Resolve

Dear Jesus - This morning we went over some great stuff with You in my Daniel study. But first of all I want to thank you for last night. Last night was the first of many meetings with the singles girls that Melissa Guinn and I are leading. We had 10 girls show up and they were ready. I mean locked and loaded. They were ready to hear from the Lord and get started on the adventure of their life in walking with Him. The passion and excitement in their eyes was undeniable. It was inviting and exciting and motivating! I am so excited to see what you have for them next week. I think the greatest thing was the prayer request time. I asked the girls to only give requests about themselves and personal things we can really pour ourselves into over them! (Romans 15:30) Boy, did they do it!! Specific requests and deep, passionate, "I want to be real" kind of longing came forth! I am pumped Lord!! It was great and I feel like You blessed it!! Thank you!

8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.

Here are these young boys taken 900 miles from home into a foreign land, big city kind of atmosphere and yet they know what they are going to do and how they are going to live before the time ever comes to react or even act. Amazing. How in the world can I learn what my convictions are and live by them before they are ever challenged? How in the world can I teach my kids to do the right thing and really love the Lord before they are challenged to go in another direction. Many times it is when the rubber meets the road that one decides what they believe. But I am thinking that according to this scripture God wants us to know what we believe and be resolved to it before the rubber meets the road! I don't know any of other way to live this way and to make sure my kids live this way than to be blameless as David talks about so often in the Psalms and to piggy-back on what Beth Moore discusses in the lesson today of consistently living out integrity.

In the Psalms we hear David claiming to be blameless quite often. We all know he was by far not blameless in the way we think of blameless as having no sin. But David was talking about constantly and consistently coming before the Lord to seek forgiveness! When we walk away from a time of seeking forgiveness for a split second we do walk away completely blameless just until the moment that self steps in or sin attacks and we succumb! But for that brief moment we are completely covered by his blood and actually pure. We are fessed up! But it takes consistent confession!

And then to live in that resolve before the heat is turned up is only going to happen because we have taken the time to get trained before the heat ever comes! "Trust Him in the preparation" as You have impressed on me over and over and over! Trusting Him in the preparation means to do what I am suppose to do daily (quiet time) trusting Him that He is preparing me for those times when the heat is turned up or the walls come crumbling down around me! If I have done what the preparation for those "tests" requires because I have trusted him day in and day out, then resolve will be set and life can be lived out victoriously in Him!

Daniel and his friends made up their minds long before the first meal was brought to them I do believe. I would like to go a step further and propose it might be because some very important issues had been drilled in at home and there was no fence riding by his parents. They had a real faith that Daniel knew and knew nothing but to want and did follow. He resolved! Then acted. I think if it would have been me, I would have wanted to check out the plate of food first before I made my decision! ugh!!!

Lord, I don't want to be a fence rider. I want my faith to be real and one that my kids want nothing more but to emulate. I want my kids to grow up with resolve already in place. I want my kids to grow up and just know where they stand AND why! I see high school and college as the place where these decisions needed to be resolved before they step one foot on the campus! I think my parents did a great job at this. I remember going to school the first day at my new school in Vincennes, IN - second half of 10th grade- and making a point to wear my FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) sweatshirt so that everyone knew where I stood from that day forth. That confidence and that resolve only came after much preparation and training in the church and at home. My parents were the ones to make sure that happened!

All is only possible with You and because of You. Nothing I did and nothing I will do, but You!!!
Praise You Lord!!! I love You!