“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.” Isaiah 11:6 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.11.6.ESV
“And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” Revelation 5:5 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rev.5.5.ESV
“They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of Lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” Revelation 17:14 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rev.17.14.ESV
THERE IS NO ONE, NO THING LIKE OUR GOD
There will be a day when mercy and judgement kiss. On that glorious day we will know peace at a level that we’ve not ever experienced.
God is the lion of Judah who has and will conquer our enemy for all of eternity;
He is equally the lamb who was slain that redeemed me from the hands of death, the evil one, the sin that taunts me even on today, and my God, that Lion of Judah, that pure spotless Lamb, will rule and reign forever more.
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.” Joel 2:12-13 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jol.2.12-13.ESV
Day 5 – Repentance & Cleansing
Scripture: Joel 2:12–13
Why: Fasting is often paired with repentance—not to earn forgiveness, but to realign with grace.
Day 4 – Spiritual Hunger“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/mat.5.6.ESV
Scripture: Matthew 5:6
Why: Physical hunger trains the soul to recognize its deeper need for righteousness.
Prompt: What does my soul hunger for more than food?
“Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.” Daniel 9:3 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/dan.9.3.ESV
Why: Scripture ties fasting to humility; it lowers the soul so God may be exalted.
Prompt: Where do I need to humble myself before the Lord?
“Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?” Zechariah 7:5 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/zec.7.5.ESV
Why: Biblical fasting redirects motivation—from self-discipline to God-dependence.
Prompt: Am I fasting to change God’s hand or to change my heart?
12 Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. (Daniel 10:12 ESV)
Over the next 21 days we will seek together, a deeper understanding of Daniel 10:12.
Day 1 – Consecration Begins
Scripture: Daniel 1:8
“But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.” Daniel 1:8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/dan.1.8.ESV
Why: Fasting begins with a decision of the heart. Daniel’s fast was not about diet alone, but devotion—choosing holiness over comfort.
Prompt: What convictions is God asking me to set in my heart before this fast begins?
Joy is the source of all my strength and endurance through the difficulties that life throws at me.
I cannot tell you how many countless times that joy has rescued me from various states of mind. The battlefield in my head fights against depression, regret and condemnation. The joy in my heart tells depression, regret and condemnation to sit down and shut up, because this is temporary.
Joy is a glimpse of eternity. It reminds us that one day, after Jesus returns, there will be no more tears, no more heartache, no more depression, no more regret and no more condemnation.
Maybe that’s why God tells us to be heavenly minded while we’re earthly present? Maybe, if we could just wrap our heads around it, the day after Jesus’s return we clock into eternity and out of the limitations of the clock?
God You are so good. This world has nothing for me. When time passes away and eternity is ever present, these problems we toil over will seem so small. Lord, help me make them small and You BIG, right now. in Jesus name amen!
In 40 days we will remember what Jesus did for us.
“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 ESV
Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of our 40 day journey to the cross that Christ endured for us, for our sin, for our forgiveness of sin, for our salvation from hell, for our relationship with Him to be reconciled for all of eternity. I’m so glad that God did not allow the reconciliation of our relationship to be dependent on my own strength. I’m so grateful that it was on Jesus’s reputation and sinless life that paid a great price for my sinful decisions and behavior. I have struggled with many things throughout my life, but one that I can always find peace in, and put my full confidence in is when Jesus revealed Himself to me, I knew that I had found my savior from all those struggles and bad decisions.
If you choose to lay aside anything that gets in the way of Jesus revealing Himself to you? I promise you, that it will be the single most important decision you make, because it will ultimately lead to an eternity with the One Who created you. Jesus is real whether you acknowledge Him or not.
I challenge you that whether you’re a believer of Jesus one day or 90 days, or anything in between, take the steps to fast anything that you allow to get in the way of having a committed relationship with God. If you’re an unbeliever or doubter or unsure of this whole Jesus thing? Take the 40 day challenge to lay aside those doubts and pose your questions to God about Him. He will show up.
Lord, the next 40 days is not about rituals and traditions within a specific denomination. It is a time of reflection, remembering and reminding me of what You’ve done to secure my eternity, with You. I don’t want to miss the opportunity to know You more, to give up things that get in the way of our relationship. May we not leave this next 40 days the same as we entered it. In Jesus Name, Amen!
We’re reading this book for one of my classes & this is what I want more than anything: I hope I read, meditate on, ponder, “Selah”, the Bible with the same confidence in my identity in Christ, as Jesus did when He read the prophecies that were being fulfilled, in His lifetime, by His very existence. #Identity #Truth #God #Selah #Bible
“It is only when you understand the transcendence of God that you see how amazing his immanence is, and what a huge privilege it is to be able to enjoy intimate friendship with God.”
The Bible with Nick and Pippa Gumble, Classic version 2025, day 33
We get to have an intimate relationship and friendship with God.
Transcendence means: God exists apart from, and is not subject to the limitations of, the material universe. He is above and beyond, surpassing and excelling, greatly superior to us.
Immanence means: it is possible to experience his immediate friendship.
What that spoke to me was, God doesn’t need me, He wants to be in my life, just because of the me He created, to be a deep, intimate friend to Him. He owes me nothing. He gave me life.
The real question is: “What will I do with the gift of life, He gave me?” Knowing that He did not HAVE to create me or you, but He did. Knowing this, leads to the realization that you and I must have a purpose. The meaning of that gift of life given to you and me, is to find out why & then use every ounce of breath we have in our lungs doing exactly that.
Psalms 25:14-15 the Message
Lord, You are my creator as well as my best friend. Help me remember that if and when I lose sight of that. Amen.
Are you lost? Christians and non-Christians alike hit seasons in their life when everything feels like it’s falling apart. Good news, feelings are not facts, they’re just feelings and this too shall pass. If you’re anything like me that last sentence made you cringe, a little angry or if you’re willing, gave you a different perspective. Which leads me to my next question.
Do you want to be found? Specifically, by God? Most of us put God in a corner, in our most desperate times, in an attempt to fix the problem ourselves. We fail to realize, God, doesn’t care how you got there, He only cares that you want Him in all areas of your life. Even the messy parts, yes, the really messy stuff that you probably even contributed to, rather indirectly or directly. God just wants to be with you. That’s why He created you. You were created for the sole purpose of being in relationship with God. It was His plan before you were ever born.
No matter where you’ve been. No matter what you’ve done or how far you’ve run, He’s there, waiting to find you. So I’ll ask you again, “Do you want to be found, by Him? Are you aware that you’re lost and need Him?”
“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?” Matthew 18:12 ESV
Dear Lord, I am lost and ready to be found by YOU! Like a wandering sheep, I had no idea how bad things would get apart from You. I just want to be in Your presence, in Your care and lead by You. Amen
Great faith is a product of great fights. Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests. Great triumphs can only come out of great trials,’ -Smith Wigglesworth.
Reading my devotions today and this quote has just stuck with me. So many people are struggling with different things (myself included), and I thought it might encourage someone as much as it encouraged me.
What I felt the Lord say in response: “Your test shall become a testimony that leads others to Me! Your trials shall lead you to victory! Your fight, struggle, that thing that is causing so much resistance in your marriage, your finances, your prodigal coming home, is developing a faith in you that you never thought possible. Trust and believe, that though the enemy comes to kill, rob, steal, destroy, I come to give life to the full! Though you experience the troubles, trials and tests of this world, I have overcome this world! Though you may be surrounded by the darkness, I am the light that overwhelms the darkness and the darkness has to flee!”
I’m so grateful that God speaks such words of wisdom and encouragement. It makes me respond with, “Is there really anything too hard for God?” There is nothing I’m going through that God has not been through Himself. His track record is 100% conquered all evil, in His death on the cross. Holy Spirit, help to remind me of that in the middle of the tests, trials, fights, and resistance. The struggle is so real but so are You, God! Amen.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV
I am part of God’s family now. My life is no longer about what this world can offer me. I long to see my life worked out in eternity. I believe that I was once one way and now I know I am a child of the Uncreated One, who created everyone, a Royal Family, that wants me to walk in the identity I was created for.
Who am I? I am a child of God.
Lord, thank You for showing me who I am more than 35 years ago. Sometimes, I forget and fall back into old patterns that block the view of Your plan and purpose for my life. Help me clear the foggy mirror, to see that I am a child of God, even when I mess up. I just want to run to You, in those moments of defeat, so that Your presence reminds me who and Whose, I am. Amen.
Many know the story of Jesus calming the storm while in the boat with the disciples. (Mark 4:35-41) What’s interesting to me is that while Jesus was sleeping, they were afraid of the ginormous storm rocking their boat. However, after Jesus turned churning waters, into a sheet of reflective glass with just three words, “Peace, Be still.”, they were terrified of Jesus and of the power Jesus displayed.
It’s like up to that point they understood the storm’s power but had not truly understood the power of the man, Jesus, though they had supposedly known Him, walked with Him and ministered along side of Him.
I want to recognize that Jesus is just as powerful asleep, in my boat (life), though a storm is present, as He can, at any moment, calm the storm around me. To go a little deeper, the storm of worry cannot rock the trust I build in knowing Him, intimately, personally and intellectually. I either believe Him, or I don’t, but trust and believe go hand in hand, in every storm I face.
Lord, help me with my unbelief so that my trust in You keeps the storm of worry out of me. Amen.