Purpose of Heart
Purpose of Heart
This month's devotional comes from Mr. Bill Delperdange from Lighthouse Baptist Church in Shepherdsville, KY.
For the most part, we all know the story of Daniel in the Lions’ Den, but we often don’t think about what brought Daniel to the place in life where he was both cast into the lions or how through his faith, God delivered him. In case someone may not know, Daniel was among the Jews taken captive in Babylon and had risen to prominence in the Persian Empire that ruled the region at that time. The other, pagan rulers of the land resented Daniel and wanted to accuse him of wrongdoing so that he might be killed. Daniel 6:4-5, however, tells us they could not find anything to accuse Daniel of apart from worshipping God! The verses say, “Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.” Ultimately, they managed to get a law passed to make it illegal for anyone to pray to any god or person other than the king. This, of course, did not keep Daniel from praying to God, as always, and as a punishment he was cast into the lions’ den intending that he would be killed immediately. The next morning, Daniel emerged from the lions’ den without a mark on him, declaring in verse 22, “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.” Daniel’s accusers were then cast to the lions and were consumed without delay.
At that time in Daniel’s life, he was over 80 years old. When these wicked men wanted to accuse him of doing wrong, the only thing he could be accused of was serving the Lord. The fact that God preserved Daniel’s life through the night also attests to his faithfulness. That is not to say that Daniel was entirely without sin because the bible is clear in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” But the Bible also attests to his faithfulness and generally righteous life. How could a man live such a long life of faithfulness? The answer lies in Daniel chapter 1. When Daniel was taken captive in Babylon, he was only a teenager. At that time in his life he made a conscious decision. Daniel 1:8 tells us, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” At this young age, Daniel “purposed in his heart” to be faithful to God and then lived his whole life with that purpose in mind. We too need to purpose in our heart to be faithful to God. It is best to decide this when you are young like Daniel so that you can live your whole life serving Him, but it is never too late to make that decision and begin to be faithful. Daniel’s life is a true Bible Gem that proves it is possible to be faithful throughout one’s life and that is what we should aspire to do in our lives!
At that time in Daniel’s life, he was over 80 years old. When these wicked men wanted to accuse him of doing wrong, the only thing he could be accused of was serving the Lord. The fact that God preserved Daniel’s life through the night also attests to his faithfulness. That is not to say that Daniel was entirely without sin because the bible is clear in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” But the Bible also attests to his faithfulness and generally righteous life. How could a man live such a long life of faithfulness? The answer lies in Daniel chapter 1. When Daniel was taken captive in Babylon, he was only a teenager. At that time in his life he made a conscious decision. Daniel 1:8 tells us, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” At this young age, Daniel “purposed in his heart” to be faithful to God and then lived his whole life with that purpose in mind. We too need to purpose in our heart to be faithful to God. It is best to decide this when you are young like Daniel so that you can live your whole life serving Him, but it is never too late to make that decision and begin to be faithful. Daniel’s life is a true Bible Gem that proves it is possible to be faithful throughout one’s life and that is what we should aspire to do in our lives!
~Bill Delperdange
Acts 16:31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."
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