Today’s Readings:
Matthew 27-28
Psalm 48-49
Isaiah 52
28 After the Sabbath ended, at the first light of dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to take a look at the tomb. 2–4 Suddenly, the earth shook violently beneath their feet as the angel of the Yahweh descended from heaven. Lightning flashed around him and his robe was dazzling white! The guards were stunned and terrified—lying motionless like dead men. Then the angel walked up to the tomb, rolled away the stone, and sat on top of it!
Matthew 28:1-8
5 The women were breathless and terrified, until the angel said to them, “There’s no reason to be afraid. I know you’re here looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He isn’t here—he has risen victoriously, just as he said! Come inside the tomb and see the place where our Lord was lying. 7 Then run and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead! I give you his message: ‘I am going ahead of you to Galilee and you will see me there.’ ”
8 They rushed quickly to tell his disciples, and their hearts were filled with fear, awe, and great joy at the same time.
The Lord says,
I have victory over death. I have resurrection power. For those who know Me, for those who have been baptized by My Holy Spirit, the same power that raised Christ from the dead is alive and lives in you. This is a season of many resurrections. This is a season of resurrected hopes and dreams. This is a season of resurrected promises. What seemed lost and dead and gone will rise again. It will emerge suddenly, as if over night and be the new reality. Realities will change over night. Lives will change over night. Possibilities will change over night. Hope will be restored and will soar as the eagles over night.
8 Listen! The watchmen are shouting in triumph!
Isaiah 52:8-9
Lifting their voices together, they are singing for joy!
For right before their eyes, they can see
Yahweh returning to Zion!
9 Burst into joyous songs, you rubble of Jerusalem!
For Yahweh has graciously comforted his people;
he has become the Kinsman-Redeemer of Jerusalem!
Don’t be afraid of the night or of the darkness. I do some of My best work there. I do stealthy undetectable work in the darkness and in the night.
Let your light shine, and let your heart and your home glow with a fiery passion for Me, for My Word, for truth and for the resurrected Savior, Jesus. This Christmas season is about Him. We are pouring out gifts generously. We are pouring out gifts from abroad. And We will meet many hearts’ desires. We will plant many trees of life in the places where hope has been deferred.
14 A shepherd called “Death” herds them,
Psalm 49:14-15
leading them straight to hell like mindless sheep.
Yet at daybreak you will find the righteous ruling in their place.
Every trace of them will be gone forever,
with all their “glory” lost in the darkness of their doom.
15 But I know the loving God will redeem my soul,
raising me up from the dark power of death,
taking me as his bridal partner.
Pause in his presence
The dragon of darkness and evil who has been operating in dominion and reigning in this place has spread fear, violence, evil and many abominable acts. He has spread lies, disbelief and hatred, and has stirred up division among the people. He has stirred up chaos, laziness and strife. He has poured out confusion, apostasy and rebellion. All that’s wrong with the world you see around you, his hands have touched.
But I Am moving. I Am causing a shaking, and I will rip this world free from his grasp. As I do, and as I cast him aside and restrain his access to the people, sanity will return. Light will return. Delayed harvests will arrive. What he has caused to be lost or stolen will be restored. Hearts will be healed. People will see truth and hear clearly without the interference of hell and lies in their ears.
4-6 See how the mighty kings united to come against Zion,
Psalm 48:4-6
yet when they saw God manifest in front of their eyes,
they were stunned.
Trembling, they all fled away, gripped with fear.
Seized with panic, they doubled up in frightful anguish,
like a woman in the labor pains of childbirth.
This shaking is going to shake many loose from their positions, because they have aligned with the evil one, because they have rejected Me and gone their own way, because they have pursued their own ends at the expense of the people and because of the evil intent set in their hearts. For all these reasons, many will be shaken loose from their positions, and many righteous ones will rise over night to replace them. This is a resurrection season. This is a season where hopelessness is cast off. This is a season of great undoing of the works of evil and a great fresh new way being forged. It is a sobering yet very beautiful time.
10 The fame of your name echoes throughout the entire world,
Psalm 48:10-11
accompanied with praises.
Your right hand is full of victory.
11 So let the people of Zion rejoice with gladness;
let the daughters of praise leap for joy!
For God will see to it that you are judged fairly.
Cling to Me, your Anchor and the very Source of all life and truth. It will be bumpy for a few moments, but when the shaking is over, you will have landed in a wide open spacious place of freedom, where righteousness and justice, truth, honor and hope can thrive. Don’t fear the shaking. It will find its mark and meet its ends.
How to Respond
- Rise up in faith. Get your hopes up.
- Ask for spiritual eyes to see what the Lord is doing all around you and in your own life.
- Declare that truth, justice and righteousness will reign in the land.
- Declare that the Lord is victorious over every kind of evil.
- Declare that the Lord is shaking things and will usurp the dominion of the enemy.
- Declare that the Lord will restore right minds, clear hearing and understanding. He is reviving and releasing delayed promises and dead dreams.
- Rejoice. Celebrate in your heart and expect the Lord to move in a powerful way this season.
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