THREE FAITHFUL MEN

“Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God” (Dan. 3:28 NKJV).

These three Jews stood faithful to God even in the midst of their fiery-furnace experience. When they came out of the furnace unharmed, the King commended them. The commendation involved the honor for God, faith in God, and consecration to God.

Honor for God - “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.” These three men were faithful to God and so refused to bow to the golden image. This resulted in God being given great honor by Nebuchadnezzar. The aim of our lives ought to be to live in such a way that God will be honored, not shamed. Faithfulness will bring honor to God, but our sin will dishonor Him.

Faith in God - “Delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word.” The key to the deliverance and testimony of these three men was that they “trusted” in God. Nothing is as important in our life as our faith in God. And nothing so strengthens our faith more than the Word of God. We need to read and study the Word daily and diligently.

Consecration to God - “Yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.” Consecration involves our bodies, and these three men would not allow their bodies to bow to the golden image. Our bodies are not our own but are the property of the Lord by the right of creation and redemption. Therefore, we are to live for His glory, in strict obedience to His will.

(Adapted from Analytical Biblical Expositor)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“When we allow God to be exalted in our difficulties we are in the perfect place to smell the fragrance of His presence!”

Aiden Wilson (A.W.) Tozer (1897 – 1963)

American Pastor, Theologian and Author

Word Study

Encourage

In 1 Thess. 2:11 we read, “Just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children!” (NASB).

Encourage is the Greek word paramuthéomai (παραμυθέομαι = par-am-oo-theh'-om-ahee). It is made up of two words: “para” which means alongside, and “múthos” which means speech. Literally, the word means to speak to someone coming close to his or her side and speak to them in a friendly way. In classic Greek paramuthéomai was used to encourage or exhort one about his future actions, or to console or comfort a person about some recent disappointment or tragedy. In the Septuagint, paramuthéomai also carries the idea of encouragement. In the New Testament, paramuthéomai means to encourage, console, to serve as a source of comfort in disappointment, loss, sadness, or trouble. The idea is to speak kindly or soothingly so as to comfort or pacify. Encouragement and consolation are critical in assisting in spiritual growth because of the many obstacles and failures of the Christian experience.

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“And the LORD, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed” (Deut. 31:8 KJV).

Did You Know…

The Jewish festival of Purim commemorates the acts of Esther (Esther 9:26-28).

Bible Quiz

What happened to Korah who spoke against Moses in the wilderness?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: How was Elijah taken to heaven? He was taken in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:1).

Names For God Found in the Bible

“PURIFIER”

"He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness” (Ma. 3:3 NKJV).

1. Meaning – PURIFIER refers to God as the refiner, the One who cleanses and makes clean.

2. Insights – In Old Testament times, crude silver ore would be put in a crucible in the smelting furnace and be subjected to intense heat in order to liquefy the solid ore. In the liquid state, the impurities would rise to the surface and be skimmed off as dross. When the silversmith was able to see his face reflected in the pure metal, he would remove it from the fire. So, our Lord keeps us in the furnace of suffering until we reflect the glory and beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christlikeness is God’s ideal for His child. Through this refining process, there would emerge those who would serve the Lord faithfully and honor Him in proper and acceptable worship.

Did You Know...Christian History

Theodor Fliedner was born January 21, 1800, in Eppstein in Hesse, Germany. He was a German Lutheran minister and founder of Lutheran deaconess training.

Fliedner was the son of a Lutheran minister and studied theology at the University of Giessen and the University of Gottingen as well as at Herborn Academy. After spending a year preaching and preaching, in 1821 he accepted a call from the Protestant church at Kaiserswerth. When the town could no longer support church and ministry, he undertook journeys to collect donations. The travels also took him to the Netherlands and England.

Fliedner met with considerable success and had opportunities of observing what was being done towards prison reform. He returned home not only with a large financial collection, but also with new ideas about social work among the disadvantaged. He began by working among inmates at the Düsseldorf Prison, preaching the Gospel and ministering to spiritual and physical needs.

The German prisons were then in a very bad state; but those interested in their improvement banded together, and in 1826, Fliedner created the Rhenish-Westphalian Prison Society. Fliedner realized that the first step must be toward looking after the prisoners on their release, and so in 1833, he opened a refuge for discharged female convicts at Kaiserswerth. To better support and teach the Kaiserwerth’s children, he founded a school in 1835 which became the venue for a women teachers’ seminar.

In many cities, there were no hospitals at that time. Following somewhat the model of the early Christian Church’s diaconate, incorporating ideas learned in England, Fliedner developed a plan whereby young women would find and care for the needy sick. This led to the opening of the hospital and deaconess training center in Kaiserswerth in 1836. And between 1836 and 1847 Fliedner also opened an infants’ school and one for their teachers, a girls’ orphanage, and a women’s asylum. He also assisted in the foundation and management of similar institutions in various parts of Europe.

In 1849 Fliedner resigned his pastorate and turned completely to working with the diaconate, including increasing activity abroad, founding “mother houses” across Central and Eastern Europe, and as far as Jerusalem. Fliedner’s movement has been cited as the model for the Inner Mission movement which Johann Hinrich Wichern developed. In 1855 Fliedner received the degree of Doctor of Theology from the University of Bonn, in recognition of his practical activities. Fliedner died on October 4, 1864.

A Little Humor

A little boy watched, fascinated, as his mother covered her face in cold cream. “Why do you do that?” he asked. “To make myself beautiful.” When she began to rub it off, the boy asked, “Why are you doing that? Did you give up?”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Faith in Jesus is the believer’s passport to heaven!”