Daring to Be a Daniel

We live in a time in our nation when the "politically correct" direction is the direction away from God. This is also true in the direction of the church today. Many embrace a direction and a purpose that is anti-scriptural. What do we do in such a situation? In Matthew 5, Jesus reminded us we ARE the light of the world and we ARE the salt of the earth. Both of these word pictures speak of how what we are influences what we do. Because we are a light, we illuminate, and we are conspicuous – "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Because we are salt, we create thirst and impede corruption. As attractive as these word pictures are, they are difficult to live.

A tremendous example of how we are to live in a world like ours is found in the life of Daniel. As we catch up with Daniel, he and his three friends were ripped out of their safe and secure home situations in Jerusalem and transported many miles away from home to Babylon. They were prisoners of war and were being trained to become officials in the government of the Babylonian Empire. It is in the first days of their training process we find Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. As we study this account we will find three parts to Daniel's experience.
I. Daniel's Commitment (v. 8)
II. God's Immediate Blessing (V. 9-16)
III. God's Extended Blessing (V. 17-20)