We live in an ever-changing world.  There are transitions and changes taking place all around us.  In Daniel 7, Daniel has an intriguing dream about change.  He has a vision of four beasts coming from the sea.  These beasts were stirred up by the four winds.  In scripture, the restless sea is often imagery for the nations of the world.  There is chaos and disorder.  Daniel is troubled by the vision that he has.  He can’t make sense of it.  So he finds one who can interpret his dream. 

​The four beasts represent four kingdoms, the four kingdoms that Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream.  The sea is the earth.  The lion with the wings of an eagle represented the empire of Babylon.  The bear with three ribs in its mouth symbolized the empire of the Medes and Persians who defeated Babylon. The leopard with four wings represented Alexander the Great and the swift conquests of his army, resulting in the incredible expansion of the kingdom of Greece.  The "dreadful and terrible" beast represented the Roman Empire, as strong and enduring as iron and was like a beast on a rampage.
In Daniel 7: 9-12, the thrones were put into place. The Ancient of Days is seated upon His throne. 

"Ancient of Days" is a name for God that emphasizes His eternality; He is the God who had existed from eternity past, has planned all things, and is working out His plan. Ancient of days speaks to the dignity, endurance, judgment, and wisdom that come with age.  It also speaks to the eternal nature of God.

Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall.  Nations expand and contract.  One super power gives way to another.  It does not matter who the dominant nation is at the time, it is the Ancient of Days who sits on the throne forever.  In contrast to the short shelf life of world powers, there is One who has always existed and will always exist.  Unlike human and worldly affairs, the Ancient of Days is not limited by time.  Everything around us changes.  Seasons change.  Television shows change.  In the political world, even enemies and allies change.  In a changing world, the Ancient of Days is the same. 

The only real security we have in this world is to place our trust in the Ancient of Days.  God’s wisdom can be trusted.  His judgement is fair.  He is righteous and holy.  Even when we are mistreated, the Ancient of Days is watching.  And because He is watching, we can be confident that HHHe will step in and rule in our favor, so that we can inherit the kingdom and be victorious over the enemy!

Last week we looked at the need to teach our children our history.  We can probably agree that we should teach our children our history, but how?  What can we do to pass on the history to the next generation?

• ​Know the history.  You can’t teach what you don’t know.  History helps to instill hope in the current generation of youth.  It also helps them see the hand of God working in the lives of His creation.  Our history is directly linked to what God is doing in the world.  We have to learn it for ourselves.  We cannot just rely on sound bites, vague memories of our childhood Sunday school classes, or what we learned in our grade school history classes.  Our history is worth knowing and sharing.    
• Take the time to answer your children’s questions.  In Deuteronomy 6:20-22, we see that there is an expectation that parents respond to their children’s questions.  Children often turn to their parents for answers.  When parents appear too busy, or their answers are unsatisfactory, children seek other sources to find answers.  Often these sources provide inaccurate and unbiblical views regarding life and history.
  
• Use object lessons to teach God’s truths.  In Joshua 4:4-7 the people of God were to use stones to teach the story of God’s deliverance.  These stones were a visual reminder of the deliverance of God.  There are object lessons all round us that speak to the power of God.  The brightness of Venus on a moonless night is a great segue into an object lesson on God as Creator.  A bird in a treat is a reminder that God provides. 
  
• Expose your children to history.   Take a trip to a museum or historic site.  Help them see how God has been at work throughout the ages.  Share some of the history that you know.  Write it down so that what you know lives beyond your time on earth.  Attend events where history makers are featured.  Encourage your children to do their school papers on lesser known historical figures.  History is much more than George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, Jr.  Use current events as a bridge to the past.

What are some other ways that you think history can be passed along to the next generation?

​In Deuteronomy 6:20-22, Moses says to the people of God, "When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the LORD our God has commanded you?' then you shall say to your son: 'We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and the LORD showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household” (NKJV). 

The people of God were to transmit their own history and write their own narrative.  They were to share their history and heritage with their children.  This was to be done with a view towards the work of God in the lives of His people. 

Textbooks, politicians, and social pundits often attempt to rewrite history.  They attempt to soften the realities of the egregious atrocities of the past by reframing them, renaming them, or omitting them from history books.  They make reluctant participants heroes, and vilify those who speak truth to power. 

God’s word encourages us, yea, commands us to tell our children our story.  We cannot depend on the media or the public education system to tell our story.  We have to take on the responsibility of sharing our history with our children.  In telling our history, we are to tell of the signs and wonders performed by the God of History.  Our story is part of a much larger narrative.  Our history did not begin with the middle passage and slavery in America.  It did not begin with the Civil War.  Our history is deeper than segregation and Jim Crowism.  Our story includes our race and ethnicity background, yet is much more than those. 

​Our history, our story begins before the foundation of the world.  Our story is part of what God has been doing in the world since before the world began.  Our children need to know our history.  They need to know how God is working, even in our darkest hour.  Next week we plan to explore how to tell your history to your children.  

The 2017 Oscars lasted for more than three and a half hours.  There were awards given in twenty four categories.  After being criticized for a lack of diversity in the 2016 Academy Awards, the Oscars for best actress and actor in a supporting role went to African-Americans, as well as the Oscar for best movie.  However, most of the talk about the 2017 Oscars has been about the last 4 minutes.  Out of more than 210 minutes of speeches, jokes, performances, and envelop opening, people are talking about what took place for less than 2% of the total air time of the awards show.  There are some valuable lessons that we can learn as a result of this intriguing phenomenon. 

• Do your best to finish well.  The good that you have done can be tarnished by how you live the last 2% of your life.  And since we never know when the end will be in life, live all of life well.  Fight the good fight, finish your course, and keep the faith.
  
• Even if it is not your fault, it is your responsibility.  Although someone else handed Warren Beatty the wrong envelope, he made it a point to come back and explain what happened.  Jimmy Kimmel also came back and apologized for what happened, although he was sitting in the audience at the time of the incident.  Many times we feel that if it is not our fault, it is not our responsibility.
  
  However, God calls us to take responsibility for things that are not our fault.  We are to take the responsibility of being peacemakers, even when the conflict does not involve us (Matthew 5:9).  We have a responsibility to restore our brothers and sisters who are entangled in their faults (Galatians 6:1-2).  Taking responsibility is not the same thing as taking the blame.  We are not to own the mistakes of others.  However, we can get involved in mitigating the damage caused.
  
• Remember that the praise of men is temporary, but the favor of God eternal.  People will take you on an emotional rollercoaster.  They will praise you and then the next moment criticize you.  They will reward you and then disappoint you.  But God is consistent, perfect, and infallible.  He never makes a mistake.  He is just and fair.  And when He rewards us with a crown of righteousness, it can never be taken away.