Just as you have always done.

Just as you have always believed.

The same way, every time.

Day-after-day & time-after-time.

When people think of you, what comes first to their minds? What qualities and characteristics can always be known about us (you & me, as believers), maybe so well known that the words could be etched into the granite of our individual tombstone?

Yesterday, I wrote about the intimacy shared with Christ Jesus, and if yesterday’s analogy of two girls seemed lost on you, my full intent was not to compare the girls or to point out the intimacy I share with each; rather, my intent was to emphasize the intimacy God shares with us. However, this intimacy is something we can only experience once we know God’s salvation, once we accept Jesus as our personal Savior.

Today, on this second day of Lent, allow us to focus upon how others see us……..How they see our faith-walk with God throughout each of our days.

Constant.

Unwavering.

Faithful.

Trustworthy.

Believable.

Secure.

Anchored.

These are the important words.

These are the words that keep us from flailing our arms in times of distress, in times of trouble, and in times of testing.

These are the words that define Jehovah God.

Daniel was a Hebrew boy who knew God, one who trusted God.   Time and again, God had rescued Daniel from peril, walking with Daniel through the fires of life.  Daniel knew God personally; Daniel had individual evidence proving how God continually saves & sustains & protects. Daniel knew God. Daniel had seen God move in miraculous ways. Daniel completely trusted God.

Others saw Daniel’s faith.

Others saw how God led Daniel and how Daniel followed God.

They saw the Hebrew and said, “Hey, there’s that Daniel guy. You know, the one who defies the orders given by the king.  Remember how Daniel obeyed God above all else.  Yeah, Daniel’s the one.  He’s the one who the king threw into the fire with those other teens, and Daniel’s the one who the king threw into the lions’ den.  Yeah, that’s the Daniel we mean. He’s the one who trusted and worshipped his God more than he bowed to the current king.  Yeah, that’s the one………THAT Daniel.”

Do we follow God?

Do we trust God fully?

Do we obey Him totally?

OR,……Do we like to compromise in our obedience?

Do we move when God says move?

OR,……Do we stand still, immovable, stubborn, and scared?

Who do we listen to most of all?

Do we recognize God’s voice when He speaks?

OR,……Do we listen and believe what the world proclaims?

OR,……Do we listen to the lies of the devil?

Do we talk a good talk, but know deep-down that it’s only that——–TALK?

DO WE?

DO WE FOLLOW GOD?

Today on this second day of Lent, as we prepare our hearts for Holy week, as Easter approaches, IT IS SO IMPORTANT to ponder these questions & TO GET SERIOUS IN OUR WALK WITH OUR LORD.

We first learned of Daniel’s life-story when Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon, when Daniel was a boy who was forced from his home in Jerusalem, taken to a strange city, and forced to serve a king who he did not know.  Many may say, “Well, Daniel was just a teenager, and Daniel didn’t really have a choice.

“That’s Correct AND That’s Wrong. 

Daniel was forced to Babylon (modern-day Iraq), and he was a servant to the current-king. That was the beginning, the moment when we began to see Daniel’s faith-walk, when Daniel openly chose to obey God, & that was when Daniel began to reveal who he (Daniel) trusted most & who he followed. We also see Daniel’s encounter with King Darius, when Daniel openly chose to obey God. Over and Over and Over and Over. Obedience.

If someone asked our friends about us—-about our faith-walk—-about our obedience to God—–about who we openly trust, follow, and obey, what would our friends proclaim about us?   Would there be enough evidence to prove we belong to Almighty God?

Daniel had a pattern, a learned behavior. Three times a day, he bowed down on his knees facing the east, and each time Daniel bowed down (even going against the current king’s orders, Daniel prayed to Jehovah God.  Daniel was consistent.  It was an established behavior. Daniel did not wait until he reached the fiery furnace OR the lions’ den and then say, “Oh hold up. Wait a minute. I have tried so many things, but nothing I seem to be trying and everything I’m doing is just not working, so let me pause and cry out to my God.”

NOPE.

God had already a shared intimacy with Daniel. & Daniel had already established a daily focus upon God.

Some would say that Daniel was prayed up and ready to face whatever came his way.

Daniel had already talked with God that day, & the day before, & the day before, & the day before that, & the day………(well, you get the picture).

Every day, Daniel spent time with God.  It was THAT important to Daniel. It was an established behavior.  The others in the kingdom saw Daniel and knew his consistent behavior and unwavering faith in God.  In Babylon, the jealous enemies of Daniel sought to get rid of him, so they set a trap against him, and it’s not surprising at all we read in the Bible:

“Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, ‘Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.’ 

& Then

“A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel. Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him, and his sleep fled from him” (Daniel 6: 16-18).
The king knew what Daniel said about God.  Daniel’s actions every day SPOKE of Daniel’s faith.

What would others say about our FAITH?

That night, the king wanted to see if Daniel’s faith was real.

That night, the king wanted to see if Daniel’s God was real.

The next morning at dawn, the king saw how God proved HE IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS!!!

God saved Daniel’s life.

Why should we ever be surprised when God faithfully delivers us!!!

When  others see our faith, let them always find enough evidence to prove we are Christians.

When others think of us or speak our name, let them first call us Christian—-above all else.

And when our time is complete (on this earth) and when God calls us home to heaven, let our testimony continue to be spoken at our funeral. Even then (at our death), let others know most assuredly that our soul will forever remain in heaven with God…………even as the undertaker buries our earthly body.  Even then, let the world know we followed and obeyed a RISEN LORD!!!

As I sit and write, Rhett Walker sings a beautiful melody “Believer,” a wonderful hymn of praise.   Maybe pause to look up this melody today.

When the struggles of life come (and they will);

When the trials of life unfold (as they always do);

When the fires of life test us (and they will burn so hotly);

Let others find us believing and trusting our LORD.

Yes, let the world find us faithfully following God.

Let the world see us consistently obeying God.

And let others find us…..Faithful to God, just as we have always been.

Our testimony. Truly, it’s on display through our words and actions every day. Truly, it will be on display today.

May we be found—-Kneeling.

May we be found—-Bowing.

May we be found—-Praying.

May we be found—-Believing. &

May we Always be found—-Walking with God. &

May we Always be found—-Trusting God.