DANIEL 6
8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
WILL YOU BE A DANIEL?
Imagine the scenario: a letter arrives on your doormat, sealed with the seal of the president of your country and it is binding on all people. You are not allowed to worship on Sunday, to gather for prayer, or to share the Gospel.
Sounds totally unrealistic doesn’t it! It is happening all over the world and in many many countries! They were forbidden for doing the things that we have the opportunity of doing. We have the great blessing of sharing the gospel in freedom, but we take it for granted and we don’t use the blessed opportunity.
So what would you do in response to the letter?
You say this is far fetched! It happened to Daniel. How did he react?
He could have gone to the king and complained, as he was in a position of influence, but he didn’t.
He did one thing; he went to his house, opened the windows and prayed to God. He knew the consequences of doing this, but he did it anyway.
We have to obey the government and respect their orders, except when their decisions infringe upon God’s word.
Peter and John in Acts 4, after being told to stop preaching about Christ, told the Jewish rulers, “We can only speak of the things we have seen and heard.”
Not only did Daniel pray to God, but his prayers were full of thankfulness. What was he thanking God for? I wonder if he was thanking God for the persecution he was experiencing?
What did you think he spent his time doing? Exactly the same thing he was doing right now… praying and giving thanks.
Remember, he was placed in the lions den!
Daniel prayed anyway; he respected Darius, but his love for God exceeded his love for his earthly king.
Are you prepared to be a Daniel and do it anyway?
God bless you
kk
READ
JUDGES 8:22-35
GIDEON’S FALL
Gideon had done well. He had been used of God to get rid of Israel’s enemy. But then after all the good he did, he let Israel off the hook.
Instead of teaching them to fully turn from their sin unto the Lord, he built an altar with an Ephod, and all Israel went after it in sin. Not only that, but also he set a bad example in his personal conduct.
He was sexually immoral, had many wives, and then he had a son by his concubine who stirred up a real hornets nest in Chapter 9.
We have to keep on serving God throughout our lives. Paul in 2 timothy 4 said:
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
Gideon did a lot of good for Israel, but ultimately he left them in the same position as he found them: in idolatry and sin.
We need to be able to say the words like Paul, and not act like Gideon.
Like the generations before, it says as soon as the judge died, the children of Israel went off after other god’s. The land had peace in a physical sense, but they had no spiritual peace.
Gideon was used by God, but his life ended badly. We need to make sure that we don’t end up like Gideon; that we finish well and don’t lead our children into idolatry by leaving behind the wrong type of things and the wrong type of example for the next generation.
What was Gideon remembered for? Maybe as a judge, but also maybe for leading the people into sin and idolatry.
Let’s make sure we can say like Paul!
I HAVE FINISHED THE RACE AND KEPT THE FAITH!
God bless you
kk