Reign In Life: 90 Powerful Inspirations For Extraordinary Breakthroughs (8 page)

Read Reign In Life: 90 Powerful Inspirations For Extraordinary Breakthroughs Online

Authors: Joseph Prince

Tags: #Devotional, #Grace, #Joseph Prince

BOOK: Reign In Life: 90 Powerful Inspirations For Extraordinary Breakthroughs
12.07Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
It’s time to end the confusion about God’s wrath and to start seeing God for who He really is. God is (present tense) love. Believe Jesus, the Lamb of God, has taken away all your sins and that His grace is shining on you. You are His beloved child, in whom He is well pleased!
Today’s Thought
Today, God will never be angry with me because Jesus Christ bore all my sins at the cross
.
Today’s Prayer
Lord Jesus, precious Lamb of God, I thank You that You became the offering for sin on my behalf and took away all of my sins on the cross. Thank You that I am accepted in You and well pleasing to the Father because of Your finished work. I believe that I am the Father’s beloved child today and always, and I choose to rest in His great love for me that never ceases. Amen
.
“For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; 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.”
I
SAIAH
54:9
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us
.
P
SALM
103:12
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him
.
R
OMANS
5:9
Today’s Scripture
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new
.
2 C
ORINTHIANS
5:17
L
et me share with you a story of a Singaporean brother who was born into a Christian family. During his growing-up years, he was forced to attend church and reprimanded when he didn’t. All he learned was that Jesus hung on the cross but he didn’t know why. In high school, he started to smoke and drink heavily, became rude, hot-tempered, and vulgar, and entered a life of crime, stealing, vandalizing, and getting into fights. His life spiraled downward into drug addiction and armed robberies, and he eventually became a full-time gangster. Yet, there was a cry within him for things to change. God answered that cry and this brother came to know about God’s amazing grace. He wrote to me to share what God’s grace has done in his life:
Pastor Prince, my story of bondage by the devil came to an end just a few years ago when I got to know a certain girl. Even though she was a new believer, she would tell me about the grace, mercy, and love of God, and why Jesus died for me. I was amazed at her knowledge of Jesus. She brought me to your church, and as you began to minister, I felt a warmth all over me and I started to cry. I felt like I was falling in love, but I did not know with whom yet. It was beyond the love of man, and I raised my hands up high and said the sinner’s prayer at the end of the service
.
From that point on, my life was no longer the same. Jesus began to deliver me from so many bondages. I heard you share a testimony about how another church member was delivered from a smoking addiction by confessing his righteousness in Christ, and I started to do the same. I would smoke and confess my righteousness in Christ, that Jesus had taken my smoking addiction on the cross, and that He still loves me even though I was still smoking
.
Amazingly, two weeks later, nine years of heavy smoking and six years of alcoholism were gone! As time went by, Jesus delivered me from my gang involvement and from many other bad habits, such as my addiction to pornography. I truly became a new creation in Christ Jesus! Everyone who knew me was shocked at my transformation. I was even healed of a ten-year urinary problem. I used to have to go to the toilet many times in the night, but now I am able to sleep through the night in peace
.
Pastor Prince, what man could not do, Jesus did. It was the grace of God that changed me. I did not deserve it, but I thank God for the blood of Jesus. He took me just as I was and now I am a child of God. When I heard you preach the grace of God, I did not go out to start a new gang, smoke, drink, or sleep around. It is a lie that when God’s grace is preached, people will go out and sin more. In fact, it was His grace that changed a wretch like me. I believe that God has blessed me to be a blessing. I want to spread this good news that only Jesus can make a difference in our lives
.
Hallelujah! Isn’t it amazing to see what the grace of God can do in a person’s life? No matter how messed up your life has become, all it takes is an encounter with Jesus and a revelation of His grace for your life to be transformed. You see, the more revelation you have of the grace of God and His forgiveness, the more you will have the power to reign over all your challenges and addictions. You will begin to experience the reality of old things passing away, and all things becoming new!
Today’s Thought
The more revelation I have of the love and grace of God, the more I am empowered to reign in life over challenges and addictions
.
Today’s Prayer
Father, thank You that absolutely nothing is impossible with You. Thank You that the moment I put my faith in Jesus, I became a new creation! Old things have passed away and by Your grace, You are making all things new for me. Your grace is greater than my past and greater than the challenges I am facing now. I believe that with You in my life today, I can expect good even when the situation seems hopeless, and walk in all the amazing plans You have for me. Amen
.
For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God
.
E
PHESIANS
2:8
AMP
Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the L
ORD
his God
.
P
SALM
146:5
Today’s Scripture
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
J
OHN
10:10
S
oon after the tragedy of September 11 had taken place, some believers publicly declared that God was judging America because of her sins. When I heard that, I could just imagine some terrorist somewhere in Afghanistan agreeing with them and thinking that “god” was indeed using him to judge America. Can you see that something is amiss when both believers and terrorists agree on the same thing? Thousands of people died and many families, friends, and loved ones were thrown into grief. How can that be the work of our loving Father? Read the Bible for yourself. It says that God is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Pet. 3:9). Terrorism is the work of the devil. It is not the work of our loving Father.
But Pastor Prince, didn’t God use Elijah to call down the fire of judgment on those who opposed him?
Yes, the story of a literal fire judgment that fell upon the enemies of the prophet Elijah is told in 2 Kings 1:1–15, and there are other accounts of God’s judgment in the Old Testament, such as upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24–25). But God wants us to be able to rightly divide His Word (2 Tim. 2:15). He wants us to be astute in rightly dividing and clearly separating what belongs to the old covenant of law and what belongs to the new covenant of grace. He wants us to be able to distinguish what occurred before the cross from what occurred after the cross and to understand the difference the cross has made. Many believers today are living as if the cross did not make any difference!
Don’t just take it from me that God will
not
call down the fires of judgment on you today. See for yourself what Jesus Himself said about what Elijah did. Do you remember the time when Jesus wanted to enter a certain village in Samaria, but the people there refused to receive Him? When Jesus’ disciples saw that the people rejected Jesus, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” Now, how did Jesus respond to them? Did He say, “That’s a great idea! You are truly disciples who carry My heart”? No, of course not! Read your Bible. He turned to His disciples and rebuked them firmly, saying, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them” (Luke 9:54–56).
My friend, the Spirit of Jesus in the new covenant of grace is not the spirit of the old covenant of law during Elijah’s time. Jesus wants you to have full assurance in your heart today that He did not come to condemn or destroy you. He came to save you (John 3:17)! The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came that you may have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). He wants you to live a life marked by His love, power, and blessings. Where there are broken relationships, they are mended. Where there are bad habits, they are broken. And where there are challenges, you emerge victorious. Hallelujah!
Today’s Thought
Jesus came not to condemn me, but to save, heal, and bless me
.
Today’s Prayer
Father, thank You that Your Son, Jesus, came to save me and help me experience a glorious, abundant life that is beyond anything I can ever imagine. Keep showing me more and more of the Spirit of Jesus so that my heart may be anchored in Your grace and Your peace may reign in me. Help me to fix my eyes on Jesus, who makes all the difference in my life. Amen
.
“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
J
OHN
3:17
“…the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
L
UKE
19:10
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth
.
2 T
IMOTHY
2:15
Today’s Scripture
…
If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
R
OMANS
8:31–32
H
ave you ever received a “word” from someone that brings your sins to remembrance or instills an expectation of punishment for sins in your life? If you have or do in the future, don’t fear it, just throw it out the window! Understand that all prophecies and messages you receive today must be filtered through the cross. Don’t allow anyone to tell you that something negative has happened to you or will happen to you because of God’s punishment against your sins. Reject such bad news in the name of Jesus. Instead, start receiving the good news of Jesus. When you are faced with difficult circumstances, keep on believing in His love that was demonstrated on the cross for you and He will cause whatever the devil meant for evil to be turned around for good and for His glory! When the devil throws lemons at you, God will turn them into lemonade for your enjoyment!
There was a young couple in my church who had lost their baby due to some complications. And I was furious when I learned that a so-called “prophet” had told them that they had lost their baby because there was sin in their lives. That was really cruel! The couple was grieving, and instead of being a source of encouragement and edification, this “prophet” took advantage of the situation to appear prophetic at the expense of God’s precious people.
We may not have all the answers, but we can have full assurance that the negative circumstances we sometimes experience are not the works of God, neither are they His punishments for our sins. When we have this confidence that
God is for us
and not against us, we can believe for restoration, breakthroughs, and good things to happen to us.
Our church leaders told the young couple that it was not the Lord punishing them for their sins. They reminded them that all their sins have been punished at the cross of Jesus. This helped them to remove all the guilt and condemnation that they were carrying in their hearts. Since then, the Lord has blessed them with a beautiful baby.
I have also received testimonies from other couples who received God’s restoration in this area. I noticed that these couples had one thing in common: after they heard the good news of the gospel of grace, it liberated them from all guilt and condemnation. Instead of believing that God was against them or punishing them, they started believing that He was for them. They started trusting aggressively in His grace and goodness. And without fail, restoration always came. Now, that’s God! When He restores, His restoration is always greater in quantity or quality. But think about it: if those couples continued to believe erroneously that God was punishing them because of their sins, they would never be able to muster the courage and trust God for restoration, for a new child.

Other books

Tainted Gold by Lynn Michaels
White Collar Wedding by Parker Kincade
What an Earl Wants by Shirley Karr
Baited by Lori Armstrong
The Invention of Murder by Judith Flanders
Un trabajo muy sucio by Christopher Moore
RockHardHeat by Cristal Ryder