Above Reproach: Year Two Day Eighty-Eight Devotional

Passage: Daniel 6
Psalm and Proverbs: Psalm 83

Daniel 6:4-5

⁴ Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel regarding government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. ⁵ Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him regarding the law of his God.”

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Daniel modeled how to live above reproach. The only way he would break the law would be if that law went against God’s law. Doing ministry cross-culturally requires a commitment to personal holiness and prayer.

Father, give Your church Your vision for taking the gospel to the nations.

Psalm 83:16 (NASB)

Fill their faces with dishonor,
So that they will seek Your name, Lord.

Lord of Nations: Year Two Day Eighty-Seven Devotional

Passage: Daniel 5
Psalm and Proverbs: Psalm 82

Daniel 5:22-28

²² Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this, ²³ but you have risen up against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine out of them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, nor hear, nor understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified. ²⁴ Then the hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.

²⁵ “Now this is the inscription that was written:

‘Menē, Menē, Tekēl, Upharsin.’

²⁶ This is the interpretation of the message: ‘Menē’—God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. ²⁷ ‘Tekēl’—you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. ²⁸ ‘Perēs’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

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God’s people may have been exiles, but He reigned over all nations. Two points consistently arise in Daniel, one flowing from the other. God is sovereign king over all nations. Therefore all people owe Him honor, worship, and allegiance. God’s nature is a biblical foundation of the church’s apostolic mission to the nations.

Father, give Your church Your vision for taking the gospel to the nations.

Psalm 82:8 (NASB)

Arise, God, judge the earth!
For You possess all the nations.

God Makes Himself Known: Year Two Day Eighty-Six Devotional

Passage: Daniel 4
Psalm and Proverbs: Psalm 81

Daniel 4:34-35

³⁴ “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever;

For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
³⁵ All the inhabitants of the earth are of no account,
But He does according to His will among the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of earth;
And no one can fend off His hand
Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’

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A positive result of the exile was that God became known to the nations around the Near East. The Judean exiles saw that God was sovereign over all nations and how He worked among the nations to make Himself known.

Too many Christians and churches are so inwardly focused they do not see His work in all places to reach all peoples. We need to step out of our comfort zones to see God’s love fully.

Father, lead Your people to cross cultural and economic barriers so they will see Your love for all peoples.

Psalm 81:9 (NASB)

There shall be no strange god among you;
Nor shall you worship a foreign god.

Lines We Don’t Cross: Year Two Day Eighty-Five Devotional

Passage: Daniel 3
Psalm and Proverbs: Psalm 80

Daniel 3:16-18

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we are not in need of an answer to give you concerning this matter. ¹⁷ If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

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Some lines can’t be crossed. All three men had proven themselves in serving Babylon, but they could not pass the king’s loyalty test when it required worshipping a false god. They would not go along to get along. Their commitment was such that they would obey God even if it meant death.

As we work in cultures and places hostile to our faith, we should adapt and not purposefully offend. But the truth will offend those who believe lies. We have to be willing to accept the consequences.

Father, help Your people boldly stand for truth.

Psalm 80:19 (NASB)

Lord God of armies, restore us;
Make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.

To God Be the Glory: Year Two Day Eighty-Four Devotional

Passage: Daniel 2
Psalm and Proverbs: Psalm 79

²⁷ Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the secret about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, sorcerers, soothsayer priests, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. ²⁸ However, there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed. ²⁹ As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will take place. ³⁰ But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living person, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

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Living cross-culturally and serving in a pagan court was precarious. At a whim, Daniel could lose his life by order of the king. It would have been clever to make himself invaluable and stand out. Yet, when the opportunity came, he gave all the glory to God.

As we live, may we do the same. Let us give God the glory for all that is good in us and what good we do.

Father, be glorified through my life. Help me to point others to You.

Psalm 79:11 (NASB)

Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your power, let those who are doomed to die remain.