Blessed be the God of (your name here)

I was reading in Daniel this morning. First, what a rich book, in so many ways. Daniel was such a faithful servant and man of the Lord, as were his best friends! Amazing. He stood up for what He knew was right, as to not deny His Lord. His friends followed his example even when Daniel was not around. 

One thing in particular stuck out to me: 

These these three men: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, (aka. Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah) refused to bow down and worship something other than their Lord, God and Father in Heaven. Maybe we know this, maybe we've heard this story so many times growing up, but, there is something more here. Do we see it? Do we apply it? 

Reference Daniel 3:28---

"Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God."

Yes, these men choose not to bow down and worship something that was not their God. What really struck me in an new refreshing way was Nebuchadnezzar's reaction: he recognized that these three men were so faithful to our Lord that they would risk burning up their bodies rather than worshiping anything other than God. God is the center of this story, as with all of life, really. He's the center of everything, but how much more glorious it appears when one recognizes the reason that Christian's don't bow down and worship what the world considers worthy of worship.

THE CHALLENGE: obviously, to worship God and God alone, which includes putting anything before him, but not so obvious: 

We should/must live in such a way that others see His glory and recognize his worth through our actions. How often do we put his worth behind that worth of the world. Do people recognize in our actions, words, thoughts, mannerisms, that we serve a better God than this world can offer?

Do we leave people saying: "Blessed be the God of (your name here)" as they recognize His hand and power in our lives?