How do witness for God each day? In this week’s podcast, you hear how Daniel was willing to let God use him and was a witness for God to the kind. Listen today and learn how we can all be a witness wherever God places us today.Contributor: This week Stephanie, a nurse who works with cancer patients, shares how she has found a witnessing opportunity in sharing Christ’s love with the people she works with. Listen to this week’s contributed and be inspired to witness where you are today.

How do witness for God each day? In this week’s podcast, you hear how Daniel was willing to let God use him and was a witness for God to the kind. Listen today and learn how we can all be a witness wherever God places us today.Contributor: This week Stephanie, a nurse who works with cancer patients, shares how she has found a witnessing opportunity in sharing Christ’s love with the people she works with. Listen to this week’s contributed and be inspired to witness where you are today.

Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.

Starting with Jesus

Heather Bennett

Reflect and Renew May 2023

Missionary Prisoners

A King’s Nightmare

The Fiery Furnace

The Unseen Watcher

In The Lion’s Den


My heart went out to her because I thought, what an awful way to live with that kind of fear. God doesn't want us to have fear. I was really thankful in that moment. We were having the conversation that we had. I was able to look her in the eye and say, the secret rapture theory is nowhere in the Bible.

It doesn't teach that. Welcome to Reflect and Renew. Hey, I'm Katie. I'm so glad that you'll be joining me today. We'll be learning and growing together in our walk with Jesus.

You will surely be encouraged and challenged as we study week by week and hear from the experiences of others. Have you ever heard the phrase, in the right place at the right time? It can be used in a frivolous or sarcastic way. Like when my dad was eating a sandwich in a parking lot and a bird flew right overhead and dropped you know what that landed in my dad's sandwich. He was in the right place at the right time.

Or the phrase could be used when I went to my favorite clothing store and I needed a pair of jeans. They were clearanced for $5 each and I got the last 2 pairs that were just in my size. I was in the right place at the right time. Or you could use that phrase in a more serious way. Like 1 of my relatives and his friend who work in a hospital.

They were out bike riding 1 day in the middle of nowhere and saw a runner who was having a heart attack. They were able to perform CPR until help could arrive and the man survived. The doctor said that if they hadn't jumped in quickly, the man would have died. Some might say that they were in the right place at the right time. But I think it's more than that.

God is in control. As Merle Poirier says in the Renew devotional this week, no matter what problems we face, no matter what difficult questions are presented, no matter what challenging situations we are in, God is in control. It's not just a coincidence, it's not fate, It's God working in the lives of those around us. The story of Daniel this week shows us that God had him in the right place at the right time. Have you checked out our devotional?

Each Sunday, Merle Poirier and her daughter Ellen release a devotional for adults called Renew, Staying with Jesus. It corresponds with the My Bible First kindergarten and primary lessons, but it's for adults. So you can check it out at startingwithjesus.com forward slash renew. I can't even imagine the feelings that were going through Daniel's mind as he's standing face to face with Ariok, captain of the Kings guard. He's being told that Ariok's there to have them killed.

The Bible tells us in Daniel chapter 2, verse 13, that wise men were already being killed. The slaughter had begun, and now they were at Daniel's door. After Ariok explained the situation, Daniel doesn't panic. He doesn't make sure his house is in order before he dies, no. He goes in before the king and he asks for time.

When it's granted he tells his 3 friends the problem and then they pray. We don't know how long they prayed for but we do know that it was God who revealed the dream and its meaning to Daniel in a night vision. Daniel doesn't run straight to the king. Nope, he first blesses the God of heaven. We all know this story so well.

The dream's really a timeline into the future, right? It's showing the King what would take place, not just in his own kingdom, but the kingdoms of the world. Daniel had an opportunity to witness for God. God placed him in the right place at the right time to reveal to the King the meaning of the dream and For all of us throughout all the ages to be able to know God's plans To be able to trust that he does know the future and that He can take care of us. This week we're hearing from Stephanie who will share with us about a time that God used her to be in the right place at the right time to share his message with a co-worker.

Just like Daniel, God used her to help the co-worker to see him in a clear way. Daniel, what an amazing Bible character he is. I wonder what he was thinking as he was shackled, shuffling through the desert, away from his home city, his family, and everything he knew, to go spend who knows how long in a foreign land. Oh, if only he knew what God had in store for him. I can't wait to get to heaven and see his expression when he finds out what a remarkable Bible character he became and how his name was known among Christians for centuries and centuries beyond his death.

Daniel didn't know that the king was going to corner him quite in the way that he did. Daniel didn't know that he was going to be representing God in the way that he did. And wow, did God use him simply because he was willing and simply because he had that kind of faith. God trusted Daniel with this situation. That's remarkable.

I'm a nurse. I work in a hospital with cancer patients, and that kind of work environment really has a way of bonding, nursing coworkers together. And I have made some dear friends at work and we've had some deep conversations while at work. And 1 day I was talking with 1 of my coworker friends and we got to talking about spiritual things, more specifically the rapture and the different theories that people have around the rapture. My friend shared with me that when she was a child, the idea of a secret rapture scared her so much.

She used to be so afraid that she would miss it and be lost. She said when she was most afraid, she would call her grandma. Her grandma was the most spiritual person that she knew, and if her grandma answered the phone, then she knew that the rapture hadn't happened yet and she was still safe. My heart went out to her because I thought, what an awful way to live with that kind of fear. God doesn't want us to have fear.

I was really thankful in that moment. We were having the conversation that we had. I was able to look her in the eye and say, the secret rapture theory is nowhere in the Bible. It doesn't teach that. And she looked so confused And she said, isn't it in Revelation?

No, it's nowhere in Revelation. Will you do a Revelation Bible study with me? Will you go through the book of Revelation with me? I'd love to show you what's there and what isn't. And she agreed.

I got to walk through the book of Revelation with a dear friend and coworker and reveal to her the truths that are in it and show her the things that are not in it. It was an incredible experience. We picked apart every verse, sometimes even every word. I learned a tremendous amount. I pray that she learned a tremendous amount.

And more than anything, I'm just so thankful that God used me. I don't have any specific or special talents. I'm not a theologian. I don't have any kind of advanced knowledge in Revelation. I really, really had to study Revelation hard to be able to teach it and present it.

However, God took me, just a regular person, a mom, a nurse, and used me to reveal the entire book of Revelation to someone and to show them the truth of the events surrounding the soon coming of Jesus. It was a marvelous experience and it was an experience that I pray will have an eternal impact on my dear friend. I know that God has plans to use you just like he used me. Did you know that God has plans for you? He does.

He calls for us to go into all the world, To spread the gospel to all of those around us. It doesn't have to be in some big way, but in your everyday conversations with those around you. Ask Him for wisdom, for the words to share, for your eyes to be opened so you can see who he wants you to witness to. Our challenge this week is a craft. It might take some planning, but see if your family can build something that's similar to this statue in Daniel chapter 2.

It doesn't have to look like a man, but the Stagra Tower should be made of different materials. They would need to be something to represent gold and silver, brass, iron, and the iron mixed with clay. The most important point is to remember when selecting items that the tower you build must be made of stronger items at the top and weaker items at the bottom. Get your kids involved, talk together about the story, the lesson as you stack it all up and as the rock is aimed at the bottom, what happens? What can you learn about God from the rock that destroys what you, man, has made?

If you have a picture of your statue that you want to send to us, go ahead and do that. Take a quick picture, send it to us at renewatstartingwithjesus.com. Let's pray. Dear Lord, Help us to be bold and to be brave for you. Just as Daniel was not afraid to stand for you, to share with the King what the meaning was, help us to be able to share with those around us your word so that they can see you in a clear way.

In Jesus' name, amen. This podcast is sponsored by Starting With Jesus. To find out more about other programs, or to find out the links that were shared in this podcast, just check out the description box below.

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Series

Reflect and Renew May 2023

A King’s Nightmare

Description

Parent Series

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Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

Missionary Prisoners

14m

A King’s Nightmare

11m

The Fiery Furnace

17m

The Unseen Watcher

17m

In The Lion’s Den

12m

Sound Doctrine