Sweet Intimacy with Jesus

“For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

Isaiah 54:9–10

Unfortunately, many sincere and well-meaning believers fall into the devil’s trap, and they end up with the wrong belief that they have fallen short of God’s expectations and have angered Him. They live in a constant state of trying to appease and please this angry God. Instead of enjoying a sweet, intimate relationship with Jesus, they feel like they are hypocrites or they feel as if they are always treading on eggshells when it comes to their walk with the Lord.

If you have experienced such thoughts about God before, I would like to share this very important principle with you: Fear and love cannot coexist in a healthy relationship. Insecurity and love cannot coexist in the truly intimate relationship that God wants with you and me, His children.

Let me share with you this letter I received from Lorraine who lives in Louisiana. I’ll let it speak for itself as you soak in how you and your relationship with God can be completely changed by believing the right things about your heavenly Father. All I can say is, Hallelujah!

I have been a born-again Christian for twenty-two years. Today, at forty-four years old, I have a wonderful husband and beautiful daughter. I love my life!

As far back as I can remember, I have always loved Jesus. But I had lived my entire life feeling guilty as I believed that God was always mad at me. I had always felt that I could not do enough “right” or “good” things.

After I gave my life to Christ, that feeling of not being good enough actually got worse because I felt a greater responsibility to live up to a higher standard to be right with God. I was always repenting, always feeling that I’d done wrong and that my best was never enough.

I am in the process of reading Destined To Reign and am only at chapter 9. I have to read this book very, very slowly so that I can digest its contents. I cannot tell you how my life has changed since I began reading your book.

It was not until I began reading it that I felt relieved of the weight of not being good enough. It has shaken the very foundation of my world and dissolved the insecurity I’ve had about Jesus and His love for me.

Forty-four years of my previously painful existence and mind-set are GONE. I am CHANGED forever. I am forgiven. I can’t get through the rest of this book without stopping to thank the Lord for you and for giving you the message of grace to spread worldwide.

That’s what it is all about, my friend. Winning the battle for your mind is all about your freedom and liberty in Christ Jesus, your Lord and Savior. When you start to believe right about His love and grace toward you, permanent, liberating change happens!

So be strong in God’s love for you and don’t let wrong believing rob you of a life of great joy and peace. Remember, God is not mad at you; He is mad about you!

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing.

Faith Comes by Hearing

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Romans 10:17 NASB

How does one change his mind from hiding from God to running to God? Well, today’s scripture tells us that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

In Matthew 8, the man with leprosy had enough faith to come out of his hiding place and head straight for Jesus to seek healing because of the gracious words he had heard while Jesus was preaching to the multitudes. If our Lord had preached a hellfire-and-brimstone message of condemnation, do you think the man would have dared to approach Him for healing?

Of course not. He would have walked away fearful of punishment, and feeling more condemned and hopeless than ever. But because he heard words of grace—how God wanted to be a loving Father to him and provide for all his needs—faith arose in his heart, giving him the confidence to approach the Lord Jesus for his miracle.

My friend, what you hear about God is of utmost importance. It can mean the difference between receiving your miracle and remaining where you are in your lack or bondage. It can draw you close to God, or drive you further away from Him. Faith comes by hearing, but fear also comes by hearing.

If you’ve been hearing about a God who is mostly angry and out to get you for your sins, how can you have faith to look to Him for help? If you’ve been hearing that He gives people (even believers) sicknesses and punishes them with horrible accidents for their sins, how can you look to Him for healing?

If you’ve been hearing that He wants you and your family in poverty to keep you humble, how can you believe Him for financial breakthroughs or deliverance from mounting debts? How can you possibly trust God for anything good to happen to you if all you’ve been hearing are sermons that make you feel more condemned and fearful of His judgment?

It’s sad, but the things I’ve just mentioned are the very things people are hearing about God. Just look at the movies made about God today—God is always portrayed as mean, judgmental, petulant, destructive, and even murderous! How they’ve perverted Who God really is—“compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love” (Ps. 103:8 NLT)!

Don’t misunderstand me. God does have anger, but the Bible never defines God as wrath; it defines God as love (1 John 4:8, 16).

Did our Lord Jesus ever condemn the prostitutes and tax collectors, those despised and rejected by society? No, He was a friend of sinners! Did He ever take away from the poor, or inflict the sick with more diseases? No, He fed a hungry multitude with twelve baskets full of leftovers and healed everyone who sought Him for healing wherever He went!

The Bible tells us that Jesus “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38). What does that tell us? God wants to do good, not evil, to us!

If this were not true, God would not have been with Jesus, backing Him up. Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works” (John 14:9–10).

If you want to know what God is really like (and not what man portrays Him to be), look at Jesus in the Gospels. He is God’s will in action, and He went about doing good—saving, delivering, healing, restoring, providing, guiding, and loving the unlovable. That’s our God!

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

A Very Present Help

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1

If God wants us to be healthy, and Jesus’ body was broken for us, why are there Christians who are sick? I personally know believers who are battling severe illnesses, and I am sure you do too. You or your loved one might even be facing a health challenge right now.

If you are fighting a medical condition, please know that it is okay for you to have doubts and questions. The Lord knows the confusion and pain you feel, and He wants you to know He is with you through it all.

I know it can be hard to keep trusting Him when you are going through a fiery trial. But keep trusting Him, my friend. He is, right now, your very present help. Keep fixing your eyes on Him. He is faithful, and He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deut. 31:6).

Daniel 3 records the story of three friends (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego), who were bound and thrown into a fiery furnace when they refused to bow to and worship the gold image set up by King Nebuchadnezzar. The furnace was so hot that the men who threw them in were killed by the heat.

But the king saw the three friends walking in the midst of the fire, and he saw a fourth man with them who was “like the Son of God” (Dan. 3:25). Amazed, the king called them out, and he and all his officials saw that the fire had had no power over them. Not a single hair on them was singed, their clothes were not scorched or damaged, and there was not even the smell of smoke on them.

Why? Because the Lord was with them, protecting and delivering them. As a result, the king acknowledged that there was no other god who could deliver like their God, and the three friends were not only released, they were also promoted.

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

How to Be Led by His Peace

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.

2 Thessalonians 3:16

I want you to know that when God becomes Jehovah Shalom, the God of peace, in your life, He doesn’t just soothe your emotions. He will lead you with His peace.

For example, you may be making some decisions at your work, for your children, or perhaps even where and when to travel for your vacation. Talk to Jesus about it. He will lead and guide you with His peace.

If there is peace from the Lord, go with that decision. If there is an absence of peace and you feel a sense of restraint, back away from it.

You will find that guidance from the Lord comes very easily when God manifests Himself as Jehovah Shalom. In His peace, decisions don’t feel forced and full of strife. In His peace, there is a rest. His peace will guide you supernaturally to be at the right place, at the right time, with the right people.

In Judges 6, the Midianites were terrorizing Israel day and night, destroying their crops and pillaging their livestock. The Lord assured Gideon, who was hiding from the Midianites, that He was with him and called him a man of valor, to which his response was: “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (Judg. 6:13).

Doesn’t Gideon remind us of ourselves? Instead of hearing what the Lord had just called him, he began to complain. “Why has the Lord forsaken us?” Astoundingly, the Lord simply turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” (Judg. 6:14).

What? First, the Lord Jesus calls this man who is in hiding “a man of valor.” Now, He calls this complaining man, who is mad at God, to go in that might of his and save Israel? Shouldn’t it be, “Be gone from My presence, you stinking complainer, I must have found the wrong guy”?

I am so glad that the Lord is not like you and me. He always calls the things that are not as though they are (Rom. 4:17).

And I believe that as you receive a revelation of how the Lord is the God of peace in your life, you may be fearful and complaining now, but like Gideon, God will send you to be a testimony of His protection. He will send you to all your friends, coworkers, and loved ones who are bound by fear, and He will use you to deliver them from fear!

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

Condemnation Is the Deepest Root

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus . . . let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.

Hebrews 10:19, 22

Most of us are aware that stress is the cause of many sicknesses and diseases. Experts have also identified fear as the cause of stress. But do you know that the deepest and most insidious root of many of our problems exists in the spiritual realm, and that it can only be destroyed by the power of Jesus’ finished work?

My friend, the deepest root of many of the troubles that afflict us is condemnation. It all began in the garden of Eden when the first man, Adam, sinned, incurring a guilty conscience and condemnation. Your conscience is that which is within you that knows good and evil, and it knows that when there is sin, there must be punishment for it.

The Bible calls a conscience that is perpetually conscious of sin, failure, and condemnation an “evil conscience,” which, without the blood of Jesus, there is no escape from. Unfortunately, many believers unknowingly carry with them an evil conscience that robs them of intimacy with God, and it is this constant sense of condemnation that is at the root of many of their afflictions.

You see, Satan, whose name in Hebrew literally means “the accuser,” is a prosecutor at law and an expert at condemning you. He is always pointing out your faults and shortcomings. That is why the Bible calls him “the accuser of our brethren” (Rev. 12:10).

Even when you do something right, the accuser will say, “It’s not good enough.” Like the constant sound of dripping water, he will keep on accusing and spewing condemnation toward you. His crowning achievement is to bring about accusations in your life that you think are from God.

Many a time, believers under condemnation think that it is the Holy Spirit convicting them of their sins and pointing out their faults. They begin to entertain negative thoughts about themselves. They begin to believe that they ought to have negative feelings about themselves because of all their sins and unworthiness. Hence, the devil’s objective is to bring about condemnation in your life, concealing it in a fog of deception, so that you would be the last person to think that you are under condemnation.

The world has no solution for the enemy’s tactics, but as believers, we do. We have the power of the finished work of Jesus. His blood was shed and He was condemned on our behalf, so that we will never need to live in condemnation. By the grace of God, we can have a good conscience that is sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, and instead of being sin-conscious, we can be forgiveness-conscious.

The Word of God says that “worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins” (Heb. 10:2). Today, we can always be conscious of our righteousness in Christ Jesus, even when we fail, and draw near to God with a “true heart in full assurance of faith” that God is not angry with us. Beloved, because of Jesus Christ and the power of His finished work, you can reject any accusation, guilt, and condemnation thrown at you by the devil and by your own heart!

Today, when you approach the Father, when you look to Him to meet your needs, be conscious that your heart has been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience with the blood of Jesus. That is amazing grace—you can have forgiveness-consciousness and draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance of faith!

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

Grow In Grace

'And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled

that he had not first washed before dinner.'

Luke 11:38

A sure sign of the error of legalism is misplaced priorities, as we see here with these Pharisees. It is not recorded in Scripture that the Pharisees marveled at the wonderful works of Jesus. They were too busy looking for something to criticize (Mark 3:2). But they marveled at Jesus not washing His hands. This is a classic example of straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel (Mt. 23:24).

Those who seek to earn righteousness through keeping the Law are consumed with 'doing,' while those who receive righteousness by faith are simply confessing what has already been done. This is a simple and yet profound difference. If we are still 'doing' acts of holiness to get God to move in our lives, then we are still operating under a 'Law' mentality that is not faith (Gal. 3:12). When we simply believe and confess what has already been provided through Christ, that's grace.

A person who is living under the Law and a person who lives under grace should have very similar actions of holiness, but their motivations are completely opposite. The legalist has their attention on what they must do, while the person living by faith has his attention on what Christ has already done for him. For instance, the Scriptures teach us to confess with our mouths and believe with our hearts, and we will receive from God. The legalist thinks, That means I can get God to heal me by confessing, 'By his stripes I am healed.' However, the person who understands God's grace will not confess the Word to get healed. They will confess, 'By His stripes I am healed' because they really believe it has already been done. Andrew Womack

Come Boldly to the Table

“With God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:26

Some years ago, doctors discovered a huge cancerous tumor in my uncle’s throat. After a more detailed scan, a pathologist told him the cancer was aggressively spreading all over his neck and behind his tongue.

In that moment my uncle said he gave up hope he would live. But before his surgery to try to remove the tumor, his daughters approached him and said, “Let’s have Communion together, Dad. Let’s pray and believe God.”

He shared that as they partook of the Communion, he felt hope rising in his heart for the first time, and he partook, believing that Jesus was his healer and believing that the body of Jesus would make a difference in his body right there in the hospital ward.

After the doctors removed the tumor, amazingly the biopsy showed absolutely no trace of cancer in the tumor even though multiple scans before the surgery had confirmed it was cancerous and of an aggressive nature. Somehow the Lord had caused the cancer to supernaturally disappear, and I believe it happened when my uncle and his family partook of the Communion.

In the same way, if your doctors have given you a negative prognosis, do not fear or despair. Don’t live as though you don’t have a Savior. We may not know how our healing can take place, but let’s have faith in the finished work of Jesus. He has paid the price for you to be well and made it easy for you to receive not just His love and forgiveness, but His healing power as well.

I pray that you are now excited to receive the benefits of the holy Communion freely. I want to invite you to the Lord’s Table. The table has been prepared, not by human hands that can falter and fail, but by the perfect One whose hands were nailed to the cross for you. He invites you to come to partake of His body broken for you and His blood shed for you. Come boldly to the table and partake by faith and receive your healing.

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

Our Loving Father

'If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone?

or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?'

Luke 11:11 

The most loving Father in the world cannot compare to our heavenly Father and the love He has for us. And yet, many times, we find it easier to believe in the willingness of a father or mother or mate to help us than in the willingness of God to use His power on our behalf. Relatively few people really doubt God's ability, but rather, it is our doubt of His willingness to use His ability on our behalf that causes most people to do without. Jesus is assuring us that God's love, and His willingness to demonstrate that love, is far greater than we can ever experience in any human relationship.

The Lord didn't just save us out of pity or a sense of obligation as our Creator. He saved us because He loved us (John 3:16). It was the 'good pleasure of his will' for us to become adopted sons (Eph.1:5). We are wanted and accepted by our Father! What a wonderful thing this is! It would have been more than any of us deserve to be forgiven by God. Then to be given certain rights and privileges would have been more than we could have expected. But the Lord went further than that. He has actually accepted us.

The dictionary defines 'accept' as '1. to receive gladly; 2. to receive into a place or a group' (New American Heritage Dictionary). The Lord does not just tolerate us; He actually loves us. He even likes us. He rejoices over us with joy (Zeph. 3:17). Andrew Womack

Jesus Is Greater

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

1 John 4:4

Beloved, there may be a devil out there who tries to drag you down in defeat, but the Bible tells us clearly that we have One greater than he inside of us. It is important that you be established in this truth. You don’t have to be afraid of the devil, because Jesus, who is in you, is greater than the devil in this world.

No matter what the enemy’s evil tactics are, he will not prevail against you in this battle. The devil is a defeated foe.

Greater is He who is in you than all the negative thoughts the enemy can throw at you. Greater is He who is in you than the feelings of guilt and inadequacy. Greater is He who is in you than every accusation that is leveled against you.

Stand strong on this declaration: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn” (Isa. 54:17). Wow! No weapon formed against you shall prosper.

The Bible doesn’t say that you will not experience any challenges or be faced with any attacks. But it does promise that you can be confident in the certainty that they shall not prosper against you.

Do you know why you can stand firm on this promise today? In the very same verse, God goes on to declare that “This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me” (Isa. 54:17).

This protection is your heritage. God does not protect you because of your right doing; He protects you because your righteousness is from the Lord Himself!

Notice that the weapon that is against you could have already been formed, which means that it may already have been conceived, prepared, and aimed at you. Don’t be afraid. Whatever this weapon or challenge may be, know beyond any doubt that it shall not prevail against you.

This is God’s promise to you today—no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Not because your behavior is perfect, but because your standing in Christ is perfect. Your victory is firmly secured through Jesus’ finished work, which is your heritage in Christ.

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing.

Don’t Add More Fuel to the Fire

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Romans 6:1–2

Knowing that repentance is returning to God’s grace, how can grace be a license or excuse to sin, as some claim? Grace is the power of God to overcome every sin. But if anyone who is living in sin claims that he is under grace, let me be the first to tell you that this person is not living under grace.

The authority of God’s Word proclaims that “sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). No one can use God’s grace to justify his or her sin! It is contrary to God’s Word and contrary to the gospel of grace. True grace swallows up the destructive powers of sin.

Some people have been using the word grace freely. They call themselves grace preachers, grace ministries, or grace churches. But I encourage you to be discerning and to test everything you hear and read.

Just because they use the word grace in their teachings doesn’t mean that they are accurately or truly representing the gospel of grace. Test everything! Be sure that their position against sin is clear.

Sin is destructive and brings with it a whole host of damaging consequences. The consequence of committing a sin is not God’s judgment or punishment, any more than placing your hand in the fire and getting burned is a punishment from God.

The destructive and painful effects of your hand being burned are a consequence you face for using your free choice destructively. In the same way, if someone is deliberately dabbling in sin and living a sinful lifestyle, they will be burned by the destructive consequences that come with sin.

The only way to help precious people overcome the powers of sin is to preach them into God’s glorious grace. Some ministers think that when there is sin, they need to preach stronger, harder, and harsher sermons on the law of Moses. I believe with all my heart that they are sincere.

But the Word of God tells us that “the strength of sin is the law” (1 Cor. 15:56). Preaching more law is like adding more fuel to the fire. People don’t get liberated and transformed when we beat them down with the law of Moses. They get liberated and transformed when they encounter the love of their Savior!

I believe that truly born-again believers are not looking for an excuse to sin. How can they, if they have been impacted by Jesus’ love and sacrifice?

I believe that they are looking for a way out of sin and out of the prison of fear, guilt, and condemnation. And the more strongly I preach God’s glorious grace and unconditional love, the more my ministry office receives testimony after testimony from people who have been set free from all kinds of sins and addictions.

These accounts tell us that God’s people don’t want to sin and are overcoming sin by turning to the cross and returning to grace. We receive testimonies from people who have been liberated from pornography, alcoholism, drugs, and sexual immorality.

Now that’s the power of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Sin no longer dominates people and true repentance occurs when the gospel of grace is preached!

I pray this becomes your reality as you receive the gospel of Christ into your heart and let it guard your mind today.

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

Who Crosses Your Path?

'But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?'

LUKE 10:29

This question of 'who is my neighbour' can be used by Satan to deceive us in more than one way. Not only can he deceive men into thinking they have fulfilled the command to 'love thy neighbor as thyself' when they haven't, but he will also try to apply this command in a way that condemns those who are seeking to fulfill it, by making them think they are not doing enough.

We cannot meet the needs of every single person in the world. Jesus wasn't teaching that. This wounded man was directly in the path of these three men. The priest and the Levite had to walk around him. Jesus is simply teaching that we should take advantage of the opportunities we have. The fact that we can't help everyone is no excuse not to help anyone.

Jesus, through this parable, defined a neighbor as any fellow human being who crosses our path and is in need of our assistance. The Samaritan went to the full extent of his ability — and beyond — to help the man. The priest and Levite did nothing.

There was a racial and religious hatred between Jews and Samaritans. Devout Jews would not associate with or even talk to a Samaritan. The priest and the Levite that passed by this wounded man were his fellow-countrymen, and yet they didn't help him. This Samaritan, who was considered by religious Jews to be of another nationality, was the true neighbor. Jesus made it clear that you could not define 'neighbor' on the basis of geographic origin or your familiarity with someone. A neighbor is anyone that God puts in your path. Andrew Womack

God Remembers Your Sins No More

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Hebrews 8:12

When something goes wrong, is your first thought, “Well, this must be happening to me because of the sins that I have committed”? When you have a flat tire or fall sick, do you wonder, “What sin is God punishing me for now?” If your answer to both questions is “yes,” you are not alone.

This kind of thinking is so prevalent in the church because many believers don’t really believe that they are under the new covenant. They believe the opposite of today’s scripture and think God is not merciful to their mistakes and always mindful of their sins.

The problem with the church today is wrong believing. Jesus Himself defined the new covenant for us at the last supper when He said, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28).

The main clause of the new covenant is the forgiveness of all your sins because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Your forgiveness does not hinge on how many good deeds you have done, how much money you have given to the church or charities, or what leadership position you hold. No, it all hinges on the shed blood of Jesus.

God put the main clause of the new covenant—Hebrews 8:12—as the last clause to show us that it is this final clause that makes the new covenant work in our lives. If you don’t believe the main and final clause, then you won’t experience the full benefits of the new covenant.

You are also negating God’s Word and the finished work of Jesus. The new covenant says that God is merciful to your unrighteousness and has forgotten your sins and lawless deeds. If God says that He has forgotten them, then He has truly forgotten them. God cannot lie!

But how can God forget my sins?

He can because He is God! If He said it, then He has done it. You know that sin you committed many years ago? God has forgotten it. He does not keep an itemized account of all your failures. There is no big projector screen in heaven to show all your sins—from the day you were born to the day you die.

All records of your sins have been incinerated by the blood of Jesus when He cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). When God looks at you today, He sees you covered with Jesus’ blood and completely righteous.

Only the devil, you yourself, and the people around you will bring your sins to your remembrance. So when you are weighed down by the mistakes of your past, run to God and lean on His grace!

Why? For He will be merciful to your unrighteousness, and your sins and lawless deeds He will remember no more. This is the main clause of the new covenant of grace! This is His Word!

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

Do the One Thing That Is Needful

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:41–42

Is it practical to be occupied with Jesus? Does it help you? Does it put food on the table? Does it prosper your finances? Does it make your physical body healthy? We know what it did for Peter—he walked on water. Now, let's take a look at what it did for Mary. You can find the story of Mary and her sister, Martha, in Luke 10:38–42.

Mary was seated at Jesus’ feet when the Lord came to visit them. Martha, the elder sister, was busy working in the kitchen, making sure that everything was in order and ensuring that there was enough food and drink for their guest. Who was Martha busy serving? Jesus.

And while Martha was frantically running in and out of the kitchen, what was her younger sister Mary doing? In the midst of all the busyness and activity, Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet, beholding His beauty, beholding His glory, and hanging on to every word that proceeded from His lips.

While Mary was resting and drawing living water from Jesus, her sister Martha was restless, frantic, and stressed from serving Jesus. One sister was focused on serving, while the other was focused on receiving.

Look what happened after a while. Martha's stress from serving finally led to this outburst of frustration: "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me” (Luke 10:40). In one moment of anger, she blamed two persons: the Lord Jesus as well as her sister Mary.

Now, listen closely to Jesus’ response, and you may just find yourself in the Lord's description of Martha: "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

This is an amazing response. In Middle Eastern culture, it was right for Mary to be in the kitchen preparing food and serving her guest. Now, it would have been a shameful thing for Mary to sit at Jesus’ feet and not help Martha if Jesus was just an ordinary guest.

But Jesus was no ordinary guest and Mary knew it. He was God in the flesh and the greatest way you can minister to God when He is in your home is to sit at His feet and keep drawing from Him! That is what delights our Lord.

When you come to Jesus to draw as much as you can from Him, He loves it. That is why Jesus was pleased with Mary. That is why He defended Mary’s action, saying, “One thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part.”

What is the “one thing” that is needful? Is it to busy yourself in serving the Lord? Is it to be troubled about many things?

No, the one thing that is needful is for you to sit at Jesus’ feet and keep your eyes, ears, and heart on Him. One sister saw Jesus in the natural, needing her ministry. The other sister saw Him as God veiled in flesh with a fullness to draw upon.

Which sister do you suppose complimented Jesus and made Him feel like the God that He is? Mary. Martha obviously forgot that this God-Man multiplied loaves and fishes to feed a multitude. He has not come to be fed but to feed!

Unfortunately, sometimes, the hardest thing for us to do is to sit down! Sometimes, the most challenging thing we can do is to cease from our own efforts and rest solely on Jesus’ unmerited favor.

Often, we are like Martha—worried, busy, and troubled about many things. It can all be legitimate things that we are worried about. In Martha’s case, she was trying her best to serve the Lord. She ended up doing many things that day, but missed out on doing the one thing that was actually needful.

Believers who do that one thing that is needful are not worried about anything else. On the other hand, believers who fail to do that one thing end up being troubled about many things. Do you believe that only one thing is needful—to rest at Jesus’ feet and receive from Him?

Now, is it practical to just be occupied with Jesus? Absolutely. We find that later, in the Gospel of John, Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair to prepare Him for His burial (John 12:3–8).

On resurrection morning, some women came with ointment to anoint Jesus’ body, but it was too late then. They were doing the right thing, but at the wrong time. The Lord had already risen.

But Mary did the right thing at the right time. This shows us that when you do the one thing that is needful, you will end up doing the right thing at the right time, and God will cause all that you touch to be amazingly blessed.

Like Mary, choose to focus on the beauty, glory, and love of Jesus. Choose not to be troubled about many things or be constantly occupied with yourself. Like Peter, turn away from the storm and look at Jesus, and you will start walking above the storm.

Beloved, choose to focus on the Lord and rest in His finished work. As Jesus is, so are you in this world!

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Favor—Daily Readings from Unmerited Favor.

Free and Undeserved

And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.

Romans 11:6 NLT

I love the apostle Paul’s description of God’s grace: free and undeserved! When you truly experience this free and undeserved favor and love from God, you don’t have to worry about performing. His love and unmerited favor within you will flush out all the wrong thinking and wrong believing, and you will produce good works—true fruits of righteousness that are lasting, sustainable, and enduring!

You may have heard a teaching going around where grace is defined as “divine empowerment.” Be careful about defining grace as merely empowerment—that is diluting and reducing what grace truly is.

Grace produces divine empowerment, but in and of itself, the essence of grace is His undeserved, unmerited, and unearned favor. When are you in your most undeserving state? When you have failed.

Unmerited favor means that when you have failed and are in your most undeserving state, you can receive Jesus’ favor, blessings, love, and perfect acceptance in your life. Let me tell you, when you understand and receive grace as God’s unmerited favor, not only will you be empowered, you will be healed, and you will be changed from the inside out.

The real danger with defining grace as just divine empowerment is that we can unconsciously flip grace around and instead of seeing it as God’s work in our life, we make it our work. From being centered on what Jesus has done, the erroneous definition of grace as “empowerment” swings it to being about what you must do and how you must perform now that you have received this grace, this “divine empowerment.”

Can you see this? With such a definition of grace, the onus to live the Christ life falls back squarely on your shoulders.

My friend, make sure that what you believe in your heart always points you back to Jesus and Jesus alone and not to yourself. Remember, it is all about His work, His doing, His performance, and His love in our lives. It never points back to you.

Don’t be hoodwinked by those who move away from the pristine definition of grace as God’s unmerited favor and end up making it all about you and what you need to do. That’s not grace. Grace is God’s doing—from inception and all the way to the end.

Today, receive His abundant grace—see that God has already started a good work in your life and He alone will lead you to and give you the victory in your area of need.

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing.

Do Not Fear

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

Psalm 23:4–6

Even if you are walking through a dark valley and the shadow of death looms over you, keep speaking the promises of Psalm 23:4–6 over yourself. Know that you do not have to fear, for the Lord is with you.

Notice that the Lord prepares a table before you in the presence (not in the absence) of your enemies. The apostle Paul referred to the holy Communion as “the Lord’s table” (1 Cor. 10:21).

That means even when the symptoms are in your body, and even when the pain is there, the Lord wants you to come to His table and eat. By partaking of the holy Communion, you eat and receive of all that our Lord Jesus has done for you on the cross. His body was broken so that yours might be whole.

It is human nature to feast and celebrate only after we see that our problems have been solved and our enemies eradicated. But that’s not what God wants you to do. He loves you so much, and right now He says to you, “Rest. Sit down. Eat. For I will fight your battle. I will defeat your enemies!”

As you eat at His table, see yourself getting supernaturally stronger. See the tumor shriveling up. See His health flowing into your body.

Don’t be afraid of your enemies. They might be all around you, but you can eat from the Lord’s Table with joy, knowing that surely, goodness and mercy and His unfailing love follow after you all the days of your life! If you look up the Hebrew word for follow in Psalm 23:6, you will see that it is radaph, which means “to chase, hunt, or pursue.”

See your Daddy God’s goodness and love chasing you down wherever you go. Even if you have to undergo surgery, chemotherapy, or an organ transplant, He is right there with you. In the operating theater, He is there. In the intensive care unit, He is there.

Do not fear—He is with you, and your enemies have no power over you!

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

Angels All Around You

Bless the LORD, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word. Bless the LORD, all you His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure.

Psalm 103:20–21

Some people have the impression that angels look like little babies dressed in white togas, flying about with bows and arrows. The passage above tells us they are strong—they “excel in strength.”

Do you know how strong angels can be? When Sennacherib, the evil king of Assyria, laid a siege around Jerusalem, Hezekiah prayed to the Lord and the Lord sent one angel to the Assyrian camp.

Just one angel. In one night, the Bible tells us that “the angel of the LORD went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers” (2 Kings 19:35 NLT).

Here’s something else about angels: they “do His word.” They do not operate outside the boundaries of God’s Word.

And we have seen in Psalm 91:11–12 that the Lord has given His angels charge over us. The Amplified Classic version says that His angels will “accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways.” I don’t know about you but that gives me such assurance that I am covered under His wings of refuge and protection!

The Word of God also tells us that when the archangel Lucifer fell, one-third of the angels fell with him. That means that two-thirds of the angels are still on God’s side! Hebrews 12:22 tells us of an “innumerable company of angels.” There are so many angels that they cannot be numbered.

We may not be able to see them, but they are all around us, ministering for us. So don’t be one of those believers who are more conscious of demons than angels. Remember, those who are with us are more than those who are with them (2 Kings 6:16)!

In the garden of Gethsemane, when the Roman soldiers came to arrest our Lord, He said, “Do you suppose that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will immediately provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matt. 26:53 AMPC). According to the Amplified translation, twelve legions is more than 80,000 angels!

All Jesus had to do was pray and those angels would have been activated. But He did not do so because He had already chosen to go to the cross and to die the death that we deserved.

He gave up His protection so that today, you and I can claim all the promises of His protection. And as joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17), each one of us can summon twelve legions of angels! May you be encouraged as you see His desire to protect you as well as His provision of angelic protection over your life.

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

Are You Fully Awake?

Awake to righteousness, and sin not.

1 Corinthians 15:34 KJV

Perhaps you find yourself under a constant siege of condemnation because you have been wrongly taught that the Holy Spirit convicts believers of their sins. You believe that the condemnation you feel is a result of the Holy Spirit’s conviction when it actually originates from the accuser.

Rather than the Holy Spirit being your Helper, convicting you that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, that God will never abandon you even if you have sinned, you are left to struggle with sin, condemnation, and fear. It is time to “awake to righteousness.” As Pamela in Maryland discovered, when you do, oppression, bondage, and sin cannot maintain their hold in your life. Here is Pamela’s testimony:

Dear Pastor Prince, at fifty-nine years of age, I was recovering from multiple fractures in my right ankle and fibula. In the first month, my mobility was severely limited and my physical condition weakened.

During that season of stress, I was oppressed and tormented by strong feelings of fear of abandonment and rejection, experiencing panic attacks almost daily. I was plagued by nightmares and became unable to sleep—due in part to pain medication, but also to the extreme anxiety. Some nights, all I could do was read the Bible until I was exhausted and finally able to sleep.

One day, I came across your television program and was “hooked.” Every day and evening, I watched your program, soaking up the words of life that you were speaking to my soul. I soon ordered one of your books.

For the first time in my life, I heard that it was not the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin, but my conscience. As I read through the book, it was like water to my soul. I read it through three times, each time getting more freedom and peace.

Now, at the age of sixty, I am healthier, happier, and freer than I have ever been in my life. I have been delivered from the stronghold of the fear of abandonment, neglect, and rejection that had oppressed me for most of my life. I have been able to forgive those who physically, emotionally, and sexually abused me, and to repent of my disrespect, self-hatred, bitterness, and resentment.

Today, I am confident that my heavenly Papa loves me, not because of anything I have or have not done, but because of what Jesus did for me. I am continuing to learn that I am completely accepted and righteous in His beloved Son, Jesus, who is altogether lovely, trustworthy, and gracious. Now, I spend my days loving Him and being loved by Him, and I am better able to bless and serve others. Thank you!

Beloved, if you are struggling with condemnation, fear, and sin, the power to overcome is found in knowing that you are the righteousness of God in Christ. When the Bible says, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not,” it means that the more you realize that you are indeed righteous in Christ, and that you are righteous apart from your works, the more you will be empowered to live righteously.

Let this truth sink in and be set free by the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is your Helper, given by God to convict you of righteousness. You are the righteousness of God in Christ!

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

When God Can Use You

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 1:30–31

It is Jesus, His wisdom in your life, His righteousness, and His perfect redemptive work on the cross that make you a success. So when you boast of your success, you can boast only in Jesus.

Without Jesus, you have nothing to boast about. But with Jesus in your life, you can boast in Him and Him alone for every success and blessing that comes through His unmerited favor.

If you are strong, mighty, and wise in yourself, then God's unmerited favor cannot flow. But when you realize your weaknesses and foolishness, and depend on Jesus instead, that is when His unmerited favor can flow unhindered in your life.

We see this in the story of Moses. In his first 40 years as an Egyptian prince who was looked up to and admired, he thought that he knew everything. The Bible says that in this first 40 years, Moses was "mighty in words and deeds" (Acts 7:22), but God could not use him.

However, in the next 40 years, something happened to Moses. He had fled Egypt after killing an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew, and went to dwell in the Midian desert. He became a shepherd and was no longer considered mighty in words nor deeds. Indeed, he had even become a stutterer (Ex. 4:10).

And at this point in his life, when he probably thought that he was a has-been, insignificant compared to what he had been, and that his glory-days were behind him, God appeared to him and said, “I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people . . . out of Egypt” (Ex. 3:10).

Forty years earlier, at the zenith of his ability, Moses could not even bury properly one Egyptian whom he had killed—he was found out and forced to flee (Ex. 2:11–15). But now, stripped of his dependence on his human strength and mindful of his weaknesses, he stepped into his call, dependent solely on the unmerited favor of God. And this time, when Moses waved his rod over the sea, the sea covered tens of thousands of Egyptians perfectly (Ex. 14:26–28).

The Bible tells us that “God resists the proud, but gives grace [unmerited favor] to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5). Beloved, God will not impose His unmerited favor on us.

Whenever we want to depend on ourselves and our wisdom, He will allow us to do so. His unmerited favor is given to those who humbly acknowledge that they cannot succeed in their own strength and ability. When we let go and depend on His unmerited favor, He will take over and do for us what we cannot do for ourselves!

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Favor—Daily Readings from Unmerited Favor.

Relationships

Relationships are part of everyday life, whether at home, at work, in church, or with the people we meet along the way.

And often, the way we respond to others is shaped by what is going on in our own lives or what is troubling our hearts. When we feel tired, disappointed, dissatisfied, or under pressure, it can affect our words, our tone, and the way people experience us. But when our hearts are brought back to Jesus and His finished work, His grace begins to shape the way we speak and relate to others.  Joseph Prince

Life Of God

'The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.'is own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.'

John 10:10

The Greek word translated 'life' here is 'zoe' and it means life in the absolute sense or life as God has it. Everyone who is breathing has life in the sense of physical existence, but only those who receive Jesus can experience life as God intended it to be. Jesus came to not only save us from the torment of eternal hell, but also to give us this 'zoe' or God-kind of life in abundance. The life of God is not awaiting us in heaven, but is presently possessed by every born-again person in his spirit. We can release this 'zoe' life and enjoy it now by losing our natural life and finding this supernatural life. Andrew Womack