Daily Devotions

Posts tagged “Body of Christ

Smells Like Thanksgiving

A while back I walked into the kitchen and I said to Kathy, “That smells like Thanksgiving!”. As I walked in, I experienced a wide range of sensory connections with Thanksgiving. The smell of spices and basting meat and the odors of baking coming out of the oven filled my senses. But I also began to hear things. As memories of Thanksgivings-come-and-gone stirred in my mind, I could hear the sounds of those gatherings, those loved ones, those children, those songs, that worship—in my memory. Kathy couldn’t hear any of it but I could hear many things all at once. I had to just stand there for a minute or two, not focusing on anything in the room but looking with my memory into those sights and sounds that had been cherished and stored away in valuable files of my heart. Then, even as I write now, hot tears filled my eyes and my heart raced up at the peace and joy and delight all those sounds and people in my memory brought to me. I didn’t even realize that I had tucked those precious memories away so many years ago. But the loving atmosphere, the loving people, the lovely ambiance and delicious foods all impacted my senses then for a delightful, sensory and welcome release now. No camera could have accomplished what those pleasant experiences wrought, for they were drawn up out of the well of cherished ones and cherished things in my heart. And for a brief time they were all there, all real and all so lovely once again. I am so thankful for a rich spiritual heritage, deeply meaningful relationships and for cherished memories that still impact me today. May this Thanksgiving bring to you sights and sounds and smells that pleasantly soothe you and heal you, and may they all bring you to a fresh place of rest in our Lord.  (Prov.10:7a, Amp) ”The memory of the righteous [person] is a blessing,”.


Be Thankful

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)


The Sword of the Lord

MELISSA—The powers of darkness have brought an attack against the children to wipe out future generations, BUT what the evil agenda of the day cannot account for is what God’s vengeance looks like.  The Holy Spirit started putting some pieces together for me and showing me what God is doing through all of this, and it has blown my mind.  Here’s how it started to come together: Deuteronomy 32:4243, “I will make My arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the longhaired heads of the foe. Rejoice [with] His people, O you nations, for He avenges the blood of His servants, and vengeance He inflicts on His foes and clears guilt from the land of His people.”  Psalm 127:45, “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.  Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”  Nahum 1:2, “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;  the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.”


Do What we Were Born to Do

KATHY—Amazingly, God promised  even  more than this powerful peace that we need.  Listen to the rest of the promise: The latter glory of our lives, (our future) will be greater! (Hag.2:9) In future, we will do what we were born to do, more loudly, more intensely, more fruitfully than ever before!  We are on the threshold of seeing more of the presence and plan of God manifest in our lives than ever before.  We are on the verge of experiencing dimensions of His power like never before. We dare not give up now.  God will faithfully weave our experiences, good, bad and ugly, into His good plans for our future life . . . if we will refuse to give up!


Go on to Victories

As the people of God assemble today may those whose hearts are heavy from failures, defeats and grief so far in this year lift their heads, get a deep breath and realize that they are part of the family of God and that they have strength and fellowship through Christ our Lord and the family of God to go on to victories in the remainder of the year.  “But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.  4  With my voice I cry to the Lord, and He hears and answers me out of His holy hill. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! (Ps.3:3-4, Amp)


Creative Minds

May your home be a place of creativity and enlightenment where minds are creatively inspired and may those minds soar into the possibilities of Almighty God. May solutions be discovered and spoken and put into motion. Gal.6:1a, 5, Msg—“Live creatively, friends.”   5   “Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.”


Source of Peace

“You can’t expect God to be the source of your peace if the world is the source of your satisfaction.” (Found in my notes)


Unseen Realm is Real

Melissa — Let’s look a little deeper at faith. Heb.11:1,Amp — “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed):”   What is hoped for that is divinely guaranteed? Healing, a hope and a future, never being forsaken, His love, just to name a few.  BUT if human nature/soul is in the lead it can and probably will sabotage these in some way by needing to control. “…and the evidence {proof} of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].”  Prophetic Lifestyle, through faith, acknowledges that the unseen realm is as real as the seen.  Human nature/soul has a problem with what cannot be seen and touched.


Unresolved Anger

KATHY–Unresolved anger can become a distorted filter, like seeing thru bitter, lemon-yellow glasses. So anger affects one’s view of self, God, people and situations and it destroys self-confidence, health, lifestyle and destiny. Anger is a strong passion, which in itself is not sin, but we can sin in how we handle it. We must resolve it according to Godly principles and resolve it quickly.


Yes, Jesus Loves Me

I woke up this morning Singing a song that I have been singing for about 70 years: “Yes Jesus loves me. Yes Jesus loves me. Yes Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.” And I am so very thankful!


Our Lord Bids us “Come On”

KATHY—Hopefully, we will not shrink back and think we can opt out of choosing to respond to our Lord’s “Come on” (Matt.14:29). If we refuse to cooperate with God’s intent stirring within us, there will be repercussions. For one, not moving forward in God’s direction can leave us to simply become a victim of our present circumstances instead of changing them.  For another, we get cheated out of destiny and fulfillment that would make our lifetime bring glory to God.  For another, we suffer the consequences of disobedience, (which are too varied and numerous to list here.)  Believe it or not, just like it was hard for Jonah to fight cooperating with God, it is not easy for a son to ignore or defy the cry of a son’s heart.


In the Power of His Might

As the people of God assemble today may they worship like David who praised the Most High God of Israel for His acts in behalf of His people. May they receive strength, put on the full armor of God and go forth in the power of His might as He fills them with His Holy Spirit and His wisdom to act in the power of the Spirit. Eph.6:10-11,Amp—“In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. 11 Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil.


Strength for the Weary

The Lord God Jehovah will be your strength today. He gives His people strength. Deut.33:25,Amp—“Your strongholds will be iron and bronze, And as your days are, so will your strength, your rest and security be. Josh.14:11-12, Amp—[Caleb] “I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so is my strength now, for war and for going out and coming in. 12 So now, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke that day, for you heard on that day that the [giant-like] Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.””  Isa.40:29,Amp—“He gives strength to the weary, And to him who has no might He increases power.”


Bigger Than our Understanding

MELISSA—The opposition to righteous legislative decisions is relentless because souls influenced by the spirit of the age are acting out what is going on in the spirit realm.  While it looks like evil is gaining control, what is really happening is that it is falling apart but needs to sound like it is still winning. This is why the opposition seems so fierce. What we saw in past months was God deal a death blow to the spirit of Molech.  Molech was a god to which Israelites sacrificed children and this is the spirit behind abortion.  This is the spirit behind sexualizing a nation through entertainment and social media.  So what just happened was bigger than we understand right now.


Laying Hands on a Mule

(From Kathy’s great grandfather’s booklet “Experiences Under Tests and Trials”, CT Carleton) “One Sunday this other preacher and I were going to church in a wagon, we were already late and one of the mules laid down in that deep sand, harness and all, sick. I said, “Man what are we going to do? We are already late.” He said, “Get out and lets lay our hands on this mule and ask God to heal him”. We did and God healed that mule and he jumped up and we went on to church. Who wouldn’t praise a God like that?”


Taking in Possibilities

When Jesus addressed Philip in John 6 about where the bread would come from to feed 5,000 people, Philip simply was not looking beyond the limitations of his own experiences in order to see the possibilities of the workings and wonders of the Son of God. Philip didn’t even have to come up with any money nor any bread or fish. Andrew is the one who acquired the boy’s lunch. But in order to participate in the miracle, all Philip had to have was capacity – the ability to take in possibilities beyond his own experiences and limitations. The advantage Philip had was that he had been with Jesus—the same advantage you and I have (Matt.28:18-20; Lk.24:49; Jn.14:23).


Distraction Dwarfed

MELISSA—A couple of months ago I asked the Lord to show me if I was missing anything with all that has been happening in our nation.  I instantly saw a picture of an octopus with more arms than are natural.  On the tip of each arm was either a television, phone, tablet or computer.  I knew this was about distraction and brainwashing.  As I watched, in slow motion, another arm, that was massive, started coming up from the deep.  It did not have any device on the end of it, and it was in motion to land quite a blow on its target.  As it rose from the depths it began to shrink.  By the time it was in position it was completely dwarfed! This led me to declare, You will not have the impact you planned BUT YOU WILL BRING MORE AWAKENING! Fast Forward to the Roe vs. Wade leak and then it being overturned.  Darkness tried its best to keep that from happening but that blow did not land as intended!


God’s Peace is a Power Force

KATHY—In John 16:33,  Jesus said, “In Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (NAU)  We put on our Ephesians 6  boots, not to run from trouble but to have peace as we overcome it.  Peace is a power force.  God defines peace as prosperity, soundness, completeness, contentment, safety and being exempt from the rage and havoc of war.  We are not exempt from war, but from the emotional rage and havoc it brings.  In other words, His peace keeps war from devastating and confusing us when it comes.


Gifts of Help

As the people of God assemble today, may Jesus Himself and God our Father surprise them in their midst with His gifts of help and edification and put a fresh, courageous heart in each one and invigorate their work.  ”So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter. May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech.” (2Thess.2:15-17, Msg)


One Ray of Light

I have heard it said that it doesn’t matter how strong or deep the darkness is, one ray of light is enough to disperse it.  “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.” (Matt.5:14, Msg)


Awake at the Wheel

MELISSA — Awakening is for all of us, not just the unbeliever. I’m quite excited at the thought of being awake at the wheel now and moving forward with foresight. You are no longer under subjugation of fear, diagnosis, lack, delay, the past, oppression, depression or even snares in your bloodline. You’re on a new page of your life. Just know that things are about to get amazing and shift in ways we cannot imagine. This may seem like a crazy thing to say at this point in 2023, but the truth is far more powerful than the lie. You are free and about to see great and mighty things on a much larger scale.


Fresh Obedience

KATHY—Our heart’s desire and sense of fulfillment will flourish when we adjust to Father’s good plans in fresh obedience. It is not easy to be redefined or repositioned because pride and possessiveness will spring from their hiding places even in the most humble among us.   Being redefined has a way of tearing through the outer skin to expose the heart.  During redefinition tenure, ability and accomplishments are sidelined while motives and the good plans of God take center court.  Why we do what we do is always under the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit as the Word tells us, “man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart”.  The right motive is essential for true obedience and godly maturing.


Don’t Flop Down on the Ground

Rest is not giving up and flopping down on the ground. It’s not sitting down and doing nothing. Inactivity is resignation to opposition. After recent events in this nation, we must not stop assembling ourselves, must not stop giving, must not stop shining. It is time to pray more, assemble ourselves more, give more and shine more in the light of our Lord’s love. It just might become contagious. (Isa.60:1) “Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you—rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!” We are praying you discover daily that the glory of the Lord is shining on you and through you.


The Page Turned

MELISSA — A couple of weeks ago when the Lord spoke to my heart, “No longer subjugated”, He also tore something apart. Could that have been a principality that He tore up? Perhaps one that has been sitting all high and mighty but met it’s doomsday? Gotta say, I really like the sound of that! Then a couple of days after this tremendous insight I heard, “The page has turned”. Not only did He shred something, but right behind it He turned a page. We are at a point for which we have been waiting and hoping. I know a lot of us feel like it has taken forever but we have had to acclimate to be able to shift into the next place. We’ve needed to be prepared for this new level, this new reality. The old norm can’t function at this level. The old norm operated under subjugation, but now it’s time to operate in a realm of freedom like we’ve not seen.