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).