Sunday, March 31, 2024

Joseph Prince (March-31-2024) Daily Devotional: The Father’s Correction

For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. - Proverbs 3:12 NLT

Let me teach you how to test every doctrine, teaching, and scriptural interpretation. Just ask yourself—how is our Lord Jesus valued in this teaching?

Does it make you want to worship, praise, and glorify the Lord Jesus with your life? Or does it put more value on you and what you have to perform? Does it cause you to be centered on and occupied with the person of Jesus? Or does it cause you to be centered on and occupied with yourself and whether you have failed or succeeded?

Pastor Prince, are you saying that performance is unimportant?

Absolutely not! I am sharing with you that the key to performance comes by the power of His love, grace, and unmerited favor in your life! You will be able to perform when you know you are perfectly loved.

Look at children who are bold, confident, and secure. They come from families that are full of love and affirmation. Families that free them to succeed. These children are not afraid to fail and they stand out in the crowd because they dare to be different for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They dare to say no to the influences of the world. They are not ashamed when their peers mock their Christian values. At the same time, in an environment of love, grace, and affirmation, the child’s parents are also able to discipline, correct, and guide the child in learning to make good decisions for himself without crushing his spirit.

Some people have the erroneous idea that when you are under grace, there is no correction and every and anything goes. There are those who argue that if we are indeed always highly favored by the Lord, then there is no need for Him to correct and to discipline us.

My dear friend, let me help you understand it from the perspective of a parent. When my kids do something wrong, Wendy and I certainly correct and discipline them. But in our hearts they are always loved and favored by us even when they have failed and even while being corrected by us.

Why? Simply because they are our children! No matter how they perform, we will always love them and they will always be favored in our hearts.

How highly favored they are to us is a matter of their identity, not their performance. It is based on who they are and whose they are, not what they have or have not done.

In the same way, our state of being loved and favored by our Father in heaven is a result of our identity as the sons and daughters of God through the finished work of Jesus Christ. We can call God our Father and God can call us His children because of what Jesus has done on the cross on our behalf!

As we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, He will correct, discipline, and guide us. But it is vital for you to know that our Lord will never correct us with tragic accidents, sicknesses, and diseases.

Today’s scripture says, “For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.” In other words, the Lord corrects those whom He highly favors, just as an earthly father would correct a child he loves.

Would a father correct a child in whom he delights by inflicting pain and suffering on that child? Of course not!

In the same way, our heavenly Father corrects us not by inflicting pain and suffering but with His Word (2 Tim. 3:16). Correction may come through the preaching of His Word, or through godly leaders whom He surrounds you with in a local church, leaders who love you and who care enough to speak into your life.

The truth is, when people know that their heavenly Father loves them, they can receive correction and discipline with gratitude and humility. That is why it is so important for every child of God to experience the grace revolution—to become established in His perfect love and anchored in His unconditional grace toward them.

Grace imparts to us the power to perform and to live a life above defeat. Grace is the key to holiness.

Saturday, March 30, 2024

Joseph Prince (March-30-2024) Daily Devotional: Completely Forgiven, Always Accepted

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23

When I was a teenager, I got hold of a teaching that said a Christian could commit the “unpardonable sin.” Have you heard this “unpardonable sin” teaching before? This erroneous teaching says that all sins can be forgiven, but if you commit the sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31), there is no forgiveness.

As a young Christian, it really frightened me. The more I thought about the possibility of committing the unpardonable sin, the more I was convinced I had committed the sin! My thoughts became increasingly negative and I even started to doubt God, giving me even more reason to believe that I had indeed blasphemed against the Holy Spirit.

I went to my church leaders to seek counsel, but instead of leading me to the new covenant of grace, they told me that it was indeed possible for a Christian to commit the unpardonable sin.

By then, I was getting more and more depressed. The devil was oppressing me with thoughts of guilt and condemnation. The more I believed that I still had unforgiven sins, the more I believed that I had used up all of God’s grace in my life.

No one taught me about the blood of Jesus, or showed me that my thinking and believing were actually dishonoring the blood of Christ and negating Jesus’ work on the cross for me. I really thought that my sins were greater than God’s grace. I felt like I was losing my mind and on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

It was through this tumultuous journey that I began to understand the grace of our Lord Jesus. I now know beyond the shadow of a doubt that a Christian cannot commit the unpardonable sin.

Here’s why. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit came to testify of and witness about Jesus Christ (John 15:26). To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is therefore to continually reject the person of Christ whom the Holy Spirit testifies of.

Study the Word of God carefully. Who was Jesus speaking to when He spoke of the unpardonable sin? He was speaking to the Pharisees, who continually rejected Him as their Savior and even accused Him of having an unclean spirit.

Jesus’ response was, “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven . . . but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation” (Mark 3:28–29).

Why did He say that? The next verse tells us that it is “because they said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’”

Therefore, in the context of the Bible, Jesus was warning the Pharisees to stop committing the sin of rejecting Him, the only Savior, and depending on their own efforts to be saved. This clearly does not apply to the believer.

You see, in reading the Bible, it is important to note who the words were spoken to and to ascertain if the words are relevant for the believer. In this case, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees who had rejected Him and who even made claims that He had an unclean spirit. Imagine their audacity!

As for you, my friend, have full assurance in your heart that it is impossible for a believer to commit the unpardonable sin. Today’s scripture shows us that a believer (who is in Christ) has already received the gift of eternal life and will never be “subject to eternal condemnation.”

Beloved, do not be deceived. Because we are in His Son, Jesus Christ, we will never experience God’s anger or rejection.

Be anchored and secure in the Father’s love and your complete acceptance in Christ. His finished work on the cross has wiped out your entire life’s sins—past, present, and future—once and for all, bar none!

Friday, March 29, 2024

Joseph Prince (March-29-2024) Daily Devotional: More with Us Than Against Us

“Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” - 2 Kings 6:16

In the days of the prophet Elisha, the king of Syria seized upon an opportunity to capture Elisha who was in the city of Dothan. He mobilized a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city one night. He wasn’t prepared to take any risk of the prophet escaping.

Early the next morning in Dothan, when Elisha’s servant went outside, he saw troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. He and Elisha were completely surrounded by enemy forces intent on killing them. The servant flew into a state of panic and cried out to Elisha, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15).

Put yourself in the shoes of Elisha’s servant. You (and I) would probably have been filled with fear too. But here’s where I want you to pay close attention, because there is a powerful truth I want you to catch. Without faltering, Elisha calmly told his servant, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16).

I can just imagine how the servant must have felt. There was absolutely no logic in what Elisha had just said. There were just the two of them against a whole army! Had his master gone mad?

Before the servant could work himself into an even greater panic, Elisha prayed a simple prayer: “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see” (2 Kings 6:17). And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant. Then he saw that the hillside all around them was filled with blindingly magnificent horses and chariots of fire.

God’s army of angels was flanking them on every side, ablaze with the glory, beauty, and majesty of the Most High. As the servant marveled, he realized that the Syrian forces were utterly dwarfed by the angelic army.

Why had the young servant been fearful while Elisha was fearless? The answer is this: They saw different things. The young man saw the great Syrian army. But Elisha saw an even greater angelic army on chariots of fire. Elisha had spiritual insight.

My dear reader, would you commit the above scripture to heart? If you are in a constant fight with fear, meditate on this scripture and fortify your heart with this promise.

Whether you find yourself besieged by debts, attacked by what doctors call a terminal illness, or constantly anxious over the safety of your children, remember this powerful verse. The God of angelic armies is with you. No weapon formed against you shall prosper (Isa. 54:17)!

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Joseph Prince (March-28-2024) Daily Devotional: What God Sees When He Looks at You

But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. - 1 Corinthians 6:17

One of our key ministry partners, Ron, shared how he had a dear friend named Tyler, who was from a good Christian family, was great at sports, and was living the “American Dream.” After college, however, Tyler started hanging out with the wrong crowd and developed a severe drug and drinking problem, which in turn led to a series of devastating mistakes.

Within a twenty-four-month period, Tyler lost everything he held dear in his life. Ashamed and miserable, Tyler dropped out of church and almost gave up on life, God, and grace. But God, in His grace, was still reaching out to Tyler (through Ron), as Ron related in this story:

One night, while jogging at a park and listening to a message by Pastor Prince, I felt God prompting me to send Tyler a text message. I felt that God wanted me to ask Tyler, “What does God see when He looks at you?” So while running, I texted him exactly those words. After a long time, I received his text reply:

Tyler: “Are you serious?” Ron: “Yes.”

Tyler: “Well . . . I’m sure it’s not good.” Ron: “Jesus.”

Tyler: “What do you mean?”

Ron: “I mean, when God looks at you, He sees Jesus!” Thirty minutes later, I got this message:

Tyler: “Thanks, man, you don’t know how badly I needed to hear that!”

Would it bless your heart to know that this is the very message God wants you to receive today? If you are like Tyler, then you believe God’s love for you depends on your actions.

You honestly believe God is ashamed of you because of your mistakes and failures. Well, you may have either not heard or have forgotten that the payment for your sins has already been made in full upon the body of Jesus at the cross.

Therefore, when God looks at you today, He doesn’t judge, esteem, and measure you according to your imperfections. He sees you in the Beloved—He sees you in Christ, and He sees the blood that has been shed for you by His dear Son.

When God looks at you today, He sees Jesus. Because of this, His thoughts toward you are thoughts of loving-kindness, forgiveness, blessings, and favor.

Jesus paid an immensely heavy price on the cross so that you can live life completely accepted and unconditionally loved by God. Knowing and believing this will make all the difference in how you live your life—no matter what is staring you in the face.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Joseph Prince (March-27-2024) Daily Devotional: Jesus, Our True Passover Lamb

Every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. - Exodus 12:3

Jews worldwide celebrate the Passover feast. The feast, which has been kept for generations, commemorates the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt (Ex. 12:14).

The night before the Israelites left Egypt, the destroyer went through the land killing the firstborn of man and beast. Only those households with the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts were spared.

God had told the Israelites, “Take a lamb, a lamb for a household.” It was a lamb for each family. This tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our true Passover Lamb, is for whole families to be saved!

So your children are blessed once you receive Jesus. Your unsaved spouse and grandparents are blessed too, because Jesus is now the Lamb for your whole household. Your unsaved loved ones will enjoy the blessings of the saved.

The Bible says that the sanctified will sanctify the unsanctified (1 Cor. 7:14). Yes, they will still need to personally receive Jesus as their Savior, but God has marked them for salvation because you are saved!

Now, each household took a lamb which God said had to be without blemish. Why?

Because the lamb typified Jesus, the true Lamb of God, who is without sin. John the Baptist said of Jesus, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

The lamb was then killed, and its blood put on the two doorposts and lintel of the house (Ex. 12:7), such that it speaks of the cross. Today, the destroyer has to pass over every family that believes in the finished work of Jesus at the cross and puts its faith in His blood, because there has already been a death. The blood proves it—the innocent Lamb for the guilty family!

Jesus also celebrated the Passover the night before He was crucified. But He was instituting the greater Passover. This time, it was not deliverance from Pharaoh and Egypt, but from Satan and his kingdom of darkness! It was not deliverance from slavery in Egypt, but from a life of bondage to sin to a life of liberty as free men in Christ!

Beloved, Jesus, the Lamb of God, sacrificed Himself to set you free. And when the Son sets you free, you are free indeed!

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Joseph Prince (March-26-2024) Daily Devotional: 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” (Gal. 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!

Monday, March 25, 2024

Joseph Prince (March-25-2024) Daily Devotional: The Power of Identity

Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? . . . know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:15, 19–20 KJV

I read the story of a businessman in New York City who was rushing to board a subway train on his way to work when he saw a beggar with a cup of pencils in his hands sitting on the platform. Without thinking too much about it, he quickly grabbed some money from his wallet and dropped the bills into the beggar’s collection plate before boarding the train.

Just before the train doors closed, the businessman jumped back out onto the platform and took several pencils from the beggar’s cup. He apologized to the beggar, explaining that in his haste, he had neglected to pick up the pencils he had purchased. “After all,” he said, “you are a businessman just like me. You have merchandise to sell and it’s fairly priced.” After that the businessman boarded the next train and went about his day.

At a social event several months later, a well-dressed salesman approached this businessman and introduced himself. “You probably don’t remember me and I don’t know your name,” he said, “but I will never forget you. You are the man who gave me back my self-respect. I was a ‘beggar’ selling pencils until you came along and told me that I was a businessman.”

I share this story to highlight to you the power of identity. The businessman gave this beggar a renewed sense of meaning and identity by simply speaking over him and calling forth a latent potential that was in him.

By calling this beggar a businessman, he awakened in him a renewed sense of worth, value, and importance. The words gave the beggar a new perspective. And they gave him a new belief and vision that propelled him to walk away from the lie that a beggar was all he could be.

We can draw many parallels in this story for believers of our Lord Jesus. I believe that many who are struggling with sin, addictions, and destructive bondages don’t have the revelation of their new covenant identity in Christ. When you see a believer struggling with sin, it is often a case of mistaken identity.

The best way to help him is to point him back to his righteousness in Christ, as the apostle Paul did to those in the Corinthian church who had fallen into sin. Paul didn’t point these believers back to the law of Moses. All he did was to remind them of who they truly were.

Reread today’s scripture. Paul knew that if they were reminded of their righteous identity in Christ, they would repent. They would return to grace and turn away from their sins when they were reminded of their value according to the heavy price Christ had paid on the cross to ransom them.

I encourage you to use Apostle Paul’s method to encourage and lift up believers whom you know are struggling with sin. Point them back to their identity in Christ. They probably do not know, or have forgotten, how they have been made the righteousness of God through Jesus’ blood.

Because of this, like the beggar in the story, they are living a life of defeat. They are living far below the high place God has called them to. Believers in Christ are called to be the head and not the tail, to be above and not beneath, to reign over sin and not be defeated by sin!

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Joseph Prince (March-24-2024) Daily Devotional: There Is Power in Hearing the Gospel Preached

And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked. - Acts 14:8–10

Have you ever wondered how the crippled man in today’s scripture, who had never walked, came to be filled with faith when he heard Paul speaking? What words generated such faith?

Let’s look at this closely in today’s reading. The Bible only says that Paul was “preaching the gospel” (Acts 14:7). It doesn’t say that he was teaching divine healing.

The Bible also states that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17 NASB). So the man at Lystra was filled with faith because he heard the word of Christ!

I know that in most Bible translations, it says that faith comes by hearing “the word of God.” But if you study the original Greek word for “God” here, it is not Theos for “God,” but rather Christos for “Christ.”

You see, faith does not come by simply hearing the word of God, because the word of God would encompass everything in the Bible, including the law of Moses. There is no impartation of faith when you hear the Ten Commandments preached.

Faith only comes by hearing the word of Christ—teachings that have been filtered through Jesus’ finished work and the new covenant of grace. That means hearing preaching of the Word from Genesis to Revelation as long as it is from the perspective of Jesus and His grace.

After all, Christ is in the Old Testament concealed, and in the New Testament revealed. In the Old Testament, you will find shadows of Christ in the five Levitical offerings, the tabernacle of Moses, and even in the high priest’s garments, but it takes a new covenant understanding to draw Christ out. Only when Christ is preached will faith be imparted.

I can just imagine how the man at Lystra responded when he heard Paul proclaiming that he could be justified from all things if he only believed in Jesus. When he heard the good news of Christ, faith came and filled his heart to believe that he was forgiven of all his sins.

And at that very moment, he heard Paul commanding him in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” Before he had time to hesitate, he found himself leaping to his feet with joy, and for the first time in his life, he walked! Hallelujah!

This is so similar to a praise report I received from Lizzy, who lives in Virginia. For ten years she had been praying for a young woman who was molested as a child and developed anorexia as a teen.

The girl’s condition worsened and she was placed in a ward for cardiac patients because her heart became too weak to function properly. In spite of the counseling and treatments she received, her condition did not improve and the doctors pronounced her as “dying.” Then, this happened:

Too weak to even read, this young woman began to watch Joseph Prince and hear the messages of God’s love and grace. Shortly before Christmas, her permanent feeding tube fell out on its own and she began to do what the doctors said she would never do again—eat solid food! She said she had heard Joseph Prince saying that when her spirit got stronger, her body would follow, and it has!

She is now able to attend church. Her pastor has even placed her to minister to the family of a fourteen-year-old girl who is anorexic. She is telling the girl that nothing worked for her except the grace of God. Hallelujah!

My friend, faith for healing or any other breakthrough you need comes when you are simply hearing the gospel of grace preached, as the crippled man of Lystra did. The Bible declares that the gospel is the power of God unto your salvation (Rom. 1:16), which includes total wholeness, preservation, and well-being.

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Joseph Prince (March-23-2024) Daily Devotional: Break the Cycle of Defeat

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

People who believe erroneously that God is hard on them for their failures will inevitably be hard on the people around them, and most of all, they will end up being really hard on themselves. They cannot forgive themselves for the mistakes they’ve made in the past and end up punishing themselves, whether they know it or not.

It’s a vicious cycle of defeat. The more they can’t forgive themselves, the more they hurt themselves with all kinds of behaviors and the more they end up bound by various destructive addictions. This leads to even more guilt, which in turn drives them to punish themselves even more—and the cycle continues.

I believe the root cause of many sinful habits, fears, and addictions can be traced to condemnation. I want to talk to you today about going after condemnation as the root to help you receive God’s forgiveness in those areas so that you can break out of your cycle of defeat and step into a new cycle of victory.

Are you living with some unresolved guilt and condemnation today? I have great news for you. When you realize that God’s heart is not in condemnation but in forgiveness, your entire life can be turned around for His glory! I have personally witnessed so many lives transformed when they just take a small step of faith to believe in His grace and receive His forgiveness in their lives.

Instead of punishing themselves for their mistakes and disqualifying themselves, these people began to correct their beliefs and receive God’s forgiveness by seeing Jesus taking on their punishment. They began to see their Savior qualifying them to receive every blessing from God for their marriages, families, and careers.

Right now I want to encourage you to release the built-up guilt and condemnation for whatever mistakes you’ve made over the years to the Lord. Would you pray this prayer with me?

“Lord Jesus, I don’t want to live under guilt and condemnation anymore. Today, I release all my failings, sins, and mistakes into Your loving hands. And I receive Your forgiveness right now into my heart. Thank You for Your precious blood that washes me whiter than snow. Right now I stand in Your righteousness, favor, joy, and peace. Amen!”

It’s a simple but powerful prayer. I encourage you to pray this prayer every time you fail and experience guilt and condemnation in your heart.

Stop punishing yourself—your answer is found at the cross of Jesus. I promise you that when you turn to Jesus and remind yourself just how forgiven and righteous you are in Christ every time you fall short, you will start living like the forgiven and righteous person Jesus has made you.

Friday, March 22, 2024

Joseph Prince (March-22-2024) Daily Devotional: Power to Utterly Destroy Diseases

God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty . . . that no flesh should glory in His presence. 1 Corinthians 1:27, 29

For many people, it is the very simplicity of the holy Communion that makes it so hard for them to believe it can be effective. All they can see is a small piece of bread and a little cup of juice. They cannot imagine how something so seemingly insignificant, small, and weak can drive out disease or cause them to live a long life.

When we dismiss the Communion elements for those reasons, we are forgetting the way God works. The Bible says God chooses the weak things of the world to put to shame the strong. Time and again, we see how God defeated the enemies of the children of Israel not through military might but through seemingly insignificant things.

God used a sling and a stone in the hand of a young shepherd boy to bring down Goliath, the mighty champion of the Philistine army (1 Sam. 17:38–51). He used a hammer and a tent peg in the hands of a defenseless woman to destroy Sisera, the ruthless Canaanite military commander who had oppressed the children of Israel for twenty years (Judg. 4:3–22). He used the jawbone of a donkey in the hand of Samson—one man—to slay a thousand Philistines (Judg. 15:15–16).

It’s interesting that when a Gentile woman came to the Lord Jesus seeking healing for her severely demonized daughter, He referred to healing as “the children’s bread.” Do you know what the woman said to Him?

“Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Jesus then said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And that very hour, her daughter was healed (Matt. 15:22–28).

What do you think the children’s bread that is laid on the “masters’ table” is a shadow of? The holy Communion!

You and I sit at the Master’s table because we are sons and daughters of the Most High God, and we partake freely of the Lord’s Supper. If the seemingly insignificant “crumbs” that fell from the table could heal the woman’s child, how much more healing and life we shall receive when we have the substance of the holy Communion!

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Joseph Prince (March-21-2024) Daily Devotional: The Mountain Where God Dwells

For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: “This is My resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread. I will also clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.” Psalm 132:13–16

My dear reader, I want to announce to you today that God has moved mountains. He is no more on Mount Sinai, which only breeds fear and insecurity in your relationship with Him and drives you deeper into destructive behaviors with no hope of freedom.

Because of the cross of Jesus, where God’s wrath for all our sins was poured out, He has moved to Mount Zion, the mountain of grace, the place of reconciliation, relationship, and closeness with His people. On this mountain you find yourself running to God to experience intimacy with Him that gives you strength and changes you from the inside out.

In the Psalms alone, you will find many scriptures about how God loves and has chosen Zion, and will bless those on Zion. Reread today’s scripture, for example, and then consider Psalm 125:1 KJV:

They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

It is Mount Zion, and not Mount Sinai, that cannot be removed. It remains forever! What does this mean?

If you establish your life on Mount Zion, you will enjoy true liberty and stability. Build your life on the mountain of grace and you will be like the man who built his house on the rock—unshakable and rock-solid in the face of adversities and life’s storms. If your blessings and breakthroughs come from Mount Zion, they will last!

My friend, because of Jesus’ finished work on Calvary, God has moved to Mount Zion. And today, Mount Zion—the place of His grace—is where He wants both your feet firmly planted.

He loves you more deeply than you realize. He values, treasures, and loves you. It is time to let go of your own works and allow the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to completely revolutionize your life from the inside out.

When Christ in His glorious grace is of full effect in your life, that breakthrough you have been believing for shall come to pass swiftly in the name of Jesus. That destructive addiction you have been battling for years will come crumbling down and no longer have a grip on your life.

And I am believing with you that that health condition you have been trying to beat shall be no more. I pray for you to receive supernatural healing right now in your body.

I declare that by His stripes, you are completely healed in the name of Jesus. I am standing in faith with you that cancer and all terminal diseases have no hold over your body. I speak health, healing, longevity, and wholeness in Jesus’ mighty name. May your youth be renewed like the eagle’s, and may you be satisfied with the promise of long life and good days in Jesus’ name. Amen and Amen!

As I was writing this, God’s spirit of faith to believe with you for your healing and health just arose in me. We have a miracle-working God and He can go above and beyond anything the doctors might have said about your condition, so let’s lean in to His love, His grace, and His peace. May His healing power be of full effect in your body, in Jesus’ name!

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Joseph Prince (March-20-2024) Daily Devotional: Follow the Lord

Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb . . . because he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. - Joshua 14:14

What are your eyes fixed on today? Are they focused on the darkness that is in the world? Or are they fixed on the Lord’s promises for your life?

My chief intention in this devotional is to turn your eyes away from the destruction you see every day, and to turn them to our beautiful Lord Jesus.

Do you know what Caleb’s secret to long life was? The passage above tells us that it was found in simply following the Lord.

Hebron was the name for one of the cities of refuge instituted by the Lord. In Hebrew, Hebron means fellowship or “association.” This speaks of intimacy, closeness, and connection with the Lord.

There is no formula to long life. The prayer of protection is not a mantra. What we need to note is the importance of having an intimate relationship with Jesus.

Our Lord Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Follow Him and find the path to a long and abundant life.

Don’t forget that everything Caleb experienced was under the old covenant. His renewal of youth and unabated strength and vigor were all experienced under the old covenant.

How much more should we be experiencing this renewal of youth, boundless energy, and length of days under the new covenant of grace that is established on better promises (Heb. 8:6)! Amen!

In a psalm that Moses wrote, it says, “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years” (Ps. 90:10). Some people have used this to teach that our expected lifespan is therefore between seventy and eighty years.

But it is important we interpret this psalm in the context of the children of Israel being in the wilderness and under God’s wrath. We have also seen that even under the old covenant, Caleb transcended this lifespan and was still going strong at eighty-five years old.

So dear reader—you who are under the new covenant—I encourage you to aim high. Don’t settle for living till just seventy or eighty years old, when God has promised, “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation” (Ps. 91:16).

Your satisfaction is the limit and according to your faith, be it unto you. I pray that as you stay close to our Lord Jesus, you will live long, live strong, and live under the protective covering of His wings.

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Joseph Prince (March-19-2024) Daily Devotional: God Will Never Be Angry with You

“For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke 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,” says the LORD, who has mercy on you. - Isaiah 54:9–10

A warning is issued in 1 Peter 5:8—“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” I know that a lion roars to intimidate and to bring fear, but I used to wonder what kind of fear the devil tries to instill in the believer.

We must let the Bible interpret the Bible. We can’t base our interpretations on our denominational backgrounds or our experiences.

One day, I was reading Proverbs 19 when I came across verse 12: “The king's wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.” Who is the king that this verse refers to? It is our Lord Jesus!

So when the devil goes about like a roaring lion, he is trying to impersonate the King. He is trying to make you feel as if God is angry with you.

Every time you hear preaching that leaves you with a sense that God is angry with you, guess what? You have just been roared at!

But know this, beloved: God will NEVER be angry with you ever again. He only has to tell us this, but He wanted us to be so sure that He swore in His Word that He would never be angry with us again.

Today’s verses are from Isaiah 54, which is right after the famous messianic chapter of the sufferings of Christ in Isaiah 53. Therefore, Isaiah 54 is spelling out the triumphs and spoils of His sufferings.

Do you know why God will never be angry with us again? It is because of what Christ has accomplished for us!

On the cross, God poured out all His anger on the body of His Son. Jesus exhausted all the fiery indignation of a holy God against all our sins, and when all of God’s judgment of our sins had been completely exhausted, He shouted, “It is finished!” (John 19:30).

And because our sins have already been punished, God, who is a holy and just God, will not punish us today when we believe in what Christ has done. God’s holiness is now on your side. His righteousness is now for you, not against you. You are His beloved, in whom He is well pleased because of Jesus' finished work!

The next time the devil tries to rob you of your sense of being beloved by making you think that God is angry with you, just ignore him. Ignore him when he says, “How can you call yourself a Christian?”

You are a righteous, accepted, and beloved child of God! When you believe this, you will have the confidence to face every challenge with boldness, knowing that you have God’s unmerited favor on your side!