Here are my Bible study notes from last night. I'm just going to give some of the highlights. BTW, the discussion was great!

2:1-11 Dreams in the ancient world were considered to be messages from the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream the scared him. He called on his wise men to not only interpret the dream but to tell him what the dream was. Why? The king new these guys were full of crap and only told him what he wanted to hear. But what he needed now was truth, not just someone who would agree with him. If he had told them the dream first they could have ascribed any meaning to it. Again, he needed the truth.

[Application]
I see this a lot in folks who don't care about the truth until they get scared - or something happens. They don't want to talk about spiritual truth, God, Heaven, etc. until say... a love one dies. Then they want to know.

Sometimes God allow scary stuff to come into our lives because He's tried every other way to get your attention.

2:10, 11 Nebuchadnezzar's dream could only be interpreted by a servant of God because it was a message from God.

Daniel was not "special" or "supernatural." It was God who gave him his ability. And Daniel game Him credit for it.

I love it when God gives us things to do that without Him it will surely fail!

==>> God does the impossible!

Note: Nebuchadnezzar didn't need wisdom or knowledge. He needed a word from the Lord.

==>> Lot's of people are practical athiests. They say they believe in God but they don't do anything He says.

2:16-18 Daniel didn't fear the king, he feared God.

Daniel had confidence that God would tell him what he needed to know. That's a good strategy by the way.

==>> Prayer is more effective than panic!

Daniel's faith in God not only saved him, but it saved those around him (ie., the wise men in babylon and his friends).

2:19-23 Daniel could have taken credit for what God had done but he didn't. He gave God credit, glory and honor.

[Application]
Don't take credit for what God has done. And make sure to give him praise for the things he's done!

2:31f The dream....

2:49 Good leaders have good people around them.

Leaders delegate and empower!

Last week in our mid-week Bible study I wrapped up our study of Daniel. Here are a few thoughts I wanted to share from that study; they mostly deal with hope. And after all, we could all use a little hope....

12:1
This passage deals with the "end times." BTW, are living in the "end of times" or "last days." We have been ever since Jesus was crucified, rose from the grave, and ascended into heaven. Anyway, this verse and passage deals with the hard times that will be a part of the end of days. At first glance this seems like a "downer" kind of chapter. But what it really should do is give us hope. The "end of times" has an end. The bad we suffer - if we are faithful to God - is not what lasts. The last days have an end. But life with God through His Son Jesus never ends.

If you're a Christian, this is as bad as life will ever be. If you're not a Christian, life will never get any better for you than it is right now.

12:7
God allows us to be broken and to go through tough times so that we can learn to be completely dependent upon God. The goal for the Children of Israel, and God's goal for those of us who are NT believers, is that we would accept Him as Lord of our lives - completely.

12:11
The significance of the number 7 in this context tells us that our struggles in this life have a "final" end.

12:13
Through everything (Babylonian captivity, slavery, a fiery furnace, temptation, the lion's den, and more) Daniel remained faithful to God. And, while he didn't understand everything God was saying, or even doing, he remained faithful. And, God remained faithful to Daniel.

There are more important things in life than the blessings of this world. The greatest of God's blessings are those that will come in the "next" life.

Hey guys. As I promised on Sunday, I want to give you a few Bible reading plans. It's hard to go wrong with Bible Gateway. I have used each of these plans at one time or another. If you are pretty new to the Bible let me recommend the 61 Day Survey of the Bible reading plan. Enjoy!

Here's the link to the plans http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/about.php

If you have questions, feel free to email me at Jimmy@RockyRiverChurch.com.