Devotions for Saturday, August 5, 2011
Daniel 3:13-30

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego. Then they brought these men before the king.14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?s15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?s16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.s20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.s21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.ss22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego.ss23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.s25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.s

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, came forth of the midst of the fire.s27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, in the province of Babylon.

Pastor Ben’s Commentary:
–The 3 Hebrew boys put the issue of the whole circumstance into their statement in verses 16-18.  “God is able to deliver us from what you can do to us.  Even if He doesn’t we will obey him.”

-The king got mad and threw the boys into the furnace.  It was so hot that it killed the men who threw them in.

-God delivered them from the furnace.  They didn’t even smell like smoke when they got out.  When they were in there were 4 of them rather than three.  The fourth was a “Christophanie”- an old testament appearance of Christ.

-When the boys got out of the fiery furnace the king gave glory to God because of their testimony.  He promoted them and their God.

Application:
1. God blessed those who stand up for Him and for what is right. Standing up for what’s right has its costs, but the Bible teaches that God will bless those who stand up for Him.  Even though these young men saw the effects right away, you may not, but this doesn’t mean that God won’t reward you.  He will in His time!  Stay faithful to stand up for Him.

1. When we take a stand, people notice. You will be an encouragement to those who know that they should do what’s right and stand up for God.  Those who are against you when you stand may end up promoting you when they see God work in your life.  You never know!  Your witness can count.  Your testimony can make a difference.

Are you being intentional about your faith in God? Go against the flow!

Devotions for Friday, August 4, 2011
Daniel 3:1-13

1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image:11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Pastor Ben’s Commentary:
Today’s story is pretty incredible. We’ll finish the story tomorrow, but today starts it out.
Backgound Info:
-Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were three Jewish young men, probably teenagers, who were chosen by the king of Babylon to be trained by the best of the best of Babylon. Babylon was the super-power in the world at this point in history, and had invaded Israel and brought the best young men back to Babylon.
-These three boys had to go to a land that was hostile to the way that God had called them to live.
-This became intense in today’s passage, when these guys had to bow to an idol/statue of a king and swear allegiance to this man over God.
-In the passage we find out that these guys are rightly accused of not bowing to the statue when everyone else did.

Application:
1. Living by faith must be intentional. These 3 guys have something in common with us. We live in a culture that is more and more hostile to those who want to follow God. If we are going to live the way God wants us to, we have to make a conscious decision not to allow anything to come before God.
2. We have to be aware of the fact that there are people who want our allegiance over God. There are people who are intentional about trying to destroy your faith in God. Not everyone in the media, in the education system, in government, and in your life are, but many in these arenas are in highly influential way.

We’ll read about what happened to these boys tomorrow!
Are you being intentional about your faith in God? Go against the flow!