“If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”” (Daniel 3:17–18, ESV)
At a pro-abortion rally at the University of Montana on the day of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the crowd gathered was informed of Charlie’s death. The response from the crowd? They laughed, clapped, and whooped excitedly that Charlie Kirk, who was strongly against abortion, had been murdered. This response taught pro-abortionists at that university how to react to the deaths of those who disagreed with their beliefs.
Xu Yonghai is the pastor of the Holy Love Fellowship in China. He has been arrested multiple times for proclaiming the gospel. This week, he is still in prison. Xu is considered an “enemy of the state” in China because his belief in Jesus Christ goes against some of the Chinese Communist Party rules. Many of the 10 million Christians in China are consistently harassed for their beliefs, their Bibles have been confiscated, and they are not allowed to worship in regular churches (unless they promote government policies). The Chinese Communist Party believes that if you persecute religious groups long enough, they will reject God and begin to support government policies instead.
In London, three girls walk through their neighborhood to a Christian school. They are afraid. Their walk to school brings them near groups of male immigrants that the government demanded be placed in that neighborhood. Several schoolgirls have already been raped by immigrant gangs. Appeals to the government have been ignored or “put down”. When complaints are made online, London area police show up and demand the families erase their online complaints or “there will be consequences”, including jail time. Even Christian leaders in London have been coerced to keep silent about the violence, rape, and murder committed against children and pedestrians. Christian churches and schools are forced to keep silent about the threats and coercion committed against them. Prominent Church of England leaders keep quiet in order to keep their power.
Throughout the world, people of God are being teased, threatened, persecuted, raped, and even murdered to keep them silent in the face of sinful groups, organizations, governments, or religious groups. All the while, those in power and those in competing religions continue to threaten and call for violence against true believers. Many leaders in Christianity have urged their people to keep their heads down, keep silent, hide their Bibles, worship in secret, or say nothing online. These leaders think they are protecting their parishioners. Instead, they are doing the work of evil.. by silencing the gospel and failing to protect the faithful and the innocent. Their cowardice only emboldens those who would end the gospel or silence the faithful.
In our scripture reading for today from the book of Daniel, we are told of a period when faithful Jews were imprisoned for their belief in God Almighty. After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon issued an order that all people must bow down and worship a golden image, three men would not do it. Their names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men were thrown into a dungeon that allowed for people to be burned to death in a fiery furnace. Their crime? They failed to follow the King’s orders, failed to follow the crowd, failed to fall into line. Their defense was given in Daniel 3:17-18: “Our God . . . will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods.”
Encountering intense pressure, some Jews in that time just gave in and worshipped the golden image, breaking the first and second commandments. They felt that by just sinning for a while, they could live and thrive in Babylon. By doing so, they showed that their faith in God was dependent on other factors like who had authority and what rules to follow to look good to the Babylonians. In thinking this way, they sinned greatly before the Lord. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow down to the pressure put upon them.
In modern times, it is not the Babylonian government that will put pressure on you to compromise your belief in God. However, there are many entities, groups, organizations, and governments that put sinful demands upon the followers of Christ. Many people inside and outside the church have “bowed down” to the pressure. They want to look good to the government and on social media. They have “bowed down” to peer pressures and sinful authorities. They have “bowed down” to false apostles. They have “bowed down” before the manipulators who have replaced the gospel with “palatable” ideological opinions. Many of those who have “bowed down” to the pressure have twisted the Bible’s words to conform to their sinful ideals.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not “bow down” before the Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image or the Babylonian gods. They remained faithful under intense pressure. They are remembered to this day for such true devotion to God.
I end this meditation with a comment made by David Jeremiah:
“I don’t care how strong a Christian you are; peer pressure today is so intense that you cannot cope with it apart from the Lord. If you don’t depend on God with all of your heart, if you don’t ask God to give you the strength you need to stand up and be counted, and if you don’t realize that He is your ally and goes with you every day, you cannot possibly make it through these years without the risk of ruining your life.
Three young men from the book of Daniel (chapter 3)—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego—are models for depending upon God when the heat is on. When everyone in Babylon was bowing down to the king’s idol (including, apparently, the rest of the Jewish captives), these three refused. One way to get noticed in a crowd is to remain standing when everyone else is bowing on their knees!
Their dependence was on God alone, and He delivered them. Every person who walks with God must be prepared to depend on Him when the pressure comes to conform.” (p. 150, Morning and Evening Devotions: Holy Moments in the Presence of God).
In the coming days, I foresee that all Christians will have to decide when and where to bow down. Some will bow down to social media voices, to sinful government leaders, to ideological spin, and to peer pressure. Some will remain faithful. You must make your choices as well. Is it God who get your devotion? Or will you bow down before the pressures of temptation, evil, corruption, or influential voices? God will be watching to see where you take a stand.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Xu Yonghai is the pastor of the Holy Love Fellowship in China. He has been arrested multiple times for proclaiming the gospel. This week, he is still in prison. Xu is considered an “enemy of the state” in China because his belief in Jesus Christ goes against some of the Chinese Communist Party rules. Many of the 10 million Christians in China are consistently harassed for their beliefs, their Bibles have been confiscated, and they are not allowed to worship in regular churches (unless they promote government policies). The Chinese Communist Party believes that if you persecute religious groups long enough, they will reject God and begin to support government policies instead.
In London, three girls walk through their neighborhood to a Christian school. They are afraid. Their walk to school brings them near groups of male immigrants that the government demanded be placed in that neighborhood. Several schoolgirls have already been raped by immigrant gangs. Appeals to the government have been ignored or “put down”. When complaints are made online, London area police show up and demand the families erase their online complaints or “there will be consequences”, including jail time. Even Christian leaders in London have been coerced to keep silent about the violence, rape, and murder committed against children and pedestrians. Christian churches and schools are forced to keep silent about the threats and coercion committed against them. Prominent Church of England leaders keep quiet in order to keep their power.
Throughout the world, people of God are being teased, threatened, persecuted, raped, and even murdered to keep them silent in the face of sinful groups, organizations, governments, or religious groups. All the while, those in power and those in competing religions continue to threaten and call for violence against true believers. Many leaders in Christianity have urged their people to keep their heads down, keep silent, hide their Bibles, worship in secret, or say nothing online. These leaders think they are protecting their parishioners. Instead, they are doing the work of evil.. by silencing the gospel and failing to protect the faithful and the innocent. Their cowardice only emboldens those who would end the gospel or silence the faithful.
In our scripture reading for today from the book of Daniel, we are told of a period when faithful Jews were imprisoned for their belief in God Almighty. After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon issued an order that all people must bow down and worship a golden image, three men would not do it. Their names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men were thrown into a dungeon that allowed for people to be burned to death in a fiery furnace. Their crime? They failed to follow the King’s orders, failed to follow the crowd, failed to fall into line. Their defense was given in Daniel 3:17-18: “Our God . . . will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods.”
Encountering intense pressure, some Jews in that time just gave in and worshipped the golden image, breaking the first and second commandments. They felt that by just sinning for a while, they could live and thrive in Babylon. By doing so, they showed that their faith in God was dependent on other factors like who had authority and what rules to follow to look good to the Babylonians. In thinking this way, they sinned greatly before the Lord. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow down to the pressure put upon them.
In modern times, it is not the Babylonian government that will put pressure on you to compromise your belief in God. However, there are many entities, groups, organizations, and governments that put sinful demands upon the followers of Christ. Many people inside and outside the church have “bowed down” to the pressure. They want to look good to the government and on social media. They have “bowed down” to peer pressures and sinful authorities. They have “bowed down” to false apostles. They have “bowed down” before the manipulators who have replaced the gospel with “palatable” ideological opinions. Many of those who have “bowed down” to the pressure have twisted the Bible’s words to conform to their sinful ideals.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not “bow down” before the Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image or the Babylonian gods. They remained faithful under intense pressure. They are remembered to this day for such true devotion to God.
I end this meditation with a comment made by David Jeremiah:
“I don’t care how strong a Christian you are; peer pressure today is so intense that you cannot cope with it apart from the Lord. If you don’t depend on God with all of your heart, if you don’t ask God to give you the strength you need to stand up and be counted, and if you don’t realize that He is your ally and goes with you every day, you cannot possibly make it through these years without the risk of ruining your life.
Three young men from the book of Daniel (chapter 3)—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego—are models for depending upon God when the heat is on. When everyone in Babylon was bowing down to the king’s idol (including, apparently, the rest of the Jewish captives), these three refused. One way to get noticed in a crowd is to remain standing when everyone else is bowing on their knees!
Their dependence was on God alone, and He delivered them. Every person who walks with God must be prepared to depend on Him when the pressure comes to conform.” (p. 150, Morning and Evening Devotions: Holy Moments in the Presence of God).
In the coming days, I foresee that all Christians will have to decide when and where to bow down. Some will bow down to social media voices, to sinful government leaders, to ideological spin, and to peer pressure. Some will remain faithful. You must make your choices as well. Is it God who get your devotion? Or will you bow down before the pressures of temptation, evil, corruption, or influential voices? God will be watching to see where you take a stand.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
