King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: Prosperity With God
Date: Friday September 16, 2011
Chapters: Daniel 4-6, Proverbs 16, Psalm 95
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Hello My Friend/Guest,

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever...Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.” - I John 2:15-17,22-25.

The things of the world may be desired and possessed for the uses and purposes which God intended, and they are to be used by His grace, and to His glory; but believers must not seek or value them for those purposes to which sin abuses them. The things of the world quickly fade and die away, the desire of these things itself will fade, but God's holy affection is not like anything that passes away, His love shall never fail anyone who acknowledges His Son. Yet these vanities are so alluring to the corruption in our hearts, that without constant watching and prayer, we cannot escape the world, nor obtain victory over the god and prince of it, Satan himself.

Oddly enough, God will give prosperity to the wicked through a godly person, for instance, a Christian who works for a worldly man finds prosperity through the faithfulness of the Christian. Why? God's intentions are to get all to come to the acknowledgment of Him. The amazing thing is that they know they are successful because they have godly people working for them, yet many refuse to acknowledge that it is God. Now, there comes a time when God will place affliction upon all, godly or wicked who refuse to acknowledge Him, which was the case with Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar knew of God, he knew that he prospered because of God, but he failed to acknowledge Him as the one and only living God, he refused to remove the false gods from the nation, and he took credit for all the prosperity of his great nation. Through a dream God revealed to Nebuchadnezzar what would happen to him if he continued down this path.

“This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.” - Daniel 4:24-31.

Nebuchadnezzar failed to heed the warning and withing the hour he was literally transformed into a type of animal and forced to live in the fields as one, just as Daniel warned him. It took seven years for Nebuchadnezzar to look up to God and just pray to Him, he knew that it was his pride that kept him from saying that God is Lord of all, but once he humbled himself before God he returned back to normal. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.” - Proverbs 16:18-20.

Whatever strange affliction God places upon us to get our attention, we have cause to bear it patiently, and to be thankful that He loves us so much that He is willing to go through any lengths to show us that He is still the only living God and Lord of all. Now, we learn about Nebuchadnezzar's grandson, Belshazzar, he took the sacred vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem and used them as they worshiped their false gods.

“They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another...Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?..And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:” - Daniel 5:4-6,13,22,23.

Belshazzar trembles at the finger writing on the wall, his fears were heightened when Daniel interprets the writing. He had plenty of time to heed the warnings when God placed His judgment upon Nebuchadnezzar, but he ignored and refused them as though he had the power to stop God, and he insulted God too. Sinners are pleased with gods that neither see, nor hear, nor know; but have a bitter awakening in store for them as they will be judged by the One to whom all things are known. “For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified...In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” - Romans 8:11-13,16.

The kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever are the Lord's and given freely to all who ask for it, but unless we acknowledge God we will not prosper and if we do, it will not last long because it is not in God's will. When we realize the greatness of God and compare it to the failures of our lives, we will find it easier to turn loose of our prideful attitudes and just accept that God is always in control of every affair of our lives. Only when we give Him our all He will give us His. “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” - Romans 8:27,28.

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
Lord, I pray for the courage to stand up to all those who criticize me and try to alter my faithfulness to You for their glory. It is You that I choose to obey and follow and not those who live in the world. Strengthen my faith, help me do what is right and keep my grounded on Your foundation, it is the only way I can follow Your will and prosper. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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