed them with His enabling and empowering grace, giving them the faith to stand in the face of horrible, death-threatening, persecution. And they became, as Jesus wants us to become (see Matthew 5: 16) Godly lights, shining in the midst of cultural darkness. And because of their witness of faith, God was at least seen and declared as a strong and powerful God.

And I think the main self-evaluation which comes from these three chapters is the question; “Am I blooming fully and fruitfully where God has planted me?” And I’m going to have to leave that one for you to ask of God; and let His Spirit guide you with either conviction or direction.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, You know my oft repeated prayer … that I may see Your light and seek Your light to reflect that Light out of my life for others to see You … and not me! Amen