SHINE! Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. —Daniel 12:3 “As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.” —Daniel 12:13             Oh, brothers and sisters, fellow followers of Jesus and disciples of His, let us be wise and lead many to the righteousness of Christ.  Yes, may we be “like the brightness of the heavens” and “like the stars for ever and ever.”             A few decades ago, I was out for…

GOD IS THE REVEALER OF ALL THINGS To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. —Daniel 1:17             All knowledge comes from God, not just in the case of these four young men, but this is true of all knowledge to all men.  It is God who gives “knowledge and understanding of all kinds…”  Look what He did in Daniel’s life— “During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.  He changes times and seasons;…

OUR LORD CAN EASILY “TURN THE TABLE” That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. —Esther 6:1-2             Our Lord is not limited at all to accomplish what He desires.  He can and does work through any individual He desires and through any situation He desires.  This is clearly seen in Esther as our Lord works through individuals and situations to accomplish what…

MY HOPE IS IN YOUR FAVOR! Remember me with favor, my God. —Nehemiah 13:31 I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever…  And I will hope in your name, for your name is good. —Psalm 52:8-9 Oh yes, “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us– yes, establish the work of our hands” (Psalm 90:17).  Oh, Dear God, “Remember me with favor’ because without Your favor I have not hope.  And so yes, “I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever…  And I will hope in your name, for your name is good.”  For if…

SEEK NOT TO SIN! Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.   Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. —Psalm 51:10-13             Oh, to have pure a heart is what I desire.  I desire to be perfect and look forward to being in glory where my heart will be perfectly pure forever.  Until then, O Lord, please “renew a steadfast spirit within me.”  May…

OUR CREATOR PROVIDES WHAT WE NEED “Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.  You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. —Nehemiah 9:5-6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice. —Psalm 50:6 I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.  If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the…

REDEEMED THROUGH JESUS No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—so that they should live on forever and not see decay…. But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself. —Psalm 49:7-9, 16             There are those who think they are good enough to get to heaven on their own.  That is a fallacy.  Then there are those who attend “church” (go to a building called “church”) and think because they do that will get them to heaven.  That is a fallacy. …

MY GUIDE IS WITH ME TO THE END For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. —Psalm 48:14             It is comforting to know that we have “a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).  Jesus said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).  And we can trust Him to guide us— “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” (Psalm 32:8).  Again, Jesus said– “Unless I go away, the Advocate will not…

OUR AWESOME LORD AND KING REIGNS For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth… For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise… for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted. —Psalm 47:2, 7, 9             Our “Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth.”  Let us “sing to him a psalm of praise” because “the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.”  Our Lord God Almighty is the Creator/Owner of all things in His magnificent universe.  Those kings of the earth who think they create…

OUR SOVEREIGN LORD “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’” —Ezra…