Chapter 1
And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. Daniel 1:19 – These four guys were taken from their homes and for three full years they we taught all sorts of learning and literature. All this was to prepare them to stand before the king to see if they would be of use to him in the future. What we see after all this prep time was they were found to be ten times better at helping the king than even the magicians and enchanters he had around him. While we may not like the situations we find ourselves in and the holding pattern is much longer than we want it to be, lean in deep to whatever you can learn even in these times. These four did and as a result they found their voices being heard by the king, able to speak into the life of the most powerful man in the world at that time. So take advantage of whatever you can be learning now, wherever you are at. It’s our prepping time for whatever is to come next. Who knows what God has in store for our future or who we will be able to speak into. Let’s not let these valuable, yet sometimes difficult, times pass without taking all we can from them to bring into our next chapter so we can do even greater things for God there. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1557
And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. Daniel 1:19-20 – During the Babylon invasion of Judah, the king of Babylon took many of the young men into his service. He feed them, educated them, and trained them for three years, all to indoctrinate them into the Babylonian lifestyle so they could serve his kingdom well. The above four young men were a few of the ones chosen for such training. While they existed in Babylon for these years, under the training of Babylon, and being forced into the service of Babylon, they never compromised their faith. One commentary said it this way, “They were in Babylon, but not of Babylon.” We too are called to be in the world, but not of the world. While they excelled in their learnings and became greater in the kingdom than any of the other servants, their faith in God remained steadfast. How are we doing at this today? Are we separating from the world? Are we becoming like the world? Are we settling with less than excellence at what God has called us to? If yes is our answer to any of those questions, let us be willing to acknowledge that and ask why that is. We are called to be within the lost world yet living differently than the world does, and fulfilling our God given calling with excellence for Him. So maybe the takeaway from this chapter isn’t to just eat more vegetables. It’s to understand while on this side of Heaven we’re in “Babylon,” but we don’t have to live as Babylonians. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2739
Chapter 2
But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. Daniel 2:30 – This past Wednesday I shared with our church youth group that when we see the miracles in the Bible done through people that it wasn’t the people’s power that made it all happen. It was God working through them that made the miraculous take place. Here Daniel agrees with that and points the king to where the power was truly coming from. It wasn’t Daniel, it wasn’t Daniel’s power, it was Daniel choosing to be an available tool for God to use as He needed. This is what we see in each of these stories from scripture, there was a person who was available to God. God is still wanting to move mightily today like we see play out in scripture. Does He know you’re available to be used? Have you made yourself a useful tool? See you may be available like that one knife you have that never really cuts well that you always pass by when choosing a knife. It’s always there, but it’s not ready to do what needs to be done. So let God know you’re available to be used by Him and seek to rid yourself of anything that would make yourself less useful to Him. Let’s together see what great things God can do through us. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1558
Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Daniel 2:17-18 – Let’s set the context here…A emperor has given the command to kill all the wise men in his empire because they can’t tell and explain to him a dream. Since you’re a wise man, the guards are at your door ready to execute you, but you request time to seek the Lord in this matter. You need to know someone else’s dream and know the meaning of it, and if you don’t, your life, the life of your friends, and many others will be ended. Lots of pressure. Daniel though made two wise choices when the pressure was on that we too can make. Turn to God and seek God with others. Daniel knew what he needed could be only found in the Lord, so he went to the Lord. Daniel also knew that God had blessed him with other followers of God alongside him, so rather than seeking the Lord alone, he sought the Lord with others. While the pressure for you may not be like Daniel’s, we are being taught how to handle whatever sort of pressure comes our way today. First, acknowledge what you need comes from God, so first look to Him for what only He can give. Second, acknowledge that God’s design is for you to handle life and the pursuit of Him with other followers of God. Any way you look at this, God’s design was never for you to navigate life and His calling alone. Look to Him, walk with others, and fulfill what He is calling you to do. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2740
Chapter 3
If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. Daniel 3:17-18 – This isn’t the three guys doubting God in His ability. They aren’t questioning whether or not God could save them from the end that the king was creating for them. They just understood a truth that we must understand too. That sometimes God’s plans aren’t our plans. Yes, He was able and yes God was fully aware of what was happening and what they were to go through. The three men though understood that God may handle this differently than they want, and that was okay with them. For us, God may not bring that healing. God may not fix that situation. God may not bring them back. Our question either way things go down is does God have our devotion? God’s ways may very well be exactly what we expect them to be and want them to be; they very well may be the exact opposite of that though. Regardless, does He have your devotion? While things may not happen like we want or ask them to, He has shown Himself worthy in all other parts of our story of being someone to follow. Trust Him then when we get thrown into the fire. Continue to trust Him even if you begin to feel the flames. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1559
Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Daniel 3:28 – How is your trust in the Lord doing today? Know I ask this not to solely direct the question to you, but also at myself this morning. For we have a wonderful story of provision for those who made the choice to trust in the Lord. These three faithful men, when confronted with a powerful king and a fiery furnace chose to trust the Lord and not even make one single argument or excuse to get out of the trial they were in. Their trust even went so far to express they would continue to be faithful to God even if He didn’t do as they hoped He would. Likely you’re not standing at the mouth of a fiery furnace, but you are likely somehow needing to trust God with something today. Maybe it’s with your finances, or with the health of someone in your family, or with your kid that is leaving for college, or with the ministry that you’re a part of. Likely there is something in your life that is beyond your control, and despite your best efforts at keeping control, you realize that’s just not possible. Again then, how is your trust in the Lord doing? Has He ever proven to be untrustworthy within your life? Has He ever proven to be untrustworthy in scripture? Know He isn’t about to break His track record of trustworthiness with your life. You have another in this fire with you, and He is good on His promises to His faithful. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2741
Chapter 4
And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. Daniel 4:26 – What a crazy story we read about here within this passage. A king losing his mind and going to live like a beast in the field for around seven years. Yet when he turned his eyes to God everything was restored to him. As we read the whole passage we see that God’s heart for the king was to turn it to Himself. God wanted Nebuchadnezzar to know it is Lord who rules and it’s the Lord who gives dominion to kings. He wanted the king to learn, not to be destroyed which is why we see in the dream this stump remaining. Yes the Lord was going to cut down the tree, but the stump was to remain to show He had still future plans for the king. Keep this in mind when we too find ourself in the “teaching” seasons of life, when God is shaping or redirecting us. He hasn’t just wiped us out, He is choosing to teach us and shape us. He still has plans for us and He still wants to use us. These seasons of being taught and reshaped are never easy but take the fact that you’re still here and in them as a sign that God still sees a great possible future in you and great things can be done through you. Seek to learn what He is showing you and continue to walk faithfully even when the season you’re in isn’t great. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1560
At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. Daniel 4:36 – Could you ever imagine a scene like this chapter playing out in our day? Where a world leader loses their mind and for seven years is behaving like an ox out in the fields. Then they are restored in mind and restored back to power. Truly only God could have made all this unfold! With this restoring to power and glory for Nebuchadnezzar (Nebu), we see that God’s desires was not to simply bring him low and humiliate him. It was to bring Nebu to Himself. God gave Nebu dreams, interpreters of those dreams, the truths of God being spoken by Daniel, and even time to repent of His ways. Yet when Nebu still didn’t turn, God humbled Nebu in this unique way we read, not with the end all goal to humiliate, but to help Nebu understand his place when standing before God. We too may not understand why God does things in our life or in the lives of others. Those seven years must have been so confusing for the Babylonians. God though has His purpose, and the purpose is for all to see Him in the proper way. As sovereign, as Lord, as the sustainer to all life, and as the only means to eternal salvation in Heaven. Sometimes seasons of humility are given to help our eyes see God like we are supposed to. Let us then turn our eyes to God today and see Him like He declares Himself to be in His word. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2742
Chapter 5
There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers…Daniel 5:11 – Live for God in such a way that your faithfulness precedes you. His steadfastness in his pursuit of God was well known so when the time came for the king to need God’s help people knew where to reach out. This opens up even more of a reason why we should remain faithful each day. Maybe today we aren’t going to find ourselves in the presence of a king helping him. Yet today is our day to show the world around us who we follow and whose we are. So when that day does arise where a devoted follower of God is needed, people know where to look. Straight at you. It may not be to interpret a king’s dream but it may be to help someone with a spiritual question or to help someone understand salvation better. Let’s seek to live in such a way today that those around us know in their distress and questions of tomorrow we are a resource of help to them. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1561
And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this…Daniel 5:22 – It’s been about 25-30 years since the events of chapter 4. Not an actual son of Nebuchadnezzar, but a “son” by being a predecessor to the throne of Babylon. Like Nebu though, Belshazzar acted boastfully, mocking the Lord by his actions and words. After the Lord uniquely, and literally, made the writing on the wall clear to see for Belshazzar, Daniel is brought in and speaks to the king the meaning on God’s message. Note though Daniel’s words in our passage above, “though you knew all this.” Belshazzar would have clearly known the events of Nebu’s season of insanity and that it was a result of him not giving glory to God. Now, Belshazzar, on the same throne, is doing the very same thing in taking the glory all for himself. He knew better, but still moved forward with sin. How often though in our story do we know what sin will cause, but we still say yes to it anyways. We know it will displease God, hurt our relationships, and give the enemy what he wants. We know that God has called us away from it and we’ve seen what our sin led Jesus to do on the cross. Yet even with all that knowledge, we still say that comment or look at that thing or partake in it one more time. Let us be honest with ourselves, we know better. It’s not that we don’t know its sin. Let us then today seek the Lord to have Him help us see our sin like He does. For while in our eyes it’s a tempting treat, to the Lord it’s a condemning curse. Let us learn from the examples of our past, humble our heart before the Lord, and know better when it comes to our sin. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2743
Chapter 6
As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever!” Daniel 6:20-21 – Where the world expects to hear silence we can be a voice speaking of the goodness of God. This was a lions den, other than the loud roars of the lions and the screams of those who unfortunately found themselves thrown in there, the only sounds were that of silence and death. Yet the king cries out into the den and hopes for a voice to come out of where no one would expect a voice to come from. What the king hears is more than just the voice of Daniel, he hears there is a God who is more powerful than death. What would be the lion’s den of today? What would be the places the world would expect to hear nothing from that we could be a voice there speaking of the goodness and greatness of God? Possibly when they are in lowest season of life crying out to something we can be there speaking into them. Or maybe it’s a church who refuses to stay silent about the injustice around them when typically all the world hears from them is silence. We have a voice, you have a voice, use it to break the silence of death so people can begin to hear of the goodness of God. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1562
Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.” Daniel 6:4-5 – One commentary on this passage said how amazing would it be to have a leader in our day today where after over 50 years in public service there could be found no fault or complaint. While likely none of us reading this are applying for roles like president of a country or queen, this passage still sets a high standard of living that we ought to learn from. Daniel lived in such a respectful way with the world that no grounds of even a complaint over his life could be found. Could that be said of us today? Daniel also lived so faithfully that even his enemies knew that when persecution came, Daniel would remain faithful. Would we remain faithful in persecution and would those around us say that of us? While Daniel is sure setting a high standard of living, it simply is the example that Jesus set for us to follow too. To live at peace with those around you, to serve the governing body over you as far as it doesn’t compromise your obedience to God, and to remain faithful to God even when the world is seeking to condemn you. Yes, this is a high standard of living, but what we learn from such stories in Daniel is that when we live faithfully for the Lord, in the good and hard times, people see. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2744
Chapter 7
As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Daniel 7:21-22 – As much as I’ve studied the passages concerning end times, and even just this morning pouring through multiple commentaries to understand what I’m reading, I see just how much I’m the opposite of an expert here with this part of scripture. So don’t feel discouraged if all this is doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t fully to me either! We though can lean into it to find some truths and encouragement for today. Like here, we read about how evil will have its way and even prevail over the saints, but then we see the word that changes everything…until. Evil was winning until God stepped in. This is something we see in the past, something we will see take place in the future, and something we need to remember about right now. Yes, sometimes it can seem like evil is finding victory in our life. That is until God steps in and changes the course of the battle. Trust God sees the evil happening in our world. Why this evil is being allowed to find any victory at all is beyond my understanding, but what I see it that its victories will end and God will come through over all. Take comfort in knowing there is an “until” to all this. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1563
I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. Daniel 7:11 – Gone are the Sunday School stories of Daniel and now we into the prophetic portion of Daniel where we are given visions and interpretations of things pasts and things to come. First, I encourage you to go deeper in your studies on these things than we can go here in our short devotionals, but we will do what we can here at explaining! We are getting a vision much like the dream of Nebu in chapter 2. Four beasts representing 4 world powers in the timeline of God’s plan. The fourth empire, the one that caught Daniel’s attention the most, also has a unique “horn” that grows from it that speaks great words that will wear down the saints and be against the Lord. For a time this horn, which I believe to be the future Antichrist, will have power and will seek to tear down the name of our God. Yet, God beautifully reminds us of the end story of the Antichrist, destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. I love how verse 21-22 puts it, that the horn will make war and prevail over them, that is until the Ancient of Days (God) comes. Making this all applicable for us today, know God knows the future and has detailed plans already to take down the enemy of His people. He’s establishing in His word already the downfall of the ones that will come against Him and His people. Whether it’s the Antichrist, some other sinful leader, of even Satan himself, God is clear here who is ultimately in control and who will eternally sit on the throne of Heaven. Praise Jesus that we serve such a mighty God like our God! I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2745
Chapter 8
When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” Daniel 8:15-16 – When we seek to understand, God will make things known. Daniel here saw some interesting things in his vision and sought to know what they meant. Immediately we have God offering the details Daniel needed. Now as we see at the end, Daniel still didn’t fully understand everything even after being told, but God still didn’t leave him in his confusion and wondering. What we must remember is that God seeks to be known by us. He isn’t trying to cloud Himself in mystery so we can never grasp at all who He is or what His heart is for. This is why He gave us scripture so we can read and learn about Him. This is why He sent Jesus, so we could get to know the Father and seek a relationship with Him. Of course there will be things we just can’t ever fully understand about God and the way He works, but know God wants to be known and understood by us. Each day then let’s seek to know Him better. If He’s offering the chance to know Him better today, let’s not pass that up. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1564
And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it. Daniel 8:27 – Daniel is given another vision of things to come for him. He was given a view of the future powers of the Persians and the Greeks, and from them such turmoil would come for God’s people. We also see all this vision spoke to the same sort of message Daniel got from his first vision about what is still to come for us in the end of days. Whether it was the terrors God’s people would see with the world powers of Daniel’s day or the terrors God speaks of in the end of days, I bet this was sickening and disturbing for Daniel. Why would such power be allowed to the enemy and why would such a season of victory be given to the enemy like this? Truly this is a hard question for us today to understand and it’s sickening to us when we see the enemy find victory in our lives or the world we live in. When God is all-powerful and sovereign even over the enemy, why is there ever times like these we are reading about in scripture? What I know is God’s plans are perfect, even when I don’t understand them. I also know He allows individuals, churches, and nations to choose sin and experience the consequences of such a choice, and the turmoil we read about in scripture is the consequences of the choice to pursue sin over the Lord. Let us then trust God when His moves don’t make sense to us and let us make the choice to remain in a faithful pursuit of Him. Let us keep about our King’s business even though we may not understand everything going on and to come. Thankfully we serve a loving God who has proven to be trustworthy, so when we don’t understand all the things, we can still faithfully serve the Lord. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2746
Chapter 9
O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. Daniel 9:18 – You are highly favored and loved by God. God looked at you and saw you worth doing everything He did on the cross for. You are a beloved, you are wanted by Him, and you have immense value to Him. That all said, we must understand it’s not our goodness or righteousness that allows us to come before His presence. It’s His great mercy that opens the doors and allows us to come close to Him. It’s not a result of anything we’ve done or anything we made ourselves be that gives us the right to come, speak, and even plea like we see done in our passage. Its because God has chosen to love us and has chosen to show us great mercy. That means the next time you slip up, you’re still welcomed into His presence afterward. That means even if we don’t do everything perfect we can still come to Him. Even if we don’t understand everything, God allows us to come close and speak to Him. Know today you’re allowed and welcomed to approach the Father all because of His great mercy. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1565
He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. Daniel 9:22 – Note, I’m not the best at understanding the depths of biblical prophecy. I love to learn and study it, and to seek to understand it the best I can, but there are often times I am left in confusion and wondering about what I am reading. Maybe you as well find yourself there, especially when we read passage like these in Daniel. Even Daniel himself notes in this chapter that it was only after his own reading of Jeremiah for a while that he understood the idea of 70 years. Yet, in his time of deep prayer to the Lord, this is when God gave him true understand of the passage and what was to come. Allow us then to find ourselves deeply in prayer when we come across passage that we don’t understand. Spurgeon even quotes that when we are deep in the pages of scripture, commentaries, and scholars, be sure to “mingle much fervent prayer” for real understanding. So don’t be discouraged if as you are reading these passages the meaning isn’t clear and you are left confused. The Author of these pages is still alive and welcomes those seeking to understand His words. Find time to approach the Lord with your questions, seek a deeper understanding, and continue to dig deeper into His word. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2747
Chapter 10
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. Daniel 10:1 – By this time Daniel would have been getting quite old, at least in his nineties. Yet through many years and many changes in leadership, Daniel stayed true to God. I know many are concerned and caught up in the ever changing political world we are in. While it is good for us who believe in Jesus to be aware of what’s happening and stand for what we believe in, we must remember who is going to be on the throne at the end of all this. Look at the long term picture, in 100 years from now every leader right now will gone. Not a single one will be in the position they are in, only in history books will they still have a place. Yet God will remain on His throne. So let’s be more like Daniel here where when things in the world change we stay constant after God. New leaders will arise, new laws we be formed, new persecution will be felt, and new opportunities to show God’s never ending love will be given to us. If God is remaining constant, we can too. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1566
So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. 9 Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground. Daniel 10:8-9 – Daniel, while standing on the bank of a river, receives a vision from the Lord, yet the reaction and emotions displayed by Daniel is seemingly peculiar. Isn’t Daniel a super faithful man? Hasn’t he been told he was great loved by God already in another vision and is reaffirmed of that truth here? Yet when this heavenly being shows up on the scene, Daniel falls to the ground in terror, face in the dirt, trembling the entire time. Maybe the reason why we think Daniel’s reaction seems peculiar is because we like to elevate the glory of man too high and lower the glory of God too low. We think that there really isn’t much of a gap between the glory of man and God, so when God shows up on the scene in front of us, we’re ready to have a conversation with Him and ready to point out all the things we see wrong happening. Let though this passage establish the gap between man’s glory and God’s glory. When this heavenly being shows up, even the most faithful, beloved man is in terror on the ground. God’s glory is so far beyond our comprehension and so far separated from our glory. While we may stand in a defiant posture, ready to argue with God and tell Him our thoughts on things, if God truly showed up in all His glory, you wouldn’t even be able to breath let alone argue with Him. Thankfully though we have a God that in all His glory still lovingly touches us, tells us to not fear, and to stand before Him. Today, dwell on how you would truly react if God in His glory stood before you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more- Mac – Daily DEVO 2748
Chapter 11
And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. Daniel 11:33 – Within this chapter we see a lot of prophecy given concerning different kings and powers. There is talk of kingdoms rising, kingdoms falling, and a persecution of God’s people. With our verse we see that despite the strength of the king and the flattering voices of the enemy some will continue to stand and speak the truth of God. They will still feel the pain of the persecution but they will remain faithful in seeking to help others understand the message of God. What this passage makes me ask of myself is when the heat comes will I be one standing encouraging others to follow God still or will I be one needing the helping hand up to get moving again. Will I stay true or get caught up in the flattering speech of the enemy? I think where we are now in our walk with Jesus can help us answer those questions. If things in life are mostly steady and good yet we aren’t pursuing Jesus do we really think when the heat comes we will suddenly be on fire for Jesus? Let’s seek to be one today to encourage others like those in our passage did, even if the heat isn’t here. So when it does come we can just continue doing what we always do. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1567
And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. Daniel 11:2 – Talk about a chapter! This chapter is noted as one of the most accurately recorded prophecies in scripture. There is so much detail here in this chapter! I’ve been studying it for over an hour and I’m finally at verse 7 out of 45 (and sadly I have to put a pause on my study for we have a church work day in an hour!). I’ve been enthralled with the details and accuracy of all this. I strongly encourage you to look into such details for yourself, otherwise this chapter can seem overwhelmingly confusing. While I want to write about all the unique details to help you understand the passage, I don’t have the time or space here to do that, nor time before having to stop writing. Let though this chapter and your study of if it affirm in your mind that God knows what He is doing. God is revealing to Daniel things to come, some centuries later, in such accurate detail that some believe this couldn’t have possibly been written before the events took place. Yet when we have a God like we do, who is sovereign over not only all the earth but over all time, such things are certainly possible for our God. Know then that our God also know just as accurately what your future holds too. He knows your tomorrow, your next season, and your eternity; and He is sovereign over all of it. Praise Jesus that the God in Daniel who knows all and is over all is the same God that we are in relationship with today and serve. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2749
Chapter 12
Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. Daniel 12:10 – This whole passage is speaking of the glory to come when Jesus returns. We see that the faithful will be purified. Yes, they’ll find themselves walking through the fires in this life still, but the result will be the refining we need. Yet the wicked won’t understand any of this, nor will they be stepping into the joy God is offering. We see here how sin closes off our minds to understanding God and the way He works. Yes, sin in our life hurts others and it’s displeasing to God. What sin also does is cloud our minds from understanding and seeing what God is doing. In our passage the wicked kept doing wicked things and they as a result just couldn’t understand all that God was doing. None of us here want blinders on in life. We want to be able to fully see as much of the picture as we can so we can make wise choices on our story. Know then sin causes massive blinders to be formed in our story, misleading us and clouding our minds from true understanding. Want clarity in life? Want understanding in your story? Lean away from sin and lean deeply into learning who God is. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1568
But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days. Daniel 12:13 – Daniel had just been given an extreme amount of information from the Lord on things to come in the near future for him and for the end of times. He’s given dates and names and very precise information about so many things, but even with hearing the message first hand from an angel, Daniel is left wondering and confused. We see then that Daniel is commanded to write this information down and seal it up, but then in the final verse Daniel is given the ultimate command…go your way. While Daniel likely had dozens of questions to ask, God’s message to Daniel was to leave it be for now and continue doing the work he was called to do at that time. We too can find ourselves captivated with the processes of searching out the answers to all our questions about end times, and while that endeavor is solid and honoring to the Lord, if it comes at the expense of us “going our way,” then we’ve missed the mark. Make sure that you are fulfilling to the fullest the calling God has given on your life. To love Him and to love people. To make disciples of all nations. Understand that some questions we have about what we’re learning in Daniel we’ll never be able to answer until Jesus returns. Yet the one thing we certainly can do until our Savior returns is point people to our Savior. So as was told to Daniel, let it be told to us…go on your way then with your calling till the end comes, and know we’ll stand in peace with our God in the end and forever more. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2750
Daily DEVO 