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May 12 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18. By comparison our trials are much less than these three brave companions of Daniel. How many of us would have ‘knuckled under’ to this kind of pressure? It is so remarkable to consider the faith of three relatively unknown followers of the Lord. We think we are so well equipped with the Word and the support of Christian friends in our church sanctuaries. But God is asking us for our faith to be put to work, and there sometimes come challenges that clearly show us that only God can provide the solution. We are not likely to see the flames of a furnace, about to consume us, but we are to take stands that place our faith on the line—however dramatically. Take the area of our finances. So it is that our checkbook always reflects the priorities of our heart. Can we trust God to give us the proper priorities? Or what about the way we spend our time? Often we seem to live as if there were no purpose, no intention, in reaching others for Christ. We are afraid of what others might think. I can only say that we have been given everything that we need for the present as well as the future. We have Christ living within us. We are living within Him. How can we conceivably ask for anything more? Our Father, we ask for boldness to face the world around us. We have nothing to lose, for whether we live or die we are to spend eternity with You. Show we the courage that is like that shown by friends of Daniel. You equipped them and You can do the same for us. No situation is too difficult, and we only want all praise to go to You. Amen. |
