All The Wrong Reasons

'And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him.'

Luke 15:28

If this elder son had considered his brother, he would have rejoiced at his return even as his father did. Rather, he was totally self-centered (that's pride) and became angry. This illustrates Proverbs 13:10; 'only by pride cometh contention.'

How can we esteem others better than ourselves when in truth we really think we are better than others? Some people are better athletes than others. Some are better businessmen than others. Some are better speakers than others, and so forth. First, we need to recognize that our accomplishments don't make us better than others. There is a difference between what we do and who we are.

Better performance does not make a better person. A person's character can be severely wanting even though his performance is good. A classic example of this is found in the Pharisees of Jesus' day. They did the right things for all the wrong reasons. Inside they were corrupt. So our evaluation of others needs to change. God judges by looking on the inside, not the outside (1 Sam. 16:7). We need to esteem others on a different basis than what most of us do.

Secondly, to esteem someone better than ourselves simply means to value them more than we value ourselves. To some that may seem impossible, but it isn't.

It is exactly what Jesus did. If Jesus, who was God in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16), could humble Himself and value our good above His own welfare, then we should certainly be able to do the same. It can happen when we die to self and live to God. Andrew Womack

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.

God’s Perfect Law Perfectly Fulfilled

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Colossians 2:13–14

When we consider the account of the woman caught in adultery in John 8, interestingly, the Bible is silent on what Jesus wrote on the ground with His finger in response to the Pharisees on the matter (John 8:6). But I believe that when He stooped down, He was writing the Law of Moses.

I have been to Jerusalem many times. During one of my visits many years ago to the temple precinct where Jesus would have met this woman, the Lord opened my eyes to see that the floor of the temple precinct was made of hard cobblestone. This means Jesus was not writing on soil. He was writing with His finger on stone.

Then, in a flash, I saw that Jesus was writing the law on stone. He was effectively saying to the Pharisees, “You presume to teach Me about the Law of Moses? I am He who wrote the law.” Jesus wrote twice on the ground with His finger, thus completing the typology, as we know that God wrote the Ten Commandments with His finger twice.

The first set of the Ten Commandments was destroyed by Moses when he saw the Israelites worshipping the golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai. God then wrote another set on stones and gave it to Moses for it to be placed under the mercy seat in the ark of the covenant.

I had never heard anyone preach this before—it was a fresh revelation straight from heaven. I love it when the Lord opens my eyes to see His grace!

Do you know why it’s so exciting to know what Jesus wrote on the ground that day? It’s so significant because it shows us that the very author of God’s perfect law does not use the law to judge and condemn us today. And it’s not because God simply decided to be merciful on us. No!

It’s because Jesus Himself fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf and took upon Himself every curse and stroke of punishment for our sins on His own body at the cross. We are forgiven because He was judged. We are accepted because He was condemned!

Whatever your challenge today, your answer is found in receiving a fresh revelation of how much you are forgiven in Christ.

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

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.

God’s Invitation Is for You—Don’t Miss It

'Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: ...And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.' Luke 14:16, 23

The man who made the supper symbolizes God who has invited 'whosoever will' to come to Him. The parable teaches that it is not God who fails to offer salvation to everyone, but rather it is the invited guests who reject God's offer.

These people had feeble excuses just like the excuses of those today who don't accept God's offer of salvation. Therefore, the Lord's Marriage Supper of the Lamb will be furnished with 'undesirables' from the world's point of view, not because God rejects the upper class, but because they reject Him.

Those who have an abundance of this world's possessions don't tend to recognize their need for God as much as those who are without.

Jesus' parable could also be applied to the Jewish nation. God offered salvation to the Jews but they, as a whole, refused Him. Therefore, the Lord sent His servants to the Gentiles to fill His kingdom.

This very parable proves that the Lord is not advocating us using force to convert people to Christianity, because this man accepted the decision of those who rejected his invitation. Therefore, it must be understood that the Lord is admonishing us to compel them to come in by our persuasion or entreaty. The word 'compel' denotes aggressiveness, even in persuading of people. The Church, as a whole, and all of us as individuals are not supposed to simply hang out our 'shingle' and wait for the world to come to us. We are supposed to be aggressively going into all the world with the Good News. We have an urgent command to be a witness because the time before our Lord's return is short. 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.

Who Is Saved?

Luke 13:23-24 'Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.'

Jesus said that many will seek to enter salvation and will not be able to. There are many reasons for this, but it is not because God refused salvation to anyone. 'The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men . . .' (Ti. 2:11) and God 'is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance' (2 Pet. 3:9).

There is effort involved in obtaining salvation. The effort is not for the purpose of earning salvation. That is a free gift (Rom. 5:15); but we do have to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12). Faith in Jesus' goodness is what saves us - not our own goodness - and Satan is constantly trying to destroy our faith. We have to earnestly contend for the faith. True salvation is not just mental assent, but a real heart-felt commitment.

Many people today think that going to church and associating with Christians will provide them with salvation. Some people think that they are Christians because their parents were. But salvation is having a personal relationship with the Lord. You cannot inherit salvation through the natural birth process. 'You must be born again.'

We can rest assured that all those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled (Mt. 5:6). 'Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' Andrew Womack

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.

Play the Right Mental Movies

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

I can still remember what happened when I visited a lady from my congregation in the hospital. Heather had suffered a stroke that completely paralyzed the left side of her body. As I prayed for her, she lifted her right hand in a gesture of prayer.

Amazingly, her left hand followed suit, albeit slowly. This was something that she had been unable to do following the stroke. By the grace of God, she was beginning to experience healing in her body, with sensations starting to seep back into her left arm.

Within a few moments, though, as she lay in the intensive-care ward, intubated and hooked up to incessantly beeping medical equipment, her left arm started to tremble with strain.

“Don’t worry about praying for a breakthrough,” I assured Heather. Smiling at her, I gestured to one of my pastors who was with me and told her, “Leave the praying to us.”

Then, tapping my index finger on the side of my head, I told her, “But watch your mental movies. Make sure that you play the right movies in your mind.”

What did I mean by that? I was telling her to see what God sees and ignore all the sounds, scents, and sights that her natural senses were picking up in the hospital environment.

I was encouraging her to fill her mind with mental images of herself being healthy, strong, and basking in the love of her family at home. I didn’t want her to keep seeing all the worst-case scenarios in her mind.

Then I said to her, “It takes a thought to heal a thought.”

It was a word that I had received in my spirit for her. For some reason, I just felt like the enemy had succeeded in planting a wrong thought or mental picture in her mind, and that had to be removed and replaced with the right thoughts, pictures, and beliefs that are based on the unchanging Word of God. Shortly after our meeting, Heather was discharged from the hospital and her condition improved.

My friend, if you are being tormented by wrong or negative thoughts in your mind, you need the truth of God’s Word to uproot them. Keep meditating on God’s Word and promises to you.

As you do, the negative, defeatist thoughts that have kept you in fear and anxiety will be replaced with God’s good thoughts to bless you with peace and wholeness in every area of your life. Let His Word give you a vision of a bright future full of hope and good things!

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

Unconscious Faith

For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Galatians 5:6 KJV

I believe with all of my heart that as you come under grace and are delivered from the works of the law, faith will no longer be a struggle or barrier because you will walk with unconscious faith. You will not be wondering all the time, “Do I have enough faith?” You will see Jesus in His grace, and faith will just spring forth from the inside.

It is that simple. Everything that you receive from God, you receive by faith in His grace.

We walk by faith. We fight the good fight of faith. We are saved by faith, healed by faith, and made righteous by faith! The Christian life is a life of faith in God’s grace. The more of His grace we receive, the more faith springs forth.

Our problem in the past was that we put our faith in our own faith, and it didn’t work. We should put our faith in God’s grace and love, for today’s scripture says that faith works by love. This is not in reference to our own love, but to His love for us.

Faith is not trying to make something that is not already there happen. Faith is bringing out of the spirit realm what is already there, what is already true of you.

You do not confess that you are righteous in order to become righteous. You confess that you are righteous because you are already righteous!

But when you confess it, you become conscious of it. You sense it and it becomes powerful and real in your life. It is not having faith in faith. It is having faith in God’s goodness, in His grace.

Allow me to share with you a wonderful testimony my ministry received from Myra in Georgia. It describes how simply seeing God’s grace brings unconscious faith, rest instead of struggle . . . and amazing breakthroughs without any self-effort:

I used to be so painfully shy to the point that my mind would freeze. I would be overwhelmed by feelings of such intense embarrassment that my whole body would ache. To avoid those feelings, I learned to avoid certain situations or attach myself to certain people who could help me get through those trying moments.

Until I was forty-two, I thought there was nothing I could do about my condition. Then, I learned that I need not be stuck this way because that was not part of God’s plan for me.

I began to study the Word and did everything I knew and trusted God for a complete restoration. Over the next fourteen years, I made some progress, but I was frustrated and blamed myself because I did not know what else to do.

When I was fifty-six, I discovered the gospel of grace as I began watching Pastor Prince’s broadcasts regularly. I began to focus on Jesus and His finished work at the cross. While I was doing this, the Holy Spirit began to transform me.

Recently, when my husband and I visited a new church, the pastor asked all the visitors to stand to be welcomed. We stood and greeted those around us.

It was not until we had sat down that I realized I was feeling perfectly fine all that time. I did not mind standing with everyone looking at us—I was not embarrassed to be the center of attention and I was comfortable being greeted by and greeting those sitting closest to us.

I also realized that I’d not dreaded the thought of going to a new church or meeting new people. I did not spend time praying and preparing myself for the experience, nor did I ask my husband to stay close and help me through any awkward moments like I did in the past. The entire experience was painlessly “shy-free”!

I realized that I am becoming more stable and secure, and I am being transformed more and more into Jesus’ image without any struggle or frustration! Hallelujah! God’s ways are so much higher than ours!

My friend, I want to repeat this powerful truth: when you see His grace, God will see your faith. For Myra, faith for complete restoration was no longer a struggle filled with frustration when she saw Jesus and His finished work!

The same is true for you. Faith will spring forth unconsciously, and you will walk in true victory over every area of defeat in your life today!

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

Walk in Wisdom to Stay Safe

Get wisdom! Get understanding! . . . Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.

Proverbs 4:5, 7

It gives me such assurance to know that the Lord can deliver us from trouble. But do you know what’s better than being delivered from trouble?

Not getting into trouble in the first place.

My friend, don’t just seek miracles and protection from God without seeking the wisdom from Him to stay protected and out of trouble. There are times when the challenges we face are beyond our control.

But I’ve found that often, we experience His protection when we follow the Holy Spirit and lean on His wisdom when making decisions. Every day, we need His wisdom, just as we need His protection. After all, Proverbs 4:7 tells us that “wisdom is the principal thing,” and in all our getting, we need to get wisdom.

The Bible tells us that Christ has become for us wisdom from God (1 Cor. 1:30). So what we really need is the Lord Jesus. We need to lean on Him and draw close to Him daily. He is our wisdom and only He can cause us to always be at the right place at the right time. I believe that many troubles and dangerous situations can be completely avoided when we don’t depend on our own wisdom and planning, but involve the Lord in all that we do (Prov. 3:6).

Oftentimes, wisdom and divine protection work hand in hand. Knowing that we can trust God for His protection certainly does not mean that we should willfully put ourselves in precarious situations.

We need to apply wisdom and heed the Lord’s leading through the wise counsel of the people around us, such as our leaders in the local church and our spouses. Proverbs 11:14 tells us, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” For instance, if your spouse has been telling you that you have a problem with speeding, please take heed.

While there can be divine protection, do not be foolish and think that you can do whatever you want and nothing untoward will ever happen to you. I pray that as you involve the Lord and learn to walk in wisdom, you’ll begin to walk in a greater measure of peace, protection, and good success.

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

No Safer Place in the Universe

But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

John 20:11–12

Do you know what Mary saw as she looked into the tomb? She saw the substance of the ark of the covenant.

Just as we saw that there were two cherubim or angels on the mercy seat, there were two angels sitting where Jesus had lain—one at the head and the other at the feet. It was an empty tomb that our Savior was laid in after He had paid the full price for our sins with His own blood.

Today, this tomb remains empty because all our sins are forgiven and our Lord is risen! Our hope, confidence, and assurance of salvation are found in the nail-pierced hands of our resurrected Savior.

The mercy seat is a picture of the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). That is where we want to be—at the throne of grace, under the protective covering of His feathers and His wings.

I want to encourage you with this praise report from Veronica, who lives in New York City.

A few nights ago my husband, Casey, and I were stuck in a traffic jam for five hours. So we put on a sermon by Pastor Joseph Prince titled The Secret Place Where You Find Protection and Long Life.

Later, we found out that a fatal accident had taken place just five seconds ahead of us before we got stuck. Five seconds. The Lord had protected us from the accident!

Today, Casey was again protected miraculously. It appeared that a driver had had a heart attack while driving and passed out. It led to a chain collision and all the cars in front of and behind Casey got hit. And the drivers were taken to the hospital.

Despite all this, Casey’s car was completely untouched. Everything happened so quickly that he had no time to react.

It was the Lord who protected him once again because that very morning, Casey was reading a devotional by Pastor Prince that drew Bible references from Psalm 91. . . . “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge.”

Truly, there is no safer place in the universe than under the protective shelter of our Savior’s wings. What blessed assurance we can have today, knowing that even if destruction rages around us, there is always refuge and comfort in the Lord, our unfailing peace, protection, and supply.

I completely agree with Veronica that there is no safer place in the universe than under His wings, and I rejoice that the Lord’s protection over her and Casey is for us as well!

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

Stewards Of God's Grace

Luke 12:42 'And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his Lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?'

A steward is a person who has been entrusted with administering someone else's wealth or affairs. The possessions a steward controls are not his own and he does not have the freedom to do with them as he wishes. He is supposed to carry out the desires of the one who made him steward.

A banker is a steward. He has been entrusted with other people's money. He is free to invest that money wisely in a way that will benefit his depositors and stockholders, but would be sent to jail if he took all that money and simply consumed it upon himself. A steward is accountable (Lk. 16:2) to someone else for the use of that person's money. The money does not belong to him even though it is in his possession.

This parable, and other scriptures (1 Cor. 4:1; Ti. 1:7; 1 Pet. 4:10), describes every believer as a steward of God's grace. The wealth, talents, and abilities we possess, as well as the revelation of God's love that we've been given, are not our own to do with as we please. We have received these things from God and are therefore accountable to Him for the use or misuse of these gifts. Keeping this in mind is essential for fulfilling our obligation to God as stewards of His 'manifold grace.' Andrew Womack

Sweet Intimacy with Jesus

“For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

Isaiah 54:9–10

Unfortunately, many sincere and well-meaning believers fall into the devil’s trap, and they end up with the wrong belief that they have fallen short of God’s expectations and have angered Him. They live in a constant state of trying to appease and please this angry God. Instead of enjoying a sweet, intimate relationship with Jesus, they feel like they are hypocrites or they feel as if they are always treading on eggshells when it comes to their walk with the Lord.

If you have experienced such thoughts about God before, I would like to share this very important principle with you: Fear and love cannot coexist in a healthy relationship. Insecurity and love cannot coexist in the truly intimate relationship that God wants with you and me, His children.

Let me share with you this letter I received from Lorraine who lives in Louisiana. I’ll let it speak for itself as you soak in how you and your relationship with God can be completely changed by believing the right things about your heavenly Father. All I can say is, Hallelujah!

I have been a born-again Christian for twenty-two years. Today, at forty-four years old, I have a wonderful husband and beautiful daughter. I love my life!

As far back as I can remember, I have always loved Jesus. But I had lived my entire life feeling guilty as I believed that God was always mad at me. I had always felt that I could not do enough “right” or “good” things.

After I gave my life to Christ, that feeling of not being good enough actually got worse because I felt a greater responsibility to live up to a higher standard to be right with God. I was always repenting, always feeling that I’d done wrong and that my best was never enough.

I am in the process of reading Destined To Reign and am only at chapter 9. I have to read this book very, very slowly so that I can digest its contents. I cannot tell you how my life has changed since I began reading your book.

It was not until I began reading it that I felt relieved of the weight of not being good enough. It has shaken the very foundation of my world and dissolved the insecurity I’ve had about Jesus and His love for me.

Forty-four years of my previously painful existence and mind-set are GONE. I am CHANGED forever. I am forgiven. I can’t get through the rest of this book without stopping to thank the Lord for you and for giving you the message of grace to spread worldwide.

That’s what it is all about, my friend. Winning the battle for your mind is all about your freedom and liberty in Christ Jesus, your Lord and Savior. When you start to believe right about His love and grace toward you, permanent, liberating change happens!

So be strong in God’s love for you and don’t let wrong believing rob you of a life of great joy and peace. Remember, God is not mad at you; He is mad about you!

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

A Very Present Help

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1

If God wants us to be healthy, and Jesus’ body was broken for us, why are there Christians who are sick? I personally know believers who are battling severe illnesses, and I am sure you do too. You or your loved one might even be facing a health challenge right now.

If you are fighting a medical condition, please know that it is okay for you to have doubts and questions. The Lord knows the confusion and pain you feel, and He wants you to know He is with you through it all.

I know it can be hard to keep trusting Him when you are going through a fiery trial. But keep trusting Him, my friend. He is, right now, your very present help. Keep fixing your eyes on Him. He is faithful, and He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deut. 31:6).

Daniel 3 records the story of three friends (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego), who were bound and thrown into a fiery furnace when they refused to bow to and worship the gold image set up by King Nebuchadnezzar. The furnace was so hot that the men who threw them in were killed by the heat.

But the king saw the three friends walking in the midst of the fire, and he saw a fourth man with them who was “like the Son of God” (Dan. 3:25). Amazed, the king called them out, and he and all his officials saw that the fire had had no power over them. Not a single hair on them was singed, their clothes were not scorched or damaged, and there was not even the smell of smoke on them.

Why? Because the Lord was with them, protecting and delivering them. As a result, the king acknowledged that there was no other god who could deliver like their God, and the three friends were not only released, they were also promoted.

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

Jesus, The Wisdom Of God

Luke 11:49 'Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute.'

This phrase 'Therefore also said the wisdom of God,' is a part of Luke's narrative and not the words of Jesus. Luke is saying that Jesus is the wisdom of God, a truth well-established in scripture.

There is no way to access the wisdom of God except through Jesus. Until a person receives Christ, he is missing the only source of true wisdom. Men and women are incapable of receiving the wisdom of God, but those who submit themselves to God have access to the wisdom of God on their own, through the Holy Spirit. We must be dependent upon the Holy Spirit to receive the wisdom of God in our lives.

A Christian who has not received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit can have some revelation knowledge, but it will be limited. One of the greatest evidences that an individual has received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the tremendous amount of God's wisdom that becomes available to him.

The truths of the Gospel, and the power of God that these truths release, can only be imparted through the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Human wisdom, regardless of how eloquent it is, cannot convey the life of God. Much of the preaching of the Gospel today is done in man's wisdom. It's impressive to the carnal mind, but it leaves the spirit starving for the touch of God. The greatest need among ministers today is not to have more of the world's education, but to receive the revelation knowledge of the Holy Spirit. Only words spoken by the Spirit of God can reach the spirit of man. Spiritual thoughts have to be spoken with spiritual words (1 Cor. 2:13). Andrew Womack

How to Be Led by His Peace

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.

2 Thessalonians 3:16

I want you to know that when God becomes Jehovah Shalom, the God of peace, in your life, He doesn’t just soothe your emotions. He will lead you with His peace.

For example, you may be making some decisions at your work, for your children, or perhaps even where and when to travel for your vacation. Talk to Jesus about it. He will lead and guide you with His peace.

If there is peace from the Lord, go with that decision. If there is an absence of peace and you feel a sense of restraint, back away from it.

You will find that guidance from the Lord comes very easily when God manifests Himself as Jehovah Shalom. In His peace, decisions don’t feel forced and full of strife. In His peace, there is a rest. His peace will guide you supernaturally to be at the right place, at the right time, with the right people.

In Judges 6, the Midianites were terrorizing Israel day and night, destroying their crops and pillaging their livestock. The Lord assured Gideon, who was hiding from the Midianites, that He was with him and called him a man of valor, to which his response was: “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (Judg. 6:13).

Doesn’t Gideon remind us of ourselves? Instead of hearing what the Lord had just called him, he began to complain. “Why has the Lord forsaken us?” Astoundingly, the Lord simply turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” (Judg. 6:14).

What? First, the Lord Jesus calls this man who is in hiding “a man of valor.” Now, He calls this complaining man, who is mad at God, to go in that might of his and save Israel? Shouldn’t it be, “Be gone from My presence, you stinking complainer, I must have found the wrong guy”?

I am so glad that the Lord is not like you and me. He always calls the things that are not as though they are (Rom. 4:17).

And I believe that as you receive a revelation of how the Lord is the God of peace in your life, you may be fearful and complaining now, but like Gideon, God will send you to be a testimony of His protection. He will send you to all your friends, coworkers, and loved ones who are bound by fear, and He will use you to deliver them from fear!

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

Come Boldly to the Table

“With God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:26

Some years ago, doctors discovered a huge cancerous tumor in my uncle’s throat. After a more detailed scan, a pathologist told him the cancer was aggressively spreading all over his neck and behind his tongue.

In that moment my uncle said he gave up hope he would live. But before his surgery to try to remove the tumor, his daughters approached him and said, “Let’s have Communion together, Dad. Let’s pray and believe God.”

He shared that as they partook of the Communion, he felt hope rising in his heart for the first time, and he partook, believing that Jesus was his healer and believing that the body of Jesus would make a difference in his body right there in the hospital ward.

After the doctors removed the tumor, amazingly the biopsy showed absolutely no trace of cancer in the tumor even though multiple scans before the surgery had confirmed it was cancerous and of an aggressive nature. Somehow the Lord had caused the cancer to supernaturally disappear, and I believe it happened when my uncle and his family partook of the Communion.

In the same way, if your doctors have given you a negative prognosis, do not fear or despair. Don’t live as though you don’t have a Savior. We may not know how our healing can take place, but let’s have faith in the finished work of Jesus. He has paid the price for you to be well and made it easy for you to receive not just His love and forgiveness, but His healing power as well.

I pray that you are now excited to receive the benefits of the holy Communion freely. I want to invite you to the Lord’s Table. The table has been prepared, not by human hands that can falter and fail, but by the perfect One whose hands were nailed to the cross for you. He invites you to come to partake of His body broken for you and His blood shed for you. Come boldly to the table and partake by faith and receive your healing.

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

Jesus Is Greater

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

1 John 4:4

Beloved, there may be a devil out there who tries to drag you down in defeat, but the Bible tells us clearly that we have One greater than he inside of us. It is important that you be established in this truth. You don’t have to be afraid of the devil, because Jesus, who is in you, is greater than the devil in this world.

No matter what the enemy’s evil tactics are, he will not prevail against you in this battle. The devil is a defeated foe.

Greater is He who is in you than all the negative thoughts the enemy can throw at you. Greater is He who is in you than the feelings of guilt and inadequacy. Greater is He who is in you than every accusation that is leveled against you.

Stand strong on this declaration: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn” (Isa. 54:17). Wow! No weapon formed against you shall prosper.

The Bible doesn’t say that you will not experience any challenges or be faced with any attacks. But it does promise that you can be confident in the certainty that they shall not prosper against you.

Do you know why you can stand firm on this promise today? In the very same verse, God goes on to declare that “This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me” (Isa. 54:17).

This protection is your heritage. God does not protect you because of your right doing; He protects you because your righteousness is from the Lord Himself!

Notice that the weapon that is against you could have already been formed, which means that it may already have been conceived, prepared, and aimed at you. Don’t be afraid. Whatever this weapon or challenge may be, know beyond any doubt that it shall not prevail against you.

This is God’s promise to you today—no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Not because your behavior is perfect, but because your standing in Christ is perfect. Your victory is firmly secured through Jesus’ finished work, which is your heritage in Christ.

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