Daniel 1:8

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

What a great verse, “Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself.” Isn’t that what you would love to hear today from the teenagers in our church? To hear and see a commitment to the Lord in their lives? You raise them the best you can to love and follow God, but at some point, you know that the world will test them, and they will have to decide for themselves who they will serve.

Daniel now finds himself away from his parents, on his own, offered all that the world has, and he decides, “These are things that God has said that I shouldn’t eat,” and he decides he is going to obey God’s law. Not because his parents would be disappointed or because he would get grounded, but because of his relationship with God.

So be an example to your children, pray for them, and teach them the word of God. Take Him at His word, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). And they will “purpose in their hearts” to follow the Lord.

Pastor Doug Hardin