FAILED FIRE
Daniel 3

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) To love God is to trust in God. To trust in God is to worship God. To worship God is to serve God. Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego loved the Lord God with all their hearts, with all their souls, and with all their strength. The three Daniel’s friends were willing to die for the Lord God’s name when they bluntly refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s gold image. When they refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s gold image, they were questioned about their God. In addition to the questioning, they were also threatened, with death, by a burning fiery furnace. In response to the threat, “…Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.””(Daniel 3:16-18) Loving, serving, or worshiping God goes way beyond Sunday gatherings, memorization of Bible verses, titles, and being active in the church. Worshiping God can sometimes be provocative. Worshiping God could be taking a very unpopular stand in any area of life. With the three friends of Daniel, it was provocation to the highest authority. “…Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.” (Daniel 3:19) In your walk with the Lord, can you determine if you have stepped on the enemy’s toe? In the name of the Lord God, have you crossed a line that could generate a burning furnace for your destruction? Daniel’s three friends provocation called for a fiery furnace, “Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.” (Daniel 3:22) Whatever is set against us to offset God’s plan in our life, God in His goodness, and mercy, will turn it against the set-up agent. God is true to His word of deliverance and preservation; He will never leave His own, nor forsake His own. God did not leave Daniel’s three friends alone in the furnace of fire. He was with them watching, and protecting them, because they took a stand for His name. God delivered them and protected them for a better, and greater position.

Prayer for today: Father I ask for the boldness, and the character, that will enable me to always take a stand for Your holy name, all the days of my life.

ANGEL OF THE LORD
Acts 5:12-28

“The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” All it takes to constantly have the angel of the Lord constantly operating on the behalf of a believer is to have the fear of God. To have the fear of God is to have a constant walk with the Lord. To have a constant walk with the Lord means doing God’s work. To be doing God’s is rooted in believing God. Believing God means having absolute faith in the Word of God. Where, then, does faith comes from? “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) Fear has its root in hearing, and hearing the Word of God and it is impossible to hear Him by the hearing with your ear, and not fearing Him. Job testifies in Job 42:5-6, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.” When he knew the fear of God through the Word of God, he repented. The angel of the Lord is all that is needed for deliverance when every way has been blocked. The apostles were doing the work of God by giving life to the sick, and winning souls for the Lord. The apostles were not stealing; they were not in any business that was outside the one that the Lord had committed into their hands when they became a victim of the High Priest. Acts 5:17-18, “Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, 18 and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.” The Word of God is true, and it never fails. When it says it will deliver, it will never fail to deliver. And when it says it will preserve, it will not fail to preserve. The Apostles feared the Lord, and they could not possibly be stranded with the angel of the Lord, showing on their behalf. Acts 5:19-20, “But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”” The Apostles feared the Lord, and could not be held by any prison wall, nor could any officer or Priest intercept the Lord’s assignment. Your present situation is not beyond the hand of God.  Every creation of God is qualified for assistance for deliverance through His angels when there is fear in place. Do you fear Him?     
Prayer for today: Father I ask in Jesus’ name, let the fear of Your holy name become, overtake, and overwhelm my life. 

HUMBLE YOURSELF
Mathew 18:1-10

Paul advised in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” What is it about the mind of Christ? The mind of Christ is a mind that is HUMBLE, plain, and simple. Reading through all of Philippians 2, Paul pointed out that the mind of Christ is a mind that reigns in humility. Without doubt, from the Apostle Paul’s writing, it is clear that regardless of the number of times that one is born again, 1 time or 100 times, one could miss the trumpet sound without humility. Jesus said in Matthew 18:3-4 Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” What Jesus is saying is that, without doubt, with all certainty, humility is like the gasoline for the vehicle of salvation. Thank God, you have been converted (born again). However, it is not enough because Jesus said unless you are converted, and become as little children; there will be no other way to enter the kingdom of heaven. The importance of humility is greatly emphasized in the last hours of Jesus’ life before He departed from this world (John 13:1). Having clearly shown, and taught how to do His works, He waited until the last moment to give His disciples a lasting impression that reveals the importance of humility. John 13:3-5, “Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from the supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” There is no clearer way to say it loudly in the demonstration that humility has no substitution in salvation. He said it with parables, direct language, and demonstrations. Jesus clearly showed that indeed, without humility it is an empty conversion. In His last moments, He washed their feet, and He wiped them with the towel to which He was girded. Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, said it and did it, and that means it is possible for us to do it. He has not asked us to do what is impossible to do. There is no place for arrogance, or pomposity, in the kingdom of God. What you are today is neither by your power, nor by your own might but the grace of God. Humble yourself in the all the ways that the Lord is leading you through, and you will not miss the mark.
Prayer for today: O Lord my God, I ask today, let humility be the garment over my life.

FEET OF JESUS
John 11:26-37

The time Martha welcomed Jesus to her house, her sister, Mary, “…Sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.”(Luke 10:39) While Martha was doing the serving, Mary remained at the feet of Jesus. Martha’s complaining of not having Mary’s help in serving Jesus, prompted Jesus’ response to Martha, “And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”(Luke 10:41-42) Mary must have discovered a place of security, a place of hope, and a place of undeniable miracles in Jesus when she sat at the feet of Jesus. When Lazarus was dead, when all hope was lost, when there was nowhere to turn for help, Mary knew where to go. When it was most definite that Lazarus was dead, and all of his remains had begun to stink, Mary knew where to connect with Jesus, the Healing healer. When the whole population could not see any chance of bringing Lazarus back to life, Mary knew where to go, and how to settle her self. In the midst of mourning for the death of Lazarus, Mary received a message from Jesus, through Martha. The message that was received by Mary was, “…The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” (John 11:28) The same message is sounding in your direction today if you will answer Him. The calling of the Almighty Teaching Teacher is of hope, deliverance, and of restoration. “As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him” (John 11:29) Mary did not hesitate, or doubt, when the message of Jesus’ call got to her. Mary, by virtue of her previous experience at the feet of Jesus, knew exactly where to connect with her miracle. John 11:32-34, “Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”” Again, Mary was at the feet of Jesus. It was a place that her miracle could not be denied. It was a place that caught Jesus’ undeniable attention. The same feet of the Lord was where John sought for help when he was afraid, due to lack of understanding, “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.”(Revelation 1:17) At the feet of Jesus there is an answer to all situations.
Prayer for today: Lord, cast Your look on me and lay Your hand on me while I am at your feet. I ask for deliverance and restoration.      

UNDERSTAND THIS
Job 1:1-8

In the beginning of the book of Job (Job 1:1), Job is described as a blameless man and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. Later in the same chapter, God testified of Job, “Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8) What else could be said when God testifies for a man just like He did for Job? With this description, and the testimony, of God about Job, it is possible to think that a man like Job has arrived in the things of the LORD. However, in the last chapter of the book Job, he confessed a lack of understanding. He said “I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.(Job 42:5) It could be hard to believe that such a man that God, Himself, testified about as a servant that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless, and upright man, one who fears God, and shuns evil (Job 1:8) will come out, and confess lack of understanding. With Job’s confession, it is clear that whenever a man thinks he has arrived in the things of the LORD, he has ultimately checked out into deprivation from entering where God is taking him. Paul clearly nailed it in his warnings in, 1Corinthians 12:12, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” When a believer assumes to have arrived, that believer will resume to be deprived. Paul could not have spelled it out better than he did in different ways. The apostle Paul, as much as he was a general in the field of God’s mission, did not pretend or assume to have arrived at the goal of calling. Paul declared in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, for getting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” The point here is for believers to know how to lower to their shoulder, and not allow it rise above their head. If you have been privileged enough by God to give two or three revelations that came to pass in deed, and in truth. It is not a liberty for you to go on thinking that you have arrived or taken the place of God’s glory. God is still God, and He can bring you back, and beyond, from where He has brought you.
Prayer for today: Father, I ask this day that You open my eyes, my ear,s and every area of my life that I may fully understand Your ways.