Secure in the Father’s Hand

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”

John 10:27–30

My friend, if you don’t feel assured of your salvation in Christ, it will affect how you live life as a Christian. This is why I want to encourage you to be anchored on certain and clear passages—like the one found in today’s scripture.

Now, doesn’t simply reading this promise in God’s Word impart to you confidence, assurance, and security in your salvation in Christ? Let me draw your attention to the word “never.” This is going to bless you. The word “never” here is translated from the Greek particle ou me, which is a double negative, strongly emphasizing the meaning of “never, certainly not, not at all, by no means.” In other words, once you are saved, you will never, by no means, ever perish!

When people cast doubt on a believer’s salvation, it reveals how they do not accurately value the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. They are also making light of what our Lord Jesus suffered at Calvary for our salvation, forgiveness, and redemption. I don’t know what Bible they are reading, but my Bible tells me in no uncertain terms that “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). My Bible tells me that “no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:29). My Bible tells me, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). That’s what my Bible says!

When we have the assurance of salvation and know that nothing can pluck us out of our Father’s hand, contrary to the saying that this gives people a license to sin with no regard for God, it actually gives us confidence and strength to look to the Lord, to run the race better, and go from glory to glory. Christians who are secure in the Father’s love will be transformed by the renewing of their minds with the power of God’s amazing grace. I believe with all my heart that born-again believers established in His grace want to live lives that glorify His holy name in every area of their lives. Why? Because grace isn’t a teaching, doctrine, or formula. Grace is a person and His name is Jesus!

That is why I like to use the phrase, “the person of Jesus.” Grace is personified in our Lord Jesus. You can relate to Him as a person. You can talk to Him, hang out with Him, share with Him your struggles and your challenges, and have really good, honest, and deep conversations with Him. Once you see our Lord Jesus as a person, and you see all His beauty, glory, grace, love, and forgiveness, there is no way you would want to live a lifestyle that does not glorify His holy name. When you value Jesus in your life, you value His glory.

I want to invite you to meditate on this powerful scripture:

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
—Titus 2:11–14

Now, that’s the result of being under grace and that is what it means to be a part of the grace revolution! As we behold the person of Jesus, grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and we become a people zealous for the glory of our Lord Jesus in our lives and “zealous for good works”!

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

Message from Amir Tsarfati

You cannot even understand the times and the seasons if you do not understand Israel. That is what the Bible itself says. Bible prophecy has nothing to say about the nations as such in their own relations to one another, but only in their relation to Israel, the people, and the land.

And therefore, in our attempt to understand what’s next for Israel, we’re basically going to understand what is going to happen to the whole world. There are a lot of wars, a lot of conflicts, a lot of issues all across the globe. Yet what is happening here is the only thing that is going to affect directly the entire world.

The Holy Spirit, through the prophet Isaiah, gives us a wonderful reminder of one of the many attributes of God:

Isaiah 46:10
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.”

Isaiah reminds us of the omniscience of God. He knows the past, present, and future equally, and has declared “the end from the beginning.” That means God has told us how things began and how they will end. One of the major benefits of this revelation is that there will be generations that see certain aspects of His declaration which other generations will only read about.

It seems clear we are in just such a generation.

Zechariah 8:6-8
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’ says the LORD of hosts. Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; I will bring them back, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people and I will be their God, in truth and righteousness.’”

This revelation is preceded in verse three with the Lord declaring He will return to Jerusalem, which will be at His second coming. This means that the regathering of His people is a prophetic indicator that the Lord is preparing to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem and be the God of His people, in truth and righteousness.

We are watching God’s people gathered from the four corners of the world back into the land that He gave them. This tells us that if we are ignorant of that fact, allegorize that fact, or misinterpret that fact, we won’t know the lateness of the hour or the apparent nearness of His return for the church.

Israel, both the land and the people, are essential to understanding Bible prophecy. If we get that wrong then our whole understanding of the prophetic progression revealed by God will be askew. Much of it won’t make any sense. But thanks be to God that He has made known the future and many of the details related to it that give us a general understanding of the lateness of the hour and, therefore, the nearness of His return to rule the world from Jerusalem.

God’s regathering of the Jews from around the world into their national homeland is the most significant prophetic fulfillment since the time of Jesus. That tells us we need to keep looking up, for our redemption is near!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

Supernatural Transformation

“You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

1 Samuel 17:45

Christ-occupation makes you bold but not superior, humble but not inferior. When our minds are occupied with Jesus, we don’t have to try to be humble. In the presence of the Servant-King, our hearts become supernaturally transformed, and we will carry His servant heart. In other words, when you hang out with Jesus, all that He is will rub off on you. Your thoughts and your words will be full of the fragrance of His sweet presence and grace. All your inferiority and insecurities will melt away in His marvelous love for you. It takes people who are truly secure in Christ to be able to bow down and serve others with genuine humility.

Similarly, when you are courageous and bold in Christ and in His love for you, it doesn’t manifest as fleshly pride and arrogance, but rather as complete dependence on Almighty God. Think of how young David charged down the Valley of Elah and challenged the giant Goliath, while the rest of the well-trained and full-grown men of the army of Israel cowered in fear. Was that simply a display of youthful bravado or a genuine dependence on God?

To the untrained eye, David could have appeared like an impudent little brat. But we know where this steely chutzpah comes from when these bold words of a mere teenager resonated throughout the valley: “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Sam. 17:45). From his words, we can tell that young David was clearly occupied with the Lord of hosts and not with himself or his abilities.

When your thoughts are occupied with the Lord, you become a giant slayer! Are there giants in your life today that need to be slain? Like young David, occupy your mind with the Lord, and God will fill you with the courage and audacity to overcome all your adversities. Listen to the words of David in Psalm 18:29: “For by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall.” Let these words of faith and boldness be established in your heart. With God on your side, nothing is impossible!

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

It's Not What You Do

'So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.'

Matthew 20:8

This parable begins with Jesus' statement that the kingdom of heaven is likened to a man who is a householder (owner of an estate). He went out early in the morning to hire workers to work in his vineyard for the day. An agreed upon price was set at a penny, the normal wage paid daily for a laborer. Later, around 9 a.m., the landowner encouraged others, standing idle in the marketplace, to work in the vineyard, not for a set wage but for 'whatsoever is right.' The landowner employed more laborers at noon, at 3 p.m. and even some at 5 p.m. when there was only one hour left to work.

According to Jewish law, wages must be paid each evening before the sun sets. When it came time for the steward to pay the laborers, he began with those working the shortest amount of time and paid each man a penny (a full day's wage). Those working the entire day murmured, for they supposed they would have received more. They agreed, however, to work for a penny, the stipulated wage agreed upon.

The context of this parable supports the teaching that it is impossible to earn the generosity of the Master. This is a lesson on grace. Regardless of whether or not our performance is better than someone else's, we all need God's grace because we have all come short of God's standard. The landowner gave freely, making all equal. Jesus is saying that the benefits of the kingdom are the same for all who have become subject to its King, regardless of what they have done. Therefore, those who are last (or least) in the sense that they have not served the Lord as long or as well as others, will truly become 'first' when they share equally of the Lord's goodness with those who 'have borne the burden and heat of the day' (Mt. 20:12). Andrew Womack

It’s Not What You Have but Who You Have

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

Genesis 39:1-2

Would you consider the young man Joseph, who was about to be sold into slavery, “a successful man”?

Of course not!

Yet, God says in His own words that Joseph was a successful man.

God's definition of success is contrary to the world's definition. Corporate America measures success based on what you have done, what you have accomplished, and what you have accumulated. It is based entirely on you focusing all your time, energy, and resources in meriting titles and collecting accomplishments.

Now, we have witnessed how this self-indulgent accumulation has led to the subprime crisis, the decimation of investment banks, and a widespread international financial meltdown.

My friend, I want to encourage you to begin to see that the world’s model of success is unstable and built upon a foundation that is shakable. It may have the appearance of the good life, but it is temporal, and we have all seen for ourselves how the world’s transient wealth can dissipate like smoke and easily slip away like the shifting sands in the desert.

From Genesis 39:2, it is clear that success is not what you have, but rather who you have! Joseph literally had nothing materially, but at the same time, he had everything because the Lord was with him. The material things that you have accumulated or are feverishly trying to amass do not make you a success. It is the presence of the Lord in your life that makes you a success!

We need to learn to stop pursuing things and to start pursuing Him. God sees your relationship with Him as the only thing that you need for every success in your life. I can’t imagine starting in a worse place than Joseph. He was completely naked. He had nothing! No bank accounts, no educational qualifications, no natural connections with people of influence, nothing. Thank God the Bible records a picture of Joseph who began with nothing, so that you and I can have hope today. If you think that like Joseph, you have nothing, well, you can start believing in the power of the presence of the Lord in your life. Start looking to Jesus and claim that promise in that scripture for yourself!

Say, “The Lord is with ME, and I am a successful person.”

Say it a hundred times if you have to, and begin to see this as your reality. Stick this promise on your mirror, and every morning when you brush your teeth, remind yourself that today, as you go to work, as you go to school, as you start the day caring for your children at home (or do whatever it is that you need to do), the Lord is with you. And because He is with you, YOU ARE ALREADY A SUCCESS! When you have Jesus in your life, you are no longer trying to be a success; you ARE a success!

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

Trust In Jesus As Your Savior

'And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?'

Matthew 19:16

On the surface, it appears that this rich young ruler was 'right on' in the way he approached Jesus and sought salvation. He ran, kneeled down to Jesus, and openly professed Him as a Good Master. What could be wrong with that?

First, he acknowledged Jesus as good but not as God. This is a pivotal point.

Every major religion of the world acknowledges that Jesus lived and will even admit that He definitely was a good man, but they won't recognize Him as God. If Jesus was only a good man, He couldn't save anybody. Jesus didn't just come to show us the way to God. He was the way, the only way unto the Father.

No man could come unto the Father, but by Him (Jn. 14:6). Jesus had made this point publicly many times before. This is the reason that Jesus responded to this young man's question the way He did. Jesus was saying, 'God is the only one who is good. You must accept me as God or not at all.' Jesus was either who He claimed to be or He was the biggest fraud that ever lived. He has to be one or the other. He cannot be both.

Second, he asked what he could do to produce salvation. He trusted in himself and believed he could accomplish whatever good work Jesus might request. This is completely opposed to the plan of salvation that Jesus came to bring.

Jesus obtained salvation for us through His substitution and He offers it to us as a free gift. All we must do is believe and receive. This rich young ruler wasn't looking for a Savior. He was trying to be his own savior. This is the reason Jesus referred him back to the commandments. He either needed to keep all of the law perfectly or he needed a Savior. Jesus desired to turn this man from trusting in himself by showing him God's perfect standard, which no one could keep, so that then he would trust in a Savior. Andrew Womack

No Evil Shall Befall You

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.

Psalm 91:9–10

When I was a student, I took on a part-time job in a factory that manufactured refrigerators. Like any teenager, I had just wanted to earn some extra pocket money. It wasn’t a complicated job. I was part of an assembly line and all I had to do was use an electric drill to create an opening and to fasten a condenser securely onto the back of each refrigerator. I would be buzzing away on the power drill all day, earning my keep.

At that time, I had the habit of carrying a small booklet around with me. It was my little booklet of Bible memory verses, and I would read from it and speak the Word of God 3 times a day. During that period, there was one particular verse in Psalm 91 that I would confess every day: “No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling” (Ps. 91:10). It was my daily confession in the morning before I left for work, and during my break times, my coworkers would see me sitting in some corner, confessing this verse. It was a very powerful revelation for me, and I really wanted His Word, and in particular this truth of God’s protection, to drop into my heart.

One day, as I was assembling yet another refrigerator, I lost control of the power drill. It somehow slipped out of my hands and the drill went straight toward my stomach. Everything happened really quickly. The power drill, which was spinning at full force, hit my stomach . . . and it just bounced off. Some of the workers there who saw what had happened ran over, concerned for me. It was then that I realized I was completely unharmed!

The only thing that came to mind at that moment was the scripture I had been meditating on. That day, the verse, “No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling” came alive for me. I give thanks for the Lord’s divine protection over my life when I was a teenager. Don’t you just love our wonderful and beautiful Savior! As you meditate on and declare His promises in His Word, I believe you’ll also see His saving and delivering power working on your behalf.

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

Love Fulfills the Law

Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Romans 13:10

There is a grace revolution going on and it is liberating precious people from the power of sin! The glorious gospel of grace produces glorious, victorious, and holy lives. If you know people who are living in sin and claiming that they are under grace, you know that they are most definitely not living under grace! How can they be when the Bible states that sin shall not have dominion over those who are not under law but under grace (Rom. 6:14)? The Ten Commandments cannot produce holiness in people. Grace is the power to go and sin no more (John 8:11)!

There are also people who believe that preaching God’s grace gives people a license to sin and endorses licentiousness. That is not what God’s grace does at all! On the contrary, God’s amazing grace transforms a person’s heart and produces true holiness, which isn’t just outward, but also deep, intimate, beginning at the very core of a person’s heart. Holiness is a fruit of God’s grace.

The word “holiness” in the New Testament is the Greek word hagiasmos, which is sometimes translated also as “sanctification.” The moment you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you were justified by faith and made perfectly righteous. You were also made holy or sanctified, which is to be set apart unto the Lord. And as you grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, you are progressively transformed into His image from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18). Now, you cannot be more righteous because you are already 100 percent righteous by Jesus’ blood. But under grace, you can grow in holiness in the way you live your life.

I am all for holiness and I am vehemently against sin. Where I differ from some preachers is in my focus on how we stop the power of sin and help God’s people grow in greater holiness. For many preachers the answer to sin is found in preaching the Ten Commandments. I believe that the answer is found in preaching Jesus and the gospel of grace.

Now, listen carefully to what I am about to say. Under grace, when you experience the love of our Lord Jesus, you will end up fulfilling the law! Under grace, you will end up being holy. Grace produces true holiness! As the apostle Paul boldly proclaims in today’s scripture, “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

When the love of Jesus is in you, you can’t help but fulfill the law. When your heart is overflowing with God’s grace and loving-kindness, you will have no desire to commit adultery or murder, bear false witness, or covet. You will have the power to love your neighbor as yourself. Where does this power come from? From your being firmly rooted and established in the grace of God. You have the power to love, because He first loved you (1 John 4:19 NASB)! This is why the Bible declares that “love is the fulfillment of the law.”

In fact, when God’s people are under grace, not only do they fulfill the letter of the law, but they also exceed it and go the extra mile. For example, the law commands you not to commit adultery, and there are people who can fulfill just the letter of the law and not commit adultery outwardly. However, inwardly, they have no love for their spouses. Grace changes all that. Grace doesn’t just deal with the surface; it goes deeper and teaches a man to love his wife as Christ loved the church.

My friend, Christianity is all about God’s love for you. It is His love for and in you that results in inward heart transformation. Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship. Christianity is not about a list of dos and don’ts; it is about intimacy, love, and a warm, beating heart. First experience and taste the grace of God and His love will surely cause you to live a holy life!

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

Message from Amir Tsarfati

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” So, hey, He came to the world to give you hope. The hope is that He will come back and take you. And, hey, “He who promised is faithful.” It’s a beautiful thing. And by the way, when did that hope start? If you really start, if you really think about it, the hope started in the heart of, let’s say Peter, for example. Peter was a crushed person. Remember, he just denied Jesus three times. Remember, he was crushed. He was depressed. He couldn’t imagine – I’ve been following this Messiah for three years, and now at the crucial moment, when people ask me if I know Him, I said, “I don't know Him, I do not know the man.” He couldn’t imagine what he had done. It is such a horrible thing. And then Jesus is dead on the cross. Now, they’re taking Him into the tomb. And Peter says, “Not only did I betrayed Him; I may have contributed to His death. Now He’s dead, I have no hope.” 

Isn’t that interesting? And when is it that the hope was restored in Peter’s heart? I'll tell you when, he writes it. First Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope, through,” – What? – “…the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” That hope was rekindled in him when he experienced that Jesus is actually not dead. He resurrected. The resurrection, by the way, changed everything. Peter, from a defeated Jew became a conqueror. He was not ashamed to stand before kings and rulers. He was not ashamed to stand before the Sanhedrin. He was not ashamed to testify. He didn’t care if he’s thrown to the jail. He knew this is the truth. I have not only the fellowship of the suffering, but I have the power of His resurrection.

One of the greatest testimonies of the grace and mercy of God, outside of that of the nation of Israel, is the restoration of the Apostle Peter. He was a man who walked with Jesus and walked on water; a man who saw Jesus heal and by God’s power healed others himself (Matthew 10:8). Peter was a man who also said this:

Matthew 26:33-35
“Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.

Peter not only denied the Lord, he denied Him three times. The second time he denied Him it was with an oath, and the third time, with cursing and swearing, he said, “I do not even know the man.” (Matthew 26:74) Yet, we find Peter, the thrice denier, preaching the first gospel message that opened the church age in Acts 2, and doing so with thunderous power and authority.

Lamentations 3:21-23
This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  

Peter the denier became Peter the bold proclaimer of Christ, because the Lord is merciful and faithful. But the words of Jeremiah in Lamentations are not just limited to Peter or to Apostles and Prophets, they are true for every believer. The Lord is merciful and faithful to us and through those mercies, we are not consumed. 

What makes the story of Peter so powerful is that the Lord did not just forgive him, but He also restored him. Forgiveness is a wonderful, burden lifting thing. Restoration, however, covers the pain of past failures with the blessings of current service to the Lord.

1 Peter 4:8-11
And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

You can see the impact that the Lord’s love, forgiveness, and restoration had on Peter in this passage. The love of the Lord covered his three denials, the mercy of God gave him the ability to speak as the oracle of God, the faithfulness of God allowed Peter to bring glory to the very One he once denied even knowing.

For any who may have had a great failure or denial of the Lord in your life, either in thought or deed, take heart. God’s mercies are new every morning and His faithfulness toward you is great!

2 Timothy 2:13
If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

Can you imagine Peter’s life if the Lord had not forgiven and restored him? Yet John’s gospel says in chapter 21 that, on the shores of the sea of Galilee, Jesus restored Peter and told him that his claim to not deny the Lord would ultimately be fulfilled at his own death.

Dear friends, God is faithful! It isn’t something He does; it is what He is. He cannot deny His very nature. If you have fallen or failed, get up and keep going for His mercies endure forever and great is His faithfulness!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

Make Jesus Your Priority and See Blessings Added to You

Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear? . . . For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Matthew 6:31-33

When I talk about not worrying and keeping our eyes on Jesus, some people think that I am not being practical. Beloved, you can worry all you like about your current crisis, but it will not improve or change your situation one bit. Please understand that I am not making light of what you are going through. I am just offering you the best solution I know that works. Your breakthrough will not come as a result of your struggling. It will come when you rest in the person of Jesus and His finished work.

Jesus said, “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on” (Matt. 6:25). Now, Jesus was not saying that these things—food, drink, and clothing—are not important. In fact, He says that “your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” But what Jesus wants us to do is to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” and He promises that “all these things shall be added to you.”

Now, who is God’s righteousness? Jesus Christ. And who is the king of the “kingdom of God” that we are to seek? Jesus Christ (Rev. 19:16)! Jesus was actually referring to Himself when He was preaching this. When you seek Him first in your life and make Him your priority each day, all these material provisions—what you will eat, drink and wear—will be added to you.

God does not delight in taking things away from you. He delights in adding to you, increasing you, promoting you and enriching you. Psalm 68:19 says, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits . . .” The Lord loads us with benefits daily! That is how good our Savior is. His mercies and His unmerited favor are new every morning. That is the way to live and enjoy life, knowing that Jesus is with you and for you every step of the way.

Put Jesus first in everything that you do. Honor Him and give Him preeminence in your daily life. Partake of His finished work daily by reading His living words to you. Practice the presence of Jesus and be conscious that He is with you, the same way that Joseph in the Bible was conscious that the Lord was with Him. Jesus will bless the works of your hands, and everything you touch will indeed prosper and bring good success into your life.

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

God Answers Prayer

'And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?'

Luke 18:7

This is not an exact comparison of God to this unjust judge, teaching us that we should badger God until we weary Him and He grants us our request.

Rather, Jesus is contrasting His willingness to answer our prayers with this unjust judge's unwillingness. The parable is a contrast, not a representation.

Not only do we have God who is a just judge who will avenge His elect speedily, but we also have Jesus as our advocate or attorney who is always making intercession for us. However, we have an adversary (the devil) who is constantly accusing us and misrepresenting God (the judge). This causes men to give up (faint) and not even plead their case with God because they doubt that He will answer them anyway.

Jesus is saying that our Father is not an unjust judge that we have to pressure into doing what is right. Many times we put more faith in people and their willingness to do what is right than we do in God. Satan has deceived us about the willingness of God to answer our prayers and Jesus is countering that deception with this parable. Jesus is encouraging us to pray (petition God) and not doubt His willingness to grant our requests. To teach that we must pester God until He gives in to our pressure is not good theology.

This widow's actions were commendable. She knew what was rightfully hers and she refused to take 'no' for an answer. If we can be that confident and determined when dealing with unjust men, how much more should we persist, despite the devil's delays, when dealing with our faithful Father. You can trust Him to always come through for you. Andrew Womack

Like A Thief In The Night

'For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.'

Luke 17:24

This scripture and the parallel scripture in Matthew 24:27 make it very clear that the second return of Jesus will be no secret to anyone. In Matthew's account, it is especially clear that this statement about the lightning was made so that we wouldn't be deceived by false Christs. Just as lightning is visible to everyone, so the second return of Jesus will be witnessed by the whole world. That's the reason we don't have to be fearful about missing His second coming and anxiously follow every report that Christ has come.

These verses completely destroy the claims of the Bahai religion and others who claim that Jesus has secretly come back the second time.

Just as Jesus had warned His disciples not to be deceived by false Christs because His second coming would be visible to everyone, He also explains that until the very day of His coming, the world will continue on its present course. People will not discern the signs of His coming just as the people during Noah's day didn't realize their impending judgment. This corresponds exactly with Jesus' prophecies about His coming being like the appearance of a thief in the night. Jesus is emphasizing that the unbelievers will not recognize that He is coming until it is too late. He is stressing that His coming will take the world by surprise.

The Lord is pointing out the urgent need to be ready for His return. In the same way that a thief comes when people are the least prepared, so our Lord will return in a time when people are not looking for Him. There will be a condition of apathy in the latter days that will tend to lull even the faithful to sleep if they don't take heed to His words. He urges us to be watchful so we will be prepared. Andrew Womack

Give Thanks Daily

'There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.'

Luke 17:18

Relatively few people who receive the goodness of the Lord return to give Him thanks for what He has done. That does not keep the Lord from doing what is right for us. He healed all ten of these lepers according to their request - not just the one who was thankful. However, there was only one out of the ten that was made 'whole.'

The Lord desires that we prosper in spirit, soul, and body. He wants us to be whole - not just healed. Part of the reason God meets our physical needs is to prove to us His willingness and ability to meet our emotional and spiritual needs. The Lord is concerned about our temporal needs (Mt. 6:30), but He is even more concerned about our eternal needs. All of these lepers needed physical healing and the Lord was moved with compassion and met their need.

He was also desiring to meet their spiritual needs, but only one out of the ten came back for that.

Being unthankful is always a sign that self is exalting itself above God. A selfless person can be content with very little. A self-centered person cannot be satisfied. Thankfulness is a sign of humility and cultivating a life of thankfulness will help keep 'self' in its proper place.

Thankfulness to the Lord for what He is and what He has done is a very important part of the Christian life. One of the many benefits of thanksgiving and praise is that they keep us from being 'self' oriented.

Giving thanks is a totally unselfish action and is a key to relationship with the Father that makes us 'whole' and not just 'healed.' Andrew Womack

Confession of Sin

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

A question I’m often asked about total forgiveness of sins is, What about the confession of sins spoken of in 1 John 1:9? Don’t we have to confess our sins in order to be forgiven and cleansed of all unrighteousness?

I have shared on several occasions about my own past struggle with 1 John 1:9—to the point of obsession with trying to confess every sin and living so sin-conscious that I believed I had lost my salvation. For now, I want to share with you a fresh and powerful revelation that the Lord opened my eyes to at the time of this writing. In my study, He asked me to examine the word “sins” in 1 John 1:9 and to see if it is a noun or verb in the original Greek text. Are you ready for this?

In the two instances where we see the word “sins” in 1 John 1:9, it is the Greek noun hamartia that is used. According to well-known Bible scholar William Vine, hamartia (“a missing of the mark”) indicates “a principle or source of action, or an inward element producing acts . . . a governing principle or power.” In other words, it refers to the sin principle, or our sinful state on account of Adam’s sin. By using the noun form of this word, John was clearly not referring to our committing of individual acts of sin, or he would have used the verb form, hamartano.

In the light of this, can you see how 1 John 1:9 is not talking about confessing our sins every time we sin in thought or in deed? John was speaking of the need to acknowledge and confess to God that we are sinners because of Adam’s sin, as well as to receive the total forgiveness for all our sins through Jesus’ finished work.

How often do we need to do this? Only once. That’s why 1 John 1:9 is primarily a salvation verse, one that encourages the sinner to acknowledge and confess his sinful state or “sinnerhood,” get born again by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and have his sinful state through Adam replaced with a new righteous state through Christ.

In the first chapter of 1 John, the apostle John was addressing the heretical Gnostic doctrine that did not subscribe to a belief in man’s sinful state. John was encouraging the Gnostics to confess their sinful state and receive the Lord’s complete forgiveness and total cleansing from all their unrighteousness through His finished work at the cross.

Now, what does John say then, about our committing of sins after we’ve become believers? Just two verses later in the second chapter of 1 John, John answers this question as he begins his address to believers: “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). This time, the words “sin” and “sins” are the Greek verb hamartano. John is now referring to believers’ committing of sins—their sinful thoughts and deeds. What does John say regarding this? He reminds us that when we fail as believers, we have an Advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ.

Because of our Lord Jesus and what He has accomplished at the cross, we have forgiveness and we still stand righteous before God even when we’ve missed it. As the apostle Paul reminded the Corinthian believers who had failed that they were still the temple of the Holy Spirit, John reminds us of who we are in Christ and Who we have representing us at God’s right hand.

Can you see that the Bible’s answer to overcoming sin is always to remind believers of their righteous identity in Christ? This is not to encourage us to sin but to encourage us to look to our Lord Jesus, to see our sins punished at the cross and to live victoriously and gloriously for Him. Remember, that is what true repentance is all about—turning to the cross and returning to His grace!

When you fail today, know that you can talk to God honestly about your failing, but do it with a revelation of the cross of our Lord Jesus. See your sins punished in His body and receive afresh His forgiveness and unmerited favor to reign over your sins.

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

From Dead Works to a Living Relationship

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.

Hebrews 6:1

Ever kept your eye on the clock while you prayed or read your Bible? Ever felt relieved when the clock showed that you could stop (because you have diligently done your part to merit God’s righteousness) and get on with the rest of your day?

My friend, if you pray because you think that praying makes you right with God, that’s a dead work. But if you pray because you are right with God and you know that He loves you, there is power there. Can you see the difference? It is the same activity—prayer—but the bases and motivations for doing it are completely different. One is a dead work while the other is a living work born of grace.

Similarly, if you study the Bible because you think that doing so makes you right with God, you have missed it. That’s a dead work. There will be no revelation because you are not flowing with the Spirit of truth, who bears witness with your spirit that you are already right with God. But if you study the Bible because you know that you are right with God and that the Bible is a love letter from the One who made you right, treasures from His Word will open up to you.

Look again at today’s scripture. Of all the things that make up the foundation of our faith, the Bible exhorts us to “repent from dead works.” Dead works are the so-called “good works” that people do to try to gain righteousness with God. And whether you live your Christian life in dead works or in faith toward God through a revelation of God’s grace can mean the difference between life and death.

Wilson is someone who can testify to this. Writing to me from Australia, he told me how he was handed one of my books by a woman he did not know. She just walked up to him and said she felt led to give it to him. Imagine how that must have sounded to someone who had been burned by legalistic teachings and was trying to get as far away from God as he could for the last two decades. His curiosity piqued, Wilson opened the book . . . and embarked on a precious journey that has brought healing, wholeness, liberty, and a new, loving relationship with God. Here is Wilson’s story of that journey in his own words:

Pastor Prince, what can I say? Your book changed my life! After running from God for the last twenty years, I finally stopped and turned back to God because of the way this book explains who God really is and what Jesus did for us on the cross. I now know (and am still learning daily) who I am in Christ.

Through your book, I have discovered that Christianity is not a religion like I thought it was and experienced before. Now I know that God is alive, He truly loves me, and is for me. This is the best thing that has happened to me!

Furthermore, I have given up smoking by following the ways you mentioned in your book and on some DVDs—to look to Jesus as my righteousness and declare I am righteous in Him even if that is the last thing I feel at that moment. You showed me that no matter what I have done or do, Jesus still loves me, and it’s because of this that I have been able to give up smoking. I couldn’t give it up through my own efforts before, but through resting in Him—His love, His righteousness—I have. Besides the cigarette addiction, I have also been set free from twenty years of drug and alcohol abuse and am now free of paranoid thoughts too.

I have also just enrolled in an online Bible college because now I’m hungry to know Him. I get your teachings on Facebook every day, which help me a great deal. Thank you for being obedient to God’s call on your life. You have helped make the doors to the church even wider for new Christians and also for those who have walked away.

Do you see what an amazing change knowing and believing right about God (and how He deals with us today) can bring? Listen, my friend, God does not want you in dead works—depending on your own efforts to please Him and qualify for His blessings. God wants you having and operating out of a personal and loving relationship with Him, not out of a sense of religious obligation. Dead works will bring you into bondage because it’s all dependent on your own efforts to please God. It will steal the life and joy right out of your Christian walk, like it did for Wilson many years ago.

Today, realize that God’s Word exhorts us to repent (change our minds) from dead works and believe the gospel. How do you do this? See the cross. See how God loves you so much that He sent Jesus, who came down to where you were to bring you up to where He is—something no amount of your self-effort can ever do.

Like Wilson, see Jesus’ obedience making you righteous (Rom. 5:19), and praise Him for His marvelous grace! Enjoy His wonderful presence today when you come to Him in prayer or read His Word. Let Him fill your heart, mind, and body with His grace, peace, wholeness, and life.

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

Every Condition in Every Part

“Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails.”

Exodus 12:8–9

If you’re trusting the Lord for your healing breakthrough today, I want to arm your heart with this simple but critical truth: There are no exclusions and conditions to God’s healing power, because there are no exclusions whatsoever in the finished work of Christ. Its coverage is all-encompassing and perfectly comprehensive, and every condition has been covered!

I want to highlight a powerful truth in the verses above. Why did God specifically mention that the lamb should be roasted in fire with its head, legs, and entrails? I believe He wants you to see that Jesus, your Passover Lamb, bore every condition in every part of your body. There is no disease, injury, or sickness He did not carry in His own body on the cross.

The Israelites had lived under the stressful, cruel oppression of their slave masters and the horror of infanticide. Perhaps some of them suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder or had recurrent panic attacks. Perhaps some had chronic pain and physical disabilities from being brutally treated by their slave masters. But whatever condition they might have suffered from, I believe they were healed as they ate the roasted head, legs, and entrails of the lamb.

Whatever affliction you might have in any part of your body, I want you to know every condition has been borne by Jesus on the cross. While God specifically instructed the children of Israel to eat the Passover lamb’s head with its legs and entrails, the whole lamb was roasted. This means no matter what disease you are battling today, Jesus has taken it on Himself.

Today, I encourage you to receive the holy Communion remembering the perfect love of our Lord Jesus and what His finished work of has accomplished for you.

Your part is to keep partaking of the channel of divine health He has given you until you see the manifestation of your victory. Your part is to lift up your hands to Him and say, “Lord Jesus, I receive Your healing. By the stripes that fell on You, every part of my body—every cell, every organ—is healed and functions at peak efficiency. Thank You, Jesus, for Your healing.”

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

Message from Amir Tsrafati

This land of Israel was a barren wasteland. Nobody wanted to live here for hundreds of years. The place was deserted. The place was abandoned. The place was empty. When Mark Twain showed up here in the 1800s, Mark Twain himself wrote that he hardly saw a living soul in his entire journey in this area. He testified that even the cactuses, that are very good friends of the desert, did not grow here. That’s how bad everything was.

So there was a need, first, for the restoration of the land before the people could come back to their ancestral homeland. And it’s interesting because Ezekiel in chapter 36 in verses 8 and 9 said, “But you, O mountains of Israel, shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they are about to come. For indeed, I am for you, and I will turn to you and you shall be tilled and sown.” God acknowledged in the scriptures that the land was dead, and God in due time is to speak fertility to the land in preparation for the return of the Jewish people.

Do you understand? The land was dead. The land was sold for pennies on the dollar. The land was deserted, basically. And God said, 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, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield, what? Your fruit to My people, Israel.

God said 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 said, 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.

In the early 2000’s there was a worship song that churches around the world were singing and the lyrics were a great reminder of the majesty of our God:

Lord of all creation, of water, earth and sky 
The heavens are Your tabernacle, glory to the Lord on High

God of wonders beyond our galaxy, You are holy, holy.
The universe declares Your majesty, You are holy, holy

Lord of heaven and earth, Lord of heaven and earth

The lessons from the relationship between the God of wonders and His chosen people Israel are many. He gave them a land that had become desolate and barren. Yet, as Lord of heaven and earth, He called to the trees and vines to bear fruit in preparation for the return of His people to the land He gave them, forever.

1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

God has called people who were in darkness into His marvelous light. He has taken the desolate and barren souls of men and made them a fruitful people of God. Those who had not obtained mercy have now obtained mercy from the Lord of all creation.

Don’t miss the lessons we can learn from the God of wonders and His relationship with Israel by buying into the false narrative of the media and masses today. There are too many revelations of the goodness and mercy of God that we will miss if we do.

Not the least of these is that God was working on us and drawing us when we were far from Him. His love penetrated the darkness and barrenness of our perishing souls and washed us and cleansed us in the blood of His own Son. And He did this while we were barren and destitute sinners.

He truly is the God of wonders and Lord of heaven and earth. He knows your name and the number of hairs on your head, He keeps your tears in His bottle and loves you with an everlasting love. And what we also need to remember is, He’s coming back for us to take us to where He is – perhaps today!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

Our Resurrected Bodies

'Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.'

John 11:13

There are many scriptures where death is spoken of as sleep, however, the disciples thought Jesus was speaking of Lazarus simply resting. Jesus eventually clarifies their misunderstanding by using the word 'death,' but that was not His first choice. This is because God's perspective is different than ours. Death is final to natural man but not to God. There will be a resurrection.

In his second letter to the Corinthians Paul uses natural illustrations to explain the resurrection. He speaks of seeds that are buried in the ground and 'die.' Then they are resurrected as a plant. The plant and the seed bear no resemblance but they are actually the same. The plant is just in a resurrected state. Likewise, our physical bodies will die but they will be resurrected just as surely as seeds produce plants.

In the same way that a seed is different than the plant that it produces, likewise our resurrected bodies will be different. Our glorified bodies will be very similar to our physical bodies in appearance. This can be said because of what the scriptures reveal about Jesus' glorified body. He still looked human, He ate food, had the print of the nails in His hands and feet, and He said He had flesh and bones. Yet he could appear and disappear. Our resurrected bodies will be immortal (i.e. not subject to death). Our resurrected bodies will be like Jesus' resurrected body.

In the same way that our present physical bodies are a miraculous creation, so our glorified resurrected bodies will have their own glory. We can rest assured that God never serves dessert first. If this physical body is wonderful, our resurrected body will be even better. Andrew Womack

Oh, How He Loves You!

“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17 NIV

Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver because he did not understand the value of Jesus. After the deed, he cried out in despair, “I have betrayed innocent blood” (Matt. 27:4 NIV). Then he went out and committed suicide. He rejected the Lord and his guilt drove him to hang himself on a tree. The truth is, he didn’t have to, because Jesus was going to hang on another tree for his sin.

It is sad to see so many people today who, as Judas did, are punishing themselves for their own sins! They live in perpetual guilt and condemnation, punishing themselves and subjecting themselves to self-destructive behavior. They don’t know all that our Lord Jesus has sacrificed on the cross for their forgiveness, deliverance, redemption, and freedom. To anesthetize the voices of accusation in their own consciences, many become bound to alcohol, drugs, and all kinds of debilitating substance abuse. They end up living in a state of constant fear, anxiety attacks, sleeplessness, and psychosomatic illnesses.

Let me share with you a really precious testimony I received from Garrett who lives in South Africa. Unable to find a way out of a downward spiral of years of depression, drug and alcohol addiction, and despair, Garrett lost his job, wife, and son. A slave to his situation, he grew to hate himself to the point where he attempted suicide. Be blessed as you read how his encounter with Jesus and His amazing grace completely turned his life around:

I was crying out to God for help and asking, “God, what do You want from me? Where are You? Am I being punished for the way I am . . . do You really exist?” I came home to an empty house, turned on the television, and inadvertently came to your TV broadcast. I immediately tried to change the channel, but the channel got stuck.

Pastor Prince, at that very instant, you looked into the camera and said, “Perhaps your life is right now being tossed by certain winds. Maybe it is a wind of financial turbulence, maybe it is a storm of sickness that has come into your life. Whatever the winds are, whatever the storm is, I am here to tell you, in the midst of the storm, look out for Jesus.”

I felt like I was being hit by a freight train. I stopped in my tracks and I was freaked out because just a few minutes ago I was screaming at God for answers. I was certain that God was pointing me somewhere that moment. My body started to tingle and the light in the room started to get brighter. Even though I am not one for having “religious” moments, I was positive that I was having a moment with Christ. That was how real it was, and totally unexpected.

Your sermon changed my world! I had no idea that God could love a person like me after all I had done. I bought one of your books, and after reading it, I felt a hunger that I never experienced before. My eyes were opened and I wanted more. Through your teachings, I am now able to understand the Word of God like never before. I am applying the Word in my life. I am now free! Free to be loved by God because of the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am free to hope, free to receive, and free to come to Jesus even when I fail.

Pastor Prince, as a result of the knowledge of Jesus and His amazing grace, I now have no drug addictions, no alcohol dependence, and my life of unhappiness and despair is gone. God’s grace has even impacted my relationships and made them better than ever. I am now full of the Holy Spirit and reigning in life. Hallelujah!

Beloved, if you’ve been bogged down in the mire of loneliness, discouragement, and self-destruction, don’t waste another day in this dark place. Instead worship the One—our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—Who gave up everything and allowed Himself to be spat at, brutally beaten, and pierced with heavy nails at the cross for your redemption.

Allow the fragrance of His love and His grace to flood every area of your life. Allow the perfume of His sacrifice to permeate and heal every hurt, every disappointment, and every insecurity. He has already paid the price for you to be whole and restored. He has already paid the price for you to come boldly and freely before His throne of grace. Oh, how He loves you! He loves you! He loves you!

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

He Satisfies You with Long Life

“With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”

Psalm 91:16

This is the final but, I think, most important verse in Psalm 91! If you ever had any doubt that God desires for you to live a long, good life, let this verse be your answer. You may be battling with a health condition right now, but by faith let’s hold fast to this verse together. In Jesus’ mighty name, I see you healed, healthy, and whole. I see you strong in Christ and ready to take on any giant that is ahead of you.

One of my favorite pictures of long life is found in the biblical character Caleb. When he was eighty-five years old, he said, “I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war” (Josh. 14:10–11).

The faith picture here of long life is not just in terms of quantity—the number of days—but also quality—health and strength. Caleb remained as strong at eighty-five as he was when he was forty-five. Which means in the last forty years in the harsh wilderness, his strength, youth, and vigor didn’t diminish. There was no leaking, no receding, and no fading away of his strength!

If perhaps you think that Caleb was just talking big, look at what he said next: “Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said” (Josh. 14:12).

At 85, Caleb was ready to fight with giants to gain possession of a mountain! And Caleb did as he said! Read the evidence for yourself: “Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel” (Josh. 14:14).

You were impressed when a teenage shepherd boy picked a fight with one giant named Goliath? We should be completely blown away by this eighty-five-year-old, who took on a whole mountain packed with giants! Caleb was zealous for the Lord’s glory. As far as he was concerned, there was unfinished business because the Lord had promised them the mountain forty years ago.

My personal belief is that his biological clock stopped ticking and he basically stopped aging because he kept his eyes not on himself, but on the promises of the Lord. As you meditate on and find strength in God’s promises, the same can happen for you!

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