Decide Ahead of Time - Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - June 21, 2016
Decide Ahead of Time
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank. - (Daniel 1:8)
Phillips Brooks said, “Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.”
We will develop habits in life that can be good or bad, depending on what kind of habits they are. If they are bad habits, that will be troublesome. If they are good habits, that will be beneficial. As a young Christian, I developed the habit of reading my Bible every day, starting the day with the Word of God. That is a good habit. I also developed the habit of biting my fingernails. That is a bad habit.
We develop these habits and patterns that we carry on through life. In the early years, the die is cast. The course is charted. The path is followed.
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel were four young men who were ready to face the big moments later because of decisions they made earlier in life. These Jewish teenagers ended up as captives in Babylon, and they were facing heavy-duty temptation.
Suddenly the world was their oyster. And Nebuchadnezzar was hoping they would be seduced by all the luxuries he placed before them. Yet they had a God to serve and a stand to make. The Bible tells us that “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank” (Daniel 1:8). They made a stand in a relatively small area, and didn’t compromise.
If you compromise now, you will regret it later. You decide the evening of your life by the morning of it. It is not a mystical thing you have nothing to say about. You decide.
Decide now the kind of stand you are going to make then.
Copyright © 2016 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.
Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.
SPECIAL OFFER
Give biblical truths to the children in your life!
If you want to impart spiritual insight to the kids in your life, you must be intentional about communicating in a way that is understandable, engaging, and creative. Author Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrator Jago combine beautiful images with scriptural insight in 101 simple-yet-profound devotional thoughts for kids.
Receive the Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing book when you give a gift of support to Harvest Ministries this month.
