Alien Youth: The Invasion Has Begun

• He gratefully poured out his praise to God. (V. 19-23). Daniel grabbed his guitar and began to sing of God’s greatness and wisdom. Hanniah, Mishael, and Azariah collapse exhausted but joyful into their beds while Daniel hurries off to the palace to interpret the dream for the king and save all their lives.

Application

Our students live in a culture that is marked by its individualistic spirit. But the aliens among them know that we were designed to best operate in community. When students stand together, it is an awesome and holy sight.

Recently, we took twenty-seven high school students and seventeen junior high students to Cedar Lake Winter Bible Conference. During both conferences, I watched students minister to other students. I saw students join hands and pray or wrap their arms around each other and cry. I sat stunned as our high school group missed most of a recreation time because they were standing together as a group and passionately interceding for their friends and family. When students are huddled together, on their knees, weeping, asking God for miracles, a holy hush sweeps through the place.

There is a student led prayer group that meets before school at Pontiac that exists for the purpose of standing together in a community of faith.

A great example of this principle is the alien activities of four of our junior high students. I would like to introduce you to Cara Sledgister, Kelsey Carley, Joy Henrichs, and Melissa Lee. These four girls, who are eighth grade students at Pontiac Christian School, made me cry like a baby back in September. When they found out that Pontiac Junior High School was not going to have a “See You at the Pole” rally, they decided to take matters into their own hands.

• What made you decide to step out of your comfort zone and lead “See You at the Pole” at the Junior High School?

• What were you feeling as you arrived and saw the pole for the first time?

• Tell us what happened while you were prayer around the pole?

• What did you learn from this event?

They not only stood out, and stood together, but as well see in chapter three they stood up for what they believed in.

They stood up

In chapter three, Nebuchadnezzar’s ego has run amuck. He erected a ninety foot gold plated statue on the plain of Dura of himself. He invited all the dignitaries of Babylon to the opening ceremony. Interestingly, Daniel was not present and may have been out of the country on official business. Nebuchadnezzar made the crowd an offer they could not refuse. They had a choice between bowing down to the statue and being thrown into a blazing furnace. This was an easy choice for most.

Estimates place about two million people on the plain that day. When the music blasted, 1, 999, 997 people hit their faces to the dirt. The Hebrew actually says “as soon as they were hearing they wear falling down.” But, in the back, those three Jewish rebels were at it again. They stood up. While other Jewish exiles were on their faces thinking of excuses why their actions were not blatant idolatry, Hanniah, Mishael, and Azariah stood tall. After being spotted, they are brought before the king and he explained the whole thing to them again. He gave them a second chance. Their response to the king is one of the boldest declarations of trust in God in the whole of Scripture.