Eat, Drink and be Assimilated???

How are you doing reading the Bible every day?

 

What would you do if the government took away your Bible, your place of worship and all the customary things you used to do?

 

What would you do if you couldn't attend Youth Group any more? Ever. In fact, it would be against the law for you to hang out with your Youth Group, church friends, etc.?

 

Many of you have memorized God's Word and hidden it in your heart. Why?

 

According to the Psalmist, there are plenty of good reasons:

• How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.
• With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
• Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.
• Blessed are You, O LORD; Teach me Your statutes.
• With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth.
• I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.
• I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways.
• I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word. (Psalms 119:9-16)

The value of hiding God's Word in your heart is pretty clear: it keeps your way pure; so you don't sin against God.  Even Jesus used the Bible to refute Satan when He was tempted during His 40 day adventure in the desert (read Matthew 4:1-11 to see what Jesus said and did).

 

Read on to continue in our study of Daniel and his teenage peers.  I wonder how many of you would do exactly the same thing Daniel did?  He took an incredible risk requesting an exception to the commands placed upon him and his friends.  You have to wonder if Daniel even considered the risk?  It seems reasonable to me that Daniel was out to please God, and God alone.  Are you okay with God forfeiting your life for His purposes?  I get the impression Daniel was WAY okay with whatever God chose to do with him.  He knew the God he loved and served was far greater, more powerful and righteous than the Babylonian King and his cohorts.

 

Daniel knew his life belonged to God.  He sought to keep the law of Moses with his diet and what he drank.

 

When you are with your friends, at school, on that date, at your job...do you keep in the front of your heart that your life belongs to God?  Do you talk differently...eat/drink differently...smell differently...look differently...laugh differently....and care differently?  Your thoughts, words, actions and deeds should reflect that you are a child of God...not a child of the world.

 

There is a song we used to sing when I was in Sunday School:

Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known.

Dare to live your life in honor and praise to God...not the world and not yourself.

 

PlanetWisdom.com Devotionals

Powerful Expectations Posted: 17 Feb 2009 04:56 PM CST "The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service." (Daniel 1:5) After being selected for the king of Babylon's "best and brightest " program, captured students from around the world were put through a three-year course of study and then placed in a high-ranking job. It was kind of like going away to college and a career -- except that you were a conquered slave with little chance of ever going home again. Part of the program included the world's best cafeteria food ever. At this point in history Babylon was the most powerful nation on earth, and they were big into eating and drinking. The kids in this program would get the best food and wine money could buy to help them become the smartest and strongest young men in the world. Of course, everyone selected was expected to participate in everything they were asked. They were expected to eat meat. They were expected to drink wine. If they didn't, the king's anger could be cruel. Think: Has anyone in your life ever just expected that you would go along with something you believed to be a wrong choice? How influenced are you by other people's expectations? Pray: Ask God to give you the wisdom and courage to not just go along with anything because it is expected, but to participate only in what you believe to be right before Him. Do: Pay attention this week to the expectations people put on you without ever really asking if you want to do those things or not. What are your parent's expectations? Your friends? Your teachers? Notice how you respond to those expectations. Visit PlanetWisdom.com for more great resources!