Category: First Things First Devotional

The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they began to serve in the king’s court. Daniel 1:19 HCSB

Many high schools have elections where students receive certain superlative awards such as best looking, most likely to succeed, best smile, best personality, best dresser, hardest worker, most talkative, and best athlete. My son, Jonathan, received the Best Sense of Humor and Most School Spirit superlative from his classmates. He was also elected Mr. MTCS, which was a high honor.

Daniel and his friends would certainly have received some superlatives if they had been giving those awards. After interviewing all of the young men, the king found no one equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They were superlative in many ways because God had given them special wisdom and abilities. God blessed them because of their faithfulness to following His laws and statutes.

Challenge: You are wonderfully and fearfully made by God (Psalm 139:14). You may not have received a superlative, but in God’s eyes you are very, very special. He loves you and wants only the best for you. His laws and statutes are designed to give you an abundant life. Follow His ways and you will never be disappointed.

God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind. Daniel 1:17 HCSB

I constantly pray for God’s wisdom and direction in everything I do, at work and at home. God is all knowing and knows what is best in every situation. Some people say that God is not interested in the small issues that we face each day, but I beg to differ. God is our Heavenly Father. As an earthly father I wanted only the best for my four children. I tried to guide them and give them direction so they would make wise decisions and choices. It is fulfilling when my children, who are now grown and out of the house, call me for advice or direction. Our Heavenly father is interested in every little detail of our lives and wants only the best for us.

God gave His children, Daniel and his three friends,s knowledge and understanding over the other young men. He also gave Daniel the special ability to understand visions and interpret dreams. James 1:5 says, “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.” God desires for His children to seek Him and desire His wisdom and direction.

Challenge: Seek God and His wisdom in every situation. What decision are you needing to make this week? Ask God to give you wisdom in making the right decision. Thank God for giving you wisdom and direction in life.

“Please test your servants for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then examine our appearances and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.” He agreed with them about this and tested them for 10 days. At the end of 10 days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. Daniel 1:12-15 HCSB

ABC News reports: The Daniel Diet, inspired by the Biblical prophet Daniel, has become a popular diet among some U.S. Protestant congregations to help encourage healthy eating. The Saddleback Church, which has a congregation of at least 20,000, has launched a website and book, co-written by head pastor Rick Warren, to promote a long term version of the diet renamed “The Daniel Plan.” Although the Saddleback church version of the Daniel Plan has specific diet directions, most versions of the Daniel diet are slightly improvised since the Bible does not give exact or detailed instructions. Versions of the fast include eating only raw vegetables or fruits for 10-21 days with water.

Daniel challenged the chief official to allow he and his friends to eat only raw vegetables and fruit with water for 10 days and then determine if they were in better health than the others. After 10 days of the “Daniel Diet,” they looked better and healthier than the other young men who were to be trained to serve the king. The “Daniel Diet” transcends 2000 years. It is a Biblical way to lose weight, eat healthier, and live better. The Daniel Plan ministers to the mind, body, and spirit.

Challenge: God expects us to live healthily and eat to live rather than live to eat. What changes do you need to make in your food selections and exercise to live a healthier lifestyle? You can get more information on the “Daniel Plan” diet at www.danielsplan.com (http://www.danielsplan.com/)

Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself. Daniel 1:8 HCSB

All of God’s laws and restrictions are designed to benefit us rather than to keep us from having fun and enjoying life. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” God’s guidelines are always best. The Jewish dietary laws were designed to set God’s people apart from the pagan world. These laws were simple: animals that had cleft hooves and chewed the cud were suitable for food. Only birds that did not eat carrion (decaying flesh) or carry communicable diseases were approved for eating. Also, only fish that had fins and scales could be eaten. Scavenger birds and fish were not considered clean. Meat that had been offered as a sacrifice to a pagan idol was considered unclean. There are differing opinions on God’s purpose for the laws and regulations. Some believe that God’s purpose was to provide healthy foods, while others believe that it was to keep the Jewish people from eating animals used in pagan worship and rituals. For more information
on the Jewish dietary laws, read Leviticus 3:17; 7:26; 17:10-14 and 19:26.

Daniel did not want to defile himself by disobeying God and eating items that He had established as being unclean. Daniel was in exile under the Babylonian rule. It would have been much easier to go along with the crowd and eat the king’s food, but Daniel was willing to take a stand and go against the officials by requesting a different diet.

Challenge: How many times do we defile ourselves by giving into peer pressure and disobeying God? Would you be willing to take a stand and go against popular opinion knowing that what you are doing may cause others to reject you? Pray for strength to do whatever is right and keeps you from defiling yourself.

The king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility – young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the kings’s palace – and to teach them the Chaldean language and literature. Daniel 1:3-4 HCSB

I have always heard the idiom “cream of the crop” and wondered where it originated. There is no way to know exactly, but cream has always been referred to as the richest part of the milk that rises to the top. The noun “cream” has been used since the 16th century to mean the best of the best. “The cream of the market” was used in some English proverbs by John Ray in 1678. Certainly, “cream of the crop” started out meaning the best of the crop, but has evolved to mean the best of anything in the 20th century.

King Nebuchadnezzar had deported the upper class and nobility from Jerusalem and Israel into captivity. These people were obviously leaders and could pose a threat to King Nebuchadnezzar, so it was to his advantage to maintain control of them. His plan was to train the brightest and best people (cream of the crop) to serve in His royal court. Daniel and his three friends were chosen to be a part of this elite group. They were to be given the best of the foods and wine but also the best of training and education.

Challenge: Know that because Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you are one of His chosen people. You have been chosen to serve in His service. He has promised to be with you. Thank God for the many blessings He has provided because you are one of His children. Strive to be the “cream of the crop” at any and everything you do.

“This is the law of the temple, all its surrounding territory on top of the mountain will be especially holy. Yes, this is the law of the temple.” Ezekiel 43:12 HCSB

R.C. Sproul in his classic work, The Holiness of God, puts the holiness of God in its proper and central place in the Christian life. He paints an awe-inspiring vision of God that encourages Christians to become holy just as God is holy. Central to God’s character is the quality of His holiness. Yet, most people are hard-pressed to define what God’s holiness precisely is. Many people today don’t quite know what to do with words like “awe” or “fear”. When someone encounters the holiness of God, his life is never the same. R.C. Sproul says, “The holiness of God affects every aspect of our lives – economics, politics, athletics, romance – everything with which we are involved.”

The restored temple would be the physical manifestation of the holiness of God for all to see. With the glory of God entering the temple, the holiness of God would be restored among the people of Israel. When we encounter the holiness of God, we have a better understanding of how unholy we are and how much we need God’s love and mercy. We don’t deserve to have a relationship with a holy God, but our loving Heavenly Father wants to forgive our sins and make us holy so we can have fellowship with Him.

Challenge: Think about the holiness of God. He is perfect without any sin. He is perfect love, grace, and mercy. Thank God that He is a holy God and that He wants to have a relationship with you – someone unholy and undeserving of His love. Listen to Francis Chan as he addresses the holiness of God on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQVkVRAnjvg

“As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they may be ashamed of their iniquities. Let them measure its pattern and they will be ashamed of all that they have done.” Ezekiel 43:10-11a HCSB

How many times have we heard the words, “You should be ashamed of yourself” from our parents or said these words to our children? Every child at some point has done something that is not pleasing to his or her parents. We have all done things that have caused us to feel shame. As children of God, we have disappointed Him by our behavior and have willingly gone against His Word and direction. Sometimes we have participated in shameful behavior that only God knows about.

The people considered the temple to be the dwelling place of God. Jesus referred to the temple as “My Father’s house” in John 2:16. King Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Solomon’s temple. The temple was in ruins and this seemed to a crippling blow to the spirit of the people of Israel. When the people heard the proclamation of Ezekiel about how the temple would be restored, they felt sorrow for how they had failed God.

Challenge: God continues to love us and provide for us even when we do not deserve it. We should all be ashamed of how we have broken God’s laws and rebelled against our loving Heavenly Father. Pray for forgiveness and thank Him for His love for you and for His timeless faithfulness to restore you to a right relationship with Him.

“Now let them remove their prostitution and the corpses of their kings far from Me, and I will dwell among them forever.” Ezekiel 43:9CSB

Prostitution is a growing problem in today’s world. Finding Justice reports that at any given moment, there are approximately 40 million people at work in the world in the prostitution industry. In South Africa the median price for a prostitute is only one dollar. One in ten men have purchased a prostitute. In America over 80,000 people are arrested each year for soliciting or selling sex. The murder rate for an American prostitute is 204 in every 100,000. Prostitution is a 58 billion dollar industry. Two and one half million victims are currently being trafficked in the sex industry.

Ezekiel is referring to religious prostitution in this verse. The people of Israel had brought other gods and idols into the temple and at times even participated in sexual activity with temple prostitutes, all in the name of worship. The people would continue to worship the One true God, Yahweh, but in the very next room they would also worship idols and have intimate relations with a temple prostitute. This was totally unacceptable to God. The people seemed to be more interested in worshiping dead kings than they were with worshiping the One true and living God. It is only when the people repented of their sins and sought God that they would experience true fellowship with Him and authentic worship.

Challenge: We may not be worshiping idols and engaging a temple prostitute, but too many times we have sin in our lives that hinders us from worshiping God. Are you engaging in “religious prostitution”? What is hindering you from experiencing true worship of God? Pray that God would reveal what you need to get rid of in your life so you can worship the One true God.

The glory of the Lord entered the temple by way of the gate that faced east. Then the spirit lifted me up and brought me in the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. Ezekiel 43:4-5 HCSB

When I had the privilege of traveling to Israel, I observed the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem. It is believed that the Eastern Gate was closed in 1541 by Sulueiman the Magnificent and filled with bricks to prevent the Messiah from entering Jerusalem. Several times there have been attempts to re-open it, but it still remains closed. This is the only entrance into Jerusalem that also gives entrance into the Temple Mount. It is believed that the Eastern Gate was used for certain rituals and many people would enter into the temple through the Eastern Gate. The Eastern Gate is the gate that Jesus used to enter Jerusalem. Jewish tradition says that the coming Messiah will come through the Eastern Gate. Although Jesus fulfilled the prophesy, many did not recognize Him then as the Messiah and many today still do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah who was promised by God. Some believe that when Christ returns, the Eastern Gate will be opened again and it is at this location He will
enter Jerusalem. It is therefore fitting that it is also known as the Beautiful Gate or the Gate of Eternal Life.

Ezekiel was given the privilege to see the Eastern Gate in a vision. His vision was much like Isaiah’s vision (see Isaiah 6:4). It is also similar to the inaugural celebration of the tabernacle or temple as found in 1 Kings 8:11. He saw the glory of the Lord enter the temple by way of the Eastern Gate. Many believe that Ezekiel’s vision was a prophesy of the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, who years later entered through the Eastern Gate.

Challenge: Believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah and that He fulfilled prophesy by entering Jerusalem through the Eastern Gate. Thank God that Jesus came and paid the price for your sins on the cross and that He will someday return and will enter Jerusalem through the Eastern Gate.

He led me to the gate, the one that faces east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice sounded like the roar of mighty waters, and the earth shone with His glory. Ezekiel 43:1-2 HCSB

The United States of America recently celebrated Independence Day on July 4th. We proudly put out the American flag at our house. Our country often refers to the American flag as “Old Glory”. The flag always arouses feelings of patriotism and love for our country.

I enjoy taking outdoor photography of nature scenes. At times I have captured pictures of sunrises and sunsets that one might describe as glorious. We even sing songs that sing about glory, but nothing can compare to the glory of God.

The primary Hebrew word that is translated “glory” comes from a root word that means “heavy”. It means to give weight or honor. This verse in Ezekiel also indicates that the glory of God is like a bright light (See Ezekiel 10:4; Luke 2:9; and Revelation 21:11, 23). Throughout the Old Testament God’s glory is revealed at different times, but the ultimate revelation of God’s glory was when Jesus came and lived among us and revealed God’s nature through His words and actions. God’s glory causes us to realize how powerful, awesome, and loving our God is and how unworthy we are to receive His mercy and grace.

Challenge: Spend some time just thinking about the glory of God. Let your mind wander and think about how awesome and great is the God you serve. Praise God for who is He is and for His great mercy and forgiveness. Listen to Chris Tomlin perform the song “How Great is Our God” on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZFN8TBfgNU&feature=kp (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZFN8TBfgNU&feature=kp)