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)
May the Lord help us before we open our mouth
so He doesn’t have to help us correct or
overcome what comes out.
“For by your words you will be justified and
acquitted, and by your words you will be
condemned and sentenced.” (Matt.12:37, Amp)
Provision that is far above what might be called “adequate” has been made available to us to give ourselves over to a 
Person and His governmental order that we might glorify Him through a life which testifies to that order. In speaking to the Jews of His day, Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.” (Matt.21:43, NASB) In The Message that verse reads quite plainly: “God’s kingdom will be taken back from you and handed over to a people who will live out a kingdom life.” Those Jews, to whom Jesus spoke, were most tedious at observing and keeping all the laws and feasts of Judaism, yet Jesus doesn’t seem to think that those observances are producing any fruit of the Kingdom. After all of their legalisms and religious effort, they have yet to produce the fruit of the Kingdom which, evidently, results in the need for the Kingdom (God’s redemptive governmental and legislative authority in the earth) to be given to a people who will produce said fruit. Some people, somewhere, at some time must (1) align with scripture, (2) contradict culture and (3) bring forth the fruit of the Kingdom by acting redemptively (enabled by Holy Spirit) to reverse the effects of darkness (Matt.13:33; 1Cor.2:4; Col.1:13; 1Jn.3:8 and Jn.20:21; Acts 1:8).
(This is the sixth excerpt from Marty’s article “Don’t Stop Short” which was published in SEEC Magazine. More excerpts will be posted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Previous excerpts may be read by scrolling down this page.)
Healthy Self-Image:
Is not about fantasy or hype or superiority or self-focus; is not about looking in the mirror and thinking you are wonderful, beautiful or nearly perfect. Healthy self-image is learning who you are, your assets and liabilities, strengths and flaws and training yourself to override them as necessary and make them work. It is knowing you have presence and meaning in life.—Kathy Gabler
The definition of “sin” in Thayer’s Lexicon is “to be without a share in; to miss the mark”. But a good look at Jn.3:16, beyond the mere King James English, would show us what an all-wise, beneficent God has done and why He has done it. Inspired by Simon Purvis’ teaching on this verse I offer this take on it: “For God so loved His created order of people and things that He gave His only Begotten Son, so people might receive His loving government, so that He might bring them back into His order, to preserve their life as it was originally meant to be before they gave themselves over to a lifestyle of disorder.” (Jn.3:16, my paraphrase) Considering Thayer’s definition and the context of Jn.3:16 this might be helpful in understanding what sin is: to live a lifestyle of decision-making and acts that disengage us from God’s very best, that would take us to the fulfillment which shows His purpose for us by what is lived out in our life.
(This is the fifth excerpt from Marty’s article “Don’t Stop Short” which was published in SEEC Magazine. More excerpts will be posted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Previous excerpts may be read by scrolling down this page.)
May the Lord grant that seasons of weariness and relentless opposition over your life break and dissipate like the morning mist.
“But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, TRIUMPH OVER OPPOSITION] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification], says the Lord.” (Isa.54:17, Amp)
“He is putting gates in your fences.”
In this 3min. audio file, Kathy Gabler brings an encouraging word.
http://martygabler.podomatic.com/entry/2013-09-04T13_14_04-07_00
Religion tends to view “sin” as acts that are really nasty or really noxiously rebellious or destructive to others, while readily justifying and excusing 
ourselves from stopping short of the fullness of the purpose and plan of God for our individual lives. An individual stopping short of the Lord’s design for his/her life does not bring forth the glory of God, as intended, in that person’s lifestyle in their lifetime. Accepting Jesus as Savior just to get the heaven-or-hell issue taken care of does not, altogether, necessarily solve the “stopping short” or “missing the mark” issue. Teachers typically give the definition of “sin” as “missing the mark”. Often, they will use a target and bow and arrow as a very good illustration. But not only is it possible to miss the bullseye by hitting to the right or left of it, it is also possible to “miss the mark” by not pulling back sufficiently on the bowstring to get the arrow to the target, thereby, causing the arrow to fall short. An inadequate or inappropriate attempt will “stop short”.
(This is the fourth excerpt from Marty’s article “Don’t Stop Short” which was published in SEEC Magazine. More excerpts will be posted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Previous excerpts may be read by scrolling down this page.)
As the people of God assemble today may their feet be set firmly upon the never-failing Word of Almighty God. May they go into the week ahead with the knowledge and assurance that they have an unshakeable foundation to stand on no matter what they face in coming days.
“Yet the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen [you] and set you on a firm foundation and guard you from the evil [one].” (2Thess.3:3, Amp)
May your cup run over with joy that you have relationships
with people who care about you, who pray for you and who
look forward to seeing you.
Ps.23:5 …my cup runneth over.
Marty brings an encouraging word in this 2 min. audio.
CLICK HERE: The Word of God is working in you!
Almost every single believer in the Lord Jesus Christ would deny that they have “stopped short of the glory of God” simply because they have made a decision for Christ. The premiere scripture used in the Romans Road format for witnessing to unbelievers is Rom.3:23—for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That plan is to show unbelievers proof from the Bible that they are sinners and need to repent and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. While the fact of “stopping short” is true for unbelievers, it is also true for many who count themselves as believers. The word “sinned” and the words “come short” each effect the other, i.e., are causational upon each other (as may be seen in the next couple of excerpts in the definition of “miss the mark”). It is entirely possible for not only unbelievers to “stop short” of the glory of God but believers as well.
(This is the third excerpt from Marty’s article “Don’t Stop Short” which was published in SEEC Magazine. More excerpts will be posted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Previous excerpts may be read by scrolling down this page.)
In this 2 min. audio encouragement Kathy
declares: “Your Redeemer lives and He is
able to buy back time that the locusts have eaten.”
CLICK ON THIS LINK to listen:
http://martygabler.podomatic.com/entry/2013-10-14T04_56_06-07_00
Beside Still Waters With Marty Gabler
