Chapter 5: Practice From The Heart

Page 20

Turning to the New Century Version we see with clarity the message of God and its meaning. Daniel had to be called to decipher the meaning of

the message for Belshazzar.

[25] “These are the words that were written on the wall: ‘Mene, mene, tekel, and parsin.’ ”

[26] “This is what the words mean: Mene: God has counted the days until your kingdom will end.”

[27] “Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found

not good enough.”

[28] “Parsin: Your kingdom is being divided and will be given to the Medes and Persians.”

[30] “That very same night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonian people, was killed.” Daniel 5:25-28, 30 NCV

Daniel 5 states that Belshazzar “was not sorry for what he had done” and that he had set himself “against the Lord of Heaven.” Further that he “did not honor God, who has power over your life and everything you do.”

I am wondering about you. Do you realize that we serve an awesome God that has expectations and limits despite any past programming? Do you realize that He will stand by His Holy Word despite any Christian belief you have that might try to contradict it? In a “party” atmosphere or sheer

moment in time, you may find that you also have crossed the line with God.

For Belshazzar this meant immediate death and an end to his earthly existence. He certainly wasn’t Heaven bound either. This king set himself

against the God of Heaven who has His own fixed values and definitions of what is right and what is wrong. What is good and what is evil? You might think that homosexuality or lesbianism is of God because it has a “love” component. However, you have simply perverted the ways of God by taking

such a position. You have in fact crossed a line with God. Nothing in Jesus has changed the ways of God or the nature of the kingdom of God.