Chapter Ten, Verse One

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Chapter One

I want to thank the most High God for being my confidante and the One who has been with me every step of the way. God is the One who never left me, even when I thought I was all by myself. He is the one who speaks mysteries to my spirit, and then reveals them according to the appointed time that He hath desired. For this, I am truly grateful to be here at such a time as this. It was Him who spoke to the winds and the winds obeyed and it was Him who spoke the words "let there be light and the light began to shine. It was His word that spoke to me in volumes I can't even begin to express to you verbally, but spiritually has empowered me to preach the gospel to every man, woman and child. He is the One who let me know that it is not about the circumstances you face every day but knowing that no matter what it looks like, He, the Almighty is still in control of every facet of our lives.

Now unto Him who was able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, who alone is wise; Be glory and majesty, Dominion and Power, both now and forever. These are words that I am constantly repeating over and over again.

Secondly, I want to thank my friend and co-worker Karen Kiernan who mulled over each and every word and enjoyed reading the words that God has given me and took her time to see that all the punctuation was in place. I want to thank my children whom I love dearly, LaNiece Shante Lewis, my eldest daughter, Chloe Summer, my middle child, and my only son Dominique Noel, who listened to little things that God had given me over time. Those tiny pieces of paper I would straighten out and ask them to "listen to this." My husband who told me time and time again to venture out of the box to complete the word God had given me. My grandson Marquis, who on this particular day sang to me "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine." Last, but not least, you the reader, for wanting to venture out to find out what this book with a peculiar title was all about. I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ.

THERE IS POWER IN THE WORDS

There are certain words and their meanings that caught my attention. These words pulled on my spirit to search them out.

[but]: Outside, without, except (Preposition & conjunction);

[but] on the contrary, notwithstanding (used to connect coordinate elements); with the exception of [but] used before a word often taken to be the subject of a clause;

[but] can be used as a synonym. In this instance there is the implication of the fact that in spite of a preceding concession, something must be considered as possible or even inevitable.

[but] is also used as a coordinating conjunction.

Paronomasia which means "a pun, or play of words or to name or to give a name to."

[Unction] to anoint; the act of anointing as a rite of consecration or healing

[thing] A separate and distinct individual quality, fact, idea, or entity;

A spoken or written observation or point

[true] Honest, just; being in accordance with the actual state of affairs;

The quality or state of being accurate.

[time] the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues; duration;

A continuum which lacks spatial dimensions and in which event succeed one another from past through present to future.

[appointed] A fix time or schedule

[Invasion] any entry into an area not previously occupied;

[Persistence] (noun): continuing existence;

(Synonyms) continuance, durability, endurance, longevity, staying power, tenacity; permanence; [survival] continuation.

[Revealed] To disclose, divulge, unwrap, discover, unwrap

What is in a Name?

As children growing up, we are given nicknames that follow us for the most part, most of our lives. For instance, a baby sucking on his or her mother's breast can send their mother a startling shock to her system when sometime between birth and a few months later he or she will clamp down on her and his or her tiny teeth have now broken through their tiny gums. She might even attempt to go from breast feeding to bottle feeding instantly. The problem with this sudden change is the fact that the child is not familiar with a rubber nipple. The mother will endure the pain and prod the child not to bite. She just might give the child the nickname Booper. I know it sounds funny, but when the child's mother received the shocking news that the baby has teeth, it was painful.

Now the child is weaned and the nickname sticks. Before long, everyone is calling this child Booper and yet they don't even understand how the child acquired the nickname. This brings me to Daniel.

At the young age of 15, Daniel and his friends were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. At birth he was given the name Daniel. You must first understand the meaning of his name. Daniel simply means "God is my Judge." Now that we have some understanding of his name, let's take a look into the name and the reasoning for the name Nebuchadnezzar gave to Daniel. The king changed Daniel's name to Belteshazzar which means "Beltis protect the king or Bel's prince. In order to gain a deeper understanding of this name change of Daniel's I did some further research to find out more.

I found out that this name could be considered to be a Paronomasia which means "a pun, or play of words or to name or to give a name to." However, there is also another meaning to the name Belteshazzar, which is "who lays up treasures in secret." However, you must be careful when looking at the different meanings of this name. You must research to find out the origin before you can state the latter explanation of the name. Let's go a little further into where this name is derived from.

The name Belteshazzar is used to refer to a certain caliber of men in an elite status of those who were educated in the field of magic and astronomy. Further studies led me to the Chaldees or Chaldeans. The name Belteshazzar is a Chaldean name. The Chaldeans were considered a learned class, interesting themselves in science and religion, which consisted, like that of the ancient Arabians and Syrians, of the worship of the heavenly bodies. They were representatives of a class that were considered intelligent, keen and knowledgeable in these areas. This name change could have been disturbing enough to Daniel for him to to just say "it is not worth it." Instead, Daniel holds fast to who he is, who he belongs to and who his God is.

A name change does not necessarily depict your character. If you know who you are despite what anyone else says, your character is given to you by God. You are still a child of the King!!

What is in a name change? Depending on how you look at the question you may want to take into consideration the question. If you are looking for an answer of whom you belong to and what's in a name change, you must start with a walk. In the beginning God changed names, not man.

Genesis: 17:1-6:

1. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

2. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

3. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

4. As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

5. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

6. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

The second name change can be found in the Book of Genesis.

Genesis 32:24-28:

24: And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day;

25: And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

26: And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

27: And he said unto him, what is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

28: And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob; but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hath prevailed.

These men started with a walk to a place they had not known before, but became mighty in God.

Leviticus 26:12 states:

And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.

You will never be by yourself because you have been chosen.

1 Peter 2:9:

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

As mentioned above, you need to take the time to ponder the question before asking yourself the question. If in fact you begin to search out the answer to the question, be aware of whose you are, to whom you belong, what you believe and what God has to say. Always keep in mind that there was a price that was paid for you.

Isaiah 53:4-5 states:

4: Surely he hath borne our grief's, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5: But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

We have to study the word of God in depth and not superficially. Throughout biblical history God is and is forever present despite the shortcomings of his people. It is the same today and I thank God that he is not like us for He is a Sovereign God and has compassion for His people. We, on the other hand, are like chaff blowing in the wind. One second we like you and the next second you are of no use. But everything that God made in the beginning He said that it was good. Throughout biblical history people have always struggled. We struggle everyday. However, we have the blessed assurance that God sent His only begotten Son as a ransom for many. His Son Jesus the Christ tells us in the book of Matthew 28:20:

20: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen.

Pursuant to my quest to find more about this passage, the similarities in the challenges of Daniel's time are about the same today. Idolatry, captivity, unrest, wars, rumor of wars: yes it existed then and it exists now. It is important for us to listen to the Word while reading the Word. Every word you read has instructions for your life. You must therefore believe that God is God and that in spite of what it looks like, He is still in control. When you look at the time line of Daniel's ministry, you will find that Daniel happened to be with the first set of captives taken to Babylon in the year 605 to 536 B.C. You never read about his death. Ezekiel (whose name means strength of God) was taken captive in the year 593 to 571 B.C., close to the end of Daniel's ministry, and Jeremiah's (whose name means exalted or appointed by the Lord) ministry began in the year 629 and he was taken captive in 586; and yet we don't read of their deaths. There were three stages to the siege and each time there was someone in the midst God had already assigned to speak life in a dark situation. These men gave warning, prayed and waited for God to answer. Are we looking at bleak situations or circumstances and speaking a bleak word over our lives? In the book of Proverbs Chapter 18 it is written:

21: Death and Life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it, shall eat the fruit thereof.

Are we waiting for God to answer us today? Or are we just merely adrenaline junkies looking for a quick rush?

It is a terrible thing to say, but most people do not study for themselves. Instead, they thrive on what others have told them. We need a Word from the Lord, not a word from a person. God's Word as you can see in scripture is the only Word that will stand the test of time. Our words are short lived.

In waiting for an answer from God, Daniel had to stay right where he sought God: in Prayer. He wasn't asking for anyone's opinion; he needed an answer that only God could give him. So he waited. In his waiting, the vision that is shown to Daniel is by no means confusing because he says that he had understanding of the vision. Now with that being said, God may not answer you right away for the time might just be a long time. However, you never know what the holdup is and then again maybe you do. Persistence in God is the best remedy. I sometimes find myself rethinking some things that I have asked God for and most of the things (not tangible) seemed so far away because I had prayed for the "thing" so long ago. You know what is so funny about it, the "thing" that I prayed for so long ago and felt as if it would not come to pass, have come. I walk in it everyday. I just never knew when the appointed time had come. So to encourage you today, stay in the place where you had gone to seek the Lord and if you tarry there long enough, you will find Him. The answer is only moments away. Will you tarry? Do you think it is possible for you to stay in that secret place where you can hear His voice? Or, are you too busy and the time has escaped you? Wait on the Lord, be of good courage and he will strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say on the Lord. Just as a cloud blankets the sky, God will blanket your heart. Hold on and don't move no matter what the enemy or the inner me is trying to tell you.

I was watching a movie about a year ago. I cannot remember the name of it but I heard one of the most profound statements that struck me in amazement. The actor was portraying a villain and he told his comrades this: "the biggest lie the devil ever told was convincing people that he didn't exist."

You really can make it through this because scripture tells us "Yet, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us". Just let go of everything else and focus on the Word of God. The Word will bring light in a dreary place and peace as gentle as a lily blowing in the summer breeze. Be slow to move. Remember the story of the rabbit and the turtle. The rabbit was always moving at lightning speed, the turtle moved slowly but at a steady pace. The turtle won the race because he had a rhythm to his moves and the rabbit, well, he got tired. Don't be so quick to be the rabbit. Being a turtle will do just fine.

When you begin to sum up all of the happenings in your life, regardless of whether it is good or not so good, it gets easier when you utilize the Word of God. What is in a name change? Everything is in a name change and the only one I desire to change my name is God. What about you?

God Are You Calling My Name?

God has a way of getting our attention about His Word. This is exactly what happened to me. However, it wasn't the fact that where God was directing me was unfamiliar to me because I had been sent to this profound book before. It wasn't even the fact that there were visions that I could not completely comprehend as to how a human could be taken in the spirit realm where he could understand the meaning of such profound revelations. It wasn't even the fact that much of this book embarks on dreams, visions, government, war and captivity. Even though I asked the question as to how He could withstand it all and live.

When I look at our society, it is mind-boggling that you can buy a gun on the streets like you are in a candy store and take a short trip down the street and begin to fire it randomly without any regard for life. At that very moment someone's life is snatched away while either walking down the street, coming out of a store, getting in or out of a car, sitting on the porch, sitting at home, even sleeping in one's own bed. Drug cartel muscle in on neighborhoods and take over because they think they are invisible. Management of large corporations skim off the top for extra cash to make them feel as if they have the perfect job and then, when caught, act as if they are remorseful. The lawlessness of the land is truly out of control and yet we have law enforcement that can't enforce the law because they are inundated with crimes too numerous to count. The government and local government are full of politicians who constantly lie and cheat, wheel and deal under the table, believing that they will never get caught. Then there is the housing bubble: real estate scams that gave people a false sense of hope. The enemy, a master of disguises, slid his way into peoples' lives and gave them a false sense of hope. What is so sad about this atrocity is the fact that people were convinced that they could afford to pay for houses with little money only to see balloon payments escalate out of control because they didn't read the small print. Now that reality has set in and people are losing their homes, it is enough to push some right to the brink. Some are about to lose their minds. Why is that? Their faith had been misdirected. On the other hand, the people who could afford to pay for their homes were swindled into the refinancing sector of the industry and found themselves in over their heads and are now scrambling to find a solution. Then there were mortgage scams wherein people trusted other people to find solutions to a crooked housing market only to find out in the end that what they have worked so hard for has just been taken from them without a moment's notice. Again, their faith had been misdirected. This has left people with a sense of insecurity.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Chapter Ten, Verse Oneby Kim I. Dixon Copyright © 2012 by Rev. Kim I. Dixon. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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