Continuing today with the Book of Daniel we witness Daniel continually defeating all the distractions that tried to remove his focus off of God. While the Book of Daniel is filled with distractions I want to bring the key distractions to your attention. · Daniel had to be enduring jealously from some of the children of Judah. (This is not written in the Word but I can imagine this scenario.) There is always someone that becomes jealous of another receiving favor. I can see all the gossiping going on behind David’s by his own people. “He thinks he’s better than us. Won’t eat the King’s food. Who does he think he is?” Can you see that? · Daniel had enemies that were scheming behind his back that were not of the tribe of Judah. (Daniel 6:7) “All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.” · Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel 6:10-14, " Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. 11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. 14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.” My God! I see nothing but distractions. But Daniel kept his eyes on God. He refused to look at everything that was going on around him. Once again he refused to compromise! Oh that we would have a spirit like Daniel. Tossed into the lion’s den and still held his focus. No screaming for help from Daniel. He kept his focus and trusted God to save him. Today if you are in the midst of the lion’s den, stay focus and keep all your trust in God, for as He did with Daniel, so shall He do for you. Keep your eyes on God! Evangelist Cheryl Davies (Fear Not Ministries) (www.fearnotministries.com)
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Distractions are something that every believer must contend with and learn how to defeat so that they will keep their focus on the Lord. We can learn a lot from Daniel if we pay close attention. He faced many distractions just as we do, but He knew that to give in would change his life. He belonged to God and wanted to keep it that way.
Daniel 1:4-17 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were so focused on God that they did not allow themselves to partake of the defiled food that the king offered them. Can you imagine what kind of distractions surrounded them? They were not the only children of Judah in the household, BUT they were the only ones that did not give in to the distractions. Now let’s think about this. • The Bible did not say that they were on a fast. • The smell of a lot of meat and other tempting aromas were assaulting them every day and almost all day. • and if the others were eating, don’t you think they were pressuring them to eat too. • The eunuchs were also pressuring them to eat of the meat. They were pressuring them to eat because they were afraid that if these boys began to lose weight or get sick then their life would be in danger because they were the Kings property. (vs. 10) Lose their heads. • The 4 decided that they would not eat the food because it had been offered to false gods and therefore it was defiled. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah made a choice and stuck by it. They made a choice not to give in to all the distractions they faced daily. They decided not to compromise what they knew to be true. No matter what the cost. Even if it meant their lives. "12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. 13 Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. 14 So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. 15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.”" For the 4 boys this was a true test of their faith. A test of where their focus laid. And because they did not give into all the distractions around them God blessed them with many gifts. "17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams." We must keep our focus on God at all times to keep us from making unnecessary detours in our walk. Eyes on Jesus! So stop looking at the situation like it's going to pull you down. Keeping your eyes and thoughts on Jesus will bring you favor and bring you through. Tell yourselves that it is just a distraction and then begin to adjust your vision. We must stay focused on God and His plan for our lives. Be blessed! Evangelist Cheryl Davies You know it sometimes seem like so many things in this life has the power to frighten us, but this is what it means to be deceived. It seems like. It seems like I won't have enough to pay the rent. It seems like they will be cutting my lights off. It seems like no one will hire me. It seems like I can't get through this. It seems like we've been having bad vision. Taken our eyes off of the one thing that has power over everything on this earth. Jesus. That has been the goal of the enemy from the start. To distract you and to get you to believe the lie. He can't do that without showing you the wrong picture. The wrong vision. 2 Corinthians 5:5-8 says, "5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." Being at home in the body will distort your vision, but walking in the spirit will keep us in the presence of the Lord which will give us the clear and truthful vision that we desire. The vision that dispels all fear. The vision that we all need in order to be able to move forward in God. If you have a true heart for the Father then you desire nothing but the truth so don't allow the enemy to cloud your mind with false visions. Tell yourself today, "No more false visions. I will begin to see what God sees and I WILL walk by faith and NOT by sight." Let's go beyond the fake by taking a true walk of faith because things are really never what they seem. Be blessed! Evangelist Cheryl Davies (Fear Not Ministries) I’ve always wondered exactly why Jesus cursed the fig tree when He could have just as easily spoke life and fruitfulness to it. (Matthew 21) Well today I felt led to delve into the different kinds of roots. What I found amazed me. You see there are certain types of fig trees that use other trees to grow. As the fig tree grows bigger it sends down more and more of these roots which form a network around the stem of the host tree. These roots will then take over the other tree growing downward until it squeezes the life out of the trunk of the other tree, which then dies and leaves only the fig tree growing over the dead trunk of the other tree. Another type can grow on rock faces and are able to send down long roots to the soil below the cliff and thus sustain themselves in the harsh exposed environment of the bare rock face, by obtaining nutrients and water from the soil below. Sounds pretty harsh but what I see is a tree that can thrive in almost any situation and yet it bore no fruit. Now here’s the thing. We as Christian are not supposed to be weak representatives of the kingdom. Our strength is in Christ Jesus! So when we continually give in to the enemy we are in fact being like that fig tree. Refusing to acknowledge the life, spirit and strength which is within us and being fruitless, when we should be as strong as the roots of the fig tree. This message is brought home to us in several different parables. The tale of the servants and the talents. The parable of the sower and the seed. The story of the bridesmaids who ran out of oil. All of these stories speak of a lack that we as Christians are not supposed to have. We must learn to constantly be under the Source. Everything we need flows down to us from the Father and we must always position ourselves to catch every drop of wisdom, knowledge, love and strength under this down-pouring. These four things are tree builders. They feed and nourish us so that we can make have enough fruit to share freely with others. This is also why it is so important for us to always examine the root of whatever we are eating. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. If the root is poisoned, then so be the fruit and there is nothing you can do to change it. Not everything in this world is from the Lord. Please begin to examine the root and stop embracing things just because they say it is part of your culture. You have a new culture now, a Jesus culture that is centered around kingdom living. Hallelujah! We must stay rooted in Christ and not in the world! Be blessed! Evangelist Cheryl Davies (www.fearnotministries.com) Today Scripture Study: Luke 6:44,Matthew 25: 14-30, Matthew 25:1-12, Luke 8:5-15. |
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