Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego - I Don't Conquer, I Submit.

Daniel 1:3-4 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility- young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.

We spend way too much time in front of the TV. I think our family has a show for every night of the week that is a "must see". Certainly not one of our more "Godly" pursuits. But then again, where would I get all these great analogies for my blog . . . Anyway. One of our favorites is a show called "Burn Notice". It's about a spy who's been kicked out of the spy field - but spends the whole season trying to get back into it, along the way helping those in need. Here's what I noticed. All the spies in this movie, good and bad, are all attractive, very intelligent, multi-lingual, strong and agile - everything one needs for a hostile take-over. This seems to be the same for most spies we see in Hollywood: James Bond, Mission Impossible, The Bourne Supremecy, etc.

The king is looking for spies, so to speak. The men he wants his chief to bring should be young. They would have no family (he took care of that - since he stole them from their country). They should be handsome. They need to be smart. They need to be physically fit. See. . . spies.

We look at this occupation as glamorous. Being able to sneak around and listen in on conversations, use a weapon, learn how to connive and persuade people, using beauty and brawn to manipulate.

The king gathered these 'men' together because he believed they had all the qualities that he thought one needed to possess to be successful on his team. He did not know that these young men possessed one extra quality: supernatural power. . .