Daily Devotions

Archive for December, 2017

Purposed to Run

As the people of God assemble today, may they see plainer than ever the road that they are purposed to run in the new year. May one be an encouragement to another to steadily get on down the path this year that leads to success for our Lord’s plan.

“…I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.” Eph.4:1b-3, Msg)


LEAVE OUT THE COP-OUTS

If you spend any time around little children, you will realize that they are champions at excuses for not obeying or completing tasks. If allowed to carry that fall-back into their future without being expected to fulfill requirements put upon them it will result in their failure in tasks and in the proper development of their character.

It is good to realize our utter dependence upon God as long as we don’t shift it from humble recognition to excuse. (1Ki 3:7)  “Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of David my father, and I am but a lad [in wisdom and experience]; I know not how to go out (begin) or come in (finish).” (Amp)  Proclaiming not knowing how to begin or end a thing shouldn’t be an excuse but rather an acknowledgement of Who does. Then, if we know Who does know how to begin and end a thing ((Isa.46:10), we can yield to Him and His principles of enablement for and completing mandates and making necessary adjustments in preferences, appetites and emotions.

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Finishing One Battle Before Starting Another

Finishing up one level of mandate before going to another level of mandate is prudent, saves time, saves energy and money. Finishing the necessary portions of the first floor before beginning the second floor typically prevents the second floor from collapsing the whole house. Finishing one battle before taking on another one carries obvious advantages.
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Marty Gabler will be giving the 2018 Declarations at Grace International Church on Sunday 12-31-17 at 10:00am.
More information and map: www.graceic.org


Wrapping up Tattered Ends

A huge, muscular draft horse was pulling a weighted sled in a competition.  The horse was obviously straining forward with every ounce of strength he could muster and was making some progress. But he was, with every step, getting closer and closer to a definite stopping point. It didn’t matter that he had dragged the heavy steel sled farther than any of the other horses in the competition, he still came to a sudden halt. It just happened to be a halt that was a bit farther down the track than the other horses’ halts. The “Year End Wrap Up” theme seems to speak to the need to not drag old stuff from the previous year (or even previous years) into the new year. Even though it is a burden, we tend to wrestle with old issues that seem to never get settled or worked out and we just continue to take them along with us into the future.

Lethargy, wavering commitment, fear and neglect are some of the weights that make for burdensome sleds that we drag with us from one season to the next. There are issues to resolve before the end of this year that would be easier dealt with and resolved more readily without adding the laborious task of not having ended things well. It is time for a season in our lives where we “wrap up” what has been left at tattered ends.

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Decisions and Determinations for the New

Going into the new year or new season or new opportunities requires adjustments, decisions and determination on our part. When Israel left old Egypt for the new promised land, they increased the difficulty of the transition by taking old issues, and resultant attitudes, with them. It is OK to take a wilderness experience into promise. We all have some kind of wilderness experience at some point in life, if not several of them. Having gone through the not-so-fun wilderness events, we tend to come out on the other end with negative residue on us. Not “washing off” the residue of the past will taint the tomorrow of promise. It is OK to go into promise with a wilderness experience. But is destructive to go into promise with a wilderness heart. What we don’t leave in the wilderness, trips us up in the promised land. Achan’s family, as well as himself, suffered the consequences of a wilderness heart in the promised land (Josh. 7). What we don’t get over today, overcomes us tomorrow.

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God With Us

Emmanuel, “God is with us”, is the God-Man who was born of a virgin that God might dwell among men. Not only did Jesus, Emmanuel, live among men but He lived redemptively among men. He didn’t come to bring merely a message or a creed but He lived out redemptive acts through His life on earth. His disciples, those whom He has redeemed by His redemptive act of His shed blood on the cross must, in turn, live redemptively among men. There are too many and too much to redeem to simply live to go to heaven.

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Miracles and Timing

Miracles are begun in grace and perfected in glory.  They start with God’s supernatural enabling and come to complete manifestation through His intent and purpose and timing.  As I wait on God, I shall continue to pray for miracles this Christmas season because the coming of the Christ is still in effect as well as God’s goodwill toward men.  May His presence and power and purpose and timing change your life as His goodwill touches the earth again.—Kathy Gabler

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Mary Did You Know — Sung by Melissa Gabler

“Mary Did You Know” full song in the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at Grace International Church in Willix,TX. Melissa Gabler, Danielle Pope, Ellen Stallings, Erin Fenner, Jonathan Fenner, Zach Stallings, Matthew Traylor, Robert Pope, Gabri Mayorga, Ed Stallings, Don Pope.
Click on video below to watch.

 

 


He Has Provided a Savior Who is Christ the Lord

As the people of God assemble today may they open their hearts and mouths and sing joyous praises to their God because He has provided a Savior. “Joy to the world the Lord is come!”  “Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord and joyfully celebrate His mighty acts, for great is the glory of the Lord.” (Ps.138:5, Amp)

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Christmas, The Story of Hope

The Christmas story is the story of hope — hope in the face of all that is contrary. Christmas time is a great time to use for the purpose of remembering, memorializing the fact, that when God says, “I will….”, then God will. He will move mountains, seas and people. In Josh. 2:11 the fact and realization is that our God is able to move anything or anyone in heaven or in earth to accomplish His purposes. He is able to move in the life of an obscure girl who had no credentials or evident reason for expecting to be part of an earth-shaking, history-shaping event. Her qualities and integrity (evidenced in the writings of both Matthew and Doctor Luke) helped to place her in the middle of the road where an unprecedented moving of God was progressing like a steamroller and changing history as man had known it. That change was taking place through a small handful of individuals and not through some large and varied political or military movement. From all that we can find concerning this person called Mary, precious few people even knew of her qualities and integrity. It would seem that Jehovah was about the only One who saw and might very well have been the only One who noticed. And by the time she was discovered to be with child, she would have been disqualified by any who did happen to notice. Had it not been for dreams and angels intervening by Divine directive, her own husband would have done away with her.

When God promised Abraham a son it would appear that it was long deferred. Abraham most likely thought that the son which was promised was his immediate son. However, that promised Son was the One through whom the world would be blessed, the One who would be called the Christ. This Son of promise proved to be coming at the great distance of some 42 generations and about 2,000 years. Though it be long and arduous by our standards, God Jehovah is faithful in all and brings about detail for detail that which was foretold long before it was realized in this realm which we call reality. Delays do nothing to weaken the promise of God; for in what seem to us to be delays, our all-wise and provisional Father is preparing a people who will walk out His fulfillment rather than being caught unawares and overcome by His fulfillment. As we learn in the New Testament teaching of our Lord, the new wineskin must be prepared for the new wine or it shall burst and the wine and its value lost.

It is interesting to note Henry’s observation on this one point: “This son of David, and son of Abraham, who was to be the glory of his Father’s house, was born when the seed of Abraham was a despised people, recently become tributary to the Roman yoke, and when the house of David was buried in obscurity; for Christ was to be a root out of a dry ground.” From such a studious observation we could readily come to the conclusion that the performance and provision of our God comes when circumstances would place upon it the heaviest it has to offer. Ease and convenience are not the components or the ambiance of fulfillment. The Christmas story is the story of hope — hope in the face of all that is contrary.

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Key is Awareness

I will boil down prophetic lifestyle to this: The key is awareness.  We must remember, at all times that the Kingdom of God is invading this nation. Each one of us has a piece of the Kingdom that penetrates and affects the region around us. We are going to WIN this fight. Hey, it’s not pretty right now, but no matter what you see, hear, or face it has no effect on what God has set in motion.  After all, He has the last word!
If you feel worried, afraid, or uneasy that’s your clue that the Prophetic Lifestyle needs a re-boot. Make sure you keep the air cleared in your vicinity. One great way of doing that is, like we discussed, upping your prayer in tongues. Talk about an air purifier! Speaking in tongues is a beautiful weapon from Heaven for such a time as this. We are all capable of living a prophetic lifestyle without being a Prophet. (Last excerpt from Melissa’s article “Prophetic Lifestyle”.)
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Qualifying for Inclusion in Divine Intentions

Among the details of the Advent are the orchestrated movements of the heavenly bodies and the timely placement of illustrious people. Mary was none of the above; and much like Mary, the great majority of us come from somewhat obscure backgrounds with reputations and merits that require Divine intervention if we are to be included in the well-designed purposes of Jehovah. It would seem, however, that most people qualify for inclusion in the Divine intentions of history simply because all the glory must go to God and not the participants. “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;” (1Co.25:26).

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Prophetic Lifestyle and Responsibility

Personal Responsibility for the Prophetic Lifestyle: 1.) Read the Bible.  Reading the Bible keeps you familiar with God’s ways. God highlights and pinpoints scriptures for wisdom, action, prayer, declaration, etc.   2.) Pray… specifically in tongues. It keeps your eyes and ears open.  Ephesians 3:16, 20-21- “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”  Praying in tongues charges our spirit man.  The spirit (inner man) needs to be charged way more than the soul does.  Praying in tongues brings that charge which in turn brings clarity. “Your soul drinks in what your ears and eyes and emotions are exposed to all day.  The only way you can renew your mind and take dominion over the demonic assault on your feelings and thoughts is to be filled with the Spirit!” (Lance Wallnau). (Eighth excerpt from Melissa’s article “Prophetic Lifestyle”.)

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Needing a Big Jolt

Thank God for the prayer movement leaders who have arisen in the last 10 to 20 years to remind the church that they are supposed to be praying. Every time the people of God have lost something over the course of time God has been determined to restore it. He is a God of restoration. And every time God restores something to the church He has to bring it back in an earthshaking fashion for it to do staid, cynical humans any good. A plain old vitamin B tablet won’t get the job done when a virus has our entire system run down. God has to give us a “powerful concentration of ‘B’ in ‘shot’ form”. When a car battery goes dead, a simple 10 amp charger isn’t enough to get the vehicle going again. A 250 amp charger is required and, boy, is there ever a difference between a 10 amp spurt of electricity and a 250 amp jolt!
While it is good and necessary to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, let us honor Him even further by receiving the gift and empowering of the Holy Spirit that He gave at what many call the birth of the Church, Pentecost. Closing out this year and heading into 2018, anything less than a “high amperage” Holy Ghost “jolt” will not be sufficient.  (Acts 2:2, TPT) “Suddenly they heard the sound of a violent blast of wind rushing into the house from out of the heavenly realm. The roar of the wind was so overpowering it was all anyone could bear!”  (Acts 1:8, TLB) “But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power to testify about me with great effect, to the people in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, about my death and resurrection.”

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2 min. video of Marty Gabler encouraging you to listen for
and look for the extraordinary Savior.
Click here:  EYE HAS NOT SEEN

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Time to Pay Attention

What do I do when these prophetic things occur? (Mentioned in my post on 12-15-17)  Here’s where I start: TAKE THE TIME TO PAY ATTENTION.  Remember, this life is meant to be EPIC. Take time to act, pray, speak it/declare it, write it down or simply agree in that moment. If it’s not obvious what to do, ask God for instruction. You may need to hold on to it for future reference.  Don’t get impatient and jump into action if the action is not clear.  That could lead to an unpleasant outcome.  He could be training you in that moment, getting you ready. (Seventh excerpt from Melissa’s article “Prophetic Lifestyle”.)

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We Are Building Blocks

As the people of God assemble today, may awesome God more fully and completely do His work of forming and shaping so He may use each of us as a building block to form a well-built dwelling for His mighty Holy Spirit to abide in and work out of.  “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” (Eph.2:22, ESV) 

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Rule of God in Present Circumstances

We are not involved merely in an attempt to get some people to heaven, we are part of a great plan to bring the rule of God into present circumstances. People don’t just need a ticket to heaven in the by and by, they need the rule of God now in their bodies, families, finances and workplace. It is one thing to speak of the wonderful goings-on around the throne of God and what it is going to be like “some glorious day,” but it is to the glory of the Father to give present testimony of lives and circumstances invaded by that wonderful realm.

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Hearing and Training

The following list is not only how the prophetic lifestyle is lived out, it is also ways in which He trains us for a prophetic lifestyle.  This is not a comprehensive list.  There are so many ways to hear from the Alpha and Omega.  We don’t all have the same exact experiences because we each have a personal relationship with God.  The way you hear has to do with this most important relationship of your life! But, as you’ll see, there are similarities in ways we all hear. 
1.)  Coincidences: the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection. (Webster’s Dictionary)  Coincidences can easily be put in the I don’t want to be weird category, so they can easily be ignored.  Pay attention! Remember, God is working on many levels, so why would we not experience coincidences?
2.) DeJa-Vu: a feeling that one has seen or heard something before. (Webster’s Dictionary) Nope, not spooky at all, rather a fantastic training experience! If you have one simply ask what you need to see.  If you don’t get an answer, perhaps you were being trained to pay attention.
3.) Dreams: of course God speaks to us in dreams.  Our conscious mind is out of the way.
4.) Visions: are like a movie in your head or right before your eyes.
5.) Double-take: is that thing which makes you look again because you thought you saw something and it ends up not being there.    
6.) Feelings: are about a knowing in your gut, excitement out of nowhere, uneasiness out of nowhere.
7.) Urges: to pray, do something, call someone, go somewhere.
8.) Hearing: still small voice or loud and clear.
9.) Thoughts: came out of nowhere.  You weren’t even thinking about that subject and the thought won’t go away.  It just sits in your mind.
10.) The place between awake and asleep: the mind is not in the way here.  From my experience these moments have been very clear.
11.) In conversation: something strikes a chord, confirms something you heard, or an idea comes “out of nowhere”.  An inspirational conversation, if you will.
(Sixth excerpt from Melissa’s article “Prophetic Lifestyle”.)

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Blame and Self-Pity

Blame and self-pity are big signals that anger is in residence.  BLAME builds a prison of offense and/or condemnation around you.  Forgiveness is the ONLY key to that prison.  We must watch for BLAME in our thinking and our conversations.  “Self-Pity” is a big signal that anger is unresolved:  “I was hurt,” usually justifies anger rather than resolves it.  Just like a person who justifies their actions has not repented of them, rehearsing the hurts is refusing to let go of offense.  It is blocking the CHANGE needed.  Being “hurt” is “tails” and “BLAME”  is “heads” of the same coin.  We can start with “heads” and describe the action of the offender; or cut to the result, “tails,” and describe the offense taken.—Kathy Gabler

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What Are You Hearing?

How do you know if what you are hearing is God? Well, does it line up with His word? For instance, murder and adultery… not God! Also, He trains you to hear Him. “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.” (Proverbs 2:12)  Sometimes we train ourselves to ignore the prophetic lifestyle because we “don’t want to be weird”.  This really is an epic life we are meant to live—not fairytale or fantasy, but epic.  Why epic? Epic is quite unlike fairytale or fantasy that denote magic, rainbows and butterflies, and other-worldly superhumans. “Epic” denotes work, grit, fight, humans living their destiny and winning.  So, don’t ignore His training.  Don’t ignore that relationship.  (Fifth excerpt from Melissa’s article “Prophetic Lifestyle”.)

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In The Face of Great Challenges

We are facing issues that generations before us did not face. Within moments of events taking place in remote parts of the world, we are watching them in real time. There are great challenges before us now and challenges yet to come. Those challenges must not go unmet. (Isa.45:15, The Voice) “Cyrus said You have kept yourself hidden from others, but You are indeed God, who saved Israel in the face of great challenges.” Great Jahweh who saved Israel in the face of great challenges has not run out of solutions for present generations. Just as He used ordinary people in biblical times, He is still using them in these challenging times. We are praying you discover daily that you are trusting in Mighty God to help you meet the challenges in your life.  (Marty’s Daily Discovery as heard on TEXAS PRAISE RADIO at the bottom of the hour 24hrs/day.) www.txpraise.com


Opportunities, Timing and Connections

The prophetic lifestyle opens opportunities, timing, and connections.  Opportunities: having the ears to hear to be at the right place at the right time for yourself and others. Timing: none of us understand the timing of God because He is working on so many levels.  It takes a prophetic lifestyle to see beyond the limited vision of our normal dimensions. It can keep you sane where timing is concerned. Connection: Brings lives together for God team-ups, projects, events, etc.  We were never meant to do life alone (1 Corinthians 12:20-21).  In this day and age, this way of life is a total necessity for the body of Christ.  (Fourth excerpt from Melissa’s article “Prophetic Lifestyle”.)

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Assembling and Admonishing

As the people of God assemble today, may they habitually admonish and encourage one another concerning the faithfulness of God in these days and may they have a heart to habitually assemble so that others may be edified.  “Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.” (Heb.10:25, Amp) 

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SEEC Magazine Volume 21 Issue 6

SEEC Magazine Latest Issue  **Our 21st Year of Publication**
Marty and Kathy Gabler invite you to read
SEEC Magazine  Volume 21  Issue 6.
CLICK ON LINK BELOW TO READ:
https://martygabler.com/magazine/