Thank Your Way To Greater Blessings by Joseph Prince
Luke 17:15
15And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,
People who have a grateful heart are always praising God. You often hear them say, “God is good!” They know that God is the reason for every blessing they get.
But there are those who look to God for blessings and when they get blessed, they just go on their merry way. Their hearts are captivated by the blessings instead of the One who has blessed them.
Jesus had an encounter with both these types of people when He walked into a village one day. Ten lepers cried out to Him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Luke 17:13) Now, when you call out to Jesus for mercy, He always hears you. On another occasion, when two blind men cried out to Him, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” He took the time to give them their miracles. (Matthew 9:27–30)
So these 10 lepers cried out to Him for mercy. He stopped, looked at them and said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And “as they went, they were cleansed”. (Luke 17:14) But only one came back and fell at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks. Notice the very sad words of Jesus that followed: “Were there not 10 cleansed? But where are the nine?” (Luke 17:17)
The other nine obviously knew that it was Jesus who had cleansed them. Yet, they did not bother to go back and thank Him. My friend, let it be said of you that when the blessings come, you remember to give God the praise, glory and honor, and acknowledge that He is the source of every blessing in your life.
Do you know that when the man came back to thank Jesus, he received the additional blessing of becoming whole? Jesus said to him, “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” (Luke 17:19, KJV) He was not just cleansed of leprosy, he got his missing fingers and toes back!
My friend, when your heart is thankful toward God, you position yourself for even greater blessings!
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Feed your FAITH and your doubts will STARVE.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Saturday, May 11, 2013
God Is Well Pleased With You, His Beloved by Joseph Prince
God Is Well Pleased With You, His Beloved by Joseph Prince
Ephesians 1:6
6… He [God] made us accepted in the Beloved.
Studies have shown that in the heart of every child is a cry for his father’s approval. Something happens when a father says to his boy, “Daddy is so proud of you.” Or when a father says to his girl, “You will always be Daddy’s favorite girl.”
You can catch such a similar special moment in the Bible when God the Father displayed His approval of His Son — “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) The Bible shows us that Jesus’ ministry began with the approval of the Father, even before He had performed any miracle.
Now, you may think that God would naturally say that of Jesus, but not of us. My friend, the truth is that Jesus came for us and as us. He died for us and as us. He received the approval of the Father for us and as us. He came as our representative. And if that is not enough, God tells us in His Word that we are “accepted in the Beloved”!
Why did God specifically say “accepted in the Beloved” and not simply “accepted in Christ”? I believe that it is because He is calling to our remembrance what had happened at the Jordan river where He said, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” God wants us to know that we are His beloved and that He is well pleased with us.
God sees us as His beloved because He has made us accepted in the Beloved. He wants us to wake up every day knowing that we are His beloved, unconditionally loved and wholly approved.
The more we know how much we are loved and treasured by God, the more we can expect good things to happen in our lives. We can expect to be healthy and whole. When we realize that we are the objects of God’s love, instead of becoming easily frightened or threatened by anything or anyone, we become confident that we will win every fight of life.
That, my friend, is how your heavenly Father wants you to live. So live life today confident that you are God’s beloved!
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Ephesians 1:6
6… He [God] made us accepted in the Beloved.
Studies have shown that in the heart of every child is a cry for his father’s approval. Something happens when a father says to his boy, “Daddy is so proud of you.” Or when a father says to his girl, “You will always be Daddy’s favorite girl.”
You can catch such a similar special moment in the Bible when God the Father displayed His approval of His Son — “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) The Bible shows us that Jesus’ ministry began with the approval of the Father, even before He had performed any miracle.
Now, you may think that God would naturally say that of Jesus, but not of us. My friend, the truth is that Jesus came for us and as us. He died for us and as us. He received the approval of the Father for us and as us. He came as our representative. And if that is not enough, God tells us in His Word that we are “accepted in the Beloved”!
Why did God specifically say “accepted in the Beloved” and not simply “accepted in Christ”? I believe that it is because He is calling to our remembrance what had happened at the Jordan river where He said, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” God wants us to know that we are His beloved and that He is well pleased with us.
God sees us as His beloved because He has made us accepted in the Beloved. He wants us to wake up every day knowing that we are His beloved, unconditionally loved and wholly approved.
The more we know how much we are loved and treasured by God, the more we can expect good things to happen in our lives. We can expect to be healthy and whole. When we realize that we are the objects of God’s love, instead of becoming easily frightened or threatened by anything or anyone, we become confident that we will win every fight of life.
That, my friend, is how your heavenly Father wants you to live. So live life today confident that you are God’s beloved!
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Continue In God’s Grace by Joseph Prince
Continue In God’s Grace by Joseph Prince
2 Corinthians 3:6
6… for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
To the Jews, the feast of Pentecost is a celebration of the giving of God’s law. It takes place 50 days after the Passover feast. When God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, it was 50 days after they had celebrated their first Passover and come out of slavery in Egypt.
But what happened after God gave them the law on the first Pentecost? Three thousand people died! (Exodus 32:28) Contrast this with another Pentecost in the New Testament. In the book of Acts, it says that when Pentecost had fully come, God gave not the law but the Holy Spirit, and what happened? Three thousand people got saved (Acts 2:41), which goes to show that “the letter [the law] kills, but the Spirit gives life”!
The law, which was “written and engraved on stones”, ministered death. It killed 3,000 people. That is why the apostle Paul calls it “the ministry of death” and “the ministry of condemnation”. (2 Corinthians 3:7–9) On the other hand, the Spirit ministered life — 3,000 people got saved.
My friend, when you come under the law by trying to keep God’s commandments in order to be blessed, it will lead to death. There will be deadness in your marriage, ministry, health, career… in your life. But when you depend on the Spirit of grace, it will lead to life. You will see breakthroughs and miracles (Galatians 3:5), and manifest the fruit of the Spirit.
So if you want to be blessed, make sure that you are on the right mountain. You see, the law was given on Mount Sinai, but the Spirit on Mount Zion. That is why the Bible says that “you have not come to the mountain [Sinai] that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest… But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels”. (Hebrews 12:18, 22) The Lord blesses you out of Zion (Psalm 128:5), and not Sinai!
Beloved, by grace you have been saved through faith. (Ephesians 2:8) Now, continue in the Spirit of grace. Remain on the right mountain and He will continue to supply miracles in your life!
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2 Corinthians 3:6
6… for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
To the Jews, the feast of Pentecost is a celebration of the giving of God’s law. It takes place 50 days after the Passover feast. When God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, it was 50 days after they had celebrated their first Passover and come out of slavery in Egypt.
But what happened after God gave them the law on the first Pentecost? Three thousand people died! (Exodus 32:28) Contrast this with another Pentecost in the New Testament. In the book of Acts, it says that when Pentecost had fully come, God gave not the law but the Holy Spirit, and what happened? Three thousand people got saved (Acts 2:41), which goes to show that “the letter [the law] kills, but the Spirit gives life”!
The law, which was “written and engraved on stones”, ministered death. It killed 3,000 people. That is why the apostle Paul calls it “the ministry of death” and “the ministry of condemnation”. (2 Corinthians 3:7–9) On the other hand, the Spirit ministered life — 3,000 people got saved.
My friend, when you come under the law by trying to keep God’s commandments in order to be blessed, it will lead to death. There will be deadness in your marriage, ministry, health, career… in your life. But when you depend on the Spirit of grace, it will lead to life. You will see breakthroughs and miracles (Galatians 3:5), and manifest the fruit of the Spirit.
So if you want to be blessed, make sure that you are on the right mountain. You see, the law was given on Mount Sinai, but the Spirit on Mount Zion. That is why the Bible says that “you have not come to the mountain [Sinai] that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest… But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels”. (Hebrews 12:18, 22) The Lord blesses you out of Zion (Psalm 128:5), and not Sinai!
Beloved, by grace you have been saved through faith. (Ephesians 2:8) Now, continue in the Spirit of grace. Remain on the right mountain and He will continue to supply miracles in your life!
- Join us in www.facebook.com/fillmyheartjesus
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Don’t Be Dust-Conscious by Joseph Prince
Don’t Be Dust-Conscious by Joseph Prince
Luke 13:11
11And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.
Imagine being bowed over for 18 years. All you would see is the dust on the ground. That was the predicament of the woman in Luke 13. Dust was all her eyes fell on, all the time, everywhere she went, until she became dustconscious. Thank God she finally saw the beautiful feet of Jesus, who brought her good news and raised her up.
Now, dust is the devil’s food. The Bible tells us that God cursed the devil to eat dust all the days of his life. (Genesis 3:14) Dust represents death. (Genesis 3:19) The devil wants you to be like him — to fall flat on your belly, crawl and eat dust. To eat dust is to feed on your shortcomings and lack, until you constantly feel that there is so much in your life that you need to clean up. You may not be physically bowed over, but like the woman, you become dust-conscious and life every day is a struggle.
Having a dust-consciousness also affects the way you see others. You look at people’s faults all the time. You point out their shortcomings and rake up their past failures. When you are dust-conscious, you find your relationships robbed of peace and joy.
And if you, like the woman, keep looking at the dust, before long, that inward position of dust-consciousness becomes so entrenched that you become the devil’s food because dust is what he eats. God’s Word describes him as being like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
If you don’t want to be devoured by him, then lift your eyes above the dust! Instead of looking at your failures, look to Christ who has delivered you from every defeat. See yourself the way God sees you — righteous and holy in Christ. (Colossians 3:12; 2 Corinthians 5:21) You are not dust because you are not in and of the flesh — you are in and of the Spirit. (Romans 8:9)
My friend, the more you realize who you are in Christ, the more you will straighten up and walk the way God sees you — a new creation with His authority, power and overcoming Spirit!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Luke 13:11
11And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.
Imagine being bowed over for 18 years. All you would see is the dust on the ground. That was the predicament of the woman in Luke 13. Dust was all her eyes fell on, all the time, everywhere she went, until she became dustconscious. Thank God she finally saw the beautiful feet of Jesus, who brought her good news and raised her up.
Now, dust is the devil’s food. The Bible tells us that God cursed the devil to eat dust all the days of his life. (Genesis 3:14) Dust represents death. (Genesis 3:19) The devil wants you to be like him — to fall flat on your belly, crawl and eat dust. To eat dust is to feed on your shortcomings and lack, until you constantly feel that there is so much in your life that you need to clean up. You may not be physically bowed over, but like the woman, you become dust-conscious and life every day is a struggle.
Having a dust-consciousness also affects the way you see others. You look at people’s faults all the time. You point out their shortcomings and rake up their past failures. When you are dust-conscious, you find your relationships robbed of peace and joy.
And if you, like the woman, keep looking at the dust, before long, that inward position of dust-consciousness becomes so entrenched that you become the devil’s food because dust is what he eats. God’s Word describes him as being like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
If you don’t want to be devoured by him, then lift your eyes above the dust! Instead of looking at your failures, look to Christ who has delivered you from every defeat. See yourself the way God sees you — righteous and holy in Christ. (Colossians 3:12; 2 Corinthians 5:21) You are not dust because you are not in and of the flesh — you are in and of the Spirit. (Romans 8:9)
My friend, the more you realize who you are in Christ, the more you will straighten up and walk the way God sees you — a new creation with His authority, power and overcoming Spirit!
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Tuesday, May 7, 2013
How The Holy Spirit Helps Us by Joseph Prince
How The Holy Spirit Helps Us by Joseph Prince
Romans 8:26
26Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
The Holy Spirit is not inside you to point out your faults or nag at you when you do wrong. God’s Word tells us that He is inside us to help us in our weaknesses. In areas where we are without strength, He is there to help us. When we don’t know what to pray, “the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered”.
Now, don’t read the verse and say, “Well, I don’t know what I should pray for, and since the Holy Spirit makes intercession for me, I will leave the praying to Him.”
If the Holy Spirit, without our participation, makes intercession for us, then every Christian would be living victorious lives automatically! But we know that there are many Christians who don’t seem to be walking in the fullness of God’s blessings. So obviously, Romans 8:26 is not saying that. What is it saying then?
In the first part of the verse, the word “helps” is sunantilambanomai in the original Greek text. It means “to take hold together against”. Now, “together” means that our participation is required. In other words, the Holy Spirit sunantilambanomai or takes hold together with us against the problem.
So if you just sit back and don’t take hold of the problem, the Holy Spirit has nothing to “take hold of ” with you. If you don’t pray, He has nothing to pray. If you keep quiet, then even if He wants to pray through you, He can’t. But when you release your prayer in tongues, you are actually allowing Him to pray through you. And He will take hold together with you against the problem, and pray the perfect prayer through you because “He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God”. (Romans 8:27)
And you can be confident that when you ask anything according to the will of God, He hears you. And if you know that He hears you, whatever you ask, you know that you have the petitions that you have asked of Him! (1 John 5:14–15)
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Romans 8:26
26Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
The Holy Spirit is not inside you to point out your faults or nag at you when you do wrong. God’s Word tells us that He is inside us to help us in our weaknesses. In areas where we are without strength, He is there to help us. When we don’t know what to pray, “the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered”.
Now, don’t read the verse and say, “Well, I don’t know what I should pray for, and since the Holy Spirit makes intercession for me, I will leave the praying to Him.”
If the Holy Spirit, without our participation, makes intercession for us, then every Christian would be living victorious lives automatically! But we know that there are many Christians who don’t seem to be walking in the fullness of God’s blessings. So obviously, Romans 8:26 is not saying that. What is it saying then?
In the first part of the verse, the word “helps” is sunantilambanomai in the original Greek text. It means “to take hold together against”. Now, “together” means that our participation is required. In other words, the Holy Spirit sunantilambanomai or takes hold together with us against the problem.
So if you just sit back and don’t take hold of the problem, the Holy Spirit has nothing to “take hold of ” with you. If you don’t pray, He has nothing to pray. If you keep quiet, then even if He wants to pray through you, He can’t. But when you release your prayer in tongues, you are actually allowing Him to pray through you. And He will take hold together with you against the problem, and pray the perfect prayer through you because “He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God”. (Romans 8:27)
And you can be confident that when you ask anything according to the will of God, He hears you. And if you know that He hears you, whatever you ask, you know that you have the petitions that you have asked of Him! (1 John 5:14–15)
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Monday, May 6, 2013
Jesus’ Blood Stops Evil In Its Tracks by Joseph Prince
Jesus’ Blood Stops Evil In Its Tracks by Joseph Prince
Leviticus 1:11
11He shall kill it [the burnt sacrifice] on the north side of the altar before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar.
The north of Israel has always been a source of evil for the nation. It was from Israel’s north that destruction poured forth. ( Jeremiah 1:14–15) Israel’s enemies always came from the north. (Jeremiah 6:1, 22–23) Even today, the north of Israel is enemy-occupied land. The north is thus a picture of evil in the Bible.
Interestingly, the animal for the burnt sacrifice was killed “on the north side of the altar”. The burnt sacrifice speaks of Jesus who gave Himself as “an offering and a sacrifice to God” for us. (Ephesians 5:2) Calvary, where Jesus was crucified, and the Garden Tomb, where His empty tomb is, are located to the north of Jerusalem. In other words, Jesus died in the north, from where evil comes against His people.
This means that Jesus’ death stops evil in our lives when we, who are priests of the Most High God (Revelation 1:6), speak His blood over our lives, just like how Aaron’s sons sprinkled the blood of the burnt offering all around on the altar.
This was the case for a church member who was serving in the army. He testified about how God preserved His life when a thunderstorm struck while he was carrying out sentry duty in a tower in his army camp. The rain kept him stranded in the tower which had a metal-framed window.
Suddenly, a bright purplish flash lit up right next to him, stunning him completely and almost throwing him off balance. A bolt of lightning had struck the lightning rod on the roof and the electricity was conducted through the metalframed window causing the purple flash. But the blood of Jesus on him protected him from harm!
Praise Jesus, whose blood stops evil in its tracks! It does not matter what the devil sends your way. As long as you are covered with the blood of Jesus, no evil can harm you!
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Sunday, May 5, 2013
Live Fear-Free In God’s Perfect Love by Joseph Prince
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear…
1 John 4:18
Live Fear-Free In God’s Perfect Love
Whose “perfect love” is the apostle John talking about here? Is it our love for God and other people, or God’s love for us? My friend, John is talking about God’s love for us because only His love is perfect.
Why is a personal revelation of God’s perfect love for us so important? Because it’s the key to living life fear-free. The Bible uses the words “cast out” because you cannot psych or reason fear out of your life. You can’t suppress it and hope it goes away. Doing more to conquer your fears doesn’t cut it either. Fear has to be cast out, and the only way fear can be cast out is by exposing it to something more powerful.
Beloved, there is nothing more powerful in the whole universe than the perfect love of God. Today, especially when the enemy puts thoughts of fear in your mind, meditate on how the Father so loved you, He willingly gave up His only beloved Son to die for you (John 3:16). See how in the same way God willingly delivered up Jesus for you, He is right now, more than willing to heal you, protect you, provide for you and give you good success.
Today, because you are God’s beloved, nothing can ever separate you from His presence, His favor, His love and His help. Receive His perfect love today and begin to live life fear-free!
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