Joseph Prince (November-30-2023) Daily Devotional: In the Place of Nearness

Neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our LORD. Romans 8:38–39

You may have read of how Joseph in the book of Genesis wanted his family to dwell in Goshen, which means “drawing near.” He wanted them in a place of nearness to him and he told them, “There I will provide for you” (Gen. 45:11).

Beloved, even in the midst of famine, Jesus, our heavenly Joseph, wants us close to Him so He can provide for us. In the book of Exodus, God declared, “I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there” (Exod. 8:22).

In the land of Goshen, God’s people were protected from all of the ten plagues that besieged the land of Egypt during the time of Moses. In the second last of the ten plagues, a thick, paralyzing darkness covered the land of Egypt for three whole days. Yet, during that time, “all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings” (Exod. 10:23).

I believe it was a supernatural darkness that covered Egypt, because the Egyptians must have turned to natural resources of light to dispel the darkness—only to find they couldn’t. By the same token, it was a supernatural light that the Israelites enjoyed in Goshen, a light the darkness tried to smother but couldn’t.

Now, I believe this is prophetic of our times. The Bible is relevant for today. We are living in days where we see darkness—a supernatural darkness—cover the earth. Yet, the Scriptures tell us that even when there’s thick and deep darkness all around, the church—you and I, together with our families—can experience and enjoy God’s supernatural light in our dwellings. We, who have been drawn near to Him through the work of His Son, can have intimacy with God and enjoy His protective covering to live fear-free and victoriously in these dark times.

Beloved, in the place of nearness, God makes a difference between His people and the people of the world. We are in this world, but we are not of this world (John 17:14). We are His. He desires for us to be close to Him so that He can hide us under the shadow of His wings. He paid the price so that we can be called His children. Oh, what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called the sons and daughters of the Most High (1 John 3:1)!

Beloved, whatever may be happening in the world today, you can be bold and fearless because nothing can ever separate you from the love of God, your heavenly Father!

Joseph Prince (November-29-2023) Daily Devotional: 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. 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 (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 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!

Joseph Prince (November-28-2023) Daily Devotional: How Esther Obtained Favor

Now when the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king’s eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her. Esther 2:15

When you know that you are greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved, you don’t have to depend on your self-efforts. Look at the story of Esther, for example.

When King Ahasuerus was looking for a new queen, the most beautiful women in the land were all brought into the palace. All the women were given the opportunity to adorn themselves with whatever they desired from the women’s quarters before they were brought for an audience with the king. But when it was Esther’s turn, she “requested nothing but what Hegai the king’s eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised.”

And look at the results: “Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her,” and the king “loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen” (Esther 2:17)

While the other women grabbed the best garments, perfumes, and accessories to beautify themselves, Esther did not rely on her own abilities but submitted herself to Hegai, the official who had been appointed by the king to oversee the women. There was so much wisdom and humility in her decision. Can you see the beauty of Esther?

She did not trust in her own efforts. While the women tried to outdo one another by relying on their own efforts, Esther wisely submitted to the one person who would know the king’s preferences best, and the results speak for themselves.

This incident also demonstrates to us that Esther depended entirely upon the Lord’s unmerited favor. (When you depend entirely upon the Lord’s unmerited favor, you are trusting Him and in a position of rest.) Esther did not have to struggle. When she rested in the Lord and humbled herself, the Lord promoted her and exalted her above all the other beautiful women.

God resists the proud and gives unmerited favor to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5). When you humble yourself and cease from your efforts to promote yourself, and depend on Jesus alone, the Lord Himself will be your promotion and increase. Like Esther, you will stand out in a crowd and obtain grace and favor with God and man.

Do you know why the story of Esther is so important? Read the details in the Book of Esther. Because Esther was promoted to become the queen, she was in a favored position to protect all the Jewish people in the kingdom from being killed. When the Lord promotes you, He gives you the influence to be a blessing to the people around you. There are no coincidences, only God-incidents. The Lord will bless you to be a blessing!

Joseph Prince (November-27-2023) Daily Devotional: Stop Being Robbed

“ . . . I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel . . . not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers . . . I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people . . . For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Hebrews 8:8–10, 12

Do you sometimes think God is happy with you, and then at other times think He is angry with you? Or that He forgives all your sins today, but that tomorrow He may not be as forgiving? That’s what a lot of Christians believe. “It’s simple,” they tell me. “God is happy with me when I do right, and He is angry with me when I do wrong.” Really? I call this “schizophrenic Christianity”!

My friend, if you find yourself in this unhappy camp, I believe it is because you are living between two covenants—the old covenant of law and the new covenant of grace. As a result, you believe in a mixed message that tells you there are times when God is happy with you and times when He is angry with you.

Let me show you something that will clear up this erroneous belief. While the old covenant of law is based on “you shall not . . . you shall not . . . you shall not,” I want you to notice in today’s scripture that the new covenant of grace is the Lord saying, “I will . . . I will . . . I will . . . ” It is clear that the emphasis and demand of the covenant of law is on you performing, while the emphasis and demand of the covenant of grace is on God Himself performing!

He will do everything on our behalf. In fact, because Jesus has already died on the cross for us, He has already done everything on our behalf. Remember, Christianity is “done, done, done,” not “do, do, do.” Jesus came to establish the new covenant of grace and under this new covenant, God is no longer angry with you because His anger and wrath have already been exhausted on the body of Jesus on the cross.

Pay close attention to this for it will radically transform your life: the only reason Jesus could cry out “It is finished!” (John 19:30) on the cross was that the full anger of God against sin had been totally exhausted on His body. Jesus cannot lie! And if the anger of God against all your sins has already been completely exhausted, how can God be angry with you today when you fail? How can God be angry with you when He has already declared, “Your sins and your lawless deeds I will remember no more”?

Many Christians have been robbed of fellowship and intimacy with God because they believe the lie that God is still angry with them because of their sins. They avoid having contact with Him, thinking that He gets angry with them whenever they fail. So instead of going to God when they fail, they run in the opposite direction. Instead of running to the solution, they run away from it.

Stop being robbed of true intimacy and a relationship with your gracious heavenly Father. Instead of avoiding Him when you fail, know that He has the answer to all your problems. This is why you can always run to Him and receive grace for your failures. His grace is greater than all your failures. He loves you perfectly and wants you to reign in life, so go to Him with all your imperfections. He is your God, and He will love and transform you into wholeness!

Joseph Prince (November-26-2023) Daily Devotional: Thanksgiving Can Raise the Dead!

. . . And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me . . . John 11:41–42

After Jesus had said these words, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And the man who had been dead for four days came out of his tomb!

This is one of the greatest miracles that Jesus performed. Lazarus had been dead for four days when Jesus raised him to life. Wouldn’t you agree that death is indeed an extreme problem? Having no money in the bank, being sick and losing your job, bad as they are, are not as bad as being dead!

But what I want you to see is this: If Jesus, in the most extreme of problems, shows us that the solution is still, “Father, I thank You,” then how much more should we thank God in the midst of the less serious problems we face. If thanksgiving can raise the dead, then let us give thanks in spite of the negative circumstances and we will see victory.

Unfortunately, we tend to do the opposite—murmur and complain. But murmuring and complaining only magnify the problem. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is the language of faith which pleases God. I am not saying that we give thanks for the problems we have. No, we thank God that He is our answer and that He has already given every blessing to us (Eph. 1:3).

“But Pastor Prince, what I have is so little.”

My friend, thank God for the little you have and it will multiply. Jesus thanked His Father for the five barley loaves and two small fish, a little boy’s lunch, and they were multiplied to feed more than five thousand people with twelve baskets full of leftovers (John 6:8–13)! And notice that when the Holy Spirit talked about this event again, He specifically mentioned the Lord giving thanks—“the place where they ate bread after the LORD had given thanks” (John 6:23). The Holy Spirit seemed to be more pleased with the act of giving thanks than the miracle of multiplication or the twelve baskets full of leftovers.

Beloved, the more you thank God, the more you please Him. What little you have will be multiplied and whatever is dead in your life will be raised to life!

Joseph Prince (November-25-2023) Daily Devotional: From Glory to Glory

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18

I believe that Jesus is doing a great work in your life right now. Maybe you can’t see it because there’s something that you have done in your past that you just can’t seem to shake off, that seems like weights around your feet holding you down. Beloved, today is the day for your breakthrough. Learn to see what God sees by fixing your eyes on Jesus.

You need to understand that what you see or how others see you is not as important as how God sees you. Many people think that God sees them in their sins and is just waiting to pounce on them to punish them. This wrong belief produces wrong living. If you see God this way, you can’t help but be in constant fear, insecurity, and anxiety over your past sins. Today, make a decision to turn your eyes to Jesus, for He has already made you, the believer, righteous with His blood!

In fact, the more you behold Jesus, the more you are transformed “from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the LORD” (2 Cor. 3:18). Fixing your eyes on Jesus is the greatest holiness. Many think they have to do more in order to be more holy, accepted, and loved by God. The truth is, when you behold Jesus more and see His love, His forgiveness, His abundant grace, and His gift of righteousness purchased for you with His own blood, you will be transformed supernaturally.

Holiness is a by-product of seeing Jesus in His grace. When you see Jesus and receive His love and grace every day, your heart is transformed inwardly. This is not outward behavior modification. This is real change that is sustained by a heart touched by His grace and by an emancipated conscience that is forever freed from guilt. This is when that addiction begins to drop from your life. This is when that fear begins to dissolve in His perfect love, and that condemnation arising from your past mistakes is cleansed by His precious blood.

What a life! This is the life that God wants you to experience. Can you see it? Can you see what He sees?

Joseph Prince (November-24-2023) Daily Devotional: Receive His Healing Power

When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? - 1 Corinthians 10:16 NLT

I would like to share a powerful truth that I believe will help to keep you in God’s love and drive fear out of your life: whenever fear tries to creep up on you, go somewhere quiet and meditate on how much the Lord loves you as you partake of the holy Communion.

Right off, you might be wondering, If God loves me, why do I have to pray or partake of the Communion at all? What difference does that make? And if it’s His will to heal me, why am I not automatically healed?

May I first answer the question of why you are not healed automatically? My friend, we know it is God’s will for everyone to receive salvation, to receive the gift of eternal life that was freely given to the world (John 3:16). But we all have the choice to accept or reject God’s offer. Nobody gets saved “automatically.” God is a gentleman, and He will not force His salvation on anyone. He will not force His gifts or blessings on us. He will not force His health or goodness on us.

So what difference does prayer and partaking of the holy Communion make? When we pray and partake of the holy Communion, we are actively releasing our faith to be aligned with God’s will, God’s Word, and God’s power. We are not begging Him to heal us or trying to persuade Him to heal our loved ones—we already know it is His will to heal.

Prayer is about building an intimate relationship with Him. When we pray and partake of the holy Communion, we are receiving His love for us and receiving His healing power into our physical bodies. Talk to God today (that’s what prayer is) about your health challenges, and let Him impart boldness to you and confidence in your heart that He wants you healthy.

So when fear grips your heart, go somewhere quiet and find rest in the intimate love of Jesus through the holy Communion. Talk to your Savior, and as you lift up the bread, tell Him, “Lord Jesus, thank You that You love me so much You allowed Your body to be broken so mine can be whole. Right now, I receive Your wholeness, Your strength, and Your divine health.”

As you lift up the cup, say, “Thank You for Your precious blood, which has cleansed me of every sin. Right now, I can come boldly to Your throne of grace, knowing I am completely righteous, knowing my prayers avail much!”

Sound the Ram's Horn

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

John 19:30

I see a new generation of God’s people emerging as the grace revolution sweeps the globe. The truth is that only grace, found in the person of Jesus Christ, can lead us into the promised land.

Moses, who represents the law, is dead (Josh. 1:2). And only Joshua, a type of Christ, can bring us into the promised land.

We can’t enter it based on the obsolete Mosaic covenant. We can’t inherit it based on our efforts to be justified through keeping perfectly the Ten Commandments. We can inherit it only through faith in the grace of our Lord Jesus. It is not by our works that we inherit God’s promises, but by Christ’s perfect, finished work.

How did the wall of Jericho that stood between God’s people and the promised land come crashing down? Did God’s people have to use their own might to push down the wall? Did they have to fight an army? No, at just the blast of the rams’ horns and with a great shout, God caused the wall to crumble.

The ram’s horn is a beautiful picture of the death of our Lord Jesus. The ram had to die for the horn to be obtained. The sounding of the ram’s horn is thus a proclamation of our Lord’s death and finished work. At the cross, when Jesus had paid fully for all our sins with His blood, He proclaimed, “It is finished!”

It is the shed blood of Jesus that brings us out of captivity and into the promised land. What the ten plagues of Moses could not do, the blood of Jesus did. It was the blood of Christ, typified by the lambs’ blood applied to the lintels and doorposts of the Hebrew homes, that caused Pharaoh, a type of Satan, to finally release God’s people.

God threw down His trump card—the blood of His Son! So it was His Son, the true Lamb of God, Who brought them out of Egypt, and it was also His Son Who brought them into the promised land. It is all Christ and Christ alone!

Why couldn’t the miracles of Moses free God’s people? Because they were miracles of judgment. Judgment and condemnation will not free you, only the love and grace of our Lord Jesus, Who shed His blood at Calvary for you, can do that.

My friend, are you hearing about the judgments of the law today, or are you hearing the ram’s horn being blown? One condemns and brings death, the other liberates and gives life. One causes you to remain in bondage to sin and live a defeated life, the other empowers you to break free and reign in life.

Today, make sure you are hearing the true gospel that makes bondages and addictions crumble and fall away like the walls of Jericho did!

Joseph Prince (November-23-2023) Daily Devotional: Worship Activates Angels

The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Psalm 34:7

Beloved, we have a resource that is greater than any attack the devil can launch against us. Would you like to know how you can activate angels in your life?

The most important key is worship. As you offer your praise to the Lord, the passage above tells us that’s when angels are most active. Our Lord Jesus defined “fear” as “worship” for us. When Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, Jesus responded by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:13, which says, “You shall fear the LORD your God.” But He changed the word “fear” to “worship” and said to the devil, “For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God’” (Matt. 4:10).

Beloved, when you worship the Lord, His angels camp all around you, surrounding you to deliver you. If you are going through a difficult period in your life and are fearful, choose to worship Him. Fear fills our hearts when we are occupied with ourselves, but when we worship the Lord, we become occupied with Him, His beauty, and His goodness, and His angels surround us like a protective shield.

My ministry receives praise reports from people all over the world who, upon encountering His love for them personally through the preaching of the gospel, go on to be conscious of and full of thanksgiving for His goodness and grace upon their lives. Let me share with you a praise report from Sophia (who lives in Georgia, US), who’s also experienced the Lord’s intervention and protection.

Today, I read your devotional titled God’s Angels Are Watching Over You and was really encouraged. I recall an incident when my daughter and I were driving down the road behind an eighteen-wheeler when a vintage-looking car suddenly tried to get between our vehicle and the truck. I thought, “Why are you—” Right then, I heard a voice inside speak to me, asking me to be quiet. So I let the car squeeze in front of us. Immediately after I let the car in, one tire of the eighteen-wheeler blew. Surprisingly, the vintage car stayed in front of my car, taking the full impact of all the flying pieces of the exploded tire.

Once there were no more tire pieces coming from the truck, the vintage car returned to the left side of the road and drove off quickly. It then dawned on me that perhaps the driver of this car was an angel of the Lord. I was so encouraged to know that God protects us in these days and times!

Amen! When God gives His angels charge over you, they go ahead of you to guard and protect you from all sorts of danger. And yes, they may even choose to travel in vintage cars. Hebrews 13:2 says, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (KJV).

Joseph Prince (November-22-2023) Daily Devotional: Have Confidence in the Unmerited Favor of Jesus

And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. Ruth 2:3 KJV

There is a beautiful story of a Moabite woman named Ruth in the Bible. In the natural, Ruth had everything against her. She was a poor widow, and she was a Moabitess, a Gentile in the Jewish nation of Israel. But even after her husband died, Ruth remained with her mother-in-law Naomi. She left her family to follow Naomi back to Bethlehem, and made Naomi’s God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—her God.

Now, because of their poverty, Naomi and Ruth could not afford to buy grain, and Ruth had to go out to the field to perform the menial task of gleaning whatever the reapers had left behind. I want you to notice that Ruth was depending on the Lord’s favor for she said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor” (Ruth 2:2). Ruth was confident that God would give her favor even though she was a foreigner and had no connections with anyone in the field. She didn't even know whose part of the field she would be able to glean in.

Look at the Bible's account of what happened next: “And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.” Of all the spots in the field that Ruth could have wandered into, her “hap” was to come to the part of the field that belonged to Boaz, who was a man of great wealth, and who also happened to be Naomi’s relative. “Hap” is an old English word and it means “to happen” to be at the right place. However, in the original Hebrew text, the root of this word is the word qarah, which means right happening!

When Ruth trusted in God’s unmerited favor, she qarah-ed or happened to come to the part of the field that belonged to Boaz. To cut a long story short, Boaz saw Ruth, fell in love with her and married her. Ruth was possibly at the lowest point of her life just before she met Boaz. All the natural factors were against her. But because she put her trust in the Lord, who put her at the right place at the right time, her situation was turned around completely. In fact, she became one of the few woman to be mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:5, which states that “Boaz begot Obed by Ruth.” What an honor to be included in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Talk about being at the right place at the right time!

My friend, no matter what natural circumstances may be against you today, have confidence in the unmerited favor of Jesus and He will give you what I call “qarah success.” He will cause you to be positioned at the right place at the right time to experience His protection and success in your relationships, career, and finances.

Joseph Prince (November-21-2023) Daily Devotional: Take Time to Listen

And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you heed the voice of the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 28:2 AMP

Today, despite whatever you are facing in life, take time to hear Jesus. If you are concerned about symptoms in your body, keep hearing and hearing about how our Lord Jesus loved to heal and still heals today.

Hear how He bore the cruel Roman lashes for you, so that by His stripes, you are healed (Isa. 53:5). Hear how He went about doing good and healing ALL who were oppressed (bodily, emotionally, and mentally) by the devil (Acts 10:38, Matt. 9:35). Hear how when He saw the crowds waiting for His healing touch, He was moved with compassion—He didn’t see them as people with impossible demands, but as sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36). And hear how He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). Faith will infuse your spirit, and His divine healing and health will flood every cell, organ, and system of your body!

Beloved, if you are anxious about the needs and demands of tomorrow, keep hearing how God is for you and not against you. Hear how He has freely given you ALL things through Christ (Rom. 8:31–32), so that all you need to do is to freely receive ALL of His blessings, including the favor, wisdom, healing, and supply you need for whatever challenge you may be facing.

Hear the Son remind you of your loving heavenly Father, who knows your every need and promises He will take care of you as you cast your cares on Him and simply seek first His gift of righteousness (Matt. 6:31–33). My friend, as you listen and become established in His grace toward you, every worry and anxiety will evaporate like mist as the morning sun comes up, and you will see His fresh supply of favor for every new need.

And if you’ve experienced the sting of betrayal, if you’ve been hurt by the words of people close to you, or if you are just feeling plain discouraged, hear the Lord’s words of affirmation. Hear Him say to you, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Let these words restore your heart, bring stability to your emotions, and give you the faith to boldly say, “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:5–6).

My friend, to really grow in grace and see its fruit manifest in our lives, we need to keep hearing the Son and His words of grace, because it is so easy to slide back into being law- or demand-conscious, as opposed to being grace- or supply-conscious. Hear Him today. Hear His words of grace!

Joseph Prince (November-20-2023) Daily Devotional: Good Things Happen when You Believe God Loves You!

. . . to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:18–19

Once, when I was preparing to preach, the Lord shared this with me: “good things happen to people who believe that God loves them.” My friend, good things happening to you does not depend on who you are, what academic qualifications you hold, or what your profession is. Good things simply happen to you when you believe that God loves you! He loves you all the time. Even when you fail, He loves you! His love is not like our love. Our love is conditional, but His love is not. It is not contingent on our behavior.

It is contingent entirely on His grace and the work of His Son, Jesus Christ.

When Paul prayed for the church of Ephesus, he prayed that they might be able to comprehend “what is the width and length and depth and height” of “the love of Christ” (see today’s scripture). Notice Paul’s emphasis on the love of Christ. In other words, it is not about our love for Christ. Paul was praying for them to have a revelation of Jesus’ love for them and not their love for Jesus. Now, observe closely the result of them knowing the Lord’s love for them: they would be “filled with all the fullness of God.” I have heard many sermons saying that if you do this and do that, you will be filled with the fullness of God. But that is not what the Bible says. It says that when you know the love of Christ, you will be filled with the fullness of God. You will see Him provide for your needs in big and small ways.

I want to share a praise report from Kimberly, who lives in Florida, that demonstrates this truth. She and her husband had received the revelation of the gospel of grace and began to see financial breakthroughs where they had previously struggled. On their eighth wedding anniversary, Kimberly’s husband had surprised her with a new wedding ring. He got the new three-carat diamond ring at a supernaturally low price—almost nothing over their trade-in, half-carat diamond! To Kimberly, it was a symbol of God’s favor on their marriage and lives. So you can imagine her dismay when she lost it! Kimberly recalled:

I was choking back negative thoughts as I feverishly tried to find the ring. We tore our house apart. The more I searched, the more stressed I became. I remember hearing the Holy Spirit say, “Stop trying to find it. Just rest and I will bring it back to you because I love you.” This gave me peace for about a day and a half but by the third day, I was in tears and frantic again! I cleared my bathroom vanity area three separate times to look for it!

I went to the bedroom in tears, looked up, and said, “Jesus, I know that You love me, and You don’t have to help me find my ring to prove that. But because You love me, will You bring my ring back to me?” I prayed that simple prayer, walked back into the bathroom, and found my ring lying on my vanity area! Completely shocked, I immediately called my kids in to ask them if they had placed my ring there, and they said that they had not. I began crying and praising God because He truly answered my prayer by placing my ring in a spot that I had just checked and scrutinized three times! Jesus brought it back to me just as He had promised! I praise Jesus for loving me. Now, my ring symbolizes His grace even more.

Have you been there before? You got so frantic and stressed that God had to interrupt your frenzy of worry to remind you that He loves you and would take care of that detail for you? What made the difference for Kimberly was this very knowledge that the Lord loved her. Once she was conscious of how much the Lord loved her, she saw her prayer answered and her precious ring (which the Lord had blessed them with) returned to her.

Beloved, I pray that you have been growing in the revelation of how much God loves you as you see all that Jesus has accomplished for you on the cross. The more you realize that it is a revelation of Jesus’ love for you and not your love for Jesus, the more you, your family, and your future will be filled with the fullness and riches of His grace.

Joseph Prince (November-19-2023) Daily Devotional: The Gracious Gift of Righteousness

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.- Romans 5:17

If you struggle, as many believers do, with whether you deserve to be blessed, favored, and victorious, you are asking the wrong question.

The question you should be asking is, does Jesus deserve to be blessed, favored, and victorious? Because you are in Christ, having a blessed future is not contingent on how much you strive to be perfect or how hard you work at changing yourself. It is contingent on the person of Jesus.

The Bible proclaims, “as He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). Does Jesus deserve to be blessed, favored, and victorious? Then so do you! This is what being in Christ Jesus means. It means that today, God assesses you and sees you based on the perfection of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ righteousness is your righteousness. In fact, the Bible explains that because Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us, we are now the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).

“Righteousness” is a legal term. It means to have right standing before God. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words defines righteousness as “that gracious gift of God to men whereby all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are brought into right relationship with God.” In other words, your right standing before God is based upon Jesus’ right standing before God.

Today, you are as righteous as Jesus because your righteousness is from Him. He purchased it for you at the cross. When you received Him as your Lord and Savior, He took away all your unrighteousness once and for all and gave you His gift of righteousness. This righteousness is something that you can never obtain or achieve through your right doing; it can only be received by your right believing in Jesus.

And do you know what happens when you receive this gift of righteousness? The Bible declares that “those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:17). Hey, when you reign, your addictions don’t. When you reign, sicknesses don’t. When you reign, fear, depression, and every obstacle that is obstructing you from living your life to the fullest will be torn down and flushed out!

Joseph Prince (November-18-2023) Daily Devotional: He Freely Gives

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

Isaiah 53:5 tells us that by Jesus’ stripes we are healed. Every stripe He bore as He was scourged was for our healing. And He willingly allowed stripe after stripe to rip into His body so you and I could be well. Don’t ever believe the enemy’s lie that God wants you sick or that He is not willing to heal you. At the cross, our Lord Jesus demonstrated once and for all that He wants you well.

The Bible even tells us that it pleased the Lord to “crush Him” (Isa. 53:10 NASB). I used to wonder how it could have pleased the Lord to crush His own Son. Then one day, the Lord showed me.

My wife, Wendy, and I had gone to a mall and the nearest parking lot we could find was quite a distance away. We did a lot of shopping that day and before we knew it, we had our hands full of shopping bags. By this time, our Jessica, who was a cherubic two-year-old then, was tired and wanted to be carried. I picked her up with one arm, and she was so exhausted she fell asleep on my shoulder almost immediately.

As we walked toward our car, I felt my arm go to sleep, and I realized the car was much farther away than I had thought. It felt like a million pins and needles were piercing my arm, and I knew I could stop the burning pain by simply putting Jessica down and making her walk the rest of the way. But she was sleeping so soundly and deeply, I could not bear to put her down. I loved her so much I was willing to “crush” my arm so my little darling could continue to sleep.

All of a sudden I began to understand how it could please God to crush Jesus, who is described in the same chapter as “the arm of the LORD” (Isa. 53:1). It pleased the Lord to crush His only begotten Son because of His great love for you and me. That was the only way God could save us from sin and disease, and He willingly chose to give up His Son.

Today you can have full assurance God wants to heal you. The Bible tells us, “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?”

God already gave us the best of heaven when He gave us His darling Jesus. What are our temporal needs when He has already given us a gift that is eternal? Whatever your needs are, whether it is financial provision or healing for your body, they are all lesser compared to the gift of His Son. How shall He not with Him also freely give them to you?

Joseph Prince (November-17-2023) Daily Devotional: Is There No Suffering for the Believer?

For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. Philippians 1:29

A question I'm often asked is: Is there suffering in the body of Christ?

My friend, we are called and given the privilege to suffer persecution for His name’s sake as the apostle Paul states in today’s scripture. Furthermore, Paul tells his protégé, Timothy, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12 NLT). Jesus Himself said that those who follow Him will be persecuted for His name’s sake (Matt. 10:22).

However, I want you to be clear that this persecution doesn’t involve terminal illnesses, tragic accidents, or premature death.

But Pastor Prince, wasn’t Job a righteous man who experienced terrible suffering?

What happened to Job is not something that will happen to you who are IN CHRIST today. You see, one of Job’s complaints was this: “If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together” (Job 9:33 NLT). Now, read these powerful words spoken by Elihu in Job 33:23–24, which describes this mediator: “If there is a messenger for him, a mediator, one among a thousand, to show man His uprightness, then He is gracious to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom.’”

Elihu’s description of a mediator foreshadows what 1 Timothy 2:5–6 tells us, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” Job experienced his sufferings because he didn’t have a mediator. But today, you and I do—in the person of our Lord Jesus, who died at the cross to atone for our sins and made us righteous before God. He became our ransom (the Hebrew word for ransom comes from the root word kaphar, which means “to make an atonement”).

Beloved, the atoning blood of Christ has canceled all the legal rights that the enemy had against you and your family. When you receive all that His perfect sacrifice at the cross has accomplished for you, you don’t have to live afraid that you will be like Job. Unlike Job, you have a mediator—Christ Jesus. In Him you can look forward to a future full of His promises, blessings, and protection (Ps. 23:6)!

Joseph Prince (November-16-2023) Daily Devotional: One Encounter with His Love

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28–30 The Message

Many people harbor the misconception that those who are constantly partying, drinking, getting high, and sleeping around are having the time of their lives. Hollywood and the secular media have deified and glamorized the party lifestyle as cool and carefree. They have sold the lie that the YOLO life—the you-only-live-once, consequence-free existence—is awesome.

But if you peel back the curtains, you see just how deeply unhappy and depressed these people entangled in a sinful lifestyle are. Our teenagers and youths are being bombarded with these images on their social media channels, in movies, and on television shows, where sinful lifestyles are not only tolerated but also celebrated. Our kids are faced with it daily in school and on their mobile devices.

How have many churches responded? By saying, “We have to preach more on the law of Moses, on repentance, and on character.” But do you know what this generation hears when churches preach on those things?

One of the testimonies I received from a sister named Melissa, who was struggling with a destructive lifestyle of sin, gives us a pretty good sense of what young people actually hear and what it made her believe: “I didn’t think of going to God and church because people I knew would tell me, ‘You’re going to go to hell because of your choices and how you’re living. God’s angry with you. He’s disgusted with you and He’s not going to bless you.’ Because this was what I constantly heard, this was what I believed about God, and I thought there was no way I could come to Him.”

Is there any wonder why some churches are losing the next generation? Young people hear about an angry and capricious God Who is just looking for an opportunity to club them with a big stick and send them to an eternal furnace of fiery damnation. The church proudly proclaims, “We love the sinner but hate the sin.” But in reality, all that those who are struggling with sinful lifestyles hear is, “WE HATE THE SIN,” and they stay away from the church because they understandably equate that with “WE HATE YOU.” That, my friend, is simply not the gospel.

The gospel is our beloved Lord Jesus reaching out to the woman at the well who had had five husbands and was cohabiting with another man out of wedlock. The gospel is our Lord Jesus rescuing the woman caught in adultery from the religious mob that wanted to exercise its legal right to brutally bludgeon her to death with rocks. When you observe our Lord Jesus, He was always comfortable with those who were tangled up in sin, so much so that the religious leaders mocked Him and called Him a friend of sinners (Matt. 11:19). He was undeterred by His critics, and just one encounter with His love and grace caused sinners to be transformed forever from the inside out.

My dear friend, that’s the grace revolution that we have been talking about throughout this book. Our Lord never endorsed people’s sinful lifestyles; He simply awakened them to His deep and personal love for them, and once they experienced His love, they had the power to walk out of the prison of sin, addiction, and bondage. The woman at the well became an evangelist in her city and many came to know Jesus because of her. The woman caught in adultery walked away with the gift of no condemnation and the power to sin no more. The religious actively shunned the sinner; Jesus actively pursued the sinner.

God’s glorious grace opens the prison doors for those trapped in sin and bondage. He has given you the power to walk out freely today. Welcome His deep love for you and you will be set free!

Pastor Prince Devotional: Perfect Peace

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

Isaiah 26:3

Frances Havergal wrote the well-loved hymn, Like a River Glorious. Read the lyrics of this beautiful hymn and see how her revelation of the ever-cleansing blood of Jesus ushered in the richness of God’s perfect peace into her heart and mind:

Like a river glorious, is God’s perfect peace,

Over all victorious, in its bright increase;

Perfect, yet it floweth, fuller every day,

Perfect, yet it groweth, deeper all the way.

Refrain:

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest

Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,

Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;

Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,

Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.

Every joy or trial falleth from above,

Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;

We may trust Him fully all for us to do;

They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.

Frances’s last words before she went on to be with Jesus were, “It is all perfect peace. I’m only waiting for Jesus to take me in.” What a way to enter into glory—possessing a perfect assurance of salvation, because she knew in her soul that all her sins were forgiven, and that every moment of her life she stood forgiven before God!

My friend, if you’re living life in the valley of despair today, believing that your sins are separating you from intimacy with the Lord and miring you in defeat, I want you to know that because you have put your faith in Christ, you are under the fountain of the ever-cleansing blood of Christ! Every sense of defilement or stain of sin will be washed away from your conscience when you know and believe what Frances discovered.

Because Jesus’ blood continually cleanses you, you cannot bounce in and out of the light of Christ, in and out of being seated in the heavenly places in Christ, in and out of being forgiven, justified, and made righteous, and in and out of fellowship with God. It is not a sometimes-yes-sometimes-no salvation, but a salvation that has secured a yes to all of God’s promises because of the blood of Jesus (2 Cor. 1:19–20)!

Today, with all of your heart, beloved, say yes!