Different

 Happy Sunday!

"Then everyone will once again see the difference between those who obey me by doing right and those who reject me by doing wrong."(Malachi 3:18 CEV).

Are you different?  No, I don't mean are you unique.  But are you different?  God made you unique, you are a one-of-a-kind you.  The Psalmist wrote, "I praise you because you made me in such a wonderful way.  I know how amazing that was!"(Psalm 139:14 Easy-to-Read Version).  But being different means an outsider can observe the way you act, talk, and live and see that you do things with excellence and integrity.  Think about Daniel.  You do remember Daniel, don't you?  He was taken into captivity, proved to be 10 times better than his co-workers, became a President over Princes in Babylon, and became a target for the ungodly.

Daniel 6:4-5 says, "This made the other presidents and governors very jealous, and they began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling his affairs so that they could complain to the king about him. But they couldn’t find ANYTHING to criticize! He was faithful and honest and made no mistakes.  So they concluded, “Our only chance is his religion!”(Living Bible).  Don't miss this!  The ungodly men around Daniel had trouble finding anything to accuse him of.  He had true integrity.  The only thing they could try to target him with was his devotion to God.  Isn't that crazy that anyone would be offended by your devotion to God?

So Daniel's HATERS went to the King.  "Your Majesty, we hope you live forever!  All of your officials, leaders, advisors, and governors agree that you should make a law forbidding anyone to PRAY to any god or human except you for the next thirty days. Everyone who disobeys this law must be thrown into a pit of lions.  Order this to be written and then sign it, so it cannot be changed, just as no written law of the Medes and Persians can be changed.”(Daniel 6:6-8 CEV).  So what did Daniel do?  I'm so glad you asked!  "Daniel heard about the law, but when he returned home, he went upstairs and prayed in front of the window that faced Jerusalem. In the same way that he had always done, he knelt down in prayer three times a day, giving thanks to God."(Daniel 6:10 CEV).

I'm sure you know the rest of the story.  Daniel was thrown in the lion's den, spent the whole night there, and came out unharmed.  But that wasn't the case for his accusers.  Daniel 6:24 says, "And the king ordered the men who had brought charges against Daniel to be thrown into the pit, together with their wives and children. But before they even reached the bottom, the lions ripped them to pieces."(CEV).  Is it any wonder the New Testament Apostles refused to stop preaching in the Name of Jesus?  Acts 4:18-20 says, "So they called them in and ordered them bluntly not to speak or teach a single further word about the name of Jesus. But Peter and John gave them this reply: “Whether it is right in the eyes of God for us to listen to what you say rather than to what He says, you must decide; for we cannot help speaking about what we have actually seen and heard!”(Phillips).

Love and prayers, Cynthia