Daniel 1-3<\/a><\/p>\nDaily Thought<\/b><\/p>\n
When Babylon sacked Judah, it plundered the best of the best; \u201cWhat was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver\u201d (2Kings 25:15). They also took the best of the people, \u201cyouths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom\u201d (Daniel 1:4). Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, to whom were given new names, \u201cDaniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego\u201d (Daniel 1:7)\u2013in effect, saying, \u201cI own you now.\u201d These young men would be molded in the ways of Babylonian royalty, their language, manner, philosophy\u2013even the food they ate.<\/p>\n
Not the food, said Daniel. To be holy means to be set apart, and Daniel and his friends were holy toward God, not Babylon, so Daniel began small and \u201cresolved that he would not defile himself with the king\u2019s food\u201d (Daniel 1:8). Daniel requested of the steward an alternative diet and invited a comparison; \u201ctest your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink,\u201d (Daniel 1:12) then compare our health to the others. They stood strong in the little matters, preparing themselves for the greater.<\/p>\n
The greater came when Nebuchadnezzar made a towering image of gold and commanded all to bow and worship before it, and Daniel\u2019s friends would not. \u201cWhoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace,\u201d roared the king (Daniel 3:6), to which Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego responded, \u201cO Nebuchadnezzar, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.\u201d A bold declaration, yet six words even more defiant and courageous followed, \u201cbut even if he does not\u201d (Daniel 3:16-18). They would remain holy to God even if it did not appear in their best interest\u2013even if God did not save them. And they were tossed in the furnace.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if he does not,\u201d they would not bow, so they stood and God stood with them. Peering into the flames, Nebuchadnezzar saw the three standing unharmed, but there was another, a fourth. \u201cDid we not cast three men bound into the fire? But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods\u201d (Daniel 3:24-25). God stands with those who stand for God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDaily Prayer<\/b><\/p>\n
My God, I offer myself as a living sacrifice, which means my life is Yours. I give it to You, so it is no longer mine to lose or another\u2019s to own, but Yours to save. I pray, O God, that my faith will be bold, that when I face that which is impossible for me to do, I will trust in the One who can do all things. I pray that I will act not because I am secure in the outcome, but because I am secure in You.<\/p>\n
Amen<\/p>\n
Daily Question<\/b><\/p>\n
What kind of guarantees do you want from God before you would risk your life for him?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Daily Reading Daniel 1-3 Daily Thought When Babylon sacked Judah, it plundered the best of the best; \u201cWhat was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver\u201d (2Kings 25:15). They also took the best of the people, \u201cyouths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful … <\/p>\n
Continue reading “But Even If He Does Not”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[202,22],"class_list":["post-2663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-thought","tag-courage","tag-faith"],"yoast_head":"\nBut Even If He Does Not - In the beginning God<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/davemprice.com\/?p=2663\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"But Even If He Does Not - In the beginning God\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Daily Reading Daniel 1-3 Daily Thought When Babylon sacked Judah, it plundered the best of the best; \u201cWhat was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver\u201d (2Kings 25:15). 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