Reign In Life: 90 Powerful Inspirations For Extraordinary Breakthroughs (15 page)
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Authors: Joseph Prince
Tags: #Devotional, #Grace, #Joseph Prince
BOOK: Reign In Life: 90 Powerful Inspirations For Extraordinary Breakthroughs
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The next day, the boy couldn’t wait to retrieve his stone and ran to its hiding place as soon as the sun arose. But when his fingers finally found the stone in its muddy hideaway, it was all mud-caked and dull, without any of the luster that he loved so much. The boy took the stone to the stream and carefully dipped it in, allowing the dirt to be washed away. Finally, it was clean again and the boy’s heart swelled with pride at his treasured find. But all too soon, the time came for the boy to head home and he had to return the stone to its hiding place.
Every day, the boy would rush to the spot where he had hidden the stone. And every day, he would find its shiny surface smeared with mud and he would trek to the river some distance away to wash it. This happened for a while before he decided to solve the problem permanently. That day, when it was almost time for him to head home, the little boy took his stone to a small waterfall and wedged it carefully between two rocks, right in the middle of the steady flow of the waterfall. That night, the stone experienced a continual washing. And that little boy never had to wash the stone again. Every time he retrieved it, it gleamed in his hands, completely cleansed.
Beloved, when you were born again, you became a living stone whom God placed right under the waterfall of His Son’s blood. And today’s Scripture shows us the effect of that continual cleansing of Jesus’ blood—it keeps us walking in the realm of light that His death has translated us into. If you were to dig deeper into the rich treasures of God’s Word, you will find that in the Greek, the tense for the word
cleanse
in 1 John 1:7 denotes a present and continuous action, which means that from the moment you receive Christ, the blood of Jesus
keeps on cleansing
you.
1
cleanse
in 1 John 1:7 denotes a present and continuous action, which means that from the moment you receive Christ, the blood of Jesus
keeps on cleansing
you.
1
This is why believers who have been translated from darkness by Jesus’ death are kept walking in the light even when they miss it and fail. As a believer, you are truly under a perpetual waterfall of His blood that keeps on cleansing you from
all
your sins. You know that negative thought that you had a few minutes ago? Well, that has been cleansed too! Every thought that is not right, every action that is not correct, is washed away! You are always kept clean and forgiven and always walking in His light because of the continuous cleansing of Jesus’ blood!
all
your sins. You know that negative thought that you had a few minutes ago? Well, that has been cleansed too! Every thought that is not right, every action that is not correct, is washed away! You are always kept clean and forgiven and always walking in His light because of the continuous cleansing of Jesus’ blood!
Beloved, believing that you need to confess your sins all the time to be right with God will only make you more sin-conscious. But knowing that you are constantly under Jesus’ waterfall of His cleansing blood will keep you forgiveness-conscious. And knowing that you are forgiven of all your sins will give you the power to reign over every destructive habit and live a life of victory!
Today’s Thought
I am always kept clean and forgiven because of the continuous cleansing of Jesus’ blood!
Today’s Prayer
Father, thank You for the waterfall of Your total forgiveness and Your perfect love that is pouring down all over me because of Your Son’s finished work. Thank You that I can always walk with You in the light because You have translated me out of the realm of darkness into the realm of light. Even when I fail today, this waterfall of forgiveness keeps on cleansing me from all my sins. I want to keep growing in the revelation of Your forgiveness and grace. I believe that through Your grace alone, I will reign in this life over every sin, addiction, and failure. Amen
.
.
And He [that same Jesus Himself] is the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins, and not for ours alone but also for [the sins of] the whole world
.
.
1 J
OHN
2:2
AMP
OHN
2:2
AMP
I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake
.
.
1 J
OHN
2:12
OHN
2:12
Today’s Scripture
Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep
.
.
1 C
ORINTHIANS
11:27–30
ORINTHIANS
11:27–30
W
hen I teach on the Holy Communion and how the wine speaks of Jesus’ blood that has washed away
all
our sins, I often get the question, “But Pastor Prince, aren’t we expected to confess all our sins before we partake so that we don’t do it in an unworthy manner and fall sick and die prematurely?”
hen I teach on the Holy Communion and how the wine speaks of Jesus’ blood that has washed away
all
our sins, I often get the question, “But Pastor Prince, aren’t we expected to confess all our sins before we partake so that we don’t do it in an unworthy manner and fall sick and die prematurely?”
That is a good question. Down through the years, the body of Christ has mistakenly believed that to partake of the Communion in an “unworthy manner,” as mentioned by Paul in today’s Scripture, is to partake with sin in your life. So we are told not to partake when we deem ourselves “not right with God,” and to go confess all our sins to God first and seek His forgiveness. Partaking without doing this would result in God’s judgment—weakness, sickness, and even early death. This has turned what was meant to be a blessing into a curse. When I received this erroneous teaching as a teenager, I would always let the Communion elements pass me by because I never felt worthy, and it was “better to be safe than sorry”!
I now know that this is
not
what the Bible teaches, and that I had been robbing myself of the blessings and benefits of Jesus’ broken body and shed blood. You see, to partake unworthily does not refer to you partaking as an unworthy person because of your sins. Come on, Jesus died for unworthy people! What Paul is referring to is the
manner
in which you partake. And to partake in an unworthy manner is to fail to discern that the bread you hold in your hands is the body of Jesus Christ that was scourged and broken for you, so that your body may be healed and whole. This was what was happening in the Corinthian church. The believers there were just eating the bread because they were hungry, or taking it as a ritual, without discerning what the Lord’s body was for and releasing their faith for wholeness.
not
what the Bible teaches, and that I had been robbing myself of the blessings and benefits of Jesus’ broken body and shed blood. You see, to partake unworthily does not refer to you partaking as an unworthy person because of your sins. Come on, Jesus died for unworthy people! What Paul is referring to is the
manner
in which you partake. And to partake in an unworthy manner is to fail to discern that the bread you hold in your hands is the body of Jesus Christ that was scourged and broken for you, so that your body may be healed and whole. This was what was happening in the Corinthian church. The believers there were just eating the bread because they were hungry, or taking it as a ritual, without discerning what the Lord’s body was for and releasing their faith for wholeness.
Therefore, to partake in an unworthy manner is not about you failing to examine yourself or having to confess all your sins to make sure that you are worthy to partake. It is not about the one partaking. It is about the act or manner in which one partakes. Partaking of the Communion is really about discerning the Lord’s body—releasing faith to see the bread as His body broken and striped for your healing and wholeness. It is also about seeing the wine as His blood that was shed for the forgiveness of all your sins.
Therein lies the secret to God’s divine health and wholeness
. While many are able to discern that the wine (His blood) is for our forgiveness, many fail to discern that the bread (His body) is for our healing. They fail to see how Jesus suffered in His body for their healing and wholeness. This is the reason “many are weak and sick… and many sleep.” Can you see how the Communion is not about looking at yourself, your sins, and what you need to do? My friend, it is all about looking to Jesus and seeing what He has accomplished on the cross to make you worthy to partake, and to give you health, wholeness, and forgiveness.
Therein lies the secret to God’s divine health and wholeness
. While many are able to discern that the wine (His blood) is for our forgiveness, many fail to discern that the bread (His body) is for our healing. They fail to see how Jesus suffered in His body for their healing and wholeness. This is the reason “many are weak and sick… and many sleep.” Can you see how the Communion is not about looking at yourself, your sins, and what you need to do? My friend, it is all about looking to Jesus and seeing what He has accomplished on the cross to make you worthy to partake, and to give you health, wholeness, and forgiveness.
Sanika, who lives in India, did exactly that after she heard a loud cracking sound from her knee when she fell at home. In excruciating pain, she remembered the significance of partaking of the bread and wine from my teachings on the Holy Communion. So she got the elements, sat down, closed her eyes, and meditated on the power of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus. She saw them working on her knee. In just a few minutes, the unbearable pain left her knee and she told me how she was even able to jump up and down during a praise and worship service the next day!
Remember, the Communion is not about examining yourself for sins committed and making yourself worthy to partake through confession. It is all about discerning the Lord’s body and blood! It is all about Jesus’ work and nothing about your works. Once you believe that all your sins are indeed forgiven and that Jesus has borne all your diseases and every other lack, faith will spring forth. Faith will be there for healing. Faith will be there for provision. Faith will be there for restoration in your marriage, family, and every area of life.
Today’s Thought
Partaking of the Holy Communion is about discerning the Lord’s body and blood—seeing the bread as His body striped for my healing, and the wine as His blood shed for the forgiveness of all my sins
.
.
Today’s Prayer
Father, thank You for unveiling to me the secret of divine health and wholeness through the Holy Communion. Whenever I partake of the Communion, help me to discern the body of Jesus and release my faith to see the bread as His body striped for my healing. Help me to see the wine as His blood shed for the forgiveness of all my sins. I enter in and receive all the blessings and benefits of Jesus’ broken body and shed blood. Thank You, Father, for faith that is springing up even now for healing, provision, and restoration in my life. Amen
.
.
“This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
J
OHN
6:58
OHN
6:58
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over
.
.
P
SALM
23:5
SALM
23:5
Today’s Scripture
When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ?
1 C
ORINTHIANS
10:16
NLT
ORINTHIANS
10:16
NLT
P
erhaps you are going through some challenges right now and you are wondering what difference the body and blood of Jesus can make in your life. In our church, we believe so strongly in the benefits of the Holy Communion that we partake of it every week. And by teaching the people to discern the Lord’s body, we have experienced one amazing healing miracle after another. And the beauty of it is that the benefits of the Holy Communion are for every believer, not just those who attend our services!
erhaps you are going through some challenges right now and you are wondering what difference the body and blood of Jesus can make in your life. In our church, we believe so strongly in the benefits of the Holy Communion that we partake of it every week. And by teaching the people to discern the Lord’s body, we have experienced one amazing healing miracle after another. And the beauty of it is that the benefits of the Holy Communion are for every believer, not just those who attend our services!
Take the example of Erin, who lives in Alaska. Erin suffered for years from Willis-Ekbom disease or restless leg syndrome, a neurological disorder that affected her legs with muscle aches and throbbing sensations. Her legs ached so badly that she could not sit, stand, or even sleep comfortably. When the pain would move to her hips, it made something as simple as climbing the stairs a nightmare.
One day, a friend encouraged her to partake of the Holy Communion and recommended one of my teaching resources on the subject. Through the resource, Erin began to see and believe that this illness was not from God and that He wanted her well. She shared, “Hearing about how the Lord’s body was broken for my healing and how His blood was shed for my forgiveness released faith in me to expect God to heal me. As I began to partake of the Communion every day, I noticed gradual improvements and after a while, I was able to climb the stairs with the energy and ease I had in my youth. I was able to run and play with my kids as if I were a young mother again. I can feel in my body that I’m getting stronger as I partake of the Lord’s Supper and fix my eyes on Him. If not for the message of grace that is all about Jesus, I would still be in bondage and struggling. But now, I have been set free.”
Sandy in Zimbabwe reported that she began to suffer from intense, continuous migraines as a result of having gone through a traumatic emotional experience. Sometimes the migraines were intense and other times just a dull ache in the center of her head, but the pain was
always there
. The migraines continued for over two years until she heard one of my messages on receiving healing through the Holy Communion. The next time she took the Holy Communion in her church, she asked the Lord to heal her and He did. She said, “Two days later, I woke up to discover that the awful headache was gone—not a trace of the pain remained. After five days of perplexity and awe, I finally acknowledged that it really wasn’t coming back and I have not had it since. Glory to God!”
always there
. The migraines continued for over two years until she heard one of my messages on receiving healing through the Holy Communion. The next time she took the Holy Communion in her church, she asked the Lord to heal her and He did. She said, “Two days later, I woke up to discover that the awful headache was gone—not a trace of the pain remained. After five days of perplexity and awe, I finally acknowledged that it really wasn’t coming back and I have not had it since. Glory to God!”
My friend, the Holy Communion—the Lord’s body and blood—makes all the difference in your life because it points you to all that Jesus accomplished for you at the cross. The devil may bombard you with a thousand and one reasons why you don’t qualify to partake of the meal and receive God’s blessings, but always remember that Jesus’ sacrifice and shed blood have perfectly cleansed and qualified you to take the meal. I encourage you to partake boldly of the Lord’s Supper, believing that His finished work qualifies you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for
any
miracle you need!
any
miracle you need!
Today’s Thought
Rightly discerning Jesus’ body and blood releases God’s healing and provision in every area of my life
.
.
Today’s Prayer
Thank You, Jesus, for showing me how to rightly discern Your body and blood as I partake of the Holy Communion. I thank You that Your body was broken so that mine can be healed and whole. I thank You that Your blood was shed for the forgiveness of my sins so that I can have intimacy with You and receive every one of Your blessings. I choose to live my life conscious of Your finished work that qualifies me for any and every miracle I need. Amen!
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