Defiant Daniel

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Daniel 6:12-23

TO CHEW ON: “ 'My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.' ” Daniel 6:22

“Bring them in!” commanded king Darius to his servant.

The Babylon rulers smirked as they entered and bowed before the king. “We’ve found someone who broke your new law,” they said. “We caught Daniel praying to his God.”


Darius was shocked. Not Daniel! He was his favorite servant. And then he understood. The other rulers were jealous of Daniel. They wanted him gone. They knew that he prayed to his God three times a day. So that was why they had come to the king and suggested he pass the new law. It said that for thirty days it was illegal to pray to anyone but the king. Punishment for disobeying was death by hungry lions.

All day King Darius tried to get Daniel freed. But he couldn’t. “May the God whom you serve rescue you,” he said to Daniel as servants tossed him into the lions' den.




That night King Darius didn’t feel like eating, or listening to music, or watching plays, or laughing at jesters. He couldn’t even sleep. At first light he jumped out of bed and ran to the lions' den. “Daniel,” he called, “did your God rescue you?”


How overjoyed he was when he heard Daniel’s voice, “O King, live forever. My God did save me. He sent his angel and he shut the lions’ mouths.”

King Darius commanded his servants to take Daniel out of the den right away. Then he rounded up the men who had plotted against Daniel and had them and their families thrown to the lions. After that he passed a new law: “Everyone in the kingdom must fear and reverence Daniel’s God.”

How do you think Daniel felt when he discovered that praying to God had suddenly become a crime? Do you think he was ever tempted to stop praying openly as he always did?

We too may someday find ourselves in situations where obeying God is against the law of the land where we live. What will we do then? Will we compromise our beliefs to save our reputations or even our lives? Or will we risk disobeying our country’s law to honor God and trust Him to rescue us, like Daniel did?

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to know when obeying You is more important than obeying the law of the land. Help me to be brave and obey You then. Amen

MORE: Civil disobedience
The Bible makes it clear that we are to obey the laws of the land in which we live. However, there are times when obeying those laws make it impossible for us to obey God. Breaking the law at those times is sometimes called ‘civil disobedience.’

In the New Testament when Peter and John were commanded to stop talking about Jesus, for example, they refused. Peter said: “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)

In many countries it is against the law to be a Christian. It is also against the law to tell others about Jesus, meet for worship or have a Bible. The penalty may be prison or death.

- Do you have any laws like this in the place where you live?

- Do you obey them? Why or why not?

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

God's Graffiti

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Daniel 5:1-6

TO CHEW ON: "Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking" Daniel 5:5,6.

What is the most mysterious thing you have ever seen?

I’m sure that for King Belshazzar it was the night a body-less hand wrote on his wall.

The night started out as a fun party. To make it special, Belshazzar served wine in the gold goblets brought from the temple in Jerusalem. Everyone was having a great time eating, drinking, talking, laughing, and dancing when from nowhere a hand appeared. When Belshazzar saw it, he stared. How could this be? The longer he watched, the more scared he became. Whose hand was this? The words were in a language he couldn’t read. What did they say? What did they mean?


The queen mother saw how frightened he was. “I know who will be able to read this,” she said. Then she called for Daniel.


Daniel told King Belshazzar that the words were a message from God. Because he hadn’t honored God but had even used the temple goblets for his party, God was planning to give his kingdom to someone else. And that very night it happened. Darius, a rival king from Persia killed Belshazzar and took over the throne of Babylon.

Perhaps you have family and friends who are a lot like Belshazzar in the way they ignore and dishonor God. They don’t read the Bible or pray. Perhaps they even make fun of God and insist that He isn’t real. God is not stumped or stopped by this. He never runs out of ways to get someone’s attention. Trust Him to get through to your loved ones when you can’t.

PRAYER: Dear God, please talk to my friends and family members who don’t know You. Amen.


MORE: Creative Communication

There are many stories in the Bible of God speaking with people in interesting ways. Can you complete the sentences that tell of some of them. Use the word bank below to help fill in the blanks.

1. God gave Joseph a glimpse of his future in a _______. (Genesis 37:5-7)

2. God called Moses from a _________ _________ . (Exodus 3:4)

3. When Balaam went to curse Israel, God caused his _________ to speak. (Numbers 22:27-30)

4. God talked to Elijah in a ________ __________ . (1 Kings 19:12-13)

5. Saul saw a flash of light and heard a _________. (Acts 9:3,4)

6. God talked to Peter in a _________ or vision. (Acts 10:10-13)

dream      donkey      gentle whisper

trance      voice      burning bush

ANSWERS

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Fire Test

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Daniel 3:1-18


TO CHEW ON: "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:17,18

One day an urgent message was sent to all the provinces of Babylon: “Come to the plain of Dura. Nebuchadnezzar is putting on a special celebration.”

Daniel’s three friends Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego joined the rest of the rulers. When they got to Dura they saw a huge golden statue as high as a six-story building. An announcer was telling everyone what to do: “When you hear the music, fall down and worship the statue. Whoever doesn’t will be burned in a furnace.”

Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego didn’t want to pray to anyone but God. Yet the price of disobeying was certain death. What should they do?


Soon the music started. Immediately everyone around them fell to their knees. But Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego stayed standing. Many people saw them. Soon someone came to them and said, “Nebuchadnezzar wants to see you.”

Nebuchadnezzar was furious. “Is it true that you three didn’t pray to my statue?”

“Yes,” they replied.

“Maybe you don’t understand. When you hear the music you must worship the image or I will throw you into the fire.”

Then the three friends said to Nebuchadnezzar, “We don’t have to protect ourselves from you. Because the God we serve can keep us from being burned. But even if he doesn’t, we won’t worship that statue or serve your gods.”

Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego were determined to please only God, no matter what happened to them. Do we have the same determination? There may be consequences. For some those consequences may be people teasing us, mocking us and leaving us out. For others it may be as serious as death. But like Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego, we don’t need to fear. For God has the power to save us like He saved them, or to take us to be with Him in heaven.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to stay true to You, no matter what. Amen.


MORE: Picture it
Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego were thrown into the furnace. What happened next? Read the rest of the story in Daniel 3:19-28.

Now draw the ending of the story in three scenes:

(Click on the drawing sheet below. It will open in a new window. Print it from that window.)


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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Forgotten Dream Dilemma

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Daniel 2:14-28

TO CHEW ON: "Daniel replied, 'No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.'” Daniel 2:27, 28a

Arioch, the commander of Nebuchadnezzar’s guard had an unpleasant job. He was supposed to kill all the wise men of Babylon. This was because King Nebuchadnezzar had had a dream which he couldn't remember. When his wise men couldn't tell him what he had dreamed and what his dream meant, he ordered them all killed.

But when Arioch came to Daniel to give him the bad news, Daniel was surprised. He hadn't heard anything about Nebuchadnezzar and his dream problem. Daniel begged for more time. Then he gathered his friends and the four of them prayed that God would tell him what Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed and what it meant.

During the night God answered Daniel's prayer. Early the next morning he went to Arioch. “Don’t kill any of the wise men,” he said. “Instead, take me to the king. I know the dream and its meaning.”

Arioch took Daniel to the king.


Then Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar what he had dreamed and what his dream meant.

Though Daniel was intelligent and wise, he knew this job was way too hard for him. But it wasn't too hard for God. After God answered, Daniel could have taken the credit for knowing Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its meaning. But he didn’t do that. Instead, he made sure that everyone knew it was God who showed him these things.

Do you ever pray and ask God for something – like for help on a test in school? Later, when you get a good mark, what do you do? Do you take the credit for yourself (“I studied really hard”) or do you give credit to God for answering your prayer?

Let's remember to give God the credit when He answers our prayers – like Daniel did.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to honor You for answered prayers. Amen.

MORE: Dream-teller Sequel
Daniel got the dream right, for no sooner did he tell Nebuchadnezzer what he had dreamed and what that dream meant than the king did some amazing things. Which statements below tell what happened (Daniel 2:46-47)?

1. The king fell down in front of Daniel and honored him.

2. The king said, “You sure are smart to figure this out.”

3. The king praised God.

4. The king gave Daniel a high position.

5. Daniel forgot all about his friends.

6. Daniel’s three friends became rulers as well.


ANSWERS

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

No Compromise

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Daniel 1:8-20

TO CHEW ON: "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way." Daniel 1:8


“Can you please change the diet of me and my friends?” Daniel asked the guard. “We’d like to have vegetables and water instead of the king’s rich food.”

“You’re asking a dangerous thing,” the guard replied. “The king will have my head when the four of you look weak and get sick.”


Daniel was taking a big chance by asking this favor from the guard in Nebuchadnezzar’s court. He and his three friends were Hebrew boys from Judah. They no longer lived at home but were exiles and servants in Babylon. The four boys were in special training to serve the king himself.

But Daniel was determined. He knew that the royal food was not prepared the way God had commanded in the law. He wanted to honor and obey God every way he could.

“How about we try an experiment?” he suggested to the guard. “You let me and my friends have the vegetables and water for ten days. Then you compare us to the others. If we look worse, we’ll eat what everyone else does.

The guard agreed. For ten days Daniel and his friends ate only vegetables and drank only water. Then the guard compared them to the others.
1. What did he find? (Daniel 1:15)? _____________



2. What did the guard then order for the other students too (Daniel 1:16)? ____________

Like Daniel we may be surrounded by people who don’t believe as we do. We may be tempted to compromise and change our actions to fit with theirs. After all, it’s hard to be the only one going to church on Sunday, giving some of your money to God and obeying your parents. But take courage from the story of Daniel and his friends. Refuse to compromise. For God not only blessed Daniel and his friends with favor from the guard when they honored God with their diet. He also made them wise and gave them success with the king himself.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to not compromise in my life. Amen.

MORE: Daniel Diet
Have you ever been on a diet of vegetables (fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts) and water like Daniel and his friends were? Try it for a day (of course you’ll want to get permission from your parents first).

Some things that will help fill you up:
vegetables (carrots, celery, broccoli, corn)
nuts (almonds, peanuts, peanut butter)
seeds (popcorn, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds)
fruits (orange, apple, banana)




ANSWERS

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's.