Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 3 Day 5 Grief: Depression

“I hear your waterfalls make a noise like thunder. It seems like all that water is pouring over me and it knocks me down to the ground.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭42:7‬ ‭EASY‬‬

Depression from loss is normal. It would be odd to not be sad when someone we love so much is no longer with us. It would be out of character to not be sad when a situation we found joy and contentment in has now ended abruptly or unexpectedly. To the same extent that we loved is the extent we will experience sorrow when that person or situation is gone. That sorrow is temporary but cyclical at times. We eventually learn to balance the sadness from our loss with the demands of living.

This becomes a problem when we stay in that sadness and not learn to find away to live without them or the situation. Though everyone grieves at different stages for different lengths of time, we must live, while we grieve. Ease ourselves back into the familiar routines that use up space and time that would be used to rehearse the pain. Part of our healing comes from living again as well as going from surviving our loss to coping with our loss. You might have doubts right now because it’s still fresh but it is possible. So, if you’re trapped in the process of depression, if you’re so immobilized by the pain of your loss that you can hardly get out of bed, make a sandwich or enjoy the many dishes of food brought to you by friends and family, it’s time to find a grief counselor. It’s time to think about asking for help. You are not as alone as you feel. God is with you, weeping with you and there are grief counseling groups, therapists and grief resources available to you. Friends mean well but they’re usually not equipped to help you out of depression. There are coping skills that a professional grief counselor can provide, if you’re willing.

The atmosphere of depression typically sets in the week after all of the arrangements have been made, the services are done, your autopilot has turned off, you do not have to be strong for anyone else, all of the company has gone home and you’re surrounded by food that will spoil before you can finish it, a card-box full of condolences and funeral arrangements. The tears flow and you fall asleep on a tear soaked pillow or worse you choke back the tears because you’re afraid once they start, you won’t be able to stop them.

This depression, this sadness will pass. And when it does, it does not mean that the person you love and lost is forgotten. It means, that you grieved and it’s time to learn how to honor their time here while you honor the time you have left with the ones still here.

Cry as much as your body tells you to. It will release toxins and help cleanse away the pain. Get into a grief group or at least meet with a grief counselor. But whatever you do do not try to battle this alone. Do not let the sadness convince you that you’re alone.

Lord, this stage of grief is so confusing and a blur when we look back on it. Help us reach out when the heaviness of our loss goes from normal, temporary depression to a clinical kind of depression. Trigger something in us to know when to ask for help. Lord, we thank you for never leaving us though we may feel like You’ve abandoned us. Feelings are not fact, they are like an indicator light on the dashboard of our car that help us navigate through our life journey. Help us respond accordingly in the best way, for the best outcome. Amen.

“God will take away all the tears from their eyes. Nobody will ever die again. Nobody will be sad again. Nobody will ever cry. Nobody will have pain again. Everything that made people sad has now gone. That old world has completely gone away.’”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21:4‬ ‭EASY‬‬

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Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 3 Day 4 Grief: Negotiations

“My heart beats fast inside me. Death seems very close, and I am very afraid. I am shaking with fear! My troubles are too much for me. So I say, ‘If I had wings to fly like a dove, I would fly away to a safe place. Yes! I would go far away, and I would live in the wilderness. Selah.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭55:4-7‬ ‭EASY‬‬

Negotiations towards heaven is a heavy, unrealistic step in a desperate, last ditch effort, to avoid the pain that is coming. It is unavoidable and we know it subconsciously but not consciously, yet. There is so much that is unknown and known at the same time. Yet, in our human mind, we have to at least try to avoid what is coming. The deeper the relationship, the deeper the pain. Fear of what life will look like now causes even more retreat in every area of our life. We just need a moment for all of it to stop revealing life without them. So we begin to negotiate what we’re willing to do for God if He would just stop what is happening. We’re hurting so bad and everyone trying to fix us, at this stage, can’t and the only thing to remove the pain is to reverse the loss but deep inside we know that it’s final.

Death is nonnegotiable, unavoidable for us and every living thing, yet we fight it with every ounce of breath we have. In my opinion, we do this because we’re wired for eternity not for the temporary time and space of this world. We have a start date (birth) and an expiration date (death) yet if we are believers this temporary life is not the end. We have hope to see each other once again. Hope in an eternal relationship with God that takes us to our eternal home not our eternal grave.

If you’ve lost a loved one that you’re grieving for right now whether it’s been 2 days or 20 years, it’s okay to cry, it’s okay to miss them, it’s okay to want them to be a part of your right now moments. When it becomes an issue is in when it no longer honors their legacy or the living people around you.

Lord, this is a hard topic. We all will face this. Nobody makes it out of here alive. Help us grieve, Lord as we know You grieve with us. Help us honor the time we have and had with our loved ones. Help us share those memories with the people we still have. Every day is a special gift. Let us choose wisely how we honor the dead amongst the living. Help us truly seize the day as you intended us to. Amen.

“David and his men cried aloud. They continued to cry until they were too weak to cry any more.”
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭30:4‬ ‭EASY‬‬

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Week 3 Nobody Makes It Out Alive Day 3 Grief: Anger

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭22:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Anger is so appropriate after denial, isn’t it? Facing the injustice of death of a loved one or an end to a situation we thought we could count on forever. Rage begins to bubble for various reasons when we realize that the loss is irreversible. We start thinking of how unfair it all is, what we would’ve done differently had we had the chance. That sinking feeling that however our last moments were spent with that person we will not have another chance for a do-over.

The key for me in this stage of grief is to get it out by writing in my ugly journal. Yes that’s a real thing. I have a journal that my pen has gouged through, scratch marks that looks like a crime scene as well as my most unedited thoughts.. While other pages have words that would be rated with parental advisory in them. This journal is not for anyone but God and me. God, already knowing and understanding my pain, my frustration, my tear stained pages, He is the only one that gets the “why” behind my anger. He is the only One of whom I can trust in my own fragility to get me on through to other side.

Anger is normal. What is not normal or healthy is to let it live inside of you. If we allow anger to live inside of us, it will grow and it will slowly move every other necessary emotion out of us until we can’t process in love.

If you struggle with anger, get help to learn how to undo it’s damage to yourself and the ones living around you. Once someone is gone, through death or loss, or a season with them is over, our responsibility from here on out is to take care of our health and well-being as well as the people still with us. It doesn’t mean that we forget the person we lost. What it means is we find gratitude for the time we did have with them. Resting on anger for too long will not only destroy our current relationships but will destroy us too.

Lord, help us process our anger in a healthy way and show us how to get on the other side of it. We might wrestle with it more than once on this journey, but Lord, we don’t want it to consume us and the relationships we still have. Amen.

“Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:26-27‬ ‭MSG‬‬

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Week 3 Nobody Makes It Out Alive Day 1: Grief

“When I have trouble, your promise gives me peace in my mind. It makes my life strong again.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119:50‬ ‭EASY‬‬

Grief, just the word brings a sense of heaviness to our hearts. Grief represents many painful parts of our life. It is a part of life and is usually associated with death. Death of a loved one, death of a season, death of a relationship. Many things that we once thought would last forever, brought to an end. This is the heaviness of grief.

One will not live too long before they experience it. Yet, we avoid it, deny its existence and pretend it will go away if we ignore it. However, we learn at some point it needs to be faced, if we want peace.

Rehearsing the events leading up to the loss doesn’t help because something always triggers the pain associated with it. Pretending like it doesn’t hurt doesn’t work because we hurt alone. The only way to process grief is to face it.

I’m not an expert but I have practiced healthy processing of grieving and unhealthy processing of it. I can assure you that processing your grief in a healthy way will not only help you but will allow you to help others in their grieving process. Since grief is inevitable, it would be best to learn how to face it.

“In her original book, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross referenced five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. … There is, however, healthy and unhealthy (unresolved) grief, and being able to recognize if help is necessary is important.” (Better Help, March 18,2021, Buckly, medically reviewed by Deborah Horton)

Here is a link for you to learn where you are in the grieving process and when you should seek medical help: https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/grief/understanding-the-stages-of-grief/

We are going to face the stages of grief together this week.

Lord, help us grieve in a healthy way so that we can be of support to one another in loss and pain. We look to You God for truth and real application to not try to live amongst the dead but embrace the living. Amen

“We thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because he is so good to us. As our Father, he is very kind to us. He is our God who comforts us in every way. Whenever we have trouble, he comforts us. Because of that, we ourselves can comfort other people. When they have any kind of trouble, we can comfort them, in the same way that God has comforted us. Christ himself received much pain, and God comforted him. As Christ’s servants, we also receive the same kind of pain. But, God also comforts us very much, because we belong to Christ.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1:3-5‬ ‭EASY‬‬

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Week 2 Nobody Makes It Out Alive Day 7 Battle to Acceptance

“So, nobody can say that God should still punish us. Nobody can say that, because Christ Jesus himself died on our behalf. And God raised him so that he became alive again after his death. Now Christ is sitting at God’s right side in heaven. He himself is praying to God on our behalf. Christ will always continue to love us. Nothing can stop that! We may have troubles. Things may make us sad or afraid. People may do bad things to us. We may have no food or no clothes. There may be great danger. People may even try to kill us. But none of these things can stop Christ from loving us.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:34-35‬ ‭EASY‬‬

Have we truly accepted the gift of the cross? Do we comprehend that God is not mad at us but that He’s mad at the devil for deceiving us? Do we embrace the overwhelming, radical, reckless love of God?

Have you ever received a gift and refuse to open it? Ridiculous thought, right? But every day, that we choose that earthly kind of love concept, when we think about Jesus, that’s exactly what we do. There is nothing like fully accepting God’s love for us. It is a gift that has no end in sight. We cannot out sin God’s love for us if we believe.

Put your hand over your heart. Close your eyes. Focus on the rhythm of your heart. That’s the beat of God’s love pumping life through your body. It’s the gift of life, a life meant to be loved by their God. Will you choose Him today? He has already chosen you. That beating heart is proof that you have purpose.

Lord, we receive the gift of life today with a fresh perspective and sense of purpose. Remind us when we lose sight of that to just lay our hand over our hearts and thank you for our purpose, whether we know what that is yet or not. We believe that You are who You say You are, that we are Your beloved, that You are our forgiver of our sins. Have Your way in us, Lord. Amen.

“I am sure of this. Nothing can stop God from loving us. Death cannot do that. Life cannot do that. Angels cannot do that, nor can demons do that. Nothing that happens to us now, or that will happen in a future time can do that. No powerful spirits can do that. Nothing that is high above the world can do that, nor anything that is deep down below the ground. Nothing else in the whole universe can stop God from loving us. Because of our Lord Christ Jesus, we know how much God loves us. Because God loves us, none of these troubles can ever beat us. He makes us win against them.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:37-39‬ ‭EASY‬‬

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Week 2 Nobody Makes It Out Alive Day 6 The battle is won

“At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn’t find the body of the Master Jesus.

They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, “Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?” Then they remembered Jesus’ words.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭24:1-8‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Everything about our Christian faith hinges on the validity of this day. The day the stone was rolled away, the day the empty tomb was found, the moment that many who thought Jesus was dead saw with their own eyes that he was very much alive.

Lord, this is our crossroads to believe or not believe that you won the battle over sin and the grave for us. Let us never stop reading the accounts of your ministry, your suffering for our benefit, your death on the cross and your magnificent resurrection. Let us see the track record of prophetic fulfillment where ever you are mentioned in the Bible. Let us live like we believe it. Amen.

“He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, “You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You’re the first to hear and see it. You’re the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high.” Then he said, “Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭24:44-49‬ ‭MSG‬‬

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Week 2 Nobody Makes It Out Alive Day 5 Believe

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

“This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3:16-21‬ ‭MSG‬‬

We cannot minimize God’s sacrifice of His only Son being beaten beyond recognition, carrying His cross, our cross to complete His mission (Salvation for all men, women and children) by picturing crosses with clean Jesus hanging somberly on a clean cross. If we don’t take the time to gaze into his bruised, battered and bleeding face of punishment He took for us? We miss it. We completely miss the gravity of sin and it’s consequences.

We need to experience conviction for minimizing the picture of what Jesus endured on our behalf. Yet balance that conviction with complete commitment to God and all that it entails. Not out of guilt and shame but out of overwhelming, mind blowing love from our Father in heaven. Not to just process His death, burial and resurrection but the beatings, pain and separation from His heavenly home. All for us, the sinners, fulfilled by the One without sin. It is truly the greatest love story ever told and implemented.

Lord, You are the very reason we have breath in our lungs. Hold us in Your nail scarred hands until we are convinced of the love You’ve poured on us. Amen.

“I pray that God will cause you to be strong in your spirits. God has great and valuable things in heaven to help you. I pray that God’s Spirit will help you with God’s own power. I pray that Christ will make his home in you, as you believe in him. Then you will know God’s love very well. You will be like trees that have roots which go down deep into God’s love. That will make you strong.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:16-17‬ ‭EASY‬‬

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Lenting along

Does anyone else feel like they’re just lenting along with the believer crowd, during this time of year? Though I’ve participated for many years, I didn’t want to mimic the catholic version but rather to truly consider the next 40 days in Jesus’s shoes. I did a little research, realized that the penance motivation of the believer is nothing compared to the penance of the one who never sinned, Jesus.

Christ fasted and prayed as he approached the cross on our behalf, because of our sin. And even if I chose to walk out these 40 days the exact same way that He did, I would never make the cut to hang on that cross and redeem all of mankind. Absolutely, profound.

We believers can lent around with somber faces over giving up modern day conveniences all we want but at the end of the day, I’m not going to call that a sacrifice compared to Jesus’s endurance of the cross.

I refuse to reduce the days of lenting around with fellow believers as my sacrifice to God’s redemptive plan for me. I won’t even call it gratitude for what He’s done for me. What I will do is allow the disruption to my normal routine and my full belly to remember what He did and still gave me the option to choose.

If you want to lent around with me, this is what I’m doing for the next 40 days. I’m disrupting my daily routine of coffee, read/write/study and ending my night with reading and ice cream with this:

1. Fast all coffee, ice cream and first two meals replaced with protein drink, but keep dinner with family. No devices at the table no matter what is going on with work.

2. Start the day with a shower and dressed for the day. (This is kind of big one though it may not seem like it, since I work from home)

3. Read the word and journal whatever comes to mind. Keeping a prayer journal for the things I’m fasting and praying for. I want to experience a move of God in my life and the people I’m praying for.

It’s simple but a completely different routine for me. I want to wake up each day with the mentality of, “I’m ready to do Your will today, Lord. Whether it’s here in my home, or prepared to walk out the door with no notice. I want to remember that the tomb is empty, you have risen, you are alive, you are preparing a place for me, you are coming back for me.”

I would love to hear how you are spending the next 40 days?

Week 2 Nobody Makes It Out Alive Day 4 Letting go and letting God

“Jesus began to cry. The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!” But some of them said, “He healed the eyes of the man born blind. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?””
‭‭John‬ ‭11:35-37‬ ‭CEB‬‬

Have you ever been in a situation where you have a really good secret that will surprise and bless people but you can’t share it until it’s time for the party or the reveal? That was Jesus, in the account of Lazarus’s death and Jesus raising him from the dead.

If you read all of John chapter 11, there are plenty of hints being dropped by Jesus. However, nobody, not his disciples, not Mary and Martha, not one was picking up what Jesus was throwing down.

Many scholars have their theories on why Jesus wept over Lazarus‘s tomb. My theory is this: they didn’t get it. They didn’t pick up on why he delayed the trip so that His glory would be shown to all through raising Lazarus from the dead. So Jesus wept. He wept for their unbelief. He wept for their hearts convinced that He didn’t have a plan or a purpose in this, regardless of the outcome. He wept because they couldn’t let go of these earthly mindsets to grab ahold of eternal promises. He wept because this was the precursor to His own death and resurrection. He wept because He knew that after 3 years of ministry with them, they still had many doubts to work through. He wept for their eyes to be opened to His authority over death and the grave.

The stone in front of whatever is keeping you from truly letting go of what has passed and letting God give you His eternal future has to be moved or removed before God can resurrect the life you could be living with Him by your side. Some things have to be buried for good. Some things are seeds that don’t reveal themselves until later and some things have to be called out and revived in Jesus name.

Jesus told them to remove the stone from the tomb. He did not remove the stone for them. When we are willing to let go and roll the stone away, God is ready to move on your behalf.

Lord, help us let go of the things that stand in the way of your resurrection power and let You have Your way in our lives. Help us accept what is removed, help us nurture the seeds that are planted for later, help us seize the moment of revival in us for today. Amen

“Jesus said, “ Remove the stone. ” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “Lord, the smell will be awful! He’s been dead four days.” Jesus replied, “ Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory? ””
‭‭John‬ ‭11:39-40‬ ‭CEB‬‬

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Week 2 Nobody Makes It Out Alive Day 3 Trust the Process

“My Christian friends, remember to be happy, even when many kinds of trouble happen to you. Troubles can help you. God wants to see if you really trust him. Your faith in God will become stronger as a result of these troubles. So you should continue to trust God all the way to the end. Then you will grow as a believer. You will become completely how you should be. You will not need anything more.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:2-4‬ ‭EASY‬‬

Jesus knows about trials, trouble and tests that have unexpected arrivals and outcomes. The difference between us and Jesus in these moments is that Jesus is not surprised like we are. Jesus takes our free will, the freedom of our choices and keeps working them out for our good.

For example, as we read the accounts of the days leading up to resurrection Sunday there was a lot going on behind the scenes. Jesus had a divine appointment with an excruciating process and no behind the scenes plan was going to divert his plan and purpose.

On one hand, the religious leaders were plotting to ambush Jesus and keep Him from getting more followers. The Bible says that basically Jesus diverted their plans because their plan didn’t line up with God’s divine appointment book.

On the other hand, Judas, one of the disciples, was negotiating his 30 pieces of silver to turn over Jesus to governing leaders. Jesus did not thwart this plan because this plan would be the set up for the divine appointed time for the excruciating process. Where heaven and earth would collide, where Jesus faces off our consequences from sin and defeats the grave, defeats the devil and rescues His beloved (that’s you and me) from the laws of sin.

While the excruciating process of the cross was part of Jesus’s purpose, He joyfully, knowingly walked out the process because He knows the full plans He has for us. He knows that while we, His beloved, may feel so far away from Him, or think that our captivity in our, what seem to be, impossible circumstances will never end… Our beloved Jesus has a plan and He will see it to its completion and it’s always with our best interest in mind.

Jesus has an incredible track record of following through with everything He said He would do. And though some will choose their own path, He will not stop working things out for their good. He will never stop fighting for us. As long as we have breath on this earth, there’s still a chance that He could win our heart. We need to trust the process and stop following the crowd.

Lord, help us trust the process. Help us get into your word and reveal to us not only the plan and purpose for our lives but give us wisdom and understanding to trust the divine appointment you went through to save us. Amen.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭NLT‬‬

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Week 2 Nobody Makes It Out Alive Day 2 Friend or Foe

“This isn’t the neighborhood bully mocking me—I could take that. This isn’t a foreign devil spitting invective—I could tune that out. It’s you! We grew up together! You! My best friend! Those long hours of leisure as we walked arm in arm, God a third party to our conversation.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭55:12-14‬ ‭MSG‬‬

We have all been there, right? That sinking feeling of realizing you have been betrayed by a person or a group of people that you thought, and they said, would never hurt you. Though, the experience for each of us has different faces, names and details, we can all relate to that gut wrenching pain that comes from betrayal.

The psalm above is more relatable than I care to share the details here. But I feel it in the inner most parts of my soul each time I read it. The initial hurt, denial, anger, pain and finally acceptance that I need to move on without them. That if there were to be a reconciliation, God would have to initiate it because my wounds were cut too deep to even consider it. It does not mean I have not forgiven them. It just means that their behavior created a boundary because trust had been violated at every level.

These are tough situations that are challenging to recover from. But God can restore your broken heart over betrayal and not restore that relationship, as well as give you a heart for accepting the situation and still not let anger, hurt and resentment control you.

God is not surprised by one thing going on in the world, as a whole, or our world as an individual. He knows and he relates to us. He endured betrayal that he knew would happen. Read about the betrayal of the leaders of the synagogue, his disciples (the accounts of Peter and Judas), the government leaders. All forms of betrayal yet it was that betrayal that helped assist Jesus’s prophetic purpose. Every part of what happened pushed heaven and earth to collide so we could have eternity back in reach if we would just believe.

Jesus endured the consequences of our sin, we get to embrace the result of Jesus’s sacrifice, liberty from the consequences of sin and death. Though our human counterparts may imperfectly step through our lives there is but one that will never leave you or betray you and that is Jesus.

The passage below is so rich in wisdom of how to handle our foes, the people we trusted at one time and betrayed us another, the people that swore to never hurt us or leave us but they did. Jesus, in all of his infinite knowledge and wisdom responds perfectly. He took what foolishness they threw at him and forced them to concede to the debate that they initiated. He refused to get caught up in conversations that led away from his plan and purpose. He flipped the script. Jesus moved on without them, He answered only to His Father in heaven. He knew that God’s voice was the only voice that mattered as He prepared Himself to face the cross. In the face of death, he took back all authority over sin and death and rose from the dead. He revealed himself long enough to give us some last instructions, while He went to prepare our home with Him, announcing that He will return for us.

All the haters are gonna hate but God is the only one who can save us.

Lord I pray that we learn who God is to us, who we are to Him and why that matters. I promise you that though people may disappoint and betray you, God never will. Amen.

“One day he was teaching the people in the Temple, proclaiming the Message. The high priests, religion scholars, and leaders confronted him and demanded, “Show us your credentials. Who authorized you to speak and act like this?”

Jesus answered, “First, let me ask you a question: About the baptism of John—who authorized it, heaven or humans?”

They were on the spot, and knew it. They pulled back into a huddle and whispered, “If we say ‘heaven,’ he’ll ask us why we didn’t believe him; if we say ‘humans,’ the people will tear us limb from limb, convinced as they are that John was God’s prophet.” They agreed to concede that round to Jesus and said they didn’t know.

Jesus said, “Then neither will I answer your question.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭20:1-8‬ ‭MSG‬‬

#jointhejourney #writer #journey #author #khoward #k4gsus #beautifullybroken #nobodymakesitoutalive #devotional #seizetheday #week2 #betrayal #friendorfoe

Week 2 Nobody Makes It Out Alive Day 1 The Battle Inside The Temple

“They arrived at Jerusalem. Immediately on entering the Temple Jesus started throwing out everyone who had set up shop there, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of the bankers and the stalls of the pigeon merchants. He didn’t let anyone even carry a basket through the Temple. And then he taught them, quoting this text: My house was designated a house of prayer for the nations; You’ve turned it into a hangout for thieves.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭11:15-17‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Words like the “temple”, the “body” of Christ and the church “body”, we are the “body” are all interchangeable with the story of Jesus driving out the “thieves” in the temple. Let me explain.

The accounts of Jesus driving out the money changers and marketers from the temple in the four gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were necessary to put the focus where it belonged. That focus belongs on the owner of the temple, God.

Apparently, these people and the appointed leaders over the temple had forgotten why the temple was built in the first place. Which was a dwelling place for God’s presence and prayer not a marketing opportunity for worldly profit.

As we walk through and study scripture, we soon learn that we are actually the temple of the living God because Christ’s spirit dwells in our hearts when we receive Him. Together we become the “body of Christ”. Driving out anything that compromises the focus of who we belong to is challenging but necessary to keep our focus on God’s plan and purpose for our lives, as well as the sweet fellowship available to us with Him 24/7.

The “thief” which is the devil comes to rob, kill and destroy us. He does not want us to succeed in God’s plan and purpose for our lives. Remember in week 1 when we talked about distractions? Those distractions can turn into real problems that stand between you and the doorway to God’s “temple”, His glory, His wisdom, His power, His presence and His purpose for your life. We must be proactive in order to drive out the thief of our purpose.

What “thieves” market themselves in the doorway of your “temple”? Who or what needs to be driven out so that you can get to doing and being all that God has purposed you to be?

“Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:19-20‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Lord, I pray that as we address the thieves and anything marketing itself above You in our lives that we identify it, drive it out and run to You.
And now I pray this over yourself:
As long as I have breath, I have purpose. Lord, help me learn what that is and help me drive out anything from the doorstep to the inside of my temple that keeps me from You and Your presence. Amen

#jointhejourney #writer #journey #author #khoward #k4gsus #beautifullybroken #nobodymakesitoutalive #devotional #seizetheday #week2 #HolyWeek

Nobody Makes It Out Alive: Intro Week 2 The Battle Belongs To the Lord

1“I thank you, Lord, and with all the passion of my heart I worship you in the presence of angels! Heaven’s mighty ones will hear my voice as I sing my loving praise to you. 2 I bow down before your divine presence and bring you my deepest worship as I experience your tender love and your living truth. For your Word and the fame of your name have been magnified above all else! 3 At the very moment I called out to you, you answered me! You strengthened me deep within my soul and breathed fresh courage into me. 4 One day all the kings of the earth will rise to give you thanks when they hear the living words that I have heard you speak.” Psalm 138:1-4 MSG

It is interesting to me that Jesus’s triumphant entry into what we now know as Holy Week was in actuality to battle for our lives. While the crowds shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”,with their palm branches waving in the air. But we would soon learn that this king was not to sit on an earthly throne but would soon be back on his heavenly throne to prepare a place for his lost beloved. But first, He had to win a battle on our behalf. A battle for the very eternal souls he created. The ones he created for eternal fellowship and relationship with him. Jesus knew what he needed to do. He knew why he came. He knew what the next 7 days were leading to. Three days in the grave is nothing to him to save his beloved. Though he had great joy to lay down his life for all of creation, he knew this earthly body would endure a level of pain that would be unimaginable to the average person. But for God, it was necessary. It was necessary for us to see we cannot endure the pains, trials, tragedies and traumas of this world without him. We needed to see that even the grave could not hold him down. That the uncreated one who created us was the only one qualified to win this battle.

When you read the psalm above from David, know that though he never walked with Jesus himself, he worshiped God like he already witnessed the day that Jesus, the Messiah, Yeshua would defeat his enemies. Oh, to have gratitude like that before it happens. Imagine the battles we would move out of the way of and watch our Jesus conquer them. Imagine trusting God like that before those prophecies of the Messiah were fulfilled. I want that kind of gratitude, don’t you?

When things are not looking so good. When you don’t know what to do or pray or say. That is when we gaze into the eyes of Jesus entering his battle on our behalf to a crowd that appeared to love him at first, but by the end of the week would go from shouting, “Hosannah in the highest!” waving their palm branches, yet in just a blink of an eye, shaking their fists at him, screaming, “Crucify him!”.

We still do that to him today. When things are going well, we praise him, when things do not go our way, we curse and blame him for the devil’s work. Yet, Jesus battles on for us, despite us.

Lord I pray we trust him in the battle, that we praise him through the battle and that we trust him with more battles. More important than that is that we accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

“5 They too will sing of your wonderful ways, for your ineffable glory is great! 6 For though you are lofty and exalted, you stoop to embrace the lowly. Yet you keep your distance from those filled with pride. 7 By your mighty power I can walk through any devastation, and you will keep me alive, reviving me. Your power set me free from the hatred of my enemies. 8 You keep every promise you’ve ever made to me! Since your love for me is constant and endless, I ask you, Lord, to finish every good thing that you’ve begun in me!”— ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭138:5-8‬ ‭TPT

‬‬#jointhejourney #writer #journey #author #khoward #k4gsus #beautifullybroken #nobodymakesitoutalive #devotional #seizetheday #week2 #Battle

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 1 Day 7 Don’t get it twisted

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Hebrews 12:1

Let’s not get this part twisted. We need to know who the most important person that we run this race with is, that is God. God is the initiator of our race. He flagged us down and said, this way is the winner’s circle, follow me. Not in those words specifically but He did this through our personal relationship with him, called “Salvation”. When sin entered the world through Adam and Eve God provided a plan to save us from ourselves. That plan of redemption would be through His only son, Jesus.

The part that many people have gotten twisted is that Jesus was murdered, that His life was taken but that’s not the truth. The truth is that Jesus laid his life down intentionally to fulfill the redemptive plan, from God, for all of us. He was the sinless one that endured the pain and agony for the sinner. He took our punishment so that we might say yes to the Salvation plan. He laid His life down so that we would have the freedom to choose Him. Though Jesus made this great sacrifice, He still does not guilt or condemn us into choosing Him. Though in my human nature I’m like ,”You did all of this, Jesus, it would seem like you earned the right to tell us we should follow you. But you gave us Your word that we would always be able to choose for ourselves.”

Think about the fact that Jesus was 100% God and disrupted His royal position to endure a cross that he committed no crime, no sin, no wrong doing to be 100% human for a season. Just to give us an opportunity to say yes to this great love He has for His creation, YOU and ME! He did this, knowing that some would refuse or reject Him and His gift of Salvation. He did it “because of the joy awaiting him” (Hebrews 12:2b). I personally cannot wrap my head around that kind of love. A love that loves whether it gets a return on its investment or not.

“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy. awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” Hebrews 12: 2 NLT

Dear Lord, let us not get it twisted what YOU DID FOR US and think that it was something done TO you. You went to the cross for us. You gave us an individual invitation to full access to you. I pray that we choose you because of what you’ve done and who you are. That we see and experience the joy you went to the cross with for the sake of our eternal destination. Amen. #jointhejourney #k4gsus #devotional #khoward #nobodymakesitoutalive #seizetheday #dontgetittwisted #author #writer #beautifullybroken

Nobody Makes It Out Alive: Week 1 Day 6 Distractions- Our “little problem”

“With promises like this to pull us on, dear friends, let’s make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let’s make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1 (MSG)

Our “little problem” are those things in our life that “defiles” or “distracts” us, “both within and without” according to 2 Corinthians 7:1 (MSG). If we continue doing “these things” we will stunt our spiritual growth, we block our ability to fully embrace God’s love and eventually we will be found out. At some point, we need to face the things in our life that gotta go if we’re gonna grow. I’m speaking of our “little problem” called sin. It’s anything in our daily comings and goings that include lust, excessive food or drink, greed, laziness, wrath, envy or pride. These things lead to self-destruction, unhealthy relationships with others and separation from God’s plan and purpose for your life.

The only way to truly deal with the sin in our lives is to first admit and face them, believe that God forgives you for them and commit your life to God’s plan and purpose for your life, To maintain a life of avoiding sin is accountability to God. This is most successful with a trusted person of faith and snuggling up to God’s promises and truths for your life. God’s presence is the antidote to our sinful nature. I am not saying this is easy. I am saying that God is available if you let Him help you walk away from the sin in your life.

I don’t know what you struggle with, but I know that I have witnessed God removing desires that were not good for me because I turned to Him for help. It’s in His presence that I find my strength to say no when I need to say no. It’s in His word that I find the truth and the promise that crushes the lies in my life. It’s when I lift my hands in praise and worship that I am admitting I can’t do this life in my own strength. It’s in the moment of complete surrender on my knees in prayer that He floods me with His love. God’s end of the relationship never changes. He loves me, He loves you, He is for us not against us!

“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.” Romans 8:11-12 (NLT)

Dear Lord, I come to you in those times of struggling to do the right thing. I trust that your loving hand is guiding me straight to your arms. Wrap me in your love. Give me wisdom, courage and empower me to walk away from the temptations of sin. I have no obligation to the sin in my life. I lay that thing down at your feet lord. I don’t want it and I don’t need it in my life. Whatever void that thing leaves behind let it be replaced by more of you in my life Lord. Amen

Nobody Makes It Out Alive: Week 1 Day 5 Distractions-Addictions

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

Let’s start with the definition of addiction: Addiction is when the body or mind badly wants or needs something in order to work right. When you have addiction to something it is called being addicted or being an addict. People can be addicted to drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, caffeine, and many other things. (according to Addiction – Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

This is my philosophy on addictions. I do not have any degrees or even an addictive personality. However, I have watched the lives that once were thriving persons in life, slowly lose hope in each passing moment that they give into their addictions. Whether it is drugs, pornography, food, relationships, vanity or fill in the blank_______. They all had a common denominator from my side of their addiction. A hole that was left through loss, trauma or self-hate. Instead of allowing God to repair the hole they let it fill up with their addiction of choice trying to hide or mask their pain but no matter how many times they turned to their addiction they ended up more empty than before.

I have also observed people that have that same addictive personality look to God for repair. They turn away from their addiction of choice and choose time with God, they choose support from people with similar addictions. They choose to fight for their break away from their addictive behavior. It is a daily choice. They seize the day in such a way that it inspires me to do better. I am in no way minimizing the mental battle that the addict faces on the daily, I am saying that people that do not lean on their own strength to conquer their addictions win that day. And eventually they get some consecutive days that turn into months and years of success.

If you are struggling with an addiction there is help for you. You do not have to struggle alone. Celebrate Recovery (google it, there are support groups everywhere) is a faith-based organization that meets the addict, right where they are, regardless of what the struggle is. A support group gives you support, tools and accountability to turn that addiction over to God and let Him heal you. Don’t try to fix everything at once, just focus on winning the day in front of you. You got this.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” 1 Peter 5:6

“We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

Lord, I pray for the addicted reading this today. I pray that they would have a supernatural encounter with You, Lord, that they would let you help them win the day in front of them. With each day you bless them with breath, I pray that they use that breath for the passion and purpose that you designed them for. Light the fire of purpose inside of them so that they can face their addictions with courage, confidence and conquer it once and for all. It’s never too late to quit quitting. Amen.

#jointhejourney #devotional #beautifullybroken #khoward #k4gsus #writer #journey #author #seizetheday #addiction

Nobody Makes It Out Alive: Week 1 Day 4 Distractions-these smart phones though

So, if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Colossians 3:1-2 MSG

Read those verses again. Then look up and ask God to show you how to use your smart phone to get closer to Him, closer to the people that need you, especially the ones within arm’s reach. Set some boundaries for your screen time of any kind. Stop hiding behind your smart phone in some sort of fantasy world of friends, likes, comments and snapshots of people’s lives that you hardly know.

If we understand that God is a god of relationship and not religion and rituals then why not build relationships, face to face relationships. Set up no-phone-zones and learn how each other’s day went and who they are interacting with. Go outside without your smart phone and find a beautiful view of the sky, a horizon with a body of water and sunrise or sunset as a backdrop. Schedule alone time with your significant other, or your kids, or an elderly family member. Make a handwritten list of all the things you’ve read on your smart phone about doing and start doing those things that you long to do. Go to an event without your smartphone or taking pics to post on social media and just embrace the moment and engage in it. Track your screen time on your devices and exchange your screen time for “real” time activities.

I am simply suggesting that we get some balance and start living our life with our eyes on our purpose and passions. If we are to learn how to cease the day, we will not accomplish this by staring at our phone screens 4.5 hrs a day. (this is the national average according to: https://blog.rescuetime.com/screen-time-stats-2018/) So the next time you tell yourself that you don’t have time to read your bible or pray ,check your screen time hours and see if you can make time.

“Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.” Colossians 3:3-4 MSG

Lord this is a challenge for most people as we have replaced fellowship with a level of disconnect that is creating little islands of lonely people floating through life in relationships without substance. Lord help us find that balance so we can live our lives with our eyes on You and the things that represent You. Help us not get absorbed in time wasters and help us clock back into our purpose and our passions. Amen. #jointhejourney #devotional #beautifullybroken #khoward #k4gsus #writer #journey #author #seizetheday #nobodymakesitoutalive

Rejection Feels be like…

Rejection feels to me like being amongst a basket of beautiful apples. You have just as much to offer as any other apple but no one ever picks you. You start to question what’s wrong with me? What can I do different? How do I polish up? So you stand tall, put your shine on and yet you are passed by again and again until you’re at the bottom of the basket. The ironic thing is that the one willing to reach down to the bottom to bring you up is more worthy. What we perceive as rejection can actually be the best wait and see if we believe we’re worth the wait. -anonymous

There is but one willing to reach to the bottom of your situation and completely celebrate you on the way up and out. That one is Jesus. Might you choose Him today? K. Howard

“You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.”
‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

#rejection #perception #worththewait #appleofhiseye #altogetherlovely #noflaws #youareloved

Nobody Makes It Out Alive Week 1 Day 3 Nevertheless

“So, I kneel humbly in awe before the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the perfect Father of every father and child in heaven and on the earth. And I pray that he would unveil within you the unlimited riches of his glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with his divine might and explosive power. Then by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside of you, and the resting place of love will become the very source and root of your life” Ephesians 3:14-17 TPT

Life can be so hard sometimes, right? Facing loss of loved ones, unexpected or not, leaves a hole where that person once sat in your life. Nevertheless, we that are still here facing these days ahead are left to move forward without them. I pray for those that are facing that kind of loss today. There are no words that bring comfort to the ones left behind to pick up the pieces, but we can cry with them, hold them, pray for them and listen to them but, please, don’t ignore them, because you don’t know what to do. In that moment, it’s not about what makes you uncomfortable it’s about bringing comfort with or without words.

I am speaking to believers in Christ that get the air knocked out of your guts by a curve ball in life. We need to remember that when we are weak, nevertheless, He is strong. We don’t have to be strong all the time. Sometimes we just need to let His strength carry us on through those hard moments of loss, disappointment, discouragement and the unexpected.

I am speaking to the unbeliever or undecided about who God is. Regardless of what you believe doesn’t make God disappear or not love you. Nevertheless, you can reject Him but He will never reject you. It’s a love like no other you have ever experienced. He would love the opportunity to intervene on your behalf. But He is a gentleman and is waiting for you to choose Him because He already chose you.

“Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.” Ephesians 3:20 TPT

I am personally praying these verses over every person reading this: “Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!” Ephesians 3:18-19 TPT #jointhejourney #devotional #beautifullybroken #khoward #k4gsus #writer #journey #author #seizetheday #nobodymakesitoutalive

Nobody Makes It Out Alive: Week 1 Day 2 Face the Grave

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
Proverbs 16:9 NIV

I am a planner. Anyone that knows me knows that if you want to make me uncomfortable just put me in a position where we must “wing it”. I can literally feel myself twitching thinking about those situations. The reality that I have come to be more and more aware of as I mature is, I can plan as much as I want but like the book of wisdom (Proverbs), in the bible states it so well,

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”Proverbs 16:9 NIV.

Though it still makes me uncomfortable I have learned that God knows my best path and I give Him permission to intervene as He sees fit when my plans need to be diverted.

I entitled today’s devotional, Face the Grave. I did not choose this to be morbid but to be realistic. We all have an expiration date. It is inevitable that we will face the grave someday. What if we chose to live a life that was so prepared for heaven that heaven touched us every day just to cheer us on until we get there? What if I told you that this is possible beginning right now, in this moment?

Every time we choose to take our focus off the problems and temporary things of this world and focus on the eternal things that God offers us, we are free. Free to accept things as they come whether they are part of our original plans or not. Free to appreciate what we have in this moment whether it is exactly what we hoped for or diverted to a whole new direction.

My experience was, that I thought I would live in paradise here while I awaited paradise in heaven. Instead I lost all of it to someone else’s choices. I spent 3 years in shock, healing and rebuilding. What I learned is that the paradise I had was temporary regardless, but heaven, the eternal paradise, didn’t move away from me. Heaven and its heavenly host embraced me until I was strong enough to stand again. I will still face the grave one day no matter where I live, what material things I have or lose doesn’t change that. I am learning what contentment in the moments of lack really means. I have faced the grave by being present in my moments as they come rather than sulking about the past or hoping for a future that looks like the past. Lord knows that I don’t want a repeat of all of that.

“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.” Philippians 4:11 NLT

Dear Lord, help us face the grave with courage, joy and acceptance because of who You are, who we are to You and what You’ve done for us, not on what we try to control. Forgive us Lord for taking the gift of time for granted. Let us value our time. Let us be content in what we have in our present moments. Not that we stop dreaming but that we dream with You in mind. Amen #jointhejourney #devotional #beautifullybroken #khoward #k4gsus #writer #journey #author #seizetheday

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