Daniel 12:1-3 Video Devotional

Posted on Jan 19, 2021 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , ,

“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. – Daniel 12:1-3

The culmination of the book hits in chapter 12, when the time for waiting is finished and the final moments of history come to pass. The endurance will reach a fulfillment and everyone who trusts in Jesus will be woken up to everlasting life! This is the promise – the righteous that will be restored, the happy ending, the motivation to make it through all else. Though it may not feel like it now, there is an ending to this story and it is a GOOD ending! All we need to do is trust in the author of life itself.

As Daniel closes out his book, he discusses time – this is to show that these things have a definite endpoint. At the end of the time, we will reach rest and victory. Daniel modeled this endurance through the first half of the book and then told us what to expect in the second half. Righteous suffering leads to endurance and to God’s glory – which is victory and redemption. That’s what this book is about – making it to the end with your life as an example that leads others to Jesus. Be the light of the world! You are a city on a hill (Matthew 5) – God has called you to be that example. So let Him live that through you.


Daniel 7:15-18 Video Devotional

Posted on Dec 29, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , ,

“As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’– Daniel 7:15-18

It may seem a bit overzealous to take this entire chapter in one devotional, but it really can’t be split up easily and the prophecy comes down to a fairly basic idea. Daniel’s vision of the four beasts is crazy and intimidating to read through but can be understood by knowing how it fits in the book. Chapter 7 is part of the section of detail that comes before it, not the rest of the prophecy afterward. We know this because of the language break after chapter 7. Along with that, these early chapters act as mirrors of each other, each reaffirming their common themes and ideas (chs 2&7, 3&6, and 4&5). Chapter 2 and 7 both talk about a vision of future kingdoms that reign in power, but are not eternal. They are all taken down by the greatest kingdom, the kingdom of God Most High.

When we consider the recurring theme that is consistent throughout the book so far (righteous suffering leads to God’s glory and people’s salvation) and connect that to what Daniel said in the middle of the chapter 7 vision (between the vision and its interpretation), we see the culmination of what righteous suffering does. It leads to eternal victory! There is a reward that comes with righteous suffering and a promise that one day, it will end, because God Most High will reign and His reign will be permanent.

Whether or not you look at these visions as being kingdoms from the past (Greeks, Romans, etc…) of kingdoms of the future (end times), the main idea holds consistent – righteous suffering leads to our victory. What does this mean for you? It means to hang on, knowing that you are joining with Christ through that suffering and people who see what you go through are receiving testimony of the gospel through your life.


Daniel 6:19-28 Video Devotional

Posted on Dec 22, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: 

Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.
Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.” So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. – Daniel 6:19-28

Daniel, forced to suffer through a long night in the den of lions, comes through the experience unharmed and with even more influence. By the time this night ends, Darius is running to Daniel, openly praising God and (drastically) making changes in his kingdom that favors the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is obvious, in these stories, that Daniel is repeatedly forced to suffer for the gospel. The text makes it clear that it was no fault of Daniel’s. Therefore, Daniel suffered so that the kings he served (and thus many others) might know Jehovah and place their faith in Him.

So what can we learn from Daniel and his success? It works! Daniel’s suffering led to repentance and change on those he influenced. Suffering is not fun, but it is purposeful. So hang on; if you are experiencing difficulties because God is using you in the life of other people, then your success may very well mean their life! “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). That is a guarantee for us—and it is being used for salvation for others! What a way to participate in the life of Jesus.

Praise be to the God of heaven who uses us for His glory! May we be faithful to endure.


Daniel 3:26-30 Video Devotional

Posted on Nov 12, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , ,

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. – Daniel 3:26-30

I’m curious how warm it was walking in the fire. Obviously no one got burned, but was it hot? How hot was it? Or was it a completely painless experience? Would it have been like taking a walk on a perfect afternoon with good friends?

Seeing that these initial chapters in Daniel focus on the idea of suffering, I am guessing that though I doubt there were lasting internal scars, being in the furnace was most likely physically an uncomfortable experience. However, being that they were joined by Jesus, I doubt they cared too much exactly how hot it was in there. God promises that we will go through trials like that, but He also promises to be there with us, and that is exactly what happened to these three guys.

On top of that, their suffering in the furnace was incredibly fruitful. Nebuchadnezzar was shown again the power of God, their influence gained more steam with their promotion, and God was given importance in the kingdom. Though only a step (Nebuchadnezzar has a long way to go), it is a significant step towards God and lasting influence given to God’s messengers.

This is the effect of righteous suffering. Notice not all suffering has this effect, but righteous suffering does. When we suffer for Christ, our efforts aren’t painless, but they will be rewarded and God will be glorified in them. It may not feel great, but going through those trials with Jesus beside you, the Holy Spirit in you and the rewards awaiting you make a strong argument. Trust Him, and He will make great use of you.


Daniel 1:1-7 Video Devotional

Posted on Oct 15, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , , , , ,

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. – Daniel 1:1-7

Albeit quick, this introduction sets up the entire story of Daniel very well. We see the destruction of the southern kingdom of Israel with the deportation of the Israelites as exiles to Babylon. We then learn that Nebuchadnezzar has intention with the exiles, as he schemes to bring in leaders of the exiles to groom and turn them into people that will help him assimilate the rest of the exiles. To do that, he chooses leaders from the tribe of Judah, most likely members of the royal family. Who he picks for this is key: they have to be prominent members of the kingdom to be recognizable to everyone else, but it can’t be the royal family, as they are “examples” Nebuchadnezzar uses as a fear and control tactic.

Basically, these are important people form the southern kingdom, but (and here is the key) they are NOT the ones responsible for the downfall of Judah. These chosen were not the ones who led Israel’s southern kingdom astray. They are innocent—as much as they can be, at least. Why does this matter? Well, things do not go well for them. And it sets up an important premise for the book: these main characters that we are following through the story are good. Though sinful as human beings, in as much as we know about them, live a righteous lifestyle and we see that consistently through the book of Daniel. Everything that happens to them in this book happens because they are living well – a life lived in devotion to God and they stay faithful throughout.

It is easy to look at our lives from rose-colored glasses and see ourselves as righteous individuals, thus making the trials we face NOT our fault (no one ever wants to blame themselves). However, more often than not, if we are honest with ourselves, a lot of our trials (or suffering) can be drawn from consequences of our own actions. Whether directly or indirectly, its our fault. This is not the case with Daniel and his friends. What happens to them in this book is not their fault and it is key we keep that in mind. Their trials are going to come because they are living rightly.

That means a few things for us today; 1) trials are inevitable (regardless of how righteous you live), 2) the reasons for our trials are many, and 3) what God uses those trials in our lives for is important to understand. Consider some recent trials you have faced. Were they because of your actions? What was God doing either in or through your life? Was there spiritual fruit born from that trial?

As we continue, we are going to learn more about these trials and the reasons they happen. Stay tuned!


Daniel Overview Video Devotional

Posted on Oct 13, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , ,

In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets. Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. – 2 Kings 24:1-7

Many might skim past this book and see it as confusing futuristic prophecy, there is a rich meaning to Daniel’s writing that is much more than foresight into the end times. The message of the book speaks much more to daily life.

The book begins in the time of King Jehoiakim, when Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, laid siege to Jerusalem and began the process of exiling the Israelites. The southern kingdom of Judah was destroyed and the kingdom sent off to a faraway land. Daniel and his three friends as we will get to know them in the book, are from the tribe of Judah (possibly part of the royal family) and will have to learn how to live faithful to God while in exile.

There are a few interesting notes that may help us gain a better understanding of the book as we delve into it together. The layout of the book seemingly divides into to two simple sections: 1-6 (stories about Daniel and his friends) and 7-12 (visions of Daniel). But there is an interesting twist in that Daniel wrote the book in two languages: Hebrews (Chs 1, 8-12) and Aramaic (Chs 2-7). This suggests that the layout of the book is not as simple as we thought. While there are two main sections to the book, Ch 1 stands out more on its own as an introduction, presenting through its example the main idea of the book. Chs 2-7 then serve as symmetrical story-telling to reinforce those themes (2&7, 3&6, 4&5), then finishes off with Chs 8-12 using Daniel’s visions to give us a Heaven’s eye view of what we the readers need to understand.

As the main character in this book, it is also interesting to note that Daniel is one of the only biblical characters (other than Jesus) where they don’t show us any glaring character flaws. This helps to show the idea that righteous suffering is what is important here (not suffering for our own sins). Peter discusses this idea of suffering for good (as opposed to evil) and its importance in growing the Kingdom of God in 1 Peter 3.

As we go through the devotional series, we will go into much more detail, but simply by learning about the layout and basic characteristics of the book, we can be challenged to live a more righteous life and prepare ourselves to face suffering as a result; and that is all for God’s glory.


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