able.

this morning i was reading in the book of Daniel about the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace. i have read and heard this story many times over the years, but the Lord really struck me hard with something about this passage today.

prior to the three of these men being thrown into the furnace, they were confronted by King Nebuchadnezzar about their lack of desire to fall and worship his gods. he made a decree in all the province that whenever any music is played that all the people must bow down and worship the false gods of the kingdom. these three refused to do so. in response the king ordered that they be thrown into the furnace (which was heated 7 times hotter than normal). he asked them who would be able to save them from his hand now. their response reads as follows:

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 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." [Daniel 3:16-18]

they said that God is able. they did not say that God will save them, but rather He is able to save them. meaning: God would make a decision on what would bring Him the most glory. and the three of these men were ok with that. and they spoke with so much confidence. they loved the Lord more than anything and they would be satisfied with His decision regarding their lives. and i believe they understood the concept generations before regarding the Apostle Paul's words in Philippians 1:21 where he says, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." meaning: if i live, it is all for Christ; and if i die, it is all for Christ.

regardless of what happens in my life, i want God to get all the glory. not daniel (as in me, the writer; not Daniel from the Bible). and i think part of the reason that these three men were able to say this is because they were obeying the word of the Lord. they knew what He called them to. and they wanted to uphold that. and thats a direct reflection of the love that each of these men had for Him.

i leave you with these two passages from Philippians:

"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel." Philippians 1:27

"that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world," Philippians 2:15

read Daniel 3 simultaneously with these two passages and see the connection that the Lord made. so neat.

what is there to say?

well i feel like i should post, but i dont know what to say. so i wont say anything. ill let God's word do the talking. when you are finished, feel free to leave a comment on what you feel the Lord tells you through this passage.

^{2 Timothy 1-4}

^{Chapter 1}

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

² To Timothy, my dear son:Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Thanksgiving

³ I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. ⁴ Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Appeal for Loyalty to Paul and the Gospel

⁶ For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. ⁸ So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. ⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, ¹⁰ but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. ¹¹ And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. ¹² That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

¹³ What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Examples of Disloyalty and Loyalty

¹⁵ You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

¹⁶ May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. ¹⁷ On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. ¹⁸ May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.

Chapter 2

The Appeal Renewed

¹ You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. ³ Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. ⁵ Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. ⁶ The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. ⁷ Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, ⁹ for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

¹¹ Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
¹² if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
¹³ if we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.

Dealing With False Teachers

¹⁴ Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ¹⁶ Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. ¹⁷ Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

²⁰ In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. ²¹ Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

²² Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³ Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. ²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵ Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

^{Chapter 3}

¹ But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

⁶ They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, ⁷always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. ⁹ But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

A Final Charge to Timothy

¹⁰ You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹ persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. ¹² In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³ while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

^{Chapter 4}

¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Personal Remarks

⁹ Do your best to come to me quickly, ¹⁰ for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹ Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. ¹² I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. ¹³ When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.

¹⁴ Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. ¹⁵ You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.

¹⁶ At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. ¹⁷ But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

¹⁹ Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. ²⁰ Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. ²¹ Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters.

²² The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.

silence.

why is silence so hard to deal with? why is it so much easier for us to live our lives with a lot of things going on all the time than to just be in silence? do i surround myself with noise intentionally? why? do i expect God's voice to be spectacular? can i even hear God's voice? do i wish that his voice was louder in my own life? is there a correlation between silence and my ability to evaluate my heart? do i like noise so i dont have to look at that aspect of my life? is it possible that i have been listening for God in the wrong places?

these are some of the things that we talked about today during our first session of RA training. i didnt know what was going to happen or how it was going to go down, but God totally messed me up. as i walked up there to begin the session, i knew that i was going to lose it. and as soon as i opened my mouth, sure enough, i started crying. this is something that i have failed to think about or meditate on in my own life. we are surrounded by noise all the time and we fail so often to just sit and be quiet before our Maker. why do we not want to be quiet? is it because we are afraid of what we might hear? is it because we are afraid of what we might find? do we want to face the reality of it all? i think these are all true. Psalm 4:4 says, "Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your bed, and be silent." i think the Psalmist here was telling us all that sometimes we have to look at ourselves to our very core. and sometimes we may not like what we find. but notice how they told us to do it. in silence. often times Jesus himself would get away from the masses and spend time alone defined by silence. yes, He would step away to pray, but i can assure you that part of His prayer time was most likely spent in silence listening to the Father. do we do that often enough? do we do that at all? God speaks so loudly in times of silence. when we quiet our hearts, when we quiet our minds, and when we quiet our spirit. God will speak to us if we are listening.

1 Kings 19:11-13 says,

"The LORD said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.' Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave."

elijah placed himself in a position to hear the voice of God. he didnt know how it was going to happen, but he was ready. he made that choice. and scripture says that he wasnt in the magnificent things defined by human standards (eg. the wind, fire, and earthquake); but rather, God spoke to him in a whisper. now some translators would define this whisper as shear silence.

silence.

God spoke to elijah in the silence. (repetition is good.) and elijah was brought to a place of intense awe of the Lord. he had to cover his face because God's presence and voice was so overwhelming for him. thats straight up power right there. and it all came in the silence.

so are you searching for God to speak to you in the wind, fire or earthquake? or to put it in today's standards, the next sermon, self help book, or journal article? not to nullify any of those things because God can and has used them for his glory. but i feel that sometimes it's when we spend time alone with Him, just you and Him, that He speaks the loudest in our lives.

challenge: spend some time alone with your Maker. with no distractions. quiet your hearts and listen. just listen.

sparkles.

ok, so this one will not be long, but i just had one of the best nights in a log time.

first off, i was late getting to my dinner party (or lack there of) with my FCA kids and turned out to have a very awkward dinner. true story. but when we left they were there normal selves (or at least what i could remember). after we strolled around the Avenue (which is a shopping center and not a street--confusing i know), got yelled at by a parent (funny story actually), and awkwardly said goodbye to the guys, laura and i made it back to her house to be met none other than Katie Price Hill herself and had a great night of fun and laughter.

my favorite story of the night is when katie fell at the skating rink when she was in 5th grade and broke her arm and peed all over herself. i would have been the kid to point and laugh. i actually did on the inside. thats why we are friends. we can make fun of each other and still find great value in the other. (**sorry if this embarrasses you KPH--even though i know that it wont)

well today was the start of an amazing weekend filled with fun, laughter, and Jesus. CK1 hurry up and get here so we can get this party started!!

roots.

today i got to spend time after church with two of my best friends, wesley and andrew.

we still had a good amount of snow in the yard to play in. and let me tell you i felt like a kid again. i told andrew that if we were actually kids we would have all the neighborhood children over at the house sledding with us. i miss times like that. shows me that im still a kid at heart.

the interesting part about all of this is that we used the resources we had around us to accomplish our goals. the sled was a seat cushion covered in two garbage bags. it had to be two bags or it wouldnt work. trust me. the man power was of course us. we were sled dogs. but what had us tied down to pull was by far my favorite. we used a 10 foot extension cord. it was quite humorous, but it did the trick. all of these matched together equaled hours of fun, but andy left us early so he cut it short, but we still had fun in the process. thank you Jesus for snow and friends.

Wesley chopped our snowman's head off so we could at that snow to our ramp....

Construction. That is Sawyer, Andy's pup.

At first they tried the bike to pull. Ineffective of getting someone over a ramp.

I almost died my last run and Andy was there for me in my pain.

Below is a first hand account of the ramp in action.....

This is the final run of the day. I got some sick air and almost died in the process....

what you got?

this is the question that i have been asked today. it never fails though. every Christmas. every birthday. dont get me wrong, i love telling people about the things that i have gotten. and i think that is where i find my problem. it is so easy to tell people about the gifts that we get on a daily basis, but its hard for us, or at least it is for me sometimes, to tell about the Gift of eternal life.

i can remember when i was a kid, and it never failed that i would get back to school after Christmas break and was so anxious to discuss with all of my friends about the things that we got. and somehow my gifts were always the best. thats just how it all worked out. i may be a little biased, but hey what can i say? "Santa" knows how to throw it down at my house. but the excitement inside of me to tell others about the things that eventually ended up under my bed, closet, attic, or in a garage sale was overwhelming.

i want that same excitement every waking moment of my life to tell of the life giving power of my Savior. i have been given the gift of eternal life, and it was not made to be kept inside of me and left alone, or kept as a secret. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:14, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden." (ESV) a godly life testifies convincingly to the saving power of God; and in response, our lives also glorify Him. this is a hard reality to live up to. but this is what we are called to. and if it helps any, it is coming from the One who came to "seek and save the lost." (Luke 19:10) that is encouragement to me. simply cause there is love behind it. yes, it is a command, but its comforting to know that the One who saved me is always with me in the midst of everything that i do. that is a promise He has given us. Jesus promises us in Matthew 28:20 where He claims after the great commission that "I am with you always, to the end of the age." and if you look at the beginning in Matthew 1:23 his name is Immanuel. translation: God with us. yeah, simple, yet amazing.

i love this gift. and i want to share it with others. i cant keep it to myself. why? because it isnt just for me. it is for all. from the one who chooses to remain blinded, to those who want the saving power of life in His name.

Merry CHRISTmas! I love you all.

refelctions.

so i have decided to update real quick. just a few things i have reflected on since i have been home.

1. i love my family. watched tones of movies. relaxed by the fire. talked. danced. yelled. and cried. all good of course. no worries.

2. i got to watch my sister Sarah(blog) get married. didnt think it would happen before me, but im glad it did. she married and awesome guy. my prayers go out to them.

3. life is fragile and short. dont know why i thought of this, but it hit me hard after a family friend hugged me after the wedding. she hugged me tight and whispered in my ear, "Keep praying for me." she has breast cancer and the doctors dont think she will ever be cured. but i stand firm on my belief that God is still at work in the midst of things. praise Him forever!

4. i miss a certain individual. you know who you are.

5. my heart still rings true for discipleship. it hurts to see others in pain. it hurts to see people not care. and im not talking about a pain that can be taken care of by temporary relief. its the same pain that i feel the Father has for them as well. still praying.

6. i miss writing in this blog on a normal basis. got a lot of things to discuss. so hopefully they will come soon.

7. i finally updated the look of this thing. i like it. explanation? the title, dan in real life, came from the idea that i wanted to be real with things. just tell my life. my feelings. my faith. keeping it simple but leaving room for so much reflection. the picture is a reflection of my love for God's word. those are my hands. my good friend Laura Register(blog) took that picture this past summer. i want to fall more in love with it every single day, and this is a great reminder of that. 1 Peter 2 is one of my favorite verses of all time. it speaks true to what God has called me to. what he has/wants to call you to. finally the wood background indicates that my life is still a work in progress. like a construction. im being added to and taken away from every single day. and i know that it will be perfected on the day of Christ return. until then i pray He continues to work on me.

that is all for now. more coming real soon.