Suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire… and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 2 Kings 2:11
RECOMMENDED READING: I THESS 4:13-18 “13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
COMMENTS: There are only two people in history who were spared death. One was Enoch (Gen 5) and other is Elijah (2Kings 2). Lazarus enduring 2 deaths. First was resurrected from by Christ but endured a second death some time later. Even Christ endured a terrible death on the cross but followed by His wonderful resurrection.
We have all grieved the death of loved ones and, as we get older, begin to realized we have lived long enough to know more people who have died than we know who are still living.
Today’s scripture is one of many which give us the wonderful assurance death need not be feared or dreaded because of the confidence Christ gives us of a wonderful place He is preparing for us with our loved ones and with Himself. He only asked us to seek and accept His forgiveness, accepting His sacrifice as the sufficient price for our sins. That forgiveness allows us to also accept and enjoy eternal live in heaven and in a new eternal body He is preparing for us.
The next great event He has promised us in scripture is His return to rapture His church (The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout…and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)) But along with this promise is a warning to be ready because He will come without warning and we will be left behind if unprepared. So how do we prepare and be assured we are ready? By first accepting Christ as our Savior and Redeemer and then living each day seeking His council and help by prayer and devotion to scripture and fellowship with other Christians. Following and obeying Him is not motivated by a requirement to earn a place in heaven but because of our love and worship for Him. We serve Him then because we want to and because we want to please Him. Not because we have to but because we want to.
A terrible time is coming when satan will be allowed to reign terrible trials and persecution on Christians, even worse than today. He will spare us from the worst of those days, but may allow us to endure some of those days of persecution. But then will come a day of judgment when God punishes and binds satan and reigns judgment on those who followed satan and refused Christ’s redemption. So much to gain and so much to lose. So why do any refuse or delay Christ’s gift? Some think they have plenty of time and want to enjoy their current lives a bit more. Others try to deny God exists or follow another thinking he is their god. Still, some think they are too buy and will accept Christ later. There are also a few who consciously worship and give their allegiance to satan and doing his evil. But consequences Christ warns us of will be the same for all who do not accept His redemptive sacrifice on the cross. He suffered so we don’t need to, but His sacrifice is a gift that must be accepted in order to be enjoyed. If we refuse a Christmas gift, it remains unopened and of no value to us. A gift is of no value unless accepted, opened, and used and enjoyed.
John 14:6 tells us Christ is the only way to heaven. To pursue another way or deny or neglect His way is folly and playing a very dangerous game with time. One day time will run out if we delay too long.
“If Jesus were to come back this afternoon, all of us who know Christ would be caught up out of here and taken to heaven. We’re going to be raptured up!” David Jeremiah
If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 233 blog posts I have made plus a link to my devotional journal material archives from 2013 to present.
You may also access my facebook page and request to be my friend and automatically receive my daily journal publications daily. My facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/Dondevotionals/
My hope and prayer is, they will become a source of encouragement and tools in ministry for you.
Published by donsdevotions
Don McDaniel - Who am I?
Hello everyone and welcome to my devotional journal blog. In order to get acquainted and help you get to know me a bit better before considering following my blog, let me give you some background. I am a 74-year-old male and a retired engineer. I worked for a major supplier of underground mining equipment for nearly 40 years before retiring in 2012. Arlene and I have been happily married since April 1978 and have two grown – married children, one granddaughter and 2 step grandsons. I joined the local United Methodist church at age 12 after accepting Christ as my Savior at age 10 during revival services in that same church in 1961, so I have been a “Born Again” Christian all my teen years and adult life. Christ has helped and guided me all that time. He guided me in choosing my wife and life’s career. My life journey has included regrets and failures, but God has picked me up and protected and spared me from life threatening consequences and dangers more times than I can recall or count. But many I do recall and encourage and motivate me to trust and follow Christ with more passion than ever.
Christmas 2011 our daughter gave Arlene and I each a devotional journal. Journals were books with devotion for each day and space to give personal impressions and thoughts related to each devotion. Her desire was to have a lasting legacy she could refer back to and share with her children and grandchildren especially after we are gone. I was touched by that gesture. My parents and Arlene’s were devout Christians, so we would have greatly treasured having that from them, so we felt a sense of urgency to honor her request. I finished my journal first and returned it to our daughter the following Christmas. I’m glad I did it then because Parkinson’s has caused my hand writing to deteriorate since then. The exercise was such a blessing for me. Discipline of keeping journal helped me gain a deeper walk with Christ and greater discipline in honoring my time of prayer and devotion with Him each day. So, I decided to continue the practice but since I could not find a paper journal I liked, I decided to create my own. I had already been receiving electronic devotions by email every day from several sources, my favorite being “Turning Point” from Dr. David Jeremiah. What I decided to do was to include devotional scripture but add my own thoughts and comments only so there would be no issue of copyright infringement. Creating and maintaining journal by computer also addressed my deteriorating handwriting ability. I started an electronic devotion journal January 1, 2013 and have been faithful to that practice every day since. I prayed about method and level of distribution. My initial intent was to only share it with my two children by email, but quickly discovered others in my family, my church, and friends from work (both retired and still working) who knew me and wanted to be included in distribution when they learned what I was doing. I now distribute by email my daily journal at the beginning of each month to over 150 friends and relatives. God has richly blessed and encouraged me.
I am concerned with the state of our church and nation, and world for that matter, believing we are living in the end times the prophets of old and Christ have talked about in scripture, so time is short. I desire to be true to my Savior and a witness to help others come to a saving knowledge of Him and equipped to share His Good News too. If my journal can encourage and help others, I believe God wants me to share it. I struggled, for a time at first, because I know many others keep similar journals but only for their own edification and do not want to share them because they are private.
However, Christ has stirred my heart to share it as a witness tool.
Our son and daughter have a long-time friend who grew up with them who we also befriended nearly 25 years ago. He had a lot of family problems, so would gravitate to our family as a refuge and eventually thought of us as his adopted parents and he as our adopted son. We lost contact with him for some time when he grew up and left home. He traveled around the U.S. and eventually ended up in Ukraine where he resided for next 10 years. He had to return to the US to renew his visa and took opportunity to recommend I begin a blog of my devotions and helped me set it up. He is also an active blogger and has been an email subscriber to my journal for several months, so he has been suggesting I expand my distribution by starting a blog to get broader exposure. After reflection and prayer, I concluded God was in this, so he is helping me set up my blog site. This brief autobiography is my first entry.
He returned to Ukraine, then resided there until circumstanced made him decide to move back to US with his young son. This biography was my first post February 29, 2016 .
I have published 600 posts from 2016-2023 automatically sent to all my Facebook friends, published on WordPress to be accessible to anyone curious or seeking a deeper walk with God. I decided to take a sebatical to prepare for a new chapter. In 2014 I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease which affects patient ability to walk, drive, do physical work, and eventually talk. By mid 2023 it became evident our home for last 42 years (previously owned by my parents for previous 44 years and by my mother's grandparents for 39 years before that) would eventually not meet my needs so we decided to sell it and move into 1st floor of a duplex we also owned that was the town school from 1855-1913. Likewise, the property was requiring more maintenance that I was no longer able to keep up with. 2023 involved selling our home and moving into apartment next door and then in early 2025 an opportunity to move closer to our daughter and granddaughter in Kentucky which was completed in May 2025. For a number of months I have been seeking direction seeking God's direction and timing to return to blogging as my journey with Parkinson's continues to unfold with God's guiding hand in mine.
I hope and pray my devotions will continue to be a blessing for you. God certainly has become closer and more real to me since started this blog in 2016. I have spent time with Him studying scripture and praying and listening and writing this journal. I will continue seeking God’s help and will welcome your input to make this site as meaningful as I can and true to God, who is motivating me to create and maintain it. I will also welcome input in order to make format more meaningful going forward.
Don & Arlene McDaniel
In His Service,
Email: mcdanieldonald769@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Don1951
If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 600+ blog posts I have made plus a link to my devotional journal material archives from 2013 to present (https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/link-to-dons-devotional-journal-entries-2013/ )
You may also access my Facebook page and request to be my friend and automatically receive my daily journal publications daily. My Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/Dondevotionals/ Many thanks to a pastor and dear brother in Christ in Nepal who set up the above Facebook page to help and encourage and give opportunity for more to explore and use my devotional blog materials. View all posts by donsdevotions
donsdevotions 