 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Article Archive |
2008
DARE to be a Daniel!
by Jim Morris
We live in troubled times. We face tremendous pressures to conform to the evil ideas and practices of the world every day! Peer pressures can turn even the best kid into worst kid.
Remember what the apostle Paul said? “Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.' Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34).
It takes someone with extraordinary faith and godly character to resist evil in all of its forms. In the book of Daniel we get a glimpse of such a person – Daniel. Therefore, let us briefly look into his life to see how he did it. May we “dare to be a Daniel” ourselves!
Daniel stood his ground when he was away from home (Daniel ch. 1). He refused to break with the smallest teachings of God. The king offered Daniel and his friends food from his own table but they refused because it did not conform to God's food laws. How many young folks today cannot wait to depart from their religious teachings as soon as they are away from home? They quit attending worship, start hanging out with the drinking crowd, and before you know it they have completely departed from their faith in God.
Since Daniel was faithful in the little things, God gave him responsibilitites in the bigger things. For example, Daniel saved the lives of all the wise men in the kingdom when he interpreted a disturbing dream of the king (Daniel ch. 2). King Nebuchadnezzar threatened to kill all of the wise men in Babylon because none of them could tell him what his dream was or what it meant. However, because Daniel stood with God he was able to stand in any trial. God explained the dream to Daniel who then told the king. Under threat of death, God saved Daniel's life and all of the lives of the wise men. How many young folks have such grace under pressure?
Daniel set an example of unshakeable faithfulness. Now Daniel's friends are forced to stand in a firey furnace because of their faith (Daniel ch. 3). Some of the ungrateful wisemen attempted to get Daniel's friends killed for not worshiping an idol that the king set up for his citizens to fall down before when the music played. However, Daniel's friends refused to worship anything other than God. The king was furious and had them thrown into his furnace. Nevertheless, God did not allow His servants to burn up! How many young folks (or older folks as well) have such backbone and courage to face certain death for their godly convictions?
Daniel was called upon to deliver “bad news” when he interpreted the writing on the wall for another king (Daniel ch. 5). The king had desecrated the holy objects of the Jewish worship so that God wrote a message of doom on the palace wall during a drunken party. Daniel was brought in to interpret the writing. He told the truth and was awarded. How many young folks would rather lie when it sounds bad than to simply tell the truth as it is?
In his old age after decades of faithful service, Daniel was thrown to the lions but God tamed them (Daniel ch. 6). Daniel never harmed anyone yet some were jealous of him. It is ironic that Daniel saved folks but some of them sought to kill him. How many young folks would maintain faithfulness to God and goodwill toward men under such circumstances?
This year, the church of Christ is hosting a VBS for the Dixon community on the challenging theme: “Dare to be a Daniel!” The event begins at 9:00 am and ends at 12:30 pm with a delicious hot dog cookout. Parents are welcome to stay the whole time or to just come at noon to hear the wrap up and presentation of awards followed by lunch. All are welcome!
07-30-08
# 31
