The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Daniel 1-3
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 8: Exile: God Disciplines His People
Background Information: Daniel 1-3
Daniel and his friends were a part of the first wave of exiles taken from Jerusalem to Babylon. They were selected for their intellectual ability, their physical appearance and their natural leadership qualities. They were to be reprogrammed in Babylonian language and literature, which would have involved religious indoctrination. The goal of the attempt to reprogram the best and the brightest was to weaken Israel’s national strength and to strengthen Babylonian society. Their birth names were taken from them, and they were given Babylonian names. It is interesting that Daniel is not known to this day by his Babylonian name, but by his Hebrew one. The attempt to reprogram him failed. Babylonian culture did not change him, but he changed it. Daniel proved faithful in the small things, like what he ate and drank, and this would lead to opportunity for faithfulness in much larger things. His resistance to reprogramming involved great wisdom. He did not demand and complain, but instead he asked and demonstrated. His ability to be a thermostat not a thermometer, setting the climate and not being set by it, is seen in this subtle and savvy approach. To be sure that we do not make Daniel the hero of the story, early on we are told that all the wisdom and ability Daniel enjoyed was a gift from God. There is much to learn from Daniel’s choices, but there is always only one true hero in every story of the Bible. Daniel will affirm this truth himself when he takes no credit for the interpretation of the king’s dream, but gives full credit to God. The King, however, foolishly believed that Daniel, not Daniel’s God, was worthy of worship. He fell prostrate before Daniel, which we can be sure made Daniel very uncomfortable. There is no evidence that Daniel rebuked the King, but rather he continued to live his life in a way that pointed towards the glory of God and not to his own abilities. We have immediate evidence that the king did not become a follower of Daniel’s God when he set up a huge idol and demanded that everyone worship it. Daniel’s friends passed the famous furnace test, and afterwards, the king does not worship them but rather gives glory to their God! Lives are changed by God’s power as God’s people are faithful in what they both communicate and demonstrate. Faithfulness in our words and actions will point others to the God who can save them
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Ask God for opportunities to have gospel conversations with those in your life who have not been born again.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.