Dare to be a Daniel

We serve a living God. And if we serve a living God, then it means we will take Him everywhere we go. It will affect everything we do. It will affect our relationships. It will affect our ethics. It will affect our work. It will affect our play. It will affect the way we think. It will affect the way we live. It will affect the way we vote. It will affect everything we do. Because if Jesus is not Lord of all, then He is not Lord at all.

The Bible tells us about a man who had this kind of faith in God in the midst of tremendous peer pressure. His name was Daniel, and the Bible also gives us an indication as to how he did it: "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself . . ." (Daniel 1:8, emphasis added). The word to underline in your Bible is purposed. He purposed in his heart.

That is what we need a lot more of today. How we need men and women of conviction. We need men and women of purpose, people who will say, "This is right. I don’t care if it is popular. I have to do what is right."

Be a man, be a woman, of purpose. Be a man, be a woman, of conviction. As Philip P. Bliss wrote in his classic hymn, "Dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone! Dare to have a purpose firm! Dare to make it known." Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. What have you purposed in your heart today?