HOW TENDER IS GOD’S HEART TOWARD YOU

Have you ever blown things out of proportion and gotten angry with God when you were going through a trying time? This happened to Jesus’ disciples when a storm hit them hard. In their fear of drowning, they cried out to Jesus, who was getting some much-needed sleep in the boat, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38).

For accusing Him of not caring, you would think that they received a rebuke from Jesus. But it was the wind which received His rebuke, and a great calm followed (see Mark 4:39). Because of His tenderness toward His own, Jesus did not waste time taking offence. Instead, He wasted no time taking care of the problem that had caused His disciples so much anxiety and fear.

This also happened to two sisters, Martha and Mary, who did not hesitate to let Jesus know how they felt when He finally showed up days after their brother Lazarus had died. Both sisters made the same remark to Him: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21, 32).

Both sisters had seen Jesus’ miracles of mercy and love. Now, in their grief, they focused on how He could have prevented their brother’s death, but did not. They did not know His heart—how tender it was toward them and how His help would never fail them, but would even extend to raising their dead brother (see John 11:41–44).

Beloved, your heavenly Father sees you trying to stay afloat when you are in the midst of a storm. He sees you trying to provide for yourself and your family, and thinking, “If I don’t take care of these things, no one else will!” And He wants you to know how tender His heart is toward you, how He is not offended by all the bad things you have ever said of or to Him. He wants you to know how much He wants to and will help and bless you. So let go and experience afresh the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward you!  (Article & Picture courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

GRACE IS A PERSON

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  John 14:6

Over the last two decades I’ve had the privilege of unveiling the beautiful person of our Lord Jesus Christ and the perfection of His finished work through the preaching of the gospel of glorious grace. As the name of Jesus is lifted up and proclaimed, we are receiving testimony after testimony about how people’s lives have been touched and transformed by the grace of God.

People of all walks of life, all over the world, are finding freedom from their long-term conditions, addictions, and bondages. They share joyfully with us how the Lord supernaturally delivered them from long-term panic attacks, substance abuse, and from decades of depression. Others write in, brimming with thanksgiving, because God has restored their marriages and their relationships with their estranged children, and healed their bodies when doctors had given them no hope.

I wish I could read all of them to you, because you will notice that there is one common thread woven through all these letters. There is one common denominator that tipped these people over from defeat into victory, from breakdowns into breakthroughs: they all had an encounter with Jesus. They all caught a revelation of His grace.

My dear friend, the grace revolution begins with Jesus. It is not a movement, teaching, or subject to be studied. It is all about a person. What you believe about this person makes all the difference. I am sure you have heard about Jesus and are familiar with His name. You may have even attended Sunday school as a child and heard all the Bible stories about Him. The question is, do you know Jesus personally? Is He a historical figure, a prominent Jewish rabbi, or simply the son of a Galilean carpenter? Who is He to you? Is He just another teacher? Or is He your Savior?

Whatever adversity, challenge, or circumstances you may be faced with today, your answer is found in the person of Jesus. Today, there is a grace revolution that is sweeping across the globe, because the person of Jesus is boldly preached, proclaimed, and lifted high.

This is what the grace revolution is all about. It is about your life touched, changed, and transformed from the inside out. It is about living a victorious life. A life that wins. A life that reigns triumphant over defeat, failure, and frustration. When you encounter the person of grace, see His heart of love for you, and when the veil of Christian religion is removed, there is no turning back. You’ll begin to step away from defeat and take a massive leap toward your victory!  (Article & Picture courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

HE IS THE GOD OF YOUR VALLEYS TOO

In 1 Kings 20, we find the Syrians being defeated by the Israelites. Then, some of the Syrian king’s advisers gave the king what they thought was the reason for their defeat. They said that they had fought on the hills and lost because Israel’s God is the God of the hills. So if they were to fight the Israelites on the plains or in the valleys, they would win.

What stupid advice! They thought that the God of Israel only helped His people up in the hills and mountains, and not down in the valleys.

Now, mountains refer to our good times, and valleys, our bad times. Some people have this idea that God is the God of our good times, but He is not there when we are going through bad times. They think that He leaves us helpless in the valleys, especially when the troubles are of our own making.

My friend, I want you to know that our God is the God of the mountains, but He is also the God of the valleys!

God the Son laid aside His crown of glory, His royal majesty and came down for us, stepping into a human body as a baby. He came down to where we were for the sole purpose of dying on the cross for our sins, so that He could bring us up to what God the Father has for us at His right hand. Jesus came down to crown us with glory and honor, to clothe us with robes of righteousness and make us His bride, sharing everything that He has with us. That is the grace of God. He came down to our valley.

So whatever you are going through right now, know that God is right there in your valley with you. He is holding you in His arms and carrying you through the valley. Victory is already yours. Just as the Israelites were also victorious in the valley (see 1 Kings 20:28–29), so will you be because the God of the valleys is right there with you!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

YOU ARE AN HEIR OF THE WORLD!

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.  Galatians 3:13–14

God’s blessings are part of our inheritance in the new covenant of grace, which Jesus died to give us. God’s Word tells us that “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us...that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Isn’t it interesting that the Lord is very specific in mentioning that Christ became a curse for us on the cross, so that we can experience and enjoy the blessing of Abraham? He does not want us to simply experience any kind of blessing. He wants us to experience the blessing of Abraham. I think it behooves us then to find out what “the blessing of Abraham” is and who can receive it.

The Bible tells us that “if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). Are you Christ’s? Do you belong to Jesus? Then that makes you an heir according to the promise. Every believer in Christ is an heir. Whenever you hear the word “heir,” it speaks of something good. It speaks of an inheritance that you don’t work for, an inheritance that is yours not because of what you do, but because of whose you are. In this case, as a new covenant believer in Jesus, you belong to Jesus and you have a blood-bought inheritance in Christ as the seed of Abraham. You, beloved, are an heir according to THE promise!

Now, there are many promises in the Bible, but what is THE promise that God made to Abraham? We can’t claim this promise if we don’t know what it is. We need to go to the Word (use the Bible to interpret the Bible) to establish what the promise is. And we find the answer in Romans 4:13—“For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.”

The promise to Abraham and his seed (you and I) is that he would be “the heir of the world”! In the original Greek text, the word “world” here is kosmos. Its meaning includes, “the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments, riches, advantages, pleasures.” Now, that is what you are an heir to through Jesus’ finished work! In Christ, you are an heir of the world—its goods, its endowments, its riches, its advantages and its pleasures. This is THE promise that God made to Abraham and his seed. Don’t apologize for it. It is your inheritance in Christ!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

CLOTHED WITH JESUS’ ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Do you know who first clothed man with coats of skin? It was God Almighty Himself, when He found Adam and Eve hiding behind the bushes because they were afraid of Him. They had become fearful and conscious that they had sinned against God. In their sin-consciousness, they realized that they were naked and that the glory of God, which had been their covering, was gone.

So God killed an animal to clothe Adam and Eve with coats of skin (see Genesis 3:21). An animal had to die and its bloodied skin became their covering. This speaks of the blood of Jesus that covers you when He became your burnt offering. The Lamb of God did not just take away your sins. He also gave you His righteousness.

Beloved, you are covered by Jesus’ blood. You are righteous by His blood. God has clothed you with the robe of righteousness, which was paid for by Jesus’ blood. I am not talking about a physical robe made of cloth. I am talking about the robe of righteousness that was on Jesus when He said to the storm, “Peace, be still!” and there came a perfect calm (see Matthew 8:23–27), when healing flowed from Him to the sick and when He raised Lazarus from the dead (see John 11:38–44).

When you believe that you are righteous because of Jesus’ blood, you will see the effects of wearing His robe of righteousness. You will see miracles happening before your very eyes. You become a blessing magnet, a favor or grace magnet. It is not your own righteousness, but the righteousness of Jesus which you have put on, that is attracting all these blessings of God into your life.

My friend, have the consciousness of being clothed with Jesus’ robe of righteousness. Every day, come to God and say, “Father, I thank You that Jesus is my burnt offering. He covers me from head to toe with His righteousness. What He is to You, I am. As He is now, so am I. I am in Him.” And you will see the manifestations of the blessings of health, wholeness, protection and provision that the robe attracts!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

COME OUT OF HIDING

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. . . . He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.  Psalm 103:8, 10–12

When I visited the Mount of Beatitudes in Israel some time ago, the Lord opened my eyes to see for the first time how He had met the man with leprosy in Matthew 8:1–4. After preaching to the multitudes, our Lord didn’t go down the mountain toward them. Our Lord had actually walked down the mountain in another direction, very likely in the direction toward Capernaum (see Matt. 8:5).

As I took a path down the mountain toward Capernaum that day, I saw slabs of stone strewn along the foot of the mountain. These stone slabs are just the right size for a man to crawl under and find shelter. Right then and there, I had the revelation of how the man with leprosy could have hidden under one of these slabs for fear of being discovered by the people, and how our Lord Jesus had known the man was hiding there and deliberately gone to seek him before the crowds caught up with Him.

In Jesus’ day, those with leprosy were ostracized and isolated in accordance with the law of Moses. Because they were conscious of how unclean they were and what the law required of them, their natural response was to withdraw and hide.

But hiding didn’t get the man with leprosy in Matthew 8 the healing and restoration he needed. Fortunately, hearing about the goodness of God—how God wanted to be a loving Father to him and take care of all his needs—got him out of hiding and into seeking the Lord for his miracle. It changed his mind from seeing a God Who ostracized and condemned unclean people to seeing a God Who loved them no matter what their condition. This change of mind lit his faith and put courage in his heart to seek and receive the healing he so desperately wanted.

Like the man with leprosy at the start of his story, could you also be hiding from God today? Maybe you’ve been struggling with an addiction or cycle of defeat that you can’t seem to get out of. Maybe you’ve been a victim of sexual abuse and you blame yourself for it. Maybe you’ve had a failed marriage or business, or made a bad decision that has led to loss. And maybe your failure has caused you to avoid God, avoid going to church, and avoid people in general. Beloved, whatever may be causing you to feel “unclean” or disqualified today, God wants you to change your mind about Him and, instead of hiding from Him, to run to Him!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

BLESSED IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

We are not trying to get peace with God. We already have peace with God, having been justified by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ. This peace with God brings us the peace of God, which guards our hearts and minds (see Philippians 4:7). Then, the peace of God inside us will also translate into the peace of God outside us—in all our outward circumstances.

Firstly, we will find that what would normally cause us much care and anxiety will no longer be the case. Secondly, not only will everything turn out well, but we will also be blessed in more ways than one. This is what happens when Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is our peace.

A church member, though stricken with cancer, enjoyed the peace of God, knowing that He was her healer. She later received confirmation from two different doctors that she had been completely healed of cancer. In addition to receiving her blessing of complete healing, she also received from her insurance company a critical illness claim of S$50,000!

Another church member, upon hearing news of her retrenchment, committed the matter to God, believing that He would work all things out for her, especially her loss of a regular income. Shortly after, she received her retrenchment package—a substantial five-figure sum. And within days of her retrenchment, she received calls from her contacts in the industry, offering her jobs, two of which were jobs in well-known multinational corporations (MNCs).

At that time, she had not yet started looking for a job, so the calls were unexpected but welcomed. She finally opted to work for one of the MNCs—a dream come true for her—at a salary that was 30 per cent more than her previous one! When she simply prayed, “Abba Father, I trust You to look after me,” and rested in His love and peace, she was abundantly blessed.

Beloved, because Jesus is your peace, you are blessed in more ways than one. Your soul will prosper. Your health will prosper. Your finances will prosper. Your loved ones will be taken care of. Your relationships will flourish. You will enjoy the favor of God. All because you have the Prince of Peace!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

COME AS YOU ARE TO JESUS

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.  Psalm 30:11

My friend, you are favored and accepted by God today because of His unmerited favor. Even if your life is a mess, He can take your mess and make it into something beautiful. Come to Him just as you are.

Years ago, one of my church members suddenly stopped coming to church for a long time. I met up with him to find out how he was doing and to see if everything was alright. He was very honest with me and told me that he was going through a lot of problems in his marriage, and that he was now addicted to alcohol. Then, he said this: “Let me get my life right, then I will come back to church.”

I smiled and asked him, “Do you clean yourself before you take a bath?” I could tell from his expression that he was taken aback by my question, so I told him, “Come as you are to the Lord. He is the bath. He will cleanse you. He will get your life in order for you, and He will cause every addiction to lose its hold on you. You don’t have to use your own efforts to clean yourself before you take a bath!”

I am glad to share that this precious brother soon returned to church and Jesus turned his life around. Today, he is happily married, blessed with a beautiful family and is one of my trusted, key leaders. That is what the Lord does when you come to Him as you are, and allow Him to love you into wholeness. He will make all things beautiful in your life.

There are many people today who are like this brother. They want to get their lives together by themselves before they come to Jesus. They are under the impression that they need to make themselves holy before they can step into God’s holy presence. They feel like they are being hypocrites if they don’t sort out their lives first before coming to church.

Nothing could be further from the truth. You will never be able to make yourself holy enough to qualify for God’s blessings. You are made holy, righteous and clean by the blood of Jesus Christ, and it is His righteous standing that qualifies you—nothing more and nothing less. So stop trying to clean yourself before you go to the Lord. Come to Jesus with all your mess, all your addictions, all your weaknesses and all your failures. God loves you just as you are. However, He also loves you too much to let you stay the same. My friend, when you come to Jesus, He becomes your “bath.” He will wash you clean, whiter than snow! Jump into the bath today and allow Jesus to make you perfect, righteous and holy in God’s eyes!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

THE LIFE OF JESUS IS IN YOU

Though Jesus is completely God, He was born completely human. He went through temptation after temptation and conquered every one of them (see Hebrews 4:15). And all that overcoming power is found in His life. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you!

During Jesus’ ministry on earth, He conquered sickness, the winds and waves, the powers of darkness and death. It is His life that brings victory over the devil and all his works. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you!

Finally, Jesus went to the cross. And that life in Him put an end to everything that was natural of the Adamic race—sickness, poverty, failures, pains, curses and death. All that was natural ceased to be in that life of His. But all that was supernatural remained in Him. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you!

Then, Jesus rose from the dead. And in that life of His was added the power of resurrection. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you!

After His resurrection, Jesus went back to heaven to His Father. Today, He is seated at the right hand of God, resting in His finished work, occupying a place of the highest authority. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you!

And because Jesus went back to the Father, the Holy Spirit came to indwell you (see John 16:7), so that you will live life with His anointing in you and walk in His overcoming power.

All that Jesus is, God meant for you to be. All that He has, God meant for you to have. All the exciting things that you read in the Bible about Jesus, all the treasures of Him hidden in the Old Testament and the unsearchable riches in Him that you find in the New Testament, all of that life of His, is not out there somewhere. God has deposited all of it in you, so that you can live the abundant life that Jesus came to give you! (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

PRACTICE JESUS’ PRESENCE AND “SMELL” LIKE HIM

Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.”  1 Samuel 16:18

David is a wonderful example of someone who talked to the Lord and practiced His presence all the time. Even as a young teenager taking care of his father’s sheep in the fields, he would be singing psalms and hymns to the Lord and playing his harp.

In 1 Samuel 16, the Bible records that King Saul was very unsettled, and his servants told him that he was being troubled by a distressing spirit. They then advised him to bring David before him to play the harp for him, saying that evil spirits departed when David played the harp. One of the servants gave a glowing description of David as someone “who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.” Do you know why David could cause Saul to become refreshed just by playing his harp? Do you know why David could have such accolades heaped upon him? I believe that the key is in the last part of the verse: “the Lord is with him.”

A few years after Wendy and I got married, an incident happened that I will never forget. I was on my way home one day and I had stepped into a cramped elevator. A group of ladies squeezed into the same elevator as it stopped on another floor and boy, their perfumes were overpowering!

Anyway, almost dizzy from near-suffocation, I got home and kissed Wendy with my usual “Hello darling, I’m back.” She looked at me and said, “That’s a female fragrance. I know that fragrance.” I told her, “Listen, darling, listen...honestly, just now...” And that’s why it’s so important to have trust in your marriage!

I am sure that you have experienced something similar before. Have you ever been in a room filled with cigarette smoke? You may not smoke, but your hair and clothes will smell of smoke even after you have left the room. In the same way, you cannot be in the presence of the Lord without His glory, His majesty, His beauty, His power, His love and His peace rubbing off on you. You begin to “smell” like Jesus, be powerful like Him and be filled with peace like Him! No wonder Acts 4:13 records this about Peter and John: “Now when they [the rulers and elders of Israel] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” Beloved, choose to prioritize the presence of the Lord wherever you are. You will experience the undeniable evidence of His presence in your life.  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

FORGIVE AND LET GOD DO THE REST

People like to say, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget.” Have you heard that before? Now, in the first place, nowhere in the Bible does God tell you to forgive and then to forget. It is not in the Bible! The devil is adding something here to make the whole thing burdensome.

God only tells us to forgive because God in Christ has forgiven us a debt we cannot pay. When we do this, we do ourselves a favor because harboring bitterness and unforgiveness can sometimes destroy our health!

So just forgive and let God take care of the rest. When you really forgive, sometimes, He makes you forget. But sometimes, you still remember the incident because it was a major thing in your life. Yet, when you look back at it, the pain is no more there. The sting is gone and you are not bitter.

Joseph had forgiven his brothers before they came and bowed before him. He remembered what they did to him, but he did not remember it with bitterness (see Genesis 50:15–21). So you may remember the incident, but the bitterness is gone because you have put the cross in the picture—“God in Christ forgave me. Daddy, I forgive you. Mama, I forgive you. My cousin, I forgive you.”

When you forgive, forgive by faith, not by your feelings. We walk by faith, not feelings (see 2 Corinthians 5:7). Some people are waiting for feelings—“I am waiting, Father, for the right emotion to come on me to forgive that person.” That “right emotion” may never come!

No, forgive by faith, and do it once and for all. Spend time in prayer. Take out your diary and write it down: “Father, I bring this person before you. You know what he did to me. Father, as You forgave me through Jesus’ cross, even though I did not deserve it, by faith, I now forgive this person and I let my anger against him go in Jesus’ name. Amen!”

Once you forgive by faith, you will see the sting of bitterness removed from your heart. You will experience the peace and joy of God filling your mind, and see a greater measure of wholeness in your body! (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

WE ARE IN THIS WORLD BUT NOT OF THIS WORLD

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.  Psalm 91:3

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler. Not “maybe” or “sometimes,” but an unqualified “surely.” Not a conditional “He might” but a definitive “He shall.” What blessed assurance we have that our God will deliver us from the snare of the fowler!

The Bible depicts the devil as a fowler. A fowler is a professional bird catcher. He lays traps and carefully conceals them so that he can ambush unsuspecting birds. The Bible also depicts the devil as a thief and murderer who comes to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10).

What we need to understand is that the world we live in is a fallen world. Adam committed high treason and gave the keys of this world to the devil. Because of what Adam did, the devil is the ruler of this world. The apostle Paul calls him “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). That is why as long as the devil is still the ruler of this world, the world will continue to get darker and darker and there will continue to be accidents, sicknesses, calamities, tragedies, and deaths.

But we can rejoice in the knowledge that the devil’s lease on this world is quickly running out. Apostle Paul also tells us that our Lord Jesus is coming back and all His enemies will be humbled or put under His feet, with death as the last enemy to be destroyed (see 1 Cor. 15:26).

In the meantime, we will see the world getting darker and darker. But as believers, we do not need to live in fear. Our trust is in our Lord Jesus. We are in this world, but we are not of this world (see John 17:16). There is a very real and active fowler that is setting up snares. Even as I write this book, I’m reading and hearing reports of bombs going off, shootings, a commercial airplane crashing upon landing, and viral outbreaks in different parts of the world.

In the natural, this can be extremely disheartening. But don’t forget that we have a Savior who is even more real, and He has promised to deliver us from the snare of the fowler and from perilous pestilences (dangerous diseases and viruses). The bottom-line is, we need to realize how much we need our Savior and His protection daily. We need to involve the Lord Jesus in our lives every day. Only He can deliver us and keep us safe! (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

TRUE TO YOUR ASSESSMENT

Your colleague says that this week is going to be a lousy one because the new boss is mean. You disagree and say that it is going to be a blessed week. Both of you will go through the same week, but with very different outcomes. While your friend’s week will indeed turn out to be a lousy one, yours will be filled with the favor of the Lord!

In the Old Testament, when someone brought what he had to the priest for a valuation, whatever the priest assessed the value of the item to be, it was so. If he assessed it to be of good value, then it was of good value. If he assessed it to be of poor value, then it was of poor value.

Today, you are also a priest because of Jesus’ blood (see Revelation 1:5–6). And “as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be.” If you assess your year to be one of financial breakthroughs, so it will be for you. If you assess your life to be filled with divine health, so it will be for you.

There was a stroke patient who was bedridden. While listening to my recorded sermons, he assessed that with God as his salvation, his life would be long and satisfying (see Psalm 91:16). He believed that God would help him walk again. Not too long after his assessment, he was able to walk and was no longer bound to the bed! The next assessment he made about his health was complete recovery with God as his helper.

Actually, you have more authority than the Levitical priests of the Old Testament. They were of the old priesthood of mortal men. But you are of the greater and “forever” priesthood of Jesus (see Hebrews 7:8,17)! Not only that, you are a king-priest (see Revelation 1:6). In other words, you are a king as well! And as a king, your assessment is also binding because where the word of a king is, there is power (see Ecclesiastes 8:4)!

My friend, this means that you have a double portion of assessment power. Therefore, boldly assess good things for your life, and it will be so for you!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

JESUS' PEACE SETS YOU UP FOR SUCCESS

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.  1 John 4:18

Jesus gives you His shalom to set you up for success in life. You cannot be a success in your marriage, family and career when you are crippled and paralyzed with fear. Today, as you are reading this, I believe with all my heart that Jesus has already begun a work in your heart to liberate you from all your fears, whatever they may be. They may be the fear of failure, the fear of success, the fear of people’s opinions of you or even the fear that God is not with you.

All the fears that you are experiencing in your life today began with an untruth, a lie that you have somehow believed. Perhaps you have believed that God is angry and displeased with you, and that His presence is far from you. That’s why the Bible says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

This scripture tells us that when you begin to have a revelation that God loves you perfectly (not because of what you have accomplished, but because of what Jesus has accomplished for you), that revelation of the unmerited favor of Jesus will cast out every fear, every lie, every anxiety, every doubt and every worry that God is against you. The more you have a revelation of Jesus and how He has made you perfect, the more you will free yourself to receive His complete shalom and succeed in life!

My friend, know that as a believer in Jesus Christ, you have absolute peace with God. The new covenant of grace is also known as the covenant of peace. Today, you stand upon the righteousness of Jesus and not your own. Today, because of Jesus, God says this to you: “I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke [condemn] you. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed” (Isaiah 54:9–10).

God is on your side. Jesus’ shalom is on your side to make you a success in life. All of heaven’s resources are on your side. Even if you are caught in the midst of a storm right now, just think of the picture of the eagle chicks sleeping soundly in spite of the storm, nestled under the wings of their mother, their protector and provider. And may the shalom of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). Go in this peace, my friend, and rest upon His shalom!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

GOD HAS SEEN YOUR FUTURE AND IT IS GOOD

At the end of 2004, during one of our services, the Lord told our church this: “I your God have gone ahead of you and I have already been to your future. I have seen it. And I declare that it is good.”

Although this word was given through me to our church, I believe that it is not only for our church, but also for every member of the body of Christ.

I tell you, when God declares your future good, it will be good! It will be filled with many wonderfully good days!

So what do you do when the Lord tells you that you are going to have a good future loaded with His blessings? You prepare for it! In other words, before the blessings come, before the increase comes, He wants you to enlarge the place of your tent and stretch forth the curtains of your dwellings.

For example, if you are believing God for a child, start reading books on babies and preparing the baby’s room. In fact, prepare to have more than one child. Start looking for a bigger place for your family for God says, “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.” Get ready for expansion!

My friend, God wants you to get ready, and expect such favor and increase in the days ahead that “you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited” (Isaiah 54:3).

Because God has declared your future good, know that you stand on favor ground today. Expect good things to happen to you. Expect to see the favor of God on you and your family. Expect the blessings and increase of the Lord. Expect many good days to show up in your life!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

SEE GOD’S LOVE AND SEE YOUR PROVISION

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!  Psalm 34:8

When you change the way you see yourself and God, you will see changes in your negative circumstances.

A lady from Tennessee discovered this when she was about to give up on her failing graphic design business. Around that time, she was given my book, Destined To Reign, which completely changed the way she saw herself and her career.

She said, “My mindset about myself, and more importantly, how much God loves me through Jesus Christ, began to change. I began to believe and see that Jesus is my success, that it’s not my career that makes me a success…Within two months, I began to see my business turn around. Six months down the road, business is booming—I am receiving royalties each month that I never dreamed I would get!”

Beloved, believe that you are greatly, immeasurably loved by your Father in heaven, and you can’t help but see His goodness in your life!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

SEE YOURSELF IN CHRIST

I remember going through a terrible time of depression when I was 18 years old. Believing that I was demon-possessed, I sought out a great man of God to have him cast the devil out of me. But when this man of God laid hands on me, he began to prophesy over me. He said, “Joe, I see you preaching to thousands and used by God to impact thousands of lives. Joe, you are called by God and the devil is attempting to stop you.”

“What? I came here for deliverance! I am only interested in saving my own life, not preaching nor impacting lives,” I thought to myself then.

You see, what happened was that at that moment, God allowed this man to step into the timeless zone He exists in to bring my future before me. As far as God was concerned, my future had already happened, though I was only 18 years old then. Today, I am a pastor of a church which has more than 30,000 members. Today, I am seeing what was told to me long ago.

God does not see as we see. Abraham was a childless, 100-year-old man. His wife, Sarah, at 90 years old, was doubly dead in her womb (see Genesis 17:17). Yet, God saw him and talked to him as if he were already the father of many nations.

My friend, God wants you to see the way He sees. Right now, you may see yourself going through a trial in your marriage, work, finances or health. But God sees a blessed marriage, success at work, supernatural provision and a healed body because He tells you that you are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

You see, God sees you in Christ. So when you see yourself in Christ, who is outside time, you step into the timeless zone. In that timeless zone in Christ, whatever needs and trials of yours are already removed, repaired, restored or resurrected! In that timeless zone in Christ, you are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

GOD SO LOVED YOU HE GAVE YOU JESUS

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Romans 8:32

God is a good God. He is a God of love. But we will never know how much God loves us until we know how much He loves Jesus, because He gave us Jesus, His beloved Son.

Do you remember the story of Abraham in Genesis 22? Abraham’s heart must have been broken when he led his one and only promised son, Isaac, up Mount Moriah to be sacrificed. But in the end, Isaac did not have to die because God provided a substitute—a ram.

The ram caught in the thicket was really a picture of Jesus, who would one day be arrested, and led up Mount Calvary to be crucified in our place for our sins.

My friend, God so loved His Son, but He so loved you too, that He was willing to give up His Son for you. That’s how much He loves you! And if God was willing to give you heaven’s best—Jesus—do you think that He will withhold anything good from you?  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED

The night before Jesus died, He gave His peace to His disciples—“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you…” This peace was not just for His disciples, but also for us today. We have His peace.

The moment you believe in Jesus Christ, He who is the Prince of Peace comes to live inside you. And when the Prince of Peace resides in you, every blessing that you will ever need pertaining to your soundness and wholeness is already inside you.

“Pastor Prince, if this is true, then why do I still see problems in my health, finances, family and relationships?”

The answer is a troubled heart. That is why after Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you,” He said, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

A troubled and fearful heart works like fingers that clamp down hard on a water hose. The supply of water is flowing from the tap, but little or nothing is coming out at the other end of the hose. God’s ever-present supply of blessings toward you is like the water flowing freely from the tap. But you don’t see the blessings when you allow your heart to be gripped by worry or fear.

So when fearful, anxious thoughts come, remind yourself of Jesus’ words: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Even when things appear to get worse, say, “Lord, I refuse to worry about this. In the midst of all this, I see the finished work of Christ. He said, ‘It is finished!’ So my child’s healing is accomplished. My marriage is blessed. My debts are cleared. I will let not my heart be troubled by these things.”

Beloved, I cannot “let not” for you. Your family and friends cannot “let not” for you. Only you can “let not your heart be troubled.” So guard your heart from being troubled. You don’t have to guard your career, reputation, children or even health. When you guard your heart, God will guard everything else for you!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

PARTAKE YOUR WAY TO WHOLENESS

On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces and said, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this to remember Me.” In the same way, He took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and His people—an agreement confirmed with My blood. Do this to remember Me as often as you drink it.”  1 Corinthians 11:23–25, NLT

When you remember how Jesus willingly came to save you and suffered for your healing at the cross, it will cast out every fear of not receiving healing from Him.

That’s what partaking of the Holy Communion is about. When you hold the bread in your hand, simply remember how Jesus’ body was broken at the cross so that yours may be healed and whole. Say, “Lord Jesus, thank You for bearing my condition on Your own body at the cross. When the lashes fell across Your back, my condition died. It has no right to linger in my body!”

Likewise, when you partake of the cup, remember that Jesus shed His blood to save you. Say, “Jesus, thank You for Your shed blood that has washed away my sins and made me righteous. Because I am righteous in Your sight, healing belongs to me. I receive Your healing and resurrection life for my body right now.”

Beloved, remember the Lord and partake your way to divine health!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER

Before Jesus went back to heaven, He told His disciples to “wait for the Promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4). There are thousands of promises in the Bible, so which promise was He referring to?

The early church knew which promise Jesus was referring to because He had told His disciples, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the Promise of the Father, which you have heard Me speak about. For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4–5). Jesus was referring to the baptism in the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues (see Acts 2:1–4).

Jesus wants you to know the value of the Promise of the Father because He said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me...” He did not say, “You shall do witnessing,” but “You shall be witnesses.” In other words, your very person will be a witness to Him!

This is because the power you receive when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit is the same power that so anointed Peter that the sick were laid on the streets for his shadow to fall on them and heal them (see Acts 5:15). Even handkerchiefs and aprons from Paul’s body were so saturated with the anointing of the Spirit that when they touched the sick, people witnessed diseases and evil spirits leaving the sick (see Acts 19:12)!

That same power caused a Holy Spirit-baptized church member, who prayed in tongues, to experience God’s healing power when he laid hands on his mother who was in an advanced stage of cancer. And because she was healed, she became a witness of the love and power of God to her friends and unbelieving relatives.

Beloved, when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you will be a witness to others that no problem, trial, disease or sickness is a match for the power of the Spirit in you!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

THE POWER OF REDEEMING THOUGHTS

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Philippians 4:8, NLT

What mental movies are you playing in your head today? Are they thoughts of defeat and despair or thoughts of victory and favor? Faith is simply saying what God says about you and seeing what God sees in you and your situation.

It takes a thought to heal a thought. Unlike the world, which teaches you to empty your mind to achieve peace, God’s way is to fill your mind with fresh, powerful, and redeeming thoughts.

The apostle Paul tells us, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Phil. 4:8 NLT). So it’s not just trying to blot out bad thoughts with your willpower. It takes a thought to replace a thought. It takes a right belief to replace a wrong belief. You need God’s truth to replace the enemy’s lies that have kept you in bondage.

My friend, if a wrong, bad, or negative thought is lodged in your mind today and you can’t seem to shake it, stop trying! Perhaps you’re lying in a hospital bed and can’t help but think of the worst-case scenario. You’re attempting to suppress it, but it’s not working. Well, stop! Stop trying to erase it from your mind. That just won’t work. What you need to do is replace that destructive thought with a thought that’s from God. That’s the only way to deal with a wrong thought and begin the healing process.

Start to meditate on truths such as, “Surely Jesus has borne my sicknesses and carried my pains. The chastisement for my wholeness fell upon Him, and by His stripes I am healed. With long life He will satisfy me” (see Isa. 53:4–5 and Ps. 91:16). Begin to play mental movies of yourself getting well, being discharged from the hospital, having fun with your kids, or going on a nice holiday!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

YOU ARE GOD’S BELOVED

At the Jordan river, Jesus heard His Father say to Him, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). Later, in the wilderness, Jesus heard the devil say to Him, “If You are the Son of God…” (Luke 4:3).

Notice that the devil not only questioned Jesus’ sonship, but he also dropped the word “beloved” when he said to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God…” You see, the devil cannot remind you that you are God’s beloved because when you know this truth, whatever he wants to bring against you will not succeed!

Many girls are giving away their virginity because they need to feel wanted and loved. And young boys join gangs to feel accepted because they have been rejected and made to feel worthless by others.

But when you know that you are God’s beloved, no temptation can succeed against you, not even the “giants” who may taunt you. Consider David who slew Goliath. “David” in Hebrew means “beloved.” It takes a David to knock down a giant. In other words, it takes someone who knows that he is God’s beloved to win the fights of life!

You are God’s beloved not because of what you do. Christ did everything. He is God’s Beloved. But God put you in Christ. That is why you are “accepted in the Beloved.” And what God said to Jesus, He says to you today: “You are My beloved son. In you, I am well pleased.”

So if the devil tells you, “Hey, you call yourself ‘God’s beloved’ after what you just did?” have the assurance that it is not based on what you have done, but what Christ has done. And you are still God’s beloved because you are in Christ!

When you say that, I believe the devil screams in frustration because he has no power over you when you are conscious that you are God’s beloved. There is truly a place of safety when you know that you are His beloved.

My friend, we are not being proud when we call ourselves God’s beloved. How can we boast when we know that it is God’s grace that has made us accepted in the Beloved!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

THE POWER TO SIN NO MORE

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Romans 8:1, NASB

Today, I want to talk about how you can have a victorious thought life. My friend, the solution to temptations, sinful desires and thoughts is found in the very first verse of Romans 8: “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (By the way, some Bible translations, like the New King James Version, go on to say “who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” This was added by the later Bible translators. In the oldest manuscripts of the New Testament available today, the Greek simply states, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”)

You may experience temptations and sinful thoughts from time to time, but right in the midst of that temptation, you need to know this: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Notice that this verse is in the present tense. Right now, even if at this very moment, sinful thoughts are going through your mind, there is no condemnation because you are IN CHRIST JESUS! Are we then to sit still and entertain those sinful thoughts? Of course not.

Sin cannot take root in a person who is full of the consciousness that he is righteous in Christ. You cannot stop birds from flying over your head, but you can certainly stop a bird from building a nest on your head. In the same way, you cannot stop temptations, sinful thoughts and desires from passing through your mind, but you can certainly stop yourself from acting on these temptations, sinful thoughts and desires. How? By confessing at the very moment of temptation that you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!

The power of Jesus to overcome every temptation kicks in when you remain conscious that even at the point of temptation, Jesus is still with you and that you are righteous in Him apart from your works (Romans 4:6)! When you do that, you reject the condemnation for the temptation that you faced. You now have the power of Christ to rise above your temptation and to rest in your righteous identity in Christ apart from your works. That, beloved, is the overcoming life in Christ!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).