BE NUMBERED AMONG THE UNDEVOURABLE

The devil cannot just walk right up to you and rob you of your health, peace or family. He cannot just come into your life to enforce disease and destruction.

If the devil can do that, then he does not have to walk about “seeking whom he may devour.” He only has to walk straight up to anyone he wants to devour and devour him! But since the Bible says that he goes about seeking whom he may devour, the truth then is that there are people whom he cannot devour.

You see, the devil goes about like a roaring lion trying to stir up fear in people with his roars. But the people who are not devourable are those who refuse to be intimidated by his roars because they know that the true Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ (see Revelation 5:5), has already come and rendered powerless him who had the power of death (see Hebrews 2:14, NASB). They know that the devil cannot just do anything to them because the Lion of Judah resides in them, and that He is greater than the devil who is in the world (see 1 John 4:4).

My friend, the Lion of Judah is in you. He has given you rights, privileges, authority and power. He redeemed you with His blood. Therefore, everything about you and your life is redeemed by His blood. So if you are fearful about losing your job, cover your job with the blood of Jesus. If you are worried about your children’s safety in these days of terrorist attacks, plead the blood of Jesus over them. If you have received a bad report from the doctor, speak the blood over yourself.

Whatever you have covered with the blood of Jesus, God declares, “Protected! Redeemed!” And the devil flees when he sees the blood. And when he flees, he takes with him sicknesses, diseases, pains, sufferings, destruction and loss.

Once the devil knows that you know who you are in Christ and what you have in Him, his days of intimidating you are over, and you are numbered among the undevourable!

(Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries, used with kind permission)

GOD DOES NOT REMEMBER YOUR SINS

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.

Hebrews 8:12

My friend, do you believe today that God does not remember your sins? This is a truth that our finite human minds struggle to comprehend.

How can an omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God not remember our sins? An all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God should rightly be able to remember every single detail of every sin that we have committed. But that’s not what the Word of God says. God declares, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” I believe many believers are fearful to come close to God today and receive what they need from Him because they don’t believe that God truly remembers their sins no more.

My friend, simply believe God’s Word, that through the provision of Jesus’ sacrifice, God indeed remembers your sins no more! Start living without the cloud of guilt, shame, condemnation and judgment over your head. Stand bold and righteous in Christ and expect to receive His best!

(Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries, used with kind permission)

JESUS HAS BORNE YOUR DISEASES

Imagine the dreadful disease leprosy eating a man alive. The poor leper in Matthew 8:2 could stand his suffering no longer, so he came out into the open to look for Jesus. He needed to know if Jesus was willing to heal him. When he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean” (Matthew 8:2). The Son of God looked at the outcast with love in His eyes, reached out His hand, touched him and said, “I am willing; be cleansed” (Matthew 8:3).

Perhaps you are suffering from some disease and wondering if God is willing to heal you? You are not sure if He is willing because just as you have seen people get healed, you have also seen people not get healed. My friend, don’t look to people’s experiences. Look to the cross! As surely as Jesus bore away your sins, He also bore away your diseases!

I want to give you a solid foundation today for believing this truth. In Isaiah 53, the chapter on our Lord’s crucifixion, it says in verse four: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” Now, let’s learn a little Hebrew. The words “griefs” and “sorrows” here mean “sicknesses” and “pains” in the original Hebrew text. So Isaiah was referring to physical healing.

Once, I asked a Jewish friend to read this verse in his Hebrew Bible and tell me what it means. He told me that his Bible says clearly that Jesus has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains.

If that is not enough, look at Matthew 8:16–17: “…they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.’” Matthew quotes Isaiah 53:4, saying that Jesus took our “infirmities” and bore our “sicknesses.” The context here refers to physical healing.

My friend, if you will just believe this truth, your days of sickness will be over. You will walk in greater health because the One who has surely borne your sicknesses and carried your pains says to you, “I am willing, be cleansed!”

(Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries, used with kind permission)

JEHOVAH SHALOM IS YOUR GOD

Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Romans 15:33

I’m sure you want the Lord to manifest Himself as the God of peace when you are fearful. So let’s go deeper into what the “God of peace” means. Don’t forget that Paul was Jewish, so when he said “the God of peace be with you,” he was saying “Jehovah Shalom be with you.” “Jehovah Shalom” is Hebrew for “the God of peace.” Now, the first appearance of the name Jehovah Shalom is in the Old Testament story of Gideon in Judges 6.

As we read Gideon’s story, we discover that the Midianites terrorized Israel day and night, descending upon them like a swarm of marauding locusts and destroying their crops and pillaging their livestock. Fearful of their cruel enemies, the Israelites hid in dens and caves in the mountains. It is no wonder Gideon was petrified and hid himself at the bottom of an abandoned winepress to thresh the measly stalks of dry grain he had somehow managed to scavenge. He was bound by fear and overcome by all the news of terror that surrounded him.

In the midst of Gideon’s fear, “the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!’” (Judg. 6:12).

When you find the expression “the Angel of the Lord” in the Old Testament, it usually refers to our Lord Jesus in His preincarnate state. Jesus Himself appeared to Gideon when he was in the pit of fear and called him a mighty man of valor. Isn’t that amazing?

Are there moments when you feel besieged by fear? When you hear reports of terror or exposure to some virus, do you feel fearful and anxious? Has fear driven you into hiding? The truth is, regardless of how you feel, when our Lord Jesus looks at you right now, He sees you as a mighty man or mighty woman of courage.

Isn’t it amazing how our Lord looks at us? It’s not how we see ourselves that defines us; it is how our Lord Jesus sees us that defines us. That’s why we read His Word. We read it to discover what His Word says about us. My friend, no matter what state you are in right now and how messed up your life might be, the Lord Jesus sees the best in you.

He sees your potential, your gifting, your call, and your destiny to do great things in this life! And as the ending of Gideon’s story shows, He will guide you and cause you to be a testimony of His protection as you trust in Him and see yourself and your situations through His eyes.

(Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries, used with kind permission)

GOD’S WORD IS OUT TO BLESS YOU

In the early church, whenever the Word of God was preached, there were miracles of salvation, healings, and other signs and wonders. The demon-possessed were set free. The paralyzed jumped up and walked. People received their loved ones back from the dead.

I remember saying in one of our church services that there was an anointing for couples, who were told that they could not conceive in the natural, to receive the children they had been believing God for. As the word went forth, many couples received their miracle in that service.

One of the ladies who received was serving that day as an usher. She and her husband had been believing God for a child for a few years. A few months after that service, she realized that she was pregnant—with twins! God’s anointing is always greater than our asking.

I believe with all of my heart that we are truly coming to the place where as the Word of God goes forth, it produces the very effect that the Word promises. So if the Word on healing goes forth, know that healing is already exploding in your body. Your miracle has already happened.

Very often, as you are reading the Word on your own or listening to anointed preaching of the Word, you will feel God’s peace and joy, and feel faith springing up in your heart. As the Word goes forth and you find that you are strengthened to receive your miracle, that is the time to say, “Lord, I receive my healing right now.” That is the time to say, “I receive Your restoration for my marriage.” That is the time to say, “I receive Your breakthrough for my finances.”

You don’t have to wait until a church leader or friend prays for you. Every time your faith is strengthened as you hear the Word, release it through your mouth to receive your miracle, for God’s Word is out to bless you!

(Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries, used with kind permission)

HOW DO YOU SEE GOD?

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

Matthew 7:11

Our enemy the devil is well aware that the moment you learn to receive God’s grace, you will start to reign in life. So he has been working hard to prevent you from receiving the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. The devil has been using controversy as a device down through church history to prevent believers from having access to the most powerful truths of God. He has built fences of controversy around healing, prosperity, and grace (calling them heresies) to keep believers from reigning over sickness, poverty, and sin. You can always tell how powerful a truth is by the number of controversies the devil surrounds it with!

Please pay close attention to what I am saying. Not all controversies are based on the truth of God’s Word. We have to test everything against what the Bible says. Nevertheless, controversy is a tool that the devil uses to prevent God’s people from accessing His truths. He is a crafty liar and deceitful thief, so we have to base what we believe on the Scriptures and test everything against it. If you want to know the truth about God’s grace, study His Word yourself and see what it has to say about grace!

Pastor Prince, are you one of those “prosperity gospel” preachers?

My friend, there is no such thing as a “prosperity gospel.” There is only one gospel in the Bible—the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, when you believe the gospel of Jesus, which is based entirely on His grace, it will result in health and abundance of provision. In fact, the gospel of Jesus Christ leads to blessings, success, healing, restoration, protection, financial breakthroughs, security, peace, wholeness, and much more!

God blesses you not because you are good, but because He is good. It is based on His faithfulness and goodness toward you. It is not contingent on your performance, but on His undeserved favor. If it were contingent on how good you are, then it would no longer be grace but the law. It would be deserved favor. This is the difference between the old covenant of law and the new covenant of grace:

Law is deserved favor—When you obey the commandments perfectly, you will be blessed.

Grace is undeserved favor—Jesus obeyed God perfectly, and you will be blessed by believing in Him.

My friend, which covenant are you under today? Law or grace? Deserved favor or undeserved favor? How do you see God—as your Judge or loving Father? If you think that being blessed by God today is dependent on your doing, your ability to keep the law, and your ability to make yourself righteous, I ask you to test your understanding of grace against the Scriptures. Read today’s Scripture again and open your heart to what it says about God and His grace toward you: God is your loving Father in heaven who loves you and has nothing but good gifts for you. He sent His Son to die for you so that you can enjoy every one of these good gifts. Today, receive His abundant grace!

(Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries, used with kind permission)

BELIEVING IS RECEIVING

You have heard people of the world say, “I will believe it only when I see it.” Generally, that is the way the world thinks. But God’s ways are not like the ways of the world. The world says, “If I can’t feel it or see it, I cannot believe the miracle is here.” God says, “If you believe it before you feel it or see it, you will see your miracle.”

Believing first before seeing the evidence of what we are believing for is called faith. Faith is like a spark and Jesus is the dynamite powder.

In the story of the healing of the woman with the issue of blood, there were many people who touched Jesus (see Mark 5:31), but nothing happened to them. They didn’t touch Him in faith. But when the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years came to Him and touched Him in faith, He felt power leave His body (see Mark 5:30), and it sparked off an explosion of healing in the woman’s body!

Hearing about how good, kind and loving Jesus was fired her faith to believe that He could and would heal her. So convinced was she (even when the condition in her body was still evident) that she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Did she experience her healing first before she believed? No, she believed first in Jesus’ goodness and power, acted in faith and only then felt the healing in her body.

In the same way, God wants you to believe in His goodness and love toward you. He wants you to know how willing He is to act on your behalf to bless you, and how, with Christ, He will freely give you every good thing (see Romans 8:32).

He wants you to declare by faith that all is and shall be well with you, and to expect to see just that. And then, no matter how long you have had the problem, no matter how bad the experts say it is, an explosion of healing and restoration will take place, and you will receive what you are believing for!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission). 

THE POWER OF WORSHIP

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.  Psalm 95:6–7

Some people think that when they worship God, they are giving something to Him. On the contrary, I believe that as we worship and praise Him, He is giving to us, imparting His life, wisdom, and power into our lives, renewing our minds and physical bodies as well in His sweet presence.

Worship is simply a response on our part to His love for us. We don’t have to, but when we experience His love and grace in our lives, we want to. It’s a response birthed out of a revelation in our hearts of just how great, how awesome, how majestic, and how altogether lovely our Lord and Savior truly is. As we worship Him and become utterly lost in His magnificent love for us, something happens to us. We are forever changed and transformed in His presence. All fears, worries, and anxieties depart when Jesus is exalted in our worship.

We have seen this demonstrated through a worship collection, A Touch of His Presence (Volumes 1 and 2), that we compiled from spontaneous worship songs that flowed from my spirit during intimate times of worship when we simply occupied ourselves with the person of Jesus. I would sing out what God was putting in my heart, and He would manifest His loving presence. That’s when the gifts of the Spirit would operate and healings would break out among the people in the congregation.

We received a letter from Emma in Germany who said, “Whenever the devil tries to attack me with symptoms of a disease, I would listen to these worship CDs and worship Jesus, my Lord, my Savior, and my Redeemer. I would also often partake of the Holy Communion while listening to the worship songs. After a few minutes, all the symptoms would disappear!” Another brother described how this worship music freed him from paralyzing, irrational fear and chronic sleep problems.

I share these testimonies with you because I believe that some of you want to worship God, but you may not know where to begin when you are alone at home. If that sounds like you, then start by getting ahold of anointed Christian music that can fill your room with the presence of the Lord. Allow the music to simply wash over you like rivers of living waters. Let His presence flush out every fear and every anxiety. Let His love take away the cares that burden you. Let Jesus be magnified and glorified, and watch Him turn all things around for your good!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NOT RIGHT DOING BUT RIGHT BEING

What do you think righteousness is about? Something you do or something you are? Right doing or right being?

The Bible tells us that after Jesus’ sacrifice at the cross, God imputes righteousness not to those who strive to obey the law (see Galatians 2:16), but to anyone who believes in His Son. Because Christ took our sins and gave us His righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 5:21), the moment we believe in Him, God treats us as righteous apart from our works or obedience (see Romans 4:5–8). This is new covenant righteousness—a righteousness that comes by faith and not works.

You are not righteous because of how morally upright you are. You are not righteous because you exercise self-control. You are not righteous because you read 10 chapters of the Bible daily. You are not righteous because you feel righteous. But you are the very righteousness of God in Christ solely because the sacrifice of Jesus made you so. When you believe this, your faith is accounted for righteousness.

And this is what God wants you to use your faith for. If you are righteous by your deeds, you don’t need faith. You also don’t need faith to know that you are sinful. But you need faith to believe and declare that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, in the midst of your struggles with temptation and sin.

For example, when you feel lousy because you have just shouted at your wife, God wants you to exercise your faith to see yourself as still righteous in the midst of that failure. This living revelation that you are still righteous will give you the strength to love your wife and reconcile things with her.

The devil may remind you of your foul temper and question your integrity: “How dare you call yourself righteous when you just did that!” Just ignore his lies and boldly declare, “I am not righteous because of what I have done or not done. I am righteous only because of the blood and finished work of Jesus at the cross!”   (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

NOT BY ACCIDENT OR COINCIDENCE

And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz. Ruth 2:3 (boldface mine)

I like how the King James Version translates Ruth 2:3: “and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz” (boldface mine). The Hebrew word for “to come to” and “to light on” is qarah. And the Hebrew word for “happened” and “hap” is miqreh, which comes from the word qarah. Incidentally, the word happy comes from the old English word “hap,” which is why when happenings happen the way you want them to happen, you are happy!

I don’t know how many times I have heard testimonies from people who happened to meet an old friend in need and were able to minister to the friend, or who happened to have been delayed or who happened to change their original plans and, because of that, were protected from danger. My friend, none of those things happened by accident or coincidence. It was the Lord giving them eth and qarah—putting them at the right place at the right time!

This is reflected in a praise report from Sandy, who lives in Singapore.

Before I drive, I always make it a point to pray for protection. On March 31, I prayed as usual before I started driving toward the city.

I got stuck in heavy traffic and the cars were inching forward toward a major traffic junction. Like many motorists, I got impatient and was disappointed when the traffic light turned red just as I was approaching the junction. Then, I heard a strange sound of something cracking, and I was shocked as a huge old tree fell and hit the roof of the car right in front of me, creating a huge dent in its roof and shattering the rear windscreen.

By God’s grace, the driver of the car emerged unscathed. Needless to say, I was very grateful to God when I realized that He had placed me at the right place at the right time so that I wasn’t hurt.

I am very thankful to Jesus for His divine protection. Without His wings of protection over me, I may not even be alive today. Thank You, Jesus!

Even with something as mundane as driving on the road, which many of us do every day, we need to make it a point to pray for the Lord’s protection. Let’s not put our trust in our daily routines, our skills, or our limited ability to foresee danger. Our trust must be in the Lord’s protection. (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

JESUS’ BLOOD KEEPS ON CLEANSING YOU

During the day, the devil may whisper in your head, “You cannot go into God’s presence because you have not been reading your Bible and serving in church.” Or he will tell you that it is because of the sin which you have just committed.

The devil will always make you feel that you are not qualified or clean enough to go near God. But the truth is, regardless of how you feel and what you have done, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.

In the original Greek text, the tense for the word “cleanses” denotes a present continuous action. This means that once you are a believer, the blood of Jesus Christ keeps on cleansing you from every sin!

So you can rest knowing that you are always forgiven in this continuous “wash cycle” of Jesus’ blood. Because you are continually cleansed, you are always in the light. Of course, you will fail here and there, but you are still in the light because the blood is continuously washing you!

The Bible says that we overcome the devil, the accuser of our brethren, by the blood of the Lamb (see Revelation 12:11). If you have sinned, remind yourself that Jesus’ blood keeps on cleansing you from every sin—24 hours a day, seven days a week—and move on with God! The devil cannot defeat you when your faith is in the blood that cleanses you continuously.

Some Christians are guilt-ridden because their consciousness of their sins condemns them. Although Jesus’ blood continuously cleanses them, they would rather hold on to their past mistakes and feel bad about them, thinking that they are being humble and holy when they do this. But this is nothing more than self-righteousness.

My friend, the eternal blood of Jesus Christ offers you eternal redemption and everlasting righteousness. Accept the payment of His blood as the final, perfect and only sacrifice you will ever need!

(Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries, used with kind permission)

GOD SO LOVES YOU

 

But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8, NLT

Jesus was the apple of God’s eye. He was God’s darling Son, His infinite joy and delight.

Yet, God gave Jesus up for you. That’s how much God loves you.

Just think about it: If you knew you could save a dying person by giving up something precious to you, would you go as far as to give up your only child whom you dearly love for that person?

Yet, that is exactly what God did to save you. Jesus, His beloved Son, died on the cross to cleanse you, heal you and redeem you—spirit, soul and body! That is how precious you are to God!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

REMEMBER THE CROSS

I don’t know about you, but I would say that Hebrews 10:17 is good news. God sees all our sins—past, present and future—and says, “Your sins I remember no more!” The words “no more” are a strong double negative in the original Greek text. In other words, God is saying, “Your sins I will by no means ever remember!”

Has God lowered His standards? No, He is still perfectly holy. He did remember all our sins—2,000 years ago at the cross. Every sin which we have committed or will commit has been punished to the full in the body of Jesus Christ at the cross. That is why today, God remembers our sins no more. We should, therefore, not be sin-conscious

.

Each time we feel condemned for our past mistakes, God wants us to remember the cross and say, “Lord Jesus, you were sentenced for this sin I committed. You bore the judgment, so God will not judge me for this sin. You were condemned for this sin, so God will not condemn me for it.”

If you don’t look to the cross, you will become sin-conscious and you will walk around with a certain expectation of judgment. And that expectation of judgment will give the devil a chance to get you thinking that God has something against you because of your sin.

You must come to the place where you know and believe that all your sins are forgiven, and that you are saved eternally.

Hebrews 10:12, 14 says, “But this Man [Jesus], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God…For by one offering He has perfected forever…”

You and I are perfected forever because of Jesus’ perfect work on the cross. We are perfected by God’s full acceptance and perfect delight in His Son’s work that has so glorified His holiness. Beloved, hear God say to you, “I will be merciful. Your sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.”  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind

permission).

JESUS IS INTERESTED IN YOUR SUCCESS

Let the Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant. Psalm 35:27

Do you believe that Jesus is interested in your success?

Take a moment to reflect on this.

My friend, I want you to know that Jesus delights in blessing you. It is His good pleasure to see you blessed in every area of your life! Now, don’t put a limit on His blessings in your life. The blessings of the Lord are not (as some may erroneously believe) just seen in material things. Jesus is infinitely interested in your total well-being. He is interested in your family, career, fulfillment in life, marriage, ministry, and boy, does the list go on!

When it comes to your desires, hopes and dreams, there is no detail that is too minuscule, minute or insignificant for Jesus. Trust me, if it matters to you, it matters to Him! Even if you go to Him in prayer to remove that small pimple on your nose, He is not going to look at you and reply mockingly, “Hey buddy, don’t you know that I’ve got a whole universe to run? Come to Me when you have a bigger prayer request.” No way! A thousand times no! Jesus will never ridicule or deride your concerns as petty. He is never dismissive or condescending. He is not like some of your so-called “friends,” who may delight in poking fun at your shortcomings. If it bothers you, it “bothers” Him.

You are important to Jesus. Know with full assurance in your heart that Jesus knows you perfectly, and yet accepts and loves you perfectly. When you begin to understand that, you will realize that it is truly that unmerited favor, that favor from Jesus that you know you do not deserve, did not merit and cannot earn for yourself, that will perfect every imperfection and weakness in your life. If you are facing challenges, such as lack in any area, addictions, fears, sicknesses or broken relationships, Jesus’ unmerited favor will protect, deliver, prosper, bring restoration to and provide for you. His unmerited favor will transform you into wholeness, and it is the goodness of God, not your striving and self-efforts, that will lead you to live victoriously for His glory. (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

IF IT MATTERS TO YOU, IT MATTERS TO GOD

Many Christians make the mistake of thinking that God is too busy taking care of the “big things” to be interested in the little problems they are facing. Are you one of them? It may be your child’s bed-wetting habit, a quarrel with a friend or the small pimple on your face. No matter how trivial it sounds, if it troubles you, then God wants to take care of it!

God wants to take care of every area of your life, even the smallest detail. He loves you so much that He knows the number of hairs you have on your head. And if your loving heavenly Father knows and is interested in the small details of your life, then you don’t have to overcome any problem on your own.

When my daughter Jessica turned three, my wife Wendy and I decided to bring her to Disneyland. Knowing that it was her first encounter with Disneyland and that she could be frightened by unexpected shocks, I decided to watch one of the theater productions which I had planned to bring her to, before I took her to watch it.

As I sat through the production, my mind was on Jessica all the time. I was thinking, “Is this too frightening for her? Will she like the mechanical singing bear? Is the place too dark for her?” I decided to bring her to the show only after I had seen it myself and was sure that she would enjoy it.

My friend, your heavenly Father cares for you in the same way as He lays out His plans for you. You are on His heart all the time as He carefully considers and makes plans for every aspect of your life, both big and small. And the very thought of you puts a smile on His face because He knows that the plans He has for you are plans to bless you (see Jeremiah 29:11).

So no matter what problems you are facing right now, you can rest in His love for you. There is no problem that is too insignificant for Him to handle. He is not just God Almighty, He is also your heavenly Father who loves you!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

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.

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!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).