Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem(11/24/21)[Prayer]

The Holy Scriptures | 11/24/21 | left that other site

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Daniel 3

The Image of Gold and the Blazing Furnace

3 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide,[a] and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

8 At this time some astrologers[b] came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! 10 Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Footnotes

a Daniel 3:1 That is, about 90 feet high and 9 feet wide or about 27 meters high and 2.7 meters wide<
b Daniel 3:8 Or Chaldeans
c Daniel 3:17 Or If the God we serve is able to deliver us, then he will deliver us from the blazing furnace and

_______________________________________________________

God Bless America.

ML/LTOS

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Our Father Who Art in Heaven,
Holy and Sanctified is Your Most Wonderful Name!
We Come into your Presence,
Overcome With Awe,
For You Alone Are Worthy of Praise and Worship.
You Alone Are the One True God of Abraham!

I call upon You, LORD, in my distress,
And You Answer me, and set me in a large place.
The LORD is on my side,
I will not fear:
what can man do unto me?

It is better to trust in the LORD
than to put confidence in man.
It is better to trust in the LORD
than to put confidence in princes.

Let all that has been Concealed
Be Revealed.

Father, We Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem,
According To Your Will and Promise.
We Pray That You Will Forgive The Sins
of Our Own Nation,
and Lead us all to Godly Repentance.
Create in Us Clean Hearts, Oh LORD,
and Renew a Right Spirit Within Us.

This we Pray Together,
As We Await Your Messiah,
Blessed Be He,
To Set Up His Kingdom,
And Make All Things Right.

Let all that has Been Concealed,
Be Revealed.

God Bless America.

ML/LTOS

[DarthVader]

Amen !!! <><

Psalm 46

To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song.

1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present* help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
Selah

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of the city;* it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.*
Selah

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 ‘Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.’
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.*
Selah

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

This beloved Bible Story illustrates two kinds of prayer: The prayers of idolatry, and the Prayer of Faithful Witness.

During my childhood, there was a prevailing idea that Stone-Age People were hulking, non-verbal animals. Cartoons depicted cavemen knocking their potential mate on the head with a club and dragging her off by her hair. Although it was discovered that Neanderthals possessed a Hyoid Bone (the bone that supports the larynx, thus making them capable of speech), we assumed that all they could say was "UGH". There was no way such brutes could ever be refined or sensitive enough to believe in God!

Of course, the paintings discovered in ancient caves disproved this stereotype. Paintings of delicacy and refinement depicted graceful animals in brilliant colors. It was assumed that these images were religious, depicting animals that the people wanted to successfully hunt. By painting the creatures on the wall, they were practicing a form of prayer called "Votive Offering". They were making images of the things that they were praying for. This is a very primative form of worship, and was depicted in the Book of First Samuel, when the Philistines returned the Ark of the Covenant. Since they were being afflicted with rats and tumors, they created golden figurines of rats and tumors, one for each of the five cities afflicted. This was a common form of worship at the time, but it was forbidden in the Law of Moses for the People of Israel to worship in this manner.

Nebuchadnezzar was getting some bad advice from his flattering team of Satraps, Magicians, Wise Men and other sycophants who surrounded him. But he was vain enough to follow their advice, and the courtiers were smart enough to use the King's own hubris against him to their own benefit. Thus we arrive at the big votive statue of the king himself, which all the people were ordered to worship. Lest you think that the size of the statue is an exaggeration, check out some of the existing monuments of the Ancient World, starting with Egypt. The statue would have been visible for miles and dominate the plain.

Daniel and his three brethren, who were now known by their Babylonian names "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego", were ordered to fall in line with the new mandate to worship the image of the king. It was obviously a set-up. They had not broken any laws, nor had they rebelled against their captors, but this went over the line. They chose to defy the order, no matter what the consequences, even if it meant that they would die. Their defience in the face of death was also a kind of prayer. It was the Prayer of Faithful Witness. By refusing to worship the idol, they were being witnesses to The One True God.

You may say, "Oh but that was in the Bronze Age, in Ancient Babylon. Stuff like that doesn't happen anymore." Well, we may not be building giant statues of gods anymore, but there are other huge edifaces that we are being enjoined to "worship". The Media, Academia, the Medical Establishment, Entertainment, Sports, Government, and Celebrity can all be idols. Sometimes standing up to them can land you in jail, as recent events in Canada, Australia, and our own Beloved America have shown. It would seem that the most "civilized" countries are cracking down the hardest on dissidents, while the more "third world" countries appear to be weathering the pandemic quite nicely. How can that be?

So far, I have not been forced to do anything against my conscience, but the news is filled with people who have been. Churches closed down, pastors jailed, parents targeted by school boards, businesses burned, kids being tried for defending themselves, social media posting priveledges revoked, musicians and artists excoriated by the media, and so on...and in "CIVILIZED" countries that have long been bastians of Freedom for the rest of the world. When the time comes for me to be a Witness, who will I be? A Shadrack, a Meshak, an Abednego? A Bonhoeffer, a TenBoom, a Schindler, a Wallenburg?

Just remember, there is another Man in the Fire with you. And that Man is the Son of God.

Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, DarthVader, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, ForDarthVaderPersecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

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Here is a cool song about this incident:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCzY-gyup70

[TianaHighrider]

Praise Heavenly Father for all blessings. Including your spot-on lessons!

🙏 Prayers up ❤

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, TianaHighrider, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, TianaHighrider Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[etabeta]

Splendid lesson!

Joining in prayer. God bless.

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Etabeta, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[NEWwoman]

Amen, left that other site

God grant us courage to be the Faithful Witness during these evil days.

Joining n prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem and for our beloved America.

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, NEWwoman, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[redryder_90]

Amen

God is Good and He is with us!

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Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, redryder_90, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS

[Hiskid]

Amen

[left that other site]

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

Thank You, Hiskid, For Your Prayers For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

"He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS