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Daniel Chapter 7 & 8 Bible Study
Daniel Chapter 7 begins the 2nd part of Daniel and where his visions begin. Chapter 7 contains the details of his first dream with the four beasts; the lion, the bear, the leopard, and the 4th beast which was so different that Daniel could not identy it with any animal.
Daniel Chapter 8 provides detail of his 2nd vision regarding what will happen to the Jewish people both in the 2nd century BC and in the End Times; specially regarding Antiochus IV Epiphanes who reigned from 170 BC to 164 BC.
Daniel Chapters 4 & 5
Daniel Chapter 4 is another story of Nebuchadnezzar's dream and its interpretation by Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the Babylonian empire in the 6th century BC. Here he dreams of a very large tree that is cut down.
In Daniel Chapter 5 King Belshazzar calls for the gold vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had brought from the Temple in Jerusalem; and then sees the handwriting on the wall.
Enjoy,
Larry
A Father’s Prayer
General Douglas MacArthur composed “A Father’s Prayer” in the early
days of World War II while in the Pacific:
“Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he
is weak, brave enough to face himself when he is afraid, one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.
Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee-and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail…”
“Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously.
Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the meekness of true strength.
Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, ‘I have not lived in vain.'”
5 Reasons People Fail (and What to Do Instead)
by Geoffrey James
These barriers to success are easy to overcome, but only when you know they’re there. Why do some people achieve their goals while others fail? I believe it’s because successful people manage to overcome five barriers that, in many cases, guarantee failure. Here are those barriers and how to overcome them:
1. Uninspiring Goals
When most people set goals, they envision a “thing,” such as a particular amount of money, an object (like a new car), or a specific achievement (like writing a book). Unfortunately, these “things I’m gonna get or do” goals don’t appeal to the core of what motivates you, because they miss the point that what you’re actually seeking in life and work is the POSITIVE EMOTIONS that you believe those things will produce.
Fix: Rather than envisioning a “thing” as your goal, envision–with all the strength in your imagination–how you will feel when you achieve the goal. That way, you’ll be inspired to do whatever it takes (within legal and ethical bounds) to achieve that goal.
2. Fear of Failure
If you’re afraid of failing, you won’t take the necessary risks required to achieve your goal. For example, you won’t make that important phone call, because you’re afraid that you’ll be rebuffed. Or you won’t quit your dead-end job and start your own business because you’re afraid that you might end up without any money.
Fix: Decide–right now!–that failure, for you, is a strictly temporary condition. If things don’t go the way you’d like, it’s only a setback that, at most, delays your eventual success. In other words, accept the fact that you’ll sometimes fail, but treat that failure as an unavoidable (yet vital) component in your quest.
3. Fear of Success
In many ways, this fear is even more debilitating than the fear of failure. Suppose you achieved something spectacular, like enormous wealth. What if it didn’t make you happy? What then? What if you ended up losing all of it? What then? Would your friends start acting weird? Would your family be envious? Such thoughts (and they’re common) can cause even a highly motivated person to self-sabotage.
Fix: Decide that you’re going to be happy and grateful today and happy and grateful in the future, no matter what happens. Rather than focus on possible problems, envision how wonderful it would be to be able to help your friends and family achieve THEIR goals. (Hint: Watch the last season of the TV series Entourage!)
4. An Unrealistic Timetable
Most people vastly overestimate what they can do in a week and vastly underestimate what they can do in a year. Because of this, most people try to cram too many action items into the short term rather than spacing out activities over the long term. The inability to get all the short-term steps accomplished creates discouragement and the impression that the final goal is slipping away.
Fix: As you list the activities and steps required to achieve a goal, schedule only the 20% of the activities that will produce 80% of your results. (I explain more about this in the post The Secret of Time Management.) Beyond that, set ambitious long-term timetables, but always leave some “wiggle room” when you plan short term.
5. Worrying About “Dry Spots”
It’s easy to get discouraged when you reach a point at which nothing you do seems to advance you toward your goal. For example, suppose you’re trying to master a certain skill. You make swift progress at first but then, after a while, it seems as if you’re not doing any better, or maybe a little worse. Some people use these “plateaus” or “dry spots” as an excuse to give up and therefore fail.
Fix: Whenever you reach a plateau or dry spot, it’s time to celebrate rather than give up. A plateau is almost always a sign that you’re on the brink of a major breakthrough, if you just have the patience to stick with it and trust that you’ll eventually achieve your goal.
Geoffrey James writes the Sales Source column on Inc.com, the world’s most visited sales-oriented blog. His newly published book is Business to Business Selling: Power Words and Strategies From the World’s Top Sales Experts.
Author Unknown
"I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made.
I'm a disciple of His and I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure.
I'm done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
I don't have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or rewarded.
I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by Holy Spirit power.
My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is heaven.
My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my guide is reliable and my mission is clear.
I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of the adversary.
I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus!
I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.
And when He does come for His own, He'll have no problems recognizing me. My colors will be clear!"
Categories
SEVEN SECRETS OF SUCCESS
SEVEN SECRETS OF SUCCESS
By Rick Warren
Few people have made as much of an impact with their lives as the apostle Paul. By the end of his life, he had spread the faith across the entire Roman Empire – traveling mostly on foot. Imagine what he might have accomplished if he he’d had a jet, a cellular phone, and a fax machine! Here, in his own words, are the keys I’ve discovered to his successful life:
S ENSE OF DIRECTION: “I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize… Philippians 3:14
U NDERSTANDING: “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” Philippians :12
C OMMITMENT: “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me.” Acts 20:24
C OMPASSION: “I may have all knowledge… and the faith to move mountains… and may give away everything I have – but if I don’t have love, It does me no good.” 1 Corinthians 13:2-3
E NTHUSIASTIC FAITH: “I have the strength for all things through Christ who empowers me. I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me.” Philippians 4:13
S ERVICE TO OTHERS: “I will be glad to spend all I have, and myself as well, in order to help you.”
2 Corinthians 12:15
S TAYING POWER: “I am hard-pressed on all sides, but I’m never frustrated; I’m puzzled, but never in despair; I am persecuted, but I’m never deserted by God; I may be knocked down but I’m never knocked out!” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Try building these qualities into your own life and see what happens. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”1 Corinthians 1:31
Categories
Preparing for Eternity
As a Christian, I believe the Bible is the Word of God. The Bible tells us that man/Adam was made from dust. But the Spirit was breathed into man and came directly from God. The body is the shell that holds the Spirit. The body/shell shall return to dust/dirt but the Spirit shall return to God. Why then do we spend most of our time trying to please the shell which will return to dirt, and almost ignore the eternal Spirit. Let’s get more eternally minded with the Christ mindset. While we are here in the body we should be focused on where and how we will spend eternity, which, by the way, is a long time.
Categories
Lack of Personal Commitment
I just read an article by Rick Boxx about the lack of commitment in our society and how harmful it is. People are not committed to their employers and the companies are not committed to their employees either. Worse People are not committed to their marriages. It’s like “till divorce do us part” these days. I agree, but I wonder how many people are actually committed to Jesus Christ. Really committed! If we get that one right then the other areas will be taken care of. Not to mention that eternal thing.
A tent is the worst place imaginable to get sick. In the middle of winter surrounded by wilderness, and miles from the nearest road.
I couldn’t believe it was happening to me as I lay comatose in my sleeping bag experiencing feverish hallucinations and mumbling to my skiing buddy about sandwiches and potato chips.
We were on a multi-day cross country ski trip. And at that time I was sorely tempted to bail on everything and head out of there. The way back to the truck was a mere 2 1/2 miles by skis and 14 miles by snowmobile through the wilderness. Child’s play compared to what lay ahead of us in the coming days.
Ahead was many more miles of backbreaking skiing through the backcountry. Breaking trail over the top of a 7 foot snowpack through snow so deep that without skis a booted leg sunk to the thigh in the powder.
There was driving force inside keeping me going. A reason to succeed that meant a tremendous amount to both of us.
Another full day of skiing lay ahead and at the end was a backcountry Nirvana. A series of thermal hot springs next to a waterfall. A place we could rest our weary bones in a steaming bubbling pool. A veritable heaven on earth to us considering our condition and stark white surroundings.
And it was this anticipation that enabled me to get up the next day and ski deeper into the backcountry instead of turning tail and running back to civilization.
This recent experience inspired me to share with you a few steps to ensure success in your own life when the going gets tough.
Use these 5 ideas to overcome your obstacles and find a way where there was none before.
1) The mind is by far your most powerful asset.
Have you heard of the “Ice Man”? His name is Wim Hof and he’s renowned for subjecting his body to extreme cold temperatures. Not only surviving but thriving.
He’s been documented for several years now doing publicity stunts where he swims BELOW the ice on frozen lakes wearing nothing but goggles and a speedo.
He is able to sit nearly naked in a tub of ice for hours on end without experiencing frostbite or worse- death.
Mr. Hof uses his mind to raise his own body temperature. Practicing an ancient Himalayan meditation called “Tummo,” or Inner Fire. He uses his mind to generate increased heat from within his own body.
He must have a polar bear in his family tree somewhere.
2) Identify what you want to accomplish.
In my case the desired result was simple. Get to the hotsprings and soak.
What is it that YOU want to do? It may be related to a personal goal, a business goal, travel, weight loss, or income generation.
But be sure you will know when you’ve arrived. And then most importantly define the driving force behind why you are doing this.
It must be incredibly powerful and meaningful to you, you’ll encounter resistance on your journey and a strong reason why will buoy you up along the way.
Simply setting a goal to lose 20 pounds is not enough. How will your life be different when you’ve gotten there? How will you feel? What will you be able to do that you can’t do now? What will you have learned on your journey?
In my case I knew that getting to these hot springs meant several things. We were the only humans in the backcountry for miles and miles. I knew that getting to the springs meant I’d be able to sit in the hot water surrounded by a frozen winterscape and cook dinner with my camp stove on a rock ledge by the pool.
My skiing partner carried in cans of beer which we planned on cramming into the abundant piles of snow around the hot pool.
I visualized all of this. It was the prime motivator. A reason to keep going. Something important to me. Even now I’m smiling about the whole thing. It was totally worth it.
3) There will be times you want to throw in the towel and quit.
Anything worth having takes focused effort. Sometimes it’s a struggle to make progress. It’s then that your reason why must be strong enough to weather the storm. It’s what will carry you through and prevent anything including YOURSELF from stopping the process.
When you feel like quitting stop and remember your awesome reason why. Help ensure your success by telling friends and family about your plans. Knowing others are expecting you to succeed will help quiet the inner demons when the going gets rough.
4) You want to become a survivor.
This should become a lifestyle for you. Not a one-off story of success but something you can put to use anytime you want to accomplish something incredibly important to you.
Become someone who forges ahead in the toughest of circumstances.
5) Things to consider before starting your journey:
Examine your driving forces and motivations. Take a long and hard look at those and ask yourself if they alone are sufficient.
Prestige and recognition are enough for some, but don’t rely on those alone. Public opinions are fickle and change with the weather. Choose a reason why that will remain solid. If you aren’t sure that your “why” is strong enough then find another.
If you are unable to find a truly compelling reason you are probably focusing on the wrong things. Abandon your original plan and find something that truly does fascinate and hold your attention.
Work on things that you’ll look back on with fond memories and a sense of accomplishment.
Intentionally force yourself into a corner, set hard and fast deadlines and stick to them. It will keep you on the path to success.
In my own example, the anticipation of relaxing tired muscles in the hotsprings while cooking dinner and consuming beer was more than enough to see me through the toughest parts of the trip.
What is your ” reason why”? What drives you onward each day? I can’t wait to hear what gets your mojo running. Brag about it and let us know in a comment on the blog!
Victor Grosser
Sans clothes in a backcountry jacuzzi.