Daily Devotions

Posts tagged “Bill Johnson

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


Giving Some Thought to 2024

MELISSA GABLER—In giving some thought to 2024, we might do well to think about the intense nature of the end of this year not being a foretelling of hardship to come in 2025, but rather the shedding of the things that have kept us bound to cycles of failure.


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!


Prayer or Kicking and Screaming?

Marty Gabler—Have there been times when “prayer” was pretty much just kicking and screaming until you were worn out, then lying in a puddle of tears hoping God, in bountiful pity, put all the puzzle pieces in place just as you prefer them? Was “rest” just a foreign word? The word “rest” is a delightful word. Our rest is (2Tim.1:12) “I know (have knowledge of, and am acquainted with) Him Whom I have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on), and I am [positively] persuaded that He is able to guard and keep that which has been entrusted to me and which I have committed [to Him] until that day.” In God we trust. We are praying you discover daily our Lord’s invitation, “Come to me and I will give you rest”.


Life Meant to be Epic

MELISSA— It’s our time to be who God intended us to be.  First things first, however. Let me clarify.  A prophetic lifestyle does not mean you have to be a prophet. The office of prophet is designated by God and recognized by the 5 fold ministry.  We are all capable of living a prophetic lifestyle without being a prophet. This really is an epic life we are meant to live. Don’t ignore it. This life is meant to be epic!


Prompting of Holy Spirit

KATHY GABLER—Our biggest challenge may be learning how the Spirit prompts us to participate and cooperate with God in the supernatural.  I remember when Melissa was a teen and a prophetic sound would stir in her.  She would feel like she was about to throw up.  Finally instead of getting to such a drastic extreme, she learned that she had something to release when she first heard a phrase or saw a picture.  Job 33, tells us that some people hear instruction in dreams and visions. William Branham had a lifetime full of signs and wonders.  He learned to hear God and get instruction through detailed visions. These visions set the stage for miracles:  A woman sent him a request to come and pray for her daughter who was crippled.  He would not go to any of these requests unless the Lord gave him a vision of it. In this case he saw the girl lying on a bed in the corner of the room and her father standing by the bed.  He also saw a man sitting by the front window looking outside and her mother was standing by the doorway next to the girl.  An old woman was sitting in a rocking chair next to the mother.  Then he prayed for the girl and she was healed.  When he and his friend arrived at the house, everything was just as it was in the vision except the old woman was not in the rocking chair and no one was seated by the window looking out. So Branham said, “It is not right yet. We will wait.” In the meantime, his friend sat down by the front window and was looking out, and an old woman came from next door and sat in the rocking chair.  Then Branham said to bring the girl, and the father picked her up and brought her.  Branham laid hands on her and she was completely healed.

One last consideration is the principle of “some plant and some water, but God gives the increase” (1Co3:6-8). ”The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power! (1Co 4:20) We are born into this Kingdom to participate in that power and the miracles, signs and wonders will follow.


Possible to Fulfill God’s Plan

Marty Gabler—It is possible for an individual to fulfill God’s plan for his/her life (2Tim.4:7). There are some very basic factors about our makeup, and the makeup of others around us, that we can come to understand that will be of great value in continuing upon the path to that goal. Learning what that makeup looks like, accepting it and releasing ourselves to express it freely and fully, while recognizing and relating to others who have a different makeup, is key to success. When we begin to take notice of how God has “wired” us (or, simply, how God has made us) we can stay quite close to the trajectory our Lord has for His expression in our life’s walk. Then, not only are we more efficiently and obviously bringing glory to God but we are more fulfilled and satisfied and at peace in our lives.


Overreaching Demands

Melissa Gabler—We are dealing with evil on center stage trying to control the narrative, our lives and pave the future. This is literally the kind of stuff sci-fi and horror movies are made of. The control factor for this evil is fear produced from propaganda and the rules of engagement are simply: do what we say, don’t defy us and you won’t be a horrible person and you won’t die. Those are the rules of engagement from the evil spirit of the age.  Excuse me?  It’s obvious by the shape society and the church are in that we have abided by those rules for a very, very long time. I don’t think we’ve realized what was going on until now.  It has taken this awakening to expose how subjected we are to society’s rules and demands. These rules and demands have overreached in the areas such as what aging looks like, how to deal with disease, relationships, what love is, how the church should look to keep up, what to do to be happy (because that’s the goal), etc.  Those rules have made God look like a weak humanist, which has been the end game all along.  So, how do the rules of engagement change?  The heirs of the Kingdom actually awaken to who they are and stop playing by these rules.  This is all part of the ongoing awakening that we are experiencing.


Speaking of Expectancy

Kathy Gabler—When speaking of expectancy, I’m not talking about false fantasies constructed in moments of distraction, but genuine anticipation that comes from hours, weeks and years of effort and pressing on.  After enduring twenty years of  Philistine oppression, Israel hit the threshold of expectancy and tasted the beginning of deliverance through Samson.  After twenty years of enduring his father-in-law’s manipulations, Jacob finally breathed in the fragrance of expectancy and took possession of his wives, his property and his future.  Twenty is the biblical number of expectancy, the kind of expectancy that comes after a long wait, a finally, an expected end.  Biblical expectancy is the point when preparation  brings results, the point when process yields fruit, the point when equipping fits its purpose.  Expectancy isn’t a luxury, it is a necessity because it is both fuel for the journey and the light at the end of the tunnel.


The Saving Power of Jesus Christ

Marty Gabler—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)


God Keeps Planets in Orbit

Marty Gabler—God keeps the stars shining and keeps the planets in orbit and, the whole time, He never loses track of a single sparrow. How much more does He watch over and get involved in the future of His children?   1Pe.4:12,Msg—“Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job.”


War in the Atmosphere

Melissa Gabler—There is a war in the atmosphere over our nation. It’s like a virus that causes complete irrationality brought on by the stubborn refusal to take personal responsibility. This “virus” was released by an evil agenda to build a one-world dictatorship in the “land of the free and the home of the brave”! How? By coddling, and stroking the broken. By wooing them with band-aids, and promising them “Kool-aid”. Instead of teaching people they don’t have to be a victim of their circumstances, this “virus” took advantage of their emotional state for it’s own selfish, ungodly gain. Well, guess what, “There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace, [He shall rule] on the throne of David and over His Kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from that time forward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:7 AMP) It’s happening folks!


Thankful for God Almighty’s Intentions

Kathy Gabler — On the day of disobedience in the garden, Adam and Eve knew their behavior contradicted their relationship and their righteousness, so they hid. Nothing was neutral or innocent anymore. From that day on everything fell short of God’s intentions. Thousands of years later Jesus came to restore and made it possible to reach God’s intentions again. (1Co.15:22)   And so, on this special day of the year, our hearts are turned to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in THANKSGIVING for His sacrificial and redemptive acts of love in our behalf. We receive them and what He has procured through them that we may gratefully bring glory to His Wonderful Name.   “And let the peace from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And BE THANKFUL (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].” (Col.3:15, Amp)


Awareness of our Lord and Giving Thanks

Marty Gabler—Why not a LIFESTYLE of THANKSGIVING? This Thanksgiving, may our hearts and minds be so turned to awareness of our Lord and to the giving of thanks to our Lord, that if He were to send in among us “angels unawares” (Heb.13:2), they would witness people who know the righteous God that they know, in the way that they know Him and honor Him. May such messenger/observers witness our living out our thanks rather than only vocalizing it occasionally. EPH.5:4-20, NKJV—“4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, BUT RATHER GIVING OF THANKS… 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words… 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord… 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness… 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 GIVING THANKS ALWAYS for all things to God the Father in the name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST…”


The Remnant and the Nation

Melissa Gabler— We/YOU carry what our nation and the world needs, and you can change things from where you are at this moment. God used a remnant of people time and time again to make big changes. He’s God, a tiny dose of His power can turn this thing upside-down! Our new motto for the end of the year and beyond:  “As goes the remnant, so goes the nation”. 


Accusation and Condemnation

Kathy Gabler—Accusation and condemnation flooded into man’s thinking in such abundance that the devil and people rarely have to lift an accusing finger at us. We have such intricate lists of what is good and what is evil, that we accuse and condemn ourselves without even looking for a lawyer. The problem with this legalistic lifestyle is that we assume our shortcomings are more powerful than the Christ that lives in us. (1Jn.3:20)


We Give Thanks

Marty Gabler–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

God Has Not Abandoned You

Marty Gabler—May hope arise within the hearts of weary ones and may dreams be revived in the lives of discouraged ones, and may they lift their hands and declare on clear voices that our God does not forget His covenant or His mercies to a thousand generations. May the Lord do a redeeming work in you that He may bring forth through your life what He intended from the beginning. May He redeem and restore everything that the enemy has tried to destroy in you.  (Deut.4:31, GW)  “The LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not abandon you, destroy you, or forget the promise to your ancestors that he swore he would keep.” We are praying you discover daily that merciful God has not abandoned you.


A Representative of Heaven

Melissa — You are a representative of heaven during your lifetime. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9, Amplified)