Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were taken from captive from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar along with Daniel. They were given new names by their captors - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The Bible tells us that they were young, physically fit, good looking and intelligent. God gave the men wisdom and knowledge and the King put them in charge of Babylon.
King Nebuchadnezzar made a huge statue and commanded everyone to bow down to it. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down because they believed in God. They told the King, “Your Majesty, we don’t need to defend ourselves. The God we worship can save us from you and your flaming furnace. But even if he doesn’t, we still won’t worship your gods and the gold statue you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18). Long story, short - they were thrown into a fiery furnace. Even though the guards who threw them in died from the heat, the three young men were not harmed. While they were in the furnace, the King saw a fourth person with them (either Jesus or an angel). King Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise their God for sending an angel to rescue his servants! They trusted their God and refused to obey my commands. Yes, they chose to die rather than to worship or serve any god except their own" (Daniel 3:28). God is just and fair. It's easy to forget that when the world around us seems so unjust. Bad stuff happens to good people and good stuff happens to bad people. At the end times when Jesus comes again we will see the ultimate fulfilment of God's justice. For now, sin is still running amuck on the earth, but God's ultimate justice is coming.
God was fair and just with the Israelites. Isaiah 30:18 is part of a prophecy to the to them. Even though God was angry with them because they were disobedient he longed to be gracious to them. God was faithful to the promise he made to the Israelites, that they would be his chosen people - even though they didn't deserve it. God is just and fair with us too. If we believe that Jesus died and rose again to forgive us for our sins - he forgives us, even though we don't deserve it. 1 John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. God is faithful - if we do what he asks (confess our sins) he does what he promised (forgive us). I was inspired by Greg Stier's article on Christian Post about three things Christian Teens need, though it applies to all Christians.
We need a King. It is human nature to idolise all kinds of things - beauty, success, fame, grades, boys, food, music, celebrities, money... Jesus is King of Kings - nothing else can satisfy. We need a Cause. God made it clear in the Bible that loving Him and loving others is our purpose. Whatever you do, make sure your goal is to glorify God. We need a Crew. The Bible tells us not to give up meeting together with other Christians - we need to encourage each other and cheer each other on. You may not think this applies to you because you don't get much pocket money or earn much at your part time job. But giving part of your money to God is a valuable thing to do no matter how much money you have, or don't have. The Old Testament talks about giving ten percent of your income, called a tithe. The poor woman in this story gave everything she had.
Malachi 3:10 says, Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple, so that there will be plenty of food there. Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things. God says he will bless us if we give to his work. It costs money to run the church - you have to pay the pastor and the electricity bill etc. It's hard to wrap our brains around eternity because everything in this life has a beginning and end. Our brains struggle to understand the concept of living eternally but that's why it's called faith. My brain struggles to understand gravity, but it exists whether I believe it or not. If you think that there must be more to life that going to school, getting a job, getting married, having a family, retiring then dying - you're right. The purpose of life is to love God in this life and live with him eternally in the next. Romans 1:17 says, The one who is right with God by faith will live forever.
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