You might not think there’s a lot of idolatry going on in our world today.  But if you look around, it’s not hard to find.  The idols might not be quite the same as what you read about in the Bible, but that doesn’t make the sin any different.  There are still some people who bow down and pray to statues, but more often it’s things like sports and entertainment, cars, clothes, the almighty dollar, that steal people’s devotion from God.  They give their hearts to pastimes and diversions, and they don’t spend any real quality relationship time with God.

How about you?  Is your life so busy with the things of this world that you barely have time to go to church once a week–and even when you go, as soon as you get back home you’ve transitioned to “normal” life because worship is just a once in awhile thing for you and not a 24-7 part of your life?  Or maybe God is not part of your life at all.  That’s what modern-day idolatry is all about.  And like it or not that’s #2 on God’s Not-to-do list!

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Have you ever wondered about how to study prophesy?  Have you ever read the book of Revelation and wondered what it all means.  Well the book of Daniel is a great place to practice.  Not only does it start off with specific examples of prophecy explained and revealed to real people, it shows the partial fulfillment of that prophecy, so you can see it in action.  And on top of that, so much of other Biblical prophecy is either linked to Daniel or backed up by it.

So if you want to learn about how to understand prophecy, just turn to Daniel and see what God has to reveal to you today!

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As we’ve been going through the book of Daniel, it’s so amazing to think about how the things God revealed through Daniel were all about the future from his perspective.  And now that we look back on it thousands of years later, we can see how the things he told about unfolded just the way he had described.

Of course some of his prophesy has yet to be fulfilled, but I’ve heard people scoff at that, and say it’s all just coincidence, or somebody made up the book of Daniel after that fact.  And it seems that some people will do just about anything rather than acknowledge that God has something to tell them.  Of course they usually don’t want to hear it, because often his message is you need to change how you live, and a lot of people don’t like to be told to change their behavior or especially their way of thinking.

How about you, are you willing to hear God’s Word and obey, or do you resist his instruction?

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“I’m George…George McFly.  I’m your density.”

Here’s an interesting thing to think about: you don’t have to be a time traveler in order to change your destiny.  Well, I guess technically you do, but technically you are traveling in time, you are constantly moving forward in time.  So the only thing you need to do to change your destiny, is to change your mind.  If you want to end or begin a habit, all you have to do is decide to.  If you want to turn around and go the other way, just turn around.  What makes it so difficult to change our destiny, is that we get lazy and don’t want to change.

Jesus offers anybody a brand new life.  And the magic key to changing our eternal destiny is simple, true, faith.  The thing about faith though, is that it’s not just a word you say, it’s a real mindset.  It’s an eternal commitment.  You dedicate yourself to whatever God wants for you and he dedicates his own Spirit to guide and empower you to follow through on your commitment of faith.

Are you ready to change your destiny?

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How would you like to hear from God?  Does that idea scare you, excite you, make you curious?  Real prayer is not just talking to the sky.  Prayer is real communication.  It’s meant to build a relationship.  God doesn’t just want a list of your desires or concerns.  He wants your heart.  So if you seem to have a bad connection when you pray, there’s probably a good reason for it.  If you have ongoing sin in your life, you’re pushing God away.  Why would you expect a good relationship with someone you are continually abusing?  Do you read your Bible?  Why would you expect to receive new communications, if you don’t bother to read the Word he’s already sent you?

If you want an effective prayer life, try having an informed and caring relationship with the God who already knows and cares so much about you.

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I love a good magical illusion.  And when someone pulls off a trick with great skill, I always enjoy it.  I’ve seen so many tricks, that I know how many of them work, but it’s still fun to see somebody else do a good job of it.  But it’s even more fun when somebody shows me a trick that I can’t figure out.  It gets my brain working trying to figure out how they did that.

It’s interesting though when people fool themselves with their own illusions.  They think they can somehow live an immoral life without any consequences.  So they lie and cheat and steal and deceive others and themselves.  And they might be able to fool some of the people some of the time, but there is one who is never fooled.  God knows the hearts and minds of people.  So as much as someone might pretend they don’t have to account for their behavior, they’re only fooling themselves.  So when you’re dealing with God, let me give you one piece of advice.  Be honest.  He knows more than you can imagine.  There is only one way to keep your life, and that’s living it God’s way.  And there’s no fooling God.

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This chapter gets us into the famous dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had.  And it’s the purity of Daniel’s faith displayed in Chapter 1 that opened the door for him to demonstrate the power of God to the king.

What I hope you’ll think about is that Daniel is just a young man with no real power or amazing skills.  What makes him special is his faith.  That means if you have a pure heart and true faith, you can see amazing miracles too.

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POP QUIZ!

Those words are usually only scary when you’re not prepared.  But if you have studied prepared, then test time is a little easier to deal with.  And it’s the same with real life.  If you prepare yourself for challenges, then when hardships hit, they are much less stressful.

Daniel was obviously pretty well prepared for the challenges he would face in Babylonian captivity.  You can tell by the way he handled himself even when it came to the seemingly small things like what he ate–or rather what he chose not to eat.

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There are all sorts of pressures in life.  And it seems a lot of people use those pressures as excuses for not doing their best–or even worse–for doing bad things.  But the truth is, how you react to the difficult situations that life can throw at us is what really defines you as a person.

So, are you the kind of person who rises to the occasion?  Or do you fall apart under the pressure is on.  Take a listen to how young Daniel dealt with difficulty.

Click the link to listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:18 — 20.3MB)

What’s it like to live as a hero?  I don’t mean to do one great thing and then be lauded as a hero for one act.  I mean living day in and day out according to principles that take dedication and perseverance to follow through on your convictions and not give up when it’s hard.  Is there somebody you look up to because they live a life worthy of respect?  That’s the kind of hero Daniel was–a nobody who became famous simply for doing the right thing in every circumstance, and God used him because of his faithfulness.

Click the Podcast link to listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:19 — 20.3MB)