Be true to your convictions.

     The example of Daniel, and his three Hebrew companions, put many to shame in this age when having firm convictions does not seem to matter very much.
     They were deported from Jerusalem and taken to Babylon, to be servants in the king's palace. They were immersed in the culture and religion of Babylon. Their names were changed in an attempt to wipe out any remnant of their godly heritage, the names given them were in honor of the gods of Babylon. They were chosen to be wise men, enchanters, and trained accordingly in occult practices.
     One would think that they would soon forget their God, and be conformed to the religious practices of everyone else around them. Instead they stood firm, refusing to eat food in violation of the Hebrew law, refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's statue, choosing to be thrown into the fiery furnace instead. what is so amazing about this is the fact that they were still young boys! They were around twelve to fifteen or so, when they were taken captive.
     Sadly many adults in the church today have no solid convictions, or fail to hold to the ones they do. We see our youth go the way of the world instead of the way of the cross, and wonder why. Television, movies, entertainment, the choice of friends etc. are all geared up to drag them into the world. In the small town that I live in, I see so many kids from Christian homes fall prey to drugs, alcohol, sex, and the occult. To be sure, many parents have done their best to raise them in a godly home, but I also see many that "waffle"  raising up their children. They seem to just let them go without any discipline, let them run with whomever, whenever, and all of a sudden they wonder what went wrong.
     It is vital that we as parents do our very best to raise the children that God has given us. We have a grave responsibility to see that they grow up to serve our Lord. We need to have our walk with God right if we expect them to walk with Him as well.
     The great men of faith in the bible stood firm in their convictions, and their God stood by them. Let as do so as well!