CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS VIEWS IN IUO
ABOUT THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH.. DAILY MEDITATION
DAILY MANNA MONDAY 7TH NOVEMBER, 2022
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DAILY MANNA MONDAY 7TH NOVEMBER, 2022
HAVING A STRONG CONVICTION
TEXT: DANIEL 1:1-8
Daniel 1:1-8 (KJV)
1. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.
2. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.
3. And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes;
4. Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
5. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.
6. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
7. Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abed-nego.
8. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
KEY VERSE: “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” (DANIEL 1:8).
Hundreds of years before Apostle Paul cautioned the Corinthian brethren about consuming food offered to idols, a young Hebrew lad was put to the test over his convictions on the matter. How would he apply his religious principles to small details of daily life like dietary choices? Would he submit to the desire of a king who had exiled him and his people and now was bent on denationalising them by stripping them of their culture and religion?
Daniel was the young man in question. According to the Bible, he passed the test because he “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” While held captive in a hostile land, Daniel never forgot the unambiguous commandment of Jehovah to His people way back in Judah not to meddle with idols. Despite distance and the absence of monitoring influences like family and priests, notwithstanding, Daniel held to the divine instructions he had received.
Our spiritual faithfulness is revealed when we contend against tempting deals from powerful quarters, which the majority might be falling for. Such offers may be seemingly harmless political appointments with hardly discernible spiritual expressions. Daniel saw through the veil because he stuck to the word of God. The Babylonians uprooted him from Judah. But they could not root out the word of God deposited in him way back in Jerusalem.
Believers must diligently teach their children the Scriptures, “and when [they are] old, [they] will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Good teaching produces strong convictions.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 KINGS 13-14
MEDITATION
The secret of true accelerated promotion
Daniel is one of the greatest in both secular and biblical history. In a short time, he became the wisest in Babylon, the city of wise people. What was the secret?
1. The purpose
a. He was a man of godly purpose, v8.
b. Underlying the purpose was a decision to live to please God first before any mortal.
c. He feared God more than the greatest king, called Nebuchadnezzar, in the known world then.
d. What brought them to captivity was idol worship and he, with his colleagues, made up their minds never to contaminate themselves with any taint of idol worship.
e. He purposed to follow the word of God at all cost regardless of the challenges.
Questions
a. What are other underlying decisions that informed his godly purpose?
b. Do you have this kind of purpose that will always avoid all things that brought you down before? “He swears in spite of injuries that may follow and changes not”
c. What are some of those fixed purposes you have or which you must have in order to live for God?
A man that is not determined on what not to fall for will fall for anything at difficult times
This is applicable to career, family, ministerial, spiritual life and other areas.
2. The practical
Let us look closer at his purpose and ask questions.
a. To have a purpose is one thing and to put it into practice is another thing.
b. He “purposed not to defile himself with the portion of the King’s meat…” Why? It had idol contaminations.
c. The fear of the ancient dictator that could
kill or maim at will did not deter him, 2:12,13. Fear God more than any mortal.
d. The tempting sweet smell and luxury of the dish was permanently ignored. Note that the food and the drink were exactly the same that were served the Nebuchadnezzar the Despot, v5. It must be tempting to see all the students in the university of Babylon enjoying the free food and Daniel will only be looking on. That was a strong decision not to conform to the world.
e. Youths want to belong. But Daniel, with the other 3, decided to be different from “common sense”, “common life”, “common association” etc. It takes grace.
f. Nobody was monitoring them to conform to what they were taught by their parents and priests. They had the freedom but brought it under complete subjection.
g. With all these, he could still make a strong and costly decision at his tender teenage age never to compromise
Questions
a. Still thinking about Daniel, what other consideration made that godly decision difficult?
b. What are the godly decisions you need to make and what are the issues that make such decisions hard?
The costlier the decision, the greater the reward and the faster the promotion when God starts dishing out the reward of faithfulness.
Question
Did Daniel ever regret his decision?
The highway to greatness, either in earth or heaven, is laced with rocks and stones, which though will often make the road rough but eventually will be stepping stones to greatness.
Prayer points
Ask God to make you a man of greater godly purpose than at present
Ask God to open your eyes to consecrations you must make and courage to make them
Ask for power never to change or backslide from your godly decisions
Pray for our youths that they will have godly purpose like Daniel
HYMN
I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS
1. I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.
2. Tho’ none go with me, I still will follow,
Tho’ none go with me I still will follow,
Tho’ none go with me, I still will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.
3. My cross I’ll carry, till I see Jesus;
My cross I’ll carry till I see Jesus,
My cross I’ll carry till I see Jesus;
No turning back, No turning back.
4. The world behind me, the cross before me,
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.
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3 Replies
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Praise God
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God is faithful
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Daniel was a wise man that proposed in his heart not to defile himself
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