CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 838

“Conformity”

Daniel 3:14-18 (ESV)  Nebuchadnezzar … said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of … every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said …If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

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There is a Japanese proverb that states, ‘The nail that sticks out gets hammered down’.  I would stick out on occasion in boot camp when I got out of step with the marching formation.  Whenever this happened, I would receive a head slap causing me to try harder to conform.

What happens when the context changes from that of a military unit to that of Christian life in our society?  What happens when we are ‘hammered down’ in America for our faith in Jesus Christ?  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego moved to the beat of a different drum.  They were the nail that stuck out in their day.  When everyone else was bowing down to idols at the sound of the music, they stood tall in honor of the one true God.  While their story is from thousands of years ago it continues to be played out in the lives of others even into our century.  Will you be able to stand firm as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did?

Jesus’ call on our lives to ‘Come, follow Me’ is a call to move to the beat of a different drum from that of our world society.  In this country Christians are persecuted in the workplace and in schools for their refusal to conform to the beat of society’s drum.  Today, we have laws to protect our rights to follow Christ.  Will we have those rights tomorrow?

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.- Romans 12:2

Christian persecution is a reality in our world society today and we are naïve to think that what is happening throughout the world could not happen in America.  Preaching the full gospel truth of the Word of God is deemed as hate speech and Pastors have been charged with this crime.  Indeed, some church denominations have chosen to conform to new societal norms and deny the truth of the Word of God.  They have been hammered down.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste … It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden …let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 5:13

May you choose to follow Jesus and not to conform to the world system that contradicts the truth of His Word.  May you be firmly rooted in your personal relationship with Jesus Christ so that you may be prepared to stand in His power and authority against the darkness of this world today and in the days to come.