Daily Devotions

Posts tagged “2023

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2023 Perspective Shift

MSG 2023 Perspective


Be Vigilant in 2023

Free 2023 Calendar iPhoneMELISSA—Yes, it has come to this: Be vigilant in 2023—keenly watchful to detect danger; ever awake and alert; sleeplessly watchful. Let me go ahead and say, this is not a “you deserve a spanking for allowing the world to go down the toilet” post.  Rather this post is aimed at being an alarm clock to wake up God’s sleeping giants to war in this coming year! Is that you? Well, you’re the one reading this right now, and that is NO COINCIDENCE! So, here’s your wake up call, you beautiful heavenly-Change-Agent, you! What is a heavenly Change-Agent? It’s one who makes a difference wherever they are because they carry Heaven in them.  When I say Heaven, I mean one who carries the original intent of God wherever they go.  What is God’s original intent? That Intent is Heaven on earth, a Kingdom without end (Luke 1:31-33).  The difference between our Change-Agents and the ones making the news right now is that we cause life, healing, peace, hope, restoration—not death and destruction!  


The Times are in His Hand

Free 2023 Sand2023 is the time period the Lord has made (Ps.118:24). We will rejoice because the Lord has made it in keeping with His purposes and plans. It is a time period that we may not thoroughly understand nor have a complete grasp of. Yet, the times are in His hand (Ps.31:15). Throughout 2023 we will continue to rejoice because the all-wise God is not behind the times nor even trying to catch up. He has already stepped out into tomorrow and bids us come and partake in His worthy enterprise and we will engage His design with energy and expectation of the extraordinary. May the Lord grant you every enabling blessing for His Kingdom purposes in 2023.  “So shall you know skillful and godly Wisdom to be thus to your life; if you find it, then shall there be a future and a reward, and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.” (Prov.24:14, Amp)

Marty will be leading and speaking at KINGDOM CONGRESS 2023 at GRACE CHURCH WILLIS TX
MARCH 1-3, 2023


Your Name in God’s Script for 2023

KATHY—Going into this new year, let me say, if you are breathing, your name is pre-written in God’s script for the Awakening of this decade. We’re not talking the impossible dream. We’re talking the plans of God for sons and daughters to tend to Father’s business. Please don’t let that scare you or stress you in any way because we don’t have to have a super hero full-body leotard or a cape and a mask.  This is about being God-Positioned and God-Graced, Holy Spirit-prompted and Holy Spirit-enabled, and our part is to simply respond:  “Lord, be it unto me according to Your word.” 


The New Year Road

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


Getting the Shield of Faith Back Up

There are some people who, throughout 2022, have tried to hold up the shield that quenches the fiery darts coming against them and their family and their church. But because of continued wearying circumstances, you have wearily lowered that shield and some of the darts and accusations have gotten through and done damage. Entering into 2023, you are getting that shield back up and into position by realizing and declaring, “But the Word of God says______.” As you quote the Word in the face of the incoming fiery darts, faith will begin to arise and you will, once again, lift the shield that quenches the darts. 2023 for you will be a season of quenching the fiery darts with the Word of faith. “Above all, take the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” (Eph.6:16)


Marty Giving the 2023 Declarations

Marty will be bringing the Declarations for 2023.
Grace Church Willis,TX just north of Houston off I-45. Click on the pic below for info.

MPG Grace Jan1


Awakening to God’s Original Intent

KATHY—As One Nation under God, may we not be afraid to open our eyes and see what Truth exposes as the Lord uncovers works of darkness and removes workers of darkness. Instead of living out a future in deception and dysfunction under siege of darkness, we are going to AWAKEN to God’s Original Intent for this nation again.  We are Positioned and Graced for an Awakening that God has planned!  Please Grab that by faith today, not bowing to how you feel.  Mary wasn’t even married yet, so she certainly didn’t FEEL like the mother of the Messiah, but she was Positioned in history and GRACED by God to be part of His plan, and so are we! 


Standing

MELISSA—Our stance in this season is standing — standing on the truth that our magnificent God is doing something BIG. He is establishing His plan for 2023 and beyond. We GET to be a part of this. We GET to be a change agent simply by standing.  Yes, YOU have what is needed for this moment.  Now is not the time to throw your hands up. Now is the time to take a deep breath and watch the glorious show unfolding in the days ahead. Yes, there will be shockers. BUT all we need to know is that those shockers are proof that God is shaking what can be shaken (Heb.12:27-28)!  Thankful to be Your daughter, my King.  “The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.” (Luke 17:21 MSG) It’s time to wake up, and be who we were born to be.  Let’s win this war, as God has intended.


Whose Rules and Whose Results?

MELISSA—It’s making sense now why we don’t see many signs, wonders and miracles.  We have lived so long under and believed the rules of engagement of an evil agenda. As disgusting as this is let me say it like this, we have basically had a relationship with this evil agenda causing us to operate under man’s wisdom that has been shaped by the fear this agenda produces to the point that we have almost been completely sterilized by it.  Who knew how massive the deception had become? This is why this awakening is coming in phases and not all in one event.  It’s too big for one moment. The rules of engagement change when my relationship is with my King and not the enticing spirit of the age.  When my identity comes from relationship with Him I don’t live by society’s rules on life, love and prosperity.  I live by Kingdom rules.  The intensity has cranked up but it’s leading to a Kingdom invasion through those that engage to win.


And These Signs Will Follow

MELISSA—I was reading the Great Commission in Mark 16 recently and something jumped out at me that gave me more of an understanding of how the rules are changing.  “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:15-18.  “And these signs will follow those that believe” – Wait, I’ve been desperately praying for these things to manifest. This tells me that when I believe these signs follow. I don’t have to go searching for them. And “believing” is not about believing in signs.  We are meant to believe in the One Who beat death just prior to laying out this commission! 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.  He only followed the rules of engagement of the Kingdom.  The spirit of the age had no hook in Him and He did not play by its rules. 


Almighty God Working His Purposes

As the people of God assemble today they should realize that Almighty God is planning and willing and working His Kingdom purposes in the earth. Let them hope in His desire to fulfill His promises in them and bring them to their potential to impact those in their sphere of influence. Matt.5:13-16,ESV—“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”


Exciting Time

(12-9-22) MELISSA — It really is an exciting time even though it may not look like it because we have entered a new era. Let’s look a little closer at what this means.  Merriam Webster defines “era” as: “a memorable or important date or event, especially one that begins a new period in the history of a person or thing, a stage in development.”  When I read this definition, that last part jumped off the screen, “a stage in development”.  So, I looked up “development“: “1. An unfolding; the discovering of something secret or withheld from the knowledge of others; 2. The unraveling of a plot.” Oh my! We have been in the midst of an “unraveling plot” our entire lives! I am basing the time span of the past era on the life of Dr. Billy Graham.  There were several words out there that the death of Dr. Graham would mark significant change, and that is when I knew we were truly in a new era.  So, for most of us we have been in this “stage of development” all of our lives.  God has been developing the Kingdom here on earth throughout the past era and we are about to see what He has been doing.


Desire the Unction

As the people of God assemble today may they deeply desire the unction that they have from the Lord. May their hearts and minds be enlightened and be endued with power to have the same light Jesus had and to do what Jesus did with that same unction when He was on earth. Acts 10:38, ESV—“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”


Getting Ready for the Next Level

Just about everything in our nation that darkness has to offer, has gone to the next level of what it was before the nation-shaking events of the last couple of years. Our lives, families, churches and communities have been deeply affected and events have hurled a need, nay a challenge, in our faces to overcome them. I think that a sober consideration of those events and their fallout will show us that we cannot continue to operate at the same level we deemed satisfactory heretofore. It is hard to just settle for what is presently evident in our lives and in our environment when God Almighty has shown us in His Word that His sons/daughters are expected to call upon Him and know the breadth, length, depth and height of Him (Eph.4:18) that we have not known before and even expect to be filled with “the fullness of God” (Eph.3:19). 


Engagement and Awakening

MELISSA—Where do rules of engagement fit into awakening? I looked up a definition and here’s what I found: “a directive issued by a military authority controlling the use and degree of force, especially specifying circumstances and limitations for engaging in combat.”  This makes sense in military terms, but how does this fit in everyday life? I began to think about what we went through in 2020, and are currently dealing with in 2022 and rules of engagement took on a whole new meaning.  Rules of engagement for us is how we handle the war we are in and how we see the outcome of said war.


They Forsook the One True God

KATHY—We need an Awakening as badly as Judah did in 2Kings 17. They had forgotten their God.  They had forsaken their one true God, Yahweh and even closed the door to the temple and nailed it shut.  2Kings 17:16-17, could be copy from today’s newspaper:  The people  disobeyed all the commands of the LORD.  They made idols of gold and built altars to gods and goddesses and they worshiped the stars. They indulged in all the black arts of magic and sorcery. . . They sank so low as to sacrifice their own sons and daughters! These things are literally happening in our churches, neighborhoods, schools, businesses, small towns, movies and even cartoons, but most assuredly, (as it reads in the last line of verse 17), GOD HAD ENOUGH. 


May the Lord Give you Sensitivity

May the Lord give you the sensitivity you need for the present season you are in. May you be sensitive to where you need to be and when you need to be there and what you need to do when you get there. Jn.16:13,Amp—“But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].”


Living Like we Have a Lord

Our mandate from our heavenly Father has not changed because there is political turmoil throughout the nation and throughout the world or because there is a natural disaster in several nations at one time. We don’t have to look for a new mandate because it is the same one we have had for a long time (Matt.10:7;28:18-20); we just need to begin to give ourselves, our effort and our money to it. We are still supporting missions and investing in our spiritual sons/daughters, still making plans for the future and increasing efforts for the Kingdom. There are people talking about changing their plans and goals for their church “because the coming of the Lord is so near”. What we best be planning is planning to live like we have never lived for the purposes of God. Perhaps we should put less emphasis on “talking” about a Savior and begin to “live” like we have a LORD Who has left us with a mandate.


A Possible Perspective Shift

MELISSA—A Possible Perspective Shift: Perhaps the intense nature of the end of this year is not a foretelling of the hardship to come, but rather the shedding of the things that have kept us bound to cycles of failure in the past year. Phil.3:12,Amp—“…I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.  13  I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,  14  I press on toward the goal to win the prize…”.


Revival and Relationship

KATHY—The Awakening and Revival in motion will not be known for emphasis on preaching “heaven or hell, turn or burn”.  Actually, neither heaven nor hell is a life-giving daily focus, and we are not looking for an awakening based on golden streets or fear of hell.  (Neither luxury nor fear is a healthy motivation for relationship, nor the path to abundant Life.)  Awareness of God and participation as a son or daughter that demonstrates His Kingdom on earth (as Jesus did) is the Awakening we need because that’s an awakening that will ignite Revival based in RELATIONSHIP!


Come Before Him With Thanksgiving

As the people of God assemble today, may they lift their voices, their hearts and hands and sing thanksgiving unto the Lord God for all His beneficent blessings toward us. For God is good and greatly to be praised. “[ A Song of Praise ] Come, let us praise the Lord! Let us sing for joy to God, who protects us! Let us come before him with thanksgiving and sing joyful songs of praise.” Psalm 95:1-2 GNT


STAGING AND SUDDENLIES

STAGING AND SUDDENLIES. There is a staging going on in the spirit realm. God is processing and placing people and things in proper order so that His purposes are fulfilled by the moving of His hand. What will seem like suddenlies will come into being because of God’s careful staging of the events long before they manifested. Some of the frustration people are dealing with is the lack of their knowledge of what God is doing behind the veil which is beyond their comprehension and beyond their preoccupying worries. Just because we cannot comprehend the actions of an all-wise God while many voices of judgment and despair are speaking, doesn’t mean that this God is inactive or withholding His actions. The whole world was in turmoil while Noah was able to hear God’s preparation plan for his family.


Fear and Focus

MELISSA–FEAR CAUSES US TO LOSE FOCUS. The hand of God is moving. Recently, as I was praying about all the predictions, estimations and concerns coming in over the internet I had a vision of a hand moving and very active. It was moving people from one location to another. It was moving money and buildings and equipment here and there. As I watched this busy hand I realized that a veil was beginning to form between the busy hand and myself. Finally I could not see anything the hand was doing. The Lord spoke to my heart that the reason so many of His people are losing heart is because their fears and despair have formed a curtain between them and what His hand is doing. His hand is still moving and working but some can’t see it because of what they have allowed in the forefront of their thoughts and considerations.