Our Righteousness Is In Christ

'And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:'

Matthew 22:11

In this time, it was customary for the host to provide their guests with wedding garments to wear to the wedding. It was an insult of the highest degree to refuse to wear the clothing provided since the guests were brought in directly from the highways and streets. The wedding garment speaks of the righteousness of Christ that God so graciously provides for all who accept His invitation into the kingdom. It must be put on by both good and bad (Mt. 22:10).

Right standing before a holy God is not to be achieved in keeping the law but in humble trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ. No one, who is trusting in his own righteousness, can have the benefit of Christ's righteousness. The righteousness that gives men relationship with God is the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD, and it comes freely through faith in Jesus Christ.

The way we obtain this righteousness is by putting faith in what Christ has done for us. When we place our faith in Christ, then the righteousness that Jesus obtained by His faith becomes ours.

Through faith in Jesus, we can receive the very righteousness of God as a gift. God's righteousness is infinitely more in quality and quantity than man's puny righteousness. No one can ever be justified in the sight of God based on his own righteousness which comes through acts of holiness. One must have God's righteousness which only comes through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. Paul said in Philippians 3:9, 'And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.' This is 'the righteousness of God.' Andrew Womack

Message from Amir Tsarfati

Comforting His people doesn’t mean assuring them everything is going to be okay. To comfort His people is to share God’s heart for them, to remind them that He’s their God and that there is hope, and that there is only one hope, one life, one way, one truth.

And it’s not in their government, it’s not in their military, it’s not in their politics, it’s not in the United Nothing. It’s not in any of the world’s institutions. The hope of Israel is their Messiah. That’s the hope.

Isaiah 40:1-5
“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” says your God. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.”
The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

In verses one and two of this beautiful passage we find the English word “comfort” three times. The first two times in verse one, the Hebrew word means “to console”. The Hebrew word for comfort in verse two is different. It means “the heart or the place of feelings and emotions”.

From this we can see that the Lord says through the prophet Isaiah to console the hearts of the people of Jerusalem, meaning the nation of Israel. The text then becomes prophetic and advances to the time of the end when war has finished, Israel’s iniquities are pardoned, and the way of the Lord has been prepared for His coming. The mountains and hills being brought low and the crooked places made straight and the rough places smooth clearly speaks of the time of Jacob’s trouble and the Millennium that follows.

Until that time we need to console the hearts of the Jews by reminding them that the King of the Jews died for the sins of the whole world, and that only through Him can one be saved. We need to remind them that while the IDF and IAF are formidable military forces, it is God who fights for Israel. We need to console their hearts with the fact that while the world may be against them, the Holy One of Israel is for them and is coming back to rule and reign from Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel.

Zechariah 14:4
And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.

Zechariah 14:8-9
And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; in both summer and winter it shall occur. And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be— “The LORD is one,” and His name one.

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

Faith Is A Muscle

'But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.'

Matthew 21:26

Proverbs 29:25 says, 'The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.' These men were seeking to snare Jesus in His words, but they couldn't because He was safely trusting in the Lord. It was easy for Jesus to 'turn the tables on them' and catch them because they feared man (Jn. 5:44).

Jesus had already shown that all of their works were done so that they could be seen of men (Mt. 6:5). They were not really seeking to please God, but were doing all their religious works for the praise of men. It is totally vain for a man who is bound by the fear of man to try to intimidate a man whose trust is totally in the Lord.

When David fought Goliath (1 Sam. 17), everyone mocked him because of his belief that he could win. Goliath was a giant and he was only a small boy. But David said something very important in his defense. In 1 Samuel 17:34-37, David revealed that this was not the first time he had depended on God for a victory against something bigger than himself. He had already killed a lion and a bear with his bare hands. He KNEW he could defeat Goliath with God's help. Faith must be developed much like a muscle. Those who wait until the day of the contest to start training are going to lose. That's not the way it works in the natural or the spiritual.

What is life all about? What is the purpose of one's existence? What is to be gained in life? What do people live for? When we say 'so and so' is my life, we mean that all of our attention, our focus, and our purpose for living, is directed towards and revolves around that person. In a similar way, we need to be totally consumed with Christ and His life. True life is only to be found in Christ. It is not to be found in prestige, fortune, fame, or things, but only in the one who is life - Jesus Christ. Andrew Womack

Forgiving Others Is To Your Advantage

'And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.'

Mark 11:25  

There are qualifications for believing and receiving as well as restrictions for receiving answers to prayer. Unforgiveness in our hearts will keep our prayers from being answered.

We should forgive others as quickly as it takes to make the decision to pray. The Greek word for 'when' means 'whenever, as soon as, or while.' When we stand praying, we must forgive if we have ought ('anything at all, the least little part; whatsoever') against anyone.

When we are offended or hurt, we often feel justified in holding a grudge.

The Old Testament law expressed this when it stated, 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth' (Ex. 21:23-25). Until the offense was paid, we did not feel free to forgive. However, God dealt with all men's offenses by placing sin upon the perfect Savior who was judged in place of every sinner of all time. To demand that others must earn our forgiveness is not Christlike. Jesus died for every man's sins, extending forgiveness to us while we were yet sinners, and we should do the same.

It is doubtful that a person who refuses to forgive has ever experienced forgiveness himself. This is comparable to the servant that Jesus talked about in Matthew 18:23-35. He was forgiven a debt of over $3,000,000,000 and yet he refused to forgive his fellow servant who owed him $3,000. The forgiveness that we have received from the Lord is infinitely greater than any forgiveness we will ever be asked to extend to others. Freely forgive as you have been forgiven. Andrew Womack

Kill Condemnation at the Root

“. . . for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.”

Matthew 26:28 NLT

There was a time when I did not know what the main function of Jesus’ blood was or why it provided protection. I just covered everything with the blood of Jesus because I knew His blood protects us from the schemes of the devil. But the main reason His blood was shed was for the forgiveness of all our sins. It’s imperative that you understand this because it will give you the confidence to come before the throne of God boldly and see Him as a loving Father.

My friend, “the accuser” will come at various times to make you feel guilty. He will prosecute you for every one of your failures and make you feel unworthy to enter God’s presence. He will bring back every piece of dirty laundry, show you evidence after evidence of your failures, and condemn you for being a hypocrite. While you are trying to deal with stress and fear, the devil goes straight for the deepest root by using the law to heap guilt and condemnation on you. He knows that when you are under condemnation, fear, stress, and all kinds of sicknesses will follow, so he goes straight for the jugular.

What should you do then? You should kill condemnation at its very root and eradicate it from your life. No matter what the devil condemns you of, the truth is that the blood of Jesus has been shed for the forgiveness of all your sins. There is not a sin, not one iota of guilt or condemnation that the devil can throw at you today, that Jesus’ blood has not completely removed.

Iris, who lives in South Africa, has a testimony to share that demonstrates the liberating power of God’s gift of no condemnation. Growing up with alcoholic parents, Iris had suffered sexual and physical abuse at the hands of her father and became an alcoholic herself at age thirteen after her mother was killed in a car accident. Shortly after she was put in a children’s home at age fifteen, she started taking drugs and leading a promiscuous lifestyle.

Later in life, she got married and had three children, but her marriage failed, ultimately leading her into a downward spiral of depression and ill health. By that time, she had been born again but still had no knowledge of the love and grace of God. Only when the Lord showed her what her root problem was did real healing begin to take place:

In church, I went through months of “healing” for my brokenness and yet I couldn’t get out of the ditch I was in. Then one day, sometime in 2011, I tuned in to your television broadcast on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and heard your message about how condemnation is the root of our problems. I listened really carefully and realized that what you said was true. Every problem in my life went back to condemnation. And when I understood that and received the gift of no condemnation from the Lord, I felt, for the first time, so FREE!

From then on, I have been watching your program every night. I am so much better physically, mentally, and spiritually. What years and years of being in church could not do for me, my Daddy God did in a short time by having me watch you on TBN and by my reading your daily devotionals. I can truly say every day is a blessing to me now because of the freedom I am experiencing in so many areas, and I just want to live life giving praise to my Daddy God every day for His words of life and grace that have healed my body, my heart, and my mind. My prayer is that He will give me the same anointing that is on you to impart His love, His favor, and His grace to others.

What a wonderful testimony! My friend, receiving your freedom and breakthrough does not depend on how littered your past is with painful experiences or the mistakes you have made. Like Iris, when you receive Jesus’ grace, love, and life, you can receive the liberty and future you want to see. When you eradicate condemnation from your life, you begin to step into your freedom, healing, and breakthrough.

Beloved, for every failure in thought, word, or deed the enemy brings to your mind, receive this afresh today: there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Receiving this truth and being conscious of it every day will cause you to reign over any sin, addiction, depression, or challenge that is holding you captive. When Jesus died on the cross, all your failures were already condemned in His body. Today, you are free to live a victorious life not because of your obedience to the law, but because of your obedience of faith in Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

This devotional is taken from the book Reign in Life—90 Powerful Inspirations for Extraordinary Breakthroughs.

It Is All About Jesus

“He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”

Matthew 8:17

You might be familiar with the verse, Isaiah 53:4, which says, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” But notice how the author of the gospel of Matthew quoted it in today’s scripture.

I love the word Himself because it is so personal and so intimate. Surely He Himself took our diseases and our infirmities. It wasn’t an angel. Your health and wholeness were too important to Him, so He Himself bore your every sickness and disease.

Take some time to meditate on the word Himself. Take some time to remember the One who suffered and died for you, the One who took your infirmities and bore your sicknesses so you need not bear them. Jesus Himself did it because you are so precious to Him.

Whatever condition the doctors have diagnosed you with, Jesus Himself has taken it upon His own body. Don’t focus on looking for healing; focus on the Lord Jesus Himself. Focus on the One “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Pet 2:24).

Many times when you seek Him and simply spend time in His presence, your fears and worries just melt away. You find that in His presence there is shalom-peace. There is healing. There is wholeness. And when you look for your symptoms, you find them no more. Why? Because you are in the presence of the Healer.

When God told the children of Israel, “I am the LORD who heals you” (Exod. 15:26), He was introducing Himself as Jehovah Rapha. He was not saying, “I will give you healing” or “I will provide you health.” He was saying I AM your healing, and I AM your health. When you touch Jesus, you touch healing. He does not give healing as though it were a thing. He gives Himself.

You don’t have to seek after healing, provision, and protection. When you have Jesus, you have all you need. If there is an area of death in your body, the Lord says to you, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). If doctors have told you that you will die young, the Lord says to you, “I am your life and the length of your days” (Deut. 30:20). If you have received a negative diagnosis and are fearful, the Lord says to you, “Do not be afraid. I am your shield” (Gen. 15:1). If you have been dealing with relapse after relapse and the discouragement is overwhelming you, the Lord declares to you, “I am your strength and your song” (Exod. 15:2)!

This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional.

The Word Produces Fruit

'And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.'

Matthew 21:14 

When we, who are the temple of the Lord, are occupied with the cares of this life, the needs of others are not met. However, when we are cleansed (Jn. 15:3), then the Lord can accomplish His ministry through us.

Jesus tells us not to worry or be anxious about our material needs being met. It would be impossible to never think about our physical needs, even Jesus thought about His need for money to pay taxes. We are simply not to be occupied with thinking about riches or spend time worrying about our necessities. They will be added unto us as we seek first the kingdom of God.

Prosperity can be damaging to the Body of Christ. God wants to bless His children with things, but a preoccupation with these things will choke God's Word and make it unfruitful. If we follow God's formula for prosperity found in Matthew 6:19-34, then the Word will bring forth fruit and we will enjoy the physical blessings of this life too.

There are people who have received God's Word, committed themselves to it to the degree that they are able to remain faithful in persecution, but because of being occupied with the affairs of this life, the Word sown in their heart is choked and no fruit is produced. Just as weeds in a garden will steal the nutrients and starve the plant, so the pleasures of this life, if we allow them to dominate our thinking, will stop the fruit of the Word from producing.

It takes time, effort, and diligence to be a fruitful Christian. It's quicker and easier to raise weeds than it is to raise tomatoes or corn. Let God's Word produce fruit in you. Andrew Womack

Message from Amir Tsarfati

There is no single verse in the entire Bible that says that Israel is perfect. Not even one. Not a single verse in the entire Bible that says, “God will choose them only when they turn perfect” or “God will fulfill all of His promises to them only if they’re perfect.” It’s just not there. It’s only in the minds of self-righteous people who think, “Oh, how can God be so faithful to a nation that is still in disbelief.” And it’s this insecurity of so many Christians. And then they resort to replacement theology and all of the other trashy things that completely distort their understanding of the entire word of God – mostly the eschatology, the teachings of the future of prophecy.

It is a rather bizarre phenomenon how people place performance expectations on the Jews that they don’t apply to themselves. The truth is we should all be glad that Israel gives us such wonderful lessons on the faithfulness of God. Through them we see that He keeps His word no matter how faithless or how many failures are part of our lives.

Romans 3:3-4a
For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not!

It is curious how many believe God has cast off Israel as His chosen people because of their sin, yet believe that they themselves are eternally secure because God chose them. Yet, all of them still sin.

Malachi 3:6
“For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”
 
The Lord not changing is a two way street. That means He still does what He has always done, and that He doesn’t start doing what He didn’t used to do. So, if God’s M.O. in our modern world does not involve Him choosing some and then casting them off, which means that they are secure in Him today, then that has to have always been true. For the Jews, it is not that they are saved because they are Jews. Instead, it means that saved and unsaved alike, nationally speaking, they are His chosen people.

If they had to be perfect to be His chosen people and He doesn’t change, then Christians would have to be perfect to be His chosen people today. Obviously, no one is perfect, and yet the Lord saved us in our grossly imperfect and sinful state.

Let’s not miss the goodness of God shown through the Jews by saying or thinking He does to others what we believe He will never do to us. Yes, the majority of Jews rejected Jesus as Messiah, and yet all the apostles and most of the early disciples were Jews. 

The fact that the Jews are back in the national homeland tells us this is going to happen in the near future:

Zechariah 12:10
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”

Brought near to God

“You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you.”

Genesis 45:10–11

My friend, the world we live in today is fraught with famine, economic uncertainty, corruption, and all kinds of evil and tragedies. People are more afraid than ever to travel by air or sea. Many people are living stressed, anxious lives just due to the chaos they see all around them. As Scripture says, the world will get darker, and it is (Isa. 60:2).

But in the midst of all this darkness and uncertainty, see how today’s scripture speaks of “the land of Goshen”—a place of nearness to God—where you and your family can take refuge in. That’s what the grace revolution does for you. It is a revolution of restored relationship. It brings you near to God.

To be established on Mount Zion is to have an intimacy with God you never dreamed possible. And out of that intimacy, barrenness gives way to fruitfulness. Lack is replaced by abundance. Sadness and sickness with joy and life. Fear with love. Confusion and insecurity with peace and assurance. Defeat with victory. Breakdowns with breakthroughs. And aimlessness with divine destiny!

What happens when you abide in Goshen, this place of nearness to God? You dwell in the place of abundance. Goshen literally means “drawing near” to God, and you can see in the Old Testament story of Joseph, how being brought near to God is to enjoy His protection and provision.

When the land was in famine, Joseph said to his brothers, “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine” ’ ” (Gen. 45:9–11).

So in the midst of all the turbulence you see in the world today, I want you to know that there is a Goshen you and your family can take refuge in. It’s a blessed place where God says, “You shall be near to Me, you and your children, and your children’s children. There I will provide for you!”

Beloved, you stay planted on Zion and in the place of nearness and intimacy with the Lord by being established in your righteous standing in Christ Jesus. Our Lord Jesus died on the cross and rose again on the third day to give us an everlasting righteousness that is anchored by faith in Him (Rom. 4:5). Now that is the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Because of Jesus, today you can have the intimacy you’ve always longed for with God. Because God gave up His Son for your sins, you have His righteousness as a gift apart from your works, and you can come boldly to the Father as His beloved son or daughter. You can enjoy fruitfulness instead of dead works when you live in the realm of His love for you, and not out of a sense of religious obligation.

If you’ve been beaten down by negative circumstances, a long-term condition, or an addiction you can’t seem to break, you can be a prisoner of hope and receive His gift of righteousness afresh to reign over it (Zech. 9:12, Rom. 5:17).

You can have a fresh start in your career even when you have seen your dreams shattered, because you know that in the place of nearness, God loves you, hears you, and will restore you. You can live free of fear, terror, and oppression as you become more and more established in His righteousness day by day (Isa. 54:14).

I pray that as you grow in your revelation of how Jesus has brought you to a place of closeness with God, you will walk in liberty. May you have victory over everything that is holding you back from fulfilling all that our Father has in store for your blessed future in Him.

This devotional is taken from the book Glorious Grace—100 Daily Readings from Grace Revolution.

The Centerpiece of God’s Heart

Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:12

One of the things I love to do when I preach is to unveil Christ in the Old Testament Scriptures. It’s amazing how we can see Jesus unveiled in the Old Testament and what each detail reveals about the perfection of His finished work and His grace toward us. This is why it’s so important to get into His Word and take time to meditate upon the pictures or types that reveal His unwavering and unfailing love for you.

Would you like to see another example of Christ unveiled that will make your heart burn within you? Then look with me at the picture of Christ that is hidden in the ark of the covenant. In the days of the old covenant, God dwelled within the temple in Jerusalem in the Holy of Holies between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the covenant (1 Sam. 4:4).

This was the throne of God. The ark was the centerpiece of His heart and so important to God that He gave the Israelites very specific instructions on how it was to be constructed (Exod. 25:10–22; 37:1–9) because every detail of the ark points to the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For instance, the box portion of the ark is made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold. Wood in the Bible speaks of humanity (Isa. 55:12; Mark 8:24). Acacia wood is known in Israel as incorruptible wood, so this speaks of Jesus’ incorruptible humanity. Gold in the Bible speaks of divinity and deity (Isa. 2:20; Song 5:11, 14–15). So the wood overlaid with gold speaks of the person of Jesus—He was completely human and at the same time completely God.

Let’s look at the lid of the box, which was made from a solid slab of gold and covered the box. In Hebrew, the lid is called the kapporeth, which means “mercy seat.” God said that He would speak to the high priest from the mercy seat, “from between the two cherubim” (Exod. 25:22). The mercy seat was also the place where the high priest would place the blood of the animal sacrifices, only once in the entire year on the Day of Atonement. Let’s see what the mercy seat was used to cover from view.

Three items were kept in the ark. The first was the stone tablets on which God wrote the Ten Commandments, which we have seen speak of our rebellion and inability to keep God’s laws perfectly. The second was Aaron’s rod. When the people were complaining against God’s appointment of Aaron as the high priest, God caused Aaron’s rod to bud supernaturally to show the people that it was He who had appointed Aaron (Num. 17:1–10). Aaron’s rod thus speaks of man’s rebellion against God’s appointed leadership. The final item in the ark was the golden pot of manna, which we have seen speaks of man’s rebellion against God’s provision.

Every item in the ark of the covenant speaks of our sins and rebellion against God! But what did God do with our sins and rebellion? He put them all into the ark and covered them with the mercy seat where the blood of the animal sacrifices was placed. By doing this, He was saying that when He looks down, He cannot see man’s sins and rebellion because the blood on the mercy seat covers them all!

This is the good news! Let me say it one more time to make sure that you did not miss it: God cannot see your sins when the blood of Jesus covers them. That is why in the Old Testament, Israel rejoiced every time their high priest went into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement and placed the blood of the animal sacrifices on the mercy seat. When the blood was on the mercy seat, God could not see His people’s rejection of His laws, His appointed priesthood, and His provision. He could not see the people’s sins and rebellion. He only saw the blood on the mercy seat.

Now, stop and consider the wonder portrayed in this picture of Jesus and His sacrifice. Understand that it was “not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood [Christ] entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” His shed blood that covers your sins is the basis of your eternal redemption!

My friend, as you see Jesus unveiled like this and make Him the center of your heart, you will experience peace, joy, and the fulfillment of redemption’s blessings, and reign in life.

This devotional is taken from the book Reign in Life—90 Powerful Inspirations for Extraordinary Breakthroughs.

The Power of the Blood

“And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”

Exodus 12:13

Did you notice that before the Passover, God promised that when He saw the lambs’ blood on the Israelites’ doorposts, they would be saved from destruction? When the angel of death passed through the land, anyone among the children of Israel who was quaking in fear did so needlessly. They were saved not because they were Israelites and not because of their good behavior or anything they did. They were saved just because of one thing—the blood of the lamb.

You might be feeling anxious because doctors have detected some abnormalities in your recent health check. Or perhaps a few of your relatives have succumbed to a particular disease and you are fearful you might be next. My friend, I want you to know you do not have to be afraid, for you have been saved by the shed blood of the true Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

If you are a believer, you can put your trust and confidence in the royal blood that flows through Immanuel’s veins that is on the doorposts of your life. The cross transcends time, and on that day His blood washed you clean of every sin—past, present, and future. You are completely forgiven not because of your good deeds but because of His blood (Eph. 1:7). Rest in the Lamb who died for you at Calvary!

Stop disqualifying yourself from His healing because of the failures in your life. Stop believing the enemy’s lies that you don’t deserve to be healed because of the mistakes you have made or because you have not been going to church enough. When God looks at you, He doesn’t see you in your failures and frailties. He only sees His Son because you are in Christ.

Because you are in Christ, you are completely accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6), and you are already blessed with every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3). This means that even if there are symptoms in your body, God sees you as healed. Each time you partake of the holy Communion, start seeing yourself the way God sees you. See yourself healed, whole, and filled with divine strength and life.

Each time you take up the cup of the new covenant in His blood (1 Cor. 11:25), know that the blood of Jesus “speaks better things” under the new covenant than the blood of Abel (Heb. 12:24). Abel’s blood had cried out for vengeance (Gen. 4:10). Jesus’ blood cries out for your redemption (Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19), your justification (Rom. 5:9), your victory over the enemy (Rev. 12:11), and so much more!

This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional.

Jesus Paid Our Debt

'Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.'

John 12:31

There is still a future judgment of the world coming, where the wicked will be separated from the righteous and cast into the lake of fire. This verse refers to the sins of the world that were about to be placed on Jesus and that He would suffer our punishment.

Jesus suffered the punishment for our sins, so there is no reason why we should suffer for them too. The price for sin has already been paid by the only one who could fully pay it and that is Jesus. All Jesus asks of us to make His redemption ours, is faith in Him as our Lord.

Sin has a wage it must pay and no one can avoid payday without faith in Jesus. Anyone who does not receive the new birth will be held liable for all the wrong they committed as a result of their sinful nature. However, those who receive the new birth through faith in Jesus, don't have a sin nature and therefore, will not receive the payment of death.

Physical death as well as every result of the sin nature (i.e. sickness, depression, fear, etc.) is only a by-product of the spiritual death that was already inside of us. The Lord told Adam that in the day he ate of the forbidden tree, he would surely die (Gen. 2:17). Adam didn't die physically that day but he did die spiritually. Physical death came 930 years later for Adam (Gen. 5:5) as a by-product of his spiritual death.

Eternal life is a gift. The dictionary defines a gift as 'something that is bestowed voluntarily and without compensation; a present.' We have nothing to do with earning this gift. All you have to do is receive it by faith. Andrew Womack

What Are You Hearing?

Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Romans 10:17 NASB

Allow me to show you something from the story of the woman in Mark 5 whom Jesus healed from a “flow of blood” that had caused her great suffering for twelve years. We see in Mark 5:27 that her miracle began when she “heard about Jesus.” What do you think the woman heard about Jesus that was so powerful?

For twelve years she had been bleeding. According to Levitical law, she was “unclean.” Whoever touched her or even touched anything she had sat on was also considered unclean (Lev. 15:19–25). This means for twelve years she had been shunned and ostracized. For twelve years she was not allowed to touch anyone so she would not defile them. Can you imagine living a life where every single day, you are painfully reminded of how unclean, how impure, and how disqualified you are?

But then she heard something about Jesus.

She heard something that caused hope to spring up in her jaded heart and gave her the faith to believe she would be made well simply by touching His clothes.

She heard something that gave her the boldness and resolve to press her weakened body through an entire crowd, even though Levitical law forbade her from touching anyone.

Most of all, she heard something that caused her to believe that in spite of the fact she was unclean, she could receive healing. That is what I want you to hear about our Lord Jesus today.

In spite of the fact you are unclean, in spite of the fact you have failed, in spite of the fact there is sin in your life, you can receive healing!

Don’t allow man’s traditions to keep you away from your loving Savior. Come to Him just as you are. You do not need to do anything to qualify yourself. You do not need to wash yourself clean before you can approach Him. You do not have to long for His touch from a distance, wishing you were good enough or pure enough. Come to Him with all your sins and all your burdens—He will make you clean. The same Jesus who gave His body for your healing also gave His blood for your forgiveness. Just come to Him!

This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional.

Hearts Purified by Faith

“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. . . Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

John 8:31–32, 36

What is “the truth” that Jesus says has the power to set us free? Remember, our Lord was speaking to the Jewish people, so “the truth that they shall know” could not have been the old covenant of the law, which they were already well versed in. Knowing and attempting to keep the law to earn their righteousness had not given them the freedom they sought. It had, in fact, become for them an impossibly heavy yoke to bear.

To understand what “the truth” is, I want to bring you to Acts 15, where the Jerusalem Council had convened to debate which of the old covenant laws should be imposed on Gentile believers. Look at what Peter said:

“So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
—Acts 15:8–11

When Peter spoke about God giving the Holy Spirit to the Gentile believers in the same way that He had given the Holy Spirit to the Jewish believers, he was referring to his preaching to Cornelius’s household and how the Holy Spirit fell upon all the Gentiles there who heard him as he was speaking these words: “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43–44). Notice that when the Gentiles there simply put their faith in the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins, they were filled with the Holy Spirit!

The Jewish believers who were present with Peter then were astonished to see how even Gentiles could receive the Holy Spirit in the same way they did (Acts 10:45–46). It was an unprecedented, unthinkable phenomenon for the Jews of the early church to witness, since under Old Testament laws, Gentiles were considered unclean (Acts 10:28). Later, the Jewish believers acknowledged that God had also granted to the Gentiles “repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18 KJV)!

This brings me to my next point. At the Jerusalem Council, Peter stated that the hearts of the Gentile believers were purified by faith (Acts 15:9)! Not by works, but by their believing right—believing that those who believed in the Lord would receive the remission of sins and be made the righteousness of God. Can you see that?

How are we made righteous today? How are our hearts purified today? By faith in our Lord’s finished work at the cross!

Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). Now, who are the pure in heart? Those whose hearts have been purified by faith. Amen! This is how we use scripture to interpret scripture. So don’t let someone tell you that in order to have a pure heart, you need to do this and that, and if you fail to keep to their list of dos and don’ts, your heart will not be pure.

Can you see how dangerous man’s opinions can be? Just like that, precious believers can come under great fear that if they aren’t doing something hard enough to continually keep their hearts pure, they will lose their salvation and end up not seeing the Lord.

According to the authority of God’s Word, our hearts are purified by faith in our Lord Jesus. Hallelujah! Let this truth put an unshakable confidence in your heart concerning your salvation, your relationship with the Lord, your future, and good things happening to and for you.

This devotional is taken from the book Glorious Grace—100 Daily Readings from Grace Revolution.

Message from Amir Tsarfati

And now comes the blessing. There is the people, there is the land, the seed, and now comes the blessing. Now, the Lord had said to Abraham, “Get out of your country, from your family, from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you a great…” what? “…nation.” Not a religion. And then He said, “I will…” what? “…bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. And in you all the families of the earth…” not all the individuals “…all the nations will be…” what? “…blessed.” The blessing is connected to the seed that is connected to the land that is connected to the promise that was given to Abraham. Do we understand that? The blessing could only come when the seed is in the land.

In fact, every time God wanted to punish Israel, that’s when they had to leave. And every time God wanted to restore Israel, this is when He brought them back to the land. Remember that. And I want to tell you something. Even the Arabs knew that a hundred years ago. I’m going to quote what the leader of the holiest sites to the Muslims said, the Sharif of Mecca Hussein, after whom King Hussein of Jordan was named. This is the grandfather of King Hussein of Jordan. Look what he wrote to his people over a hundred years ago. He wrote in Al-Qibla, the daily newspaper of Mecca in 1918. Look what he wrote. “The resources of the country are still virgin soil and will be developed by the Jewish immigrants. One of the most amazing things until recent times was that the Palestinian used to leave his country wandering over the high seas in every direction. His native soil could not retain or hold on him. At the same time, we have seen the Jews from foreign countries streaming to Palestine.” Remember that’s in 1918, when they came from Russia, Germany, Austria, Spain, and America. 

Now if I stop here, you would say, “Ooh, look. He’s saying that the Palestinians were here and the Jews are those who came from outside.” Watch this. The same Hussein, the Sharif of Mecca continued. It says, “The cause of causes could not escape those who had a gift of deeper insight. They knew that the country was for its original sons.” The Muslim is telling his own people that the land actually does not belong to them, but to the original sons. For all their differences, a sacred and beloved homeland, the return of these exiles to their homeland, will prove materially and spiritually an experimental school for their brethren who are with them in the fields, factories, trade, and all things connected to the land. He basically said we want those original sons to come back to their original homeland because that is when what is going to come? The blessing.

Jeremiah 16:14-15
“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.”

There are several things we need to note about this passage. One, it is prophetic. Two, it reveals that something unprecedented will take place. Three, this event concerns the Jews. And, lastly, that there is a land that belongs to the Jews according to God.

Genesis 12:6-7
Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 17:7-8
“And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

The Jews right to the land of Israel as an everlasting possession was established all the way back in Genesis. That means that while they were driven out of the land by God for their idolatry and disobedience, the land remained theirs. When they were slaves in Egypt for over 400 years, the land was theirs. When they were captives in Babylon, the land was theirs. When they were scattered among the nations, that land was theirs. The saying “the Lord brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt” has now been replaced with “the Lord has brought Israel back into the land which He gave to their fathers.”

Zechariah 8:7-8
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; I will bring them back, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people and I will be their God, in truth and righteousness.’”

With the Jews back in their land and in possession of Jerusalem that means not only is God not finished with them, but He is going to be their God and save them at the end of the tribulation. Because of that, we can conclude that Jesus must be coming for His church soon!

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus,

Speaking Out in Faith

And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak.

2 Corinthians 4:13

Do you know that as God’s child, you can speak positively into your negative situation and see it change for the better?

Let me show you some scriptures about faith and speaking that will help you. Romans 10:9 tells us that “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. Our Lord Jesus also said, “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:23).

Now, reread what the apostle Paul wrote in today’s verse. Do you notice a pattern here? Faith involves believing in your heart as well as speaking with your mouth. You and I, we are made in God’s image. When God first saw darkness, He didn’t say, “Gosh, it’s so dark.” What did God do? He called forth light by speaking. He said, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3).

In the New Testament, our Lord Jesus spoke to the storm and it subsided. He spoke to the fig tree and it withered. He spoke to the demons and they fled. He spoke to the sick and they were healed. He spoke to the dead and they lived.

Similarly, when we are faced with darkness in any area of our lives today, or trapped in a storm of challenges, let’s not be mired in looking at the problems and despairing. We should also call forth what we want to see! If we find ourselves caught in a dangerous situation, we should declare, “The Lord is my refuge and my fortress.” If there is a sickness in our body, we can call forth our healing by saying, “Thank You, Jesus, by Your stripes I am healed!” Start speaking forth your protection, your health, and your victory today!

This devotional is adapted from the book The Prayer of Protection Devotional—Daily Strategies for Living Fearlessly in Dangerous Times.

Worship From Your Heart

'And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.'

Mark 14:3

The spikenard was a fragrant plant, and its roots were used in Jesus' day to make an aromatic, costly perfume and ointment. The plant, itself, grows in the Himalaya mountains at an elevation of 11,000 to 17,000 feet. For centuries, it was used by Hindus as a medicine and perfume and was an actively traded commodity. Its great cost stemmed from that it had to be transported over 6,000 miles to reach Palestine, and depending on quality, it sold for as much as 400 denarii per pound (or $750 an ounce, is the modern purchasing equivalent). That made it more valuable than gold. This ointment was worth at least two and one-half times more than the thirty pieces of silver that Judas received for betraying the Lord, which is why Judas was so upset. This perfume was worth two and one-half times what Judas thought Jesus was worth.

Judas didn't care about the poor. He wanted to have the money that the perfume could have been sold for in his bag (he was the treasurer for Jesus) so he could steal it. This is a very serious crime that Jesus no doubt knew about, but scripture never mentions Him confronting Judas.

Judas' reaction to this act of pure worship is typical of the reaction toward worship of many people today. Judas and some of the other disciples, thought this was a waste. That was only because they didn't value Jesus as highly as Mary did. Mary had seen Jesus raise her brother from the dead and her heart was overflowing with love and worship. The disciples were looking on the outward things while Jesus was looking at Mary's heart (1 Sam. 16:7). Those who cannot see beyond the physical realm will be offended at others' displays of worship. True worship comes from the heart. Andrew Womack

Take Your Seat and Begin to Reign

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4–6

There are many believers who are defeated because they are struggling to qualify for God’s blessings through their own works. What you need to understand is that self-effort will rob you of reigning in life by God’s grace. You cannot earn your salvation, healing, or financial breakthrough by your own efforts. If the greatest miracle—being saved and made alive with Jesus—comes by grace through faith, and not by your works, how much more the lesser miracles, such as healing, provision, and restored marriages?

It is not about your work or performance, but Jesus’ work and performance. Only His work is a finished work. And not only did He sit down at the Father’s right hand, but today’s scripture states that He also made us sit with Jesus! What does this mean? Well, my friend, “sitting down” in the Bible is a picture of the believer resting in the perfect and finished work of Jesus. Christ has finished all the work on the cross on your behalf and is now seated at the right hand of God. As it has all been accomplished on your behalf, this means that you can stop depending on your self-efforts to earn and qualify for God’s blessings in your life. You can sit down with Jesus at the Father’s right hand!

Now, listen carefully to what I am saying. I am not advocating a life of passiveness and laziness regarding the study of God’s Word, prayer, or worship. When it comes to success in your job, I’m also certainly not saying that you shouldn’t be diligent or seeking to develop your abilities.

God’s grace does not make you lazy and unproductive. On the contrary, it makes you labor more abundantly for His glory. The apostle Paul, a preacher of God’s grace and the finished work of Jesus, said that he “labored more abundantly than they all” (1 Cor. 15:10). What you need to realize is, in the new covenant, God’s way is to bless you first, and the knowledge of His blessing then empowers you to labor more abundantly. In other words, we do not labor to be blessed, but rather we have the power to labor because we are already blessed. Can you see the different premise for laboring in the new covenant?

My friend, Jesus has accomplished everything for us on the cross. Our part is to trust in His perfect work. Receive with open arms His abundance of grace and His gift of righteousness, and sit down and begin to reign in life through Him. Today, let it be your prayer that you will stop trying to earn God’s grace and righteousness. Let the Holy Spirit teach you to start depending on Jesus’ finished work and to start receiving by His grace. This is God’s way to success, wholeness, and victorious living!

This devotional is taken from the book Reign in Life—90 Powerful Inspirations for Extraordinary Breakthroughs.

Little by Little

“I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.”

Exodus 23:29–30

You can receive healing through the prayer of faith (Mark 11:24), and many times during our services, people are instantaneously healed as the gifts of healings flow (1 Cor. 12:9). There is a powerful corporate anointing at work when the church gathers together because Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20). Where Jesus is, death turns into life and resurrection (John 11:25), weakness becomes strength, little becomes much, and in His presence is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore (Ps. 16:11).

While I would love for everyone to receive immediate and complete healing all the time, you don’t have to have an instantaneous manifestation or feel something tangibly happening in your body to know God is healing you. The moment you partake of the holy Communion in faith, your healing has begun.

Most people who have sent in their healing testimonies to my ministry weren’t healed in a spectacular prayer meeting or when a man or woman of God laid hands on them. They were healed gradually by the Lord as they partook of His ordained channel through which we receive His supernatural life and health—the holy Communion.

Sometimes teachings on the prayer of faith can put pressure on you to believe you have complete healing the moment you pray. But truth be told, most of us don’t have that kind of faith. As for the gifts of healings, they operate as the Spirit wills (1 Cor. 12:11) and not as man wills. When it comes to the holy Communion, there is no pressure. Each time you partake in faith, you receive a measure of healing and get better and better.

Sometimes we get impatient and want the Lord to drive out all our enemies at once. Read the verses above from Exodus 23 and see what the Lord said to the children of Israel as they were preparing to enter the promised land. Little by little. Little by little.

Today we don’t face the Hivites, Hittites, or Canaanites like the children of Israel did. But our enemies might be renal failure, leukemia, or high blood pressure. Whatever it is, don’t be discouraged. The symptoms might still be there even though you have partaken of the holy Communion, but keep partaking. The manifestation of your healing is coming. The enemy is being driven out from your life. Your healing might not be taking place as quickly as you would like it to, but it is taking place. My friend, don’t give up!

This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional.

Minister God's Love

'And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.'

Luke 19:8 

Zacchaeus was rich but Jesus made no demands for him to give away all his goods to the poor as He did with the rich young ruler. Zacchaeus had already repented and money was no longer his god, as was revealed by his actions. It seems that Zacchaeus was going above and beyond the requirement of restitution as stated in Mosaic law by offering to give half of his goods to the poor and to repay fourfold for his theft.

Publicans were hated by their fellow Jews. They were especially despised by the religious Jews as the epitome of sinners and Jewish religious laws prevented devout Jews from keeping company with any publican. To eat with a publican was unthinkable as the Jews considered this actually partaking of the publican's sins. This is why the people reacted so adversely to Jesus eating with Zacchaeus.

Jesus did not eat at Zacchaeus' house to participate in his sin but to extend mercy and forgiveness to him. This is always the criterion whereby we can judge whether or not we should be involved in a certain situation. We must not participate in other men's sins, but the Lord doesn't want us to retreat to monasteries either. We are the salt of the earth (Mt. 5:13), and to do any good, we have to get out of the 'salt shaker.' If we can be in control and minister the love of God, then we are right to associate with sinners. But when we are being controlled by the ungodliness of sinners, we need to take control or withdraw. Andrew Womack