MONDAY 29TH OCT., 2018

WORD FOCUS: COMPLACENT OR COMMITTED?
TEXT: Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself….”

The Bible says, ‘Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with…the king’s meat.’ Daniel had settled the issue, before the challenge arose. Joseph had also decided his values; therefore he was able to say no to Potiphar’s wife. The three Hebrew children already knew what they were going to do, fiery furnace or not: ‘…Our God…is able to deliver us…and He will…But if not…we do not serve your gods…’ (Dan 3:17-18). What do you believe about God? If you think He might fail you, you’ll never totally commit yourself to Him. Commitment grows! You can’t make big commitments until you’ve first made small ones. The three Hebrew children first said no to the king’s food; later they were able to say no to worshipping his idols. You don’t get that kind of faith suddenly. Most of us can look back over the years and identify a point at which our lives changed significantly. Due to the readiness within us, we made a choice that would affect us from that point forward. Before you can make a real commitment to anything you must overcome three problems:
1) THE SECURITY PROBLEM. Insecure people fear taking risks. They have a ‘Plan B’ in case God doesn’t come through for them; they depend on themselves rather than on Him.
2) THE SUCCESS PROBLEM. When you’ve had some success you want to guard it. You want people to continue thinking well of you, so you start living defensively.
3) THE SATISFACTION PROBLEM. The lukewarm Laodicean church said, ‘I am…increased with goods, and have need of nothing’ (Rev 3:17).This is a very unsafe position to take- a lukewarm person can be denied God’s blessings spiritually and otherwise. So ask yourself, ‘Am I complacent or committed?’

MEDITATION: Lk. 9:23-24 , 1 Tim. 6:20-21

STUDY THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 TIM. 1; IS. 34&35; PS. 119:33-64

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