Day 256: Ez 47:23 - Dan 2:26

We are now moving out of the major prophets and into the minor prophets, and I must say, The book of Daniel is one of my favorites. Right off the bat, we learn very important Biblical principles. In chapter one, we see a perfect example of God's call on our lives to be in the world, but not of the world. Interestingly enough, just today I read a blog by an amazing Christian artist about the importance of being a light in a dark world. There has long been controversy about whether or not Christians should ever spend time around un-Godly people. The obvious answer, in my opinion, is actually another question - How on earth could we possibly reach the lost if we aren't allowed to get near them? The conflict comes when believers think that the only way to reach the lost is to act exactly like them. If we are acting exactly like the person right next to us, what reason would that person have to ever want what we have if, in their eyes, we both have the exact same thing? We see in chapter one that although the 4 subjects of this story lived with the Babylonian elite and ate at their table, they set themselves apart by not partaking in the same diet. Whereas the logical person would assume that this behavior would have ostracized them from the people they were called to reach out to, we can see that God worked through this simple gesture and actually propelled them forward simply because they understood that being faithful to God was much more important that "fitting in."

- Lord, help me to be a strong representative of You to the world around me. Help me to not be afraid of going out into the world in Your name, and at the same time, give me the strength to stand firm and be an anchor for those around me to hold onto. I am called to go out into the world not so they can see how similar I am to them, but so that they can see that I have something to offer that they won't find in anyone but You. -