Studies in Daniel

MOST HIGH in the Book of Daniel

1. Dan 3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire.
2. Dan 4:2 "It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.
3. Dan 4:17 "This sentence is by the decree of the {angelic} watchers And the decision is a command of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, And bestows it on whom He wishes And sets over it the lowliest of men."
4. Dan 4:24 this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king:
5. Dan 4:25 that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.
6. Dan 4:32 and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place {will be} with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.'
7. Dan 4:34 ¶ "But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom {endures} from generation to generation.
8. Dan 5:18 "O king, the Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father.
9. Dan 5:21 "He was also driven away from mankind, and his heart was made like {that of} beasts, and his dwelling place {was} with the wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he recognized that the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and {that} He sets over it whomever He wishes.
10. Dan 7:25 'He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.

By John Heilprin, Associated Press / July 26, 2011

 

Words from Heilprin's article are in THIS FONT.

My comments are in THIS FONT.

 

GRENOBLE, France

Scientists hoping to puzzle out how the Universe began will find a long-sought theoretical particle — or rule out that it exists — by the end of 2012, the director of the world's largest atom smasher predicted Monday.

 

Rolf Heuer, director of the European particle physics laboratory near Geneva, said his confidence was based on the latest findings from the $10 billion proton collider under the Swiss-French border.

 

"I would say we can settle the question, the Shakespearean question — 'to be or not to be' — end of next year," he told reporters at a major physics conference in Grenoble.

 

My comments are in THIS FONT.

 

The Higgs boson isn't just any particle. It's the linchpin of the Standard Model of particle physics theory that explains the Big Bang, because it is believed to answer a fundamental question about why matter has mass. The particle itself is thought to give mass to other particles, and thus to objects and creatures in the Universe.

 

My comments are in THIS FONT.

 

Heuer said these are "exciting times" for particle physicists because of the latest findings among two separate teams of scientists operating the Atlas and CMS detectors at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research near Geneva, that he directs.

 

Scientists are starting to pinpoint the precise level of high energy where the Higgs boson is expected to be found.

 

Last year, the collider for the first time threw together two proton beams, tiny particles traveling in opposite directions though a 17-mile (27-kilometer tunnel) at incredible speeds in conditions simulating those 1 trillionth to 2 trillionths of a second after the Big Bang. The crash on a subatomic scale is aimed more at improving our knowledge of how the universe was created than at finding immediate new technology uses to improve our lives.

 

The power produced has been ramped up to ever-new record levels this spring, creating reams of new data that requires endless monitoring and sifting. But to simulate the moments after the Big Bang nearly 14 billion years ago, the energy levels produced are potent only on the small atomic level.

 

My comments are in THIS FONT.

 

The collider launched with great fanfare little more than three years ago. Nine days after its inauguration, the project was sidetracked when a badly soldered electrical splice overheated, causing extensive damage to the massive magnets and other parts of the collider some 300 feet (100 meters) below the ground.

 

It cost $40 million to repair and improve the machine. Since its restart in November 2009, the collider has performed almost flawlessly and given scientists valuable data. It quickly eclipsed the next largest accelerator — the Tevatron at Fermilab near Chicago.

 

My comments are in THIS FONT.

 

"They have tested the Standard Model very well," Heuer said of CERN scientists. "They are now ready to bring us into uncharted territory. We are still missing the most wanted particle, the Higgs boson."

 

Fabio Zwirner, a physicist at the University of Padua, Italy, said there is "considerable excitement because of the many new results" at the conference, but physicists were still unsure whether they were seeing "hints" at finding the particle, or were running into statistical errors.

 

Physicists also hope the collider will help them see and understand other suspected phenomena, such as dark matter, antimatter and supersymmetry. Dark matter has been theorized by scientists to account for missing mass and bent light in faraway galaxies. Scientists believe it makes galaxies spin faster.

 

Physicists once thought protons and neutrons were the smallest components of the atom's nucleus, but colliders showed they are made of quarks and gluons and that there are other forces and particles.

 

My comments are in THIS FONT.

Higgs Boson on the Brink of Discovery

I'm going to come back and insert my thoughts later, just wanted to get this up for now...

By John Heilprin, Associated Press / July 26, 2011

GRENOBLE, France

Scientists hoping to puzzle out how the Universe began will find a long-sought theoretical particle — or rule out that it exists — by the end of 2012, the director of the world's largest atom smasher predicted Monday.

Rolf Heuer, director of the European particle physics laboratory near Geneva, said his confidence was based on the latest findings from the $10 billion proton collider under the Swiss-French border.

"I would say we can settle the question, the Shakespearean question — 'to be or not to be' — end of next year," he told reporters at a major physics conference in Grenoble.

The Higgs boson isn't just any particle. It's the linchpin of the Standard Model of particle physics theory that explains the Big Bang, because it is believed to answer a fundamental question about why matter has mass. The particle itself is thought to give mass to other particles, and thus to objects and creatures in the Universe.

Heuer said these are "exciting times" for particle physicists because of the latest findings among two separate teams of scientists operating the Atlas and CMS detectors at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research near Geneva, that he directs.

Scientists are starting to pinpoint the precise level of high energy where the Higgs boson is expected to be found.

Last year, the collider for the first time threw together two proton beams, tiny particles traveling in opposite directions though a 17-mile (27-kilometer tunnel) at incredible speeds in conditions simulating those 1 trillionth to 2 trillionths of a second after the Big Bang. The crash on a subatomic scale is aimed more at improving our knowledge of how the universe was created than at finding immediate new technology uses to improve our lives.

The power produced has been ramped up to ever-new record levels this spring, creating reams of new data that requires endless monitoring and sifting. But to simulate the moments after the Big Bang nearly 14 billion years ago, the energy levels produced are potent only on the small atomic level.

The collider launched with great fanfare little more than three years ago. Nine days after its inauguration, the project was sidetracked when a badly soldered electrical splice overheated, causing extensive damage to the massive magnets and other parts of the collider some 300 feet (100 meters) below the ground.

It cost $40 million to repair and improve the machine. Since its restart in November 2009, the collider has performed almost flawlessly and given scientists valuable data. It quickly eclipsed the next largest accelerator — the Tevatron at Fermilab near Chicago.

"They have tested the Standard Model very well," Heuer said of CERN scientists. "They are now ready to bring us into uncharted territory. We are still missing the most wanted particle, the Higgs boson."

Fabio Zwirner, a physicist at the University of Padua, Italy, said there is "considerable excitement because of the many new results" at the conference, but physicists were still unsure whether they were seeing "hints" at finding the particle, or were running into statistical errors.

Physicists also hope the collider will help them see and understand other suspected phenomena, such as dark matter, antimatter and supersymmetry. Dark matter has been theorized by scientists to account for missing mass and bent light in faraway galaxies. Scientists believe it makes galaxies spin faster.

Physicists once thought protons and neutrons were the smallest components of the atom's nucleus, but colliders showed they are made of quarks and gluons and that there are other forces and particles.

Two Daughters and Dire Straits

The title of today's awesome message brought by Pastor Rick George.

I'm just posting some random thoughts on what I head today.

Mark 5:22

A leader of the synagogue (ἀρχισυναγώγων) sees Jesus and he falls toward (πίπτει πρὸς) the feet of Jesus. This man approaches Jesus with complete and utter surrender and reverence.


Contrast this with another ruler in the synagogue:  Luke 13:14 The ruler of the synagogue, being indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the multitude, "There are six days in which men ought to work. Therefore come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day!"


One refutes Jesus' healing and another realizes his need for what Jesus can offer.

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34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. 
36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”


Faith (noun) and Believe (verb) -- Faith is what I have, Believe is what I do.
πίστις is the noun form, and πίστευε is the verb form.
Translated differently, but the same root word in the Greek. 
From 
4102 pístis (from 3982/peithô, "persuade, be persuaded") – properly, persuasion (be persuaded, come to trust); faith.

• Faith is always a gift from God, and never something that can be produced by people. In short, ("faith") for the believer is "God's divine persuasion" – and therefore distinct from human belief (confidence), yet involving it. The Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer so they can know what He prefers, i.e. the persuasion of His will (1 Jn 5:4).

• (pistis) in secular antiquity referred to a guarantee (warranty). In Scripture, faith is God's warranty, certifying that the revelation He inbirthed <not sure that's a word>  will come to pass (His way).

• Faith is also used collectively – of all the times God has revealed (given the persuasion of) His will, which includes the full revelation of Scripture (Jude 3). Indeed, God the Lord guarantees that all of this revelation will come to pass! Compare Mt 5:18 with 2 Tim 3:16.]

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Peter, James, and John are the only ones allowed to come with Jesus and the parents to the place where Talitha <thats the name I use for her> is healed.  A little later Mark records that the twelve are sent out and given power over demons.  After seeing her raised, the parents probably came to realize that Jesus truly has the power of God.  I think that Jesus used this moment to give those disciples a little spiritual boost as well.

I like to compare this to Elijah in I Kings 17 when God raises the widow's son.  The widow states, "NOW I know that your God is the Lord of everything!" Paraphrased of course, but Talitha's parents must have felt the same way. I think God used this moment to prepare Elijah for what was to come next: calling fire down upon wet logs and igniting them.  Elijah is very bold in the challenges he makes to the priests of Baal. I think the disciples were given this same kind of spiritual boost.

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Amazed.  Literally to stand outside.

Honduras 2011

I attend Living Grace Community Church in Cary, IL.  They are sending a team to Honduras to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the nationals.  Below is a link to their blog and picture site.

http://lgcchondurasjuly2011.blogspot.com/2011/07/welcome-to-july-2011-honduras-blog-site.html

http://s1087.photobucket.com/albums/j467/livinggrace1500/

Holy Spirit

What can we learn from these two charts?

• In the Gospels, Luke mentions the HOLY SPIRIT more times than all other Gospel writers combined.

• In the New Testament, Luke mentions the HOLY SPIRIT more times than all other New Testament references combined. (Luke wrote his Gospel and The ACTS of the Apostles; as we can see, Luke and Acts total 58% of NT references to the HS.)

Luke was a "second generation" Christian.  Luke was not present during the events of Jesus' earthly ministry.  At the beginning of his Gospel, he mentions "the eye-witnesses" and does not place himself among them.  Luke was PROBABLY a Gentile, and POSSIBLY an Israelite proselyte before conversion.  Early church "fathers" attribute Luke's conversion to Paul.  The Pauline "stamp" of understanding and teaching is very prevalent in Luke's writings.  And they assert that Luke was from Antioch.  None of which we know for sure. 

But I find it interesting that MOST of what we learn about the Holy Spirit comes from a "second generation" Christian.  Indeed, this is proof of the claim in Titus 2:11 "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to ALL men . . . " (emphasis mine.)

(I used QUICK BIBLE - NASB to compile a search of instances [not just verses] where "pneumatos agiou" is used. "PARAKLETOS" {used in John 14:16 <KJV> - And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever;} is not counted.)

Testimony of Salvation

Proverbs 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

This would have to be the verse that overlies my testimony of salvation. God is the one who gives knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.  Through these three stages, the LORD allowed the Holy Spirit to guide me to a state wherein I have been reconciled to God through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

I had always believed that the Creator God existed.  No other religious “creator” figurehead made any sense to me.  Just looking at the physical world around me, convinced me that this planet we live on had to be created.  Too much order was present in this world for it to have just come about on its own.  After my salvation experience, the more I studied physics, geology, astronomy, biology, etc. the more it reinforced what I had already believed.  No other source, other than the Creator God, could have created the universe that we live in.

I knew about the Holy Bible.  I knew about the accounts of creation, Adam and Eve, the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt.  I knew that a man named Jesus had died on a cross.  I knew that the last book of the Holy Bible stated that Jesus would come back again.

Going into seventh grade, my parents decided to send me to Rockford Lutheran High School.  Marty Kohlwey was my Religion class teacher.  David Steinbacher was my Earth Science Teacher.  Through the many teachings that they presented to me, the following verses stood out to me and kept returning to my mind:

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son; that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

            I had knowledge at this point; and then the Holy Spirit began to work in me and give me understanding.  God had allowed me to take the pieces of knowledge that I had acquired, and have it all make sense. I began to understand that there was a need for mankind to be saved. God created mankind. Man rebelled against God’s command. This act made all of us unholy before God. Now it all made sense. This is why Jesus had to die and make the atonement for all mankind.  Jesus sacrificed Himself to reconcile us back into a state where we would be acceptable to God. Because we fell short of the glory of God, Jesus came and lived the perfect life that we could not.

Now that I had understanding; I still had to make a choice.  Either I could be wise and accept that I was a sinner and unholy before God and accept what Christ had done. Or, I could be foolish and reject what the Holy Spirit was leading me to do.  I didn’t want to stand before God and be unholy before Him.  I felt I owed it to Him to believe on His Son. He created me, and I did not want to spend eternity without Him.

This is where the Holy Spirit gave me wisdom.  I understood God’s plan; I just had to accept it personally.  I don’t remember the exact day or time, but I do remember when I was twelve years old I asked God to forgive my sins and accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my personal Lord and Savior.

God gave me the knowledge that He created this universe.  God gave me the ability to understand His plan for all mankind.  And God gave me the wisdom to accept His plan. I cannot boast in any of these things.  All these things were given to me by God; it was all His working through the Holy Spirit to bring me to a saving state which has been provided by the work of Jesus Christ.

I Corinthians 9:24-27

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.

No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

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I should run in such a way that I might win. I need to run with a goal in mind. I must train to achieve this goal. The word "beat" used here is a compound verb in the present tense, active voice, and indicative mood. The preposition hypo (meaning: under), and a derivative of optanomai (meaning: to look at.)

Literally - to hit under the eye. As a pugilist would do in a competition. The word picture here is Paul battling against himself. A Christ filled Paul buffeting another Paul who is filled with earthly passions; battling American Gladiator style.

Figuratively - to subdue one's fleshly desires.

I must be disciplined so that Jesus Christ will be glorified and I will not be disqualified.

1 Cor. 8:1 ..."knowledge makes arrogant"...

So, now that I know what to do; I need to do it! Pray for me!

TR