Thought for April 5, 2024

• 1722: Easter Island discovered
• 1792: First Presidential veto
• 1815: Mt. Tambora erupts. Largest eruption ever witnessed. Created year without summer in 1816--frost and snow in North America in June and July. Largest part of eruption on April 10th. Killed 10,000 in initial blast. 
• 1906: Mt. Vesuvius erupts killing 100
• 1923: Firestone begins producing inflatable tires
• 1936: Tupelo almost completely destroyed by a tornado--216 die
• 1972: Baseball strike costs 86 games
• 2063: On "Star Trek", earth has its first contact with the Vulcan species
• Born: Thomas Hobbes, Joseph Lister, Booker T Washington, Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Gregory Peck, Arthur Hailey. Gale Storm, Frank Gorshin, Colin Powell, Pharrell Williams
• Died: Robert Raikes [Sunday School], Douglas MacArthur, Howard Hughes, Abe Fortas, Sam Walton, Allen Ginsberg, Saul Bellow, Charlton Heston, Honor Blackman

Thought:

Reading Daniel 1:5-7 this morning. Continuing with the thoughts about Nebuchadnezzar's plan. Having brought the youth to Babylon, what does Nebuchadnezzar want to do? First, notice that he took the best and brightest. He took the future leaders. Where are our future leaders being trained and taught today? 

Now notice what the first two things the king does with the youth--change their tastes and change their names. The Jewish  boys had religious dietary restrictions. Part of following and obeying God was following His rules for diet. So the king simply says--eat from the royal table. Think about that. He did not say disobey your God. He did not say worship my gods. He did not ask for them to betray their families and faith--just eat from my table. Eat what I provide. Eat what I eat. How subtle? Invited to eat from the king's table--wow! The king had the best food and the best chef. What's the harm in eating what the king eats.---problem----wrong King. Do you want to be like king Nebuchadnezzar or like the King of kings. Same issue today. Who is king? Who do I want to be like--the rich and famous? I don't have to deny my faith, just get along. Just eat and drink what the boss eats and drinks. Celebrate what the world celebrates and honors. 

Then, the king has new names. The Jewish boys names all contained the name of God. This was a daily reminder about who they were and whose they were. So, the king changes their names to refer to his gods. Now they are servants of the moon god or the sun god or some other god. You are in a new land, just go along and use these new names. Most of us had parents who gave us a good name and asked us not to damage that name by acting different from our parents. Now think about the name we bear--"Christian." Little Christs. What if we wore that name on a T-shirt every day. Telling the world that when they saw me, they saw a little Jesus, someone trying to be like Him. What kind of advertisement would I be? 

Satan is a liar and deceiver. He offers us the king's table, the king's entertainment, the king's name. Problem--just like with Daniel and his friends--wrong king. We are aliens in a foreign land. Lord, help us act like citizens of Your kingdom and not citizens of this world. 

Blessings

Larry