“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.
“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?
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
Give it all…“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” Ephesians 3:20 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/eph.3.20.ESV
Sundays are my favorite day of the week. I get to go worship the one true God that has led me through my darkest hour yet also has shared in my joy in my most celebrated moments. He is truly my most prized possession.
I don’t deserve it, I couldn’t earn any of it, yet here I am emptying all my junk on Him while He pours out mercy, love and grace to me. Sundays, I get to celebrate this God who is not mad at me, but madly in love with me, with other believers.
It’s mind blowing that He, the uncreated one who created everything…
“Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them. They cried out to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disappointed.” Psalms 22:3-5 BSB https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.22.3-5.BSB
Today, is a great day to go be with people that believe what God says, about everything. We need His guidance, His wisdom, His direction. Today, I challenge you to go to church.
What have we come to as a nation when we call good evil and evil good?
After the attempted assassination of our former president, Donald J Trump, I saw posts making light of it. Some even said it was staged after one innocent bystander was killed by a stray bullet and two others are in critical condition.
We can do better than this. I believe that when a nation honors God, Biblical principles and has a conscience for truth, we do better.
Let’s take our eyes off political opponents, media hype, misleading headlines and simply look up. God does not need to be found, He needs to be invited into our mess so He can clean it up.
Would you consider inviting God into your mess today?
Fourth of July is more like a week long event of carnivals, parades, BBQ’s, and of course, fireworks. My hope is that though none of those things are bad, in fact, all are very good, we realize what happened on this day, hundreds of years ago.
It’s our Independence Day. It’s the day that we put everything on the line by signing the Declaration of Independence. If we won the American Revolutionary War, we would be free from all British rule but if they won, we would lose everything and once again, be under the British regime.
As we play patriotic songs, light up the grill, shoot off the fireworks, take a minute, close your eyes, face up to the sky, arms raised high and thank the good Lord, the brave men that led the way for the Independence you and your family have, because of today.
God bless! And God bless America! From sea to shining sea!
As an American writer and Christian, I must pause, every year to reflect on my religious freedoms. Many people that I’ve met throughout the years have shared their fight to acquire these freedoms that I have never been without.
With that introduction as a backdrop, I am here to express my sincere gratitude for my country, my faith, my church and my family. The United States is not perfect. We still experience growing pains from remaining to be the melting pot of the world. I want to thank everyone prior to me that fought for the freedoms my family and I enjoy to this day.
I highly recommend listening to Max McClean’s reading of the Declaration of the United States of America.
“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 3:19-21 MSG https://bible.com/bible/97/jhn.3.19-21.MSG
Nothing but the rest of God’s promises wake us up to how truly evil darkness is. Like the sun that rises every morning pushes back the darkness, so does God’s light; as we allow it to enter in our hearts and push out the sin, often done in the dark.
Once we understand that darkness only exists in the absence of light, it is then, and only then, that we understand that we have the power and authority to let the light in.
My prayer for us today is that we choose to let the light of God’s love, truth and promises open up the floodgates of light, to expose, push back and push out every dark space in our lives so that we can illuminate in God’s light. So that we can be a light that leads others to God’s light. In Jesus name, AMEN!
What steps can you take today to welcome God’s light into your life?
As I read my daily devotional, I take notice of this habit that took me years to form. Reading God’s word inspires me to write from the heart and live out the life that God promises me.
I’m starting to get an understanding that obedience is far more valuable to God and my’s relationship, than sacrifice. Ultimately my obedience is a sacrifice. When I obey, I sacrifice the desires of my sinful nature, the ability, to sabotage the promises God has for me. Obedience over sacrifice. It’s a way of living. It’s a decision to follow Christ, to follow His character, until I reflect who He is in me.
Living to please God instead of people is a result of my daily indulgence in His living word. This lifestyle was bread out of committing to my daily time with God, as well as studying, memorizing and meditating on the Bible.
What has been your source of nurturing your relationship with God?
Thinking about this verse this morning as I grieve the loss of my cousin, Jesse. His sweet kind soul, did not deserve to be entangled in our dysfunctional mess of a family.
As we become determined not to repeat the cycles of our dysfunctional family, never underestimate the damage that is done but furthermore never underestimate God and His redemptive love as He teaches us how to break these cycles.
The emotional and mental carnage should be the motivation of our dedication to change gears so that our children will rise above the ashes of that dysfunction.
We can’t change the past but we can surely work on our present. Do the right thing, even when it’s hard. Maximize the God in you, so He can shine through you, which leads to impacting those around you.
Just when the enemy thought he’d won, the stone began to roll, Jesus rose with a good morning stretch, folded His grave clothes, and placed them on the alter. (My paraphrase)
You may feel defeated but thank God feelings are not fact. They are simply an indicator to what’s going on inside your heart and soul. Like the indicator light on the dashboard of a vehicle. The fact is, we win with Jesus. Every time, every day, every circumstance. Not even death could hold Him down, darkness cannot comprehend His light. Defeat is impossible when all things are possible with Jesus.
Today is a great day to resurrect the living God in your heart.
Prayer
Lord, I believe that You were born of a virgin, sent by God the Father, to conquer sin and death for me. You were crucified, and on the third day, You rose from the dead. You ascended onto heaven and are preparing a place for all who believe! I believe! Help me with my doubt as I walk this out! In Jesus name, amen!
Ephesians 6:10-11 (Bible in Basic English Version)
Lastly, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His power. Take up God’s instruments of war, so that you may be able to keep your position against all the deceits of the Evil One.
The verses in Ephesians 6:10-11 come after strong instruction to walk away from our sinful desires of the flesh. That is why these verses begin with “lastly…” How many times do we struggle with a sin in our life that we just can’t seem to overcome? We pray, we ask for strength, we ask for wisdom, yes, we ask for a lot of things. One thing has to happen before the heart of repentance can grieve the sin in our lives for good.
WE have to make a conscious decision to turn away from the sin and towards God’s will for our lives. The Word says if we turn…then “lastly, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His power. WE can then draw strength from Him to HEAR Wisdom speak to us and we can BE FREE!!! Amen. YES! Amen! Next the Word directs our steps to:
1. Take up the instruments of war, (action for us)
2. That we may be able to keep our position against all the deceits of the evil one (in God’s strength and in God’s Power, action for God)
Over the next week we will learn what those instruments of war are, how to get them and how to use them to be strong in restraining from sinful behavior.
Prayer
Lord, we need you. In a world bombarded with the acceptance and even encouragement of the things that go against Your call to righteousness, especially the people that call You Lord. Please help us maintain our position against the coercion of the enemy to stumble into sin. Help us oh God to be a people of righteousness about whom You can say, “Well done my good and faithful servants.” If we are in sin right now Lord, show us that open doorway to turn away and chase after your goodness and your mercy and clothe us in Your robe of righteousness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
“so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:15-16 CSB
Here we are at the end of our journey. We have conquered much, these past few months together. We have fought for our minds to embrace a truth about who God is to us, who we are to Him and why that matters. Taking our eyes off of what we see in this world while we long for the unseen treasures of eternity.
As you have probably discovered, there is no generic formula to get from the beginning of your time here until you pass on through to eternity. You are a unique, designed being, on a set course, for an eternal destination.
Where we spend eternity will be determined by who we put our trust in. We can put our trust in The One who designed and created our inmost being, before we were given, on loan, to our mother’s womb, or we can live our lives with no creator in mind at all. Whichever we choose, time ticks and eternity awaits our last tic on the clock because nobody makes it out of here, alive. We are not promised tomorrow. We cannot change the past. Today is meant to be seized with eternity in mind.
I leave you with some real questions. Where will you spend eternity? How will you spend your daily 1440 minutes as you walk out the timeline given to you that disrupted eternity? Do you know who God is to you? Do you know who you are to God? Do you know that where you spend eternity is anchored in those last 2 questions?
Only you can answer these questions honestly. If you do not know where to start, start with the Salvation prayer then by reading the book of John, Acts and Romans, in the Bible. I recommend the, The @YouVersion Bible App has a permanent spot on my home screen. http://bible.com/app , so you can pick a version of the Bible that is easy for you to understand and memorize.
Salvation prayer: Lord, I admit that I am a sinner. When I have sinned and when I sin, I sin against You only. I believe that You were born to a virgin, lived a sinless life, was crucified for no crime but for my sin to be erased, that You died and rose from the grave, conquered sin & death on my behalf, that You are in heaven preparing a place for me; and I believe that You are coming back for me, to be with You, for all of eternity. I confess to You Lord my sin ( confess whatever comes to mind) and I believe that my confessed sin is erased at the cross where You willingly laid down Your life for me. Lord, I believe Your word is an echo of Your heart and I will study, meditate and keep it in my heart and mind, daily. Amen.
“Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.” 1 John 3:18 CSB
“Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing.” Philippians 2:14-16 CSB
“Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 CSB
We are treasures of clay. We are the broken pots, made from clay, repaired with Our Maker’s grace, mercy, forgiveness and love. We are a beautiful display of His strength empowering our weak spots. We have so much to look forward to when these earthly “jars of clay” are replaced with robes of righteousness on our perfect bodies and repaired souls that will never break again.
It’s hard to imagine when we are still in this foreign land with familiar sin. But we do not belong here but for the time we are on loan here. That might just be why our struggles seem many and our victories seem few. Our victories in heaven will exceed the victories on earth beyond our imagination. The point is this, if you’re struggling in your present moment there is a future awaiting you that will blow your mind. What’s the catch then? To believe that Jesus is who He says He is, Did what thousands of witnesses claimed He did & believe that He did it all for YOU!
Making peace with our past, embracing our present makes looking forward to the future reachable, almost tangible while we wait, if we would just believe.
Lord, help us envision the tangible You that we read about in the Bible. Help us with our unbelief and help us apply what we do believe. We look forward to Your return Lord. Let us be caught living on purpose when You get here again. Amen.
“Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 CSB
“Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.”” Lamentations 3:22-24 CSB
Each day we have a choice to make. Many times those choices are made under stressful circumstances and many are made out of joy. Whether you are experiencing a mountain top season or a deep valley of disparity or somewhere in between, the daily present choice is the same. To either do the best we can with what we have or to be immobilized by difficulties, apathetic by indifferences or even procrastinating from thinking you have plenty of time. All 3 of these mindsets are not holy, eternal minded mindsets. They are mental distractions that keep us from our present goal, to win the day. The day will come and it will go regardless of our response to it. My question is this. How many days will pass before we wake up to the reality of time, and how precious it is to not waste a minute if it?
We have each been given a specific time in history to impact eternity. Not just our personal eternity but others as well. Today, use the day to live in the present, to embrace it, to fight through it to do your best to shine. You could be the only glimmer in someone else’s “today”.
You might be thinking, yea that sounds nice but you do not know what I am going through. You are right. I do not. However, I know you have survived 100% of what is behind you because you woke up today. That’s a win. That’s a reason to celebrate.
Living in the present has more to do with gratitude than has to do with circumstances. I would go as far as to say that 80% of how we respond to our circumstances is based on how much we are grateful for.
This man, Vic Vujicic, completely changed my perspective on gratitude. Here is a video that’s about 8 min long “Never Give Up” https://youtu.be/wBCfxhyEDB0 His testimony is incredible. Here is a YouTube link to watch the story that 60 min did on him a couple of years ago. https://youtu.be/aRXdT06bbW8
Lord, I pray that we gain a perspective on living in the present that makes us high-impact, low-maintenance, testifying, warriors for You. That our light would shine so bright the devil would flee and the angelic choir would sing as Your presence gives us the strength and joy, to endure this temporary timeline as we await eternity. Lord, help us seize the day in awareness of Your presence, Your truth, Your power, Your love, Your grace and through Your eyes. Amen.
“Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-16 CSB
“For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures. Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.” Romans 15:4-6 CSB
Referencing the past can be therapeutic or it can be the reason we need therapy. The contrasting difference is how we process a traumatic past, or a comforting past that we cannot retrieve, in times of present trouble. We are not designed to live looking backward. We are designed to move forward until the day we die. We move forward in age, knowledge, hopefully wisdom and definitely each day brings us closer to where we will settle for eternity.
Our past is meant to help us not repeat things that did not point us to our God-given purpose, to form spirit-filled habits that keep eternity on our mind.
The past is over. The present is where living happens. The past can weigh us down or it can lift us up or teach us in our present situation. The choice is ours. We absolutely have a choice to live in today in spite of a rocky, train wreck of a past. A positive memory can be the grounded, reminder that life will get better if we just hold on a little longer.
The “ugly journal” I spoke of in earlier weeks is a great place to leave a traumatic past and learn from it. A memory book of all of life’s best moments and milestones is a great way to frame those sweet memories and legacy you will soon leave behind. There are many ways to process our past but dwelling on it and rehearsing the past uses up your present time, that you cannot get back. Once that time is used up, it is gone. Start today. If the suggestions here seem unreachable then it is time to talk to a professional counselor or therapist.
Do not waste one more minute on a past that you cannot change. You have a beautiful eternity to prepare for. I promise you that this eternity I speak of does not live in the past.
Lord, we need Your Holy Spirit to help us deal with our past so that it does not steal time from our present. Help us seize the day with eternity in mind. Amen.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 CSB
“For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one that does it, but it is the sin that lives in me. So I discover this law: When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me. For in my inner self I delight in God’s law, but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.” Romans 7:18-25 CSB
The struggle is real. Am I right about it, or what? We are messy people. No one is free from the temptation of sin until Jesus returns. Once we understand that the struggle is real for ourselves we can have empathy, without judgement, for others that struggle more publicly. Private or public sin is equal. Stop judging others for their struggle, even if it is repetitive. The Bible says judge not or you will be judged for you will be judged to the extent of the thing you are judging others for. (Matthew 7:2-6)
We basically have enough of our own sin to deal with. Much like seizing the day, we must focus on our own sin. How I hear it in my head, when I’m comparing my sinful nature, to someone else’s sinful nature, “Mind ya business, you got enough of your own sin to battle.”
Does that mean we do not pray for that person or direct them where we have experienced victory? Absolutely not. What it means is do not ever raise yourself above someone else thinking you have conquered sin and they have not. That is where pride comes before the fall, your fall. (Proverbs 16:18)
In order to apply what we are learning through studying God’s word and utilizing tools like this devotional, “Nobody Makes it Out Alive”, we must focus in on our own individual lives first. We have no business telling others how to live their lives. Once we gain victory over a sin in our own lives that will be the testimony that speaks to someone else struggling with the same sin. My gramps used to tell me that having 2 ears and 1 month is God’s proof to listen more and talk less. Wisdom without application is reduced to knowledge without power. Excessive knowledge without application becomes pride. A head full of knowledge, telling everyone else how to live, is not a testimony, it is annoying.
Start with you. End with God. Nothing can separate you from God but you. Run to the Father every, single, time you sin. He is not surprised and He is waiting for you. If we truly want to apply these principles, we must admit we are sinners. Each day is a new beginning. Compare yourself to God not others. That will keep you humble while you are living your best life for God.
Lord, help me wrap my head around what I need to be doing so that my life will live out loud the testimony of a life in Your hands. Have Your way with me, Lord so I can be shaped and molded and prepared for eternity. Help me be a testimony to others that are struggling. Let my victories be a testament of You and not me. I cannot conquer sin without Your strength. Amen
“Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act, making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.” Psalms 37:3-6 CSB
From the Depths of Kell 