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The God of ______ (Your name here.)
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Thursday, May, 27, 2010
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by John Fischer
"Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land... 'I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.'" (Daniel 6:26)
Many of you are probably familiar with the story of Daniel who advanced to a place of prominence with the king of Babylon while the children of Israel were in exile there. Daniel became one of the king's most trusted servants, although he continued to worship and obey the God of Israel. The decree to not pray to any other God but the king or get thrown in with the lions was issued not by the king, but by the king's other servants and magicians who were jealous over Daniel's favor with the king.
So when the king found out that Daniel's God had protected him from the lions, he so was overjoyed to have him back, he issued the decree quoted above and had the men who falsely accused Daniel thrown in with the lions instead, where they had a much different fate than Daniel.
This story is remarkable for two reasons. 1) The place of prominence Daniel was able to achieve by being a trustworthy servant, without compromising his own beliefs. 2) The respect the king had not only for Daniel, but also for Daniel's God.
The same is true for us today. Truthfulness, integrity and hard work gain the respect of others, and can lead to places of influence. And along with that respect comes a respect for your God. So much so that some people's first encounter with God will be through you. In that case, meet the God of ______ (Your name here).
Remember, you may be the only glimpse of God some people get. God-related things such as evangelical Christians, religion, or the Bible might turn off some people, but if they like you, who knows, they just might give God a second thought. Imagine someone coming to faith in Christ because they wanted to find out more about the God of ______ (Your name here).
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