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Daniel 6:10  Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem.  Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Eleven years ago, in 2011, I commented on this verse:

“By God’s grace, most of us are not in a situation where the public expression of our obedience to God would land us in a den of hungry lions, although we have many brothers and sisters in Christ in other parts of the world who are constantly under threat of pain and death for their faith, as was Daniel.  But for Daniel, the decision to defy the king’s edict was a no-brainer (in more ways than one!).  He had already firmly decided to obey God, and openly acknowledge the fact, and this commitment was unconditional and non-negotiable regardless of the consequences.  This is the sort of commitment the Apostle Peter was exhorting his readers to make in 1 Peter 3:15 – ‘But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect, …’  Daniel’s impeccable modelling of this challenge, including Peter’s call to do it with ‘gentleness and respect’, is borne out clearly by the very high regard in which the king held Daniel in spite of his ‘disobedience’ (cf 14).  Instead of the lions, we might only face ridicule or rejection for making a stand; but stand we must.”

Sadly, I now need to modify this comment.  We are NOW being put in a situation where ‘our obedience to God’ IS being made more and more difficult under the pressure of the ‘Woke’ language police.  Their current strategy is to pressure the NSW Government to advise workplaces to abandon the terms ‘mother’ and ‘father’ in all official documents, so as to promote LGBTQ inclusion!

We have also recently witnessed Andrew Thorburn’s censure because of his belonging to a Christian Church that stands by the truth of God’s Word.  So, more and more, the situation Daniel was in is going to be the situation we’re in if we want to proclaim publicly all the truths of Scripture.  Will we follow Daniel’s example as our situation worsens at a disturbing rate?
– Bruce Christian