Faith Is Not a Struggle

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Romans 10:17 NASB

Have you ever felt like you needed more faith? Have you ever looked at yourself and told yourself that if you just had more faith, you would see your financial breakthrough or healing?

My friend, I have good news for you today: faith is not a struggle. The Scriptures show us that the hearing of faith and the works of the law are total opposites (Gal. 3:2, 5). And since the works of the law are about our self-efforts, there is no self-effort in faith.

For years, my own ministry was a ministry that disqualified people. I would tell my congregation, “There’s nothing wrong with God, nothing wrong with His Word, so there must be something wrong with you!”

But one day, I heard the Lord speaking to me on the inside. He said, “Stop disqualifying My people! My blood has already qualified them. Stop disqualifying them!”

Now, I know that faith is the opposite of the law, and that the more people become self-conscious and the more they look at their self-efforts to receive from the Lord, the more faith is depleted from them.

So when the Lord opened my eyes to grace, I changed what I was preaching entirely and began to declare, “There’s nothing wrong with God, nothing wrong with His Word, and guess what? Through the blood of Jesus, there’s nothing wrong with you! Receive your miracle!”

Hallelujah! Once I stopped pointing the people to what was wrong with them and pointed instead to what was right with them because of Jesus, faith was imparted, and we began to experience an explosion of healing miracles like never before. Cancers were healed, tumors were supernaturally removed, and lives were transformed.

That is what happens when believers know that they have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus. They begin to understand that they have the blood-bought right to be healed, to experience financial breakthroughs, and to enjoy restoration in their marriages!

When people begin to see more of Jesus, when they begin to become more and more conscious of Jesus having been crucified on their behalf, faith no longer is a barrier to receiving God’s promises.

Why? Because the more they see what Jesus has done for them, the more they see what Jesus has qualified them for, the more faith springs up within them and miracles break forth. Hallelujah!

Beloved, you don’t have to wish that you had more faith for whatever miracle you are asking God for right now. You don’t have to try to conjure up more faith.

Simply see Jesus on the cross for you and the faith you need to face any situation or challenge will come into your life. Just look to Jesus and His grace toward you! He is the author and finisher of faith (Heb. 12:2).

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. The more of Jesus and His love you hear, the more faith rises in your heart.

Get hold of teachings that preach all about Jesus and His finished work. Make it your priority to listen to the good news preached.

There is power in the gospel of Jesus Christ! Reach out and receive your miracle from your loving Savior today!

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

See What God Sees

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2

Learning to see what God sees is a powerful key in right believing. It involves replacing your wrong beliefs with right beliefs based on God’s Word.

When Jesus saw the man with the withered hand, He didn’t just see the withered hand, He saw that there was more than enough grace for that hand to be made completely whole. Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” The man did as told, and his hand was completely restored and made as whole as his other hand (Mark 3:1–5).

Now, you don’t say “stretch out your hand” to someone whose hand is obviously shriveled and disabled unless you see differently. Jesus sees differently from you and me.

That’s why we need to go back to God’s Word and learn to see what He sees. When Jesus sees a disease, a lack, or someone trapped in fear, guilt, addiction, and sin, He doesn’t just see the problem. He sees God’s healing, grace, and power superabounding in that area of weakness.

You too can change what you believe by seeing beyond what your natural eyes see. Press in to see what God sees. In your very area of lack, struggle, or challenge, see His superabounding grace all around your current situation.

Jesus says to you today, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Give all your weaknesses, failings, and mistakes to the Lord Jesus and see Him transform your weaknesses into strengths.

What you believe is powerful, so are you going by what you see or what God sees?

You may not be able to stop negative thoughts from passing through your mind or unhealthy emotions such as fear gripping your heart but you can definitely anchor your thoughts and emotions on the unshakable Word of God. You can certainly ensure that you believe right regarding what God says about you in His Word, which contains His precious promises to you.

The more you learn and believe right about His love and what His Word says about your situation and your life, the more your thoughts will line up with His thoughts about you. You’ll begin to develop thoughts of peace and not of evil, thoughts of hope and a bright future (Jer. 29:11). And you’ll be transformed!

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

Message from Amir Tsarfati

The book of Judges is not a great compliment to the spiritual state of Israel. Nehemiah wrote of this later, way later. He said, “Therefore, You delivered them into the hands of their enemies who oppressed them, and in the time of their trouble, when they cried out to You, You heard from heaven and according to Your abundant mercies, You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hands of their enemies. But after they had rest, they again did evil before You. And therefore, You left them in the hand of their enemies so that they had dominion over them. But yet, when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven. And many times, you delivered them according to Your mercies.”

It’s not according to their deeds, it’s according to His mercies. We need to stop thinking that Israel has to be a perfect nation in order for God to fulfill His promises for them. This thought is not biblical. Now you’re probably going to say, “Yeah, but they have to believe in Jesus to get saved.” Sure they have to. But the plan of God for Israel, until the moment all of Israel will be saved, is a plan that has been already determined and neither the Amorites nor the Amalekites or even Hamas or the Ayatollahs can ever put an end to it. So you have to choose who do you support? On which side you want to be when you already know the end? You know the result.

Seated with Christ

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 91:1

There is a lot of fearmongering everywhere you turn today—on the news, in the papers, via social media, and unfortunately, on Christian media as well. However, it is vital that we do not let fear take over our hearts.

As believers, we have no business feeding on fear. If your mind is entangled with knots of anxiety, perhaps it’s time for you to examine your mental diet.

What have you, consciously or unconsciously, been meditating on? Are you ingesting and believing everything you see in the news reports, or are you living by what the Lord Jesus has purchased for you at Calvary?

To help you understand God’s heart for you regarding fear and your walking in His protection, I want to share with you a powerful key from today’s verse, the very first verse of Psalm 91, the prayer of protection. The Hebrew word for “dwell” is yashab, which means “to sit down, to remain, or to settle.”

Notice that the very first thing that God wants you to do to enjoy His protection is to rest. His protection, peace, love, and other blessings flow in your life when you are in a place of rest.

Let’s camp on the word dwell just a little more. Let’s meditate on what it means to rest or “sit down.” The Bible says that we are seated with Christ at God’s right hand (Eph. 2:6, Heb. 1:3). The word “seated” is beautiful—it means that you are no longer standing and working.

Under the old covenant, the priest had to offer the morning sacrifice at 9 a.m., and then remain standing for six hours until after the evening sacrifice at 3 p.m. Our Lord Jesus was crucified at 9 a.m. and He hung on the cross for six hours until He died at 3 p.m., thus fulfilling the type of both the morning and evening sacrifices (Heb. 10:11–12).

Because Jesus became the final sacrifice, the work of the priest is done and he no longer has to stand. Because our Lord cried, “It is finished!” at Calvary (John 19:30), we are today seated in Christ. We can dwell in the secret place of the Most High—a place of peace, safety, and security—and we can live fear-free because the blood of our Lord Jesus has paid for every blessing of protection in Psalm 91!

Today, whether you are dealing with a difficult financial situation, a sleep disorder, or plagued by depressive or even suicidal thoughts, my desire is for you to discover a God who loves you, and whose strong hands of protection are over your entire life and over every area that concerns you.

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

The Holy Spirit Convicts Believers of Righteousness

“And when He [the Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

John 16:8–11

Are you among the many believers who wonder how to differentiate between the enemy’s condemnation and the Holy Spirit “convicting them of sin”? That is a question that confuses a lot of believers and the answer is really simple.

Now, pay attention to today’s scripture because it will liberate you. The bottom line is that the Holy Spirit never convicts a believer of his sins. He never comes to point out your faults. I challenge you to find a scripture in the Bible that tells you the Holy Spirit has come to convict believers of their sins. You won’t find any!

The body of Christ is living in defeat because many believers don’t understand that the Holy Spirit is actually in them to convict them of their righteousness in Christ. Even when you fail, He is ever present in you to remind you that the blood of Jesus has made you totally forgiven and eternally righteous. That’s the Holy Spirit.

Remember, it is important to always read Bible verses in their context. Many people end up misinterpreting Bible verses because they fail to do this. One way to read Bible verses in their context (and this is a key Bible interpretation principle) is to identify who the verses are talking about. So was Jesus talking about believers or unbelievers in John 16:8–11?

When Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come to “convict the world of sin” because they do not believe in Him, it is clear that He was referring to unbelievers because they are of “the world.” And notice that the Holy Spirit does not convict the world of “sins” (plural). It is only one “sin” (singular) that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of, and that is the sin of unbelief, the sin of rejecting Jesus and not believing in His finished work.

But when people take John 16:8 out of its proper context, they start to believe erroneously that the Holy Spirit is here to convict believers of their sins. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit convicts you “of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more.”

Clearly, with the use of the second person pronoun “you,” Jesus was referring to His believers to whom He was talking. This tells us that the Holy Spirit was sent to convict believers of righteousness, not sin!

Now, are you made righteous by your works or by faith in Jesus? By now, you should know that you are made righteous by faith, for righteousness is not right doing, but right standing before God because of your right believing!

So when you miss it, the Holy Spirit comes to convict and remind you that you are the righteousness of God because of Jesus Christ. He is present to remind you of the main clause of the new covenant—that God will be merciful to your unrighteousness, and your sins and your lawless deeds, He will remember no more (Heb. 8:12).

Beloved, the Holy Spirit is your Helper (John 14:16). He was sent to live in you to help you, not to nag at you and point out all your faults. Nobody can live with a nag.

The Holy Spirit is not a nag. No, He was sent to help you by convicting you of your everlasting righteousness in Christ. God’s inexhaustible grace in your life and the power of the cross can only be understood by the revelation the Spirit brings.

Right now, you need Him to show you that even if you have just failed, you are still the righteousness of God in Christ. This is why the Holy Spirit is called the “Comforter” (John 14:26 KJV). He is here to comfort you and to point you back to the cross of Jesus every time you fail. The only thing that He will convict you of is your righteousness in Jesus Christ!

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

Commandments Lead To Happiness

Matthew 5:32, 'But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, save for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.'

God's commandments are not intended to make us miserable--they're meant for our own happiness. Satan's lie in the Garden of Eden caused Eve to question God's motives behind His command (Genesis 3:5).

Malachi 2:15 says God hates divorce. God doesn't hate the people who divorce. He hates the act of divorce because of the damage it does to people. God loves people.

Today, people see divorce as an easy way out of marital problems. But this is based on the misconception that the mate is the problem--which is rarely the case.

People who blame their mate for their problems give in easily to divorce, thinking that a new partner will solve the situation. Yet second marriages have over twice the failure rate of first marriages. That's because we take ourselves and all our unresolved problems into the next marriage.

You can't control other people--not even your mate. But through obeying the Lord, you can control yourself and have fulness of joy. God's commands tell us what will produce true happiness for us. Andrew Womack

Message from Amir Tsarfati

Shalom from the Jezreel Valley! It has been a very difficult week here in Israel, so I am going to get right to it. By tomorrow, Israel should be receiving the final four of this week’s ten hostages. In return, Hamas will receive 640 terrorists, 151 with blood on their hands. The difference between those whom Israel will welcome home and those Hamas will receive goes beyond the numbers. The primary distinction is that all of the Palestinian terrorists are alive, while four of our hostages are not.

Hamas terrorists = 640, Israeli hostages = 10.

Living Hamas terrorists = 640, living Israeli hostages = 6.

There is a plethora of sins that I blame Hamas for. But this discrepancy is not one of them. They are simply taking advantage of the situation that the Israeli government has created for them. You’d be a fool to agree to a 10 for 10 swap if you knew that you could get another 630 thrown into the bargain. This is the world that Israel has created for itself. Wisdom says that you don’t pay for hostages. Why? Just look at the numbers above.

Do I blame Netanyahu’s government for doing what they’ve done? I don’t, because they are playing with the hand they’ve been dealt. These lopsided deals over human lives began before Bibi was in office. Now that they are standard, it is impossible to stop without simply saying, “Sorry, citizens and families of the hostages, we’re going to have to let your sons and husbands be brutally murdered so that we can make a point.” That is a public relations pit that you’ll never climb back out of. But, more than that, it is a moral gutpunch that few consciences could survive.

With this swap, we end Phase 1 of the deal. Hamas is still holding 59 of our people in captivity, 24 of whom we believe are still alive. The terrorists say, “We’d love to give you back the rest of your people. But we want three things in return. First, we want all Israeli troops out of Gaza, never to return. Second, Hamas must stay in power. Third, we want Gaza to be reconstructed.” Israel’s reply is, “First, we aren’t leaving. Second, you aren’t staying. Third, Gaza will be reconstructed, but Donald Trump has a much greater chance of getting it done than you do.”

In other words, we are at a stand-off. The liberal left in Israel is screaming to just pull out. Getting the hostages back is worth any price, they say. Those with common sense counter that doing so will just encourage more hostage taking. The liberal left responds by forcing Netanyahu to come in to testify at a bogus trial while he has a nation in crisis to lead. It’s so aggravating. It reminds me of the screeching of the media in both Israel and the United States. When you have no true facts or logic to back up your position, you yell and attack and make stupid stuff up. That is where Israel is as a nation right now.

Except for yesterday during the procession that took the bodies of Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel Bibas to their final resting place in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Thousands upon thousands of people lined the roads on the long drive to the south. No eye was dry. No chest was unclenched. It was a nation filled with sorrow and pain. Everyone knew how these three innocents were strangled by hand, then mutilated. I’m not going to get into the details here, but if you want to know how they died you can read it here.

There is no dealing with these terrorists. They are worse than animals. When they released the six living hostages earlier this week, they brought two more captives who were forced to remain in a vehicle. As those on stage were forced to show their appreciation for their captors before being passed on to the Red Cross, these other two hostages were mocked as they were required to watch. Once the ceremony was completed, the two hostages were taken back down to the tunnels to resume their captivity. It was simply barbarous.

I don’t know what will happen from here. Steve Witkoff, special envoy of President Trump, says the Palestinians need to get out of Gaza. Saudi Arabia and the UAE say they’ve got to go. But Egypt and Qatar disagree, saying they’ve got to stay. Hamas is experiencing infighting now that some of the leaders are recognizing the price they paid for October 7. There are factions in Hezbollah for jumping in on October 8. It’s all coming to a head and something will have to explode somewhere.

No Smell of Smoke on You

So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!

Daniel 3:26–27 NLT

There is truly no other god who can rescue like our God. Whatever circumstances you might be thrown into, our Lord Jesus is the fourth man with you in the midst of the fire. Notice how He didn’t stand outside of the fire, but was in the fire together with the three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, when they were thrown inside for defying King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

This brings a whole new meaning for us when we read the verse, “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you” (Deut. 31:6).

Our Lord doesn’t deliver you from afar; He is with you in the midst of your adversity. Call upon Him and He will answer you. When Jesus is with you, nothing can harm you!

Don’t you just love how the Word of God describes the three friends when they came out of the furnace? They were in the fire, but it had absolutely no power over them. It did not even leave a trace of smoke on them! Now, that’s a beautiful picture of God’s divine protection!

Beloved, as you call upon the Lord in your day of trouble, my prayer for you is that the trial you are going through will have no power over you; it will not even leave a smell on you. Instead, I declare in Jesus’ name that you will walk out of that challenge in your life and the only smell on you will be the fragrance of the Lord Jesus (2 Cor. 2:14)!

And as the people around you witness how the Lord delivers you, may they come to know His wonderful name and give Him praise. Instead of being negatively affected by whatever trial you might face, I pray that you will receive honor and promotion just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Amen!

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

The Best Sinner

Matthew 5:20, 'For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.'

What did Jesus mean? Since the Pharisees fasted twice each week, does this mean we have to fast three times each week? Since they paid tithes on everything including spices, does this mean that anyone who fails to tithe is doomed to hell?

No! Definitely not. The Pharisees' righteousness was based on their actions. Jesus is advocating a righteousness that is based on faith in what He did for us.

Trusting in our own actions will never grant us access to God. We may be better than others, but who wants to be the best sinner that ever went to hell? We have all sinned and come short of perfection which is what God requires (Rom. 3:23).

The only one who was ever good enough to earn right standing with God is Jesus. And His righteousness is offered as a gift to anyone who will put their faith in Him as their Savior.

Jesus offers us a righteousness by faith that is so far superior to the self righteousness that the Pharisees had that there is no comparison. This is the righteousness that we need and which is available to us only through faith in Christ. AndrewWomack

What the New Covenant Hinges On

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Hebrews 8:12

Today, because of the cross, you are under the new covenant of grace. Now, what does the new covenant hinge on? Beloved, God is so good.

The new covenant that God has made is not dependent on anything that you and I must do because He knows that we will always fail. Listen carefully. The new covenant works because of one thing only, and it is the last clause of the new covenant—“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

To the measure that you have a revelation of this clause and all its blessings, to that measure you will walk in it. The new covenant works because God says that He will be merciful to our unrighteousness, and our sins and lawless deeds He will remember no more!

Note the word “For.” It means “because.” The new covenant works because God says that He will be merciful to our unrighteousness, and our sins and lawless deeds He will remember no more! “No more” means that there was a time God remembered our sins, even to punish them to the third and fourth generations (Ex. 20:5). This is found in the Ten Commandments.

However, today, God says emphatically, “No more!" (It is the double negative that is used in the Greek.) "No more" means that God will never again remember our sins against us because He remembered (to punish) all our sins in the body of His Son.

Jesus bore God’s punishment of our sins on the cross. Now, we can walk in the new covenant and hear God say, “Your sins and lawless deeds I remember no more.”

My friend, the new covenant works because of the last clause. In other words, because of Hebrews 8:12, God can put His laws in our minds and write them on our hearts, and all of us can know Him and be led by Him. It is His mercy toward us that enables us to hear Him and be led by Him to victory in every situation!

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

He Will Share His Reward

Matthew 5:12, 'Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.'

Jesus is saying that persecution should actually cause us to rejoice. There are many positive things about persecution but one of the best reasons to rejoice is because of the reward awaiting us in heaven.

Jesus takes the persecution of His saints very seriously as can be seen during the Damascus road experience of the apostle Paul. The Lord asked Paul (then Saul), 'Why are you persecuting me?' (Acts 9:4) He didn't say, 'Why are you persecuting my people?' but 'Why are you persecuting me?'

It is not actually us that people are rejecting but they are rejecting the One we represent. Therefore, Jesus promised to share His reward with us. All the glory and honor that Jesus has and will receive will be shared with those who have suffered shame for His name's sake (Rom. 8:17). What a great reward!

Focusing on the reward instead of the persecution can actually make us rejoice when people speak against us (Acts 5:41). Paul actually longed to experience the fellowship that Jesus provided to those who suffered for His sake (Phil. 3:10). God's reward is infinitely greater than any suffering we will ever encounter. Andrew Womack

The Waterfall of Forgiveness

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 1:7

Let me tell you a story about a little boy who used to play in the woods just a short distance away from the dilapidated hut that he lived in. His parents were too poor to buy him any toys, so he had to make do with whatever he could find.

One day, he chanced upon a stone that was unlike any he had ever seen. The polished surface of the stone glistened in his hands and winked at him each time he turned it around in the sunlight. It was his very own treasure and he loved it.

The boy did not dare to bring it back to his home as there was nowhere in the hut he could hide it. He decided to dig a deep hole under some bushes and hide his precious possession there.

The next day, the boy couldn’t wait to retrieve his stone and ran to its hiding place as soon as the sun arose. But when his fingers finally found the stone in its muddy hideaway, it was all mud-caked and dull, without any of the luster that he loved so much.

The boy took the stone to the stream and carefully dipped it in, allowing the dirt to be washed away. Finally, it was clean again and the boy’s heart swelled with pride at his treasured find. But all too soon, the time came for the boy to head home and he had to return the stone to its hiding place.

Every day, the boy would rush to the spot where he had hidden the stone. And every day, he would find its shiny surface smeared with mud and he would trek to the river some distance away to wash it.

This happened for a while before he decided to solve the problem permanently. That day, when it was almost time for him to head home, the little boy took his stone to a small waterfall and wedged it carefully between two rocks, right in the middle of the steady flow of the waterfall.

That night, the stone experienced a continual washing. And that little boy never had to wash the stone again. Every time he retrieved it, it gleamed in his hands, completely cleansed.

Beloved, when you were born again, you became a living stone whom God placed right under the waterfall of His Son’s blood. And today’s scripture shows us the effect of that continual cleansing of Jesus’ blood—it keeps us walking in the realm of light that His death has translated us into.

If you were to dig deeper into the rich treasures of God’s Word, you will find that in the Greek, the tense for the word cleanse in 1 John 1:7 denotes a present and continuous action, which means that from the moment you receive Christ, the blood of Jesus keeps on cleansing you.

This is why believers who have been translated from darkness by Jesus’ death are kept walking in the light even when they miss it and fail. As a believer, you are truly under a perpetual waterfall of His blood that keeps on cleansing you from all your sins.

You know that negative thought that you had a few minutes ago? Well, that has been cleansed too! Every thought that is not right, every action that is not correct, is washed away! You are always kept clean and forgiven and always walking in His light because of the continuous cleansing of Jesus’ blood!

Beloved, believing that you need to confess your sins all the time to be right with God will only make you more sin-conscious. But knowing that you are constantly under Jesus’ waterfall of His cleansing blood will keep you forgiveness-conscious. And knowing that you are forgiven of all your sins will give you the power to reign over every destructive habit and live a life of victory!

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

At Thy Word

Luke 5:5, 'And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.'

Peter and his companions had been working hard all night. Their efforts had not produced even one fish. They had given up and were headed home. But Jesus told them to try it just one more time.

It would have been easy for Peter to reject Jesus' command. After all, Peter had been a fisherman all his life. Jesus was just a preacher. What did He know about fishing? Yet something, or rather someone, caused Peter to try just once more.

Many people are like Simon Peter and his partners. They have done all that they know to do and yet they've come up empty-handed. This breeds a despair and hopelessness that causes many people to quit trying. Yet, just one word from Jesus could make the same tasks that have been unproductive on our own bear great fruit.

The key to success or failure lies in doing things at the word of Jesus. Peter said, 'at thy word I will let down the net.' God's words always get results.

Today, make sure your efforts are directed by God and you will experience the results that have eluded you in the past. Andrew Womack

Unveiling the Value of Jesus

Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

John 12:3

Our Lord Jesus loved to frequent Bethany where He could be among His closest friends, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Bethany was a home away from home for our Lord. There, His friends loved Him, honored Him, and truly valued His presence. On His part, He cherished their company dearly, and always felt comfortable and relaxed with them.

Six days before He gave Himself up to be crucified, He gathered His friends together in Bethany, which was about two miles away from Jerusalem. They had prepared a feast in His honor, but their reunion was overshadowed by the looming Passover, which was less than a week away. His friends understood to some degree what the Lord intended to do, and their hearts were heavy because they cared deeply for Him.

As our Lord Jesus was eating, Mary brought out a jar of spikenard, a very costly fragrant oil. So costly, in fact, that it was worth a whole year’s wages. But it wasn’t the hours she had toiled to earn the oil that Mary thought about as she cradled the jar in her hands.

It was Jesus. It was her Lord.

She had come prepared to worship Jesus and her heart overflowed with a love that could not be expressed in words as she drew near to Him. Gratitude and adoration welled up inside her as she knelt quietly beside Him.

Not sparing a drop of her exquisite tribute, she anointed the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. And the entire house was filled with the opulent fragrance of her worship of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Upon witnessing this lavish and extravagant gesture, one of Jesus’ disciples, Judas Iscariot, lashed out indignantly, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12:5).

The sad reality is this: Judas could tell the value of the oil straightaway, but he couldn’t see the value of our Lord Jesus. He is like so many people today who know the value of real estate, commodities, and publicly traded companies in the stock market, but not the value of our Lord Jesus.

Mary understood the value of our Lord implicitly. Because she esteemed Jesus so greatly, anointing Him with her most valuable possession was simply an outward representation of just how much she loved, valued, and cherished our Lord Jesus inwardly.

What Judas Iscariot saw as waste, Mary saw as worship. To her, the person of our Lord Jesus was priceless.

Have you ever been told that reading the Bible is a waste of time? That serving and being engaged in your local church is a waste of time? That bringing your tithes to your church is a waste of money? My dear reader, there will always be such accusatory voices in the world. Why? Because these voices do not understand the value of our Lord Jesus.

I am so glad that you appreciate the value of our Lord Jesus, which is why you are taking time to read this devotional that is all about the person of Jesus. The grace revolution is all about unveiling the value of Jesus. When you know the value of Jesus, Who He is, what He has done, and what He is still doing in your life today, you will experience a grace revolution in your life.

You will begin to live above every defeat, sin, addiction, fear, doubt, and challenge in your life when you have a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus and keep receiving teaching that is full of the abundance of His grace and the gift of righteousness. Value our Lord Jesus accurately in your life and you will be unstoppable.

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

Worldly Wisdom Versus God’s Wisdom

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.

Psalm 1:1

Today, I want to talk about how you can depend on God’s wisdom to succeed. Wisdom from the Lord comes by God’s unmerited favor. It is not something that you can study for or acquire with your efforts. Wisdom from the Lord is something that the world cannot have.

This is not to say that the world does not have wisdom. Step into any bookstore today and you will find shelves full of books containing experts’ theories and methods on all sorts of subjects. The majority of these, however, stem from human wisdom, which strengthens and builds up only the flesh.

Whether they know it or not, the people of the world are crying out for true wisdom from the Lord. Just look at the constant demand for self-help books. But what we need is not more “self-help.” What we need is the Lord's help! Read books that are written by Spirit-filled believers and Christian leaders who encourage you to look to Jesus and not to yourself.

Psalm 1:1 tells us this from the start: "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.” Beloved, this means that there is counsel in human wisdom. But the man who does not walk according to the wisdom of the world is the man who is blessed.

At the same time, if his delight is in Jesus, and he meditates on Jesus day and night, Psalm 1:3 says, “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

My friend, make a decision to walk in the counsel of the godly and not in the counsel of the world, and you will see whatever you do prosper. God has raised up men and women who are established in the truths of the new covenant, and who will help you keep your eyes on Jesus. In Him, you will find all the wisdom that pertains to life.

The Bible tells us that in Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:2–3) for your success. Keep looking to Jesus, draw on His divine wisdom, and see the difference it will make to you!

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

Message from Amir Tsarfati

Some of the last words of Jesus and even Paul were actually words of warning to the church. And remember, when Jesus gathered the disciples on the Mount of Olives, and when they asked Him about the signs of the end of the age in Matthew 24, it says, “Now, as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately.” It’s something that didn’t really cause the rest of the Jews to even think that Jesus would have an answer to. But the disciples came to Him privately without anyone around and asked Him, “Tell us when will these things be and what will the sign of your coming end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Take heed that no one deceives you.” In other words, there’s going to be the things that I’m going to tell you that will be, but I want you to know that deception is the first thing you’re going to encounter.

When considering Bible prophecy, the first thing we need to remember is to not approach what we read like we would a weather prediction, as if there is simply a percentage of a chance of it happening.

Everything the Bible says about the last days will happen exactly as written, including both the clearly stated and the only implied.  

Matthew 24:4-8
And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

Remember, the question the disciples asked was about the end of the age and the signs of His coming. Thus, the context of the answer is the same as the question. Jesus clearly stated there will be false Christs, wars and rumors of wars, international and ethnic tensions, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes. And all of this is preceded by an admonition to not be deceived, which implies there will be efforts to spread lies concerning the signs of His coming and the end of the age.

That means that in the time of the signs Jesus mentioned, there will be deceivers who say the increase in those things means nothing. The deception is also much broader in that some will deny that modern Israel is Biblical Israel. Others will deny that the rapture is a Biblical doctrine. The apostle Peter said that some will even scoff at the idea that Jesus is coming again at all (2 Peter 3:3).

The truth is that if God said it is going to happen, it will happen just as He said. We also know there will be a comparatively short duration of time during which the signs that His coming is soon will be evident. 

We are living in such a time today. The deception concerning both the Bible and the evidence of the last days is in full swing, and the scoffers and deniers are all around us. The tragedy of all this is that during this time when they ought to be more confident than ever that the Bible and its end times prophecies are one hundred percent true, they scoff at the idea of of His return instead.

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

Come Under His Wings of Mercy and Grace

He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge.

Psalm 91:4

It is wonderful when the Lord delivers you from the snare of the fowler. But Psalm 91 tells us that God wants us to step into something even better. Verse 4 goes on to say, “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge.” There are so many powerful truths hidden in this simple line!

The Old Testament was written predominantly to the Jewish people, who would understand words such as “His wings” and “feathers” as pointing to the ark of the covenant, namely the cherubim on top of the ark.

Of all the furniture pieces in the temple, the ark was the most holy. It was placed in the Holy of Holies and typifies our Lord Jesus Christ. It was made of incorruptible wood and overlaid with gold. The wood represents His incorruptible and sinless humanity, while the gold speaks of His perfect divinity and deity. Our Lord Jesus was one hundred percent man and yet one hundred percent God.

The lid of the ark of the covenant, where you find the cherubim, was hammered out of one solid piece of gold. It is called kapporeth in Hebrew and is usually translated as “mercy seat.” To understand the significance of the mercy seat, we have to understand the contents within the ark of the covenant.

Three items were placed inside the ark of the covenant: the stone tablets on which God had inscribed the Ten Commandments, a golden pot of manna, and Aaron’s rod that had budded. The three items typify man’s rebellion—man’s rejection of God’s holy standards, man’s rejection of God’s provision, and man’s rejection of God’s appointed leadership.

God took these symbols of man’s rebellion and failure, placed them in the ark of the covenant, and covered them with His mercy seat. It’s a beautiful picture of His unmerited favor over our lives, of how mercy triumphs over judgment.

This is the secret place where God wants you and me to live each day—not under the claws of judgment, punishment, and condemnation, but under His wings of mercy, grace, and favor. This is the place of intimacy with our Lord Jesus; this is the place of divine protection.

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

True Rest for the Weary Soul

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28–30

Perhaps by now you are wondering whether the grace teaching you have been reading or hearing is doctrinally sound. Here’s the litmus test, my friend: the preaching of the new covenant of grace should always exalt Christ.

It should always reveal more and more of Jesus—His beauty and the perfection of His finished work on the cross. Jesus and what He has done are always glorified when true grace is taught.

There is no proper grace teaching without Jesus Christ. So ask yourself, have you been hearing about Jesus and what He has done, or have you been hearing about man and what he must do?

Now, what is the effect of hearing Jesus and His finished work exalted? It leads to a life of rest and good success, because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Today’s scripture explains this very simply. Jesus was speaking to people who were weary and worn out by the requirements of the law of Moses.

The yoke of the law is hard and heavy. The yoke of grace is easy and light because it involves none of you and all of Christ. He has borne the burden of sin on your behalf. Under grace, your part is to only believe on Jesus Christ, and when you believe, you are made righteous and blessed!

I love this testimony from Nadia in South Africa that showcases the amazing grace that Jesus brings. This is the undeserved, unearned, and unmerited favor of God that leads to rest, joy, and true success for the weary soul:

Three years ago, I had a high-powered career with plenty of financial resources and a wonderful family. The flip side was constant exhaustion from a ridiculous schedule, guilt from not spending time with my young son and husband, and stress from trying to balance it all on my own. On top of everything, I had been taught that Jesus expected a perfect performance from me in order for His blessings to flow in my life. I was burned out and very deficient in many areas of my life, including joy.

As I read one of Pastor Prince’s books and listened to his CDs, I began to see how Jesus paid the price for my sins to give me His righteousness and freedom, and that it was His will for me to live an abundant life, full to the brim and overflowing. Very gently, Jesus began to move me away from the “success” that was making me so unhappy.

My husband and I made plans to change our circumstances so that I could be with my children on a more permanent basis. Despite the financial implications for our family, Jesus gave me such a shalom-peace about our decision. So I left my high-powered, financially stable job to begin my own consultancy. Jesus was amazing in providing for us throughout the year, not just financially, but also in quality time. I had time to draw infinitely closer to Him, time for my family, and even time for my hobbies, which included finishing the writing of my first novel.

However, being still involved with corporate life through my consultancy, I struggled to walk in the peace that Jesus promised us. The old habits I’d formed with regards to stress and worry still intruded into the new space Jesus had provided for me. Then, unexpectedly, the doors in my business began to close. Confused and uncertain, I felt as though I was in the middle of a hurricane as I tried to open the doors that would lead me deeper into corporate consulting. But through Pastor Prince’s sermon, “The Key of David—God Opens Doors That No One Can Shut,” Jesus reassured me that He was in control, and that I could trust Him because He loves me.

I stand in awe of Jesus because He has closed doors that weren’t good for me and opened doors beyond my grandest dreams. He opened the door to having my book published by one of the biggest international publishing houses in the world. In just five months, Jesus turned my situation around, giving me a new career in which I can reach and inspire many more people than I would ever have dreamed possible. He has provided me with family time and time to be with Him. I know from His Word that He will bring me good success. I now wake up looking forward to the day with such joy and expectation of His goodness—not because of anything I have done, but all because of Him!

When I look back on the journey Jesus has brought me through, I can see His grace at every turn. Jesus is so kind, magnificent, and altogether lovely! He has delivered me into a truly rich and bountiful life that is full of His joy and abundance!

That, my friend, is the grace of God. It provides rest and freedom from all your self-efforts. It is the unshakable basis on which you can expect God to provide for you and lead you to good success.

If you are weary and heavy laden, come to Jesus, the gracious one, and learn from Him all that He has done for you. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. By His grace, find rest, yes, true rest for your soul. Start receiving the treasures that were purchased for you by His blood and begin reigning in every area of life!

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

Our Debts Have Been Cancelled

Luke 4:19, 'To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.'

This scripture had been written prophetically by the prophet Isaiah about 650 years prior to this time. It was read in Jewish synagogues thousands of times. But the one this verse was speaking of had never spoken it before. With this pronouncement, Jesus began the year of Jubilee.

The Year of Jubilee was described in Leviticus 25. It was a year when everyone left their fields unworked and kept a sabbath unto the Lord. The Lord gave the people a miraculous provision the year before this jubilee started that sustained them for three years until their crops could once again be harvested.

This jubilee was different than the other sabbatical years in that every debt was cancelled. All property was returned to its original owner and anyone who had been sold into slavery was set free. It was a year of new beginnings.

Jesus proclaimed a spiritual jubilee. We now live in a time when all our debts to God have been cancelled and all the things the devil stole from us have been returned. Even our slavery to the devil has come to an end through the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a time for rejoicing.

Jesus is our jubilee. Andrew Womack

Eating Fresh

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh.

Hebrews 10:19–20

When God provided manna for the children of Israel in the wilderness, Moses told the people, “Let no one leave any of it till morning” (Ex. 16:19). When some of them did not heed Moses’ words and kept some till the next morning, it bred worms and stank.

This reminds me of the law that the children of Israel had to observe when they brought the peace offering for thanksgiving: “The flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day it is offered. He shall not leave any of it until morning” (Lev. 7:15).

These two verses speak of partaking fresh and not leaving the manna or the meat from the sacrifice to turn stale. In the same way, whenever we partake of the holy Communion, let’s ask the Lord for a fresh revelation of what He did for us at the cross.

Let’s not ever become so familiar with the holy Communion that we start to see it as common and ordinary. We are holding the broken body of the Son of God and drinking of His shed blood.

Would you like to have a fresh revelation of the holy Communion? In today’s Scripture passage, God’s Word tells us that through the cross, our Lord Jesus consecrated a “new and living way” for us to draw near to God not with fear and trepidation but with boldness. He allowed His own flesh to be torn so that we can have free access to our loving Father today.

I want to draw your attention to the original Greek word used for new here. It is the word prosphatos and it means “lately slaughtered, freshly killed.” Why did the Holy Spirit use this unusual word here?

Because whenever you partake of the holy Communion, God does not want you to partake as though you are commemorating a historical event that took place long ago. The cross transcends time. As you partake of the holy Communion in remembrance of Him, see your Lord Jesus before you, as though you are right there at Calvary.

See your Lord Jesus freshly slain, bearing all your sicknesses and carrying all your pains. Don’t partake ritualistically, but press in for a fresh revelation of His love that was demonstrated at the cross.

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