Daily Devotions

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Plug Into the Power of Praying

KATHY—We must understand the power of what Jesus told us to pray, because people don’t plug into the power of praying, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven,” if they do not understand it or don’t know they can!  Bear in mind also that God’s will being done in earth does not hinge on our significance.  It hinges on our obedience.  Like Jeremiah 11:4 said, “Obedience seals the deal.”  Whatever Father is doing that you see or perceive, then doing just your part seals the deal to usher in some degree of the God-results.  So if we simplify a Kingdom lifestyle down to an A-B-C format,  A) is staying aware of God at all times, B) is simple obedience, and C) is trusting God.  That adds up to participation in what Father is doing whether it is through sudden miracles or incremental God-changes over time.

Where we Fix Our Eyes in This Time of History

As the people of God assemble today may they fix their eyes on Jesus who endured the cross, despised the shame and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God. May they know that Jesus rose from the dead because there was more to come.   “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  (Heb.12:1-2, NAU)

When a Grain Falls Into the Ground

MARTIN P—“Truly I say to you that UNLESS a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies…”(Jesus speaking in Jn12:24) This particular Grain of Wheat had a choice as to whether or not He would die and go into the earth. Knowing what was coming, He said to the Father, “yet not my will, but yours be done.”(Lk22:42) He was willing! Because this Grain would not “remain alone”: v.24 “if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Those redeemed by the shed blood of Jesus are His fruit. We are His message, His living letters (2Co3:3) that He has sent into the future. He rose, He lives and His fruit (His message to this generation) will show Him and His resurrection to the world by the power of His Spirit. He was willing to die to bear much fruit and HIs resurrection enables us to live to bear much fruit.

He is Not Here

MELISSA—“He is not here, but is risen: remember how He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying that the Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” Luke 24:6-7 Thinking of the glory and wonder of Easter brings some things to light regarding the resurrection life. That day resurrection power was unleashed in this earth. The man that walked out of that tomb did it as an example for all of us as how life should be from then on and there is so much more to resurrection life than walking out of the grave. That sounds crazy because that’s the biggest thing we can think of on earth but it’s bigger than we can comprehend with our finite minds.

Never a Solitary Dot

KATHY—The Truth is that we are never a solitary DOT on a globe.  God is always working through more sons’ awareness than yours alone.  Also, because of relationship with God and one another, we little DOTS can do something corporately.  Then we become one big honkin’ DOT on this earth, a portal, a floodgate for heaven’s incoming changes!  So, let’s not waste time considering our participation with Father might be insignificant or of no consequence.  In Joel 2:25, the Lord said He would restore the years that the locusts have eaten.  One meaning of the root word for locust is “insignificance”.  God can restore the times that a sense of insignificance stole your thunder, stole your success, stole your opportunities or stole your fulfillment because you didn’t know how much your obedience mattered or did not realize you were God’s Access Point to family or the workplace or the community or to nations.

Christ Died for our Sins

1Corinthians 15:1-4,Amp—“Now brothers and sisters, let me remind you [once again] of the good news [of salvation] which I preached to you, which you welcomed and accepted and on which you stand [by faith]. By this faith you are saved [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain [just superficially and without complete commitment]. For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold], and that He was buried, and that He was [bodily] raised on the third day according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold],”

The Answer we are Truly Looking For

MELISSA—When we call on Almighty God and we are demanding opportunity to determine what the answer must be, we are working from a very limited soul-perspective of the situation with even more limited soul-solutions. This kind of limitation focuses on the impossible rather than the God of the impossible. He not only sees the problem, but where it came from (possibly from entitlement mindsets passed on through the bloodline?) and He sees the best solution for the complete fix. That right there is the kind of “great and mighty” (Jer.33:3) answer we are truly looking for. 

This Little Dot

KATHY — 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! 

See the Road Plainer

As the people of God assemble today, may they see plainer than ever the road that they are purposed to run in this 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)

God’s Enabling Effect

MARTIN—“…the people who know their God shall be strong and do exploits” (Dan.11:32) To know the “THY” of “THY Kingdom come”, to know His Word, to worship Him for Who He is, is to be available to “do things that have an effect” (Hebrew: ”do exploits”) according to v.32. It is possible to do exploits through the enablements of the Spirit, with money, with political power, with influence (Esther), talent and skills. If we will take what is at hand into our hand (and not limit it with the poverty of human experience), God will enable its effect beyond our abilities.