Daily Devotions

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Feeling Like a Victim

Kathy — We don’t know when or why Saul decided that he was “all that and a sack of chips,” but we do know that pride will breach character. Perhaps being head and shoulders above everyone else made him feel superior. On perhaps, the other extreme, his fear of the people (1 Sam 15:24) was a sign of inferior feelings and deep insecurities, and pride became his antidote. Whatever his path to pride, it became his path to downfall. The word warns that pride comes before a fall and I think it is safe to say that big pride comes VictimShameBowHeadbefore a big fall. King Saul did not fear God and pride was his door to destruction.

Sometimes we forget that we are made in the image of our Creator God. So when we create our own monsters and our own downfall, we transfer the credit to God, the devil or someone else. That way we feel like a victim instead of a perpetrator. The problem is that if we are victims, we ignore our need to repent. Instead of changing, we sit in the ruins expecting God to do what we will not do ourselves. Saul could not find someone else to blame for the breaches of his soul and character, and neither can we. 

In the last half of this year, may we fear God and humble ourselves before Him that we will have the godly character to cooperate and not hinder His intent and instructions. May the rest of this year be marked by sons willingly participating in the changes necessary to see His Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
(Kathy will be speaking at Dreams Visions Prophecy Conference Sept.10-12, 2021 at Grace Church Willis.)

Mind of Christ

FingerForeheadManAs the people of God assemble today may they appreciate, give themselves fully to and lean heavily upon the mind of Christ to be and do what the sons/daughters of the Kingdom are mandated to do in this present world to the glory of the name of the King of Kings.  1Cor.2:16–“….But we have the mind of Christ.”

Loosed From Past Limitations

HandsKnotUntyeMay the Lord break you loose from the past limitations of your family, even from many generations past. May you and your seed far surpass the deeds and accomplishments of your former generations so that the Lord is known as Almighty God to you and yours now, and in time to come. ”For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” (Ps.100:5, KJV)

The Enemy is Feeling Pressure”

(Melissa) We meditate on God’s will, His original intent for this earth.  We stop fixating on the enemy’s war around us by realizing his war has intensified because he is feeling the pressure of this never-ending Kingdom in Luke 1.  We turn our thoughts toward that powerful fact.  We engage in power, love, and a sound mind by dumping fear-PressureManRockthoughts that have wreaked havoc (2 Timothy 1:7).  This is all possible in our lifetime! “Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only one plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, He does.” (1 Peter 5:8-11.  (The Message)

Bringing Change to a Nation

By Kathy G. — Some cocoons (entrapped, tough times in life) are common for many people, but we also have our customized cocoons, those tough times that are unique to us.  These come from matters that need resolve in our soul, like you may be having to work on a relationship that was damaged by jealousy or fear or anger.  Or you may walking at sunrisebe having to deal with problems you inherited, ongoing battles from choices made four generations ago.  Perhaps your forerunners  didn’t choose life and blessings and it caused  them to end up with a view of marriage that’s bound to fail.  So the next generation has to work through the trickle-down issues of divorce.  Or a generation made wrong career choices and bankrupted the whole family causing  poverty  conditions and limitations for decades.  Or a generation chose death and curses, deciding to be lawless, and the ripple effect undermined character to the point that a family or community or culture is cocooned in corruption. Can our struggles really be related to our purpose and our future when we can’t see any connection to either? We need to CHOOSE LIFE and bring CHANGE in our lifetime, and even expect change to ripple back to the previous generation.

Allowing Holy Spirit’s Reasoning

May we quickly allow Holy Spirit to reason with us when we get over into a mentality of frustration and anger, and when we begin to express views and attitudes that aren’t even reasonable. May we seek and find His help in a timely fashion so that we may come to a godly solution before we cause ourselves, or others, unnecessary difficulties. Js.1:5,Amp—“If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him.”

We Can Fast Fear

Melissa — Hey, you can fast fear! It’s true! Set your mind to it and watch how aware you become of fear in your life.  It’s amazing how interwoven that stinker is.  But when you become aware, you can do something about it.  You can take your rightful place in the driver’s seat by forcing fear out.  Ask the Holy Spirit to point it out, then you replace it with truth.  You replace fear with God’s original intent for your life, thoughts of peace to give you an expected end (Jer. 29:11).  This is not necessarily an overnight change, it takes time.  It’s a process well worth it, but you can still be an agent of change in the middle of your process.  How? By listening to the Father and doing/saying what He tells you.  Ps.56:3-4,TPT–” But in the day that I’m afraid, I lay all my fears before you and trust in you with all my heart. What harm could a man bring to me? With God on my side, I will not be afraid of what comes. The roaring praises of God fill my heart as I trust his promises.

Embracing God’s Instructions With Character

Kathy — In the remainder of 2021, may we embrace God’s intent and instructions as our catalyst. At the same time, may we realize that the kryptonite to success is lack of cooperation in His sons/daughters; and the most common reason we are not ready to participate with God is because of the condition of our character. Is it ManHandBlockSunlack of training that leaves gaps in our character? Is it lack of healthy examples that weakens our character? Or does character corrupt in the breach between knowing the truth and living according to the truth we know? I think the latter is the heart of the matter. It moves the emphasis from lack and circumstance to diligence. We do not have to be perfect, but diligence is a requirement. “The hand of the diligent will rule”, Prov. 12:24. (NKJ) In business or ministry or government or family or the local garden club, we do not suffer a downfall because of other people. Neither do circumstances cause us to fall. Opposition does not cause us to fall. We build our own path to downfall. Bad choices, emotional decisions, wrong priorities and self-focused agendas can cause us to fail, but a downfall comes from a breach of character. 

Encouraged in the Resurrected Christ

As the people of God assemble today may they encourage in each other the hope of the risen Christ whom the grave could not hold and death could not conquer. May they worship Him as the one Who is risen RockSunRiseforevermore. May they assure each other that the power that raised Christ from the dead dwells in them and is assuring them that they will overcome, in this life, many things that threaten their lives and their seeing the fulfillment of the promises of Almighty God. Phil.3;10,TPT—“And I continually long to know the wonders of Jesus and to experience the overflowing power of his resurrection working in me. I will be one with him in his sufferings and become like him in his death.”

The Lord is Still Working

The Lord is still working in people’s lives in spite of the enemy trying to get everyone’s focus on the negative. 200182959-001A couple of weeks ago Kathy, Melissa and I were ministering in the central part of Texas. After the meeting, a young man walked up and said that several years ago I walked up to him and put a $20 bill in his shirt pocket and said you will have income when others do not. He said that has been so for all those years. Even during the pandemic their business has picked up continually and he and his wife have doubled their savings during the pandemic.