Joseph Prince (December-04-2024) Daily Devotion: See Your Failures Through the Cross

 

Hebrews 10:17 - then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

When I was a young Christian growing up in Singapore, I read a little tract entitled This Was Your Life. In that tract, it said that when you get to heaven, God will replay your entire life, including all your sins, on a huge video screen for all the angels and other saints to watch!

The idea that God was making such a video of my life with the intention of screening it for everyone to watch used to make me feel awful and condemned before God. How could I ever stand boldly in His presence? And how was I going to face my loved ones and Christian friends in heaven?

I was a nervous wreck, thinking about all my sins that God was recording down, until I read this in  the Bible: “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin” (Romans 4:8). Hallelujah! I jumped for joy when I found out that God was not counting my sins against me, and that He has given me something called “non-imputation of sins”!

My friend, the reason that God does not impute any of our sins to us is that He has already imputed all of them to the body of His Son Jesus when He hung on the cross 2,000 years ago. Not only that, when God punished His Son for our sins, He caused the curse of the law to fall stroke by stroke upon Jesus’ entire body until every curse had been fully satisfied. That is why we have been redeemed from the curse of the law (see Galatians 3:13). That is why, instead of imputing sin to us, God imputes righteousness!

God wants us to know that our sins and lawless deeds He will remember no more. The words “no more” in the original Greek text carry a strong double-negative meaning. In other words, God is saying, “No way, by no means, will I ever remember your sins again!”

Beloved, since God says that He will remember your sins no more, why do you still remember them? Or for that matter, your spouse’s or neighbor’s sins? God does not want you to be sin-conscious but righteousness-conscious, because knowing you stand righteous in Christ empowers you to reign over sin and reign in life (see Romans 5:17, 6:14)!

Joseph Prince (December-03-2024) Daily Devotion: How Much More Will Your Father Take Care of You

Matthew 6:26 - Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Perched on a tree branch, two birds were observing passers-by rushing from one place to another. Looking at their faces, one bird asked the other, “Why is man so full of worries and cares?” The other bird answered, “Maybe they don’t have a heavenly Father like we do.”

I believe that the Lord made birds to tell us that we are of more value than many birds put together. In Matthew 10:29, Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?” Then, in Luke 12:6, He said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?” If you do the math, you will realize that these sparrows are so cheap that you can buy four of them for two copper coins, and you get one thrown in for free!

Sparrows are common creatures in Israel. Yet, not even one of these cheap birds falls to the ground without the Father’s knowledge (see Matthew 10:29). Not one of them is forgotten before Him (see Luke 12:6). So will He forget you who are of more value than all these birds put together?

Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” And if your heavenly Father feeds the birds of the air, how much more will He feed you, His precious, beloved child!

“Why don’t I see the supply then?” you may ask.

The answer is worry. That is why Jesus also said, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’…For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (Matthew 6:31–32).

Beloved, if your heavenly Father cares for cheap, common birds, and feeds them every day, how much more will He care for you, His dear, precious child! Let your heart be at rest as you hear Him say to you, “Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31).

Joseph Prince (December-02-2024) Daily Devotion: God Knows You Intimately

Matthew 10:30 - But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

As much as I love my wife and daughter, I have never bothered to count the number of hairs on their heads. I don’t have the time to do so and I doubt I will ever want to.

Every day, your hair drops. Yet, God knows how many hairs are left on your head. And He also knows how many are growing back! He knows because He bothers to count them again. When it comes to you, He always has time for every little thing about you.

So when Jesus said, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered,” He was not exaggerating. He never exaggerates. He means what He says and He says what He means. So for the Lord to say that the very hairs of your head are all numbered means that He wants you to know that He is very interested in you and has intimate knowledge about you—your body, family, finances, relationships…everything in your life!

He knows the pain you have been having in your body. He is aware of the financial worry which you have been keeping from your family. He sees how your nasty boss is treating you. He understands the hurts you have been keeping in your heart. He hears your heart’s cry for a miracle baby.

Your heavenly Father wants you to know that as long as something concerns you, He does not overlook it, even if it is about your pet, as a church member found out. She panicked when she first discovered that her pet terrapin had gone blind. Then, remembering my messages on confessing healing for our bodies, she did the same for her pet! Three months later, the terrapin’s eyes were wide open and able to see!

God knows you intimately. He knows every small problem you are worried about and every single burden you have. And when you approach Him for help, He has all the time for you as if no one else exists. That is how valuable you are to Him and how absorbed He is in you!

Joseph Prince (December-01-2024) Daily Devotion: God Hears Your Prayers!

Romans 4:7–8 - “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Some people think that if they were more “right” with God, then He would hear their prayers. For example, they sometimes believe that if they had not quarreled with their wives or had those bad thoughts earlier in the day, then God would answer their prayers.

God is not like that. He wants you to know beyond any doubt that you can always come to His throne of grace with boldness and have every confidence that you will receive His mercy and grace (see Hebrews 4:16). You see, because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross, you are already right with God. You don’t need to do anything to make yourself more right with God.

In fact, by faith in Jesus, you have received the righteousness of God Himself (see 2 Corinthians 5:21)! And no matter how many mistakes you make, you will never lose that righteousness because in the first place, God gave it to you apart from your works (see Romans 4:5–6). In other words, God did not impute righteousness to you because you were good, but because you believed in Jesus.

Because of what Jesus has done for you at the cross, all your sins—past, present and future—are forgiven. God will by no means ever remember your sins or count them against you (see Hebrews 8:12, 10:17)!

My friend, because Jesus has been punished for your sins, today, God is not counting your sins against you. This means that your sins won’t stop Him from hearing and responding to your prayers. So you can always run into His presence knowing that you can boldly stand in and enjoy His presence and His love.

When you know this truth, it is going to set you free in your relationship with God. You can talk to Him without fear or any sense of condemnation. You can practice His presence and trust that He always hears you. Should something happen at home or at work, you don’t always have to call for your church leaders—you pray and God hears you!

Beloved, you are righteous in Christ and God hears your prayers—all because of Jesus!