Daily Devotions

Posts tagged “1 Thessalonians 4:17

Mouth Hanging Open

Peter then said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”  The next verse says that Peter blurted this out without thinking, simply because they were all so stunned by what they were seeing.  I don’t blame Peter for that outburst.  Those three disciples were experiencing Kingdom Power that broke barriers in logic, time and history.  And, by the way, HOW would the disciples  have recognized Moses & Elijah?  There were no history books with photos, no name-tags . . . Perhaps Jesus introduced them . . . and can you picture that? How would you be able to look eye-to-eye with Moses and smile or nod? Or how would you shake Elijah’s hand without your legs falling off? Maybe they weren’t introduced, but they knew them because they were intently eavesdropping, while frozen in a dead stare with their mouths hanging open!  (The third excerpt from Kathy’s article “Anticipating the Power of the Kingdom”)
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DREAMS VISIONS PROPHECY SYMPOSIUM
September 22-23, 2017


Fathers Hearts Turned to Children

As the people of God assemble today, may hearts of fathers be turned to the coming generation. May fathers in our congregations discern the potential of the youth around them and let their hearts be turned to affirming them, encouraging them and enabling them on to their destiny in Christ. May this be the most memorable Father’s Day with fathers and children turned to each other in love and in honor, grasping the heavenly Father’s heart for the generations to glorify His intent.  “May the Lord richly bless both you and your children.” (Ps.115:14, TLB)

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Starting on Our Shoulders

There is a statue in the Woodlands area just north of Houston. A child is standing on the shoulders of a man. The plaque at the base of the statue is a quote attributed to Sir Isaac Newton. It reads something like this: “The reason the present generation can see so far is because it is standing on the shoulders of the former generation.” Is the generation coming after us presently standing on their fathers’ shoulders? Does that generation even know that those shoulders are available? Have we taken that generation and lifted them, no matter what the cost, up and onto our shoulders? Are we expecting them to simply stand alongside us and inherit the same inadequacies and shortcomings we have been willing to live with? Some people rehearse to their children the failures and injustices and less-than-desirable qualities of their heritage. While some boldly abort the coming generation while they are still in the womb, some abort them in a more socially acceptable manner once they are out of the womb. In either case, the future has been robbed of their God-ordained potential. Perhaps it is the job of the mothers to push until they are born and then perhaps it is the job of the fathers to push up until they are securely standing on our shoulders. 

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Power of the Kingdom

Let’s find insight in one of Jesus’ examples of the Power of the Kingdom in Mark 9.  In verse 1, Jesus said: “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”  In Mar 9:2, six days later, three of them did see it. Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain.  His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes, and His garments became radiant laser-white, and Elijah and Moses showed up to talk with Jesus.  Right before their eyes, Jesus was glowing and was transfigured beyond anything humanly possible.  Beyond that, He was suddenly in the company of two prophets from Old Testament history, so the disciples definitely got an impression, realization and a foretaste of POWER!  (The second excerpt from Kathy’s article “Anticipating the Power of the Kingdom”)
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Dreams Visions Prophecy Symposium
September 22-23, 2017 *** NO FEE
Kathy, Melissa and Marty Gabler
Teaching Worship Ministry Activation
Grace International Church    Willis,TX
936-856-2455   
graceic.org
More Info:
martygabler.com/dreams-visions-prophecy/

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Seeds Producing

On the way to church Sunday morning I noticed many plants coming up out of the ground.  From just a seed, they had pushed their way through the resistant soil.  That seed could not be seen down in the ground but it was there developing and pushing and coming up.   As the seed began to sprout, the tiny plant began to push and push toward the light.  There is an unseen pathway that leads from the seed to the surface of the ground where the light has drawn it so that it might grow, mature and bring forth the plant, the tree, the fruit that the seed had in it all along; it just needed to push along that unseen path and extend into the light to be able to release what was in it all along.  We are going to see seeds come forth that were planted in our lives, the lives of family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, former church members. A seed came into existence to grow, not just sit and do nothing.  It is the growing season—expect the seed to grow.

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Anticipating the Power of the Kingdom

Considering anticipating the power of the Kingdom, I set out to find some equipping insights or basics to walk out that anticipation in real life.  I started by finding a definition of anticipation is “an impression in advance,” so it is an impression of Kingdom Power in advance of experiencing it. Anticipation is a realization before it happens, so it is a realization of Kingdom Power before it happens. Anticipation is a foretaste, so it is tasting Kingdom Power before it’s time to eat! For three-plus years, Jesus demonstrated the Power of the Kingdom and that produced ANTICIPATION, an impression, a realization and a foretaste.  He did this through healing and deliverance and powerful gifts of the Spirit and through taking dominion over weather, fish, fig trees, death and demons.  (The first excerpt from Kathy’s article “Anticipating the Power of the Kingdom”)

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The Kingdom of God Exposed

Jesus was the Kingdom of God exposed to mankind. In Jesus, the Kingdom was observed (Matt.12:28). In Jn.1:14The Message version puts it like this:  “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” Though the Father was sitting upon a throne in heaven, He could be seen in the earth in Jesus as He interacted with His environment. (Jn.20:21b) Jesus said, “…as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” There are people in our neighborhoods and at our jobs and in our families who need to see the Father through us. We are praying you discover daily that your life is reflecting Jesus.  (Marty’s Daily Discovery as heard on TEXAS PRAISE RADIO at the bottom of the hour 24hrs/day.) www.txpraise.com

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Stay the Course

The divine plan has been devised, the divine plan has been implemented and those who determine to stay the course will enjoy the benefits of the divine conclusion. In the face of unyielding, defying and threatening circumstances a trusting Bible-reading son/daughter of God must stand on their Father’s report and proclaim, “I anticipate the inevitable, supernatural intervention of God”.  (The last excerpt from Marty’s article “Anticipation Nation”)

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Saving Power

As the people of God assemble today may people be saved, healed and delivered by the saving power of Jesus Christ and His shed blood at Calvary.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…” (Rom.1:16a, NKJV)

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MARTY AND KATHY ARE MINISTERING 6-10-17 AT GLOBAL ADVANCE CHURCH IN HOUSTON,TX AT 2:00PM.  THE SERVICE IS BI-LINGUAL AND MAY BE LIVESTREAMED AT  http://www.globaladvancechurch.org  Just go to the site and scroll down until you see the arrow to select LiveStream.

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Reach for What’s in Reach

We are being equipped so that the Kingdom of our God can advance in us and through us. It’s going to involve taking dominion and bringing God’s order into all the mountains of culture and into individual lives and into circumstances and into history.   Not every act of dominion is going to be as quick as stopping the wind and waves because changing the powers-that-be may take a while in some cases, but let’s do this.  Let’s be sons that reach for what’s in reach. Let’s be the sons that bring the order that creation is groaning for.  It starts with crying out, “Bid me Come, Lord.” (Kathy)

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The Sea-Splitter and the Course

Someone must stay the course out of Egypt and must take a stand before the Red Sea without screaming for and demanding relief, so that there can be witness to the fact that this mighty God truly is a sea-splitter. Most everyone simply desires to read about a sea-splitting God rather than being the one who was on the course that He had to split the sea for. There are a lot of people out there who need to hear from someone who has experienced, first-hand, the undeniable power of the Sea-Splitter but they are only going to hear it from someone who has stayed the course in spite of weighty and uncomfortable pressures—someone who has anticipated an end that perhaps no one has imagined.  (The eighth excerpt from Marty’s article “Anticipation Nation”)

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Forget Regret

May our Lord minister to your memory and regret so that you seldom, if ever, think of those things again that caused them;  and if you do happen to think of them, may they not take any toll on your sense of worth or readiness to obey your Lord. May He move upon the hearts and minds of those who have freeze-framed you, to just let it go. (Isa.50:7-8, Msg)  “And the Master, God, stays right there and helps me, so I’m not disgraced. Therefore I set my face like flint, confident that I’ll never regret this.  8  My champion is right here.  Let’s take our stand together!  Who dares bring suit against me?  Let him try!”  We are praying you discover daily that your thoughts are on Jesus Christ, your Champion.  (Marty’s Daily Discovery as heard on TEXAS PRAISE RADIO at the bottom of the hour 24hrs/day.)

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DREAMS VISIONS PROPHECY SYMPOSIUM 2017
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Hold on to the Rail

There is a shifting going on and opportunities for many but we must hold on to the rail and continue to make progress. Recently (as I was praying over some persons we are ministering to) I saw a person walking down a passageway of a large ship. The ship appeared to be rolling as a result of rough seas. The person was trying, as best as they could, to maintain their balance. Then, they noticed the handrail on the wall. It was like, “Oh, yes, I could hold on to that!”. So they gripped the rail and took another step and shifted their grip forward and took another step. Even though the seas may roll and make progress tedious, God’s Word and His faithfulness are the rail we can grip and continue to move forward with. “You are to follow only God, your God, hold him in deep reverence, keep his commandments, listen obediently to what he says, serve him—hold on to him for dear life!” (Deut.13:4, Msg)
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Dreams Visions Prophecy Symposium
September 22-23, 2017 *** NO FEE
Kathy, Melissa and Marty Gabler
Teaching Worship Ministry Activation
Grace International Church    Willis,TX
936-856-2455   
graceic.org _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


One Take on John 3:16

I offer this take on Jn.3:16:  “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, to 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)  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; disengaging from fulfillment which shows His purpose for us by what is lived out in our life. But, we can receive Jesus and be brought into His redemptive order. We are praying you discover daily that you are engaging in God’s order in every aspect of your life.  (Marty’s Daily Discovery as heard on www.txpraise.com at the bottom of the hour 24hrs/day.)

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The Speck in my Eye

How is it that there are people who zealously demand good government, they judge and vehemently criticize national government, and government in others, when they don’t even practice sound government in their own life?   This might be an area where it is actually valid to use the scripture “judge not lest you be judged” (Matt.7:1); or even consider not trying to see past the log in your eye to attempt to remove the speck in someone else’s eye or the eye of national government (Matt.7:3). It seems that the people who have the least desirable lives (by the standards of Biblical righteousness) are making the loudest protests against any persons or entities that might possibly help to bring them into check. Is it possible that if individuals walked in sound self-government, the government of the nation would look a whole lot different and be a great deal more efficient? Maybe it would be advisable to fix what is wrong at home before we go next door to our neighbor to fix theirs.
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Dreams Visions Prophecy Symposium
September 22-23, 2017 *** NO FEE
Kathy, Melissa and Marty Gabler
Teaching Worship Ministry Activation
Grace International Church    Willis,TX
936-856-2455   
graceic.org

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Never the Same Again

As the people of God gather today, may people leave different than they came. As they leave the meeting, may they say, “I will never be the same again because of the power of the risen Christ that has changed me”.   “He jumped to his feet and walked. The man went into the Temple with them, walking back and forth, dancing and praising God. Everybody there saw him walking around and praising God. They recognized him as the one who sat begging at the Temple’s Gate Beautiful and rubbed their eyes, astonished, scarcely believing what they were seeing.” (Acts 3:8-10, Msg)

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Self-Government is Not a Gift of the Spirit

Self-government (Gal.5:23) is a FRUIT of the Spirit, not a GIFT of the Spirit. Self-government is not something one gets by a dove dropping down upon one or by a chill-producing experience in an altar service or prayer line. Nor is self-government something we wait for to take us over. It is, rather, a moment-by-moment, circumstance-by-circumstance willful aligning ourselves with God’s Word. Self-governing serves to prevent our returning to the entanglements and yoke of bondage that we have once been freed from (v.1). Christ has set us free by the unsurpassed provisions of His superior Government, and because we have His Spirit of power dwelling in us, we are enabled to walk in a manner which displays the fact.

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The End From the Beginning

“Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; {I am} God, and there is no one like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; (Isa 46:9-10, NAS) Jehovah God speaks the end, or completion of a thing, while standing at the beginning. After speaking the end, Almighty God must begin looking for some folks who will stay the course so that that particular end may be realized. Who will embrace God’s Word, thereby, anticipating and embracing God’s possibilities in tomorrow?  (The seventh excerpt from Marty’s article “Anticipation Nation”)

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June is for Taking Ground

THE MONTH OF JUNE IS FOR TAKING GROUND: (1) Taking ground where it was lost or never gained. We will be taking ground from (2) failed relationships, from (3) failed attempts to reach goals, and from (4) ground we once held but the enemy stole.  Perhaps, as sons/daughters of God, we could (in principle) claim a promise made to Israel and walk according to the Word of God. ”And I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the ground that I have designated to your fathers, if only they will keep on doing everything that I have commanded them, the whole law, statutes, and judgments from the hand of Moses.” (2Chron.33:8, MEV)

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What God Has Thought

According to Scriptural expression, God doesn’t even have to say something in order for it to come to pass. What He has merely thought will come to pass. His very thoughts about tomorrow bring the fulfilling, logistical elements of tomorrow into manifestation. “The Lord of Hosts hath sworn saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:“ (Isa 14:24). What remains now is the answer to the question, “Who will embrace God’s Word, thereby, anticipating and embracing God’s possibilities in tomorrow?”  (The sixth excerpt from Marty’s article “Anticipation Nation”)

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Best Effort For Home

Music teachers encourage people to practice and study their craft to be the best instrumentalist they can be. Coaches continually hound athletes to work harder so they can excel beyond their competition. But, what if we applied that kind of determination and dedication into making our home all it can be? May your home be the storehouse that bountiful good things are distributed from. May love, joy, peace, compassion, food, money and facilitation be gathered into your home and distributed to those who need them to be whole and advance in purpose.  (1Tim.6:18, NKJV) “Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,”  We are praying you discover daily that you are praying and putting your best effort into making your home all it can be.  (Marty’s Daily Discovery as heard on TEXAS PRAISE RADIO at the bottom of the hour 24hrs/day.)

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Memorial of Eternal Freedom

While we honor those who have, out of conviction, served our God-founded nation to help keep our freedoms for the proclaiming of the Gospel of the Kingdom, we also express honor and thankfulness to Him, our LORD JESUS CHRIST, Who gave Himself for our eternal freedom.  ”It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Gal.5:1, NIV)

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Memorial to God’s Faithfulness

As the people of God assemble today, may they lift their hearts in praise as they remember what the faithful God of Israel has done and is yet doing to keep His promises to Israel and those who look to Him as their Lord and their God. May they not ever forget that there is a memorial to His power and His mercy in that He parted the waters of the Red Sea and of the Jordan and He is still actively making a way where there is no way.  “Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off; and these stones shall be FOR A MEMORIAL unto the sons of Israel FOR EVER.” (Josh.4:7)

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Already Obligated

No matter what national or worldwide catastrophe is making headlines, we are already obligated to the purposes of Almighty God in this earth. Really bad things that happen may make it a bit more difficult to get certain things accomplished and they may knock the wind out of us but they must not become insurmountable walls to us; they must only be obstacles which we overcome on our way to fulfillment of purpose. 

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