Daily Devotions

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Someone Called “Exact”

The Bible says Jesus was called “the exact”. What a name to be called!: The Exact. He was the exact representation of the Father. All my life I have heard individuals say, “I want ‘such and such’ put on my tombstone.” What if each of us wrote in our will that we wanted this put on our tombstone: “The Exact Representation of the Father”. Would the neighbors, knowing us, laugh? Would family members roll their eyes? Why wouldn’t “exact representation” be our goal? Is that what we are aiming for?   

Fear and Norms

MELISSA — My eyes are being opened to how far below par we have been living when God’s intention all along has been for us to reside above par. This awakening is exposing agendas that have been built to lull us and control us. These agendas use normal everyday things we allow in our lives because it’s a “norm” in society. There are things like pop culture, entertainment, news and standards that we call wisdom when in reality it’s man’s wisdom. Side note: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of [true] wisdom where man’s wisdom comes from fearing everything else. One fear leads to life abundantly and the other leads to an early grave. I have been guilty of living a life embracing man’s wisdom and society’s norms and I’ve noticed a whole lot of ineffectualness.    

The Conventional of Heaven

Convention: “a rule, method, or practice established by usage; custom; accepted usage, especially as a standard of procedure.” One label that fits Jesus very well is “unconventional”. “There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord, Nor are there any works like yours.” (Ps.86:8; also Jer.10:6; 1Sam.2:2; Deut.33:26; Ps.74:12; Job 5:9) Jesus’ disciples had observed Jesus praying and had observed the impacting redemptive results He got when He spoke to nature, disease and demons. When they asked Him to teach them to pray, He told them that they should ask for that which is in heaven to be moved into the earth (Matt.6:10). Needless to say, that which is conventional in heaven (God’s will) is going to be unconventional by earth’s standards, practices, methods, rules and usage.

This is an Arise Shine Moment

MELISSA–I’m not sure if anyone else has noticed, but it kinda seems like our nation has taken up residence in the cuckoo’s nest rather than flying over it!?! It’s a bit of an awkward moment in what will be history, I’d say. Yes, I do jest and make light of what seems like “the end of the world” BECAUSE this IS NOT the end of the world. This is absolutely an Isaiah 60:1 moment, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.”   

Callings of God Are Irrevocable

KG_Looking upKATHY—God will never change His mind about what we were born to be and born to do, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (Rom 11:29, NKJ)  However, He will remodel our understanding of “how” to walk out that calling when necessary, and He will reassure us when we are shaken, and He will provide undeniable confirmation to strengthen us along the way.  I pray we yield to His remodeling and wait for and recognize His confirmations. May we not be stubborn out of fear or reckless out of frustration, and may we not be impatient with His timing.   May we have the courage to walk with Him and see our gifts and callings confirmed.

In Perfect Peace

As the people of God assemble today may they have Jehovah God Almighty at the forefront of their minds and their considerations. May they push aside all interferences and distractions as they freely worship Him and as they call upon Him. May the Lord Jesus Christ remain central to them throughout the week. Isa.26:3-4,Amp—“You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.  4 So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].”

Visible Representation

The purposes of an invisible God are served by a visible creation. We are the visible representation of the unseen heavenly realm. It all culminated in the Person of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit who anointed Jesus now dwells in us and enables us to be God’s visible, tangible point of rule and authority on earth. The Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of God go hand in hand. You don’t get one without the other.

Father’s Intent for You

MELISSA—Here’s what you need to know first and foremost: YOU are important, YOU have a piece that the rest of us need, YOU have a gift and skill combo no one else has, YOU will live and not die, YOU are created for His glory, and all of these things are Father’s original intent for you in 2023! Now that that is in the atmosphere, let’s talk about life in the season ahead.

See Things as Father God sees Them

KATHY—Repentance is not just a call to confess sin so you will miss hell. It is to change your mind and see things as God sees them. It is to look at life with the power of God factored into the picture. It means change your thinking wherever necessary so you are empowered to do all that God intended in your lifetime and in eternity as well. It takes the Holy Spirit to open our minds and see things differently. (Act2:38)

Walking Out the Year

Many feel that they do not know how to walk out the remainder of 2023 because the last couple of years and months have proven to be matters and circumstances that we have never had to walk out before. Solomon prayed: 1Kings 3:7,AMPC—“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).” 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.