You know sometimes we can just complicate things beyond belief. There are groups of Christians that believe different things about when the end of the world will be. Some believe that we will all be raptured up into Heaven. Others believe that we will go to Heaven when Jesus returns. Some people believe what Daniel is being told here has already happened and yet others believe that what Daniel is being told here is yet to happen. Does that matter? Daniel is told “Go about your business without fretting or worrying. Relax. When it’s all over, you will be on your feet to receive your reward.” And I think that is good advice for all of us. We could put it another way by saying “Don’t worry about arguing with other Christians about the in’s and outs of our faith. Do they believe that Jesus is Gods son, who died for us? Do they believe in God the Father, God The Son and God the Holy Spirit? Do they try and live by what they believe the Bible says? God knows their heart, God knows your heart, they and you will get the reward in Heaven.” We can agree with our Christian mates about the basics of what God has said; and then get on with the real Job of telling others what he has in store for all of us.

You know sometimes we can just complicate things beyond belief. There are groups of Christians that believe different things about when the end of the world will be. Some believe that we will all be raptured up into Heaven. Others believe that we will go to Heaven when Jesus returns. Some people believe what Daniel is being told here has already happened and yet others believe that what Daniel is being told here is yet to happen. Does that matter? Daniel is told “Go about your business without fretting or worrying. Relax. When it’s all over, you will be on your feet to receive your reward.” And I think that is good advice for all of us. We could put it another way by saying “Don’t worry about arguing with other Christians about the in’s and outs of our faith. Do they believe that Jesus is Gods son, who died for us? Do they believe in God the Father, God The Son and God the Holy Spirit? Do they try and live by what they believe the Bible says? God knows their heart, God knows your heart, they and you will get the reward in Heaven.” We can agree with our Christian mates about the basics of what God has said; and then get on with the real Job of telling others what he has in store for all of us.

At this point in the prophecy to Daniel the dodgey king starts boasting how much better than God he is. It reminds me of some people’s attitudes towards God. It often seems that everyone has a right to believe what they want, unless you are a Christian. I have mates who are massively enthusiastic about the big bang theory. But if I raised the fact that I believe in a universe created by God, they would tell me that I had no right to spread that around. They would feel that telling everyone that there is no God is OK. But when I said Jesus was the one true way to God, they treated me like I was an intolerant maniac. So how does that effect what we do at college or school? Well in truth it doesn’t. It doesn’t affect your relationship with God one little bit. It does mean that you might want to be careful about what other people say. If people are boasting to you that you evolved from a bit of jelly but then Gods Bible is telling you that he created you; then you might want to look into the truth of the matter, rather than accepting other peoples boasts that they know more than God. If people are boasting to you that there is no God and you know different then maybe you can begin to understand that not everything you hear at college, see on the internet or watch on TV is true.

At this point in the prophecy to Daniel the dodgey king starts boasting how much better than God he is. It reminds me of some people’s attitudes towards God. It often seems that everyone has a right to believe what they want, unless you are a Christian. I have mates who are massively enthusiastic about the big bang theory. But if I raised the fact that I believe in a universe created by God, they would tell me that I had no right to spread that around. They would feel that telling everyone that there is no God is OK. But when I said Jesus was the one true way to God, they treated me like I was an intolerant maniac. So how does that effect what we do at college or school? Well in truth it doesn’t. It doesn’t affect your relationship with God one little bit. It does mean that you might want to be careful about what other people say. If people are boasting to you that you evolved from a bit of jelly but then Gods Bible is telling you that he created you; then you might want to look into the truth of the matter, rather than accepting other peoples boasts that they know more than God. If people are boasting to you that there is no God and you know different then maybe you can begin to understand that not everything you hear at college, see on the internet or watch on TV is true.

There seems to be so much violence in this prophesy that Daniel is receiving. Kings attacking and slaughtering people, time and time again. Has anything changed today or is there still extreme violence in our world? Obviously there are still brutal wars going on around the world, but how about a little closer to home? Is there violence in college? Is there violence in your school? Is there violence in you home? How should we as Christians react to violence? Firstly lets be real clear about this, if you are a victim of violence then you are going to need to be brave. You are going to need Gods help, and you are going to have to do something about it. I know that sounds daunting but pray to God and ask for his help and then ask someone else for help. If you are being hurt by someone ask a leader at Church, ask a leader at school, ask someone away from where you are being hurt to help you. But how do we react to others being hurt? Jesus told us that the greatest commandment is to love God and the second greatest is to love one another. Well if we are to love one another then surely we cannot stand by and watch others suffer, without doing something. We must be very careful that we do not put ourselves in danger. We must pray to God for guidance, and then we must seek help from a leader away from the situation to stop the hurt. We were all put on this Earth by our creator God, and being hurt by someone else was not part of the deal.

There seems to be so much violence in this prophesy that Daniel is receiving. Kings attacking and slaughtering people, time and time again. Has anything changed today or is there still extreme violence in our world? Obviously there are still brutal wars going on around the world, but how about a little closer to home? Is there violence in college? Is there violence in your school? Is there violence in you home? How should we as Christians react to violence? Firstly lets be real clear about this, if you are a victim of violence then you are going to need to be brave. You are going to need Gods help, and you are going to have to do something about it. I know that sounds daunting but pray to God and ask for his help and then ask someone else for help. If you are being hurt by someone ask a leader at Church, ask a leader at school, ask someone away from where you are being hurt to help you. But how do we react to others being hurt? Jesus told us that the greatest commandment is to love God and the second greatest is to love one another. Well if we are to love one another then surely we cannot stand by and watch others suffer, without doing something. We must be very careful that we do not put ourselves in danger. We must pray to God for guidance, and then we must seek help from a leader away from the situation to stop the hurt. We were all put on this Earth by our creator God, and being hurt by someone else was not part of the deal.

We could forget that this is all a prophesy that Daniel is receiving as it seems so detailed, but that’s exactly what it is. It is a detailed prophesy of what is going to happen in Daniel’s and his peoples lives over the next few years. Wouldn’t you like detailed guidance from God like this? Would it be great if God would help you with the mundane things of life. Well the good news is God does. God wants to help you with the big things in life, but he is also interested in helping you with that essay. He wants to heal people of their diseases, but he also wants to, heal you of that toothache. Our God is the God of the big and the God of the small and the God of everything in-between. But of course for God to involve himself in the mundane parts of you life then you need to invite him. If you want to have a chat with one of your mates you probably don’t invite him with a formal printed invitation. “Dear Dave I formally invite you for a coke in the canteen at 12 o’clock RSVP.” That would be daft, you would give him a call and say “see you in the canteen at 12.” That’s how we need to be with God if we want him leading us in the same detail that he is providing Daniel with. We’re working on our essay, we say “Hey father thanks for your help in the past can you inspire me with this essay, please. Amen.” We have a toothache “ We say Lord please heal me of this niggling pain. Amen.” Yep our whole lives should be a constant chat to God, that would be great.

We could forget that this is all a prophesy that Daniel is receiving as it seems so detailed, but that’s exactly what it is. It is a detailed prophesy of what is going to happen in Daniel’s and his peoples lives over the next few years. Wouldn’t you like detailed guidance from God like this? Would it be great if God would help you with the mundane things of life. Well the good news is God does. God wants to help you with the big things in life, but he is also interested in helping you with that essay. He wants to heal people of their diseases, but he also wants to, heal you of that toothache. Our God is the God of the big and the God of the small and the God of everything in-between. But of course for God to involve himself in the mundane parts of you life then you need to invite him. If you want to have a chat with one of your mates you probably don’t invite him with a formal printed invitation. “Dear Dave I formally invite you for a coke in the canteen at 12 o’clock RSVP.” That would be daft, you would give him a call and say “see you in the canteen at 12.” That’s how we need to be with God if we want him leading us in the same detail that he is providing Daniel with. We’re working on our essay, we say “Hey father thanks for your help in the past can you inspire me with this essay, please. Amen.” We have a toothache “ We say Lord please heal me of this niggling pain. Amen.” Yep our whole lives should be a constant chat to God, that would be great.

Kings come and kings go but what if you want to commit to a cause that is around for the long haul. Football teams come and football teams go but what happens to all the energy and commitment you put into a team that were flying high when they crash and burn. Film stars come and film stars go but how can you know that the star you are fan of will be around forever? Imagine committing to one of these kings in the passage. You commit your life to him, you are sold out and even go to war from him and then he gets trashed and is replaced by another king. That king then destroys you, throws you out of your home and leaves you with nothing. The same can happen to us when we commit to certain parts of our lives on this Earth. We commit to a band, change our style to fit them, buy all their stuff and go to all their concerts. We might spend every last penny we have buying their stuff and every last minute we have listening to their music. But what happens when they have enough dosh and break the band up? What are we left with? A Big fat nothing. That s why it is so reassuring to know that when we commit to the King of the universe every last piece of energy we put into worshipping Him is worthwhile. We know that what we do Jesus will be with us forever and he will not run away from us. We know that Jesus will be around tomorrow, because it tells us he will in the Bible. It says in Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Now that’s worth committing to.

Kings come and kings go but what if you want to commit to a cause that is around for the long haul. Football teams come and football teams go but what happens to all the energy and commitment you put into a team that were flying high when they crash and burn. Film stars come and film stars go but how can you know that the star you are fan of will be around forever? Imagine committing to one of these kings in the passage. You commit your life to him, you are sold out and even go to war from him and then he gets trashed and is replaced by another king. That king then destroys you, throws you out of your home and leaves you with nothing. The same can happen to us when we commit to certain parts of our lives on this Earth. We commit to a band, change our style to fit them, buy all their stuff and go to all their concerts. We might spend every last penny we have buying their stuff and every last minute we have listening to their music. But what happens when they have enough dosh and break the band up? What are we left with? A Big fat nothing. That s why it is so reassuring to know that when we commit to the King of the universe every last piece of energy we put into worshipping Him is worthwhile. We know that what we do Jesus will be with us forever and he will not run away from us. We know that Jesus will be around tomorrow, because it tells us he will in the Bible. It says in Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Now that’s worth committing to.

Christianity is a crutch for the weak. If you are a Christian you must be meek and mild. These and other such lies are blown away by this messenger for God. The messenger in these verses is an Angel fresh from the battle field. Can you image a two and half metre bloke running into you at college? The first thing he says is, “great there you are, right I’m sorry I’m late but I have been battling the Devil and his minions. Man you think world of warcraft is bad you should have seen these guys, but anyway we’ve dealt with them now.” “Right I’m on a mission from God to explain what all this stuff means to you, because God has heard your cry. But the first thing God wants me to say to you is. Stand up be strong, be courageous, prepare yourself for battle.” Wow that would be mad. But God does say that to you, he doesn’t say be wimpy. He doesn’t say be weak. No our God wants you to go into the world and tel your mates about Jesus in the way they will understand. And he wants you to do it with confidence, proud in the knowledge that you have the creator God backing you up.

Christianity is a crutch for the weak. If you are a Christian you must be meek and mild. These and other such lies are blown away by this messenger for God. The messenger in these verses is an Angel fresh from the battle field. Can you image a two and half metre bloke running into you at college? The first thing he says is, “great there you are, right I’m sorry I’m late but I have been battling the Devil and his minions. Man you think world of warcraft is bad you should have seen these guys, but anyway we’ve dealt with them now.” “Right I’m on a mission from God to explain what all this stuff means to you, because God has heard your cry. But the first thing God wants me to say to you is. Stand up be strong, be courageous, prepare yourself for battle.” Wow that would be mad. But God does say that to you, he doesn’t say be wimpy. He doesn’t say be weak. No our God wants you to go into the world and tel your mates about Jesus in the way they will understand. And he wants you to do it with confidence, proud in the knowledge that you have the creator God backing you up.

So what do you do when everyone around you abandons you? You have a vision for something and no one else understands. Maybe it’s a vision to set-up a charity to help young people learn how to manage money. Maybe it’s a vision to help young people learn about the love of Christ through football. Maybe it’s a vision to create a business that is so successful you can fund hundreds of children’s education. What do you do when you believe God has given you a vision and everyone else runs away? Give up that’s what you do. Bury the vision and forget about it. Go back to what you were doing before and ignore God. Did what I just said make you angry? Did it make you cry out “not a chance”. Yes if you are given a vision by God then God will also give you the passion to never give up. It won’t be your strength that you need, you will need Gods strength to complete a vision that he gives you. But then if you have a dream that God gives you, you will truly be able to shout I have a dream and I have a God that will give me the strength to deliver that dream.

So what do you do when everyone around you abandons you? You have a vision for something and no one else understands. Maybe it’s a vision to set-up a charity to help young people learn how to manage money. Maybe it’s a vision to help young people learn about the love of Christ through football. Maybe it’s a vision to create a business that is so successful you can fund hundreds of children’s education. What do you do when you believe God has given you a vision and everyone else runs away? Give up that’s what you do. Bury the vision and forget about it. Go back to what you were doing before and ignore God. Did what I just said make you angry? Did it make you cry out “not a chance”. Yes if you are given a vision by God then God will also give you the passion to never give up. It won’t be your strength that you need, you will need Gods strength to complete a vision that he gives you. But then if you have a dream that God gives you, you will truly be able to shout I have a dream and I have a God that will give me the strength to deliver that dream.

So God has answered Daniels prayers by sending him a messenger in the form of the angel Gabriel. How does God answer your prayers? Who does God send as a messenger to you? Could God use your mate, your parents or even your teachers? Oh that’s a scary thought isn’t it? Imagine if God used your teacher or college lecturer to send you a message. Would you be listening enough to hear it? If God used that guy who winds you up at school or college, would you take the time with that person to hear Gods voice? I hate to think of the number of time I have missed Gods voice because I have been in a rush or just wanted to ignore someone, how about you? Often when we are in that moment of asking God for help we expect an answer straight away, this very minute. I don’t know about you, but I don’t often remember that God may choose to answer me later that day, week, month or even year. Another scary thoughts is that God might use us as an answer to someone else prayers. Either way it seems to me that we should be looking for God in all parts of our life, not just when we are praying to him or reading his Bible.

So God has answered Daniels prayers by sending him a messenger in the form of the angel Gabriel. How does God answer your prayers? Who does God send as a messenger to you? Could God use your mate, your parents or even your teachers? Oh that’s a scary thought isn’t it? Imagine if God used your teacher or college lecturer to send you a message. Would you be listening enough to hear it? If God used that guy who winds you up at school or college, would you take the time with that person to hear Gods voice? I hate to think of the number of time I have missed Gods voice because I have been in a rush or just wanted to ignore someone, how about you? Often when we are in that moment of asking God for help we expect an answer straight away, this very minute. I don’t know about you, but I don’t often remember that God may choose to answer me later that day, week, month or even year. Another scary thoughts is that God might use us as an answer to someone else prayers. Either way it seems to me that we should be looking for God in all parts of our life, not just when we are praying to him or reading his Bible.

Yep this guy has pretty much got the picture now. When you stuff up and are sorry make sure you take the time to say so. If you have a mate who you upset because you have done something stupid then you hopefully would take the time to say sorry. If you don’t say sorry to your mates when you have made a mistake and upset them, then it won’t be long before you don’t have many mates. Think about it this way. You have a mate who you tell a secret to, and you say, please don’t tell anyone my secret. It’s not long before you realise that word has got about your secret and you know that you told no one else so it can only be your mate who told everyone. You are fuming and go looking for them to give them what for. When you finally find them they look really sorry and upset. They know they have done wrong. You know they have done wrong. Now you are even aware that they are sorry they did it. Does that make everything OK, or is there one more thing that needs to happen? Absolutely, if that was it you would still not forgive them would you? You now need to hear fro them that they are sorry, they need to speak those words for you to fully know they are sorry. Well obviously God is much more graceful than we are but we also need to tell him we are sorry when we muck up. God knows if we muck up, God even knows if we are sorry when muck up. But we still need to take the time to tell him we are sorry.

Yep this guy has pretty much got the picture now. When you stuff up and are sorry make sure you take the time to say so. If you have a mate who you upset because you have done something stupid then you hopefully would take the time to say sorry. If you don’t say sorry to your mates when you have made a mistake and upset them, then it won’t be long before you don’t have many mates. Think about it this way. You have a mate who you tell a secret to, and you say, please don’t tell anyone my secret. It’s not long before you realise that word has got about your secret and you know that you told no one else so it can only be your mate who told everyone. You are fuming and go looking for them to give them what for. When you finally find them they look really sorry and upset. They know they have done wrong. You know they have done wrong. Now you are even aware that they are sorry they did it. Does that make everything OK, or is there one more thing that needs to happen? Absolutely, if that was it you would still not forgive them would you? You now need to hear fro them that they are sorry, they need to speak those words for you to fully know they are sorry. Well obviously God is much more graceful than we are but we also need to tell him we are sorry when we muck up. God knows if we muck up, God even knows if we are sorry when muck up. But we still need to take the time to tell him we are sorry.

So it seems that God warned these people that if they behaved in a certain way the good stuff wasn’t going to happen. I guess that also means that if they behaved in another way then good stuff would happen. It doesn’t matter what you believe, your actions will have an effect. It doesn’t matter if people are Christians or not, it’s true that there are consequences to all our actions. Some people call it Karma, others think it’s is written in the stars, but the reality is everything we do will have some effect. That’s why we needed Jesus to come to Earth and die on the cross for us. I don’t know about you but I seem to be able to think about how my actions are affecting others for a short while and then one day I forget. The day I forget seems to always be the day that what I do hurts others. That’s why Jesus came, so I can say sorry God and know that he will forgive me. You see I make mistakes, you make mistakes, but Jesus is pure forever. God knew, that there were going to be days when we stuff up , God knew that it doesn’t matter how hard we try sometimes what we do would hurt others, and he gave us an equation to resolve it. Jesus plus me or you saying sorry equals forgiveness.

So it seems that God warned these people that if they behaved in a certain way the good stuff wasn’t going to happen. I guess that also means that if they behaved in another way then good stuff would happen. It doesn’t matter what you believe, your actions will have an effect. It doesn’t matter if people are Christians or not, it’s true that there are consequences to all our actions. Some people call it Karma, others think it’s is written in the stars, but the reality is everything we do will have some effect. That’s why we needed Jesus to come to Earth and die on the cross for us. I don’t know about you but I seem to be able to think about how my actions are affecting others for a short while and then one day I forget. The day I forget seems to always be the day that what I do hurts others. That’s why Jesus came, so I can say sorry God and know that he will forgive me. You see I make mistakes, you make mistakes, but Jesus is pure forever. God knew, that there were going to be days when we stuff up , God knew that it doesn’t matter how hard we try sometimes what we do would hurt others, and he gave us an equation to resolve it. Jesus plus me or you saying sorry equals forgiveness.

You can’t blame Daniel, I think if I had this vision it would worry me. Actually there’s quite a bit I get worried about, what about you? Do you worry about exams? Maybe the idea of what you will do in the future panics you? Do you worry about family or friends? If we want to there is plenty to worry about. OK so I could say well the Bible says that we shouldn’t worry and that we won’t even add a day to our lives by worrying. Did that help? No of course it doesn’t help; being told that we shouldn’t do what we know we shouldn’t do because the Bible says so doesn’t help at all. Now it might mean that we change what we are doing, but does it make us feel better? Well sometimes it probably does, but not always. So when we see passages in the Bible that challenge us, but we don’t see the answer, what do we do? When things happen in our lives, but we can’t find the answer in the Bible, what do we do? Well can I suggest that sometimes we just need to ask God for help and look a bit deeper? At first sight this passage may not help us or Daniel at all, but lets look a bit deeper. Daniels worried right? Maybe we are worried. Maybe we are concerned that the Devil puts things in our way so that we won’t succeed. Well both Daniel and we should take a look at what this passage says. It says “But when he takes on the Prince of all princes, he’ll be smashed to bits” Who do you think the Prince of princes is? Who’s he going to smash? Yes it probably won’t stop us worrying, but maybe we can feel better knowing that Jesus has already won the battle. Whatever we face whilst here on earth the Devil is defeated and we get to spend forever with Jesus the Prince of princes who has won the ultimate contest.

You can’t blame Daniel, I think if I had this vision it would worry me. Actually there’s quite a bit I get worried about, what about you? Do you worry about exams? Maybe the idea of what you will do in the future panics you? Do you worry about family or friends? If we want to there is plenty to worry about. OK so I could say well the Bible says that we shouldn’t worry and that we won’t even add a day to our lives by worrying. Did that help? No of course it doesn’t help; being told that we shouldn’t do what we know we shouldn’t do because the Bible says so doesn’t help at all. Now it might mean that we change what we are doing, but does it make us feel better? Well sometimes it probably does, but not always. So when we see passages in the Bible that challenge us, but we don’t see the answer, what do we do? When things happen in our lives, but we can’t find the answer in the Bible, what do we do? Well can I suggest that sometimes we just need to ask God for help and look a bit deeper? At first sight this passage may not help us or Daniel at all, but lets look a bit deeper. Daniels worried right? Maybe we are worried. Maybe we are concerned that the Devil puts things in our way so that we won’t succeed. Well both Daniel and we should take a look at what this passage says. It says “But when he takes on the Prince of all princes, he’ll be smashed to bits” Who do you think the Prince of princes is? Who’s he going to smash? Yes it probably won’t stop us worrying, but maybe we can feel better knowing that Jesus has already won the battle. Whatever we face whilst here on earth the Devil is defeated and we get to spend forever with Jesus the Prince of princes who has won the ultimate contest.

OK you don’t get to have a 50/50 or ask the audience or even phone a friend, but do you have any idea what Daniel has just been on about? No me neither. Now I am sure we will find out as we carry on with this book of Daniel, but what do you do when the Bible confuses you? Do you go,stuff it I don’t care what the Bible has to say to me? Do you search the internet and find out what others think it means? Do you take it literally? Do you say na it’s just a story? I mean come on Father God what does this mean? Hmmm maybe that’s the answer isn’t it? Do we say stuff it? No we don’t, we’re told that the Bible is good for learning from and for correcting our actions so to ignore it would be plain daft. Do we search the internet for the answers? Well you could, but you should also be prepared for some crackpot answers. Lots of people have a view on what the Bible means and lots of these people are not plugged into our Father God. But we could actually ask our Father God what this means for us, and then wait for him to answer. Of course the answer may be that right now this has no impact on you or your school or college. But you could get the answer that there is some of Gods wisdom there for you or your mates. Perhaps the most likely answer you might get, is that it may not mean anything right now, but the Holy Spirit will help you retrieve that importance of this or any other passage when you have a need for it in the future.

OK you don’t get to have a 50/50 or ask the audience or even phone a friend, but do you have any idea what Daniel has just been on about? No me neither. Now I am sure we will find out as we carry on with this book of Daniel, but what do you do when the Bible confuses you? Do you go,stuff it I don’t care what the Bible has to say to me? Do you search the internet and find out what others think it means? Do you take it literally? Do you say na it’s just a story? I mean come on Father God what does this mean? Hmmm maybe that’s the answer isn’t it? Do we say stuff it? No we don’t, we’re told that the Bible is good for learning from and for correcting our actions so to ignore it would be plain daft. Do we search the internet for the answers? Well you could, but you should also be prepared for some crackpot answers. Lots of people have a view on what the Bible means and lots of these people are not plugged into our Father God. But we could actually ask our Father God what this means for us, and then wait for him to answer. Of course the answer may be that right now this has no impact on you or your school or college. But you could get the answer that there is some of Gods wisdom there for you or your mates. Perhaps the most likely answer you might get, is that it may not mean anything right now, but the Holy Spirit will help you retrieve that importance of this or any other passage when you have a need for it in the future.

I find it interesting that Daniel chose to keep his worries to himself. Why would he do that, is that what we are told to do? If you are being bullied at school does God want you to keep it to yourself? If you are finding college hard, and falling behind with your work, does God say keep your head down, shut up, and carry on. I’m not sure that that is the example that Jesus gave us. If you look at the way Jesus worked he had hundreds of followers, but he surrounded himself with twelve close mates and even within these twelve he had one or two very close mates. Is this an example of keeping things to yourself? No it’s not, is it. If we are to follow this example then we to might want to go out of our way to find some close mates who we can talk to and be honest with. This might be a group a school or college, or maybe a group at church. It needs to be group of people who can challenge us and a group we can tell our concerns to knowing that they will keep it to themselves. For some of us this is really easy and we love making friends and hanging around with people. But are we able to know who are the people we can trust? For others of us it’s hard to make friends and we will have to really try to get to know just a couple of people. However once we make friends we know we can trust them. Either way keeping things to yourself doesn’t seem to be an option for a Christian that wants to move on in their relationship with God. Daniel has hit a spot in his life when he could do with a small group of friends to help, what happens to you when you need that Christian advice from friends? I pray that you would know where to go.

I find it interesting that Daniel chose to keep his worries to himself. Why would he do that, is that what we are told to do? If you are being bullied at school does God want you to keep it to yourself? If you are finding college hard, and falling behind with your work, does God say keep your head down, shut up, and carry on. I’m not sure that that is the example that Jesus gave us. If you look at the way Jesus worked he had hundreds of followers, but he surrounded himself with twelve close mates and even within these twelve he had one or two very close mates. Is this an example of keeping things to yourself? No it’s not, is it. If we are to follow this example then we to might want to go out of our way to find some close mates who we can talk to and be honest with. This might be a group a school or college, or maybe a group at church. It needs to be group of people who can challenge us and a group we can tell our concerns to knowing that they will keep it to themselves. For some of us this is really easy and we love making friends and hanging around with people. But are we able to know who are the people we can trust? For others of us it’s hard to make friends and we will have to really try to get to know just a couple of people. However once we make friends we know we can trust them. Either way keeping things to yourself doesn’t seem to be an option for a Christian that wants to move on in their relationship with God. Daniel has hit a spot in his life when he could do with a small group of friends to help, what happens to you when you need that Christian advice from friends? I pray that you would know where to go.

Imagine waking up one morning having had that dream. You might decide to not eat pizza before you go to bed next time. How God speaks to us can be really strange sometimes. I don’t know about you but I often hear people say things like “God spoke to me”, “I had a picture”, “In my vision” or “God gave me a word”. What does that mean? Did God speak to them in a big booming voice? Did God give them a bit of paper with a word written on it? Was the picture framed? If we look throughout the Bible God speaks to people in all types of ways. Here God has given the king a dream that he dreamt whilst asleep. That doesn’t mean all dreams are from God, just some. God spoke audibly through a burning bush to Moses, that doesn’t mean that he always or even often speaks out loud, let alone through bushes. So how does God speak? Well the answer is… ah well actually that’s the problem. We can’t box our God up into a simple to understand packages. God’s like you in some ways. He doesn’t just use MSN, he doesn’t just use text messages, and he doesn’t just use email. If you want to speak to your mates you might go on MSN, but that won’t be any good when you speak to your Granny, unless of course you have a techo Gran. When you want to communicate to parents they might think it a bit strange if you sent them a letter, when you can speak to them. God uses what he has available to him, and because this is the God who created the world he pretty much has everything available to him. So don’t be surprised if God speaks to you in some strange ways sometimes. Most importantly keep an eye open to see how he might speak to you; you never know what he will use.

Imagine waking up one morning having had that dream. You might decide to not eat pizza before you go to bed next time. How God speaks to us can be really strange sometimes. I don’t know about you but I often hear people say things like “God spoke to me”, “I had a picture”, “In my vision” or “God gave me a word”. What does that mean? Did God speak to them in a big booming voice? Did God give them a bit of paper with a word written on it? Was the picture framed? If we look throughout the Bible God speaks to people in all types of ways. Here God has given the king a dream that he dreamt whilst asleep. That doesn’t mean all dreams are from God, just some. God spoke audibly through a burning bush to Moses, that doesn’t mean that he always or even often speaks out loud, let alone through bushes. So how does God speak? Well the answer is… ah well actually that’s the problem. We can’t box our God up into a simple to understand packages. God’s like you in some ways. He doesn’t just use MSN, he doesn’t just use text messages, and he doesn’t just use email. If you want to speak to your mates you might go on MSN, but that won’t be any good when you speak to your Granny, unless of course you have a techo Gran. When you want to communicate to parents they might think it a bit strange if you sent them a letter, when you can speak to them. God uses what he has available to him, and because this is the God who created the world he pretty much has everything available to him. So don’t be surprised if God speaks to you in some strange ways sometimes. Most importantly keep an eye open to see how he might speak to you; you never know what he will use.

So five times a week you hear my views on various passages that we hear from the Bible. But what we must remember is God speaks to all of us, he speaks to you if you are at college, and he speaks to you if you are at school. Today we want to know what God is saying to you. Go back and listen to the passage again, or open your Bible and read Daniel 6:11-28. What is God saying to you?

So five times a week you hear my views on various passages that we hear from the Bible. But what we must remember is God speaks to all of us, he speaks to you if you are at college, and he speaks to you if you are at school. Today we want to know what God is saying to you. Go back and listen to the passage again, or open your Bible and read Daniel 6:11-28. What is God saying to you?

Daniel didn’t care what the crazy law said he just wanted to praise his God. He didn‘t care what people thought of him he just wanted to pray to the one true God. In doing this he risked death, because the king had decreed that no-one should pray to anyone other than him. I look at Daniel and it makes me think about my reaction to praying to my God in public. I look at Daniels courage in the face of death and it makes me think of my reaction to worshipping my God in public. Am I willing to risk everything just so that I can give God the praise he is due? Or am I concerned about looking silly in front of my mates? When someone says they need help, do I offer to pray for them there and then, or am I concerned about what they will say? What’s more important what other people think of me and you or what God thinks us. Here is the newsflash other people are not thinking of you most of the time, they are busy worrying what you think about them. It takes courage to live out your faith at school, it takes courage to offer to pray for your mates at college. Do I, do you have that courage? Are we willing to put our image on the line, are will willing to put what others think about us to one side and praise and pray to the one true God? Lets take the courage of Daniel as our example and pray and praise our God where ever we are.

Daniel didn’t care what the crazy law said he just wanted to praise his God. He didn‘t care what people thought of him he just wanted to pray to the one true God. In doing this he risked death, because the king had decreed that no-one should pray to anyone other than him. I look at Daniel and it makes me think about my reaction to praying to my God in public. I look at Daniels courage in the face of death and it makes me think of my reaction to worshipping my God in public. Am I willing to risk everything just so that I can give God the praise he is due? Or am I concerned about looking silly in front of my mates? When someone says they need help, do I offer to pray for them there and then, or am I concerned about what they will say? What’s more important what other people think of me and you or what God thinks us. Here is the newsflash other people are not thinking of you most of the time, they are busy worrying what you think about them. It takes courage to live out your faith at school, it takes courage to offer to pray for your mates at college. Do I, do you have that courage? Are we willing to put our image on the line, are will willing to put what others think about us to one side and praise and pray to the one true God? Lets take the courage of Daniel as our example and pray and praise our God where ever we are.

We do like to think of God as our mate and that’s cool. We even sing about “My Jesus, My Saviour” and that’s cool too. Because God is an all loving Father, his love is what he wants to give us. God does want to be our mate; God does want to be our friend. But is there more to our relationship with God, then just being his pal? If your best mate had a laugh with you but the nicked your iPod, you would be a bit surprised. You might even think that didn’t even give you any respect. Or if one of you mates gave you a high five, but later you heard that they were walking around town telling people you were rubbish, you might think that they were not showing you any respect. You might get wound up and angry and give them a hard time next time you met them. Why? All because friendship is about more than just being friendly. And a relationship with the God who made the universe is about more than just singing or saying the words. My relationship, your relationship with the God who took the time to make you has to include respect. And just like the King, we should not be surprised that even though God wants to shower us with his love, he may have to show his anger if we don’t respect him and all that he is and does. So I say to you, don’t dis the main man.

We do like to think of God as our mate and that’s cool. We even sing about “My Jesus, My Saviour” and that’s cool too. Because God is an all loving Father, his love is what he wants to give us. God does want to be our mate; God does want to be our friend. But is there more to our relationship with God, then just being his pal? If your best mate had a laugh with you but the nicked your iPod, you would be a bit surprised. You might even think that didn’t even give you any respect. Or if one of you mates gave you a high five, but later you heard that they were walking around town telling people you were rubbish, you might think that they were not showing you any respect. You might get wound up and angry and give them a hard time next time you met them. Why? All because friendship is about more than just being friendly. And a relationship with the God who made the universe is about more than just singing or saying the words. My relationship, your relationship with the God who took the time to make you has to include respect. And just like the King, we should not be surprised that even though God wants to shower us with his love, he may have to show his anger if we don’t respect him and all that he is and does. So I say to you, don’t dis the main man.

This new King is turning out just like his father was before his father learnt the lesson that God is the one to turn to. Is that true of all of us are we going to turn out just like our parents, no matter what we do? Maybe your parents are great, maybe they are running with God and actually you would love to turn out like your parents. Maybe you never knew your parents. Maybe one or both of you parents aren’t so great, maybe someone has told you, that you are just like your Father or Mother and you didn’t see that as a complement. So are we doomed to be like our parents whether we want to or not? Well the bad news is that your parents are only human. But there is good news. The good news is that your parents are only human. You see the good things our parents do are great examples, but if we don’t do the same things then we can’t expect the same results. If our parents take the time to be with God every morning and as a result they develop a trust in God that every one envies, then we need to do the same to get the same result. The bad things our parents do may hurt, but we can know that if we don’t do them then we won’t get the same results. If our parents drink way too much alcohol and as a result become addicted and have bad stuff happen. Then we can know that as long as we make a point of not doing the same, then we won’t have the same bad results. It’s not about where we come from that is important it’s about where we look to for our advice that is crucial. If we look to our heavenly Father God for our guidance and combine this with the good example of our earthly parents then we can look forward to a future that does not repeat the mistakes of the past.

This new King is turning out just like his father was before his father learnt the lesson that God is the one to turn to. Is that true of all of us are we going to turn out just like our parents, no matter what we do? Maybe your parents are great, maybe they are running with God and actually you would love to turn out like your parents. Maybe you never knew your parents. Maybe one or both of you parents aren’t so great, maybe someone has told you, that you are just like your Father or Mother and you didn’t see that as a complement. So are we doomed to be like our parents whether we want to or not? Well the bad news is that your parents are only human. But there is good news. The good news is that your parents are only human. You see the good things our parents do are great examples, but if we don’t do the same things then we can’t expect the same results. If our parents take the time to be with God every morning and as a result they develop a trust in God that every one envies, then we need to do the same to get the same result. The bad things our parents do may hurt, but we can know that if we don’t do them then we won’t get the same results. If our parents drink way too much alcohol and as a result become addicted and have bad stuff happen. Then we can know that as long as we make a point of not doing the same, then we won’t have the same bad results. It’s not about where we come from that is important it’s about where we look to for our advice that is crucial. If we look to our heavenly Father God for our guidance and combine this with the good example of our earthly parents then we can look forward to a future that does not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Well he can’t say he wasn’t warned can he? Previous to this reading Daniel had interpreted a dream for the king warning that if he didn’t buck up his attitude then he was for the high jump. But oh no King dumbo just ignored the warning and actually started boasting even more how great he was. Have you ever ignored a warning from God? I’m reminded of the scene in the film Bruce Almighty when he is asking God for a sign and a truck with a load of signs pulls out in front of him. The signs all point in one direction, but Bruce is so busy slagging God off that his misses the warnings and crashes his car. Yep that would be me, some times I am so busy running around wondering what God would have me do, that I miss the signs and crash my life. How about you? So what should the king have done? What should I do? What should you do? Perhaps we should just slow down, let our foot off the accelerator peddle for a while and wait. No need to text our mates straight away, no need to turn on the TV, the minute we get in. No need to jump onto the computer the second we have a spare minute. Maybe we could take a moment to wait on God and see if he has sent us a sign. Here’s a revolutionary idea, we could even ask him to speak to us, and then sit silent for a while so that we don’t miss it, when he does.

Well he can’t say he wasn’t warned can he? Previous to this reading Daniel had interpreted a dream for the king warning that if he didn’t buck up his attitude then he was for the high jump. But oh no King dumbo just ignored the warning and actually started boasting even more how great he was. Have you ever ignored a warning from God? I’m reminded of the scene in the film Bruce Almighty when he is asking God for a sign and a truck with a load of signs pulls out in front of him. The signs all point in one direction, but Bruce is so busy slagging God off that his misses the warnings and crashes his car. Yep that would be me, some times I am so busy running around wondering what God would have me do, that I miss the signs and crash my life. How about you? So what should the king have done? What should I do? What should you do? Perhaps we should just slow down, let our foot off the accelerator peddle for a while and wait. No need to text our mates straight away, no need to turn on the TV, the minute we get in. No need to jump onto the computer the second we have a spare minute. Maybe we could take a moment to wait on God and see if he has sent us a sign. Here’s a revolutionary idea, we could even ask him to speak to us, and then sit silent for a while so that we don’t miss it, when he does.

Do you ever feel a little humble when you speak to your Father God? Well the good news is that’s the right place to be. We should feel thankful that the God who created the universe, also took the time to create us and sent his son to die so that we can join him in heaven. Seems to me that that King dumb here may have been missing that point as well as all the others he has been missing. You see it doesn’t matter how big you think you are, it doesn’t matter how talented you think you are, your achievements are tiny compared to the God who created the universe. That’s not to say that you should not be pleased with your achievements but you might want to ask yourself if you are including God in what you are doing. Daniel is telling The King here that he is going to find out how small a king he really is compared to the King of the Heavens if he doesn’t get his act into gear soon. Do we have success in our lives, that we put down to who we are and not the grace of God who has given us talents? Have we achieved small or large things that we have not thanked God for? Why not take the time today to thank God for all your gifts and achievements, because he wants to share in those with you.

Do you ever feel a little humble when you speak to your Father God? Well the good news is that’s the right place to be. We should feel thankful that the God who created the universe, also took the time to create us and sent his son to die so that we can join him in heaven. Seems to me that that King dumb here may have been missing that point as well as all the others he has been missing. You see it doesn’t matter how big you think you are, it doesn’t matter how talented you think you are, your achievements are tiny compared to the God who created the universe. That’s not to say that you should not be pleased with your achievements but you might want to ask yourself if you are including God in what you are doing. Daniel is telling The King here that he is going to find out how small a king he really is compared to the King of the Heavens if he doesn’t get his act into gear soon. Do we have success in our lives, that we put down to who we are and not the grace of God who has given us talents? Have we achieved small or large things that we have not thanked God for? Why not take the time today to thank God for all your gifts and achievements, because he wants to share in those with you.

Dumb, dumb, dumb. Why is it that even after seeing the results that calling on the creator God can have the king still leaves God to last? He has a dream and so what does he do? He calls the magicians, he calls the enchanters, he calls the fortune-tellers, and he even calls the witches. He does all this before he suddenly remembers Daniel the guy that introduced God to him last time. The only problem is that sometimes I am dumb, dumb, dumb. Sometimes when I have a problem in my life I speak to my mates, I check out the internet, I even speak to those people who are not my mates. Sometimes it’s only as a last resort that I call on the name of my God. Why is it when we speak to the God who created all these people we would rather go to them then him? Maybe because we doubt him, maybe because we doubt our faith, maybe because we doubt we are good enough for him to be interested. Whatever the reason it’s trash. Our God is massive and he loves me, he loves you so much he would give up his own son for us. Do you think maybe next time we have a problem God should be our first place to turn to. He might use our mates, he might even use the internet, but lets trust in him rather than anything else.

Dumb, dumb, dumb. Why is it that even after seeing the results that calling on the creator God can have the king still leaves God to last? He has a dream and so what does he do? He calls the magicians, he calls the enchanters, he calls the fortune-tellers, and he even calls the witches. He does all this before he suddenly remembers Daniel the guy that introduced God to him last time. The only problem is that sometimes I am dumb, dumb, dumb. Sometimes when I have a problem in my life I speak to my mates, I check out the internet, I even speak to those people who are not my mates. Sometimes it’s only as a last resort that I call on the name of my God. Why is it when we speak to the God who created all these people we would rather go to them then him? Maybe because we doubt him, maybe because we doubt our faith, maybe because we doubt we are good enough for him to be interested. Whatever the reason it’s trash. Our God is massive and he loves me, he loves you so much he would give up his own son for us. Do you think maybe next time we have a problem God should be our first place to turn to. He might use our mates, he might even use the internet, but lets trust in him rather than anything else.

Finally the King is beginning to get the idea. He finally realises that our God is the only true God. So now he will become a Christian and suddenly everything will be OK. Or on the other hand he might just threaten to rip into little pieces anyone who doesn’t worship our God. Now we know this King isn’t the brightest spark in the world but he really has some way to go before he is to live the life that God want’s him to live. But actually his is just an extreme version of many of us. Do you have mates who say they are Christian, but continuously seem to make wrong decisions. Maybe you feel like you stuff up. Maybe like me you look back at things you did even just a little while ago and you know you would never do them now. Does that mean that you weren’t a Christian then? Does it mean that because you mates muck up they aren’t Christians? Let me say it loud and clear NO. You are still a Christian, they are still Christians, they and us are just learning as we go. That’s one of the great things about God he teaches us as we go. And because Jesus died on the cross for us, we can say sorry and ask for forgiveness as we discover where we have mucked up. So as you continue trying to be the best Christian you can be, remember the King. Remember the fact that we all muck up sometimes and just because you know Jesus doesn’t mean you won’t muck up too. Oh and try not to rip apart anyone just because they don’t know God.

Finally the King is beginning to get the idea. He finally realises that our God is the only true God. So now he will become a Christian and suddenly everything will be OK. Or on the other hand he might just threaten to rip into little pieces anyone who doesn’t worship our God. Now we know this King isn’t the brightest spark in the world but he really has some way to go before he is to live the life that God want’s him to live. But actually his is just an extreme version of many of us. Do you have mates who say they are Christian, but continuously seem to make wrong decisions. Maybe you feel like you stuff up. Maybe like me you look back at things you did even just a little while ago and you know you would never do them now. Does that mean that you weren’t a Christian then? Does it mean that because you mates muck up they aren’t Christians? Let me say it loud and clear NO. You are still a Christian, they are still Christians, they and us are just learning as we go. That’s one of the great things about God he teaches us as we go. And because Jesus died on the cross for us, we can say sorry and ask for forgiveness as we discover where we have mucked up. So as you continue trying to be the best Christian you can be, remember the King. Remember the fact that we all muck up sometimes and just because you know Jesus doesn’t mean you won’t muck up too. Oh and try not to rip apart anyone just because they don’t know God.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego may well sound like some sort of dodgey 1970s pop band but they were actually the main men. These were not guys who just went to Church on Sunday and then ignored Jesus whilst they were at school or college. These guys didn’t pretend to worship the creator God and then spend their live’s worshiping some other god, sport or pop band. No They had such faith in their God that they were willing to be persecuted, tortured and even put to death in a fiery furnace rather then worship some false god. That’s incredible, that is living life to full. If only there were people, we could look up to today who had such a love for Christ. Then we could look to them as examples of how to remain strong in our faith whatever the situation. Of course by now you release that there are such people alive today. People who are persecuted, locked up and sometimes tortured because they dare to say Jesus is Lord. Worldwide there are Christians who are locked away and put to death just because they meet together, like Christ told us to do. Christian Solidarity Worldwide is charity that helps as many of these people as possible. They help by raising awareness; they help by praying they help by writing to the persecuted Christians, and the governments that are persecuting them. So what, what does that mean to you? It means two things. Firstly there are Christians who you can look to as an example. The next time someone has a go at you because you are a Christian, think of these Christians who are persecuted because of their faith. Praying for one of them will help you to put things into perspective, and you will know that the same God who loves them also loves you. Secondly you can put Gods love into action you can go to www.csw.org.uk and download their “Connect and Encourage” booklet. Then you can write to a fellow Christian who is being persecuted and help them know that there is young person the other side of the world who is praying for them. Can you imagine the impact that might have? You can impact a fellow Christian who is halfway across the world and shine a little of Christ love into their life.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego may well sound like some sort of dodgey 1970s pop band but they were actually the main men. These were not guys who just went to Church on Sunday and then ignored Jesus whilst they were at school or college. These guys didn’t pretend to worship the creator God and then spend their live’s worshiping some other god, sport or pop band. No They had such faith in their God that they were willing to be persecuted, tortured and even put to death in a fiery furnace rather then worship some false god. That’s incredible, that is living life to full. If only there were people, we could look up to today who had such a love for Christ. Then we could look to them as examples of how to remain strong in our faith whatever the situation. Of course by now you release that there are such people alive today. People who are persecuted, locked up and sometimes tortured because they dare to say Jesus is Lord. Worldwide there are Christians who are locked away and put to death just because they meet together, like Christ told us to do. Christian Solidarity Worldwide is charity that helps as many of these people as possible. They help by raising awareness; they help by praying they help by writing to the persecuted Christians, and the governments that are persecuting them. So what, what does that mean to you? It means two things. Firstly there are Christians who you can look to as an example. The next time someone has a go at you because you are a Christian, think of these Christians who are persecuted because of their faith. Praying for one of them will help you to put things into perspective, and you will know that the same God who loves them also loves you. Secondly you can put Gods love into action you can go to www.csw.org.uk and download their “Connect and Encourage” booklet. Then you can write to a fellow Christian who is being persecuted and help them know that there is young person the other side of the world who is praying for them. Can you imagine the impact that might have? You can impact a fellow Christian who is halfway across the world and shine a little of Christ love into their life.

Some people just don’t get it do they? Daniel has done OK he’s told the king what God has said to him and the King is gob-smacked. The king can’t believe what’s gone on and can’t work out how Daniel knows what he knows. He’s missed the point that it is all Gods work, even though Daniel told him. The King even says hey Daniel your Gods the main man, but then goes on to worship Daniel, how dumb can you get? But this might happen to you as well. If you are living life to the full and following what Jesus says then you will find people start asking questions. Question like “why did you take an interest in me when no one else does”? Questions like “why did you help me with my garden, for nothing”? Hopefully your answer will include the fact that God would want you to do these things. But don’t be surprised if just like the king, the people you are helping need to ask the question a few times before the penny drops. However one day they question they ask won’t be why, it will be can you tell me more about Jesus.

Some people just don’t get it do they? Daniel has done OK he’s told the king what God has said to him and the King is gob-smacked. The king can’t believe what’s gone on and can’t work out how Daniel knows what he knows. He’s missed the point that it is all Gods work, even though Daniel told him. The King even says hey Daniel your Gods the main man, but then goes on to worship Daniel, how dumb can you get? But this might happen to you as well. If you are living life to the full and following what Jesus says then you will find people start asking questions. Question like “why did you take an interest in me when no one else does”? Questions like “why did you help me with my garden, for nothing”? Hopefully your answer will include the fact that God would want you to do these things. But don’t be surprised if just like the king, the people you are helping need to ask the question a few times before the penny drops. However one day they question they ask won’t be why, it will be can you tell me more about Jesus.

I don’t know about you, but when ever I do something, I wonder what people are going to think of me. When I talk to a group, I hope my mates like what I say, and that it will make me look good. When I’m playing sport, I’m thinking I hope I score that will make me look good. When I’m off out for the night, I’m thinking how can I dress so I look good. That doesn’t seem to be the same for Daniel. He strolls up to the kings and says I can tell you what your dream means, but it’s not me that has done it. He says God has told me about your dream, it’s nothing I have done. That’s a slightly different way of looking at things isn’t it? Perhaps I could look at things the way Daniel does, perhaps you could look at the way Daniel does. Maybe when I am talking in front of people and it goes well, I can remember it was God I prayed to before I started, it was God who gave me the words I needed. Maybe when you do well at sport, you could remember it was God who created you, it was God who gave you the skill. So the next time you have something big that you want to do, pray to the God who created the universe before you start. Then when things go well and everyone is saying how well you have done; you can thank them with a smile, and remind them it was God who gave you all that you needed to compete the job. Because just maybe it isn’t all about us, just maybe it’s all about our God.

I don’t know about you, but when ever I do something, I wonder what people are going to think of me. When I talk to a group, I hope my mates like what I say, and that it will make me look good. When I’m playing sport, I’m thinking I hope I score that will make me look good. When I’m off out for the night, I’m thinking how can I dress so I look good. That doesn’t seem to be the same for Daniel. He strolls up to the kings and says I can tell you what your dream means, but it’s not me that has done it. He says God has told me about your dream, it’s nothing I have done. That’s a slightly different way of looking at things isn’t it? Perhaps I could look at things the way Daniel does, perhaps you could look at the way Daniel does. Maybe when I am talking in front of people and it goes well, I can remember it was God I prayed to before I started, it was God who gave me the words I needed. Maybe when you do well at sport, you could remember it was God who created you, it was God who gave you the skill. So the next time you have something big that you want to do, pray to the God who created the universe before you start. Then when things go well and everyone is saying how well you have done; you can thank them with a smile, and remind them it was God who gave you all that you needed to compete the job. Because just maybe it isn’t all about us, just maybe it’s all about our God.

There are times when we feel completely connected with God. Gods cool you feel like he is speaking to you and that’s great. And there are times when you wonder what is going on, and you are not sure if God is speaking to you. And actually whilst it is frustrating, often your uncertainty doesn’t matter too much. Gods where he is, he hasn’t moved, it’s just our faith. But actually it doesn’t impact, us too much, our friends don’t know, and school or college is still ticking along. And there are times when we aren’t sure if we arte hearing from God, but the brief glimpse we think we see of God will have a big impact on our friends and family around us. What do we do when we think we have heard from God, but are sure, do we bury the idea and hope that God speaks to them directly? Daniel has prayed to God and asked for an answer to the Kings dream. Do you think Daniel knew for certain what the answer was, or do you think he may have had some doubt? Maybe Daniel should have waited, but he doesn’t, he goes back to the kings advisers and says I think God has spoken. That’s where the rubber meets the road. Passing on what God has said to you takes courage and faith. The courage to make sure what we think God has said is the same as what he says in the Bible, The Courage to say to someone you should pray about this, but I think God is trying to say, and then telling them. The faith to know that God doesn’t move away from us and if we hear from him for someone we know, we have a duty to tell them.

There are times when we feel completely connected with God. Gods cool you feel like he is speaking to you and that’s great. And there are times when you wonder what is going on, and you are not sure if God is speaking to you. And actually whilst it is frustrating, often your uncertainty doesn’t matter too much. Gods where he is, he hasn’t moved, it’s just our faith. But actually it doesn’t impact, us too much, our friends don’t know, and school or college is still ticking along. And there are times when we aren’t sure if we arte hearing from God, but the brief glimpse we think we see of God will have a big impact on our friends and family around us. What do we do when we think we have heard from God, but are sure, do we bury the idea and hope that God speaks to them directly? Daniel has prayed to God and asked for an answer to the Kings dream. Do you think Daniel knew for certain what the answer was, or do you think he may have had some doubt? Maybe Daniel should have waited, but he doesn’t, he goes back to the kings advisers and says I think God has spoken. That’s where the rubber meets the road. Passing on what God has said to you takes courage and faith. The courage to make sure what we think God has said is the same as what he says in the Bible, The Courage to say to someone you should pray about this, but I think God is trying to say, and then telling them. The faith to know that God doesn’t move away from us and if we hear from him for someone we know, we have a duty to tell them.

So it starts like this. I have this problem, with a project I’m working on. It could be a school report, it could be a college essay, it’s just a problem I have. So what do I do? Well firstly I shake myself up and say, “come on I can resolve this problem, I can fix it.” Then eventually I get frustrated and turn to my mates for help, no joy there either they are just as stumped as me. Now I’m getting really mad and running out of options, so whom do I turn to? As a last resort I turn to my family or parents and ask them for help. They can’t help either so I blow my top at the people I am closest with. “For crying out loud why can’t you help, can’t you see this is a real problem in my life, don’t you care?” I’m acting just like the king does in this passage, maybe a little less extreme, I’m probably not going to cut someone’s head off, but never the less I do hurt those who are closest to me and they have not done anything to deserve being hurt. Now I know you would never do that, you would never have a go at a friend, or family because you are having a problem at school or college. So what would you do? What should I do? What Should The King have done? Well just maybe instead of going to all types of fake fortune-tellers, or random people, perhaps we all should go to the God who created the entire universe. Perhaps, just perhaps, the God who created this planet might be able to resolve our problems. If we go to God in prayer whenever we need help or are confused then we can ask him for guidance. What do you think?

So it starts like this. I have this problem, with a project I’m working on. It could be a school report, it could be a college essay, it’s just a problem I have. So what do I do? Well firstly I shake myself up and say, “come on I can resolve this problem, I can fix it.” Then eventually I get frustrated and turn to my mates for help, no joy there either they are just as stumped as me. Now I’m getting really mad and running out of options, so whom do I turn to? As a last resort I turn to my family or parents and ask them for help. They can’t help either so I blow my top at the people I am closest with. “For crying out loud why can’t you help, can’t you see this is a real problem in my life, don’t you care?” I’m acting just like the king does in this passage, maybe a little less extreme, I’m probably not going to cut someone’s head off, but never the less I do hurt those who are closest to me and they have not done anything to deserve being hurt. Now I know you would never do that, you would never have a go at a friend, or family because you are having a problem at school or college. So what would you do? What should I do? What Should The King have done? Well just maybe instead of going to all types of fake fortune-tellers, or random people, perhaps we all should go to the God who created the entire universe. Perhaps, just perhaps, the God who created this planet might be able to resolve our problems. If we go to God in prayer whenever we need help or are confused then we can ask him for guidance. What do you think?

Honour God and he will honour us. Daniel stepped out and did what he thought God wanted him to do and he was rewarded over and over again. He might have thought that living on vegetables was not his idea of a good time, but he felt that for him it was right to do. Gods like that, when we do what is correct in his eyes, he rewards us. Often the thought of what we need to do is worse then the actual action. In the same way as when you are sitting at home and it’s raining outside the idea of going for a run is one of the last things you want to do. But if you do go for a run, running in the rain is often nicer then running in the sun, and afterwards you feel great. Maybe the thought of giving up an hour a week to go to a small group of mates to learn more about God may seem dull. But once you go you faith will grow as you and they encourage one another. The idea of helping the old woman down the road seems a bit of a bind, but you know God has asked us to look after widows and orphans. Do you think God might smile down on you if he sees you living out what Jesus said? A friend of mine once said that doing something for thirty days makes it a habit. Daniel only asked for ten days to prove that God would honour his commitment, imagine what God could do with thirty days. Is there something that you feel God would have you do? Maybe it’s making a habit of talking to that guy at school or college that know one else speaks to? Maybe it’s as simple as encouraging your leaders or parents. Give it the thirty-day test and not only will it become a habit, but I believe God will respond as well.

Honour God and he will honour us. Daniel stepped out and did what he thought God wanted him to do and he was rewarded over and over again. He might have thought that living on vegetables was not his idea of a good time, but he felt that for him it was right to do. Gods like that, when we do what is correct in his eyes, he rewards us. Often the thought of what we need to do is worse then the actual action. In the same way as when you are sitting at home and it’s raining outside the idea of going for a run is one of the last things you want to do. But if you do go for a run, running in the rain is often nicer then running in the sun, and afterwards you feel great. Maybe the thought of giving up an hour a week to go to a small group of mates to learn more about God may seem dull. But once you go you faith will grow as you and they encourage one another. The idea of helping the old woman down the road seems a bit of a bind, but you know God has asked us to look after widows and orphans. Do you think God might smile down on you if he sees you living out what Jesus said? A friend of mine once said that doing something for thirty days makes it a habit. Daniel only asked for ten days to prove that God would honour his commitment, imagine what God could do with thirty days. Is there something that you feel God would have you do? Maybe it’s making a habit of talking to that guy at school or college that know one else speaks to? Maybe it’s as simple as encouraging your leaders or parents. Give it the thirty-day test and not only will it become a habit, but I believe God will respond as well.

Straight from the beginning of Daniel we find out that Daniel is a man who puts God first. Forget what everyone else thinks, forget what his mates thinks, Daniel will do what is right in the eyes of God. It’s not important whether its right to eat certain foods or not today. What is important is Daniel believed that God wanted him to behave in a certain way, and the King wanted him to behave in another way. Let me say that again more clearly. Daniel had a choice, he felt God say to act one way and everyone else around him said that he should behave in the opposite way. Does that ring a bell? Do you ever feel God is asking you to behave one way whilst your mates demand that you behave in another way to be accepted into their group? Note how Daniel doesn’t get uptight and tell the head of the palace to forget it. No Daniel calmly stands strong, holds on to God and asks the head of the palace to consider his request. Now Daniel can use this as an opportunity to explain to the king’s staff why he wants to honour God. When we are asked to do things that we know are not Gods plans for us how do we react? Do we make excuses? Do we tell people how bad they are? Or do we use it as an opportunity to explain why we think that God would have us do something different? In another part of the bible we are told to be in the world but not of the world. That simply means that we can hang around with people who are not yet Christians, but should not act like people who are not yet Christians. Daniel is a great example of what it is to hang round with people who don’t know Jesus, but to show them that following Jesus is different, and better.

Straight from the beginning of Daniel we find out that Daniel is a man who puts God first. Forget what everyone else thinks, forget what his mates thinks, Daniel will do what is right in the eyes of God. It’s not important whether its right to eat certain foods or not today. What is important is Daniel believed that God wanted him to behave in a certain way, and the King wanted him to behave in another way. Let me say that again more clearly. Daniel had a choice, he felt God say to act one way and everyone else around him said that he should behave in the opposite way. Does that ring a bell? Do you ever feel God is asking you to behave one way whilst your mates demand that you behave in another way to be accepted into their group? Note how Daniel doesn’t get uptight and tell the head of the palace to forget it. No Daniel calmly stands strong, holds on to God and asks the head of the palace to consider his request. Now Daniel can use this as an opportunity to explain to the king’s staff why he wants to honour God. When we are asked to do things that we know are not Gods plans for us how do we react? Do we make excuses? Do we tell people how bad they are? Or do we use it as an opportunity to explain why we think that God would have us do something different? In another part of the bible we are told to be in the world but not of the world. That simply means that we can hang around with people who are not yet Christians, but should not act like people who are not yet Christians. Daniel is a great example of what it is to hang round with people who don’t know Jesus, but to show them that following Jesus is different, and better.