Devotion for 2/10/21 6 Minutes

Daniel 3:17-18

Good evening everyone watching by video this evening,,, it's time for our weekly devotion.

I'm praying that all of you are having a wonderful week so far.

As I've said the last several weeks,,, we need to continue to remember those that are dealing with this virus.

Those that are sick,,, since there are many others dealing with this sickness as it continues to grow and,,, those that have lost loved ones,,, we need to continue to remember them as well.

Remember the medical teams that are dealing with this and any others that must work and take a chance of contacting this virus.

Also,,, continue to remember those on our prayer list,,, and our country and it’s leaders.

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Our devotion this evening comes from today's reading in "David Jeremiah Morning and Evening Devotions".

Our scripture will be Daniel 3:17-18,,, and I'll be reading from the King James Version Bible.

Daniel 3:17–18 (KJV 1900)

17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this evening.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this evening,,, with all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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This is a familiar story to all of us hopefully.

But,,, just in case,,, SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABED-NEGO were letting the king know that they would not bow down to the golden image that he had set up.

If you read the verses leading up to this point you will see that the king had built a golden statue and at the sound of music,,, everyone was supposed to bow down and worship this image.

Shadrach,,, Meshach,,, and Abed-nego were determined not to worship this golden image.

It was reported to the king that these three weren't bowing down like they should,,, and he sent for them and questioned them about it.

These three told the king that they were not going to bow down to his golden image and if he put them into the fiery furnace,,, their God would rescue them.

And if He chose not to save them,,, they still would not bow down to this golden image.

In the verses after this,,, the king became so angry from their answer that he had the furnace heated up 7 times hotter than usual before they threw them inside.

As the they went to throw Shadrach,,, Meshach,,, and Abed-nego into the furnace,,, it was so hot that it burned up the men throwing them in.

But as the king looked inside the fiery furnace,,, instead of three men there were 4,,, and he said that the fourth looked like the Son of God.

So he calls them to come out of the furnace and even the king has to give God credit for saving Shadrach,,, Meshach,,, and Abed-nego.

But in the devotion today,,, David Jeremiah talks about two men that weren't saved by God under similar circumstances.

He says that in 1555, in Oxford, England, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake for their biblical views that failed to conform to the ruling (Catholic) church.

As the flames consumed them, Latimer called out, “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle by God’s grace in England as I trust shall never be put out!”

God didn’t deliver Latimer and Ridley from the flames on earth, but He did deliver them from the flames of eternal judgment by their faith in Christ.

These two martyrs were imitating the faith of three who came before them in the Old Testament—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.

They were thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship a golden image; but God delivered them, though they didn’t know that was His plan.

Their faith had prepared them to die or be delivered—the choice was God’s, and they were fine with that.

Has your faith prepared you to be fine with the choices God is making in your life today?

Faith sees no difference between kinds of deliverance, as long as the deliverance is from God.

Jeremiah, David . David Jeremiah Morning and Evening Devotions (p. 85). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.