Joseph Prince (October-15-2024) Daily Devotion: Cultivate Your Gifts with God's Wisdom

Proverbs 17:8 - A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor; wherever he turns, he prospers.

When we see something moldy, we throw it away. But when Alexander Fleming saw his culture dishes contaminated with mold, he discovered penicillin. You see, he had a gift which prospered him.

Joseph, a Hebrew slave in Egypt, had nothing except his gift of interpreting dreams. But look at what that gift did for him. It prospered him. He interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and became the most powerful man in Egypt after Pharaoh (see Genesis 41).

“But Pastor Prince, what if I don’t have any gift?”

My friend, don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t have any gift. God has given each person a gift which can open doors of opportunities and bring in great blessings.

Maybe you are just not aware of that gift you have inside you, or perhaps it has profited you nothing thus far as you have not found out how best to use it. You need to take your gift and ask God for wisdom to cultivate it until it becomes such a powerful tool or “precious stone” that wherever you turn, you prosper.

This was the case with a church brother who was tremendously gifted in the creative arts. For a long time, he lacked the confidence and boldness to leave the security of his police job and step out on his own. But when he began to seek God’s wisdom for his situation, God gave him boldness to leave his job and go back to school to pursue the creative arts. In school, he prospered, becoming one of its top students and impressing the principal so much with his creative gift that he was offered a teaching position in the school even before he graduated.

Now, please don’t go and quit your job after reading this. What you should do is ask God for wisdom regarding your gift. For when the wisdom of God is added to your gift, that gift becomes “a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor; wherever he turns, he prospers.”

Joseph Prince (October-14-2024) Daily Devotion: Expect God's Goodness and Abundance

Psalm 65:11 -  You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.

The economic experts may have painted a gloomy picture for the year, but as far as God is concerned, He has crowned the year with His goodness and abundance! God’s supply and provision are never affected by world events, so good times or bad times, expect every month, every week and every day of this year to be surrounded by His goodness. Expect His abundance to meet your every need!

“But Pastor Prince, I’ve not done much good in the past year, so how can I be confident that God will provide for me this year?”

My friend, God doesn’t bless you because of what you have done. He blesses you because of what Jesus has done. At the cross, Jesus bore all your sins and was punished to the full for every one of them, so that you can have His righteousness as a gift and be blessed with every one of God’s blessings (see Ephesians 1:3).

Now, look at the word “abundance” in Psalm 65:11. It is the Hebrew word deshen, which means “fatness.” The idea here is abundant provision, blessings and even fertility. (So if you have been believing God for a child for many years, believe that this is the year you will conceive!) Now, the word deshen has another meaning—“ashes.” Ash is the final form of something that has been burnt. For example, the animal sacrifices to God in the Old Testament were burnt on the altar until they became ashes (see Leviticus 4:12). So ashes here speak of the finished work of Jesus at the cross that has put away your sins.

My friend, because of Jesus’ finished work you can confidently believe and declare that the year is crowned with goodness and that God’s paths drip with His provision, blessings and good success for you every step of the way. If the devil tells you that God won’t bless you because of your sins, just tell him, “Ashes!” and point him to the cross of Jesus!

Beloved, you are blessed not because of your good works, good looks, qualifications or industry experience, but because of Jesus’ finished work. He alone has qualified you to receive God’s goodness and abundance every day for the rest of your life!

Joseph Prince (October-13-2024) Daily Devotion: Christ is the Mercy Seat

Psalm 91:1 - He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

In the Old Testament, there was a place where God met with His people. In Exodus 25:22, God said, “And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony...” This place was above the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant, under the wings of the two cherubim. The psalmist calls it “the secret place of the Most High…under the shadow of the Almighty.”

The mercy seat covered the ark which contained the three emblems of man’s rebellion: the golden pot of manna—man’s rebellion against God’s provision, two tablets of stone on which God wrote the Ten Commandments—man’s rebellion against God’s standard, and Aaron’s rod—man’s rebellion against God’s authority. Once a year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would sprinkle the blood of the sacrificed animal on the mercy seat and so make propitiation for the sins of Israel.

Today, it is not the blood of animals that makes propitiation for our sins, but the holy blood of the Son of God (see Romans 3:24–25). The word for “propitiation” in the original Greek text is hilasterion, which actually means “mercy seat.” So Christ is our mercy seat. His blood speaks for us and puts God on our side. God does not see our rebellion. He sees the blood of His Son and accepts us!

That is why we can come boldly to the secret place of the Most High, in Christ, and feel secure that we have every right to be in God’s presence. We can come boldly to Him to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (see Hebrews 4:16).

And because Christ, our mercy seat, covers us with His blood, we are under God’s protection. We are in the secret place of the Most High, abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. Here, no evil will befall us, nor will any plague come near our dwelling (see Psalm 91:9–10). In the secret place of the Most High, we are favored and kept safe from all harm!

Joseph Prince (October-12-2024) Daily Devotion: Joint Heirs with Christ

s 8:16–17 - The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ...

As long as you are born again, you are no longer a “slave,” but a son of the Most High God. And God does not just call you His son. He also calls you “an heir” through Christ (see Galatians 4:7). In fact, Romans 8:17 says that you are “joint heirs” with Christ.

As a joint heir with Christ Jesus, you inherit everything that He is. How precious Jesus is to the Father, is how precious you are to the Father. The way the Father loves Jesus, is the way the Father loves you!

How accepted are you by God today? Look at Jesus. That is how accepted you are! Christ is the measure of your acceptance. How favored are you by God? Look at Jesus, who is seated at the Father’s right hand. You enjoy that same favor today because whatever Christ enjoys, you enjoy!

As a joint heir with Christ Jesus, you also inherit all that He has obtained from the Father. How much Jesus has, is how much you have. How prosperous is the one who made all things, and who put the gold, silver and diamonds in the earth? So are you in this world (see 1 John 4:17)!

I used to read  the Bible to find out how to be a successful and victorious Christian. But now, I read it to find out more about Jesus because I know that when I find Him, I find my every blessing in Him (see Ephesians 1:3, 2 Peter 1:3).

My friend, all that Jesus is in heaven today, you are in this world. All that belongs to Him belongs to you. That is why it is in your interest to know Him more, to see Him in all His glory and beauty. And because Jesus is so glorious, it will take you a lifetime to discover everything that He has done for you and has for you.

Beloved, you are an heir of the Most High God. You are a joint heir with Christ Jesus. So find out all the blessings that your rich inheritance includes and start walking in them today!

Joseph Prince (October-11-2024) Daily Devotion: Jesus is Your Qualification for God's Blessings

Deuteronomy 28:2 - And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you…

God loves to bless you. He has even declared that “blessings shall come upon you and overtake you.” This means that you can’t run fast enough to escape them! When you turn one corner, there is a blessing waiting for you. When you turn another corner, you run smack into another blessing!

Now, you may think that you don’t qualify for God’s blessings because of the preceding verse which says that these blessings will come to pass only if you diligently obey God’s voice and keep all of His commandments. You know that no matter how hard you try, you just cannot keep all of God’s commandments. In fact,  the Bible says that if you fail to keep just one commandment, you fail to keep all (see James 2:10).

My friend, I have good news for you: Jesus is the one who qualifies us for every single blessing because He has kept all of God’s commandments. When He died for us on the cross, He not only fulfilled all of God’s commandments, He also redeemed us from the curse of the law (see Galatians 3:13). Note that He did not redeem us from the blessings of the law, so the blessings are still ours today!

As you read the list of blessings in Deuteronomy 28, starting with “Blessed shall you be in the city…in the country…the fruit of your body…your basket…when you come in…when you go out…” (Deuteronomy 28:3–13), I believe that Jesus is saying to you, “Like the blessings? Then take them by faith!”

You may say, “But I don’t deserve them.” Yes, you don’t deserve them, but you still get them because of Jesus. That is God’s grace! The law says, “You must deserve the blessings.” But the law is no longer here. Grace is here. So take the blessings by grace through faith. Believe God for the blessings.

Today, it is no longer a question of how much or how well you have kept God’s commandments. It is a question of how much you can believe God for His blessings. All the promises of God in Christ are “Yes,” and because you are in Christ, you can say “Amen!” to His blessings (see 2 Corinthians 1:20)!

Joseph Prince (October-10-2024) Daily Devotion: Pronounce Yourself Clean!

Matthew 8:3 - Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Most of us are familiar with the healing of the leper in Matthew 8. It is a beautiful account of God’s willingness to touch and heal the sick, no matter how unclean they may be. Whenever we doubt God’s willingness to heal us, we should listen to the words of Jesus again: “I am willing; be cleansed.” He is the same yesterday, today and forever!

Since  the Bible is clear about God’s willingness to heal, why do we still have problems with our health? Why do we still experience symptoms in our bodies?

I believe that the answer is found in what Jesus told the leper to do next. He told him to go and show himself to the priest (see Matthew 8:4). This was the law then for lepers who were healed (see Leviticus 14:2–3). And he was to hear the priest pronounce the word “clean” over him (see Leviticus 14:7).

You see, as believers, when we received Jesus, His blood cleansed us from sin as well as sickness (see Isaiah 53:4–5). But we keep hearing people pronounce sin, sickness, poverty and death over us. We keep hearing people tell us that we are unclean, undeserving, poor, weak, and that it is only natural that we grow old and sickly, and die.

God is waiting for a priesthood that will rise up and pronounce His people clean!

“But Pastor Prince, where can I find such priests?”

Who are the priests today? You and I! In fact, we have more authority to pronounce good things than the Levitical priests of the Old Testament. They were just priests. But we are king-priests by the blood of Jesus (see Revelation 1:5–6)! Where the word of the king is, there is power (see Ecclesiastes 8:4). And by the word of a priest, every controversy and every assault shall be settled (see Deuteronomy 21:5).

Beloved, God has cleansed you, so pronounce yourself clean! Right now, put your hand on your heart and pronounce good things over yourself. Say, “I pronounce myself clean, righteous, healed, whole and abundantly supplied by the blood of Jesus!” By your word as a king-priest, every assault against you shall be settled!

Joseph Prince (October-09-2024) Daily Devotion: Only Christ's Atonement Satisfies God

1 John 2:1–2 - ...if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins...

Today, Jews still observe Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. As the name suggests, it is a day set aside to make atonement for one’s sins. But for Christians, this beautiful feast points to Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. Because of His sacrifice, all our sins have already been perfectly atoned for. That is why, should we sin, we know that “we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins.

Now, it does not say that if anyone repents, we have an Advocate with the Father. It says that if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father. The moment a child of God sins, straightaway, his Advocate, Jesus Christ, goes into action to pray for and protect him.

What about repentance then?

The word “repentance” is metanoia in the Greek, which means to change one’s mind. For example, you used to believe that Jesus was just a good man. Then one day, you repented and believed that He is the Son of the living God, who died for your sins and rose again on the third day, and you gladly took Him as your Savior.

 Bible repentance is not this idea of hitting or punishing yourself to atone for your sins. Don’t turn it into a human work, like the man who went to a priest to confess his sins. When they were done, the priest asked the man, “By the way, what do you do for a living?” The man replied, “I’m a contortionist,” and proceeded to give a demonstration. Another man came along wanting to confess his sins. When he saw the contortionist all twisted up on the ground, he said, “If this is repentance, forget it!” and ran off!

My friend, there is no need to climb the Himalayas or whip your back bloody to atone for your sins. No amount of self-punishment or crying can atone for them. Your sins have already been punished fully in the body of Jesus. Only His finished work satisfies God. So change your mind and simply believe that Jesus alone is the propitiation for your sins!