Unleash the Power

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

2 Corinthians 5:17–20 NLT

What does preaching the gospel, the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ, do? The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 1:16 that it releases “the power of God” to bring His salvation into your life.

The word “salvation” does not just mean being saved from hell to go to heaven. “Salvation” is the ultra-rich Greek word soteria, which means “deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation.” It covers any area of your life that needs saving so that you can enjoy wholeness and well-being in your body, soul, and spirit.

Now, where do you find this salvation? In the gospel of Christ. Not in the old covenant of law.

It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that unleashes the power of God to save you and make you whole. It is this gospel that brings protection, healing, deliverance, and soundness to every area of your life.

It is no wonder the enemy brings opposition to anyone who preaches the gospel of Christ. He doesn’t want the power of God to come into people’s lives.

By the same token, if you want the well-being and wholeness of God to come into your areas of challenge, then make sure you are hearing the gospel of Christ, which is the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24).

But what is it about the gospel of grace that makes it so powerful? We find the answer in Romans 1:17—“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’”

The gospel is so powerful because in it is the revelation that you have been made righteous by the work of Christ, not by your works. This is the glory of the gospel, the good news that when God looks at a man who has put his faith in what Jesus has done, God sees him perfect, complete, and righteous in Christ. It is knowing this that unleashes the power and salvation of God in all its richness into all areas of our lives.

Notice what the apostle Paul said in Romans 1:17—“The just [or righteous] shall live by faith.” You cannot walk in faith, talk in faith, or live a life of faith when you don’t understand that you have been made righteous by faith.

But once you realize that God is not counting your sins against you because of what Christ has done, peace and joy settle in your heart. Fear flees and hope springs forth. Faith for every blessing Christ purchased for you just erupts in you and activates the power of God to overcome every obstacle in your life!

My friend, whatever you may be struggling with today, come back to the Father’s loving embrace and grace. He loves you.

Receive the good news that you are a new creation in Christ; old things are gone. You have been reconciled to God through Christ’s perfect work at the cross. You are righteous in God’s sight (even when you fail) and are empowered to overcome every failing through His gift of no condemnation.

Let this good news of our Lord Jesus take hold in your heart. And in your every area of challenge, you will begin to experience lasting victory and a multiplication of His grace and peace in your life (2 Pet. 1:2).

This devotional is taken from the book Glorious Grace—100 Daily Readings from Grace Revolution.

Unveiling the Father’s Heart of Grace

“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.”

Luke 15:20–24

Do you want to see how your heavenly Father responds when you have failed? Then I encourage you to read the entire parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11–32. Better yet, if you are feeling stressed and worried about something, take time to pull away from life’s hustle and bustle and simply meditate on Jesus’ words in this story and let His message to you soak in.

When Jesus shared the story of the prodigal son, all the Jewish people who heard Him would have been familiar with the condemnation and punishment (death by stoning) that the law specified for a stubborn, rebellious son (Deut. 21:18–21). However, instead of the law they were familiar with, Jesus revealed the Father’s heart of grace and forgiveness in the new covenant. Hallelujah!

Did the son sin against his father? Yes, most definitely. But did the father heap guilt and condemnation on his son before he received his son? No, he did not. Did it matter to the father that his son’s intention for returning home was simply because he was hungry? No, it did not.

When the prodigal son “was still a great way off,” his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his son’s neck and kissed him. What a wonderful picture of God’s heart of love!

This is an eyewitness account of what God the Father is like from Jesus Himself! See how He described God’s response to those who have sinned.

How is it that the father saw his son even when he was still a great way off? That’s because the father had been waiting and longing for his son to return. He must have kept his eyes on the horizon daily, hoping that each day would be the day his beloved son returned home.

Beloved, can you see God’s heart of love for you even when you have failed Him? You just have to take one step toward God and your loving Daddy in heaven will run toward you with no condemnation.

He wants to embrace you, kiss you, and lavish you with His love and blessings! He is waiting to clothe you with the robe of righteousness, put the signet ring of authority back in your hands, and shod your feet with the sandals of right standing. He wants to reinstate you, wash you, and throw a party because you came home!

Our God is a God who will run toward you with no condemnation! You can come boldly to God today and experience the intimate love of your heavenly Father in a deep and personal way as never before. I pray that this experience will heal, renew, restore, and transform you in a spectacular way because His love for you is nothing less than spectacular!

This devotional is taken from the book Reign in Life—90 Powerful Inspirations for Extraordinary Breakthroughs.

Message from Amir

The entire book of Romans is pure doctrine and it’s the doctrine of the hope that we must have, of the fact that we must wait with perseverance, of the fact there is coming a day when not only the souls, not only the spirit, our body is going to be redeemed out of this world.

1 Thessalonians 4, “I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.” He said, Guys, even if some of our brothers and sisters died, if they are believers, thank you Lord, because you don’t have that lifestyle of having no hope like so many. He said, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord.”

When Paul said, “For this, we say to you by the word of the Lord,” Paul basically said, Okay, I’m telling you exactly what God is speaking. Okay? It’s not my opinion, it’s not my theology. Look what God says. He says this. He said, “That we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no mean precede those who are asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with a voice of an archangel and with a trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore,” he said, “comfort one another with these words.”

Every day, remind yourself that your citizenship is not here anymore. You have heavenly citizenship. When you die, you don’t die. You go home. Going home where you belong. When somebody dies here, he just falls asleep. And it’s interesting, when your child falls asleep in the living room and you take him all the way to his bedroom, he wakes up in his bedroom. We fall asleep here, we wake up there. Good deal.

And that’s the comfort. We need to comfort one another with these words. Don’t listen to those naysayers. Don’t listen to those... They are scoffers and they’re mockers. The easiest thing to mock in our faith is the rapture. Why? Because it sounds really out of this world. I mean, think about it. We’re gone. But, hey, was the parting of the Red Sea not something else? Why is the rapture your only problem? I mean, wasn’t Jesus taken in the cloud? What about Elijah with all that amazing drama? I mean, what about the Jordan River rolling all the way back and piling water all the way to the sky as a pillar, letting a million, almost a million and a half Israelites cross at the same time? How come you have a problem with the rapture of the church and you can accept all the other things? Isn’t God the God of miracles?

I mean, you want God to just be an ordinary God and just the world to be an ordinary world and things as they always been. This is like putting you to sleep.

While denying the rapture is quite popular today, one of the main arguments made by the rapture deniers is that no one believed or taught it early in church history and only in the last 100 or so years was it popularized.

Not only is this untrue, it is a denial of scripture. The early church fathers, as this group of deniers likes to refer to them, are not the litmus test of whether or not the Bible teaches the rapture. The whole reason for the epistles was that churches were getting things wrong. So a person’s proximity to the time of Jesus is not a valid test for doctrinal accuracy. Biblical consistency is the only way to test doctrine.

Some say the Bible doesn’t use the word rapture. However, if you were reading from the Vulgate, the Latin Bible, you would find the word “rapere” (the source for the word “rapture”) used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 where it is translated as “caught up” in English Bibles. 

Beyond that, one of the most overlooked passages that confirms the Rapture as sound biblical doctrine, is recorded in John 14 where Jesus said:

John 14:3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

The Greek word translated as “receive” is paralambanō and it means “to take up or to take away”. It can also mean “to take to join to one’s self”.

There is another famed passage where we find this huge Greek word:

Matthew 24:40-42
Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 

The word paralambanō, “to take up, to take away, to join with oneself”, is translated in this passage as “taken.” One will be taken up and the other left and this will happen at an unexpected time.

Romans 8:23-24
Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?

Don’t you have to be alive to groan within yourselves and eagerly wait for the redemption of our body? This hope came with our salvation and the object of hope is obviously in the future since hope has no role once something comes to pass.

What does this mean?

1 Corinthians 15:50-52
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Not everyone is going to die, but everyone is going to be changed. The dead in Christ will be changed and Christians alive at the time of the Rapture will be changed into immortal, incorruptible beings. If this is not aligned with the Rapture, what does it mean?

Rapture deniers may abound today and expect to go through the Tribulation, but that is actually what you don’t find in the Bible – Christians facing God’s wrath.

One day we will wake up and it will be the day of the Rapture and every day is a candidate for being that day. So let’s make sure we are living like time is running out and have a desperation for the perishing around us because it seems possible that the trumpet that signals the Rapture may already be pressed against the angel’s lips assigned to blow it.

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

Win the Battle for Your Mind

For as he thinks within himself, so he is.

Proverbs 23:7 NASB

I want you to be aware that as you look to the person of Jesus and cultivate the power of right believing, you’ll experience some battles in your mind that will challenge your beliefs. Be encouraged to know that you don’t have to be afraid of these battles.

Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Based on God’s Word, right believing is the key that unlocks the treasures of God in your life, giving you access to the fullness of His love, grace, favor, blessings, and forgiveness. Jesus has already paid the price on Calvary’s hill. The hindrance then between you and your victory is your wrong beliefs. The battle has to do with your beliefs.

The enemy knows that if he can control your thought life, he can manipulate your emotions and feelings. For instance, if he can make you entertain thoughts of guilt, failure, and defeat, you will begin to feel lousy about yourself, physically weak, and even depressed.

Our emotions are flags that indicate to us what our thoughts are. Thank God for emotions. They tell us if something is terribly wrong with our thoughts. Many of us are not cognizant when our thinking slides down a slippery slope to fear, doubt, pessimism, and anxiety. However, God has designed us in such a way that we can quickly recognize our thinking through our emotions. Try this: whenever you begin to sense negative emotions, such as fear, worry, guilt, and anger, stop and ask yourself, “What am I thinking?”

Your emotions follow quickly at the heels of your thoughts. If your thoughts are negative, you will naturally produce negative emotions. Conversely, if your thoughts are positive in Christ, you will produce positive emotions.

That is why there is a battle for your mind. The devil wants to keep your thoughts negative so that he can keep you defeated. He is a master of mind games, and he doesn’t play fair.

When he first tempted Adam and Eve in the garden, he made them doubt God’s motives by insinuating that God was deliberately withholding something good from them, when in reality God was protecting them. The devil’s strategy hasn’t changed—he is still using fears, lies, accusations, guilt, and condemnation to ensnare believers today and to make them doubt God’s perfect love, forgiveness, and superabounding grace.

My friend, are there areas you are fearful and anxious about today? Realize that those fears and anxieties indicate the presence of wrong beliefs in your life that God wants you to be freed from. Replace those wrong beliefs with right beliefs based on God’s Word, and you will eradicate those fears and anxieties. Through the power of right believing, you will win the battle for your mind.

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing.

Build Your Faith Upon His Promises

“He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you. In famine He shall redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes. You shall laugh at destruction and famine.”

Job 5:19–22

I believe the Lord gave me the above portion of scripture to strengthen you. Let’s take a closer look at the first verse: “He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.”

Now, I have read this verse a number of times before, but the Lord quickened this scripture in me, so let me share this fresh insight with you. I want to specially address those who have been greatly discouraged in the area of protection. Perhaps you have experienced a very difficult or even tragic event, or are going through a very challenging situation right now. Can I encourage you to build your faith upon His promises and not upon your experiences?

The Word of God says that in this world, we will have trouble (John 16:33). The fact that God declares in His Word that He will deliver us from troubles tells us that we will experience troubles. But God wants us to know that the more we hear preaching on Psalm 91, the more we quote it and remind ourselves of the Lord’s protection daily, the more our faith in His protection will grow.

Faith comes from “hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17 NASB). The more we hear, the more we believe! The more we claim and pray the prayer of protection, the more we will walk in its blessings. That is the intention of this book—to saturate you with the hearing and hearing of the Lord’s protection promises for your life until your faith is robust and overflowing.

My friend, deliverance from trouble is fantastic, but there is a promise that is even greater, and that is when you are at that place where “no evil shall touch you.” That’s my prayer for you and your loved ones.

While we live in dangerous times, we have an almighty God who watches over us. May we all increase and have a progressive revelation of the Lord’s protection in these last days. While none of us, myself included, are there yet, we are on a journey of faith, of walking fully in the promises of God’s protection.

Let’s give thanks to the Lord for His deliverance from all our troubles as we continue to believe we will come to the place where no evil will touch our loved ones and us!

This devotional is taken from the book The Prayer of Protection Devotional—Daily Strategies for Living Fearlessly in Dangerous Times.

Blessed to Be a Blessing

I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.

Genesis 12:2

What does it mean to be an heir of the world? Let’s take a look at Abraham’s life to see what the Lord did for him. God’s Word tells us that Abraham did not just become rich. He became very rich.

“Well, Pastor Prince, being an heir of the world refers to spiritual riches.”

Hang on, that is not what my Bible says. According to Genesis 13:2, Abraham was “very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.” Now, if financial blessings are not part of the blessings of the Lord, then are you telling me that the Lord cursed Abraham with wealth?

I am so glad that God defined Abraham's riches very specifically. God must have foreseen a generation of people who would argue that He is against His people experiencing financial success, so He said clearly in His Word that Abraham was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. Abraham wasn’t just rich spiritually.

Beloved, God is not against you having wealth, but He is definitely against wealth having you.

The Lord blessed Abraham so that he could be a blessing to others. He told Abraham, “I will bless you . . . and you shall be a blessing.” Similarly, He will bless you financially, so that you can be a blessing to others. You cannot be a blessing to those around you—your loved ones, local church, community, and the poor—if you are not blessed by the Lord first.

Now, you already know that finances alone don't make you a success. There are a lot of “poor” people in the world today who have a lot of money. They can have fat bank accounts, but their hearts are empty without the revelation of Jesus’ love for them.

You and I have something from Jesus that is far more superior. The success that we, as new covenant believers, can believe God for is good, holistic success that permeates every aspect of our lives!

What keeps you safe for financial success is when you know that your blessings come by Jesus’ unmerited favor. When you have that revelation, you will no longer be preoccupied with having money because you will be preoccupied with the Lord.

Amazingly, you will realize that the more occupied you are with Jesus, the more money follows after you! Now, why is that? It is simply because when you seek first the kingdom of God, and put Jesus, His righteousness (not your own righteousness), His joy, and His peace as your first priority, God's Word promises you that ALL the material things that you need will be added to you (Matt. 6:33).

The Lord always gives you money with a mission and prosperity with a purpose. He blesses you and when you are blessed, you can be a vessel to bless others.

The gospel of grace can be preached, churches can be built, precious lives can be touched, sinners can be born again, marriages can be restored, and physical bodies can be healed when you send out the Word of Jesus with your financial support.

Don’t love money and use people. Use money to love people. May it be settled in your heart once and for all that it is God’s desire for you to be a financial success and to have more than enough to bless others!

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Favor—Daily Readings from Unmerited Favor.

You Are Qualified

Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:12–14

Years ago, when I first started preaching, one of my spiritual heroes back then had said, “There’s nothing wrong with God and nothing wrong with His Word. When you don’t receive from God, there’s something wrong with you.” So that’s what I taught my church too. I wanted my people to be healed and whole, and that’s why I taught them a list of reasons they were not receiving their healings, but that list just kept growing.

One day, I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit on the inside of me saying, “Stop disqualifying My people!”

I countered, “But Lord, I am not disqualifying them. I am trying to qualify them for Your healing.”

As I said that, my eyes were opened, and I repented. I cannot qualify anyone for healing, and neither do I need to try. God has already qualified us through the blood of His Son. The Word of God states this so clearly in the verses above.

Today you and I can give thanks to the Father who has qualified us. We are already qualified to partake of every blessing. And not only that, He has already delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. That means the devil no longer has any hold over us. He has no power over us. He has no authority to rob us of our health.

Whatever sin you might have committed, whatever mistakes you might have made, stop disqualifying yourself. Maybe you don’t think you deserve to be healed because of all the junk food you have eaten for years or because you haven’t been exercising. Nothing you can do is so powerful it can wash away the finished work of Christ.

Yes, we should eat healthily and take care of our bodies. But what I am saying is that even if you have made mistakes, you don’t have to disqualify yourself. That’s what grace is about—grace is for the undeserving!

There is nothing wrong with God, nothing wrong with His Word, and definitely nothing wrong with you because Jesus has effectively and perfectly removed all your sins through His blood. He has already qualified you to freely receive His healing. You can boldly declare “Yes” and “Amen” to this promise of God in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20). Now receive your healing!

This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional.

Personalize God’s Favor in Your Life

Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.

John 13:23

I used to think that among Jesus’ 12 disciples, John was the Lord’s favorite disciple and the one who was the closest to Him because the Bible calls John “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” I was under the impression that John had a special favor with Jesus, and always wondered what made him so special that he stood apart from the other disciples. Don’t you want to be known as the disciple whom Jesus loves? I do!

Then one day, when I was reading God’s Word, the secret of John’s favor dawned on me. The Lord opened my eyes and showed me that the phrase “the disciple whom Jesus loved” is actually found only in John’s own book! Check it out for yourself. You will not find this phrase being used in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. It is found only in the Gospel of John. It is a phrase that John used to describe himself!

Now, what was John doing? He was practicing and personalizing the love that Jesus had for him. We are all God’s favorites, but John knew the secret of accessing Jesus’ unmerited favor for himself. It is your prerogative to see yourself as the disciple whom Jesus loves, and to call yourself that!

When I started to teach that the secret of John’s favor lay in his personalization of God’s love, the people in my church literally stepped into a new dimension of experiencing God’s unmerited favor in their lives. I have seen how some of them really took this revelation and ran with it. Some of them customized the wallpapers of their cell phones to say “The disciple whom Jesus loves,” while others signed off their text messages and emails with the phrase.

As they kept reminding themselves that they are the disciple whom Jesus loves, they began to grow in the consciousness of the Lord’s love for them. At the same time, they began to grow in being favor-conscious! I have piles of praise reports on how our congregation members have been so blessed just by being conscious of Jesus’ favor in their lives. Some of them have been promoted, some have received spectacular increments to their paychecks, and many have won various prizes at company functions and in other contests, including all-expense-paid vacations.

A brother from my church signed up for a certain credit card during a special promotion in which new applicants stood to win a range of prizes. There were probably hundreds of thousands of people who participated in this promotion, but this young man just believed that he was highly favored, and because of that, he would win the top prize.

The day of the draw came and true enough, this young man won the top prize—a stunning black Lamborghini Gallardo! When he wrote to the church to share his testimony, he enclosed a picture of himself smiling from ear to ear, posing with his brand-new Lamborghini.

He said that he knew that he had won the car by the unmerited favor of God, and after he had sold off the car, he brought his tithe to the church, giving all glory and honor to Jesus. The world calls this “luck,” but for the believer, there is no such thing as luck. There is only the unmerited favor of Jesus!

This adapted devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Favor—Daily Readings from Unmerited Favor.

Message from Amir

Up until Jesus, the prophets were talking about Him, promising His soon coming. We know that Simeon, that old man, was waiting for the consolation of Israel, was patiently waiting for the coming of the Redeemer. People were longing for it, people were hoping for it, people were praying for it. And then He showed up and the last days began, because He’s now fulfilling everything. 

And so the last days started and who are those people that are mocking, doubting, the scoffers? The Bible says in Jude, “These people, these mockers, these people would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.”

1 Peter 2:1-3, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, and all deceit, and hypocrisy, envy, and all evil-speaking as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow, thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”

People who never tasted the graciousness of the Lord, they don’t even know Him, probably. They think they do. They don’t lay aside the malice. They feed on it. They don’t lay aside the deceit. This is their modus operandi. This is the way they operate. They don’t even tell you the truth to your face. They’re hypocrites.

By the way, hypocrites in the Greek is “a mask”. I don’t know if you know that. In the theater world of those days, the masks that they were using during a show were called hypocrites. That’s why hypocrites are people who are putting on themselves something that they’re not. Envy – so much of why they tell you that your hope is not valid, that the promise is not there, it’s because they envy. They look at you, they see people with hope, they see people with great expectation, that expectation that brings forth holiness and righteousness, and they look at their life. It’s envy. Evil speaking, that’s why we as newborn babes, we need to desire the pure milk of the word. I’m not even sure how much they find themselves in the word. We may grow, if indeed we have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Proverbs 13:1 says, “A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.” These people, they’re not even willing to listen to a rebuke. They know better. They know everything. And what is it that they mock you for? They’re saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? Where is it? Show it to me. I don’t believe it.” Interesting. They’re doubting the coming of Christ to His people. They’re basically saying, “Look, yeah, yeah, yeah, He was here. Yeah, He said things. But you have to take things in the right context. Look, ever since our fathers were here and they died, things are the same.”

Things are the same for them maybe. For a newborn Spirit-filled believer, things are not the same. They can never be the same. You saw my testimony. If things were the same, I wouldn’t be alive today. They doubt the coming of Christ to His people. They doubt the literal promise.

What an amazing time to be alive! We are watching ancient prophecies of the Bible, both positive and negative, happening right before our eyes. Israel is a nation again, world attention is on Jerusalem, people are getting saved through dreams and visions of Jesus in countries where the gospel is forbidden, and, sadly, scoffers of the rapture of the church abound.

2 Peter 3:1-6
Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.

It has been said, “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.” We have the advantage of looking back and seeing through scripture that the precedent established at flood was God lifting the righteous above His wrath as the world was being judged. Yet, in spite of this clear Biblical precedent, millions of people who say they are Christians scoff at the idea of the rapture of the church. This too is prophecy being fulfilled right before our eyes.

Knowing this, we can come away with two things. We can be frustrated by it, and expectant because of it. The frustrating part is that there doesn’t seem to be much that can be said to convince the rapture deniers since they “willfully forget” what God has done in the past. We can, however, also be expectant because this prophecy is specific to the last days. We know the last days began when Jesus came to the earth, but the phrase is more specific here in that there is an implied capsule of time during which this happens, which is late in church history. We know this because Paul prophesied in 2 Timothy 4 that a time would come when men would not endure (or “put up with”) sound doctrine.

There is much to be concerned about in these last days as we watch the world unravel and become more and more antisemitic and God hating. 

Romans 13:12
The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

Every day the likelihood of the rapture increases. We don’t know the day nor the hour at which it will happen, but what we do know is if it doesn’t happen today, it’s even more likely tomorrow.

In light of that, let’s make sure we are living all out for the Lord and telling others about Him and His love for the world!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus ,

Consent to Be Rescued

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’”

Luke 15:4–6

Do you remember the parable of the lost sheep Jesus told in Luke 15? When the shepherd found the lost sheep, he lifted it up and laid it upon his strong shoulders.

What did the sheep do? Nothing. It just consented to be rescued by the shepherd. Jesus calls this consent on the part of the sheep “repentance”—“there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).

That is what God invites us to do today—to consent to be protected. He wants us to be on His shoulders, in the safety of Himself as our impenetrable fortress. In this place, no predator can attack His sheep.

On His shoulders, you are highly exalted above all your troubles, above all danger, all attacks, and far above all principalities and powers. Yes, far above Satan, above all the powers of darkness and the snare of the fowler. On His shoulders, you are far above every sickness, disease, and every name that is named. What a great place to be!

And does the Lord do this grudgingly? Absolutely not. The Bible tells us that the shepherd lays the sheep on his shoulders “rejoicing” (Luke 15:5). Our Lord rescues us with great joy in His heart and a big smile on His face.

Beloved, the safest place you can be today is on His shoulders. Jesus is your city of refuge. In your day of trouble, run to Him!

I pray you’ll anchor your heart on the wonderful verse that encapsulates this: “The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him, who shelters him all the day long; and he shall dwell between His shoulders” (Deut. 33:12).

When you make the Lord your refuge and dwelling place, you shall dwell safely in Him and no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling!

This devotional is taken from the book The Prayer of Protection Devotional—Daily Strategies for Living Fearlessly in Dangerous Times.

Your Debt Has Been Overpaid

“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.”

Isaiah 43:25 NLT

I have some extraordinary, good news for you today! Although you and I owed God a sin debt that we could never pay, Jesus has already paid our debt.

Listen closely, my friend, because of who Jesus is and the value of that one Man, the price that He paid for our sins was an overpayment. All the sinners put together cannot compare with the value of that one Man. He overpaid it so much that we need never have the debt on our conscience ever again!

Let me illustrate what I mean. Imagine that you have borrowed $50,000 from a creditor and as time goes by, you find that you cannot possibly ever pay the money back. Then one day, a friend who is a billionaire hears about your debt and gives $1 million to your creditor to pay off your debt.

Now, what has your friend done? Well, because he loves you, he has overpaid your debt to make sure that you will never feel the debt on your heart ever again, and that your creditor has no more reason to harass you to pay your debt.

This is what Jesus has accomplished for you through His finished work on the cross. His payment has wiped out your entire life’s sins—past, present, and future—once and for all!

Perhaps in the past you were not aware of the fullness of this gospel of grace, but now I have conveyed the good news to you. It’s now up to you to believe the message.

You can respond in disbelief, asking, “Are you sure? I’ve owed this debt for such a long time, and now you’re telling me that it’s all paid up?” Or you can shout, “Hallelujah!” and rejoice over this unmerited gift that has cleared your debt of sin completely!

My friend, because Jesus has already paid your sin debt fully, do you know what you are doing each time you allow that debt to remain on your conscience? Every time you are sin-conscious, you are insulting the payment of our Lord Jesus Christ. You are saying that it is not enough. You are saying that the cross is not enough.

And you know what? You are also insulting the One who received the payment for your sin debt. Each time you try to pay off your sin debt that has already been paid, you are saying that God is not satisfied with Jesus’ payment even though the truth is that He is more than satisfied with Jesus’ overpayment. Jesus is the beloved Son of the living God. How can you say that His sacrifice is not enough?

Does it really matter if you condemn yourself and allow your sin debt to remain on your conscience even after Jesus has overpaid it? Yes, it matters, because apart from dishonoring the work of Jesus on the cross, sin-consciousness makes you avoid God and can produce in you condemnation, sicknesses, diseases, depression, and a cycle of sin!

My friend, Jesus, being the Son of God, has overpaid your entire life’s sins—once and for all! Believe the good news and draw near to your Savior today! The Word of God declares to you that you can have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Heb. 10:19).
Today, in the face of whatever you need help with, you can draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having your heart sprinkled from an evil, sin-stained conscience, and receive His tender mercies, grace, and help for all your needs (Heb. 10:22, 4:16).

This devotional is taken from the book Reign in Life—90 Powerful Inspirations for Extraordinary Breakthroughs. Joseph Prince

Come Back to Simplicity

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3

Several years ago, the Lord began to speak to me about healing in a very strong way. He led me to read a verse I believe articulates clearly His will for us. It was written by the disciple whom Jesus loved, the disciple who was an eyewitness as Jesus went about healing all who came to Him, the disciple who leaned on Jesus’ bosom and knew the heartbeat of His love:

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

—3 John 1:2

What I want you to see is this: John was writing to the well-beloved Gaius, a believer. John knew that Gaius’s soul was already prospering.

If you have invited Jesus into your heart to be your Lord and Savior, then you have received the gift of eternal life and can have full assurance that heaven is your home (Rom. 10:9–11). Whatever challenges you might be faced with on the outside, your soul, which is eternal, has begun prospering.

But it wasn’t enough for John to know Gaius’s soul was prospering. John prayed that Gaius would also “prosper in all things and be in health.” In other words, you can pray for your outward, physical body to be healthy even as your soul is healthy in Christ.

You can be sure God’s will is for you to be healthy because His Word declares it. Since His will is for you to be “in health,” don’t go with human tradition or man’s opinion that says it is sometimes His will for you to be sick.

Don’t let man’s conjectures and theories cause you to believe the lie that maybe God wants you to endure the sickness in your body so you can learn to trust Him more or grow in patience. Because of what Jesus did at Calvary, we can be sure sickness is never from God. Healing is!

Come back to the simplicity of declaring like a child, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” In the same way, how do I know Jesus wants us walking in His health and wholeness? For the Bible tells me so.

This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional. Joseph Prince

God’s Robust Peace

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7

I want to talk to you today about experiencing God’s kind of peace in the midst of fearful circumstances. My friend, peace is not the absence of trouble in your life. It is not the absence of turmoil, challenges, or things that are not harmonious in your physical environment.

It is possible to be in the midst of the biggest crisis in your life and still experience peace. That’s the true kind of peace that you can experience with Jesus—peace that surpasses understanding. Naturally speaking, it does not make sense for you to feel completely at rest and at peace when you are in dire straits, but supernaturally, you can be filled with peace!

The world defines peace, harmony, and tranquility based on what is happening in the sensory realm. The world’s notion of peace would look something like this: A man lying in a hammock on a white sandy beach in Hawaii with luau music playing softly in the cabana, coconut trees swaying in perfect unison, and warm, blue waves rolling languidly along the shoreline. The world calls that peace—until reality kicks in and the transient peace that was experienced just moments ago dissipates into thin air!

You see, my friend, you cannot use your external surroundings to permanently influence the turmoil that you are feeling inside. Only Jesus can touch what you are feeling inside and turn that turmoil into His peace. With the Lord by your side, and from that abiding peace within, you can influence your external surroundings. It's not the other way round.

With Jesus, transformation is always from inside out and not outside in. He puts a peace and rest in your heart that is so secure, you can face any challenge without worry or stress, regardless of your negative circumstances and environment.

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Favor—Daily Readings from Unmerited Favor. Joseph Prince

Overcoming Fear

And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

2 Chronicles 20:3–4

Have you been in a situation where your circumstances appear to be completely hopeless? Where you felt immobilized and overwhelmed by the challenges surrounding you, with no way out or even a temporary respite in sight? Perhaps under the accumulated weight of it all coming against you at once, you feel as if your entire life is spiraling out of control and falling apart.

That is exactly what happened to King Jehoshaphat and the small tribe of Judah when they were besieged on all fronts by three powerful and blood-thirsty armies rapidly advancing toward Jerusalem (2 Chron. 20). With their enemies mercilessly bent on annihilating them and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, they were facing a forlorn and hopeless situation, and it looked as though they were bound for a tragic end.

When Jehoshaphat was informed that a great multitude was coming against him, his first reaction was fear! I don’t know about you, but this gives me hope! I’m so glad that the Word of God gives us an authentic portrait of who Jehoshaphat was.

He wasn’t a valiant warrior king who was always full of faith and endowed with a disproportionate dose of fiery courage, always ready to take down his enemies. No, he was a regular guy. He did what you and I would have done—he panicked.

But what set Jehoshaphat apart was that even when he was fearful, the very first thing he did was to “set himself to seek the Lord” (2 Chron. 20:3). That is something you and I need to learn to do as well whenever we are fearful. Instead of spiraling deeper into the abyss of self-defeat, know that when you are feeling overwhelmed by your circumstances, that is the time you need to set yourself to seek the Lord.

It’s certainly not the time to run away from God or get bitter, angry, frustrated, and disappointed with Him. Hey, God is not the author of your troubles. He is the author and finisher of your faith, victory, and success.

Jehoshaphat shows us that it’s quite all right to experience bouts of fear from time to time. God doesn’t condemn you when you are afraid. But when you receive a negative medical report or some bad news about your family or business, set yourself to seek the Lord. Jesus is your answer! His perfect love for you will cast out all fear.

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing. Joseph Prince

Keep Speaking Your Righteousness

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son.

Romans 8:3

I love today’s scripture. The answer, my friend, is found not in the law, but in the Son. The law was given by a servant, Moses; grace came through the Son, Jesus.

The grace revolution begins with a person and His name is Jesus. When you have Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and a revelation of His grace, you have everything. You have, most importantly, a new and righteous identity in Christ.

Many believers don’t realize this but revelations can be stolen and forgotten. That’s what happened to the Corinthian church and Paul had to step in to remind them of their righteous identity in Christ.

This is also why it is so essential for you to be part of a local church where you can keep on hearing and hearing messages that are full of the person of Jesus, and be surrounded by Christ-centered leaders and friends who will always point you back to the Lord and your righteous identity in Christ.

I want to encourage you to have a daily consciousness of your righteousness in Christ by speaking and confessing your righteousness out loud. Believe that you are righteous in Christ, and that righteousness is a gift you cannot earn. While knowing this is fantastic, I want you to take a step further with me today and begin to practice confessing your righteousness in Christ daily.

My dear friend, when you are stressed out and a thousand things are screaming for your attention, say quietly under your breath, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” When you read some horrible news in the morning papers and your heart is gripped with fear for your loved ones, just say quietly under your breath, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.” And when you are feeling a temptation to indulge again in a past addiction, now you know what to do: say quietly under your breath, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.”

Your remaining in victory is directly related to how conscious you are of your righteous identity in Christ. If you truly desire to see lasting breakthroughs in your life and live above defeat, speak! Speak out, speak up, and speak without doubt. And I promise you that you will live more stress free, more fearlessly, more boldly, and more victoriously than ever before!

This devotional is taken from the book Glorious Grace—100 Daily Readings from Grace Revolution. Joseph Prince

Just a Groan Will Reach the Throne

Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

Exodus 2:23–24

There is an enemy who wants to keep you enslaved to that medical condition in your life. The enemy wants to keep you in a place of despair and to keep you so focused on your disappointments you cannot lay hold of God’s promises for you. That is what he did to the children of Israel. When Moses told the Israelites that God would rescue them from their bondage, the Bible tells us “they refused to listen” as they had “become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery” (Ex. 6:6–9 NLT).

But God did not abandon them even though they refused to listen. He knew they were in a state of despair because they had suffered under the yoke of slavery for so long. Do you want to know what the children of Israel did that caused God to rescue them so mightily?

Read this for yourself in the verse above. The children of Israel were so oppressed all they could do was groan. There was nothing left in them to compose any prayers. And the Bible tells us God heard their groaning and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

I am sharing this with you because I want you to know that you do not need to craft impressive declarations of faith or do anything for God before He hears you. Just a groan will reach the throne. A simple sigh from you will reach the throne room of your Abba in heaven. If just a groan from the children of Israel could activate the covenant God had cut with their forefathers, how much more would your cry accomplish, oh child of the Most High!

If you are in a place of discouragement about your medical condition, cry out to Him and take this additional insight from the Passover as an encouragement. I love it that God told the children of Israel to partake of the Passover lamb in this manner: “And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand” (Ex. 12:11).

Why did they have to eat with belts on their waists, sandals on their feet, and staffs in their hands? God was telling them to be ready for their physical deliverance even as they ate the roasted lamb.

In the same way, when we partake of the Lord’s Supper, let’s partake with faith and expectancy. Our compassionate Lord Jesus has heard our groans and He is both willing and able to deliver us from any oppression.

Let’s partake expecting our miracle to take place, expecting our deliverance. That’s what the Israelites did despite their suffering, and they came out with not one sick, not one feeble.

I want to see that happening for my church and for you. We may not yet have come to the place where we can say there are “none feeble,” but I believe we are on our way.

This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional. Joseph Prince

Message from Amir

Psalm 16:9 says, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.” Only when we have that hope, we can rest. We can really, truly rest in that hope. “Let love be without hypocrisy, abhor what is evil, cling to what is good, be kindly, affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor, giving preference to one anther, not lacking in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope.” We see that Paul and Silas are coming to a place called Thessalonica. Coming to a synagogue full of Jewish people, and the Jewish people are holding onto tradition and religion. And, yet, the Greeks, as we just read, who had no hope and no God at the time, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, found hope. 

The Bible says that hope is not something; it’s someone. 1 Timothy 1:1 says, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.” He is our hope. Interesting. And what is the hope? 1 Thessalonians 2:19, “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” So not just that He is our hope but He’s coming to take us. That is our hope. So not only He’s our hope, but the fact He’s coming to take us is our hope.

Few things impact the life experience of both believers and nonbelievers like hope. In some ways, hope affects both groups alike, and, in other ways, hope means something completely different. Hope requires an object, and both groups might at one time “hope” for pizza for dinner, or “hope” to pass a test or “hope” to get a raise. Parents “hope” for the best for their children, or, when facing one of many of life’s dilemmas, “hope” things will work out.

Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

The word “wait” in this famed passage means “to bind together”. It can also mean “to hope for or expect”. That sheds a little more light on the meaning here as we can better understand that those who bind together or place their hope in the Lord will experience renewed strength, power, vigor, and stamina. This is exclusive to those who wait on the Lord. When the Lord is the object of our hope, everything changes.

Psalm 31:23-24
Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD.

Psalms 43:5
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.

Proverbs 10:28
The hope of the righteous will be gladness, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

These verses highlight the differing life experiences of the believer and nonbeliever, and hope is even presented as a weapon for the believer with which to combat a disquieted soul. 

There is also an element of hope that Christians have always had that is closer to being realized today than at any point in church history.

Titus 2:11-13
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

This blessed hope is described as belonging to those who have experienced the grace of God that brings salvation and who appeared to all men. That blessed hope is His glorious appearing once again, and the object of our hope is identified as our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Yes, people who do not know the Lord experience hope. Yet their hopes are not the same as ours as believers. They are based on wishes combined with efforts and desires. The hopes of the world can be dashed, lost, and lead to disappointment and even despair. But for the believer, the object of our hope never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So you might say in comparison to the hope of the world, our hope is next level.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

The hope we have in Christ is so powerful it even changes the way we experience the greatest of life’s painful experiences, the death of a loved one. We do sorrow, but not without hope.

1 Peter 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.

Peter says that the hope we have in Christ is so powerful that it is visible to the degree that it causes others to inquire as to the reason we have such hope. This is one of the reasons it is so important that we not live in fear in these fear-mongering last days. It is why it is so important that we know where things are headed and not fall prey to the uncertainty and despair the world lives under today.

We have a hope that is different from that of the world. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. On Christ the solid Rock we stand, all other ground is sinking sand. We sing it, but we must also live it so others can see it and desire it.

People are sinking in hopelessness all around us today. Talk of food shortages and famines, pandemics and death, are driving people to seek escape from these things through drugs or alcohol at unprecedented levels. Many, from hopelessness, are taking their own lives at numbers never seen before.

We, as Christians, have what they need and know where they can get it. We need to live in a manner, as Peter said, that leads them to ask where such hope can be found. Our hope is not like that of the world – circumstance-related. Our hope is one that cannot be impacted by circumstances and is even more clearly visible when they are at their worst. Tell someone about the hope you have today!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

The Secret to Solomon’s Wisdom

Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?

1 Kings 3:9

Let’s take a look at the life of Solomon. When Solomon became king, he was only a young man of about 18 years old and had big shoes to fill as David's successor to the throne. Solomon was not filled with wisdom when he first ascended the throne but he was clearly very earnest.

He went to Mount Gibeon, where the tabernacle of Moses was, to offer a thousand burnt offerings to the Lord. At Mount Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” (2 Chron. 1:7).

Now, think about this for a moment. What would you have asked for if you were in Solomon’s position? Solomon did not ask for riches. Neither did he ask to be honored by all men. Instead, he told the Lord, “Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?" (2 Chron. 1:10).

The Bible records that Solomon’s request “pleased the Lord” (1 Kings 3:10) and the Lord replied, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king—wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like” (2 Chron. 1:11–12).

The Book of 1 Kings tells us that Solomon told the Lord, “Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” So when Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge, he was asking for an understanding heart.

Let’s go deeper. The word “understanding” here is the Hebrew word shama, which means “to hear intelligently.” In other words, Solomon had asked for a hearing heart—one that hears from and flows with the leading of the Spirit of God, who leads us into all truth (John 16:13). You need a hearing heart for God's wisdom to flow through you in every aspect of your life!

I believe that the same request that pleased the Lord then still pleases Him today. God is pleased when we ask Jesus for wisdom. To ask Him for wisdom is to put ourselves in a posture of trusting and depending on His unmerited favor. Only the humble can ask Jesus for wisdom and a hearing heart.

Although Solomon only asked for wisdom, the Lord added “riches and wealth and honor” to him. Too many people are chasing riches, wealth, and honor, not realizing that they come through the wisdom of Jesus.

Even if someone were to come into sudden wealth, without the wisdom of Jesus to manage it, the money would be squandered away. But with the wisdom of Jesus, you won’t only be blessed, you will also be able to hold on to the blessings in your life.

Jesus makes you safe for good success that produces lasting and abiding fruit from generation to generation!

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Favor—Daily Readings from Unmerited Favor. Joseph Prince

The Roaring Lion

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

1 Peter 5:8

Isn’t it interesting in the above passage that the devil has to seek out those whom he may devour? This means that he can’t devour everyone. Don’t surrender your authority to him and be found among those whom he can devour! Also, did you notice that he roams about like, or as, “a roaring lion”?

I asked the Lord why the devil goes about as a roaring lion and not some other creature. He led me to Proverbs 19:12, which says, “The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion”.

The devil is an imposter who goes about as a roaring lion because he is imitating the King of kings, our Lord Jesus, the real lion of Judah. He wants people to think that our King is full of wrath, anger, and rage against us. He comes at us roaring with the voice of condemnation, accusation, and shame.

Satan wants you to have the impression that you have failed God, and that He is not only disappointed with you, but is also downright furious with you. Now, if you believe that about God, would you be taking refuge under the shelter of His wings? Would you be taking your rightful place of authority, power, and strength? Of course not. In fact, you will flee from God!

Believers who are under a cloud of condemnation won’t pray the prayer of protection. They feel unworthy of God’s promises and, in fact, are expecting punishment and judgment from God.

That is exactly where the devil wants you to be. When you run away from God, you are running straight into the devil’s snare. You abdicate your place of authority when you abdicate your place of intimacy with God.

Beloved, you need to know this: You are loved. God is not mad at you. In Christ, you can have the confident assurance that you are forgiven, loved, and righteous (Eph. 1:7, Rom. 8:37, 2 Cor. 5:21). The Lord Jesus has taken all your punishment at the cross so that today, you can enjoy His undeserved, unearned, and unmerited favor. God sees you in Christ, who is completely spotless and without blame.

Based on our own deeds, none of us qualify for His protection. But because of what our Lord Jesus has done for us on the cross, we can all come boldly to His throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). Because of what He has done, we qualify to dwell in the secret place with the King of kings, where the phony “roaring lion” has no power over us!

This devotional is taken from the book The Prayer of Protection Devotional—Daily Strategies for Living Fearlessly in Dangerous Times. Joseph Prince

Pursued by God

But He needed to go through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar...Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”

John 4:4–7

I encourage you to read the remarkable story of the Samaritan woman in John 4. Considered a woman with a shady past, she was gossiped about in her village and probably shunned for being a home wrecker, a “stealer of husbands.”

Now, hers is not a fictional story. She was a real person, just like you and me. Her problems and pain, like many of ours, were real and hounded her every day . . . until she encountered a very real Savior!

Despite the custom of the Jews of that day to avoid any contact with the Samaritans, whom they perceived as spiritually inferior, John records that as Jesus was traveling from Judea to Galilee, “He had to go through Samaria” (John 4:4 NLT).

Pause with me and think about these words for a moment: Had to. Needed to. Must. Words that speak not just of necessity but underscore a steady resolve and even urgency! Jesus had deliberately scheduled a divine appointment with the woman at the well, though she knew nothing about it.

We know from the account that this ostracized, lonely woman had a life-transforming conversation with Jesus at the well. But make no mistake—it wasn’t she who sought out Jesus to talk to Him. It was the Savior who pursued the one whom others shunned.

Do you know that He is still doing that today? Do you have a past that you are ashamed of? Are you struggling to overcome something that you know is destroying you? Do you feel all alone and that no one understands the pain you are going through?

I want you to know that Jesus hasn’t changed. As He was for the Samaritan woman, the loving Savior is still your very present help in your time of need (Ps. 46:1).

He knows the suffering, shame, and struggles you are going through right now. And even if what you are going through is a consequence of bad life choices and mistakes of your own doing, He doesn’t abandon and forsake you. No—a thousand times, no!

He goes out of the way to have a personal appointment with you, to restore and rescue you. The fact that you are reading this right now is a confirmation that Jesus is reaching out to you with His love, grace, and forgiveness.

Talk to Him as the woman did. Taste and touch His grace and compassion for you as she did. And like her, discover Jesus’ forgiveness, freedom, and strength to walk into a bright new future.

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing. Joseph Prince