Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Idols and Furnaces


Occasionally I read through scripture and come across a familiar bible story and my mind re-enacts the Veggie Tales version of the events. I have been reading through Daniel in my devotion time lately and this morning was spending some time in Daniel 3; you know the story of Rack, Shack and Benny. This passage has some great insights for us and some timeless truths for adults of any age.

• Humanity loves to build idols to ourselves. (Daniel 3:5-6)
Nebuchadnezzar decided that he needed to be worshipped as a god. He built an idol and commanded people to worship him. As a leader, I must always be checking my ego to see if I am leading people to follow me or to follow Christ.

• Rack, Shack and Benny took a stand and were unwilling to compromise their convictions to worship only the true God. (Daniel 3:12) We must continually ask the questions, “What am I worshipping instead of God?” We may not have an idol to bow to or an image we worship, but anything that compromises God’s truth for our own pleasure is an idol.

• The three were willing to go to the furnace whether God rescued them or not. (Daniel 3:16-18) It is easy to say we will do whatever God asks of us, but how far are we truly willing to go? They had no guarantee that God would rescue them, only the faith that he could. They were committed to worship only the one true God.

• Their faith was contagious. (Daniel 3:26) Nebuchadnezzar was willing to kill anyone who did not worship him. After the events of Daniel 3, he was willing to kill anyone who spoke against the one true God. Maybe his zeal was a little over the top, but he learned from the three committed followers of God what true faith looked like.

How far are we willing to go for our faith? How much does God call us to seek him and know him in order to make him known to the world around us? Are we willing to go to the furnace for our faith?

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