The Lord Is My Strength and My Help

“Fear not, for I am with you . . . I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10

Have you ever reached a point where you simply didn’t know what to do?

Perhaps you’re facing an impossible challenge. You’ve done all you know to do, yet nothing seems to change. The more you think about it, the more overwhelmed you become. Questions fill your mind, yet answers seem nowhere in sight. And deep down, you know you don’t have the strength to carry it all alone.

David knew what that felt like. Returning to Ziklag, he found the city burned to the ground and everyone taken captive. His men wept until they had no more strength to weep, and in their bitterness they spoke of stoning him. David was grieving the loss of his own family, yet six hundred devastated men were looking to him for answers.

In that dark moment, David discovered a precious truth. He strengthened himself in the LORD his God. He turned to the One who had never failed him, sought His direction, and recovered everything that had been lost.

Beloved, perhaps today your body feels weak, and you’re trusting the Lord for healing. Perhaps there seems to be more month than money, there is strife in your home, your challenges with your child are weighing heavily on your heart, or you’ve been fighting a battle for so long that you’re simply tired.

Notice what the Lord says in Isaiah 41. He doesn’t tell you to become stronger, strive harder, or hold on a little longer. He simply says, “Fear not, for I am with you . . . I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you.” And because Jesus has made you righteous, you can receive these words as His promise to you today.

So if you’ve been carrying a burden that seems too heavy to bear, bring it to the Lord today and simply say, “Lord, You are my strength and my help.” The same Lord who strengthened David and restored all that he had lost has not changed. He will faithfully sustain you, help you, and lead you through whatever lies ahead.

You Don’t Have to Fear Bad News

Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

Psalm 112:6–8 NIV

No fear of bad news.

Psalm 112 says this is what characterizes the righteous. But in a world where troubling headlines seem endless and fearful reports come without warning, how is this even possible?

I think many of us know what it’s like for fear to get ahead of us. We receive an unexpected report, and before anything has happened, our minds are already racing ahead, imagining outcomes that haven’t even happened.

Yet Psalm 112 tells us that the righteous respond differently. Notice that the verse doesn’t say they never receive an unfavorable report. It doesn’t say they have all the answers or know exactly how things will turn out. It simply says they do not fear bad news because their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

Beloved, the righteous can remain steadfast because their confidence is not in favorable circumstances or in knowing how things will turn out. Their confidence is in the Lord. And because Jesus has made you righteous, this confidence belongs to you as well.

You don’t have to live in expectation of evil or surrender your peace to every negative report you receive. As the righteousness of God in Christ, your heart can remain steady even when circumstances are uncertain. The One who faithfully brought you through yesterday has not changed, and He will not fail you tomorrow.

So when fearful thoughts come and try to tell you how tomorrow will unfold, don’t let them have the final word. Fear doesn’t get to decide how your story ends.

Instead, answer those thoughts with the promises of God. Declare that the Lord is your confidence, that His goodness and mercy are following you all the days of your life, and that the One who has faithfully brought you through yesterday will remain faithful tomorrow.

As you do, you’ll find your heart becoming settled once again, steadfast and trusting in the Lord. Joseph Prince

Walk In The Light

'Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.'

 John 11:9

Jesus compares His decision to return to Judaea to a man traveling during the day. Daytime travel doesn't guarantee a hazard-free trip but the light does allow us to see the hazards. At nighttime, it's inevitable that we will stumble. Likewise, walking in the light of God's direction doesn't mean that there won't be problems, but the alternative of 'doing our own thing' (that is walking in darkness) is guaranteed to get us into trouble.

Jesus was obeying the leading of His Father to return to Judaea. He could see exactly what was going to take place and He was going to walk in the light that His Father had given Him. Our decisions should not be based on whether or not we will be hurt in some way as a result of our actions, but we must discern God's will and do it regardless of the cost.

The misconception that, 'if God is in it, there will be no problems' is not only wrong, but is dangerous. This kind of thinking has caused many people to 'back off' from what God has told them to do when things don't go the way they expected. Our problems do not come from God, therefore, we should not pray for problems and not embrace them as being 'a blessing from God in disguise.' Furthermore, when trials come, we should not be shocked (1 Pet. 4:12) and not let problems or the lack thereof confirm or deny God's will for us.

Jesus died for each one of us. Each one of us ought to live for Him. Offering ourselves to God is not just a one-time deal. We have to die daily to our own desires. This has to be a living, ongoing commitment to the Lord. Andrew Womack

Turn From Sin

'Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.'

John 11:5

It is interesting to note that special mention is made of Jesus loving Martha. This is after the incident recorded in Luke 10:38-42 where Martha is caught up with serving instead of worshipping Jesus and her priorities are still not in order. Jesus was not rebuking Martha but rather exhorting her for her own profit. When the Lord deals with problem areas in our lives, it is always for our profit - not punishment and we should not take it as rejection. This is one way to discern God's correction from the devil's condemnation.

God convicts us of sin but He doesn't condemn us. Conviction is solely for our profit with no malice while condemnation includes punishment. Satan is the one who condemns the Christian, but the Holy Spirit has given us the power to escape that condemnation. The way the Lord convicts a believer is through the inner ministry of the Holy Spirit. This is always done in a positive manner that encourages us to turn from sin rather than the negative way of condemning us for having committed the sin.

A Christian who still walks in condemnation is being condemned by the devil or is condemning himself. Only those who are living in the power of the Holy Spirit escape condemnation. Compare this to the law of gravity. Gravity is a law that never quits exerting its power, but it can be overcome. Through the laws of aerodynamics man can actually fly and send space ships beyond Earth's gravity. But it takes power to do this. If the power is shut off, the law of gravity is still at work and will cause the vehicle to fall.

Likewise, the law of sin and death still exists. If a Christian shuts off the power of the Spirit of life and begins to walk in the power of his own flesh, Satan will use this law of sin and death to condemn him and ensure he crashes. It's not God who condemns us. Andrew Womack

The Measure Of Faith

'And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.'

Luke 17:5

There are many scriptures that speak of varying degrees of faith. However, the scriptures also speak of Jesus increasing in wisdom (Lk. 2:52) that certainly refers to His physical intellect drawing more and more on the perfect wisdom of God that was already in Him at birth. It is in this way that we also increase in faith.

At salvation, the believer is given the supernatural faith of God. We had to use the very faith of God (not human faith) to believe the gospel (Eph. 2:8).

That faith came to us through hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17), and once we are born again, it becomes an abiding fruit of the Spirit within us.

Every believer is given the same measure of faith at salvation but not all believers use what God has given them. Therefore, it is correct to speak of growing in faith and having great faith or little faith, but it is important to understand that this is speaking of how much faith we use or manifest - not how much faith we were given. All believers were given 'the' same measure of faith.

Jesus' example of the grain of mustard seed underscores the truth that our faith is sufficient if we will just use it without the hindrance of unbelief.

He then continues on into the parable of the servant serving his master to illustrate that our faith is not the problem but rather our use of it. We are using it to serve ourselves instead of our master who is God.

Living by faith is not something special that only the 'super-saints' are supposed to do. The Lord expects all of His children to live a supernatural life of faith. He gave you everything you need to do this, just let Him live through you. Andrew Womack

Ask Big

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

John 14:13

I want to begin this devotional by giving you this challenge: ask God for big things!

What do you desire to see in your life—in your family, health, finances, and career? What would you ask God for if you knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that He is good and that His love for you endures forever?

Ask God for them! Jesus came so that you might live a life that is marked not by lack, but by abundance; not by despair, but by the fullness of His love, joy, and peace.

I would like you to write down in your journal what you would ask God for if you knew that He hears your prayers. What are your dreams, hopes, and aspirations? What would you like to see come to pass in your life? What are you battling with today? Which area of your life would you like to see God’s power work in?

Write it down. Write it all down. Write what you want to see happen with Bible hope in your heart that He hears you and will supply. Write with a certain, joyful, positive, and confident expectation of good.

Don’t just ask God for small things. Ask Him for big things! For instance, don’t ask Him for just a job. Ask Him for a position of influence. Don’t just ask Him to restore your health. Ask Him for a long and healthy life filled with many good days.

Enlarge your faith to believe in God’s goodness. He is pleased when our faith is big. He is not offended when we ask Him for big things.

Would you do that right now? Just take a few moments and pen down your requests to God—God, who is almighty and more powerful than we can ever imagine.

God, who hung the planets in their places and spoke order into the world. God, who led His people in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God, who rained manna from heaven and brought forth water from dry rock.

God, who turned bland waters into the finest wine. God, who made the lame walk, the blind see, and the deaf hear. God, who multiplied five loaves of bread and two small fish to feed five thousand men. God, who raised the dead and conquered the grave.

Ask what you need of God, who loves YOU with an everlasting love!

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

Saving You Is Jesus' Job Description

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:20–21

The name “Jesus” is Yeshua in Hebrew, which contains an abbreviation for Yahweh, the name of God in Hebrew. So the name “Jesus” literally means “Yahweh is our Savior” or “The Lord is our Savior”! What a beautiful name!

Every time you call the name of Jesus, the name that is above every other name, you are calling God Himself to save you. Saving you is Jesus’ job description!

Whatever the challenge or circumstance, whatever crisis you are in—physically, financially, or emotionally—you can call on the name of Jesus and Almighty God Himself will save you!

My friend, you can take time to know the names of God, which He revealed under the old covenant, such as Elohim, El Shaddai, El Elyon, Jehovah-Jireh, Jehovah-Rophe and Jehovah-Nissi. You can do a complete study on the names of God.

I am not against that at all. I teach on the names of God in my church as well, but all these names will mean nothing to you if you don’t know that God Almighty Himself, Jesus, wants to save you first from all your sins, then from all your challenges.

God can be all powerful, but if you are not confident that He is interested in your success, His power would mean nothing to you. So, you don’t have to memorize all the names of God from the old covenant. What you need is a full revelation that Jesus, in the new covenant, is your Savior!

What is Tiger Woods famous for? Golf! What is David Beckham famous for? Soccer! (He's also famous for product endorsements!) What is Jesus famous for? Saving you!

What do you need saving from today? See Him in your situation, rescuing, protecting, and providing for you!

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

Partake of the Tree of Life

Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

Luke 24:30

In Luke 24:30–31, the resurrected Christ partook of the holy Communion with the two disciples at the village of Emmaus. What a divine honor the Lord Jesus has put on the breaking of bread, on this wonderful sacrament He has given to the church.

This is why in my church, we receive the Communion every week. That’s what the early church did as well. The book of Acts tells us that the disciples “came together to break bread” on “the first day of the week” (Acts 20:7). Shouldn’t we emphasize what our Lord Jesus made central?

We know that God made Adam and Eve complete except for one thing: their spiritual eyes were not opened. God wanted their spiritual eyes to be opened by the Tree of Life, but instead they partook of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and their eyes were opened to see their nakedness. Their eyes were opened to see their failures and shortcomings, their lack and their inadequacies, their sin and their shame.

But our Lord Jesus was restoring all that was lost in that garden. I believe when He broke bread for the two disciples, He was letting them eat from the Tree of Life, the tree that God had wanted man to eat from. Our Lord Jesus is the Tree of Life, and when we partake of His broken body, we are eating from the Tree of Life.

That is why the moment the two disciples took the bread, their eyes were opened, and they knew the Lord Jesus. The apostle Paul also prayed that our eyes may be opened, that we may see Jesus, that we may truly have a revelation of His love (Eph. 1:17–18, 3:18–19). I had been searching the Scriptures for years to find out more about the Tree of Life and was so excited when the Lord showed me this.

After the two disciples partook of the Tree of Life, I believe something happened to their bodies: they were infused and energized with the resurrection life of Christ. This was why they could rise up that very hour to walk back to Jerusalem (Luke 24:33), covering fourteen miles in one day (Luke 24:13). Today we can rejoice because that same resurrection life flows into our bodies each time we partake of the Lord’s Supper.

By the way, after Adam and Eve sinned, their hearts became cold with fear, and they hid themselves when they heard the voice of God in the garden (Gen. 3:10). But as the resurrected Christ walked with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, their hearts burned with love for Jesus (Luke 24:32), and they wanted to stay longer in His presence (Luke 24:29).

Our Lord Jesus has restored the relationship with God that was fractured and lost when Adam and Eve fell, and today we don’t ever have to be afraid of the Lord. Whatever challenges come our way, we can have the confidence that He is for us (Rom. 8:31), and we can come boldly to His throne of grace (Heb. 4:16).

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

By His Stripes You Are Healed

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:4–5

One of the most evil teachings that I have heard is that God will chastise His own with sicknesses, diseases, accidents, and tragedies.

When I was a teenager, one of the youth leaders in my previous church was involved in a horrible accident that nearly killed him. A church leader gathered some of us youths to go visit that youth leader and began to lament, “Why did this happen to him? What did he do to cause God to chastise him this way?”

Can you imagine how I felt when I “realized” that God was behind the accident? Honestly, it frightened the living daylights out of me to think that God would chastise a believer using such a harsh method!

I remember praying, “God, please don’t ever chastise me this way. Whatever it is, please, just tell me, all right? I will listen, I promise!” I didn’t want to draw near to Him also because I was afraid of Him, afraid that if I made a mistake, He would not hesitate to chastise me with an accident that could leave me crippled for life or even dead!

Do you know that this erroneous teaching is actually based on the old covenant and not the new covenant? In Leviticus 26:28, God says to those who fail to obey His commandments, “I will chastise you seven times for your sins.”

But guess what? You are no longer under the covenant of law. You are under the covenant of grace! Jesus has already borne all your chastisement and punishment on the cross. Read it for yourself in today’s scripture, then reread it and reread it once more.

The prophet Isaiah saw a prophetic vision of our Lord Jesus on the cross, bearing the punishment for our transgressions. He declared that the chastisement that we deserved came upon Jesus so that you and I will never have to go through what He endured on our behalf. And by the stripes laid on Him as He bore our chastisement, we are healed! Hallelujah!

So how can anyone have the audacity to say that God will still chastise us with sicknesses, diseases, and accidents today? To say this is to negate the finished work of Jesus Christ! Under the new covenant, God will never again chastise the believer for his sins!

Whatever condition you have today, it is not from the Lord! Look to Jesus on the cross. See Him beaten and scourged for you, and receive healing and wholeness from Him. He has paid the price for your total healing. By His stripes you are healed!

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

Safe in the Ark

Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.”

Genesis 7:1

Remember how Noah was safe in the ark when the floodwaters came? While Noah was not perfect, God saw him as righteous because of his faith in God (Heb. 11:7).

When the flood came, everyone outside the ark died, but Noah and his family were protected and saved. Why? Because they were in the ark, which is a type of Christ, who is our salvation (Acts 4:12).

The ark didn’t have windows along its sides, only near the roof. The truth here is that God does not want you to focus on all the darkness, terror, and evil that are around you and in the world. He wants you to look up and know that His Son is coming back for you.

I want you to see something else: I believe there were times when Noah might have lost his balance and fallen as the storm waters crashed against the ark. But Noah fell in the ark; he never fell out of the ark.

Similarly, for the believer today, when the devil tempts you and you fall, you don’t fall out of your position in Christ; you are still in Christ. In the book of Proverbs, it says, “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again” (Prov. 24:16).

You see, a believer doesn’t fall in and out of righteousness. Our righteousness today is a gift from our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:17). This means that even though we may fail from time to time because we are imperfect human beings, we are still in Christ our ark and do not forfeit His blessings of protection.

Now, in case you are wondering, does this make someone want to live recklessly? Certainly not! I believe that knowing you are righteous in Christ makes you live responsibly and in honor to the Lord (Rom. 6:10–14).

The revelation of our righteousness in Christ produces righteous living (Titus 2:11–12).

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

Lost Years Restored

“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust. . . . You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame.”

Joel 2:25–26

Today’s scripture contains such a beautiful promise. The most precious thing that our Lord Jesus can restore to you is the lost years of your life.

All the years that the locusts have eaten, God can supernaturally restore to you. Every minute spent in fear, worry, doubt, guilt, condemnation, addiction, and sin adds up to wasted years that have been stolen from you.

But I have good news for you today. Because of what our Lord Jesus has done for us on the cross, you can believe for total and complete restoration, for God to redeem ALL the time that has been lost and wasted!

Let me share this phenomenal testimony of God’s restoration from a brother by the name of Clarence, who resides in West Virginia:

I was a drug addict for ten years, injecting opiates into my veins every day. Even though I knew that the addiction was destroying me, I did not want to stop what I was doing.

But two years ago, my heavenly Daddy delivered me from the addiction by placing me in a halfway house. I was stuck there, unable to leave, and unable to get anyone to pick me up. And God not only removed my drug addiction, but my smoking addiction at the same time!

While I was in the halfway house, I listened to many grace preachers but always ended up with a feeling of weight on my shoulders. My mother had been telling me to listen to Joseph Prince, but I resisted it initially, wondering how a man from Singapore could have anything to say about God’s grace.

Boy, was I wrong. Singapore sent a missionary to America! Praise the Lord!

Through Joseph Prince’s messages, I found rest in understanding Jesus’ finished work at the cross. I also learned that condemnation kills and that on the cross, Christ had absorbed all my condemnation. Once I saw that, I saw the next crucial thing—that GOD IS MY DAD, and that means all good things are mine in Christ Jesus!

Today, I am running a successful art business that has grown by leaps and bounds. I now own a home with my wife and she also has a growing business.

In addition, my relationship with my daughter from my previous marriage has also been restored. I was not allowed to see her for the past ten years but now, she has been staying with me over the weekends!

It is truly overwhelming to think of how fast my Dad has restored all the wasted years! Not only has He restored my life, but He has also restored my heart and mind toward Him. What a contrast to the years when I was still a drug addict, homeless, and eating scraps off plates at the houses of drug dealers!

The grace revolution is a revolution of restoration. All the years this precious brother had lost to his addiction were restored to him when he embraced the grace of our Lord.

In the same way, all the years lost wandering in the parched wilderness of legalism, Christian religion, and the ways of the old covenant can be restored to you. You don’t have to live bound by any shackles. You can be set free to truly live the abundant life Jesus came to give you!

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

The “Bath” That Makes You Clean

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.

Titus 2:11–12

Do you know what the Bible says produces character, godliness, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life? Contrary to what some preachers of the law are saying, today’s scripture clearly tells us that it is the unadulterated gospel of the grace of God that will produce all these good fruit.

Let me say once more that grace is a person—not a doctrine or biblical topic—and His name is Jesus. The “grace of God . . . has appeared to all men,” teaching us the secret to godliness, character, and holiness.

Jesus showed us that the life we want to live is all found in Him and His work on the cross. When you have Jesus, you are godly. When you have Him, you are made righteous. When you have Him, good character will manifest. When you have Him, you are made holy!

Does this really work? Listen to a praise report I received from James in Kentucky, who was raised in a Christian home and knew about Jesus since his earliest memories. By the time he was ten years old, he was in bondage to a sexual sin.

Over the years, the consequences of this secret sin became very public. By the time he was forty-eight, he had lost two professional jobs, had been asked to leave three different churches, and was even shamed publicly in his community because of his sexual addiction.

James consulted many Christian counselors and ministers for help. However, the secret sexual thoughts and actions did not stop. He went for secular counseling and bought into the lie that he would always be addicted.

Finally, when James listened to my teachings on the gospel of grace, he found the freedom he was longing for. He said:

I realized that my heart was broken and wounded. I learned that Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted, and I also professed with my mouth that His precious blood covers my heart.

I discovered that freedom from this addiction is His will for me and became completely set free. The Lord healed my heart and my emotions, cleansed my will, and gave me a deep revelation of His righteousness.

I truly love Him with all my heart . . . I am so different now from the person I had been for forty-eight years. Now, I see the fruit of His righteousness manifested in my life without my relying on willpower or recovery programs.

Jesus has healed my marriage and my wife actually trusts me now. I am an overcomer, highly blessed and greatly favored. Praise Jesus!

James was restored to wholeness by the Lord and able to see fruits in his life. The lie that is told to so many believers, such as James, is that before you come to Jesus you need to straighten things out first, or clean yourself first.

If that is what you believe, the sad truth is that you will never come to Jesus, because you will never come to a place where you can make your life right.

Come on, Jesus is the “bath” that makes you clean! He is the solution, and He will help you to straighten out what you will never be able to straighten out on your own.

Come just as you are with all your weaknesses and imperfections, and Jesus will wash you clean of all guilt and condemnation and set you free to reign in life through His righteousness.

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

The Wisdom of Christ in Action

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.

1 Corinthians 1:30 KJV

Beloved, when you depend on God’s wisdom to succeed today, you will see whatever you do prosper. Simply observe how our Lord Jesus always flowed in divine wisdom in His earthly ministry.

For example, look at what happened when the Pharisees brought the woman caught in adultery to Him. The Pharisees came to Him and quoted from the law, saying, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" (John 8:4–5).

They thought that they had succeeded in trapping Jesus because if He told them to stone her, then they would accuse Him of not demonstrating the forgiveness and grace that He had been preaching about. If He were to say that they should not stone her, then the Pharisees would accuse Him of breaking the law of Moses and bring a charge against Him.

The Pharisees were probably gloating over the clever trap that they had devised. That is why they confronted Jesus in the public area around the temple. They wanted to embarrass Him in front of the multitudes that had come to hear Him teach.

Now, observe the wisdom of Jesus in operation. He simply told them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first" (John 8:7).

What majesty! They came to Jesus with the law of Moses and Jesus gave them the perfect standard of the law. Without flinching, He simply challenged the person who was perfect before the law to cast the first stone.

The Pharisees who had come to ensnare Jesus began to walk away one by one, completely silenced. This same Jesus, with all His wisdom, is today our ascended Christ, who is seated at the Father’s right hand, and whom the Bible says is “made unto us wisdom!”

From this and other accounts of Jesus in the Gospels, we see how in everything He does, our Savior is altogether lovely. He is never early, never late. He is always at the right place at the right time. He is always in perfect peace and there is no sense of hurry about Him.

When it was time to be tender, He was infinitely gentle, gracious and forgiving—we see this from His response to the woman caught in adultery (John 8:10–11). When it was time to overturn the tables of the money changers, He did it with passion. He was never frazzled by the Pharisees’ attempts to trip Him up and was always flowing with divine wisdom.

He is steel and velvet, meekness and majesty, perfect manhood and deity. This is Jesus and you are in Him!

Begin to see yourself in Christ, who is always flowing with divine wisdom, always in control of the situation, and the same wisdom that flows in Him will flow in and through you.

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

Lost Years Restored

“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust. . . . You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame.”

Joel 2:25–26

Today’s scripture contains such a beautiful promise. The most precious thing that our Lord Jesus can restore to you is the lost years of your life.

All the years that the locusts have eaten, God can supernaturally restore to you. Every minute spent in fear, worry, doubt, guilt, condemnation, addiction, and sin adds up to wasted years that have been stolen from you.

But I have good news for you today. Because of what our Lord Jesus has done for us on the cross, you can believe for total and complete restoration, for God to redeem ALL the time that has been lost and wasted!

Let me share this phenomenal testimony of God’s restoration from a brother by the name of Clarence, who resides in West Virginia:

I was a drug addict for ten years, injecting opiates into my veins every day. Even though I knew that the addiction was destroying me, I did not want to stop what I was doing.

But two years ago, my heavenly Daddy delivered me from the addiction by placing me in a halfway house. I was stuck there, unable to leave, and unable to get anyone to pick me up. And God not only removed my drug addiction, but my smoking addiction at the same time!

While I was in the halfway house, I listened to many grace preachers but always ended up with a feeling of weight on my shoulders. My mother had been telling me to listen to Joseph Prince, but I resisted it initially, wondering how a man from Singapore could have anything to say about God’s grace.

Boy, was I wrong. Singapore sent a missionary to America! Praise the Lord!

Through Joseph Prince’s messages, I found rest in understanding Jesus’ finished work at the cross. I also learned that condemnation kills and that on the cross, Christ had absorbed all my condemnation. Once I saw that, I saw the next crucial thing—that GOD IS MY DAD, and that means all good things are mine in Christ Jesus!

Today, I am running a successful art business that has grown by leaps and bounds. I now own a home with my wife and she also has a growing business.

In addition, my relationship with my daughter from my previous marriage has also been restored. I was not allowed to see her for the past ten years but now, she has been staying with me over the weekends!

It is truly overwhelming to think of how fast my Dad has restored all the wasted years! Not only has He restored my life, but He has also restored my heart and mind toward Him. What a contrast to the years when I was still a drug addict, homeless, and eating scraps off plates at the houses of drug dealers!

The grace revolution is a revolution of restoration. All the years this precious brother had lost to his addiction were restored to him when he embraced the grace of our Lord.

In the same way, all the years lost wandering in the parched wilderness of legalism, Christian religion, and the ways of the old covenant can be restored to you. You don’t have to live bound by any shackles. You can be set free to truly live the abundant life Jesus came to give you!

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

Safe in the Ark

Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.”

Genesis 7:1

Remember how Noah was safe in the ark when the floodwaters came? While Noah was not perfect, God saw him as righteous because of his faith in God (Heb. 11:7).

When the flood came, everyone outside the ark died, but Noah and his family were protected and saved. Why? Because they were in the ark, which is a type of Christ, who is our salvation (Acts 4:12).

The ark didn’t have windows along its sides, only near the roof. The truth here is that God does not want you to focus on all the darkness, terror, and evil that are around you and in the world. He wants you to look up and know that His Son is coming back for you.

I want you to see something else: I believe there were times when Noah might have lost his balance and fallen as the storm waters crashed against the ark. But Noah fell in the ark; he never fell out of the ark.

Similarly, for the believer today, when the devil tempts you and you fall, you don’t fall out of your position in Christ; you are still in Christ. In the book of Proverbs, it says, “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again” (Prov. 24:16).

You see, a believer doesn’t fall in and out of righteousness. Our righteousness today is a gift from our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:17). This means that even though we may fail from time to time because we are imperfect human beings, we are still in Christ our ark and do not forfeit His blessings of protection.

Now, in case you are wondering, does this make someone want to live recklessly? Certainly not! I believe that knowing you are righteous in Christ makes you live responsibly and in honor to the Lord (Rom. 6:10–14).

The revelation of our righteousness in Christ produces righteous living (Titus 2:11–12).

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

The Father's Love

'And he arose, and came to his father.

But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.'

Luke 15:20

For this boy's father to have seen him 'a great way off' would imply that the Father had been eagerly awaiting his son's return. Certainly, in the spiritual application of this parable, our Heavenly Father is longing to cleanse and receive the sinner, if he will just repent and come to Him for forgiveness.

Jesus was using this parable to rebuke the Pharisees for their harsh, self-righteous, unforgiving attitude towards sinners. The older brother in this parable was symbolic of the Pharisees. Like this brother, the Pharisees had not lived an outward life of rebellion and they thought that others who didn't measure up to their standards were surely hated by God. But, 'God so loved the world' and 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.'

Just as this older brother was self-centered and jealous, the Pharisees were not operating in the love of God towards sinners because they were so in love with themselves. They resented Jesus giving the sinners what the Pharisees thought they deserved.

If relationship with his father had been the real desire of the older brother, he would have rejoiced to see his father's joy at the return of his son. The repentant prodigal son had learned the vanity of things and he had come home to a relationship with his father that neither he nor his older brother had known before.

The scribes and Pharisees, like the older brother, had gotten caught up in serving self through their religious actions. The publicans and sinners who repented were supplying their Father with what He really wanted - relationship.

Relationship with the Father was always available to the scribes and Pharisees, but they chose the temporal praise of men rather than relationship with God. Andrew Womack

Negatives Become Positives

'I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father,

I have sinned against heaven, and before thee.'

 Luke 15:18

This is a good example of true repentance. This son did not claim any goodness of his own or try to justify his actions, but he humbled himself and appealed to the mercy of his father. Likewise, we cannot approach God in self-righteousness, but we have to humble ourselves, put all of our faith in a Savior, and turn from our wicked ways (2 Chr. 7:14). That is true repentance.

Repentance is a necessary part of salvation. Repentance may include godly sorrow, but sorrow does not always include repentance. Repentance is simply a change of mind accompanied by corresponding actions.

There is a godly type of sorrow and an ungodly type of sorrow. Godly sorrow leads to repentance. Ungodly sorrow, or the sorrow of this world, just kills.

Our culture has rejected all 'negative' emotions. But God gave us the capacity for these negative emotions and there is a proper use of them.

People should feel bad about sin. There should be sorrow over our failures. However, this sorrow should lead to repentance, then when forgiveness is received, our sorrow should be cast upon the Lord (Isa. 53:4).

The sorrow experienced by those who do not turn to God produces only death.

They grieve over their situation because they don't turn to God (that's repentance). Christians should only have sorrow until they repent. Once repentance has come, we need to appropriate the forgiveness and cleansing that are already ours through Christ (1 Jn. 1:9). The positive change that our sorrows led us to, changes our attitude towards the things that caused us sorrow. Negatives become positives through Jesus. Andrew Womack

Test for Counterfeits

And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them.

Romans 16:17 NLT

Even as God restores the glorious truth of the gospel of grace to the body of Christ, be aware that the enemy also produces a counterfeit grace to try to confuse people and make them wary of the true ministry of God’s grace.

But don’t be discouraged or afraid that you might be misled by counterfeit grace. Just be skillful in God’s Word and learn how to discern what is scriptural by reading God’s Word for yourself. Build a strong foundation on the true gospel of grace.

The simplest way to know if someone is preaching the gospel of grace is to evaluate whether the teaching glorifies our Lord Jesus. Does the teaching cause you to want to live a life that glorifies Him? Does it emphasize your works or the work of our Lord Jesus? Does it cause you to be occupied with yourself or occupied with our Lord Jesus?

You may have come across a teaching that claims everyone will ultimately be saved. This is called “universal reconciliation,” which is heresy. Such teachings do not exalt or glorify our Lord Jesus.

You CANNOT talk about eternal salvation without the person of Jesus and His finished work at the cross. Jesus is the only way! Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

There are also those who teach that being holy and receiving correction are not important since we are under grace. Let me just say this: such “teachers” are propagating error!

True grace produces true holiness. The more you are under grace and established in your righteousness in Christ, the more you will want to live a holy life and be open to God’s correction.

So is there correction under grace? Absolutely. But I want you to be established in the fact that under the new covenant of grace, God does not correct His children by using accidents, sicknesses, and diseases.

Correction in the new covenant takes place through His Word. Paul tells us, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16 NASB).

Notice how correction through God’s Word includes “training in righteousness,” which is believing right that you have been justified or made righteous by faith in our Lord Jesus. I have found that oftentimes the Holy Spirit uses God-appointed leadership to accomplish this (Gal. 6:1, 2 Tim. 4:2, 2 Thess. 3:15)—to point you back to Jesus’ finished work and who you are in Christ. That is why it is so vital that you be a part of a local church with good leaders.

Observe how the apostle Paul corrects those in the Corinthian church who got entangled in sin and sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6:15–20). In saying, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” he corrects them by firmly reminding them of their righteous identity in Christ. He then goes on to remind them that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.

What does all this tell us? It tells us that anyone who is reminded of and has a revelation of his or her righteousness in Christ will have the power to overcome sin!

It is those who have forgotten or who are not established in their righteous identities in Christ that get trapped by the destructive forces of sin. Under grace, we are called to walk in newness of life as the righteous children of God.

We are called to reign in life through the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. We have been purchased with a price, a heavy price at the cross, and are now called to live for the glory of our Lord Jesus!

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

None Feeble

He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes.

Psalm 105:37

Do you know what happened when the children of Israel ate the Passover lamb on the very first Passover night? That very night, God liberated the Israelites from severe oppression and freed them from the captivity of the Egyptians. But that wasn’t all.

The Bible also says there was none feeble among the six hundred thousand men who left Egypt on the night of the exodus (Ex. 12:37). But when you include the women and children, scholars estimate about two to three million Israelites were freed that night.

Out of these, none—not a single one—came out feeble!

Think about the backbreaking work the Israelites were forced to do and the beatings and whippings they suffered under their slave masters (Ex. 1:13–14 AMP), not to mention malnutrition from the poor diet they probably had to scrape together and the abject living conditions they must have faced. Despite years of harsh and severe labor they had to endure, there was not one who came out sick, not one who stumbled, not one who lacked strength or had mobility problems.

Do you think that in the natural, every single one in this nation of slaves could have been completely strong and healthy? Of course not. And among so many of them, I am sure there would have been elderly slaves as well. So how is it possible the Bible records that “none were feeble”?

I submit to you that something happened to their bodies on the night of the Passover as they ate the roasted lamb. I believe many among them were weak and sickly before the night of the Passover.

But something happened that reversed all the effects of repetitive stress injuries, muscle and ligament strains, incapacitating work injuries, age-related conditions, and infectious diseases that could have plagued the Israelites because of the conditions they lived under.

Something happened that night that caused them to supernaturally become healthy. The children of Israel were filled with divine strength for the journey ahead that God knew would be long, and I believe their youth was renewed like the eagle’s (Ps. 103:5, Isa. 40:31).

If that could happen for the children of Israel when all they had was a natural lamb (the shadow of the true Lamb of God that you and I have), how much more should we see our bodies healed, our strength rejuvenated, and every weakness reversed when we partake of the holy Communion?

We have the true Lamb of God, the substance and the reality of the shadow the Israelites believed in. How much more should we have none feeble and none sick among us!

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

Get Ready to Play Offense

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

1 John 4:4

Whatever team sports you follow, you know that defense is vital. A good defensive strategy keeps you in contention, but defense alone doesn’t win championships.

The prayer of protection in Psalm 91 has many defensive elements, such as dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, abiding under the shadow of the Almighty, and taking the Lord as our refuge and fortress. We can also see how we are covered under His wings and protected by an angelic army.

Knowing that we’ve got our defensive game covered, are you ready to play some offense?

Certainly, there are times and seasons when the best thing to do is to take cover and to allow ourselves to be sheltered. The Lord is our safe house, our hiding place, and our impenetrable fortress, and I love that we get to take refuge in Him.

But the prayer of protection also declares this in verse 13: “You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.”

That’s taking an offensive position. That’s going on the attack. That’s taking authority!

In the Gospel of Luke, we see our Lord Jesus sending seventy disciples out against the kingdom of darkness, as “lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3). Have you ever seen a lamb overpower a wolf?

Of course not. You see, this authority that we are talking about is not natural authority. Like the lamb, you and I have no power in and of ourselves. This is a supernatural authority that comes from our Lord Jesus Christ, just as the strength that enabled Samson to tear apart the young lion was a supernatural strength.

The portrayals of Samson I have seen depict a massive and muscular man. I think he could have been small and scrawny, but endued with supernatural power and might from God.

Naturally speaking, for Samson to take on the lion with his bare hands was like a lamb taking on a ferocious wolf. But we know that He who is in us is greater than any predator that is in the world. Amen!

My friend, in Christ, you are far stronger than you think you are. You may not look it or feel it, but God always uses the weak things of this world to confound the wise and mighty (1 Cor. 1:27).

Remember, the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. It is the Lord who ultimately determines who shall emerge victorious. And since the Lord is for you, who can be against you (Rom. 8:31)!

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