Daily Devotions

Posts tagged “John 20

The Salvation of a Nation or….

As long as there are a people who feel they have their “ticket stamped” to go to a “much better place,” there will be no reform of what they deem to be merely an exit platform (cf.Jn.20:21;Lk.9:2;Jn.16:7). If the departure platform is somewhat rickety, people will just try to stand still and hope the train out of there arrives soon. With such a view, no one CrowdFormCrossreforms or rebuilds the platform; they simply grip what is available to grip and hope to be off of it as soon as possible. The emphasis today upon the sudden coming of the Lord isn’t about Him, it is about us. The religious pundits pounding their pulpits exclaiming the quick return of our Lord are getting hearty (and well financed) “Amens!” in response to their promises of sudden escape from disappointments, rudely jostled comfort zones and nerve-racking prognostication. We have been taught by pop-theology to use faith for immediate relief, not long-term endurance, not long-term results (Heb.11:13 does not figure into Esau’s demands for immediate relief).  The Esau mindset of blowing off the coming generations and spending what you’ve got on relief for the present generation flies well in today’s skies. Joseph did not get immediate results (or relief) after his prophetic dream and prophetic pronouncement. He and Daniel and Esther were sent ahead to “preserve a posterity,” “continue a remnant” and “save lives.” (Gen.45:7 Amplified) Joseph stood and stood and took ground “until the Word of the Lord proved him” and he was not proven to guarantee him plenty of airtime and notoriety but for the survival of a nation (Ps.105:18). He was not dealt the luxurious right of faith for immediate relief or escape. But the result was the salvation of a nation and its being propelled into the future of its destiny for Jehovah’s purposes and Name’s sake.
(Marty will be leading prayer and declarations and speaking at Kingdom Congress Mar.3-5,2021. No Fee. Schedule and information: martygabler.com/kc2021)


My Father Has Sent

Jesus was shaking the present religious and political scene when He was recorded to say, “All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and earth has been given to Me. Go then…” (Matt.28:18-19a) and “…just as my Father has sent Me forth, so I am sending you.” (Jn.20:21) Key factors we must be aware of: (1) “all authority” and (2) “just as” and (3) “go then.”


We Are It!

As the people of God assemble around the family table or the TV or the computer screen, may they know that they have not been left nor forsaken (Heb.13:5) but TagYou.pngtheir heavenly Father is drawing near to them as they are drawing near to Him (Js.4:8). May they go right straight through shutdowns and crisis knowing they are mandated and that for such a time as this, “they are it!”. The people of God have been gifted and appointed “for the saving of many” in this time of crisis — we are it (Gen.50:20; Jn.20:21). There will be purging of character (Ps.105:19) but out of it will come refined gold that will save a nation — no one else is coming — we are it. (Compare Ps.105:37, 44-45) Joseph and Moses and Jesus and Holy Spirit have already come — now it’s our turn to apply what they brought us: example and covenant and power and the authority to use it.


Not by Accident but by Design

The kingdoms of this world are to become the kingdoms of our Lord – not by accident but by design, not by mere decree but by agency. It is by divine design involving you and I as we are filled with the Holy Spirit to bring that heavenly Kingdom into this earthly realm. (Jn.20:22; Eph.5:18; Rev.11:15)


Like Father, Like Son

Jesus was the Kingdom of God exposed to mankind. In Jesus, the Kingdom was FatherArmAroundSon1observed (Matt.12:28). In Jn.1:14 The 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. 


Draw Life

As the people of God assemble today may they hear the Word of Life and may their worshipinghearts and minds be turned upon Him who is their life and may they draw life from His presence; life for spiritual strength, life for well-being both in body and emotion, and draw life that it might be passed on to others so those others might know that Jesus lives and is their Hope.  “But these are written (recorded) in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ (the Anointed One), the Son of God, and that through believing and cleaving to and trusting and relying upon Him you may have life through (in) His name [through Who He is].” (Jn.20:31, Amp)


Era of Hope

The era of half-hearted church-maintaining, while sneaking peeks toward the sky hoping for an escape, is dying away. Do not think for one minute that it is not also the heart-felt wish of the powers of hell and the spirit of this age that the church might go someplace else, because the wisdom of God and the redemptive power of His Christ are being manifest through His church and the Kingdom of God is advancing in the earth in spite of the best-effort opposition of the kingdom of darkness. We are in a new era where there is hope for the future and there is determination of sons to be manifest as groan-stoppers (Rom.8:19, 22). In Jn.20:21 Jesus told His disciples that He was sending them even as the Father had sent Him. Then, we have record of the extraordinary results of that authoritative sending throughout the Book of Acts.  (Second excerpt from Marty’s article “The New Era and the Church Trampling”)