DeKalb County Jail Ministries

08/21/2026

The God Who Enters the Fire

Most of us would choose deliverance.
If given the option, we would gladly ask God to remove the diagnosis, restore the relationship, eliminate the struggle, open the door, fix the problem, and calm the storm.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
The Bible is filled with people who cried out for rescue.
So do we.
The challenge comes when God's answer is not immediate deliverance.
Because sometimes the question shifts from: "Why won't God get me out of this?"
to
"Where is God in this?"
That question can be far more painful.
It is one thing to suffer.
It is another thing to feel alone while suffering.
Joseph understood that feeling.
He had done the right thing and ended up in the wrong place.
He resisted temptation and landed in prison.
He honored God and was forgotten by the very people he helped.
If anyone had reason to question God's presence, it was Joseph.
Yet one phrase appears repeatedly throughout his story:
"The Lord was with Joseph."(Genesis 39)
The Lord was with him in the pit.
The Lord was with him in slavery.
The Lord was with him in prison.
The Lord was with him when everyone else forgot him.
God did not prevent every hardship in Joseph's life.
But He never abandoned him within those hardships.
That same truth appears in Daniel 3.
Notice what God did not do.
God did not stop the furnace.
He did not stop the rage.
He did not stop the fire.
God could have prevented every part of the story.
Instead, He chose something different.
He entered the fire with them.
The miracle was not simply that they survived.
The miracle was that they were not alone.
Before there was deliverance, there was presence.
Before there was rescue, there was companionship.
Before there was victory, there was a Fourth Man walking beside them in the flames.
Sometimes we miss that because we become so focused on escape that we overlook presence.
We ask:
"Why didn't God keep me out of the fire?" when perhaps we should also ask:
"How has God been with me in the fire?"
Sometimes His presence appears as strength you cannot explain.
Sometimes as peace that makes no sense.
Sometimes as the right person arriving at the right moment.
Sometimes as the quiet realization that you are still standing when you thought you would collapse.
Many believers celebrate deliverance.
Few appreciate sustenance.
Yet both reveal God's faithfulness.
Deliverance is when God brings you out.
Sustenance is when God gets in it with you and keeps you through it.
Both are expressions of God's faithfulness.
Both are miracles.
Both reveal His love.
Yet some of the deepest encounters with God happen through sustenance rather than deliverance.
We often discover God's nearness most clearly in places we never wanted to be.
The hospital room.
The empty house.
The courtroom.
The unemployment line.
The season of grief.
The unanswered prayer.
Those places do not prove God's absence.
Sometimes they become the very places where His presence becomes most real.
Perhaps that is why the fire changed everything.
The Hebrews entered the furnace bound.
They walked in it free.
The ropes burned away.
Their faith did not.
The flames consumed what held them.
They could not touch what God was sustaining.
Maybe your greatest need today is not an explanation.
Maybe it is the assurance that God has not left you.
If so, hear this clearly:
The God of Daniel 3 is still the God who enters fires.
He still walks beside His people.
He still strengthens weary hearts.
He still sustains what circumstances cannot destroy.
And even when He does not remove the fire immediately, He promises His presence within it.
Prayer
Father, there are moments when I wish You would remove every hardship from my life. Yet today I thank You that even when deliverance is delayed, Your presence remains. Help me recognize the ways You are walking beside me in this season. When I feel alone, remind me that You have not abandoned me. Give me strength for today, peace for this moment, and confidence that You are working even in places I cannot yet understand. And Lord, if You do not change my situation, then change me. Use this season to deepen my faith, strengthen my character, and draw me closer to You. In Jesus' name, amen.
Closing Thought
Deliverance is when God brings you out. Sustenance is when God gets in it with you and keeps you through it. The God who may not always remove the fire is the God who never abandons His people in it. -Nolan White.

08/10/2026

📖💕 NLT BIBLE DONATIONS NEEDED FOR THE LADIES IN THE DEKALB, IL JAIL 💕📖

We are asking for donations of Bibles for the women we minister to in the jail in DeKalb, Illinois. We would especially love to provide them with beautiful NLT Bibles that feel personal and special—women’s colors such as pink, purple, teal, or other feminine colors, with soft leather-like covers. (Not hard cover).
For many of these ladies, receiving their own Bible can mean so much. These Bibles will give them the opportunity to spend time in God’s Word, grow in their relationship with Jesus, and allow His truth to begin transforming their hearts and lives into new women of God. ❤️🙏

Our prayer is that as they read His Word, they will discover that their past does not have to define their future. Through Christ, there is forgiveness, hope, freedom, and a new beginning.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” — 2 Corinthians 5:17

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” — Psalm 119:105

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” — John 8:36

If God places it on your heart to donate a Bible, we would be so grateful. Every Bible donated will be placed into the hands of a woman at the DeKalb, IL jail who needs the hope, love, and truth found in God’s Word.

Our prayer is not only that they receive a Bible, but that through His Word they will come to know Jesus, be transformed, and walk forward as strong women of faith and women of God. 🌷✝️

Thank you for helping us plant seeds of hope and share the love of Jesus with these precious ladies.

May God bless every person who gives, prays, and supports this ministry. 🙏💗

https://a.co/d/0aI3kBhq

http://Christianbook.com

08/06/2026

God wants a relationship not religious performances. We can not expect to live victorious lives without abiding in him. There is so much that he desires for us but we have to do our part. Many of us miss out on him daily because we are too busy with the cares and concerns of this world. I just heard that it is vital to set time out daily to spend with God without compromising and that we should plan our day around God not the other way around. We should chase after him like our lives depend on it; we should seek his face and not just his hand. When we make him a priority and not just an option we will see a change.

08/04/2026

Made for Praise
God is worthy of your worship. Come before Him with a heart ready to praise.

Psalms 100:1-5

Have you ever considered how you treat the Lord? Some people lift prayer request after prayer request and yet fail to give Him glory and praise. When that’s the case, they may be attempting to use the Lord to fulfill their needs and desires without demonstrating love for Him.

1 Peter 2:9 says God’s people should “proclaim [His] excellencies.” Our concerns are of great importance to Him, but He also wants us to come to Him with a worshipful heart, not an attitude of self-centeredness.

You may ask, “What’s the point of praise?” When you begin to extol the Lord, your focus shifts to Him. Then you will start recalling the ways He’s impacted your life. As Psalm 105:5 says, “Remember His wonders which He has done.” Praising the Lord is one of Scripture’s principal themes. We’re told to do so joyfully (Ps. 100:1), all throughout the day (Psalm 113:3), and in the presence of others (Psalm 108:3; Psalm 111:1).

Take some time today to reflect on the Lord’s mighty work of salvation in your life. Praise the Father for His faithfulness and righteousness. When your heart is full of praise, worries will diminish, and you’ll trust God to provide for your needs in His own timing.

07/24/2026

07/19/2026

"Matthew 7:1 is the most misquoted verse in the Bible by people who have never read Matthew 7:5. Jesus was not forbidding judgment. He was forbidding hypocrisy." - John MacArthur

"Don't judge me. The Bible says judge not."

It is the favorite verse of people who want to sin without being called sinners.

But here is what Jesus actually said.

Matthew 7:1 — "Judge not, that you be not judged."

Everyone quotes verse 1. Almost nobody reads verse 5.

Matthew 7:5 — "First take the log out of your own eye, and THEN you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."

THEN. Jesus said THEN.

He is not saying never judge your brother's speck. He is saying deal with your own sin FIRST. Then judge rightly.

If Jesus meant "never judge anyone ever" He would not have said THEN. There would be no THEN. He would have ended at verse 1.

But He didn't. He said remove your own log THEN help your brother with his speck.

The entire point of Matthew 7:1-5 is not the abolition of judgment. It is the correction of hypocritical judgment.

Jesus commanded judgment elsewhere:

John 7:24 — "Do not judge by appearances but judge with RIGHT JUDGMENT."

1 Corinthians 5:12 — "Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?"

1 Corinthians 14:29 — "Let two or three prophets speak and let the others WEIGH what is said."

Weighing what is said IS judgment.

The Bible never says stop judging. It says judge rightly. Judge humbly. Judge with the same standard you want applied to yourself.

Next time someone quotes Matthew 7:1 ask them to read Matthew 7:5.

What does Jesus actually command in that verse?

07/12/2026

It is truly an honor to be chosen as a vessel of God to share the Good News and help set the captives free.

It is also a privilege to serve alongside women of faith who are passionate about the Lord and deeply committed to loving and serving others.

What the women we minister to may not realize is that they are just as much of a blessing to us as we pray we are to them. Every encounter reminds us of God’s faithfulness, grace, and transforming power.
To God be the Glory!
-Bella Boyd-

07/09/2026

God Is Not Your Buddy — Restoring Reverence

The fear of the Lord restores what has been lost in this casual, cultural Christianity: Reverence. We've made God so approachable that we've forgotten He is holy. While God is indeed a loving Father and Friend, He is also ourJudge, our King, and the Lord of Hosts. To reduce Him to merely a “buddy” strips Him of His rightful glory and opens the door to spiritual laziness and compromise.

Scripture never speaks lightly of God's holiness. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, he didn't throw a high five—he fell apart under the weight of God's glory, crying, “Woe is me!” (Isaiah 6:5). The fear of the Lord brings a clarity that causes us to see ourselves rightly in light of His majesty. It produces humility, not familiarity.

This lack of reverence has made its way into the Church. We've replaced worship with entertainment, traded repentance for self-help talks, and approached God like a genie rather than the King of Glory. But the fear of the Lord calls us back to a place where we tremble—not out of dread, but because we understand the One we are dealing with.

A believer without the fear of God can still be busy with church activities, but their life lacks the weight of conviction. Conviction is not condemnation—it’s the gentle yet firm grip of the Spirit pulling us toward holiness. When fear is present, we walk differently. We speak carefully. We treat others with honor because we recognize that we are representatives of a holy God.

The fear of the Lord isn't oppressive—it liberates. It frees us from the fear of man, the need for approval, and the seduction of sin. Reverence anchors us in truth when the world is shifting. It gives us eyes to discern and the strength to stand firm when compromise seems easier.

The early Church moved in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31). These two dynamics are not at odds—they are friends. Comfort without fear leads to entitlement; fear without comfort leads to despair. But when both are present, the Church grows in power and purity.

Many are crying out for revival, but revival will not come apart from reverence. Before the fire falls, the altar must be rebuilt (1 Kings 18:30). Reverence is the altar. It is the foundation upon which God's glory rests. Without it, His presence will not abide. The fear of the Lord invites us to live set apart—not just for Sundays, but every day.

Reflection Questions:

In what ways have you been tempted to view God casually rather than reverently?
What areas of your life lack the weight of conviction and need to be brought under God’s holiness?
How does your daily life reflect the balance between comfort from the Holy Spirit and reverence for God?
What does rebuilding the altar of reverence look like for you?
Action Step:
Today, find a quiet space and kneel before the Lord. Not out of routine, but as a physical posture of reverence. Begin to worship Him—not for what He can do, but for who He is. Let His holiness shape your prayers, your thoughts, and your heart. Ask Him to restore the fear of the Lord in your life. -Lisa Singh-

“Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭33‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.””
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭9‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬