I love grace! I need grace! God’s grace invites me to be his
child. “By grace you are saved, through faith,” Paul reminds us, “not by works
so no one can boast about his own goodness.”
Christians also need to make a commitment to excellence for the Lord’s
sake. Sometimes we make a false peace with our sin. Some of us choose to be
content to live with some crippling habit, by comforting ourselves with the promise
of love and forgiveness in Christ Jesus. Is that the right choice?
The old man was serving in high office despite being an
alien, a captive taken from his home and carried far away to Babylon. From the first, he had decided to honor the
LORD without compromise. Along with
three friends, he choose not to ‘go along to get along.’ Now, decades later, he is second to the king,
an administrator of great gifts. The council he supervised envied Daniel’s
success, jealous of the trust of the king he enjoyed. "But Daniel, brimming with spirit and
intelligence, so completely outclassed the other vice-regents and governors
that the king decided to put him in charge of the whole kingdom. The
vice-regents and governors got together to find some old scandal or skeleton in
Daniel’s life that they could use against him, but they couldn’t dig up
anything. He was totally exemplary and trustworthy. They could find no evidence
of negligence or misconduct." (Daniel 6:3-4, The Message)
As we represent Christ Jesus in our world, we need to make
the Daniel choice! Wherever God calls
us, we need to pray for the wisdom, courage, and endurance to be the best we
can be, God helping us, for the glory of God. Daniel’s enemies realized that
the only way to get to him was to use his faith. They knew his devotion was
unshakeable, that he would not compromise even at the threat of death. They came up with a plan to appeal to the
king’s pride and need to consolidate his power and it worked. “Make a decree
that nobody can pray to anyone but you for a month,” they told him. He did! "But
when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down
as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He
prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.
The officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking
for God’s help.”
Would we be tempted to excuse ourselves from prayers for
that month? Would we justify our compromise with assurances that “God
understands”? Or would we, like Daniel,
stay the course, unwavering in our desire to love and honor our Lord? When the conspirators saw what they knew they
would see, “they went back to the king and reminded him
about his law. “Did you not sign a law that for the next thirty days anyone who
prays to anyone, divine or human—except to Your Majesty—will be thrown to the
lions?” “Yes,” the king replied, “that decision stands; it is a law of the
Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” (Daniel 6:10-12, NLT)
You probably know the rest of the story. Daniel was tossed
to the lions but God showed up there and kept him safe all night. The next morning the king brought Daniel
out and praised Daniel’s God for the
deliverance. “I decree that Daniel’s God
shall be worshiped and feared in all parts of my kingdom. He is the living God,
world without end. His kingdom never falls. His rule continues eternally. He is
a savior and rescuer. He performs astonishing miracles in heaven and on earth.
He saved Daniel from the power of the lions.” The Message -Daniel 6:26-27
Grace does not excuse, it transforms. Grace is not a reason for mediocrity but
rather an empowering experience that gives us confidence to come into God’s
presence. Want to live a life that shines brightly with God’s radiance? Want to
get victory over a lying tongue, a lazy spirit, a doubting heart, over greed,
lust, pride, gossip, faithlessness? Here’s
the word from the Word that points the way.
"Seeing then that we have a
great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let
us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot
sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet
without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews
4:14-16, NKJV) Amen!
“O Lord Jesus Christ,
Who at Your first
coming sent your messenger
to prepare the way
before You;
grant that we may be
ministers of Your mysteries
and likewise prepare
and make ready Your way
by turning the hearts
of the disobedient to
the wisdom of the
just,
that at Your second
coming to judge the world
we may be found an
acceptable people in Your sight,
for You are alive and
reign with the Father,
in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, forever.
Amen”
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