SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17
Scripture: Daniel 3:1-12

Nebuchadnezzar built an image of gold that was 60 cubits high and six cubits wide. He set it up in the province of Babylon and commanded all the officials to bow down and worship whenever they started to hear the music. And whoever did not fall down and worship would be thrown in the midst of a fiery furnace. Once again, the faith of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego was being tested. The Jews were accused because they chose to obey God rather than man and King Nebuchadnezzar was told in verse 12, “They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.” So the test was on for whether or not they were going to live according to God’s Word or the world’s dictates. They had just been promoted and the test came immediately after their promotion. Isn’t it amazing that often when we are promoted, tests come and the promotion hangs in the balance? We have to face whether we are willing to sacrifice everything we have gained in order to serve God? In many ways it is a mammon/integrity test because often our livelihoods are on the line. The stakes double and the enemy is right there because he wants to stop us at every juncture. What are we going to do as the tests unfold? We have to make a choice. We have to choose to live in God’s Word or compromise that Word to save our position. For these men, it wasn’t only their promotion on the line – it was their lives. Sometimes God comes through and we live and sometimes He says no and we get promoted to glory. Thousands in the Middle East have been slaughtered by Isis because they refused to deny Christ. The book of Revelation tells us it is going to happen in the end-times and it is amazing that we are seeing it in the here and now. This is a real test and one that believers are going to face more and more in the days ahead. Will we be faithful unto death? That is the call. Settle it now!