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Brooksyne Weber
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Thursday,
February 2, 2023
"Honoring
God"
Message
summary: "God
opposes the
proud but
gives grace to
the humble."
Am I honoring
the God who
holds in His
hand my life
and all my
ways?
Listen
to our message
on your audio
player.
"But you, Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from His temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in His hand your life and all your ways" (Daniel 5:22,23). “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” (Revelation 7:12)
"But you, Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from His temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in His hand your life and all your ways" (Daniel 5:22,23). “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” (Revelation 7:12)
Using
illustrations
can be
challenging
since all
readers may
not connect or
even be aware
of what
strikes me as
illustrative.
But today
we'll try! Tom
Brady is an
NFL
quarterback
who has had a
23-year career
in which he
won seven
Super Bowls
and set
numerous
records.
Yesterday he
retired saying
this time "for
good". At 45
he is very old
for an NFL
player.
He
has an
interesting
designation,
GOAT, which if
you don't know
the meaning
may sound very
insulting. But
GOAT is an
acronym for "Greatest
Of All
Time".
This is
applied to his
football
career as
being the
greatest
quarterback of
all time,
which based on
his record few
would dispute.
Note:
Although Brady
is confident I
have never
heard him
apply the GOAT
designation to
himself. I
don't know the
condition of
Brady's heart
but we were
discussing the
other day
those who show
no evidence of
being a
follower of
Christ and
determined
that we want
to be
described to
the effect, "well,
there is no
question as to
where Stephen
Weber (or
Brooksyne)
stands
regarding
their living
for Christ)!
Today
let us
consider Belshazzar,
a man who
might have
considered
himself the
"greatest of
all time". His
words and
actions
indicated such
a mindset!
Consider the
opening words
in our
Scripture
selection, an
indictment
directly from
God through
Daniel's
interpretation
of the
mysterious
writing on the
wall. He had
not humbled
himself but
rather set
himself up
against the
Lord of
heaven.
Belshazzar
was the final
king of the
Babylonian
Empire. His
reign ended
with a unique
and mysterious
bang, you
might say.
Daniel 5
begins with a
drunken party
where the
proud king is
desecrating
the holy
things of God
by bringing
out the gold
and silver
goblets taken
from the
temple in
Jerusalem. He
and his
thousand
nobles, wives
and concubines
were drinking
wine as they
exalted "the
gods of gold
and silver, of
bronze, iron,
wood and
stone".
They must have
thought
themselves
clever as they
foolishly
mocked the God
of the
Universe.
But
there always
comes a time
when it seems
God says, "Enough
is enough",
something our
generation
would do well
to consider
and will most
certainly one
day
experience.
God
sent a message
to Belshazzar
through the
fingers of a
human hand
writing a
short phrase
on the wall.
"Mene, Mene,
Tekel,
Parsin".
Since he didn't initially understand the meaning of the words we can conclude it was the manner which the Lord communicated that greatly distressed and terrified the king. "His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way." I wish we had a video to see the king's nobles hurriedly come to his rescue as he fell to the ground after his knees gave way (not a pretty sight for a reigning king who usually sat high on his royal throne looking down upon his inferior subjects.)
The king couldn't interpret this mysterious phrase nor could his own "wise men". But wise and faithful Daniel was still around and finally he was called in after the king's wife feared for her husband's fear-stricken life. The party attendees had gleefully praised six different gods but found these gods to be powerless in helping the king solve the throbbing mystery.
As is often the case, when all else fails, we call off the games and begin to seek Truth. The queen eventually sent for "Daniel, whom the king found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems" (5:12). Daniel said he would explain the meaning but he had a message for Belshazzar first. And what a bold message it is for decadent, God-dishonoring leadership for all generations!
He
sums his
message up
with the
phrase in our
daily text, "But
you did not
honor the God
who holds in
His hand your
life and all
your ways".
Belshazzar had
not honored
God and the
interpretation
of the writing
indicated that
his time was
up. In fact
that very
night he was
slain.
Let's consider Daniel's stern rebuke to Belshazzar and apply it to our own life by rephrasing it into a personal question: "Am I honoring the God who holds in His hand my life and all my ways?"
Now that's a thought provoking question and one that requires some soul searching. It's an essential truth and reminder of our purpose here on earth. It will require that we think less about ourselves and more about the God whom we seek to honor. I want to ask myself when confronted with daily choices, "Does this honor God?"
God
sent a message
to Belshazzar
through the
fingers of a
human hand
writing a
short phrase
on the wall.
"Mene, Mene,
Tekel,
Parsin".Since he didn't initially understand the meaning of the words we can conclude it was the manner which the Lord communicated that greatly distressed and terrified the king. "His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way." I wish we had a video to see the king's nobles hurriedly come to his rescue as he fell to the ground after his knees gave way (not a pretty sight for a reigning king who usually sat high on his royal throne looking down upon his inferior subjects.)
The king couldn't interpret this mysterious phrase nor could his own "wise men". But wise and faithful Daniel was still around and finally he was called in after the king's wife feared for her husband's fear-stricken life. The party attendees had gleefully praised six different gods but found these gods to be powerless in helping the king solve the throbbing mystery.
As is often the case, when all else fails, we call off the games and begin to seek Truth. The queen eventually sent for "Daniel, whom the king found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems" (5:12). Daniel said he would explain the meaning but he had a message for Belshazzar first. And what a bold message it is for decadent, God-dishonoring leadership for all generations!
He
sums his
message up
with the
phrase in our
daily text, "But
you did not
honor the God
who holds in
His hand your
life and all
your ways".
Belshazzar had
not honored
God and the
interpretation
of the writing
indicated that
his time was
up. In fact
that very
night he was
slain.Let's consider Daniel's stern rebuke to Belshazzar and apply it to our own life by rephrasing it into a personal question: "Am I honoring the God who holds in His hand my life and all my ways?"
Now that's a thought provoking question and one that requires some soul searching. It's an essential truth and reminder of our purpose here on earth. It will require that we think less about ourselves and more about the God whom we seek to honor. I want to ask myself when confronted with daily choices, "Does this honor God?"
May
the choice to
honor God
always be our
heart's
desire.
Stephen
and Brooksyne
Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, we
live in an age
similar to
Daniel's where
people mock
and ridicule
the one and
only true God
of the
universe. So
many worship
music gods,
technology
gods, beauty
gods, media
gods, sports
gods, fitness
gods,
intellectual
gods,
government
gods and
countless
other gods.
But we who
have exchanged
a life
enslaved to
sin for a life
that is
forgiven and
wholly saved
know that they
have not had a
personal
encounter with
a holy God.
Only You can
turn beauty
into ashes,
our weapons
into
plowshares,
our
selfishness
into
selflessness.
Only You can
take a
meaningless
life and
establish
purpose in our
hearts. Only
You can
replace the
fear in our
hearts with an
eternal hope.
Because of
Your infinite
love and care
for us I want
to honor You
in all that I
do, for I love
You with all
my heart.
Amen. Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental
Resources
"This
Is My Desire
To Honor You"
Video
Oslo Gospel
Choir
"Give Me Jesus" Video Ernie Haase & Signature Sound This song includes recently-discovered lyrics (over 100 years old) written by the late Fanny J. Crosby. Ernie, along with friends Joel Lindsey & Wayne Haun, finished what Ms. Crosby started by adding original music to complete the song.
"Give Me Jesus" Video Ernie Haase & Signature Sound This song includes recently-discovered lyrics (over 100 years old) written by the late Fanny J. Crosby. Ernie, along with friends Joel Lindsey & Wayne Haun, finished what Ms. Crosby started by adding original music to complete the song.
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Wordpress
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radioPermissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. We do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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