Monday Scripture: Daniel 1
Keeping Up with the Babylonians
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Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,
“Please test your servants for ten days:
Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.
Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.”
So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.
So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
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Vegetarians can be so ANNOYING.
(I know... I used to be one myself.)
I'm pretty sure the guys in the royal academy were TICKED OFF when Daniel got their diet changed from "I'll have whatever the king is eating," to kale and carrots.
But Daniel and thousands of other displaced Jews were facing a problem:
How do you keep kosher in Babylon, and still keep up with the Babylonians?
Daniel made a radical suggestion:
Let's put it to a test.
Give me the freedom to follow my faith.
And then compare me to the best of your best.
And what do you know?
It turns out that God's diet was BETTER for you than the king's diet.
Before long, the Babylonians found out that Daniel's faith made him stronger in lots of ways.
God's word isn't there to annoy you.
God wants to improve your life in every way--
mentally, physically, financially, AND spiritually--
until the best of the Babylonians decide they better learn to keep up with YOU!
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Oh, Daniel served his living God
While upon the earth he trod
He prayed to God each morning, noon, and night
He cared not for the king's decrees
But trusted God to set him free
Oh, Daniel prayed every morning, noon, and night