DANIEL'S REACTION TO PROBLEMS

“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days” (Dan. 6:10 NKJV).

The reaction of Daniel to a great problem in his life instructs us how to react when we face problems. Daniel’s problem was that if he prayed to God, he would be thrown into the lions’ den. His response to this problem involved posture, prayer, praise, and persistency.

Posture – “He knelt down on his knees three times that day.” When Daniel prayed, he knelt upon his knees. The posture was testimony of his faith. It was a conspicuous testimony since the windows were opened for all to see. And it was a courageous testimony since it was done after the decree about the lions’ den was signed. Living a godly life takes much courage.

Prayer – “And prayed.” In time of trouble, we need to pray. We need to pray at all times, but we especially need to pray in times of trouble. Some folks whine and complain, but Daniel went to prayer. No wonder Daniel met his problems with such great success.

Praise – “Gave thanks.” The word “thanks” means to praise. In time of trouble, we must honor (praise, thank) God if we want His help. Daniel’s problem discouraged honoring God, but he honored God anyway.

Persistency – “As was his custom since early days.” In time of trouble, Daniel remained faithful. Faithfulness may have seemed to be the cause of the problems here, but it was the ultimate solution. If we are going to overcome our problems, faithfulness is required since unfaithfulness adds to our problems.

(Adapted from Analytical Biblical Expositor)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“No sacrifice should be too great for Him who gave Himself for us!”

Henry Allan “Harry” Ironside (1876 – 1951)

Canadian American Bible Teacher, Theologian, Pastor, and Author

Word Study

Encumbrance

In Heb. 12:1 we read, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us!” (NASB).

Encumbrance is the Greek word ónkos (ὄγκος =ong'-kos). The word means weight, mass, burden. Metaphorically, it refers to a hindrance, an impediment. In classic Greek ónkos was used in reference to the mass of a body. There is no reference to ónkos in the Septuagint. In the New Testament, ónkos also means weight, mass, or burden. The Christian life is a race that requires discipline and endurance. We must strip ourselves of everything that would impede us and hinder our progress.

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“Now the LORD said to Joshua: do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land” (Josh. 8:1 KJV).

Did You Know…

Uzziah king of Judah became leprous because he arrogantly offered incense to God (2 Chron. 26:16-19).

Bible Quiz

What was the punishment of Elisha’s servant Gehazi for being greedy?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: What was the curse God put upon the serpent who deceived Eve? To move on its belly and eat dust forever (Gen. 3:14).

Names For God Found in the Bible

“REFUGE”

"O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthlessness and unprofitable things” (Jer. 16:19 NKJV).

1. Meaning – REFUGE refers to God as the One who provides protection.

2. Insights – Because God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, He will punish Judah for her sin and idolatry. Upon hearing God’s solution, Jeremiah affirmed his faith in the Lord, and comforted himself with the thoughts that the day is coming, when not only the Jews will be restored, but the Gentiles also from all parts of the world who have witnessed those judgments will acknowledge the Lord as the true God.

Did You Know...Christian History

Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky was born on May 6, 1831 in Tauroggen, Russian Lithuania. He was the Anglican Bishop of Shanghai, China, from 1877 to 1884, as well as the founder of St. John’s University, Shanghai, in 1879.

Samuel’s parents were orthodox Jews, but died when he was just a young boy. He was then raised by his half-brother. Samuel showed intellectual promise and an aptitude for languages; he was trained to become a rabbi. At the age of 19 Samuel traveled to Germany where he studied for a year and then for two years at the University of Breslau. To his fluency in Yiddish, Polish and Russian Samuel added German.

At some point Samuel was given a copy of a Hebrew New Testament. After reading it, he was convinced of the truth of Christianity. Soon after his confession of Christ he immigrated to the United States. In 1857, Samuel enrolled in the Theological Seminary at New York where he added Greek to his vast knowledge of languages.

Hearing the call for missionaries for China, Samuel left for Shanghai in 1859. During his voyage, Samuel began his study of the Chinese language and culture. A year after his arrival, Samuel made a translation of the Psalms. Two years later he moved to Peking and co-translated the Prayer Book into Mandarin. In 1865 Samuel joined a committee of five leading Chinese scholars and five English-speaking scholars for translating the New Testament from the Greek. The next eight years of his life were dedicated to translating the entire Old Testament from the original Hebrew into Mandarin Chinese.

In 1877 Samuel was elected Bishop of Shanghai. Two years later founded St. John’s College (later renamed St. John’s University). In 1881, while translating the Apocrypha in Wuchang, Samuel fell ill with Parkinson’s disease. On the orders of his doctors he traveled to Europe to undergo treatment. Thinking it wrong to retain an office if he could not carry out its duties, he resigned his bishopric in 1883. However, he was determined to continue his translation work as long as God gave him strength. He returned to Shanghai in 1895 and continued his labor of love for the next twenty years, in China, the USA and Japan, wherever there was a printing press he could use. As long as he could, he wrote with a pen. When he became too paralyzed to write, he found that he could still control the middle finger of his partially crippled hand, and laboriously tapped out the letters on a typewriter. In this way he typed some 2,000 pages. His translation is still outstanding, and because of his physical handicap the work is known as the “Two Finger Bible.”

By the time of his death in Tokyo in 1906 Schereschewsky had translated the entire Bible into the Wen-li language and the Old Testament into Mandarin, the Gospels into Mongolian and the Anglican Book of Common Prayer into Mandarin. He had also written Chinese grammars and dictionaries, sharing his vast linguistic knowledge with those who came after him.

A Little Humor

God is talking to one of his angels. He says, “Do you know what I have just done? I have just created 24 hours of alternating light and darkness on Earth. Isn’t that good?” The angel says, “Yes, but what will you do now?” God says, “I think I’ll call it a day.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Heaven’s delight will far outweigh earth’s difficulties!”