[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fliving-with-resolve":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fliving-with-resolve-surround":67},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":10,"columnName":9,"date":51,"description":5,"extension":52,"image":53,"meta":54,"minRead":55,"navigation":56,"path":57,"postType":58,"publication":59,"publicationUrl":53,"seo":60,"stem":61,"topics":62,"__hash__":66},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fliving-with-resolve.md","Living With Resolve",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9],"",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":48},"minimark",[13,16,19,27,30,33,36,39,42,45],[14,15,5],"p",{},[14,17,18],{},"In a New Year’s article called “Resolve to Stop Making Resolutions,” the humorist Dave Barry wrote, “Many people give up because they set their sights too high.” He suggested pursuing more realistic goals.",[14,20,21,22,26],{},"Somehow the strong verb resolve seems to carry more weight than the overused noun ",[23,24,25],"em",{},"resolution",". It you truly resolve to do something, you will pursue it with dogged determination, steadfast faith, and firm commitment. Most of us could use more resolve like the kind described in the book of Daniel.",[14,28,29],{},"Strong Faith in a Strange Land",[14,31,32],{},"Three words summarize a defining moment in the young prophet’s life: “But Daniel resolved” (Daniel 1:8). The Babylonians forced the Jewish people into exile far away from their homes, but Daniel resolved to honor the Lord.",[14,34,35],{},"Daniel and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were smart, strong, handsome, and well educated, with noble blood flowing through their veins. They easily could have forgotten their roots and relied on their brains and their looks, but they chose to remain faithful to God. Their Babylonian captors tried to reshape their worldview, giving these sharp young men the equivalent of a three-year graduate education, teaching them the language and literature of their new land, and even changing their identity by giving them new Babylonian names. But in that elite academic environment, while dealing with the temptations of young adulthood in a culture foreign to their own, Daniel and his friends resolved to remember their true identity. At home in Jerusalem or in a faraway land, they were followers of the true God.",[14,37,38],{},"The Babylonians not only tried to brainwash their Jewish captives; they even altered their diet. (The way to a man’s heart is often through his stomach.) It may have seemed harmless for the young men to enjoy some fine food and wine from the king’s table, but non-kosher food wasn’t permissible under Jewish law. Eating the king’s cuisine would have violated the dietary regulations prescribed by Moses, so “Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine” (v. 8). Daniel and his faithful friends persuaded their supervisors to give them nothing but vegetables and water for 10 days. Not surprisingly, they ended up looking healthier than their peers who ate the rich royal food.",[14,40,41],{},"Multiplied Blessings",[14,43,44],{},"Daniel’s personal resolve, combined with his God-given intelligence and prophetic gifts, impressed King Nebuchnezzar. The king found Daniel and his friends “ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom” (1:20). What a powerful witness it would be if those who love God earned a reputation for bringing 10 times more value to our employers and friends because of our integrity and diligence!",[14,46,47],{},"The month of January is named after the Roman god Janus, who was often represented as having two faces—one looking backward and one looking forward. As we look back to the past year and enter the year ahead, let’s resolve to be like Daniel: faithful and fruitful. Even when God’s guidance takes us down a difficult path, following him leads to multiplied blessings in the long run.",{"title":9,"searchDepth":49,"depth":49,"links":50},2,[],"January 2018","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fliving-with-resolve","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":5},"articles\u002Fliving-with-resolve",[63,64,65],"Spiritual Formation","Discipleship","Biblical Theology","wBt3armLSCVsb-czTFHtrExajn3pjIaqMuWLJLFa4DE",[68,73],{"title":69,"path":70,"stem":71,"description":72,"children":-1},"Living Outside of Nain","\u002Farticles\u002Fliving-outside-of-nain","articles\u002Fliving-outside-of-nain",". . . Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry’ (Luke 7:11-13).",{"title":74,"path":75,"stem":76,"description":77,"children":-1},"Living With the New Normal","\u002Farticles\u002Fliving-with-the-new-normal","articles\u002Fliving-with-the-new-normal","No one wants to re-live the terrible hours of September 11, 2001, but it’s worthwhile to reflect on the ways that awful day affected us."]