Memorise: And at the end of ten days their countenance appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat. Daniel 1:15
Read: Daniel 1:5-20
5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.
6 Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.
9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel,
10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your[a] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”
11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.
13 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.”
14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.
16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.
19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service.
20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
Bible in one year: 2 Kings 5 – 6, Acts 9:1-22
AS REVEALED BY PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE IN TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL
1. A while ago, I was led to make a statement which some people did not take seriously, because it did not meet with faith in their hearts. The statement was that the use of excessive make-up is a sign of inferiority complex. I went further to say that people only try to “make up” for what is not good enough.
2. I strongly believe that the Almighty God is the most perfect designer, and in His infinite wisdom He has designed you the way He feels is best for His glory. After all, in Revelation 4:11, the Holy Spirit reveals that He created us for His pleasure: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
3. If God created you for His pleasure, it means that what any other person says about how your mouth is shaped, your colour, your height, the hair on your head or even your accent is irrelevant!
4. The reason for the inferiority complex a lot of people suffer from can be traced to the fact that the glory of God is absent from their lives.
5. Not only was Adam satisfied with the way God made him before the fall, he also appreciate the looks of his wife and admired her with a passion (Genesis 2:23-25). However, after the fall, he was not only fed up with himself, he also saw fault in the wife God “gave” him (Genesis 3:10-12).
6. Today’s Bible reading narrates the determination of some young Hebrew men who decided to live a consecrated life, in spite of the fact that they were captives in a strange land. This should serve as a lesson to Christians who live outside their homeland and decide to throw decency out of the window because of the prevailing situation in the land of their sojourn.
7. Beloved, I implore you to seek something that is needful today, which is the glory of God upon your life through living a consecrated life. Once the glory of God is upon you, you will be the delight of your generation.
8. Sin robs man of God’s glory, and when God’s glory is out of a man’s life, his or her life becomes miserable and susceptible to demonic attacks.
9. It was the glory of God upon Daniel that shut the mouths of lions that would have devoured him. It was the glory of God on the young Hebrew men’s lives that made them look fairer and fatter than their peers.
10. May the glory of the Lord come upon you today as you consecrate your life to the Almighty in Jesus’ Name.
SHORT REFLECTION BY THE LIGHT POINTERS
The glory of God in our lives surpasses every other thing because it supplies all required of man to shine and have a beautiful life. This is why the glory of God is important in the life of every believer. In our daily living, we should let people assess us and see the glory of the Lord without struggle. Do not misrepresent God. If anyone or thing is telling you false identity of yourself, please discard it today and confess just like David said “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.”Psalms 139:13-14. We bless God for Pastor E.A Adeboye and pray that God will give him strength and greater ability to do greater works in Jesus name.
Prayer Point:
Father, please grant me grace to live a consecrated life, and cover me with Your glory.
Hymn
Nearer, my God, to Thee;
Nearer to Thee;
E’en though it be a cross
That raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee.
Though, like a wanderer,
The sun gone down,
Darkness comes over me,
My rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I’d be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee.
There let me see the sight,
An open heaven;
All that Thou sendest me,
In mercy given;
Angels to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee.
Then, with my waking thoughts
Bright with thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs
Bethel I’ll raise,
So by my woes to be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee.
RECENT COMMENTS
Joesphine Ehigie
TJ