Daily Devotions

Posts tagged “father and son

Avert the Curse

As the people of God assemble today may they look to their heavenly Father, trust in Him as their loving Father and emulate Him in this hour so that the hearts of the children will be turned to them and to God and avert the curse. Mal.4:6,Amp—“He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers [a reconciliation produced by repentance], so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse [of complete destruction].”


Don’t Confuse Sentiment for Confirmation

Kathy — Sometimes we confuse sentiment for confirmation. When others sense our despair they offer encouragement that we take as confirmation to take action but sentiment is not the same as wisdom. “Ishmaels” are the result of unauthorized action or behavior. Jesus had all authority, yet He only did what He saw the Father doing. Jn.5:19, NASB — “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the FatherTwoSonsHikingFather does, these things the Son also does in the same way.”  Ishmael is NOT what we see the Father doing, Ishmael is what we hope He will condone.  ‎The results of an Ishmael carry over on others for generations. Ishmael: “God will hear”- that represents an injustice on the innocent that God will not ignore. Once the fruit of compromise is born it takes on a life of its own. However, the better news is that the existence of an Ishmael does not stop God’s purpose in Isaac. The future can still bring glory to God because our Redeemer lives. (Ps.19:14)


The Father and His Sons

LARRY BURDEN — The Passover was also important to Jesus because a divine shift was coming to the disciples in their relationship with the Father. In John 15:15, Jesus told His disciples, “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made FatherArmsChildknown to you”. The terminology identified a relational shift from that of servant-master to one of son-father. Up to the night of the Passover, the relationship of the disciples to Jesus had been strictly business. However, after the Passover meal, that changed. In the new covenant, the disciples were no longer held by the Father as servants, but sons! That night was a divine appointment that had been in the making before the beginning of time. (LARRY BURDEN is speaking at Kingdom Congress 2021. He is the author of the book “The Orphan Heart” that has impacted many lives. Schedule and info for KC2021: martygabler.com/kc2021)


Our Father

(Kathy Gabler) — Our Father . . . The first emphasis in Jesus’ instruction was to start prayer from the “Our Father” position of a son to his father.  This places priority on relationship rather than protocol and on heritage rather than hierarchy.  Relationship assures us we can be confident of acceptance when we approach Him personally, face to face.  Lack of relationship (1) leaves us unsure and at a distance, (2) a questionable guest in the throne room or (3) a needy outsider having to beg.  Coming face to face is about knowing our Father well enough to see as He sees.  If we don’t come face to face, we position ourselves on the peripheral where we are susceptible prey for misbeliefs  about God.  When men are too far away to really know Him as a son, they are more apt to lean to their own understanding and create images from their own imagination and experience, like the ancient Greeks did.  The gods they created had so many human flaws that their supernatural powers over men were distorted to extremes by emotion and whim.  If misbelief misrepresents God, it corrupts the potential and purpose of relationship and the motivation of the heart.  Then there is no sonship and no “Our Father” entrance into the dimension of prayer Jesus taught.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Anticipating Father/Son Participation

Years ago some minister friends were imprisoned on a mission to India. We went to a multi-church gathering to pray for them.  During the intercession, Marty stood and prophesied that they would be released in three days and they were.  One of those pastors told his congregation when he got home, “I don’t know if Marty heard God’s plan or if God did it because Marty said it.”  Whether it was a realization of Father’s plan in advance or a son with a foretaste of his Father’s authority and backing, the obvious thing is that Anticipation of Kingdom Power thrives within the Father-son relationship and leads to Participation and Demonstration of God’s will in the earth. (Eighth excerpt from Kathy’s article “Anticipating the Power of the Kingdom”)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________