Daily Devotions

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The Kingdom Now but not Yet

(The following is from Marty’s SEEC Magazine article “From Heaven to Earth”)—“There is a mystery… The Kingdom of God is here; but instead of destroying human sovereignty, it has attacked the sovereignty of Satan. The Kingdom of God is here but instead of making changes in the external, political order of things, it is making changes in the spiritual order and in the lives of men and women…
“The Kingdom of God which is yet to come in power and great glory is actually present among men in advance in an unexpected form to bring to men in the present evil Age the blessings of the Age to Come… Matt.12:28 clearly says that the Kingdom of God has entered into the present evil age.
“The mystery of the Kingdom is this: The Kingdom of God is here but not with irresistible power. The Kingdom of God has come, but it is not like a stone grinding an image to powder… it is like a man sowing seed. It does not force itself upon men… They must receive it; the response must come from a willing heart and a submissive will.” (George Eldon Ladd)
martygabler.com/magazine/

Believing and Relationship

MELISSA GABLER—Believing is about relationship with Jesus. Think about it, when Jesus walked the earth these signs were simply part of His nature. They flowed out of Him. Here is my definition of this kind of relationship just to be clear: Priority focus and attention, Guidance given and examples to live by, I trust Him with my life. So, my relationship with Jesus being priority should produce the same lifestyle He lived. I believe in Him, walk with Him, talk with Him, follow Him and signs simply flow out of the nature formed from that relationship.  This completely changes the rules of engagement regarding anything I am faced with from here on out.

Rattled and Weary and Weak?

KATHY GABLER—Sennacherib made it plain to King Hezekiah that he intended to run right over Israel just like he had other nations (2Kings 18). At that point, Hezekiah put on sackcloth and went to prayer and sent runners to Isaiah the prophet with this message: it is a day of deep distress; for sons have come to birth and there is no power to bring them forth.  In other words, it’s time to pierce the darkness around us and change the future for generations to come, but we’re not strong enough to do it. We could add to Hezekiah’s message in our day:  most of us are too weary to even try to fight the darkness because for years we’ve seen morally depraved people blaspheme all things sacred! For years, we’ve watched wealthy bullies get away with murder and seen corrupt politicians cheat and blackmail and bribe their way to the top. We’ve watched media deliberately lie and deceive and brainwash the public with propaganda. We’ve seen technology kill people and engineered devices take their toll.  And we’ve seen injustice go unpunished.  All this has left us rattled and weary and weak. Hezekiah was aware they needed God, he put on sackcloth and went to prayer and He took action to begin sanctifying the nation and that was an obedience that led to the intervention of God for their nation.

Desire to Show Power of God

Marty—As the people of God assemble today, may their hearts be filled with desire and expectancy to show forth the power of God as well as His words and principles of truth, doctrine and theology. May the naysayers that oppose and argue against the Spirit of Christ be speechless as they hear of and witness the powerful Word of God in action as lives are redeemed, bodies healed and signs and wonders loosed that point back to Jesus the risen Christ.  “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:  5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” (1Cor.2:4-5, KJV)

I Have Cast all my Care

Marty Gabler—This is the day the Lord has made so…
I will rejoice and be glad because I have cast all my care upon my Lord and He is watchful and caring about me.   “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.” (1Pe.5:7, Amp)   May the Lord remove today what does not belong and place in your path that which is needful as He caringly watches your footsteps throughout the day.   martygabler.com

The Doing of the Holy Spirit

Marty Gabler—In order to be anything unto God, we must have the power of the Holy Spirit because it is then the doing of the Holy Spirit and not ours. It cannot be done without the Holy Spirit. It is not unto or for ourselves that we are in the Kingdom of God but unto and for the eternal purposes of God and the purposes of God can only be fulfilled by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8)

The Deception of Isolation

Kathy Gabler—The deception of isolation keeps intercessors from relating to or edifying others.The design of isolation is to counterfeit INTIMACY. The danger of isolation is that wrong motivations thrive like hothouse plants; so, some end up “Old Eccentrics” instead of “Awesome Intercessors. ” Having prayer partners is not just a good idea, it is wisdom for the refining and strengthening process of maturing intercession. Eccl.4:12, Msg — “By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.”

We Have the Antidote

Melissa Gabler—It’s interesting how we’ve seen a zombie craze over the last decade. We are surrounded by the broken that are driven by a frenzied, poisoned imbibing. Here’s the beauty, we have the antidote! So, “Do not participate in the worthless and unproductive deeds of darkness, but instead expose them [by exemplifying personal integrity, moral courage, and godly character]; for it is disgraceful even to mention the things that such people practice in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light [of God’s precepts], for it is light that makes everything visible. For this reason He says, ‘Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine [as dawn] upon you and give you light.’” (Ephesians 5:11-14 AMP)

Perceiving What Father is Doing

Kathy Gabler—Perceiving what the Father is doing may blow our doors at times. Participating in His Original Intent for your life can include tasks and experiences that you did not see coming. The scope of your participation may be overwhelming to the point that you want to shrink back because you suddenly feel you are just an unequipped, insignificant tiny DOT on the globe! I am alluding to one of those RED DOTS on a map that says, “You’re right here.” If you are feeling like a DOT yourself, you see such a map and think, ‘And so what! What possible difference can I make?’ However, doing what the Father is doing means we have to focus on Truth rather than our feelings. The truth is that this little DOT is a son or daughter that is right here, right now, to do Father’s business. This little DOT is an agent of agreement and this little DOT is an access point for Almighty God to bring “as it is in heaven” into this earth!