Imitate Jesus

And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

Acts 4:13

A Christian should be a striking likeness of Jesus Christ. You have read lives of Christ, beautifully and eloquently written, but the best life of Christ is His living biography, written out in the words and actions of His people. If we were what we profess to be, and what we should be, we would be pictures of Christ; yes, such striking likenesses of Him that the world would not have to hold us to the mirror and say, “Well, it seems somewhat of a likeness”; they would, when they saw us, exclaim, “He has been with Jesus; he has been taught by Him; he is like Him; he has caught the very idea of the holy Man of Nazareth, and he works it out in his life and everyday actions.”

A Christian should be like Christ in his boldness. Never blush to own your Christianity; your profession will never disgrace you: Take care you never disgrace that. Be like Jesus, very valiant for your God.

Imitate Him in your loving spirit; think kindly, speak kindly, and do kindly, that men may say of you, “He has been with Jesus.” Imitate Jesus in His holiness. Was He zealous for His Master? So should you be, going about doing good. Do not waste time; it is too precious. Was He self-denying, never looking to His own interest? Be the same. Was He devout? Then be fervent in your prayers. Did He defer to His Father’s will? So submit yourselves to Him. Was He patient? So learn to endure. And best of all, as the highest portraiture of Jesus, try to forgive your enemies, as He did; and let those sublime words of your Master, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” always ring in your ears. Forgive, as you hope to be forgiven. Heap coals of fire on the head of your enemy by your kindness to him. Good for evil, remember, is Godlike.

Be Godlike then; and in all ways and by all means so live that all may say of you, “He has been with Jesus.”

Being a Good Steward Matthew 25:19-23

Genesis 1 describes the Lord’s plan for creating the world. Each day, He accomplished His purposes and declared that what He had made was good.

Our plans are to be based on what God wants us to accomplish. That includes looking at how we handle our finances. The heavenly Father has provided us with our material resources and expects us to manage them wisely. The Bible has many verses about money that help us understand His perspective and guide us in setting financial goals.

Not everyone is inclined toward planning for the future. While some of us look ahead a month or two, others live day to day. Such shortsighted thinking can lead to high credit card debt, overdue bills, and inadequate savings. God wants to protect us from risky situations like these.

Some of us already have a financial plan in place, and it is proceeding well: college education, vacations, and retirement are being covered. We should be careful to keep His priorities in mind. Otherwise, we can become too protective of what we have. Luke 12:16-20 tells of a rich man who built bigger barns for storage instead of sharing what he had—and the Lord called him a fool. We certainly don’t want to be foolish in God’s eyes.

Seeking God’s priorities for our spending, saving, and giving will help us be good stewards who use His money wisely. Having a plan will help us stay on track. Imagine what can be accomplished as more of us follow God’s instructions for handling money and invest our resources in His kingdom work.

Harder to be Full than Empty

I know how to abound.

Philippians 4:12

There are many who know “how to be brought low” who have not learned “how to abound.” When they are set upon the top of a pinnacle their heads grow dizzy, and they are ready to fall. The Christian disgraces his profession more often in prosperity than in adversity.

It is a dangerous thing to be prosperous. The crucible of adversity is a less severe trial for the Christian than the place of prosperity. What leanness of soul and neglect of spiritual things have been brought on through the very mercies and bounties of God!

Yet this is not a matter of necessity, for the apostle tells us that he knew how to abound. When he had much, he knew how to use it. Abundant grace enabled him to bear abundant prosperity. When he had a full sail he was loaded with much ballast, and so floated safely. It needs more than human skill to carry the brimming cup of earthly joy with a steady hand; yet Paul had learned that skill, for he declares, “In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger.”

It is a divine lesson to know how to be full, for the Israelites were full once, but while the food was still in their mouths, the wrath of God came upon them. Many have asked for mercies, that they might satisfy their own hearts’ lust. Fullness of bread has often made fullness of blood, and that has brought on emptiness of spirit.

When we have plenty of God’s providential mercies, it often happens that we have but little of God’s grace, and little gratitude for the blessings we have received. We are full, and we forget God: Satisfied with earth, we are content to do without heaven.

Rest assured, it is harder to know how to be full than it is to know how to be hungry–so desperate is the tendency of human nature to pride and forgetfulness of God. Take care that you ask in your prayers that God would teach you how to be full.
Let not the gifts Thy love bestows
Estrange our hearts from Thee.

A Life of Peace Isaiah 26:2-4

Your home offers protection from the elements. So when a storm rolls in, you seek shelter within the safety of those four walls. The same principle applies to life’s storms. If we’ve built a solid house on a foundation of faith, then we’ve got a haven to run to when dark clouds gather and anxiety threatens to overwhelm us.

Let’s suppose I’ve got a problem that has me fretting. My stomach is in knots. Friends and family try to be understanding, but they’re growing weary of me taking my heartache out on them. I’m so focused on this issue that it feels as if I’m carrying a load on my shoulders. God offers a liberating alternative: “Cast your burden upon [Me] and [I] will sustain you” (Ps. 55:22). He does not erase the ills that invade this life. Instead, He shields us from the weight of worry by taking situations into His own hands.

However, the call to a free and peaceful life goes unheeded unless a person has confidence in the Lord. Trust is built through relationship—praying during daily trials and triumphs, seeking biblical guidance for decisions, and testing God’s Word to see that it is true and practical for this life. That’s how a house of faith is constructed brick by brick on the solid rock of Jesus Christ.

A believer who trusts in God receives the peace that Philippians 4:7 promises. But unshakeable peace isn’t instantaneous; it is cultivated through a consistent relationship with the Lord. A lifestyle of dependence upon Him is the key to weathering storms with supernatural calm.

On a Fool’s Errand?

And when David inquired of the Lord . . .

2 Samuel 5:23

When David made this inquiry, he had just fought the Philistines and gained a classic victory. The Philistines came up in great numbers, but, by the help of God, David had easily put them to flight. Note, however, that when they came a second time, David did not go up to fight them without inquiring of the Lord. Once he had been victorious, and he might have said, as many have in other cases, “I shall be victorious again. I may rest quite sure that if I have conquered once I shall triumph yet again. Why should I delay by seeking God?”

Not so David. He had gained one battle by the strength of the Lord; he would not venture upon another until he had ensured the same. He inquired, “Shall I go up against them?” He waited until God’s sign was given.

Learn from David to take no step without God. Christian, if you would know the path of duty, take God for your compass; if you would steer your ship through the dark billows, put the tiller into the hand of the Almighty. Many a rock might be escaped if we would let our Father take the helm; many a shoal or quicksand we might well avoid if we would leave it to His sovereign will to choose and to command.

The Puritan said, “As sure as ever a Christian carves for himself, he’ll cut his own fingers.” This is a great truth. Another old divine said, “He that goes before the cloud of God’s providence goes on a fool’s errand,” and so he does. We must mark God’s providence leading us; and if providence delays, wait until providence comes. He who goes before providence will be very glad to retreat.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go,”¹ is God’s promise to His people. Let us, then, take all our perplexities to Him and say, “Lord, what will you have me do?” Do not leave your house this morning without inquiring of the Lord.
¹Psalm 32:8

Unshakeable Peace Philippians 4:6-7

Anxiety is the enemy of a peaceful life. People go to great lengths to get rid of stress: travel ads promise that vacations will sweep you away from it; gyms offer to help you “sweat it out”; and popular magazines suggest ways to lessen it by adjusting schedules or habits. The problem is that no one can adequately shift circumstances to achieve total freedom from heartache, burdens, or trouble.

However, we can have unshakeable peace during anxious times. Jesus said to seek peace in Him because He has overcome this troublesome world (John 16:33). The key is to shift our focus from the scary problem onto God, who lovingly provides whatever we need from His limitless resources and power (Ps. 50:10; Rom. 8:11).

Serenity can’t be manufactured—it’s a gift from our heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit produces a sense of calm in believers who seek the Lord’s protection against anxiety (Gal. 5:22). The Greek word translated as guard in today’s passage literally means “to garrison about.” God wraps hearts and minds in peace, effectively safeguarding both against all-consuming worry or fear. Notice that He doesn’t make problems go away—we may still be under pressure or prone to weep, but we’re cushioned against anxiety and surrounded by peace instead.

Today’s verses tell us to pray rather than give in to anxiety. These words are Paul’s orders for doing battle against the stresses and troubles of this world. Prayer keeps your mind and heart garrisoned with peace. Keep trusting in God so that your defenses are strong and anxiety cannot slip in.

You shall call his name Jesus

You shall call his name Jesus.

Matthew 1:21

When a person is dear, everything connected with him becomes dear for his sake. Thus, so precious is the person of the Lord Jesus in the estimation of all true believers that everything about Him they consider to be inestimable beyond all price. “Your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia,” said David,1 as if the very vestments of the Savior were so sweetened by His person that he could not but love them. It is certain that there is not a spot where His hallowed foot has trod, there is not a word that His blessed lips have uttered, nor a thought that His loving Word has revealed that is not precious to us beyond all price.

And this is true of the names of Christ–they are all sweet in the believer’s ear. Whether He is called the Husband of the church, her Bridegroom, her Friend; whether He is referred to as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world–the King, the Prophet, or the Priest–every title of our Master–Shiloh, Emmanuel, Wonderful, the Mighty Counselor–every name is like the honeycomb dropping with honey, and luscious are the drops that distill from it.

But if there is one name sweeter than another in the believer’s ear, it is the name Jesus. Jesus! It is the name that moves the harps of heaven to melody. Jesus! The life of all our joys. If there is one name more charming, more precious than another, it is this name. It is the melody of our psalms. Many of our hymns begin with it, and scarcely any, that are good for anything, end without it. It is the sum total of all delights. It is the music with which the bells of heaven ring, a song in a word, an ocean for comprehension, a matchless oratorio in two syllables, a gathering up of the hallelujahs of eternity in five letters.
Jesus, I love Thy charming name,
‘Tis music to my ear.
¹Psalm 45:8

Who Owns It All? 1 Chronicles 29:10-14

A serious error has made its way into the church. Some Christians think that their beliefs and their wallet belong in separate spheres. The truth is, financial health and obedience to God are inseparable. He owns everything (Hag. 2:8; Ps. 24:1). Cash, possessions, and ways to earn more are gifts from the Lord; we are simply stewards.

A steward oversees the use and care of someone else’s riches. A wise steward bases financial decisions upon the owner’s rules for using and multiplying material goods. In our case, God has woven financial principles into the fabric of Scripture. Since money touches nearly every aspect of life, it is mentioned 2,300 times in many different contexts. For example, God urged the Israelites to stay faithful to His teachings and to avoid the trap of self-reliance (Deut. 8:18). He reminded them that the power to make wealth resides with Him rather than in their own hands.

The minute a steward presumes that he owns the money he manages, mistakes are made. He stops consulting the Owner and spends as he sees fit. Even in trying to do good, the wayward steward is ruled by his shortsighted perspective rather than God’s omnipotent view and gentle guidance. He will suffer the consequences of violating Scripture’s financial principles.

Faith and finances are permanently intertwined. The bottom line is that we cannot keep our money out of God’s hand, because He holds it all—we simply manage it. And we are to do so in wise and biblical ways. A maturing believer follows the Lord’s principles for using and growing wealth.

Our Final Journey

Arise and go.

Micah 2:10

The hour is approaching when the message will come to us, as it comes to all, “Arise, and leave the home in which you lived, from the city in which you have done your business, from your family, from your friends. Arise, and take your final journey.”

And what do we know of the journey? And what do we know of the country to which we are going? We have read a little about it, and part has been revealed to us by the Spirit; but how little do we know of the realms of the future! We know that there is a black and stormy river called Death. God bids us cross it, promising to be with us.

And after death, what comes? What wonder-world will open upon our astonished sight? What scene of glory will be unfolded to our view? No traveler has ever returned to tell. But we know enough of the heavenly land to make us welcome our summons there with joy and gladness.

The journey of death may be dark, but we may face it fearlessly, knowing that God is with us as we walk through the gloomy valley, and therefore we need fear no evil. We shall be departing from all we have known and loved here, but we shall be going to our Father’s house–to our Father’s home, where Jesus is–to that royal “city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”¹ This will be our last relocation, to live forever with Him we love, in the midst of His people, in the presence of God.

Christian, meditate much on heaven; it will help you to press on and to forget the difficulty of the journey. This vale of tears is but the pathway to the better country: This world of woe is but the stepping-stone to a world of bliss.
Prepare us, Lord, by grace divine,
For Thy bright courts on high;
Then bid our spirits rise, and join
The chorus of the sky.
¹Hebrews 11:10

Prayer-Based Planning Luke 14:28-30

In Luke 14, Jesus’ example of building a tower shows the importance of planning and using resources wisely. Otherwise, money may run out before the work is done.

Any financial plan should be covered with prayer. First, ask God for the wisdom to understand His teachings about money and how they apply to your situation. Next, pray for clarity about all details—including how much is earned as well as how much is spent.

One final step is to seek the Lord’s guidance in assessing whether spending habits are in line with His priorities. In evaluating this, it is helpful to divide expenses into categories, including:

1. Giving to the local church, missionaries, and other organizations

2. Basic needs—food, clothing, and housing

3. Insurance, retirement plan, savings

4. Debt, such as second mortgages, loans, and credit cards

5. Personal spending on entertainment and extras—cell phones, Internet, cable TV, eating out, vacations, etc.

Some of us will discover that our finances are not in line with scriptural principles, which may be discouraging. If this is true of you, turn to the Lord, confess what has happened, and pray for the strength to handle your God-given resources His way.

Financial discipline is a learned skill. It requires a commitment to live according to Scripture, persistent effort to change bad habits, concentration to develop new ones, and faith that we can learn to live according to God’s priorities. We’re blessed when we practice prayer-based planning.

The Father’s Role

The father has sent his son to be the savior of the world.

1 John 4:14

It is a sweet thought that Jesus Christ did not appear without His Father’s permission, authority, consent, and assistance. He was sent by the Father, that He might be the Savior of men.

We are too apt to forget that while there are distinctions as to the persons in the Trinity, there are no distinctions of honor. We are prone to ascribe the honor of our salvation, or at least the depths of its benevolence, more to Jesus Christ than to the Father. This is a very great mistake. Yes, Jesus came, but didn’t His Father send Him? He spoke powerfully, but didn’t His Father pour grace into His lips, that He might be an able minister of the new covenant? Whoever knows the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit as they should know them never sets one before another in his love; he sees them together at Bethlehem, at Gethsemane, and on Calvary, all equally engaged in the work of salvation.

O Christian, have you put your confidence in the Man Christ Jesus? Have you placed your trust solely on Him? And are you united with Him? Then believe that you are united with the God of heaven. Since to the Man Christ Jesus you are brother and live in close fellowship, you are in this way linked with God the Eternal, and “the Ancient of days” is your Father and your friend.

Did you ever consider the depth of love in the heart of Jehovah, when God the Father equipped His Son for the great enterprise of mercy? If not, meditate today on this: The Father sent Him! Contemplate that subject. Think how Jesus works what the Father wills. In the wounds of the dying Savior view the love of the great I AM. Let every thought of Jesus be also connected with the Eternal, ever-blessed God, for “It was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief.”

^1
1Isaiah 53:10

The Effectiveness of God’s Way Exodus 3:1-22

Yesterday we observed the ineffectiveness of Moses’ attempt to liberate his people from Egyptian slavery, but today we see him given a second chance to do it God’s way. If we could learn the lessons Moses learned about the dangers of self-reliance and the advantages of depending on the Lord, we would save ourselves much hardship.

When we choose to cooperate with God and submit to His way, He will do amazing things in and through us. Despite Moses’ past failure, the Lord still used him to accomplish the divine plan, but only after he became usable—that is, humbled and broken of self-will. Just consider what God achieved when Moses did it His way.

• He showed what great things He could do through one yielded, dependent person.

• He got more done in less time, and with fewer resources. There was no insurrection or long, drawn-out war—just a dramatic display of His power.

• He proved the superiority of His way by freeing over two million people without the loss of a single Hebrew life.

• He sent impoverished slaves out of bondage with their captors’ riches (Ex. 3:21-22).

• He proved to both the Israelites and the Egyptians that He alone is the God of heaven and earth.

• He received all the glory.

Our past failures never prevent God’s willingness or ability to use us. In fact, our weakness is a great opportunity for the display of His glory. In our own strength, we are totally ineffective. But when we submit to the Lord’s authority, we can experience His victory in whatever He calls us to do.

God’s Vast Love for Us

. . . Even as the Lord loves.

Hosea 3:1

Believer, look back through all your experience, and think of the way in which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness, and how He has fed and clothed you every day–how He has suffered your poor behavior–how He has put up with all your murmurings and all your longings after the flesh-pots of Egypt–how He has opened the rock to supply you and fed you with manna that came down from heaven. Think of how His grace has been sufficient for you in all your troubles–how His blood has been a pardon to you in all your sins–how His rod and His staff have comforted you.

When you have then reflected upon the love of the Lord, let faith survey His love in the future, for remember that Christ’s covenant and blood have something more in them than the past. He who has loved you and pardoned you will never cease to love and pardon. He is Alpha, and He shall be Omega also: He is first, and He shall be last.

Therefore, remember when you pass through the valley of the shadow of death, you need fear no evil, for He is with you. When you stand in the cold floods of Jordan, you need not fear, for death cannot separate you from His love; and when you come into the mysteries of eternity you need not tremble, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”¹

Now, soul, is not your love refreshed? Does not this make you love Jesus? Does not a survey of the vastness of God’s loving care stir your heart and compel you to delight yourself in the Lord your God? Surely as we meditate on the love of the Lord, our hearts burn within us, and we long to love Him more.
¹Romans 8:38-39

So far this week this blog has been averaging 8 hits a day. That is really good, keep it up and study and Pray every day.  The devotionals this week have been right on the money too!

By the way, this Blog’s first post was on Dec 29, 2009.  Which means it has been going for over a year now and can be a study resource now too. If you look there is a search field on the same bar as the page titles. Put it any word or scripture and it will find every instance that it has been used in all the posts and pages. Try it some time soon, it works pretty fast.

There will be another Family Bible Study Friday or Saturday Night, hope you are doing your home work…

Keep up the studying and learning, drawing closer to God our Father. We need this more than ever. Love You! Dad

Our Way or God’s Way Exodus 2:11-25

Whenever challenges come, there are two different ways to respond: God’s way or our way. Moses is an example of a man who, on separate occasions, tried out both options. In today’s passage, we see what happened when he took matters into his own hands. Although his motives were pure—namely, the relief of his peoples’ suffering—his method was wrong. Moses made three mistakes.

1. He focused on the difficulty instead of on the Lord. How often have you and I done the same thing? The unfairness or pain of a situation grabs our attention and in our quest for a solution, we forget our all-powerful God.

2. He relied on his own strength and understanding. When a problem arises, the most natural response is to do what we can to make it right.

3. He acted impulsively rather than waiting on the Lord. If a situation seems urgent, fixing the problem as fast as possible becomes our top priority.

Our way can look so logical at the time, but let’s consider how effective Moses was in achieving his goal. An Egyptian was killed, but the Hebrew people weren’t liberated. Moses was misunderstood by those he tried to help, and his life took an unexpected detour into the desert for 40 long years.

We’ve all followed Moses’ example at some point and suffered the consequences of self-reliance. But God didn’t reject Moses and cancel His plans for him. Instead, He refined the future leader’s character through trials and gave him another chance. Don’t you think the Lord will do the same for us?

In Debt to the Attributes of God

So then, brothers, we are debtors.

Romans 8:12

As God’s creatures, we are all debtors to Him: to obey Him with all our body and soul and strength. Having broken His commandments, as we all have, we are debtors to His justice, and we owe to Him a vast amount that we are not able to pay.

But of the Christian it can be said that he does not owe God’s justice anything, for Christ has paid the debt His people owed; for this reason the believer is in debt to love. I am a debtor to God’s grace and forgiving mercy; but I am no debtor to His justice, for He will never accuse me of a debt already paid. Christ said, “It is finished!” and by that He meant that whatever His people owed was wiped away forever from the book of remembrance. Christ has completely satisfied divine justice; the account is settled; the handwriting is nailed to the cross; the receipt is given, and we are no longer in debt to God’s justice. But then it follows that since we are not debtors to our Lord in that sense, we become ten times more debtors to God than we should have been otherwise. Christian, pause and consider for a moment.

• What a debtor you are to divine sovereignty! How much you owe to His disinterested love, for He gave His own Son that He might die for you.
• Consider how much you owe to His forgiving grace, that even after ten thousand offenses He loves you as infinitely as ever.
• Consider what you owe to His power; how He has raised you from your death in sin; how He has preserved your spiritual life; how He has kept you from falling; and how, though a thousand enemies have surrounded your path, you have been able to hold on your way.
• Consider what you owe to His immutability. Though you have changed a thousand times, He has not changed once.

You are as deep in debt as you can be to every attribute of God. To God you owe yourself and all you have: Offer yourself as a living sacrifice; it is but your reasonable service

The Power of Consistency Daniel 6:1-28

We live in a noncommittal world, where the ability to persevere through difficulty is a rare character trait.
If a job is difficult or boring, it’s all too common for people to think, Why not quit and find another one? When a marriage becomes stressful and unhappy, it’s easier to give up or start over with a new mate. In fact, many couples live together without a marital commitment.

Sadly, this lack of consistency is evident even among believers. At the first sign of conflict or disagreement, some Christians hop to another church instead of remaining loyal to one local body of believers and working through their difficulties. And in our personal spiritual walks, many of us struggle to maintain a consistent quiet time with the Lord. Exhaustion or the demands of the day cause us to let that time slide as we pursue the things of this world.

Daniel was a man of steadfast loyalty. Even the awareness that he could be killed didn’t interfere with his practice of praying three times a day. Such devotion to the Lord was noted by others. Jealous satraps and commissioners used Daniel’s consistency to trap him, but the king believed it would be the key to his deliverance: “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you” (v. 16).

The biblical descriptions of Daniel are impressive: he influenced nations and powerful leaders. But have you considered that the Lord was able to use him greatly because of his unwavering obedience and worship? Just imagine what God can do with you, if you likewise commit yourself to Him.

The Amazing Gift of Pardon

Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Hebrews 9:22

This is the voice of unalterable truth. In none of the Jewish ceremonies were sins even typically removed without blood-shedding. In no case, by no means can sin be pardoned without atonement. It is clear, then, that there is no hope for me outside of Christ; for there is no other blood-shedding that is worth a thought as an atonement for sin.

Am I, then, believing in Him? Is the blood of His atonement truly applied to my soul? All men are on the same level in terms of their need of Him. Even if we are moral, generous, amiable, or patriotic, the rule will not be altered to make an exception for us. Sin will yield to nothing less potent than the blood of Him whom God has set forth as a propitiation. What a blessing that there is the one way of pardon! Why should we seek another?

Persons of merely formal religion cannot understand how we can rejoice that all our sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. Their works and prayers and ceremonies give them very poor comfort; and their unease is no surprise, for they are neglecting the one great salvation and endeavoring to get remission without blood.

My soul, sit down and recognize that a just God is bound to punish sin; then consider how that punishment all falls upon the Lord Jesus, and fall down in humble joy at the feet of Him whose blood has made atonement for you. It is useless when conscience is aroused to trust in feelings and evidences for comfort; this is a bad and sorry habit. The only cure for a guilty conscience is the sight of Jesus suffering on the cross. “The blood is the life,” says the Levitical law, and let us rest assured that it is the life of faith and joy and every other holy grace.
Oh! how sweet to view the flowing
Of my Savior’s precious blood;
With divine assurance knowing
He has made my peace with God.

The Influence of Our Convictions Daniel 1:1-21

Although our circles of influence vary in size, we all have the power to affect others—either for good or bad. Whether at home, in the church, or in the world, our lives are on display. Many times we aren’t even aware of who is impacted by our words, attitudes, and actions.

Daniel didn’t set out with the purpose of making an impression on others, but something about him affected everyone who came in contact with him—from lowly servants to kings of empires. What made this young man stand out was his commitment to his convictions. He believed in the absolute truth of the Scriptures. When he was taken to Babylon, he “made up his mind” not to defile himself with the king’s food because he knew that eating meat offered to idols was forbidden by the Mosaic law.

Daniel’s convictions, not his environment, determined his behavior. Our world offers a multitude of ways to compromise on what we know is right, but if we’ll make up our minds ahead of time, we, too, can stand firm in our obedience to God. Although an unbelieving world may mock our values and lifestyle, their respect for
us actually lessens when we waffle and give in to temptations. What’s worse, our witness for Christ is damaged.

Conviction about God’s truth is like an anchor. When the winds of opinion blow and the waves of temptation pound us, we can know with certainty the right way to respond. Don’t vacillate in your obedience to the Lord. Your unwavering stand for what’s right can powerfully influence others.

The Forgiven Child of God

They shall sing of the ways of the Lord.

Psalms 138:5

The time when Christians begin to sing in the ways of the Lord is when they first lose their burden at the foot of the cross. Not even the songs of the angels seem so sweet as the first song of rapture that gushes from the inmost soul of the forgiven child of God. You know how John Bunyan describes it. He says when poor Pilgrim lost his burden at the cross, he gave three great leaps and went on his way singing,
Blest Cross! blest Sepulchre! blest rather be
The Man that there was put to shame for me!

Believer, do you recollect the day when your fetters fell off? Do you remember the place when Jesus met you and said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; none of them shall be remembered against you.”

Oh, what a sweet season it is when Jesus takes away the pain of sin. When the Lord first pardoned my sin, I was so joyful that I could barely refrain from dancing. I thought on my road home from the house where I had been set at liberty that I must tell the stones in the street the story of my deliverance. So full was my soul of joy that I wanted to tell every snowflake that was falling from heaven of the wondrous love of Jesus, who had blotted out the sins of one of the chief of rebels. But it is not only at the commencement of the Christian life that believers have reason for song; as long as they live they discover cause to sing in the ways of the Lord, and their experience of His constant loving-kindness leads them to say, “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”¹ See to it, Christian, that you magnify the Lord this day.
Long as we tread this desert land,
New mercies shall new songs demand.
¹Psalm 34:1