Nebuchadnezzar Humiliated

And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Daniel 4:35.
The last dream which God gave to Nebuchadnezzar, and the experience of the king in connection with it, contain lessons of vital importance to all those who are connected with the work of God. The king was troubled with his dream; for it was evidently a prediction of adversity, and none of his wise men would attempt to interpret it. The faithful Daniel stood before the king, not to flatter, not to misinterpret in order to secure favor. A solemn duty rested upon him to tell the king of Babylon the truth….
Nebuchadnezzar did not heed the heaven-sent message. One year after he had been thus warned, as he walked in his palace, he said within himself, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built …?” The God of heaven read the heart of the king, and heard its whisperings of self-congratulation…. “There fell a voice from heaven, saying, … The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar.”
For seven years Nebuchadnezzar was an astonishment to all his subjects; for seven years he was humbled before all the world. Then his reason was restored and, looking up in humility to the God of heaven, he recognized the divine hand in his chastisement. In a public proclamation he acknowledged his guilt and the great mercy of God in his restoration….God’s purpose that the greatest kingdom in the world should show forth His praise was now fulfilled. This public proclamation, in which Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged the mercy and goodness and authority of God, was the last act of his life recorded in sacred history.
Conflict and Courage p. 253
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for Sarah who was found unresponsive by her family yesterday morning and rushed to the hospital. Sarah is only ten years old. She is at the UC Davis Children’s hospital and has a breathing tube and antibiotic IV etc. As of this morning she is still in intensive care and unresponsive. John
—–I’m asking for prayers for The Holy Spirit to guide, strengthen and shine thru my daughter and I the next few days. Her father has stage 4 cancer. I thought the right thing to do is reunite her with him before he passes. We travelled across country to do this, he sent us away stating he didn’t feel good from drinking alcohol, asked us to come today. The plan is to drive together to meet more members of her family. Please pray for my daughter to understand that her father’s actions have nothing to do with her worth. Please pray for his alcohol addiction to be healed. Please pray for me to reflect Jesus in my thoughts words and actions as I walk thru this uncomfortable situation this week. Danette
—–Please pray for my step brother Kip. He is having surgery this morning for hernia repair. But the doctors have told him he had a really bad heart. Donna
—–A friend needs prayer for a home. There is a new senior housing development where she lives. People are picked by lottery. She is asking that if the Lord wills , she would be picked as a tenant. Sylvia
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Dear Friends,
From the time I was six and until I was fourteen, Gary was my friend. The summer I was eleven, he invited me to spend a few days at his cottage on Wall lake. We spent many happy hours rowing a boat around the perimeter of the lake, looking down in the crystal clear water at the walls of an old settlement, making objects in the natural clay along the shore, and swimming. I had just learned to swim and could barely dog-paddle, but Gary swam like a fish.
One day he and I were just standing in the water resting when he suddenly pushed me down into the water and held me there. I hated to get my face wet and this little “game” of his was not funny in the least. I was shocked. I was angry. I felt like I was gong to drown.
Suddenly, I felt something whiz directly over my head. After it had passed, Gary let go of me and I stood up gasping for breath and ready for a fight. When he explained the reason for his actions, my anger melted away. Gary had seen a speeding boat coming to close to us when they were trying to let a skier off near shore. When the skier had let go of the rope, the handle was whizzing straight at us at a high rate of speed. I had seen the boat and the tow rope coming, but I didn’t understand the danger. Gary’s quick reaction saved us both from great injury or perhaps even death.
Just as Gary had been taught to be watchful when in or around the water, so we are admonished to “watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” Mark14:38 “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” Col 4:2 Our “adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 Every moment, he is trying to cause us to look away from Jesus, that he may ensnare us. Only through the anointing with the Heavenly Eyesalve can we discern his traps. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can we be victorious.
Jesus is coming soon! “Now learn a parable of the fig tree, When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Matt 24:32,33,25:13 Paul urges, “It is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we [first] believed.” Rom 13:11 With each passing moment, we are one step closer to the end of this sinful world. With each heartbeat, we are closer to meeting our dear Savior face to face.Jesus has given us signs that show that His coming is near in the great prophecies of Daniel chapters 2, 7-12, Matthew 24, and Revelation 13-18, so that “when these things begin to come to pass, [we can] look up, and lift up [our] heads, for [our] redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28
“Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken, The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.” Luke 12:42-46 Now is the time to prepare for that great day when our Lord doth come. Now is the time to be watchful and wait. Now is the time to share the Good News of Salvation with those around us. Now is the time to make our calling and election sure. <2 Peter 1:10> Now is the time to take care how we treat our fellow servants lest we discourage them and turn them away from their Only Helper.
Let us make the admonition, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” the rule of our life. Matt 7:12 Let us ” not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober. . . . putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.” Let us “Prove all things, hold fast that which is good,” that we “may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” 1 Thes 5:6-8, Luke 21:36
Rose