Corona Devo 2041

Who was Nebuchadnezzar?  He was a great king of Babylon in the late 500 and early 600 years B.C.

God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar to capture and rule over the people of Israel because they were not following God in His ways: They had abandoned the Lord, and they were living in all of the world's ways instead. 

God did that?  ...Our hearts want to cry out in protest!  But--that's not fair!  

Oh yah...God did that.  He can do anything He wants.  And He will do anything it takes to get His people's attention and to draw us back to Him.  (Is God allowing anything in our lives currently?  Could he possibly be attempting to get our attention and draw us back to Him?)

And now...Back to Babylon!!

While many of God's people, (the Israelites) were living in Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar built a ninety foot gold statue and ordered everyone to (literally) bow down and worship it.

Then a herald shouted out, “People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command! (5) When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. (6) Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” ~Daniel 3:4-6

What king is in charge of our lives today?  Is it Jesus, the One True King?  Or a worldly one?  

What or who are we bowing-in-worship to today?  Who or what is the god of our calendar?  ...Our checkbook?  ...Our eyes?  ...Our heart?

There is only One worthy of all our attention...and He is desperate for us.  But we have to be the ones to be bold and singular and strong enough to follow and obey God alone.  He is worth it, and He is able.

Many of God's people in Babylon had strayed from being obedient to the Lord, but not all.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said, "No" within their hearts to the idolatrous worship that culture and their government was requiring.  They weren't loud or obnoxious about it, but they were also not compromising to bow to a false god in worship.   

Of course, someone told on them to King Nebuchadnezzar. 

But some of the astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews. (9) They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king! (10) You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue...

(11) That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace. (12) But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.” ~Daniel 3:8-12

And of course, when the authority (and ego!) of King Nebuchadnezzar was challenged...he flew off the handle. 


Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, (14) Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? (15) I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?” ~Daniel 3:13-15

Are we holding our breath?

Will Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego get put in the fiery furnace?  Will they stay strong in their beliefs and convictions under this kind of pressure?  

What will happen?

Turn the page in our Bibles...  We have to keep reading Daniel Chapter 3! 

~~~

What happens when we have to make hard decisions and take bold stances in our obedience to God and His Word?  What will we do if everyone else adjusts-their-faith-standard to the populist version?  

Do we trust our Lord?  Do we really trust ourselves to Him?  

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did.

There weren't fireworks or faith-trophies handed out when these three stood up (for God) before King Nebuchadnezzar...but there could have been.  And perhaps, there should have been.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood tall, bold, and strong for the Lord and in deciding to follow Him (alone).  

 Would we?  Do we?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. (17) If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. (18) But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”  ~Daniel 3:16-18

BOOM!

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego dropped the (faith) hammer on King Nebuchadnezzar.  

Live or die...they were going down with God's name (and no other name) on their lips and heart.  Can we imagine such dedication to our Divine Creator?  I hope so. 

Stand for God today.  Let's refuse to be weak and wavering in our commitment to Christ, like so many others around us.  Let the waifs of this world worship wimpy idols.  

But what if we said that regardless of the outcome...we will refuse to worship anyone or anything but the One True King.  And his name is not Nebuchadnezzar.

His name is Jesus.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, (10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (11) and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  ~Philippians 2:9-11

Live or die today (and God has a lot of living left for us to do!)...let's go down with God's name (and no other name) on our lips and heart.  Fire or no fire...God is still God, and we can (absolutely) trust Him.  

He is able today.  

...the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. (18) But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”  ~Daniel 3:17-18 


Blessings, 

Sarah 

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com

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