| Fresh Grace Every Day Matthew 6:34 |
| “I am concerned about the big business deal that I have to close tomorrow.” “I am worried about tomorrow’s job interview.” “My medical test results will be out tomorrow. I am afraid it won’t be good.” God does not want you to worry about tomorrow. He wants you to know that He gives you all the help you need for today, and when tomorrow comes, so will fresh help from Him. This is God’s principle even in the Old Testament. When the children of Israel were in the desert, God gave them fresh manna from heaven every morning. (Exodus 16:13–16, 31) They did not have to worry about tomorrow because when tomorrow came, there was fresh manna again. He was their provision every day. Today, God’s manna is the grace He gives you every day. If you are worried about a situation tomorrow, know that there will be sufficient grace for that situation when it comes. God wants you to simply rest in His ability to heal, deliver, protect and provide for you every day. In the Old Testament, when the armies of Moab and Ammon came against King Jehoshaphat, God told the anxious king, “Do not be afraid nor dismayed… for the battle is not yours, but God’s… You will not need to fight in this battle… stand still and see the salvation of the Lord…” (2 Chronicles 20:15–17) When the next morning came, King Jehoshaphat saw how God caused such confusion to come upon his enemies’ camp that it brought about their own slaughter. Amid all that fighting in the enemy camp, God’s people merely stood still and saw Him fight the battle for them just as He had promised. My friend, when you see a problem looming in your tomorrow, don’t be afraid or dismayed. Look to the Lord, and see His grace and salvation deliver you. God wants you to live a stress-free life, not one filled with worries about tomorrow’s problems. When tomorrow comes, His grace will be there for you as your help, protection, favor and enabling! |
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| All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2006–2009 New Creation Church |
Feed your FAITH and your doubts will STARVE.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Fresh Grace Every Day
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Pray Perfect Prayers In The Spirit
Pray Perfect Prayers In The Spirit
Romans 8:27
27Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Wouldn’t you like to pray effective prayers that are always in line with the will of God and which always hit the mark? Well, when you pray in the Spirit, you can.
You see, when we pray in English or our known language, and according to our limited understanding, we can pray amiss. Sometimes, our heads get in the way and we find ourselves asking, “Isn’t it selfish of me to pray like this?” or “Am I praying in line with God’s will?”
My friend, that is why God gives us the gift of praying in tongues. When we pray in tongues or in the Holy Spirit, we can never pray out of God’s will because the Holy Spirit “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God”.
In other words, we pray perfect prayers in line with God’s will when we pray in tongues. And the Bible goes on to tell us that “if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him”. (1 John 5:14–15)
Isn’t it wonderful that God has put in you the Holy Spirit who prays perfectly? He knows the heart of God and precisely what you need. And He makes intercession for you because He loves you very much.
The Holy Spirit is like your lawyer or legal counselor. He knows what belongs to you legally. He knows what your blood-bought rights are in Christ. Best of all, He knows exactly how to enforce them in your life!
Beloved, when you pray in tongues, you allow the Holy Spirit to pray perfect prayers through you. He pleads your case before God. He knows where you have gone wrong and what the root of the problem is. He also has the wisdom, solution and power to win your case. With the Holy Spirit on your side, you cannot but come out victorious!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2009 New Creation Church
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Blessed With Every Pneumatikos Blessing
Blessed With Every Pneumatikos Blessing
Ephesians 1:3
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Some people think that the term “spiritual blessing” refers to only non-visible and intangible blessings like peace and joy. To them, God’s promise of “every spiritual blessing” excludes the tangible blessings of health, prosperity, a healthy marriage and so on. They say things like, “Don’t expect God to remove this tumor because our blessings are only spiritual.”
Beloved, do you know what the word “spiritual” here means? In the original Greek text, it is pneumatikos, which in this context means having properties and characteristics belonging to the Spirit of God. So if you have the pneumatikos blessing of health, for example, it means that it is of the Spirit of God, and therefore does not depend on your exercising or dieting.
A church member had high blood pressure which did not normalize even after he started exercising and eating well. So he stopped being preoccupied with his exercise and diet regimes, and simply rested in the truth that a normal blood pressure was a pneumatikos blessing from God already given to him. In a short time, his blood pressure came down to a healthy level!
The same goes for the pneumatikos blessing of prosperity. It is of the Spirit of God and does not depend on our toiling seven days a week or monitoring the stock market closely.
A church member, who owns a small company, received her pneumatikos blessing of prosperity when she believed that God would cause her small company to be publicly listed. He did. In fact, the company was over-subscribed seven times within the first week! Later on, it even made inroads into Dubai in the Middle East. For a woman to find favor in a male-dominated society like Dubai, it can only be the pneumatikos blessing of favor, which is not subject to the laws of man.
My friend, believe that you have received every pneumatikos blessing, and you will find yourself enjoying blessings that are eternal, just as God is eternal, and of a quality that only the Spirit of God can give!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2009 New Creation Church
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
God Is A Giver, Not A Taker
God Is A Giver, Not A Taker
Romans 8:32
32He 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?
Some Christians mistakenly believe that God gives and also takes away. At funerals, we sometimes hear the minister say, “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
I remember an occasion when I was looking at a baby who was suffering from cancer. I heard one of his family members comment, “You can’t be sure what God’s will is. He may or may not heal.” What that person meant was that although the Lord had given the parents this baby, He might later take the baby away from them.
Job displayed this very same attitude when he received the news that he had lost his property and children. Thinking that God was the source of his problems and not knowing that it was actually Satan who had come against him, he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21) Such a statement seems to honor God, but in reality, it reveals an erroneous view of our heavenly Father.
As children of God, we know what the Father’s will is for us. He is a giver, not a taker! Jesus said, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) It is the devil who is the thief. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus came to give us life more abundant. (John 10:10)
Jesus met every need and healed every sickness brought before Him, and at the cross, He gave His own life. Never once did He take anything away from the people who came to Him. And the Bible says that whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father. (John 14:9)
Beloved, your heavenly Father wants you to know today that He is the one who gives you all good things. And if He has already given us heaven’s best — Jesus, “how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things”?
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2009 New Creation Church
Monday, August 3, 2009
God Is Easy To Take From
Exodus 3:8 8So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land…
When the children of Israel provided for themselves in Egypt, they ate cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. (Numbers 11:5) These were types of food which required them to bend down close to the ground and pull out to eat — a backbreaking work.
But when God provided for them in Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey (Numbers 13:27), He gave them grapes, pomegranates and figs. (Numbers 13:23) These fruits were not found on the ground and the Israelites only had to pluck them to eat them.
God wants you to know that when He provides for you, you will see a flow of provisions coming your way, and all you need to do is to just stretch forth your hand and take from Him!
So if you are planning to get married, don’t say to yourself, “Well, if I work harder and start saving now, I will have… oh my goodness, not much! The cost of the wedding banquet will wipe out everything! How can I get married?”
As a child of God, know that your Daddy God is excited about your upcoming wedding, and He is very rich! I have not seen a single couple in our church lacking on their wedding day. What I have seen is money coming in on the wedding day itself. And before the last drop of champagne is drunk, everything is paid up. So instead of trusting your efforts to have enough for your big day, God wants you to fix your wedding date and put your trust in Him to provide for you richly.
Are you faced with a financial debt? How much do you think you can save by working overtime and taking on a second job? Some of our church members will testify that God simply turned their financial situations around. In fact, Pastor Mark, our Hokkien and Mandarin services pastor, had a sizeable debt before he became a Christian. After he got saved, he handed his debt problem over to God. Within two years, his debt was supernaturally cleared and he even had a surplus!
My friend, faith is the hand that takes from God. And He is easy to take from!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2009 New Creation Church
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Don’t Be Judgment-Focused
Don’t Be Judgment-Focused
2 Corinthians 5:19
19… God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them…
On which two ancient cities did God rain brimstone and fire? If your answer is Sodom and Gomorrah, you are right. But if you think that God was all eager to destroy the two cities, you are wrong!
God wasn’t willing at all. He was not on a sin hunt. He was on a righteousness hunt so that He could spare the cities. (Genesis 18:23–32) And I believe that if Abraham had asked God, “What if You can find just one righteous man?” God’s answer would have been the same: “I will not destroy the place for the sake of one righteous man.”
Today, the righteousness of one Man — Jesus — has come. Jesus died for our sins and rose again for our justification. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our sins against us!
Therefore, no judgment will fall on you today because it fell on Jesus 2,000 years ago at Calvary. And if God was gracious enough to remove Lot and his family before the judgment fell (Genesis 19:12–22), how much more will He do for you who are no longer under judgment!
And because God does not judge you, don’t be like Lot’s wife, who became a pillar of salt when she turned around to look at the brimstone and fire. (Genesis 19:24–26) She wanted to see God’s judgment, even though the angels had warned, “Don’t look back, lest you be destroyed.” (Genesis 19:17)
So don’t be judgment-focused and look back at the sins you have committed. God is not against you. He is for you and on your side. He remembers that He has already judged and punished your sins in the body of His Son. And because He is faithful to His Son and to what His Son has done, He will never judge or punish you. Any trouble that you might have today is not from Him. But He will show you a way of escape because He is on your side. He loves you and has your best interests at heart.
Beloved, God is not out to get you. He is out to bless you. And He wants you blessed more than you can ever ask or imagine! (Ephesians 3:20)
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2009 New Creation Church
God Can Qualify The Disqualified
God Can Qualify The Disqualified
Psalm 103:4
4who [the Lord] redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Four women are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. (Matthew 1:1–16) Interestingly, they are not Sarah, Rebekah, Leah or Rachel, wives of the patriarchs of the Old Testament. Instead, they are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba, women who had morally questionable backgrounds.
Tamar resorted to deception and prostitution to produce children through her father-in-law. Yet, it was from her line, the tribe of Judah, that the Messiah came. (Genesis 38) Rahab was a Gentile and a prostitute in Jericho, who became a believer in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Joshua 2:1–21) She also became the mother of Boaz, who married Ruth. (Ruth 4:13)
Ruth was morally upright. But as a Moabitess, she was a Gentile and therefore considered unclean. Yet, she became the grandmother of David (Ruth 4:13–17), whom the Jews regard as their greatest king. Bathsheba committed adultery with David. (2 Samuel 11:4) Later, she gave birth to King Solomon (2 Samuel 12:24), from whose royal line Jesus descended.
So what is God saying to us here?
He is saying that He is greater than our sins — where sin abounds, His grace abounds much more. (Romans 5:20) His grace is greater than our sins, so that even when the world disqualifies us, He can qualify us to receive His blessings!
God is also saying that He is a God of many chances. These women’s stories show us that even when our troubles are of our own making, they are neither final nor fatal. When we turn to Him, He will turn our situations around until we see His glory upon us!
Finally, God is saying that He is a God of supernatural positioning. Even when all our earthly connections are gone, the moment we turn to Him, He will find ways to turn our captivity into blessings.
My friend, don’t look at your natural circumstances and be discouraged. Trust the One “who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies”. Trust Him who qualifies the disqualified!
© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2009 New Creation Church
