28 March 2012

28 March 2012

"But even if he will not, know, O king,
that we will not serve your god"

We need to have faith like this. We need to have faith that the LORD has the power to overcome any obstacle. Yet we must acknowledge that he sometimes chooses not to do so. His ways are not our ways. We must therefore have our priorities straight. We must not make God earn the trust we give him by catering to our wills. Even if he does not do so we must still not then turn to the idols in our lives. Only by trusting in God completely can we hope for salvation. We don't want to be thrown in the fire in the first place. Yet he may allow us to be thrown in but prevent us from being burned because we trust him. This may result in conversions as it did for King Nebuchadnezzar. May many more say "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego".

Even though we see ourselves as disciples of Jesus we must still guard against the temptation to idolatry. We are still slaves to sin to some degree. We must listen to the word of Jesus. We must abide in that word.

"If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

It is only if we abide in his word that we can be truly free. Otherwise, when push comes to shove and it comes down to worshipping idols or getting thrown in the fire we will choose the idols. We will rationalize. We will make excuses. His word will keep us on track. His word will let us face down the fire and kings of nations and yet hold fast to him. His word is his life. It is a word of praise to the Father. Let us join with him, saying "Glory and praise forever."