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; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

—Daniel 1:8

In Daniel 1 we read how King Nebuchadnezzar brought Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, into his court and tested their loyalty to God by offering them Babylonian delicacies. You can be sure it was some of the finest food on earth.

But Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego would not eat the food at the king’s table because for them, it was a compromise. It may be because the food was dedicated to pagan gods, or it may have been because some of it was forbidden under Mosaic Law, and they were Jews. Whatever the case, they were unwilling to compromise their principles.

Now that may seem like a little thing to us. They should have just eaten. When in Babylon, be like the Babylonians. Come on, don’t be so legalistic. Don’t be so fanatical. But it was important to them.

It was that commitment at an early age that gave them the moorings to face the challenges that came later in life. Had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego failed in this test, they would have never made it when it came time to bow before the king. They would have caved into pressure and bowed with everyone else before the golden idol that the king had erected. But they didn’t compromise because they were men of purpose, and they stood up when everyone bowed.

And had Daniel failed to pass this test, he would not have had the fortitude and grit to stand up, or in his case, to kneel and to pray to his God, even though a decree had been signed by the king that made it illegal.

Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

—Matthew 26:49

Some people question why Jesus would choose Judas to be His disciple, knowing that Judas would do what he did. If someone had to condemn Jesus, if it was written in the Scriptures that Jesus would be condemned by a friend, then why condemn Judas? Wasn’t he just a pawn?

Not at all. It’s important to realize that the Lord’s selection of Judas as one of the Twelve did not seal his fate. Rather, it gave him an opportunity to observe Jesus closely. As Judas properly concluded later, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4).

God, in His sovereignty, had determined that His Son would be betrayed by a friend. But divine foreknowledge does not destroy human responsibility or accountability. Judas made a decision freely and would be judged accordingly.

In that dramatic moment when Judas identified Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” (Matthew 26:50). Then we’re told, “They came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.”

The Bible says a multitude came to arrest Jesus, and this would have included the officers of the temple, who were granted limited powers by the Romans in matters concerning Jewish religion and society. They were moving together as a mob. That is so typical of the mob mentality. Many of the people who joined in on this probably had no idea of what they were doing or why.

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

—Matthew 26:39

When my sons were growing and one of them had a few dollars to spend, I would take him to the toy store. My son would look around, select a toy he wanted, and then ask me what I thought.

At that moment I would have a vision of his closet and all his broken toys. I knew the toy he was considering also would go that way. So I would tell him, “Well, buddy, I don’t think that’s a good toy to buy. I recommend you get something different.”

“But I want this one.”

“Why don’t you just wait and think about it.”

“Why don’t you choose for me, Dad?”

I loved it when my sons would say that. Of course, you know what I ended up doing. I usually ended up spending a little more money on them. I liked to get them great toys.

That is God’s attitude toward us, illustrated in a simplistic way. When we ask the Lord to choose for us, He will go above and beyond what we can ask or think. Many times we limit God through our unbelief. He wants to do more than we’re asking for. So don’t be afraid to say, “Not as I will, but as You will.”

D. L. Moody said, “Spread out your petition before God, and then say, ‘Thy will, not mine, be done.’ The sweetest lesson I have learned in God’s school is to let the Lord choose for me.”

She has done what she could and she has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.

—Mark 14:8

As I read the Bible, I can’t help but notice how little is said about the great empires in Jesus’ day. We would think there would be more in the Bible about the Caesars or the great conquests of Rome. But it’s interesting to me what God did.

In Matthew 26, we find a memorial we should never forget, an incredible, sacrificial thing someone did for Jesus: “Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head” (verses 6–7).

With His disciples watching in amazement, Mary broke open this expensive ointment and anointed Jesus’ head with complete abandon. It didn’t matter to her what their opinions were. All she knew was this was her Lord.

Did Mary fully comprehend what lay ahead? Did she realize Jesus would die on a cross? I’m not sure. But she seemed to know more than the rest of them. She seemed to recognize that He needed to be anointed for His burial. So she gave her all.

Many people today will give only what is required by God. They don’t want to go overboard. They don’t want to be extreme or fanatical, so they give God the bare minimum. Maybe this is one of the reasons we don’t see the work of God today on quite the same scale as they saw it back in the early church. As modeled by Mary, there was a complete abandon with these first-century disciples. They were willing to take risks. They were willing to do what they could.

He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

—Matthew 2:4

Imagine for a moment that you are living in first-century Israel. You hear mysterious visitors from the east speak of a star that has been leading them. Now, don’t you think it might be a good idea to make the short journey of about five miles from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to check it out?

Herod was right in expecting an answer from the chief priests and scribes as to where the Messiah would be born, and they interpreted the writings of Micah properly. Yet they should have known better.

These men were the theological scholars of their day and knew the Scriptures inside and out. It was their job to study the Scriptures and number the letters and lines to ensure careful copying. They knew the Scriptures so well, but they cared so little. They knew where the Messiah would be born, but they didn’t care about a baby king as much as an adult monarch who could line their pockets with gold. They were too busy to bother with Him.

Do you know one thing that can keep you from Christ more than anything else? It’s religious pride. When you say, “I already know that” or “I’ve already heard that,” it could actually dull your spiritual senses to the Word of God.

Sometimes when you hear the Word of God again and again, you can essentially enter into a place of complacency, a place of apathy. You might even find yourself asleep. I find it interesting that many of the Bible’s warnings about waking up are actually addressed to believers. Believers can be asleep like these religious scholars who missed out on that epic event.

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”

—Luke 2:10

When the angel delivered his heavenly announcement to the shepherds, he started with, “Do not be afraid.” But the shepherds, along with all of Israel, lived in frightening times. They were under the reign of King Herod, who was a tyrant. Their land was under Roman occupation. There was fear about the future. Would Rome ever leave? Would they ever be free? Would the Messiah ever come?

Then suddenly there were angels announcing to the shepherds that the Messiah had come: “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people” (Luke 2:10). Having angels appear was frightening in itself. Angels are awe-inspiring beings. That is why, when we read of angelic appearances in the Bible, we often see them starting with, “Fear not.”

The message of Christmas is fear not. Have joy. As commentator Ray Stedman said, “The chief mark of the Christian ought to be the absence of fear and the presence of joy.”

Yet it can be difficult for us to have joy because we are surrounded by sadness. With all the tragedies in the world, all the acts of terrorism, and all the problems we have, how can we have good tidings of great joy? The answer is this: “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).

Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

—Psalm 30:4

It seems as though merchants today don’t really know what to do with this holiday called Thanksgiving. When it comes to other observances, like Halloween, they make a lot of money from their marketing efforts. And of course, Christmas is a financial windfall. But Thanksgiving? Well, they sell more turkeys than they usually do. But they don’t really know what to do with this holiday, which is spiritual in its origins.

In 1863, President Lincoln designated November 26 as a day of national Thanksgiving. We celebrated it annually on that day until 1942, when President Franklin Roosevelt designated Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November.
And just so we aren’t fuzzy about which God we should give thanks to, this is what the pilgrims wrote in the Mayflower Compact, in 1620:

We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign lord King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, etc. Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia. . . .

They were not just coming to our fair shores to simply bring European civilization; they were coming to bring the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s very easy during our feasting to forget about the One whom we are celebrating.

Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

—Ephesians 5:14–16

In Ephesians 5, Paul tells us to awake from spiritual lethargy. I want to apply these verses specifically to marriage today. 

You can’t sleepwalk through marriage. Show me a marriage that is strong and vibrant and thriving, and I will show you a marriage that people are giving attention to. 

It’s sort of like making a fire. You begin with some kindling and newspaper and twigs, and then add some logs to it. Once the fire is going, you put another log on it. And another. You continue to feed it over time. In the same way, if a marriage is strong, especially over a period of time, it is because the husband and wife keep putting logs on the fire. They cultivate their romance. They strengthen the marriage.

If you stop feeding the fire, it will start to weaken. You must constantly give it attention. You must be proactive, not merely reactive. When the husband neglects his role and the wife neglects hers, one problem turns into another, and soon it gets worse and worse. Eventually it reaches a state of crisis. 

It’s best to engage in “preventative maintenance” and strengthen the marriage every day. Verses 15 and 16 tell us how: by “walking circumspectly” and “redeeming the time.” To “walk circumspectly” conveys the idea of looking, examining, and investigating something with great care. It’s like the attention you would give to the words of a contract before signing it. “Redeeming the time” refers to making the most of every opportunity. 

Are you examining your marriage carefully, paying attention to detail? Are you taking advantage of every opportunity to strengthen your marriage? Are you making sure you have done everything you can do? 

Submitting to one another in the fear of God.  

 —Ephesians 5:21

Sometimes wives choke on the verse that says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” They might say, “I don’t want to submit to my husband or anybody else.” But before God tells wives to submit to their husbands, God tells both husbands and wives to submit to one another in the reverence of God. 

If you are a Spirit-filled person, you will be a submitting person.

Maybe when you think of submission, you equate it with some form of slavery. That is not what submission is in the Bible. Let me put it another way: If you are really filled with the Spirit, you will think of others over yourself. A Spirit-filled husband will put the needs of his wife above his own. A Spirit-filled wife will put the needs of her husband above her own. Both of them are putting the other in the first position. 

In military language, it means, “to rank beneath.” It is not about superiority or inferiority. It is about order. It is about sacrifice. It is about obedience. It is not about you; it is about your mate. You want to hold them up. You want to support them.

 finding the right person as it is about being the right person. 

It drives me crazy when I hear wives quote verses to their husbands about what he should be doing, or when the husband quotes verses to the wife about her role. Read your own verses and put them into practice.