GOD REMEMBERS WHAT YOU SAY IN FAITH

ISAIAH 55:11 
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 

Some years back, I had a skin condition which refused to heal. I told God about it and began to take the Holy Communion believing and confessing that by Jesus’ stripes I was healed. Nothing happened, or so it seemed.

But the Lord did not forget about my skin condition. One day, He prompted me to check my body to see if it was still there. I did so and realized that it had disappeared! God had not forgotten the Word which I had confessed in faith.

A couple in the United States who has been hearing me preach on God’s grace began to catch a revelation of God’s love for them. They started confessing their righteousness in Christ, and meditating on provision scriptures and declaring that they were debt-free through Jesus’ finished work.

Not long after, the wife phoned their mortgage company to make two mortgage payments on their home. They had a total of about US$80,000 left to pay. To her utter surprise and delight, she was told that both accounts were at a zero balance. The company had forgiven both mortgage loans! Indeed, God did not forget the Word that this couple had spoken in faith.

Maybe you shared God’s Word with a troubled friend a few years ago. You bump into him one day and he tells you, “Remember that day? You said something which transformed my life!” Your mind draws a blank because you have forgotten what you said. But God did not forget. He remembered what you said that day in faith.

You see, if the words you confess in faith for yourself or over your loved ones are God’s own words, He says, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Because what is promised to you is God’s Word, you will see the manifestation of His promise. He will certainly watch over His Word to perform it! (Numbers 23:19) -Joseph Prince

JESUS SAVES

Only God could save us through His Son Jesus Christ. If He had not bothered, we would perish. He is the only One that in the end we have to reckon with. What He thinks about us is all that matters. If He condemns, what does any other opinion matter? If He does not forgive, it doesn’t matter who else forgives us. The Supreme Court may acquit us or the offended party may say ‘I forgive you’, but there is still God to face. Sinners will stand eventually before the Judge as naked as Adam and Eve taking to their heels in Eden. How will they cover themselves? With the fig leaves of printed tributes, obituary notices or testimonials? The approval of the whole world, applause, honors and medals are nothing. Thank God for ‘so great salvation’, that there are the garments of salvation, the most expensive ever made, becoming visible at the Cross of Calvary. Thank God for Jesus. Only Jesus saves. God bless you.
-REINHARD BONNKE

MOVED BY THE SPIRIT, NOT HUMAN HONEY

LEVITICUS 2:11
‘No grain offering which you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey in any offering to the Lord made by fire. 

Imagine yourself walking past the prodigal son sitting in the pigpen. (Luke 15:11–24) You look at him and see him salivating for the pigs’ food. Believing that it is good to show kindness, you give him money to buy food for himself.

That is human kindness which says, “I am a Christian. I should be kind, good and forgiving.” Such human sweetness or kindness may be likened to honey. Interestingly, while we elevate it, God tells His people not to bring Him a grain offering with honey in it.

The grain offering speaks of Jesus’ life on earth. Not mixing honey in the grain offering speaks of how the compassion and goodness we see in Jesus during His earthly ministry were all divine. There was no “honey” of human goodness that is tainted with human weakness.

In retrospect, the worst thing one could do for the prodigal son was to give him money when he was in the pigpen. Not only would he not have gone home, but what the Lord was doing in his heart would also have been spoiled. This is what happens when we go by the goodness of our human hearts instead of the goodness of God in our hearts, which is directed by His love, wisdom and perfect timing.

My friend, God does not want you to be moved by what you see but by His Spirit. There were many needy folks surrounding Jesus during His time on earth. But He did not heal every sick person around Him, feed every hungry stomach he passed or raise all who were dead. Isaiah 11:2–3 tells us that the Lord was not moved by what He saw or heard. He was moved only by the Spirit.

You too have the Spirit in you. (1 Corinthians 3:16) Be moved by Him. Follow the peace that He puts within your spirit to do or refrain from doing something. That peace is the peace of God. Acting on that peace will cause God to be exalted, and His divine goodness and kindness to really be a blessing to you and others! -Joseph Prince

Meditate On

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.

Colossians 2:13

Perfect Sacrifice, Perfect Forgiveness

God’s unmerited favor can propel you forward in your career even if you’re not the most qualified or experienced. But how can you be sure that you have God’s unmerited favor if you are not even sure if God has forgiven you of all your sins?
Beloved, I want you to know that your sins are forgiven not according to the riches of your good works, but according to the riches of God’s grace (unmerited favor). All your sins—past, present and future—have been forgiven. Colossians 2:13 states clearly that we have been forgiven of all our sins.
The high priests in the old covenant had to offer sacrifices for sins daily. But Jesus, our perfect new covenant High Priest, offered the complete, perfect sacrifice “once for all when He offered up Himself” (Hebrews 7:27). We have been forgiven once and for all!
Now that you know that your sin debt has been completely cleared and settled by Jesus on your behalf, expect to experience God’s unmerited favor daily. Thank Him for it every day and begin to walk in good success in every area of your life!
-Joseph Prince

GOD'S GRACE

Every fresh need in your life is met with a fresh wave of 

God's grace.

-Joseph Prince

GOD IS WELL PLEASED WITH YOU, HIS BELOVED

EPHESIANS 1:6 …He [God] made us accepted in  the Beloved.

Studies have shown that in the heart of every child is a cry for his father’s approval. Something happens when a father says to his boy, “Daddy is so proud of you.” Or when a father says to his girl, “You will always be Daddy’s favorite girl.”

You can catch such a similar special moment in the Bible when God the Father displayed His approval of His Son—“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) The Bible shows us that Jesus’ ministry began with the approval of the Father, even before He had performed any miracle.

Now, you may think that God would naturally say that of Jesus, but not of us. My friend, the truth is that Jesus came for us and as us. He died for us and as us. He received the approval of the Father for us and as us. He came as our representative. And if that is not enough, God tells us in His Word that we are “accepted in the Beloved”!

Why did God specifically say “accepted in the Beloved” and not simply “accepted in Christ”? I believe that it is because He is calling to our remembrance what had happened at the Jordan river where He said, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” God wants us to know that we are His beloved and that He is well pleased with us.

God sees us as His beloved because He has made us accepted in the Beloved. He wants us to wake up every day knowing that we are His beloved, unconditionally loved and wholly approved.

The more we know how much we are loved and treasured by God, the more we can expect good things to happen in our lives. We can expect to be healthy and whole. When we realize that we are the objects of God’s love, instead of becoming easily frightened or threatened by anything or anyone, we become confident that we will win every fight of life.

That, my friend, is how your heavenly Father wants you to live. So live life today confident that you are God’s beloved!

DON’T BE DUST-CONSCIOUS

LUKE 13:11 
And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.

Imagine being bowed over for 18 years. All you would see is the dust on the ground. That was the predicament of the woman in Luke 13. Dust was all her eyes fell on, all the time, everywhere she went, until she became dust-conscious. Thank God she finally saw the beautiful feet of Jesus, who brought her good news and raised her up.

Now, dust is the devil’s food. The Bible tells us that God cursed the devil to eat dust all the days of his life. (Genesis 3:14) Dust represents death. (Genesis 3:19) The devil wants you to be like him—to fall flat on your belly, crawl and eat dust. To eat dust is to feed on your shortcomings and lack, until you constantly feel that there is so much in your life that you need to clean up. You may not be physically bowed over, but like the woman, you become dust-conscious and life every day is a struggle.

Having a dust-consciousness also affects the way you see others. You look at people’s faults all the time. You point out their shortcomings and rake up their past failures. When you are dust-conscious, you find your relationships robbed of peace and joy.

And if you, like the woman, keep looking at the dust, before long, that inward position of dust-consciousness becomes so entrenched that you become the devil’s food because dust is what he eats. God’s Word describes him as being like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

If you don’t want to be devoured by him, then lift your eyes above the dust! Instead of looking at your failures, look to Christ who has delivered you from every defeat. See yourself the way God sees you—righteous and holy in Christ. (Colossians 3:12, 2 Corinthians 5:21) You are not dust because you are not in and of the flesh—you are in and of the Spirit. (Romans 8:9)

My friend, the more you realize who you are in Christ, the more you will straighten up and walk the way God sees you—a new creation with His authority, power and overcoming Spirit! -Joseph Prince

HOLY SPIRIT HELPS US

HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT HELPS US 

ROMANS 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

The Holy Spirit is not inside you to point out your faults or nag at you when you do wrong. God’s Word tells us that He is inside us to help us in our weaknesses. In areas where we are without strength, He is there to help us. When we don’t know what to pray, “the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered”. Now, don’t read the verse and say, “Well, I don’t know what I should pray for, and since the Holy Spirit makes intercession for me, I will leave the praying to Him.” If the Holy Spirit, without our participation, makes intercession for us, then every Christian would be living victorious lives automatically! But we know that there are many Christians who don’t seem to be walking in the fullness of God’s blessings. So obviously, Romans8:26 is not saying that. What is it saying then? In the first part of the verse, the word “helps” is sunantilambanomai in the original Greek text. It means “to take hold together against”. Now, “together” means that our participation is required. In other words, the Holy Spirit sunantilambanomai or takes hold together with us against the problem. So if you just sit back and don’t take hold of the problem, the Holy Spirit has nothing to “take hold of” with you. If you don’t pray, He has nothing to pray. If you keep quiet, then even if He wants to pray through you, He can’t. But when you release your prayer in tongues, you are actually allowing Him to pray through you. And He will take hold together with you against the problem, and pray the perfect prayer through you because “He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God”. (Romans 8:27) And you can be confident that when you ask anything according to the will of God, He hears you. And if you know that He hears you, whatever you ask, you know that you have the petitions that you have asked of Him! (1 John 5:14–15) -Joseph Prince