Sat.’s Devo - God Defeats the Lions

Read: Daniel 6:1-28; 2 Peter 3:1-18; Psalm 119:129-152; Provers 28:21-22 Darius set up his kingdom with 120 provinces and placed an official to rule each province. Then he put Daniel and two other administers over the officials. Daniel proved to be so much more efficient and capable than the other two, so Darius was planning to put Daniel over them also. *** The king’s plan was found out by the other administrators and they devised a plot to bring Daniel down. Because they could find nothing to accused him of in his work, they decided to use his religion against him. *** They went to the king and played to his pride. They made it sound like all the other administers, including Daniel, had come up with this idea. They proposed to honor the king by making a law that for the next 30 days, no one could pray to anyone but him. They had him agree to make it an official law that could not be revoked. *** As soon as it was signed, they went to Daniel’s house, knowing he prayed three times a day for wisdom. They caught him praying and brought him before the king. They reminded Darius of his law that could not be revoked. The king was distraught and waited as long as he could trying to find a loophole to free Daniel. He finally had to let them put Daniel in the lion’s den. He told Daniel that he was praying that his God was able to rescue him. *** The king fasted the whole night and early in the morning he went to the den. He called out asking Daniel if his God was able to save him. When Daniel responded that his God had shut the mouths of the lions and that he was innocent, the king had him quickly brought out. Then he had the ones who had maliciously accused Daniel, thrown into the den with their wives and children. The lions leaped up and tore them apart before they could reach the ground. *** Then the king issued a message to the people in his kingdom that they should fear the God of Daniel, who was able to rescue him from the den of lions. *** This is one more story of the way God rescues his people from the pagan system in a foreign land. We are living in a foreign land in a pagan system and yet we are not to follow laws that defy God’s laws. God will protect us when we put him above our own lives and safety. *** In the second letter of Peter he reminds them of the prophecies of the prophets and the apostles. They said that Jesus would return one day, and he will. Even when it seems like it will never happen, it will. In Noah’s day they forgot that the earth came out of the water and God used the water to consume the earth. The earth was judged then and will be judged again, but this time with fire, not water. *** When we get tired of waiting we need to remember that to the Lord, a day is like a thousand years and vice versa. The Lord is waiting for more of his chosen people to come to know him. The day will come where the whole earth will be cleansed with fire and judgment will come. *** God has promised us a new heaven and a new earth which will be filled with God’s righteousness. While we are waiting for that to happen, we need to strive to live pure and blameless lives. We will need to guard against being deceived by other interpretations of what Paul wrote and what is written in God’s Word. Instead we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. *** Lord, help us to do this very thing. May we not be swayed by the next new doctrine or the next revelation, but to weigh it by all your Scripture. Give us discernment to know what to believe and what to ignore. Thank you for your love that comforts us in the days we are living in.