Holding Onto Papa

August 18
This 35 year old three wheeled tryke was a fun purchase of my father's.  His great grandchildren are still enjoying it.  These pictures teach such a lesson.  The younger grands hold onto their Papa for dear life, but as the children have reached six and up they start wanting to take the controls!

We come into this world dependent on God for that first breathe and on our parents/care givers for the the formidable years to follow, but gradually along the way our independence surfaces and we head off the track into our own adventure,  We forget to hold onto our creator and connect to the fellowship He designed us for.

Yesterday, I started a 17 Day online Study of Daniel.  You know the guy in the lion's den and the one whose three friends were tossed in the fiery furnace. (Check out Shereadstruth.com and Hereadstruth.com).  The author writes this introduction: "In 606 BC, the Babylonians captured Judah and Daniel was included in this captivity... God's people were tossed back and forth under enemy rulers and in camps of exile.  They struggled to obey God's laws and maintain their Jewish heritage  while living like strangers in strange lands.  Obedience and preservation of culture in exile are big themes for the book of Daniel."  Rebecca Faires

"So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile."

2 Kings 17:23

Reliance on God and not self is a BIG take away for me in this book too.  Daniel never tries to take control of the situation, but submits to God and obeys without wavering, even if it means death.

One of the Bibles by my bedside is The Grandmother's Bible published by Zondervan.  On the Daniel Chapter 1 page it states: 

"Obedience honors God and witnesses to others."

Then it poses this question: "When has your obedience to God been a witness to others?"

Let's hold onto our Papa and enjoy the benefits of walking in obedience with Him.