fast day two: opening the book of Daniel

The best and the brightest young men were taken from their homes in Jerusalem and put into a civil service training program in faraway Babylon. Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among them. They were likely in their early to mid teens, but whatever faith training had occurred in those pre-exile years somehow stuck. Somehow their faith in the God of Israel survived after being re-educated to worship a cast of false Babylonian gods and practice sorcery and astrology. Somehow they continued to pray to a God daily that allowed them to remain separated from their home and families for the rest of their life. Somehow their adherence to the eating code commanded by the laws of Moses persevered even at a table of the finest foods on the planet. Somehow after being stripped of their Hebrew language and name, they never forgot who they were.

Before I can even begin to read the marvelous stories and fantastic prophetic visions contained in Daniel's book, I have to sit in awe at Daniel's deep personal relationship with God. One that had already been set in stone before kids today get a driver's license. As a children's minister and a mom, I long for nothing more than to instill that same kind of zealous faith in kids. And really, for anyone who has taken on the mission of "leading people to become fully devoted followers of Christ," you need to wonder how you can deepen your own faith to Daniel's level and learn to share your faith with others in a way that sets the same foundation.

As we read Daniel together, don't forget how this amazing man of faith, author of God's written word, and hero given for us to pattern our lives by, learned everything he knew about God as a child.