ODJ: playing the part

July 16, 2014 

READ: Daniel 2:1-23 

Trials will show that your faith is genuine (1 Peter 1:7).

Last year a teenager in China got in some hot water for playing the part of a stewardess. The 13 year old bought a uniform that resembled those worn by stewardesses and even put together some fake credentials. Then she camped out at the local airport terminal, trying to sneak her way onto a jet. When police escorted her away, she begged them to bring her back, saying, “I am truly in love with the sky. Let me go to the airport.”
Some “magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers” got in some serious trouble when King Nebuchadnezzar’s anger boiled over (Daniel 2:2,12). His highness got highly agitated when the phonies couldn’t tell the king what only God could know (vv.10-11). They were trying to play the part of a prophet of God, but failed. They simply couldn’t tell the king what he had dreamed and what it meant. So he decided to terminate all of them.

That’s when Daniel stepped in.

This godly man, who was one of the exiled Israelites in Babylon, had earned the trust of the king. But as a prophet of God, Daniel also knew the greater King! He didn’t need to play a part, for his faith in God was genuine. He quickly went to Nebuchadnezzar, requesting time to seek the meaning of the king’s dream from God Himself (vv.16,18).

By doing so, he saved the skin of all the fake wise guys whom the king had decided to execute, but he also saved his own skin. More importantly, however, he later revealed the wisdom and power of God as he told the king exactly what his dream meant (vv.28-45).

Genuine faith is revealed as we face challenges in life (1 Peter 1:7). Have recent trials exposed your faith or the fact that you’ve simply been playing the part? —Tom Felten

365-day plan› Mark 6:14-29

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Read Mark 2:9-12 and note the genuine authority Jesus displays as He does an amazing, faith-building act. 
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