For the next 21 days I will be sharing personal thoughts from our daily #SOAP chapter. Click HERE to learn more about SOAP and to download our reading guide.
Today's Daily Reading: Daniel chapter 1
The book of Daniel begins with Jerusalem besieged and Judah taken captive. Daniel is a young teenage boy who finds himself in a foreign land as a slave. He is amongst the brightest of his contemporaries vying for positions of service in King Nebuchadnezzar's royal palace.
The king wants his new captives to be brain washed with their culture. He wants these young boys to think Babylonian, to act Babylonian, and to want what Babylonians want. He entices them with the best food, wine, and clothing Babylon has to offer. The king ultimately wants them to become Babylonian. Yet, Daniel's lifestyle is not a cultural one. He lives his life to honor God...and only God. He's grounded from the inside out, not effected from the outside in.
Daniel 1:8 says, "Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods."
Daniel has to persuade the king's chief of staff by making a deal to let him and three of his friends to only eat vegetables and drink only water for ten days. After the ten days, Daniel and his friends look better than all the others. King Nebuchadnezzar ultimately personally selects Daniel and his friends to serve in his royal palace.
Daniel overcame peer pressure and the pressure to conform to an ungodly culture by determining not to be defiled. The power to resist culture and sin came through a specific fast. Make a determination today! Set your mind and heart to please God and God alone. Let Daniel's example guide you as you pursue God and His purity.
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