Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin

So, I guess I should start this thing by explaining my blog title.  "The Handwriting on the Wall" is inspired by a Beth Moore study I am doing with an amazing group of girls.  We have studied the first half of Daniel already, and I can't wait to see what the second half has in store.  God has used this study to speak to me.  I have felt his presence in the last few weeks like never before.  

Anyway, the story behind the title is this: King Belshazzar and the guests at his banquet were using the holy, anointed goblets from the temple in Jerusalem to toast their gods.  Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote the words "mene, mene, tekel, parsin" on the wall.  Obviously everyone was frightened, but through God, Daniel was able to interpret the message.  An extremely simplified translation is "I am, I know, I act."  What a powerfully simple and comforting message from God (though as you can see from the painting it likely wasn't very comforting to Belshazzar and his guests!).  There are so many ways to discuss the significance of this scripture: the necessity to speak truth even in the most difficult of circumstances, the awareness we must have of using holy vessels (ourselves) for unholy things, the power we have to show Satan "the handwriting on the wall" by the way we live our lives for God.  Ultimately, this bit of scripture has changed my perspective on the way I conduct myself in this so called "Babylon."  If all you remember about Daniel is that he once was in a lion's den (which was all I knew until six weeks ago), I encourage to check out this often forgotten prophet.  It's amazing how a culture from so long ago so specifically relates to the world in which we find ourselves today.     

***Apologies to Beth Moore for condensing a week's worth of homework into one paragraph!