The Measure Of Faith

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

Luke 17:5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Message from Amir Tsarfati

The land was dead. The land was sold for pennies for the dollar. The land was deserted, basically. And God says, “There is a point in time where I’m going to say this is it. It’s time for my people to come back to their land, but the land is dead so I’m going to speak first life into this dead land.”

So you, oh mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield what? Your fruit to my people, Israel. God says this land belongs to the people of Israel, His people Israel. And God is going to make sure that the land will be sustainable for them to be able to return and live in it. And then he says, “I will have to do it before they come, because,” look what He says, “for they are about to come.”

So once the land had life spoken into it, then comes the return of the people. And it’s very interesting because the Bible says in the same chapter, “For I will take you, the Jewish people, from among the nations and I will gather you out of all countries and I will bring you into your own land.” This is what the Bible says regarding the ownership of the land of Israel. This is what the Bible says regarding the plan of God for the people of Israel, that He will heal the land, bring the people from wherever they were.

Anyone who has visited Israel has experienced the awe and wonder of the land that is home to God’s chosen people, the Jews. The history, the culture, Mount Carmel, The Valley of Tears, Magdala, and a host of other places and things remind us of what a special place Israel was in the past and still is today.

One of the most awe-inspiring sights in Israel, however, is not built with ancient stones, and it’s not a site that has a significant historical event associated with it, like the valley of Elah has with the story of David and Goliath. 

This amazing site is called the Jezreel Valley. A rich and fertile farmland that is indisputable evidence that God is true to His word and faithful to His promises. This lush and fertile valley had remained dormant for nearly 2000 years, and yet today it is teeming with crops and flowers.

Ezekiel 36:34-36
“The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken it, and I will do it.”

In light of all we see going on in the Middle East surrounding the nation of Israel, we can take heart in two amazing evidences of God’s faithfulness. We can recognize that since God brought the Jews back into their national homeland and since He has blessed the land and it has flourished as He promised it would, we can rest assured that the enemies of Israel will not prevail! For no man, country, demon, or devil can cause God’s promises to be thwarted or reversed.

There is also a personal reminder here for us and that is when life seems like a long, dry season and it feels like what we have prayed for and sought after is never going to happen, God will always keep His word and our enemies cannot do anything to change that.

Like the Lord’s promise to Israel and to the land that it would flourish in preparation for the Jews to return en masse, so too He may be preparing something for you that is yet unknown. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He has told us nothing can separate from His love and no one can snatch us from His hand. That means the dry times are not our destiny, but are only temporary.

So what do we do in times such as these, when Israel is surrounded by enemies, when much of the church has lost its way, when evil and good have exchanged definitions? Remember the Jezreel Valley. A place that was once marshland and infertile is now rich in agriculture and farming. All this is based on the fact that the One who promised is faithful, and He will do it.

We have a home awaiting us that is even more lush and beautiful than the Jezreel Valley, or any other place on earth. God has promised that, through the shed blood of His Son, we can spend eternity there with Him. There will never be another dry time or shed tear or experienced pain. There will never be any sorrow or death. If He is faithful to a piece of land, how much more will He be faithful to us, His children!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

Vengeance Is God's

'It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.'

Luke 17:2

God takes the persecution of His children personally. In Acts 9:4 when Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus and spoke to him about his persecution of the saints, Jesus said, 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?' Saul was not directly persecuting Jesus but he was persecuting His saints. Yet Jesus said, 'Why are you persecuting me?' Judgment against those who persecute God's children will not always come in time to prevent their harm but as this warning makes very clear, God will avenge His own (Rom. 12:19).

Letting God be the one who defends us is a matter of faith. If there is no God who will bring men into account for their actions, then turning the other cheek would be the worst thing we could do. But if there is a God who promises that vengeance is His, and He will repay, then taking matters into our own hands shows a lack of faith in God and His integrity.

We are not to take matters into our own hands and defend ourselves.

'Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord' (from Dt. 32:35-36; Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30). Striving to vindicate self actually shows a lack of faith in God keeping this promise. It also indicates spiritual 'nearsightedness' which is only looking at the present moment instead of seeing things in view of eternity.

Even as Christ did not come to condemn the world and is not holding men's sins against them, even so, we have been given the same ministry of reconciliation. For those who do not receive the love we extend to them but rather take advantage of us because of our 'turning the other cheek,' God will repay. Andrew Womack

Good Fruit Is Produced Under Grace

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

2 Corinthians 11:3

There is something I would like you to be cognizant of today. The enemy, although he has been defeated at the cross, is a cunning adversary. He gets people to depart from the simplicity of the gospel into works because he knows that many believers are sincere in wanting to please God.

He knows that they have an enthusiasm or zeal for God. But he also knows that man has something called pride. So what does he do? He takes advantage of their pride and misdirects their zeal by using the law. He tells them, “You want to get right with God and please Him? Then here are His laws to obey and obey perfectly.”

In the book of Romans, Paul talks about this misguided zeal, which was prevalent among his Jewish brethren:

Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law.
—Romans 10:1–3 NLT

The same thing is still happening today. Many believers, in their zeal for God or their pride, are trying to please God and become righteous through trying to keep the law. They don’t understand that God makes an individual righteous solely by grace through faith. They reject God’s way and cling to what they think makes them righteous—their obedience to God’s laws.

Yet the irony of it all is that in trying to keep God’s laws to be righteous, people produce works of the flesh such as adultery, fornication, hatred, heresies, and drunkenness (Gal. 5:18–21). Why? Because “the strength of sin is the law” (1 Cor. 15:56). The law arouses or stirs up the sinful passions within our flesh (Rom. 7:5).

Galatians 5:22–23 lists the fruit of the Spirit as “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Notice that Paul mentions the fruit of the Spirit only in the fifth chapter. In the first four chapters, he talks about grace, contrasting it with the law and contending earnestly for justification by faith, because the Galatian Christians were going back under the law. Paul was essentially bringing them back under pure grace, before talking to them about the fruit of the Spirit.

Can you see how the fruit of being under grace is the fruit of the Spirit? Notice also how Paul calls it the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. What’s the difference between “works” and “fruit”? Works are a result of self-effort that comes from being under the heavy demands of the law. Fruit is a result of life! Just as a tree will naturally produce good fruit when it is well watered and receiving the right amount of sunlight, so a Christian will produce good fruit without self-effort when he or she is well watered by the word of His grace and exposed to the sunshine of God’s love.

Beloved, if you want to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, make sure you are hearing the unadulterated grace of our Lord Jesus that reminds you you are justified by faith in the Lamb Who died for you. This will help you to build your life upon the solid Rock of Christ and the firm foundation of His finished work. Contend earnestly to hear and to live by the real gospel, by grace through faith. It will usher you into the promised land, for the gospel is the power of God unto your salvation in every area of your life.

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

Grace and Truth Are One

For the law was given through Moses, but grace [unmerited favor] and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 1:17

Did you know that God sees grace (unmerited favor) and truth as one and the same thing? Notice in John 1:17 that truth is on the same side as God's unmerited favor and both grace (unmerited favor) and truth came through Jesus Christ. When I did a study of this verse in its original Greek, I found out that “grace and truth” are actually referred to as a singular unit, since they are followed by the singular verb translated as “came.” In other words, in God’s eyes, grace and truth are synonymous—unmerited favor is truth and truth is unmerited favor.

Sometimes, people tell me things like, “Well, it’s good that you preach grace, but we also have to tell people about truth.” This makes it seem as though grace and truth are two different things when, in fact, they are one and the same. You cannot separate truth from grace and grace from truth as they are both embodied in the person of Jesus Christ. In fact, just a few verses before this, John 1:14, referring to the person of Jesus, says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace [unmerited favor] and truth.” Grace and truth came together through the person and ministry of Jesus. Grace is not a doctrine or teaching. Grace is a Person.

This is contrasted with the old covenant of law that was given through Moses on Mount Sinai. We can see that God is very precise in dealing with the two covenants and does not mix them together. Grace is grace and law is law. Grace came by Jesus whereas the law was given through Moses. Jesus didn’t come to give us more laws. He came to give us His unmerited favor, which is His truth! It would be of immense profit to you to keep in mind that every time you read the word “grace” in the Bible, you translate it mentally as “unmerited favor,” because that is what it is.

My friend, “grace came.” It is one thing to give, but it is another thing to come. You see, I could send a DVD of my sermon to you instead of coming to you. But if I come to you, it’s personal. The law was given by Moses, but grace came by Jesus Christ. Every system of morality is about man trying to reach God with his discipline and good works, but in Christianity, God came down to where we were to lift us up to where He is!

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

Forgiveness and Healing Go Hand-in-Hand

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you . . . But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Mark 2:5, 10–12

I encourage you to start today with this thought: the way out of being sin-conscious is to hear more teaching on the finished work of Jesus and how His blood has cleansed and forgiven us of all our sins. When you believe that your sins have already been punished on Jesus’ body and receive Him as your sin offering, your heart will be sprinkled with His blood from an evil conscience. As you listen to Christ-exalting teachings, instead of carrying sin-consciousness and condemnation in your mind and heart, you will be washed with the pure water of God’s Word. This will in turn affect your physical body and bring healing to every part that is not well!

Some Christians are not able to receive healing for themselves or within their families because they are not able to receive forgiveness. They are still sin-conscious and doubt their forgiveness. They believe that God may have forgiven their past sins, but not the sins of their whole life. God knows that people need the assurance that their sins are forgiven before they can receive healing in their bodies, so the Bible makes His forgiveness of our sins very clear. In Psalm 103, when the psalmist lists the “benefits” from the Lord, he starts with “who forgives all your iniquities” before moving on to “who heals all your diseases.”

Not so long ago, I received this praise report from Patricia, who lives in South Africa. Her husband was diagnosed with cancer, and they were getting ready to go to the hospital for his positron emission tomography (PET) scan when she read one of my daily devotionals on the holy Communion. Feeling consumed by worry for her husband and condemnation for not being able to entrust the situation completely into the Lord’s hands, she took Communion and for the first time, discerned that the body of Jesus was beaten so that our bodies might be healed and made whole. She also meditated on how Jesus’ blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. After that, Patricia said, “I felt a peace only God could give. I was able to enter into a state of rest and faith without any effort on my part. I am proud to say, my Savior reigns. No cancer was found in my husband’s organs and the doctors could not explain why.” What an amazing testimony of the power of knowing you are forgiven in Christ!

In Mark 2:1–12, we read the account of the paralytic man lowered through the roof and placed before Jesus. Jesus said to the paralytic man, “Son, your sins are forgiven you,” before He said, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Why? Because Jesus knew that unless the man had the assurance that all his sins had been forgiven, he would not have the faith to jump up, grab his mat, and walk out of that house.

Beloved, your sins are forgiven you. Stop punishing and condemning yourself. Believe the truth of the gospel and let your conscience be satisfied! Start enjoying all His benefits because they are your blood-bought rights. Forgiveness is yours. Healing is yours. Redemption from destruction is yours. Being crowned with loving-kindness and tender mercies is yours. Hallelujah! Simply believe that your sin debt has been settled and walk in these blessings today!

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

The Power of His Love and Grace

And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Romans 16:20

Grace is the only thing against which the devil has no defense. If you are living by your self-effort to earn God’s approval, the devil has power over you because he can always point to something that you have not done. This gives him dominion over you. If you claim God’s protection and healing based on what you have done, the devil, who is a master accuser, just has to point to one of your failures, and all your faith implodes. You will disqualify yourself mentally and inwardly from receiving whatever you might be trusting the Lord for.

But grace qualifies us for protection. Because Jesus paid the price, we who are in Him have a right to walk in divine health and protection. When the devil accuses you, saying, “How dare you believe God for protection, when you are (he goes on to list your failures),” you just have to point to Jesus’ blood, which has paid for all your failures. With grace as your basis, the God of peace can reign over your fears and impart to you unshakable faith for His protection!

Something else happens when you understand His grace—you will also grow in your understanding of how perfectly loved you are by your Father in heaven. God so loved you and me, He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross on our behalf, carrying all our sins upon His own body so that today, we can come boldly to His throne of grace. He did it so that today, we are not as sheep without a shepherd, but we are so deeply loved and cared for by our Abba Father. We are His children and when we call on Him, He WILL answer. We have a God who demonstrated His love for us while we were still sinners—when we had nothing to offer Him but our brokenness, our shame, our sins, and our disqualifications! Oh what perfect love!

The Word of God says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:18–19). Are you fearful today? Ask yourself this question: Do you know how much God loves you? You see, you can’t reason away fear. But when you have a revelation of His perfect love for you, every fear in your life will be cast out. To the extent that you understand His love for you, you will live fearlessly in dangerous times!

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

Alive Unto God

'And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.'

Matthew 17:2 

It is interesting to compare Jesus' transfiguration with that of Moses'. Jesus' face shone as the sun and His garment was as white as the light. This certainly exceeded what Moses experienced, and yet Jesus' face did not continue to shine when He came down off of the mountain as Moses' face did. Moses' face reflected the glory of God, but Jesus was the glory of God (Jn. 1:14; Heb. 1:3). Moses put a veil over his face to conceal the glory of God (Ex. 34:29-35) so that the people would not be afraid to come near him.

Jesus' body was His veil that concealed His true glory within. During His transfiguration, He pulled back the veil of His flesh, and we simply caught a glimpse of His glory that he had with the Father before the world was (Jn. 17:5). At Jesus' death, the veil of His body was 'rent in two' giving us direct access to the glory of God (Heb. 10:19-20).

We need to be conformed to the death of Christ. That is, reckoning ourselves dead to sin and all its effects upon us in the same way that Christ is dead to sin and all its effects upon Him. Many people focus on the death to sin and omit, or at least put secondarily, being alive unto God. It is assumed that if we will just die to sin, then life with Christ comes automatically.

That's no more so than physical death automatically producing physical resurrection. God doesn't need dead people. He needs people who have risen from the dead spiritually. People who know who they are 'In Christ.' The victorious New Testament believer is not just living for the Lord, but the risen Christ is actually living through him. There are over a hundred scriptural references to the indwelling presence of the Lord in the life of a believer. Look into the Word, and see what God has to say about you. Andrew Womack

Saving You Is Jesus' Job Description

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

Matthew 1:20–21

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blessed To Be A Blessing

'And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.'

Luke 16:1

The unjust steward was covetous. He had not been faithful to his master or to his master's debtors. He had wasted his master's goods on himself. When found out, his self-serving nature considered the options, and decided there had to be a change. He decided to use his lord's money to make friends so that when he was fired he would have someone to help him.

His master was apparently wealthy enough that he didn't take offense at the steward's discounting of the debts owed to him, but rather he commended the steward. He didn't commend his dishonest ways, but he was commending the fact that he had finally used his lord's money to plan for the future instead of wasting it on himself. Although the steward was motivated by what he would ultimately gain, there was prudence in his actions. This was lacking before.

In this sense, the children of this world (lost men) are wiser than the children of light (born again men) because they plan for the temporal future.

Jesus is telling us to use money (the unrighteous mammon) to make to ourselves friends that would receive us into 'everlasting' habitations. The use of the word 'everlasting' denotes that Jesus is now talking about our eternal future. The people who have been saved and blessed by our investments in the kingdom of God will literally receive us into our everlasting home when we pass on to be with the Lord.

Our material possessions have been given to us by God so that we are actually stewards of His resources. The Lord gave us this wealth to establish His covenant on this earth - not so that we could consume it upon our own lusts. You have been blessed to be a blessing! Andrew Womack

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.