TODAY’S DEVOTION (TUESDAY 7TH April 2026)
Pay attention to this! You’re saying, “Today or tomorrow we will go into some city, stay there a year, conduct business, and make money.” You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. What is life? You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears.
Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and carry out our plans.” However, you brag because you’re arrogant. All such bragging is evil. James 4:13-16 GWT
WELCOME TO THE 97TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF STRATEGIC VICTORY
God has been faithful to us!! You may never understand that word until you look at yourself and wonder why you are still alive, progressing, or moving forward despite having no such capacity. Whenever we accomplish things that we have no capacity to accomplish, it is a sign, a beautiful sign of God’s faithfulness.
We have lived for 96 days this year, but it was not because we could keep ourselves alive. It is because someone who holds the keys of hell and of death kept us alive. He said,
“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” Revelation 1:18 NKJV
You cannot serve the God who holds the keys of hell or hades and of death and be afraid in life. You can not serve this God and be afraid of even going to hell or dying before your time. He will never use the keys against you. The keys are to be used against the devil, his angels, agents and army.
“What importance are the keys to me in this life,” you may ask.
Well, friend, there are some of the most important keys of the Kingdom that a CHILD OF God can benefit from. In fact, you can get to a realm of faith, where you are even given the keys to use in battle, when fighting for the salvation of someone or the defeat of the agents or works of the devil. Yes, it all depends on the depth of your bonding with the LORD.
There is a bonding with the LORD that submits certain kingdom keys to us for use. Do not forget, the execution of the Great Commission is resting on the shoulders of the Church, and the government of Jesus Christ is also designed to rest on the Church, you and I who call upon the name of the LORD.
THE PURPOSE OF ALL THAT IS TO CONTINUE THE EXECUTION OF THE GREAT COMMISSION FROM WHERE THE EARLY CHURCH STOPPED.
But we will not make the needed impact if our bonding with the LORD is weak. We must therefore strengthen our bonding with the LORD on daily bases like our Bible fathers did. The Bible says they gave themselves strongly to prayer and to the ministry of the word. At one point they inflicted havoc in the kingdom of darkness, and the Bible said this of the men who were upset with them:
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13 NKJV
The statement, “they realized that they had been with Jesus” is very revealing. It suggest the kind of bonding they had with the LORD; it was so strong that He could give them the keys to carry out the assault they carried out that day against the KINGDOM of darkness.
The need for being with Jesus or bonding with Jesus cannot be over emphasized. The reason is because that is what brings us needed power or kingdom keys for the release of souls from the grips of hell and of death, into the Kingdom of God. Sadly, many do not bond with the LORD these days, they bond with their smart phones, and other ungodly things that gives pleasure to their souls.
Friend, our bonding with the LORD is necessary because God wants you and I to be useful in His hands and destroying the works of the devil in a lost world and bringing souls to repentance.
However, there are certain works of the devil that can only be vanquished and certain salvations only possible when we have the keys of the kingdom of Heaven that will make them happen. To have those keys, especially the one of hell and of death, our bonding with the LORD must not be weak, it must be strong.
YES, IT MUST BE STRONG ENOUGH FOR THE KEYS TO BE GIVEN TO US FOR USE.
The keys, of healing all manner of diseases, the keys of breaking the yokes of lack and poverty, the keys of terminating a life of sin, iniquity and trespass, the keys of defeating deception and other works of the Satan, and the keys of hell and of death.
Can Jesus give one the keys of hell and of the death for us when in warfare? Yes. He can. So long as it will advance His kingdom, Jesus can give us anything if the bonding exist. Peter was given these keys of hell and of death at some point in his walk with God, that was why he was able to raise Dorcas from premature death. The Bible says:
“At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did.
But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them.
Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.
But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.
Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.” Acts 9:36-43 NKJV
From this scripture, we can see that Jesus can give those with a strong bonding with Him any key to advance His course on earth, even if it means the key of hell and of death, for proper Kingdom use.
PETER GOT IT IN THIS SCRIPTURE, USED IT PROPERLY AND THE RESULTS WAS AMAZING. WE ARE THE NEXT ON GOD’S LIST!
The Bible says, “it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.” That is the purpose of Kingdom keys, to bring many to the LORD. In other words, to shift the gates of hell that is influencing people and bring the souls in its grip to the LORD. This is a call for us to wake up and become bond sons of God, not just church members.
Now, apart of enabling us to do exploits for Him, the keys of hell and of death in the hands of the LORD also protect our lives from danger. You see, the human life is one of the most fragile lives on the face of the earth. Though in the beginning, it was not so. It became fragile when it stepped out of the very environment God created it to be, the glory environment.
But Jesus came, died on the Cross, and restored the human life back to the place where it was created to be by taking over the keys of hell or hades and of death. Though the fullness of the blessing will become visible in the New heaven and the New earth where righteousness dwells, we can still have a foretaste of it in this life.
Our devotional text described the frailty of the human life this way. It says:
“Pay attention to this! You’re saying, “Today or tomorrow we will go into some city, stay there a year, conduct business, and make money.” You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. What is life?
You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears.
Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and carry out our plans.”
If we do things without the permission or the will of the one who holds the keys of hell or hades and of the death, we will not be cover when the enemy move against us. But when we do, we will be covered and our lives will be protected.
Paul found himself facing so many life-threatening events in his life and ministry. He was beaten with rods, beaten by a mob not once, attacked by robbers, set up to be killed by 40 men who took an oath to not eat or drink until he is dead, shipwrecked severally, and so forth.
He passed through a thousand things that almost destroyed his life, but all that happened to him while he was in God’s will.
If He was not in God’s will, none of that would have happened. The keys of hell or hades and of death would not have been used by the LORD to protect him. His bonding with the LORD during those times put the keys to work and saved him. We are the next to experience the victories.
Let’s therefore live our days within God’s will for our lives and make sure our bonding with the LORD grows and not diminish like our Bible fathers did. Amen.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!
“Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” Acts 6:3-4 NKJV
