Abide in His Perfect Love

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

I know it can be very hard to feel God’s love for you when you are faced with multiple symptoms in your body, mounting debts from your medical bills, and worries about your future. We live in a world where we are governed by our five senses, and there are times when it is hard to believe in the love of Someone we can’t see, touch, or hear.

But we cannot depend on feelings and outward circumstances (that can change) to be assured of God’s love for us. It is so important we fix our eyes, instead, on our Lord Jesus, whose love for us is perfect, never changes, and never fails.

May I share with you some of the things you can do that I believe will help to keep you in His perfect love?

Instead of allowing the enemy to feed you with lies that cause you to be fearful, keep listening to messages that will keep you in the consciousness of God’s love for you. Embrace His love to drive out every fear.

Every time the enemy tries to attack you with fears, plug into a sermon that magnifies the Lord’s goodness and love for you. Instead of giving in to the devices of the enemy, keep listening to sermons about Jesus’ finished work.

Instead of reading articles on the internet that tell you how serious your condition can become, or reading your medical report over and over again, read praise reports about the Lord’s love and faithfulness. Read scriptures about His love and healing promises. Garrison yourself with the Word of God and keep yourself in His love.

The Bible tells us, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16).

It’s not enough to know verses about His love. Keep meditating on them until you believe He loves you.

When we keep ourselves in the consciousness of God’s love, we are abiding in God. In other words, we are making Him our dwelling place. That is so powerful because when the Lord is your dwelling place, you are in a place of safety and protection.

Read Psalm 91 and declare over yourself that no evil shall befall you nor shall any plague come near your dwelling. As you abide in Him, the almighty God becomes your refuge and fortress.

It doesn’t matter how many people have died from the disease you have been diagnosed with. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you (Ps. 91:7). And even if you are already in trouble, the Lord is with you and He will deliver you.

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

A Man Under Grace Sees and Appreciates His Blessings

Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength . . . For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes.

Jeremiah 17:5–6

One of the saddest things about a man who trusts in his strengths and self-efforts—“who . . . makes flesh his strength”—is that he cannot see good when it comes his way.

As a pastor, I have seen, down through the years, people who don’t put their trust in the Lord when it comes to their marriages, finances, and other areas of weakness. They are determined to trust in their own efforts, and tend to be rather arrogant and frustrated with the people around them.

Many a time, when you observe people like that, you realize that they cannot see the good things that are right under their noses. They don’t appreciate their spouses, neglect their children, and even when other blessings come their way, they miss them!

Why is it that they can’t see good when it comes? It is because people who trust in their own efforts have no ability to see and receive blessings from the Lord.

They only believe in the “good” that can come from their own efforts. That is why they are proud. You would probably notice that such people don’t say “thank you” very often to the people around them.

They feel like they are entitled to and deserve whatever they receive. They are rarely grateful or appreciative, and that is why they take their spouses for granted instead of seeing them as a blessing from the Lord.

In contrast, people who are living under grace and who trust in the Lord’s unmerited favor are constantly thankful, praising God and giving thanks to Jesus. They are grateful and appreciative of the people around them.

When I was still a bachelor, I had an idea of the kind of wife I wanted and brought my request to the Lord. But you know what? He over-answered my prayer and gave me Wendy! I am truly grateful to the Lord for Wendy and I know that it is the unmerited favor of Jesus.

When I look at my daughter Jessica, I know that I don’t deserve such a beautiful daughter, and yet the Lord gave this precious girl to me. You see, my friend, I did nothing to deserve it, but the Lord blessed me with an amazing family.

When you live under grace, you can truly enjoy the blessings around you because you know that they are undeserved. Look at the family, friends, and other blessings that God has given you today. See how He has blessed you with them because He loves you. And when you see them as blessings, they will enrich your life (Prov. 10:22)!

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

Rejoice In The Lord - Always

 'These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might

have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation:

but be of good cheer;I have overcome the world.'

John 16:33

The world experiences joy and happiness in direct proportion to their circumstances. Bad circumstances produce depression and sorrow, while good circumstances produce joy and peace. That's bondage, and does not have to be the case for a Christian. Our joy is not dependent on things, but rather on the person of Jesus Christ. He is our peace and joy.

The way we take advantage of this joy and peace in the midst of tribulation, is to have our minds and hearts stayed on things above and not on things of this earth. The invisible things of God are eternal while the visible problems on earth are only temporary. All the problems of this life grow very dim when we compare them to the glory of God that is ours through Jesus.

We can rejoice in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4) because rejoicing is an action, not a reaction to our environment. Joy is a gift from God that was given to us at salvation. It was placed within our born-again spirit and it doesn't fluctuate or diminish; it is constant. The Lord has put the joy inside us and we are to 'work it out' by choosing to obey this command in scripture.

We are commanded to rejoice 'IN THE LORD.' Many people are not experiencing true joy because their joy is in their circumstances. That is, they are waiting to rejoice when things in their lives are going good, and that doesn't happen very often. We are suppose to 'rejoice in the Lord always.'

That means we are supposed to rejoice in who the Lord is and what He has done for us. He never changes (Heb. 13:8) and His mercies and compassions are new every morning (Lam. 3:22-23). Andrew Womack

Exceedingly Abundantly Above

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20–21

In Ephesians 3:18–19, we see that when we know the love of Christ, we will be filled with the fullness of God! That is amazing! But notice in today’s scripture that Paul didn’t stop there.

God becomes big in your life when you know His love. He will give you not just exceedingly, not just abundantly, but exceedingly abundantly above all you can ask or think!

So when you know His love for you, you can ask big and think big, and God will still exceed all that you ask or think! It’s all about His love for you and me. Yet, there are people today who continue to boast in their love for God, believing that He would bless them in tandem with their good works.

In my own life, there were some things that I had been believing God for, but for years, nothing happened, until I realized just how much God loves me. When I realized how much He loves me, it was like all of a sudden, the floodgate of His blessings opened wide, and all kinds of good things started happening to me, in me, and around me.

One such occasion was when my daughter, Jessica, was about two years old, and she was suffering from a viral attack that the doctors could not remedy. She cried all day and night. I tried everything I knew. I was binding and loosing, I was confessing the Word of God, I was shouting, I was laying hands . . . all to no avail.

And then the Lord brought me to Genesis 22, where God told Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering to Him—a foreshadow of God sacrificing His own Son, Jesus.

As I read the passage, I realized just how much God loved me. He loved me so much that He did not withhold His Son, His only Son, the Son whom He loved, for me.

I began to weep from a deep and intimate sense of God’s overwhelming love for me. At that moment, I felt His love all over me.

And right there and then, my daughter stopped crying in the other room. From that point onward, she was completely healed! As I was experiencing a fresh revelation of His love for me, the miracle for my daughter happened!

Let me share another testimony with you. Bill, a brother from California, wrote to thank me for my teachings about our inheritance as God’s beloved children when we believe right. He shared that prior to his honeymoon in Cancun, rain and thunderstorms had been forecast for 80 to 90 percent of the duration of their trip.

One morning during his quiet time with God, it occurred to him that because God loves him and his wife, he could pray to God to change the weather for their honeymoon, for surely this was no big deal for the God of the universe. So three days prior to their departure, he prayed just that.

This was Bill’s report: “The sun was shining with storm clouds in the far distance everywhere we went during our six-day honeymoon. The thunderstorms were spectacular but always at a distance. Rain only fell late at night after we had retired to bed. Even though fierce storms were predicted along the entire coastline, we woke up every morning to sunshine and freshly watered, beautiful nature. Some will scoff and call this a coincidence, and some simply won’t believe that God changed the weather for one of His own. But I believe that’s exactly what He did!”

Let me say this again: when you know His love for you, you can ask big and think big, and God will still exceed all that you ask or think!

When you believe right, the floodgates of blessings open! Nothing is impossible when you believe right in the person of Jesus and in His love and goodness. Praise God!

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

Salvation in the Name of Jesus

And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.

2 Timothy 4:18

Psalm 91 ends with the power-packed verse, “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”

Many years ago, the Lord opened my eyes to see that apart from the four names of God that are mentioned in the first two verses of Psalm 91, there is another name of God, a fifth name, concealed in the very last word of Psalm 91.

You see, in Hebrew, the word “salvation” is the word yeshua. And Yeshua is the Hebrew name of our Lord Jesus! Now, isn’t that beautiful?

This is what God was saying: “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My Yeshua.” Long life is found in our Yeshua. You can know God as El Elyon, God Most High, as the Almighty Shaddai, as Jehovah, and even as Elohim, but the name that gives you full and utter confidence is the name Jesus!

It is not enough to know that God is all-powerful. It is more important you know that God is willing to use His power and might to save you!

That’s what our Lord Jesus did at the cross for you and me. He came and He showed us His salvation by sacrificing Himself on the cross for your sins and my sins. He died young that we may live long. And not just live long in this world.

At the cross, He purchased for us the gift of eternal life, paid for with His own blood. The moment you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, your salvation in Him was sure and secure!

I grew up in a church where I was taught that when you sin, you will lose your salvation and have to get born again all over again. This erroneous teaching oppressed my mind day and night. The enemy incessantly attacked me with thoughts that I had lost my salvation.

As I was seeking the Lord for answers one day, He opened my eyes and pointed me to the above Scripture passage from 2 Timothy.

Just like that, when the truth of God’s Word came in, all the oppression left me. And every time the thought that I had lost my salvation reared its ugly head again, I would quote this verse, boldly declaring, “It is written, ‘And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.’”

Beloved, I highly recommend that you meditate on this Scripture. In this one verse you find the Lord’s protection and preservation unto eternity!

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

Embrace The Holy Spirit

'Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away:

for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you;

but if I depart, I will send him unto you.'

John 16:7

The Greek word translated 'expedient' means 'to be an advantage; profitable.'

How could any situation be more advantageous or profitable than having Jesus physically with you?

When Jesus walked on this earth in His physical body, He was subject to many physical limitations. For instance, He could not always be with every one of His disciples all the time. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, He could. Instead of Satan getting rid of Jesus, 120 'little Christs' (that is literally what the word 'Christian' means) came out of the upper room on the day of Pentecost.

Jesus taught His disciples as no teacher ever had, yet they had very little understanding because they were not born again. However, when the Holy Spirit came, He lead them into all truth and even showed them things to come.

The list of advantages of having the Holy Spirit in us as compared to having Jesus with us in His physical body, goes on and on. The advantages can all be summed up in that Jesus' power is now complete (Mt. 28:18) and no longer confined to one physical body.

There is no such thing as victorious Christian living without a moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day dependence upon the Spirit of God. Not only is the Christian life hard to live but it is impossible to live without the power of God Himself. Andrew Womack

God’s Heart Revealed

“He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

John 14:9

How do you know it is God’s will to heal you? Just look at what Jesus did during His earthly ministry. When we look at Jesus, we see our heavenly Father’s heart for us, for Jesus said that anyone who has seen Him has seen the Father.

Throughout the Gospels, what do we see Jesus tirelessly doing?

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sick- ness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.

—Matthew 4:23–24

Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.

—Matthew 15:30

When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.

—Luke 4:40

Over and over again, the Bible records how our Lord Jesus “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38). He caused the lame to walk and the blind to see. He unstopped deaf ears. He cleansed people with leprosy. He even raised the dead.

And do you know what our Lord Jesus said about all that He did? He said, “The words I say to you I do not say on My own initiative or authority, but the Father, abiding continually in Me, does His works [His attesting miracles and acts of power]” (John 14:10 AMP).

Jesus said it was the Father who worked (through Him) wonderful healing miracles everywhere He went. Can you see that it is truly your heavenly Father’s desire for you to be completely healed of every disease?

Worship Brings Lasting Transformation

“She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

Mark 14:8–9

When it comes to the value that we place on Jesus, let me share something powerful with you that will cause you to grow in your relationship with the Lord and bring lasting transformation in your life.

In the Old Testament, the burnt offering came in three sizes—literally, big, medium, and small (Lev. 1:1–17). The rich would bring an expensive bullock; the middle-income, a lamb; and the poor, a pair of easy-to-obtain pigeons or turtledoves.

Now, while the offerings differed in size, in terms of value to God, they were all equal and acceptable to Him, because they all reminded Him of the one final and perfect sacrifice of His beloved Son. So whether it was a bullock, lamb, or pair of turtledoves, they were all accepted and killed, and their blood was shed to make atonement for the offerers’ sins.

What’s the significance of knowing all this? The three animal sacrifices are actually typologies of our appreciation of Jesus and His finished work today. For instance, many believers have a lamb-sized revelation of Jesus. They know that Jesus is the Lamb of God who has washed away their past sins with His blood.

Then there are some Christians who have only a pigeon-size revelation of Jesus. They see Him as the Son of God Who came down from heaven to die for man’s sins.

And finally there are believers who have a bullock-size revelation of Jesus and His cleansing blood. As the bullock was the most expensive of the three sacrifices, these believers are spiritually rich because they have a large and deep revelation of Jesus, His blood, and how it has cleansed them of all their sins.

In the same way that all the three sacrifices were acceptable to the Lord, we as believers are all accepted in His sight, no matter what our revelation and how we value Jesus. But God wants you to grow from having a pigeon-size revelation of His Son to having a bullock-size appreciation of Him.

Why is this so important? Because everything starts from the inside out. That inward spiritual wealth will translate into outward benefits of peace, stability, joy, provision, and victory. Back then, the wealthier you were, the bigger the size of your offering. Today, the larger your revelation of Jesus, the more spiritually wealthy you are!

My friend, when you esteem Jesus, when you worship Him and give unto Him, it brings lasting transformation not only in your life. As we have seen with Mary in today's scripture, it also has an effect for generations and generations to come.

Mary poured out and gave her very best to the Lord, and Jesus said she prepared Him for His burial. In His words, Jesus enveloped her forever in the sweet incense of His praise of her.

Today we are still talking about and honoring what Mary did for our Lord two thousand years ago. Talk about your good works having an effect for generations to come!

Your time spent in studying the person of Jesus and worshipping Him will come back to you. You will experience a quality of life beyond your wildest imagination when the Lord Jesus is at the center of it all. And that is why the grace revolution is all about having a heart for Jesus!

Know Your Covenant Rights in Christ

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Hosea 4:6

I cannot emphasize enough how vitally important it is for a believer today to know that he is under the new covenant of God’s unmerited favor and no longer under the law. Many good, well-meaning, and sincere believers today are defeated by their lack of knowledge of the new covenant and all the benefits that Jesus has purchased for them at the cross.

“But Pastor Prince, we should not be looking at benefits when we believe in Jesus.”

I am glad that you brought up this point. Let’s look at what the psalmist thinks about this: “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's” (Ps. 103:1–5).

Beloved, this is the heart of God. He wants you to remember all the benefits that Jesus has purchased for you with His blood! It is His heart to see you enjoying every single benefit, every single blessing, and every single favor from Him in the new covenant of His grace.

Forgiveness of sin is yours. Health is yours. Divine protection is yours. Favor is yours. Good things and the renewal of youth are yours!

These are all precious gifts from the Lord to you, and it brings Him unspeakable joy when He sees you enjoying these gifts and succeeding in life. But it is the lack of knowledge of what Jesus has accomplished at the cross that has robbed many believers of enjoying these good gifts and benefits.

This reminds me of a story I read of a man who visited an impoverished old lady who was dying. As he sat next to her bed in the cramped confines of her dilapidated home, a single frame hanging on her spartan wall caught his attention.

Instead of a picture, the frame held a yellowed piece of paper with some writing on it. He asked the lady about that piece of paper and she replied, “Well, I can’t read, so I don’t know what it says. But a long time ago, I used to work for a very wealthy man who had no family. Just before he died, he gave me this piece of paper and I’ve kept it in remembrance of him for the past 40 or 50 years now.”

The man took a closer look at the framed contents, hesitated for a moment, then said, “Do you know that this is actually the will and testament of that man? It names you as the sole beneficiary of all his wealth and property!”

For close to 50 years, that lady had lived in abject poverty, working day and night to eke out a meager existence for herself. During all this time, she was actually the owner of a sprawling estate and enviable riches. However, her own ignorance had utterly robbed her of a life of wealth and luxury that she could have enjoyed.

It is a sad story, but what is even sadder is that this tragedy is played out every day in the lives of believers who do not realize the inheritance that Jesus bequeathed them when He gave up His life at the cross.

What we need today are not more laws to govern believers. What we need is a greater revelation and appreciation of Jesus and everything that He has done for us! In Hosea 4:6, God lamented, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

Let’s not be numbered among these people. Instead, let us be a people who are full of the knowledge of Jesus, His person, His love, and His finished work.

Don't allow your ignorance to rob you anymore. Find out all about your covenant rights in Christ today!

Perfection Is Not Required

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:21

When I was a young Christian, I was a victim of a flawed, legalistic teaching based on a misinterpretation of the apostle Paul’s teaching on the holy Communion in 1 Corinthians 11:27–30:

“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.”

I was taught and warned, as perhaps you were, that if there was any sin in my life, including ones I didn’t know about or had forgotten to confess, that sin made me unworthy to partake of the holy Communion. I would bring judgment and sickness on myself, and I might even die before my time!

But how could I ever know if I was “worthy” enough? I was not living in sin or anything like that, but I knew that to God, sin is sin, and if anyone fails in even one area, he is counted guilty of all (James 2:10).

As a result, I was so fearful of the Communion I did not partake of it for many years. After all, I was no fool. Why would I risk it?

I was robbed of my inheritance because of well-meaning but erroneous preaching that put an invisible fence around what was meant to be a source of health and healing and a blessing for God’s people. A fence was put around it saying, “Don’t come near unless you are worthy.”

Don’t be robbed like I was.

This is what the Word of God says: Jesus’ blood has already been shed for us, and as believers, we are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). We are completely righteous and worthy not because we are perfect, but because He is perfect.

He paid the full price for the forgiveness of our sins, which alone makes us worthy. His sacrifice at the cross has fully qualified us to receive His healing and victory over sin and every kind of bondage that is robbing us of health and life.

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

Where Is This Secret Place?

For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 1:20 AMPC

Where is this secret place of the Most High and how do you get there? Before I answer this question, I want you to be careful of preaching and teaching about Psalm 91 that make “the secret place of the Most High” a place that only an elite few can go to, while the rest of us have no access to it because we haven’t done enough, such as pray for eight hours.

Usually, the person who teaches along these lines is trying to say that there is a standard of holiness that you must attain before you can reach the secret place of the Most High. Now, if this is true and it takes eight hours of prayer at home to be in the secret place of the Most High, then how about those of us who have full-time jobs and can’t pray for eight hours, and who really need protection?

Think about it for a moment. Who needs more protection—the one praying in the safety of his home or the one working out there? Clearly, it is the guy who is working out there in the world where accidents are possible and where he is exposed to all kinds of viruses.

Yet, according to this teaching, he cannot access the secret place because he has not prayed eight hours a day! Does this even make sense to you?

That’s why I don’t like teaching that makes certain people—especially the preacher—appear like they are part of an elite few. The Lord’s blessings are not just for an elite few.

If a blessing is from our Lord, everyone has access to it. The young and the old, the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor—all have access by faith to His blessings that are freely given.

Let me tell you where the secret place of the Most High is. The secret place of the Most High is a place where you are in Christ.

Wouldn’t you agree that being in Christ is to be in the safest hiding place? How did you get to be in Christ? By receiving the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.

Once you are a born-again believer, our heavenly Father sees you in Christ. You are safe, protected, and secure in the hiding place! Be anchored in this truth and see yourself walking in a greater measure of His divine protection in the days to come.

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

Message from Amir Tsarfati

Nowhere in the Bible do we have a suggestion that the Messiah is just a human being. The Bible tells us more than once that Messiah will be the Son of God. Whether you read in the book of Isaiah that unto us a Son is given and He will be mighty God, everlasting Father. Or you can even read in the book of Proverbs in chapter 30, what’s His name and what’s His Son’s name? You shall know. The Bible tells us that in the days to come, God will give Israel a New Testament, a new covenant. In the book of Jeremiah, chapter 31, verse 31 it suggests that the new covenant will not be based upon the law of Moses, which was broken by the people of Israel because it’s simply impossible to be fulfilled. Jesus fulfilled the law, and, by doing so, no one else is required anymore to do so. He fully filled the law. There is no other way to reach to God but through Jesus. Jesus said that to the Jews, I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. No one can come to the Father, but through Me.

“Justification by faith” is a phrase most Christians are familiar with, yet some of the specifics of it are unfamiliar to them. Justification is often defined as “just as if it never happened” (in reference to our sin). This is a great way to understand the end result of justification by faith, but it skips over the process of getting there.

1 Timothy 2:5-6
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

God has not just arbitrarily acted as though our sin never happened. That would violate His justness. The wages of sin had to be paid by death, and in due time Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6).

This is the mediation that Paul wrote to Timothy about. A mediator was required to represent both sides of an issue equally. As the Triune Godhead, neither Father, Son, or Holy Spirit could represent humanity as mediator. For man, there was no one who was of a divine nature who could represent God as a mediator. 

Hebrews 10:5
Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.”

If mediation was going to happen, resulting in the justification by faith of all who believe, a mediator who could equally represent both sides was necessary. God could not represent man because He is God and not a man. No man could represent God because he is man and not God. So, God became a man in the person of Christ so that mediation could be possible.

How did this justification happen through the God-man, Christ Jesus? 

Romans 5:7-11
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

When Christ mediated for mankind through His death, reconciliation with God became possible by faith. When Jesus fulfilled the law, He fulfilled it as a representative of mankind thus mediating as an equal representative of man and God.

Colossians 1:21-22
And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.

Justification required debt satisfaction, and no man could nor ever will fulfill the law. Jesus did, and, because He died as a sinless Savior, He could mediate for all mankind having endured the suffering and wages of sin He did not deserve.

This nullifies all arguments of “how could a God of love” allow suffering, hunger, or any of the other things people use to accuse God of unfairness or deny His existence. His Son demonstrated a love that is incomparable by paying the sin debt of all humanity by virtue of dying a sinner’s death despite having lived a sinless life. 

The only One who could offer such meditation had to be one who could represent both God and man equally, and, thus, the necessity of the birth of Emmanuel, the God man, the man Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 4:15-16
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

Justification is a wonderful Christian doctrine. It reminds us that access to God, and His help, is our right through Christ. In Christ, we bypass the second death (and, for one generation of people, the death of the body too!), Through Christ we can come boldly to the throne of grace. The word “boldly” means that we can come to the very throne of God because through Christ we have the right to do so.

There is only One who can mediate between God and man, and no human could ever qualify to do so, unless that human was actually God in human flesh – God with us. Jesus is God the Son, and His sinless life and sinner’s death made it possible for whosoever will to come through Him to the Father, for He and the Father are One.   

Justification – just as if your sin never happened – is a great way to understand this complex doctrine, but we cannot skip over the “how" of the justification process. It is the very heart of the gospel in that Christ died for the sins of the whole world, and whoever believes on Him will be saved!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

God Is Our Comfort

'And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you

another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;'

John 14:16

Remember that Jesus was saying these things to His disciples so that they would not be offended. Jesus is speaking to His disciples about the Holy Spirit, who is the Comforter. The ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is the front line of defense against the devil and his devices of defeat. The phrase, 'The God of all comfort' carries the idea of a divine comforter who encourages, refreshes, strengthens, aids, assists, and is an ever present help in the time of need. The ways that God chooses to comfort are not always the same. He may deliver you or remove the cause of the affliction, or He may comfort you with words giving you a hope for the future. He also uses people to share their faith with you by prophesying. He sends fellow-laborers to serve and strengthen you by the ministry of the Word, and uses the body of Christ as a channel to comfort you, using prayer.

The point is that the source of all comfort is God, no matter what channel He chooses to use.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, God revealed to Paul that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Paul, who had experienced God's comfort in a way that perhaps no other man has, now reveals how the Lord accomplished this. It was through the power of the Holy Spirit. True Christianity is not the absence of trials, but the strength and comfort of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, that will bring us through to the other side.

Even a strong metal container with a vacuum inside will be crushed just by normal atmospheric pressure. But that same container, with an equal or greater amount of pressure inside, will be just fine. Likewise, an individual who is void of God's comfort inside will be crushed by the pressures of this life. But a believer who takes advantage of the comfort available to him through the Holy Spirit, can withstand anything. Victory is not dependent on the pressures without, but rather on the comfort within. Andrew Womack

Our Comfort Is In Eternity

'In my Father's house are many mansions:

if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.'

John 14:2 

This is Jesus' last teaching to His disciples before His crucifixion. Jesus' disciples were about to go through the greatest test of their faith that they had ever encountered. Jesus said that He was saying these things so His disciples would not be offended. Jesus was preparing them for what was to come. Why then speak of preparing them a mansion in heaven? The reason for this was to comfort the disciples and help them put things in perspective. In 1 Thessalonians 4:18, Paul tells us to comfort one another with words about being gathered unto the Lord in the air. Paul said again, 'I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us' (Rom. 8:18). Someday, all of our trials will seem like nothing and this can be a great comfort to us now.

Also, when we think about being with the Lord through all eternity, it helps us to put things in proper perspective. It is easy to get fearful about our problems and think all is lost. However, for those of us who are born again, if worse comes to worse, we still have the promise of Jesus wiping all the tears from our eyes and preparing a habitation for us where all our former sorrows will have passed away. This keeps us from despairing and makes us much stronger in our faith.

In heaven, there are many dwelling places and Jesus is preparing one for us.

The thing that is going to make heaven 'heaven' is the fact that we will be with Jesus. No doubt, there will be things to see and do that will be wonderful, but nothing will compare to being with the one who loved us and died for us. A preoccupation with the details of what things will be like in heaven is missing the point. Andrew Womack

The Key to Faith

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2 NASB1995

As humans, not only do we have a propensity to zoom in on every little flaw in our physical and emotional makeup, but we also have a tendency to know, remember, and replay in our minds the sins, failings, and mistakes we have made. We condemn ourselves for even our smallest flaws instead of focusing on how God really sees us—perfect in Christ.

This is why it takes faith to believe that God sees you righteous. It takes faith to believe that He does not see you in your sins, that He does not observe sin or iniquity in you. It takes faith to believe that He means what He says when He says, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Heb. 8:12). It takes faith to believe that God will not remember your failings and mistakes!

But Pastor Prince, my sins are staring right at me. How can I have faith to believe that God doesn’t see them?

My friend, the key to faith is found in looking to the source of faith—Jesus. As the Bible says, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” (Heb. 12:2 NASB). Your faith to believe is found in Jesus! The Amplified Bible puts it this way: “Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection].”

In other words, turn your eyes away from your own flaws, imperfections, failings, and mistakes, and just fix your eyes on Jesus. The more you see Jesus and His finished work, the more faith arises in your heart to believe that all your sins are truly forgiven. You can start on a clean slate and have a brand-new beginning in Christ. The old is gone, and the new has come!

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

Turn Back To God

'But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not:

and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.'

Luke 22:32 

The concept of 'conversion' is mentioned in the Holy Scriptures at least 14 times. The basic meaning of the term is a turning or returning to God. This implies a turning away from sin and a turning to God. Repentance and putting faith in God are corresponding synonyms to conversion.

The theological basis for conversion lies in the truth of the 'atonement.'

Although man lapses into sin, the truth of the atonement remains. When men turn to God in repentance and faith, the effects of the atonement - reconciliation and forgiveness - avail.

The apostle Paul expresses the act of conversion in this way: 'Turning to God from idols to serve the living and true God' (1 Th. 1:9). Also, 'to open their eyes (the Gentiles), and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me' (Jesus) (Acts 26:18).

Jesus instructed Peter to get back into ministry after he repented of his denial. If Jesus had not given Peter this command, many people might have doubted that Peter should be in a position of leadership. Indeed, Peter himself must have doubted whether or not he was fit. After Jesus' resurrection, the Lord again admonished Peter three times to serve Him by ministering to His sheep.

In the context of Luke 22, Peter's faith was shaken and he denied the Lord but did not reject Him. Jesus' admonition to Peter was that when he turned back again to Him (converted), he was to strengthen the brethren. Andrew Womack

There Is Just Something Special About You

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.

1 Peter 2:9

It is the Lord’s manifested presence, His glorious power working in your heart and through your hands that will cause everything you touch to prosper with the Jesus-kind of results. In fact, even your harshest critic will have to conclude that the Lord is with you and is prospering the work of your hands!

Beloved, stop looking at your outward circumstances or the position you are in. Whether your employer is a believer or not, Jesus can make ALL that you do prosper when you depend on His unmerited favor in your career!

And believe me, when that begins to happen, your employer will sit up and notice that there is something special about you. You will stand out in a crowd!

Remember that the same Lord who was with Joseph is with you today. His name is Jesus and because Jesus is with you, you can expect good success in everything that you do!

For example, when you are placed over a sales project, believe that your sales team will hit record levels of sales never achieved before in your organization. When you are overseeing the finances of a company, believe that you will find legal ways to help your company save on operating expenses and increase its cash flow like never before.

When you are placed in a business development role, believe that Jesus will cause doors that have always been closed to your company to be opened to you because of His unmerited favor upon your life.

Perhaps your company is just a small IT start-up in the Silicon Valley, but for some reason, all the big boys in the business like you. They can't put their finger on it, but there is just something special about you that makes them compete to find ways to collaborate with you, leaving you spoiled for choice!

Perhaps you are a homemaker. You can also expect Jesus’ presence in your life to give you favor with your children. Instead of constantly resisting and arguing with you, they will find you and your words irresistible. God can increase your influence over them.

My friend, that’s the unmerited favor of God in action. In the natural, you may be unqualified and inexperienced, but remember that all your disqualifications exist in the realm of the natural.

You, beloved, live and operate in the supernatural realm! The Lord Jesus is with you 100 percent. You are a successful person in the Lord’s eyes and as you depend on Him, He will cause everything that your hands touch to prosper.

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

Message from Amir Tsarfati

We need to have a heart for this nation [Israel]. We need a longing for them to find salvation, to find their peace between themselves and God, and to not have to go through the tribulation. Israel is going to be here whether you like them or not. Israel is going to stay here whether you love them or not. Israel is God’s people, whether you love this or not – whether you support it or not.

God never asks you whether they should be His people or not. God is asking you, “What are you doing about it? Do you love them, support them, pray for them, and share with them that which saved you?” That’s what He’s asking. So what’s next for Israel is actually something that is affecting all of us, but it’s something that is also challenging you even today.

So I hope and pray that you understand that the Bible is clear about what’s coming next. What is left for you is to do what God is expecting all of us to do, and that’s to share the good news with the people He loves so much and who He wants to be with Him forever.

As we watch our world spiral downward into Nazi-era antisemitism, we need to recognize that the side effect of this will be and is a disdain, and eventually hatred, for those in support of the nation of Israel. This will eventually migrate into a hatred of those who love not only the Jews but also the King of the Jews, Jesus of Nazareth.

Revelation 6:9-11
When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

As we watch global antisemitic thought and behavior arise, we must remember that this is not a coincidence nor happenstance. Rather it is the precursor to what John prophesied will happen during the Tribulation. We also know that at the end of the Tribulation, the treatment of the Jews by the surviving inhabitants of the earth will be judged by Jesus after His return.

Matthew 25:31-40
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

The righteous, those who helped Jesus’ brethren, were admitted into eternal life. Those on His left did the opposite. They did not help His brethren and they went into everlasting punishment. Keep in mind that this is not an attitude of the Lord exclusive to this moment in time. It is His attitude today as well.

Genesis 12:3
“I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Zechariah 12:3
“And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.”

The phrase “heave it away” in Zechariah comes from a single Hebrew word that means “to impose a burden.” In the Genesis verse, the Lord says of the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob that He will curse the one who curses them. The word “curse” means exactly what we think, “to be put under a curse.” The word “curses”, however, is a different Hebrew word that means “to think little of or to despise.” Again, this is not limited to the time of dividing the sheep and goats, but it is proven to be true historically and is thus currently true. Those who think little of Israel and despise them will be cursed.

This is not to say that loving Israel saves you, but it does tell us what the attitude of the saved should be towards Israel. It is completely inconsistent to say you love the King of the Jews but despise the Jews of the King. So don’t let the ignorant antisemites of our day bully you into silence. If God has not cast off Israel – and He hasn’t – we shouldn’t either.

In these last days it is important to stand with the few, not the many. The majority is not always right and the majority of the world is completely wrong about Israel and the Jews.

Pray for the nation and people of Israel that they might be saved and have their eyes opened to the Holy One of Israel who is one and the same as the head of the church, Jesus Christ, the Son of God!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

A New Revelation Of Love

'A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another;

as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.'

John 13:34

Jesus previously stated that all the law and the prophets were dependent on loving God first, and then loving your neighbor as yourself. These truths were already in the law but people missed them. So, this commandment was not new in the sense that it had never been given before, but it was brought to the forefront and given new meaning through the example of Jesus. Jesus not only loved His neighbor as Himself, He loved us more than Himself.

John, the apostle who wrote this gospel, later wrote about the new commandment of love. No doubt, he received his inspiration from this teaching of Jesus. John wrote, 'Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth' (1 Jn. 2:7-8). He then goes on to speak of loving one another.

This commandment, or the revelation that God gave to man through His Word, wasn't new, but was never clearly seen by men because of the darkness that separated them from God. In the light of Jesus' life, the darkness was removed and the old commandment of love became new through the example of Jesus in a way that mere words could never express. Andrew Womack

Presenting the Real God

When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Matthew 8:1–3

There is so much wrong believing today about who Jesus is. I am asking you to throw out every idea, concept, and picture that you may have of a “religious” Jesus. Allow me to introduce the real Jesus to you, for this is where it all begins.

I’m not talking about the religious Jesus you may have heard about growing up, but the real Jesus who walked along the dusty streets of Jerusalem and upon the raging waters of the Galilee.

He was the one whom the sick, the poor, the sinful, the down and out, and the outcast instinctively gravitated to and felt at ease with. He was God in the flesh and He manifested God’s tangible love.

In His presence, those who were imperfect didn’t feel fearful of Him, or sense judgment or condemnation from Him. To those who sought Him for healing, restoration, and supply—no matter what their past or background—He always extended a loving, compassionate heart and hand to them and oversupplied their need.

Contrary to what a lot of people think, you don’t have to be “religious” to have access to God and His help. In fact, the less “religious” you are, the better. The real Jesus didn’t come to bring a new religion. He didn’t come to be served and waited upon. No, He came to serve, and serve He did.

The real Jesus created the universe with one command and orchestrated the paths of each planet so that none would collide. He had every right to demand service from those He created, yet He supplied service.

He bowed down and with His own hands washed the grime and filth from His disciples’ feet. Those same hands would later be pierced with coarse nails at the cross, and He would with His own blood wash us of the grime and filth of all our sins by taking them upon His own body. What a far cry from the condemning, judgmental, faultfinding God whom many have portrayed Him to be!

This is the true Jesus—totally unlike what many of us have been taught about God. He is willing and able to meet your need today and love you into wholeness.

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