Honouring the Lord

TEXT: Dan. 10:18,    MORE LESSONS: 2Tim.1:7

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were three Hebrew men who honoured God in a strange land. They were captives to Babylon but stood as ambassadors of Jehovah in the land of captivity. Although they were set up for the purpose of being discredited and destroyed out of jealousy, their faith in God, turned the setup to a turn-up. I imagine how God and the angels in Heaven felt when these Jews dared the king's fire. Their action can be summarized in the following ways.
1. They feared God more than man (v18).
2. Although, far from home, they kept the commandment they had been taught from home, never to bow to any image/idol (Exo. 20:3).
3. They made God proud in heaven, so God also made them proud on the earth.
4. They took a risk for the Kingdom's sake and were not disappointed.
5. They chose not to be cowards or to deny God in a foreign land like the other captives in Babylon. Obviously, God is honoured in these characters. In contrast to these however, when is God dishonoured? He is dishonoured when;
1. we fall flat to simple temptations,
2. we deny Christ because of little earthly, temporary things,
3. we fear man more than God (I Sam. 2:19),
4. we break God's laws with impunity,
5. we toy with sin as if we have no conscience,
6. it doesn't matter becomes our excuse for sin,
7. we begin to classify sin as major or minor. Sin is sin,
8. we disrespect God's appointed leaders for whatsoever reason,
9. we misrepresent God in dressing, speech, and public office.
Friend, God is honoured when like Jesus we have a testimony that we fulfilled all righteousness (Matt. 3:11-15). When we dare the devil and the world to obey God rather than men, then the Fourth Man in the fire will show up for us like He did for the three Hebrews in the fire. My prayers for you today is that as you dare to honour God and take risks for God's Kingdom. Then, God will show up for you.

PRAYER / ACTION
* Pray that your life will bring honour to God and His people.
* Pray that as many as are being persecuted for the sake of heaven will not lose focus nor fail God.
* Pray that you will be a practical and an exceptional example of God's people in your generation.
* Repent of everything you ever did that brought shame to God's name.

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