Daniel Made Up His Mind
I like how the New American Standard Bible translates Daniel 1:8. The verse means that he made a decision. We say that he made up his mind. Of course, our heart enters into any decision we make, so we decide with our heart and our mind. However, for the mind to be "made up" our heart has to agree with our mind. Therefore, Daniel had come to a firm decision from his heart, or his beliefs, and his mind, his logical thinking. As believers, we need to do this all of the time.
We live in a non-Christian culture, but we are Christians. The people around us do not believe what we believe, and they do not practice the things we practice. Therefore, we have to make up our minds that we will not defile ourselves with the things that are of this world.Instead, we need to do what God says for us to do in every area of our lives. When we do, God will bless us abundantly, and we will be a witness of God's truth to those around us. That is what happened to Daniel and his friends, as they remained undefiled. I pray that all of us have made up our minds to follow the Lord Jesus and the Word of God 100%, no matter what the people of this world are doing around us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Daniel 2-4.
We live in a non-Christian culture, but we are Christians. The people around us do not believe what we believe, and they do not practice the things we practice. Therefore, we have to make up our minds that we will not defile ourselves with the things that are of this world.Instead, we need to do what God says for us to do in every area of our lives. When we do, God will bless us abundantly, and we will be a witness of God's truth to those around us. That is what happened to Daniel and his friends, as they remained undefiled. I pray that all of us have made up our minds to follow the Lord Jesus and the Word of God 100%, no matter what the people of this world are doing around us.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Daniel 2-4.