Ungodly beliefs

LifeChange group - Lesson 9

We live in a world that’s much like Daniel’s, where culture is trying to train our minds to think, behave, and believe like the rest of the world. It trains us to lower our standards. However, you can’t live passively as a follower of Christ in today’s world. You need to take a stand like Daniel did.

The world calls you to blend in. Daniel and his friends could have blended in with the rest of the young Israelites, but if they had done so, nothing historic would have happened. God can and will use you like Daniel, but only if you take a stand and stand out from the rest of the world. Those who have the courage to stand out inspire others. Why spend your life trying to fit in when you were born to stand out? Wouldn’t you rather be remembered for standing out than forgotten for blending in?

As you finish reading and praying today, ask yourself: How am I guilty of trying to blend in? What’s one way I need to take a stand for my faith in Christ? How and when will I do it?

Daniel didn’t go before the king begging and pleading with him to spare his life, but rather he stood before the king with boldness and confidence. Daniel had full confidence in God’s ability, and knew that He could do anything, even interpret the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar.

When you take a stand for God, do so with boldness and confidence. No matter how difficult the situation is, don’t let your fears guide you. Instead, let your confidence in God guide you to take a stand. God will never let you down when you take a stand for Him, even in the darkest of situations.

Boldness is behavior born out of belief. It’s a belief that God is who He says He is. Next time you take a stand for God, do so with boldness. Your boldness will be a light into the world. It’s time to stand out.

As you finish reading and praying today, ask yourself: Where in my daily life do I need boldness to take a stand? What will I do to gain the boldness I need?

Please read Daniel chapter 3 before you read today’s devotional content. The faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was so deeply rooted in God that it enabled them to boldly stand tall and against the crowd when everyone else bowed. They knew the fate the king had in store for them as a result of their stand for God, but they were willing to put their faith to the test. A faith that’s tested by fire is a faith that can be trusted. Think about your life for a moment. Can your faith handle the fire you’re enduring? Maybe you’re enduring unanswered prayer, the loss of a loved one, or betrayal by another. These types
of situations can rock the foundation of our faith and put our faith to the fire.

When you find your faith being tested by fire, there are three things to remember. First, obey God’s commands instead of man’s expectations. The king and his people expected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to bow, but instead they followed God’s command and stood tall. The second thing to remember is to believe God’s truth instead of the facts. The facts were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would be killed if they didn’t bow, but God’s truth said they would not be harmed for standing up for Him. Finally, believe God. Don’t just believe in God.

As you finish reading and praying today, ask yourself: How is my faith being tested by fire? What’s one thing I can do today to help me endure the fire with courage?

It took great courage for Daniel to stand up to the king because he could have been killed for telling the truth. Daniel stood up to the king and confronted him about his sin. Confrontations are not easy for many people. In fact, most people fall into two extremes when it comes to confronting those who are doing wrong. They’re either unwilling to confront, or their confrontation comes across as unloving.

There’s probably someone in your life you need to confront about their wrongdoing. Maybe it’s a person at work that claims Christ, but curses all the time, tells dirty jokes, or looks lustfully at women. Maybe it’s a kid at your school who goes to youth group, but parties on the weekend and cheats on their tests. Maybe it’s a friend who is full of spiritual talk, yet is verbally abusive to their family.

When you confront someone about their sin, don’t go to one of the two extremes, but instead prayerfully confront them. To do this, there are two things you should pray before you confront. The first is, “God, help me confront with the goal of restoration.” The second is, “God, help me confront with caution.”

As you finish reading and praying today, ask yourself: Who do I need to confront? How will I confront them in a prayerful way?

Belshazzar didn’t learn from the mistakes of his father. Instead of standing for God like Nebuchadnezzar did in the later days of his life, Belshazzar decided to stand for himself and his own pride. He put himself and other idols before God. Belshazzar was measured by God and came up short. Over time, Belshazzar loosened his standards to the point where he didn’t think twice about defaming God’s people by using their goblets.

What do you stand for? In today’s culture it seems more people stand for the wrong things than those that stand for what God says is right. What standards are you using to measure your actions? Are you using God’s standards or the world’s? When you use the standards of the world as your sliding scale to measure your actions, you’ll often find yourself doing things you shouldn’t, and justifying your actions.

Maybe the movies and television shows you watch and the music you listen to may be acceptable to the world’s standards, but are they to God’s? Maybe the type of language you use is acceptable to the world, but is it to God? Take an extensive inventory of your actions today and see what you really stand for. If you were to be measured by God today, would you come up lacking?

As you finish reading and praying today, ask yourself: If God were to measure my actions and my heart, how would He rate me? What’s one thing I will stop doing today that does not meet God’s high standards?

We see Daniel in the later years of his life in Chapter 6. He has risen in prominence as one of three administrators in the kingdom. Daniel was a prime example of how integrity often leads to promotion in life. Daniel endured what so many people of integrity face that you will face: repeated temptations to compromise your stance for Christ. But Daniel resisted and never compromised his integrity.

He faced a situation so many of us experience on a regular basis when we’re asked the question—will you obey God or men even if your obedience to God costs you? When is the last time your obedience cost you? Maybe you lost a job, a promotion, or a friendship. You might have been ridiculed for your obedience to God. Daniel’s stand could have cost him his life, but he never wavered in standing for God.

Daniel faced impossible odds for standing firm in his beliefs. Verse 15 tells us that the laws of the land were against Daniel, and verse 17 shows us the laws of nature were against Daniel as well. The stone that covered the den would be almost impossible to move—and hungry lions always eat their victims. It was truly an impossible situation for Daniel, but God specializes in impossible situations.

What impossible situations are you facing? Your impossible situations may be the result of your taking a stand for Christ or the result of something else. Don’t panic. If God could deliver Daniel from the most dangerous of situations, He can deliver you as well.

As you finish reading and praying today, ask yourself: How have I seen God bring me through impossible situations in my life? What’s one thing I can do today that will help strengthen my faith in God and my courage to endure my impossible situation?

For the remainder of the book of Daniel, we read about some of the prophetic dreams and their interpretations Daniel was given by God. These dreams were largely about the wickedness that was taking place during Daniel’s time, and foretold events that were still to come in his day, and will occur in the last days.

Daniel’s experience from today’s reading in chapter 10 is a prime example of how God does hear our prayers, sees us when we’re in sorrow, and acts on our behalf even when it may seem like He’s silent.
Daniel was in such misery he was face down on the ground in a deep sleep until he is told in verse 11 to stand up so he can see for himself that God does indeed care for him and hears him. We’ve all experienced hurt in our lives. You may be enduring enormous pain right this moment. During those times it’s easy to feel like God doesn’t hear your prayers. You’ve probably asked, “Why God?” and felt like there was no response.

When you’re in those darkest of moments and feel all alone, stand up and realize that God does indeed care for you, love you, and hear your prayers even when you think He doesn’t. If you’ve humbled yourself before God and surrendered your entire life to Him just as Daniel did, then God sees you as He saw Daniel as being “highly esteemed.” You’re locked into a battle with your spiritual enemy, Satan, and that’s going to lead to times of pain and sorrow, but take heart and stand up when you fall. God is on your side and will never let go of His
undying love for you.

More importantly, maybe you need to stand up to what’s going on around you. So many people today are caught up in their routines and busyness of life that they’ve become blinded to the world around them. Our hearts should break for what breaks the heart of God. We should mourn for the lost, the broken, the hurting, our nations, and our world.

Daniel saw things differently from what those around him saw, and his heart broke for the evil that was around him—and the devastation that was to come. If our hearts were more like Daniel, then we would be better poised to take a stand to make a difference in this world for Christ.

As you finish reading and praying today, ask yourself: What things are keeping me distracted from the brokenness around me? What will I do to remove these distractions?