Some things I am learning ....

You know how you have a mind set about something.  You just think of it as being a certain way.  Then someone says something or you read something that changes your outlook or your thoughts on a subject.   That keeps happening to me as I dig deeper and pray harder for more of God.  Some of this is just really random, "wow never thought of that", some is more serious.  I would love to hear others thoughts or others revelations.  

I think of Daniel as being this handsome young man.  A year are so ago I heard a teaching he was a eunuch.  I was like do what?   So off I went to read carefully and yep he was.   So there went my picture of this handsome hunk of a young man.  Then I heard a teaching yesterday that took me even further.  Again I have this picture, I know from children's Bible stories of the handsome young Daniel being tossed in the lions den.  This teaching said Daniel was an old man when he was tossed to the lions. I never connected the time line of this. I never stopped and thought about how long he was in Babylon. He served more than one King. According to one verion he lived to be about 77 years old. He was well into his 70s when he was offered as lion food.   So it rocks my vision of Daniel in the lions den when I think of this 70 year old Eunice instead of this handsome young man.  


Ezekiel 47 talks about a river that leaves the sanctuary.  What I dots I didn't connect until I heard it read yesterday and went back and read it for myself is that this river wasn't being measured in the same place, but further and further from the sanctuary.  The further it goes from the sanctuary the larger and deeper it becomes. I realize we are to be that river. We are to leave our comfort zone and go into the world and share about Jesus and as we share we bring others into the river. The river becomes more and more the further we are from where it starts. Where we go we bring healing and life. I know I need the  Lord to help me take this knowledge into my world. Into my daily life. I do want to be this River.  I just struggle with getting my feet wet, much less becoming a river that can't be crossed it is so deep. 

I have so often said I want to reflect God, but that isn't what His word says, It says shine forth

Matthew 13:43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! 

As I think of what a reflection is I realize that to be a reflection is to be backwards. Instead I want to be like the Lord and I must shine forth with His Holy Spirit shining from me not reflecting off of me.

Hope this encourages someone else to dig deeper and think harder about what God's Word is speaking to them.   Be blessed!