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coram_deo 26-Oct-21, 10:10 |
 Because God is both just and merciful, and forgiving sins without some kind of atonement would mean God was not just. If someone robbed you on the street or, God forbid, murdered someone you love, would you expect the person who did that to face the consequences of their crimes? Or would you be perfectly fine with that person - and all other people who did the same or similar crimes - to face no consequences because the judge said he forgave them? You expect and want justice. God is no different. But instead of punishing you, He punished a substitute for you - animals in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ in the New Testament. But the role of the offender in both instances required active participation in the forgiveness of sins - going to a priest with an animal in the Old Testament, accepting and believing in Jesus Christ and in His Resurrection in the New Testament. BTW, the sacrifice of animals for sins was only for Jews - Gentiles had nothing to do with it - so there weren’t animals being sacrificed en masse. And the Ten Commandments (and other parts of God’s Law) was given only to the Jews, not the Gentiles. “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:” (Romans 2:14) |
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coram_deo 26-Oct-21, 19:20 |
26 October 2021 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18) Jesus gives you His shalom to set you up for success in life. You cannot be a success in your marriage, family and career when you are crippled and paralyzed with fear. Today, as you are reading this, I believe with all my heart that Jesus has already begun a work in your heart to liberate you from all your fears, whatever they may be. They may be the fear of failure, the fear of success, the fear of people's opinions of you or even the fear that God is not with you. All the fears that you are experiencing in your life today began with an untruth, a lie that you have somehow believed. Perhaps you have believed that God is angry and displeased with you, and that His presence is far from you. That's why the Bible says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." This scripture tells us that when you begin to have a revelation that God loves you perfectly (not because of what you have accomplished, but because of what Jesus has accomplished for you), that revelation of the unmerited favor of Jesus will cast out every fear, every lie, every anxiety, every doubt and every worry that God is against you. The more you have a revelation of Jesus and how He has made you perfect, the more you will free yourself to receive His complete shalom and succeed in life! My friend, know that as a believer in Jesus Christ, you have absolute peace with God. The new covenant of grace is also known as the covenant of peace. Today, you stand upon the righteousness of Jesus and not your own. Today, because of Jesus, God says this to you: "I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke [condemn] 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" (Isaiah 54:9–10). God is on your side. Jesus' shalom is on your side to make you a success in life. All of heaven's resources are on your side. Even if you are caught in the midst of a storm right now, just think of the picture of the eagle chicks sleeping soundly in spite of the storm, nestled under the wings of their mother, their protector and provider. And may the shalom of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). Go in this peace, my friend, and rest upon His shalom! |
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coram_deo 26-Oct-21, 19:22 |
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coram_deo 27-Oct-21, 04:02 |
From Joseph Prince Ministries: And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. 2 Timothy 4:18 - OCTOBER 27 - SALVATION IN THE NAME OF JESUS Psalm 91 ends with the power-packed verse, “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” Many years ago, the Lord opened my eyes to see that apart from the four names of God that are mentioned in the first two verses of Psalm 91, there is another name of God, a fifth name, concealed in the very last word of Psalm 91. You see, in Hebrew, the word “salvation” is the word yeshua. And Yeshua is the Hebrew name of our Lord Jesus! Now, isn’t that beautiful? This is what God was saying: “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My Yeshua.” Long life is found in our Yeshua. You can know God as El Elyon, God Most High, as the Almighty Shaddai, as Jehovah, and even as Elohim, but the name that gives you full and utter confidence is the name Jesus! It is not enough to know that God is all-powerful. It is more important you know that God is willing to use His power and might to save you! That’s what our Lord Jesus did at the cross for you and me. He came and He showed us His salvation by sacrificing Himself on the cross for your sins and my sins. He died young that we may live long. And not just live long in this world. At the cross, He purchased for us the gift of eternal life, paid for with His own blood. The moment you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, your salvation in Him was sure and secure! I grew up in a church where I was taught that when you sin, you will lose your salvation and have to get born again all over again. This erroneous teaching oppressed my mind day and night. The enemy incessantly attacked me with thoughts that I had lost my salvation. As I was seeking the Lord for answers one day, He opened my eyes and pointed me to the above Scripture passage from 2 Timothy. Just like that, when the truth of God’s Word came in, all the oppression left me. And every time the thought that I had lost my salvation reared its ugly head again, I would quote this verse, boldly declaring, “It is written, ‘And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.’” Beloved, I highly recommend that you meditate on this Scripture. In this one verse you find the Lord’s protection and preservation unto eternity! This devotional is taken from the book The Prayer of Protection Devotional—Daily Strategies for Living Fearlessly in Dangerous Times. |
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coram_deo 28-Oct-21, 06:21 |
Practice Jesus’ Presence And “Smell” Like Him 28 October 2021 Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.” 1 Samuel 16:18 David is a wonderful example of someone who talked to the Lord and practiced His presence all the time. Even as a young teenager taking care of his father's sheep in the fields, he would be singing psalms and hymns to the Lord and playing his harp. In 1 Samuel 16, the Bible records that King Saul was very unsettled, and his servants told him that he was being troubled by a distressing spirit. They then advised him to bring David before him to play the harp for him, saying that evil spirits departed when David played the harp. One of the servants gave a glowing description of David as someone "who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him." Do you know why David could cause Saul to become refreshed just by playing his harp? Do you know why David could have such accolades heaped upon him? I believe that the key is in the last part of the verse: "the Lord is with him." A few years after Wendy and I got married, an incident happened that I will never forget. I was on my way home one day and I had stepped into a cramped elevator. A group of ladies squeezed into the same elevator as it stopped on another floor and boy, their perfumes were overpowering! Anyway, almost dizzy from near-suffocation, I got home and kissed Wendy with my usual "Hello darling, I'm back." She looked at me and said, "That's a female fragrance. I know that fragrance." I told her, "Listen, darling, listen...honestly, just now..." And that's why it's so important to have trust in your marriage! I am sure that you have experienced something similar before. Have you ever been in a room filled with cigarette smoke? You may not smoke, but your hair and clothes will smell of smoke even after you have left the room. In the same way, you cannot be in the presence of the Lord without His glory, His majesty, His beauty, His power, His love and His peace rubbing off on you. You begin to "smell" like Jesus, be powerful like Him and be filled with peace like Him! No wonder Acts 4:13 records this about Peter and John: "Now when they [the rulers and elders of Israel] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus." Beloved, choose to prioritize the presence of the Lord wherever you are. You will experience the undeniable evidence of His presence in your life. |
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coram_deo 28-Oct-21, 06:27 |
Q: What was the meaning of the sign that was put on the cross when Jesus was crucified? I read that it was intended to mock Jesus, is this true? – C.S. A: People often rehearse in their minds what it might have been like to have stood at the foot of the cross the day that Jesus was crucified. But few stop to think what Jesus saw as He looked down from the cross upon the people who were crucifying Him. What did He see? He saw skeptics and mockers. His penetrating eyes looked into eyes blinded to the truth. He saw religious leaders gaping at Him as they read the title nailed about His head, with the charge against Him written in three languages: “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Matthew 27:37). Intended to mock Jesus, the sign actually proclaimed the greatest truth: Jesus died for all. The title was written in Hebrew so the religious would understand. It was written in Greek so the cultured world could understand. It was written in Latin so world government could understand. The message of the cross is for everyone. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). The cross shows the immeasurable love of God. Jesus says to the human race, “I will meet you at only one place, and that is the cross — the place of victory.” Some ask how such a place can be victorious. Because the cross could not hold Jesus Christ. He didn’t stay on that cross, but was gloriously raised from the dead and lives today. |
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coram_deo 29-Oct-21, 05:32 |
Come As You Are To Jesus 29 October 2021 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. Psalm 30:11 My friend, you are favored and accepted by God today because of His unmerited favor. Even if your life is a mess, He can take your mess and make it into something beautiful. Come to Him just as you are. Years ago, one of my church members suddenly stopped coming to church for a long time. I met up with him to find out how he was doing and to see if everything was alright. He was very honest with me and told me that he was going through a lot of problems in his marriage, and that he was now addicted to alcohol. Then, he said this: "Let me get my life right, then I will come back to church." I smiled and asked him, "Do you clean yourself before you take a bath?" I could tell from his expression that he was taken aback by my question, so I told him, "Come as you are to the Lord. He is the bath. He will cleanse you. He will get your life in order for you, and He will cause every addiction to lose its hold on you. You don't have to use your own efforts to clean yourself before you take a bath!" I am glad to share that this precious brother soon returned to church and Jesus turned his life around. Today, he is happily married, blessed with a beautiful family and is one of my trusted, key leaders. That is what the Lord does when you come to Him as you are, and allow Him to love you into wholeness. He will make all things beautiful in your life. There are many people today who are like this brother. They want to get their lives together by themselves before they come to Jesus. They are under the impression that they need to make themselves holy before they can step into God's holy presence. They feel like they are being hypocrites if they don't sort out their lives first before coming to church. Nothing could be further from the truth. You will never be able to make yourself holy enough to qualify for God's blessings. You are made holy, righteous and clean by the blood of Jesus Christ, and it is His righteous standing that qualifies you—nothing more and nothing less. So stop trying to clean yourself before you go to the Lord. Come to Jesus with all your mess, all your addictions, all your weaknesses and all your failures. God loves you just as you are. However, He also loves you too much to let you stay the same. My friend, when you come to Jesus, He becomes your "bath." He will wash you clean, whiter than snow! Jump into the bath today and allow Jesus to make you perfect, righteous and holy in God's eyes! |
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coram_deo 30-Oct-21, 12:42 |
Worth reading over and over again… From Joseph Prince Ministries: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8–9 NLT - OCTOBER 30 - THE LAW DEMANDS, GRACE SUPPLIES In Luke 18, we read about a rich young ruler, who came to Jesus saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18). I believe that through this story, the Lord wants to help us understand that we can be justified only by faith and not our works. Justification by faith produces hope, peace, and joy and a heart for Jesus that results in good fruit. Attempting to be justified by works produces fear, anxiety, and an inability to produce lasting fruit. When the rich young ruler came wanting to be justified by his works, the Lord gave him the law to bring him to the end of himself. Jesus said to the rich young ruler who thought he had kept all the laws, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” The rich young ruler was found lacking in one thing. The very first commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3). Yet money was his god—he walked away sorrowful when the Lord asked him to sell all that he had (Luke 18:20–23). There is no record that he gave even one nickel to the poor. But look at what happened when Jesus invited Himself to Zacchaeus’s house. Not one commandment, just pure grace was given. And it resulted in Zacchaeus’s giving half his wealth to the poor and making a public commitment to repay fourfold to everyone he had stolen from! The law demands, grace supplies. The law demands, and it results in fear, guilt, and sorrow. Grace supplies, and it produces generosity, holiness, and inward heart transformation. Now, you tell me, which gospel should we preach? Justification by works through the law? Or justification by faith through the power of God’s grace? Unfortunately, there are many believers who after they have been saved are taught and believe, like the rich young ruler, that they can be justified before God only by their works. They end up conscious of failing Him and with a fearful expectation of God’s punishment and judgment. Every bad thing that happens to them reinforces that fear. Even when things are going well, they are fearful of losing God’s blessings or protection because of a mistake they may have just made. The result? Insecurity, dread, anxiety, and all kinds of fears become constant companions that rob them of the joy of living, let alone living life with boldness and confidence. Beloved, no man can meet the demands of the law and be justified. We can be justified only by faith in the blood of the Lamb. If you are not anchored in this truth and if your conscience is not washed by the Lamb’s blood, you will always be fearful. Our justification is from faith to faith, not faith to works. It is “accomplished from start to finish by faith” and faith alone (Rom. 1:17 NLT)! This devotional is taken from the book Glorious Grace—100 Daily Readings from Grace Revolution. |
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coram_deo 31-Oct-21, 10:03 |
Excuse me, excellent Super Devotional! From Joseph Prince Ministries: Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling. Psalm 91:9–10 - OCTOBER 31 - ABIDE IN HIS PERFECT LOVE I know it can be very hard to feel God’s love for you when you are faced with multiple symptoms in your body, mounting debts from your medical bills, and worries about your future. We live in a world where we are governed by our five senses, and there are times when it is hard to believe in the love of Someone we can’t see, touch, or hear. But we cannot depend on feelings and outward circumstances (that can change) to be assured of God’s love for us. It is so important we fix our eyes, instead, on our Lord Jesus, whose love for us is perfect, never changes, and never fails. May I share with you some of the things you can do that I believe will help to keep you in His perfect love? Instead of allowing the enemy to feed you with lies that cause you to be fearful, keep listening to messages that will keep you in the consciousness of God’s love for you. Embrace His love to drive out every fear. Every time the enemy tries to attack you with fears, plug into a sermon that magnifies the Lord’s goodness and love for you. Instead of giving in to the devices of the enemy, keep listening to sermons about Jesus’ finished work. Instead of reading articles on the internet that tell you how serious your condition can become, or reading your medical report over and over again, read praise reports about the Lord’s love and faithfulness. Read scriptures about His love and healing promises. Garrison yourself with the Word of God and keep yourself in His love. The Bible tells us, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). It’s not enough to know verses about His love. Keep meditating on them until you believe He loves you. When we keep ourselves in the consciousness of God’s love, we are abiding in God. In other words, we are making Him our dwelling place. That is so powerful because when the Lord is your dwelling place, you are in a place of safety and protection. Read Psalm 91 and declare over yourself that no evil shall befall you nor shall any plague come near your dwelling. As you abide in Him, the almighty God becomes your refuge and fortress. It doesn’t matter how many people have died from the disease you have been diagnosed with. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you (Ps. 91:7). And even if you are already in trouble, the Lord is with you and He will deliver you. This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional. |
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coram_deo 01-Nov-21, 08:20 |
Grace Is A Person 01 November 2021 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 Over the last two decades I've had the privilege of unveiling the beautiful person of our Lord Jesus Christ and the perfection of His finished work through the preaching of the gospel of glorious grace. As the name of Jesus is lifted up and proclaimed, we are receiving testimony after testimony about how people's lives have been touched and transformed by the grace of God. People of all walks of life, all over the world, are finding freedom from their long-term conditions, addictions, and bondages. They share joyfully with us how the Lord supernaturally delivered them from long-term panic attacks, substance abuse, and from decades of depression. Others write in, brimming with thanksgiving, because God has restored their marriages and their relationships with their estranged children, and healed their bodies when doctors had given them no hope. I wish I could read all of them to you, because you will notice that there is one common thread woven through all these letters. There is one common denominator that tipped these people over from defeat into victory, from breakdowns into breakthroughs: they all had an encounter with Jesus. They all caught a revelation of His grace. My dear friend, the grace revolution begins with Jesus. It is not a movement, teaching, or subject to be studied. It is all about a person. What you believe about this person makes all the difference. I am sure you have heard about Jesus and are familiar with His name. You may have even attended Sunday school as a child and heard all the Bible stories about Him. The question is, do you know Jesus personally? Is He a historical figure, a prominent Jewish rabbi, or simply the son of a Galilean carpenter? Who is He to you? Is He just another teacher? Or is He your Savior? Whatever adversity, challenge, or circumstances you may be faced with today, your answer is found in the person of Jesus. Today, there is a grace revolution that is sweeping across the globe, because the person of Jesus is boldly preached, proclaimed, and lifted high. This is what the grace revolution is all about. It is about your life touched, changed, and transformed from the inside out. It is about living a victorious life. A life that wins. A life that reigns triumphant over defeat, failure, and frustration. When you encounter the person of grace, see His heart of love for you, and when the veil of Christian religion is removed, there is no turning back. You'll begin to step away from defeat and take a massive leap toward your victory! |
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coram_deo 01-Nov-21, 22:03 |
From the Joseph Prince Ministries’ app: Freedom From Destructive Habits 02 November 2021 And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” John 8:11 I have received so many testimonies from people who have been set free from destructive habits. These are sincere and precious people who desired to experience breakthroughs but did not know how to. However, once they learned about righteousness that comes from Christ apart from their works, they began to confess that they were still the righteousness of God every time they felt tempted. And bit by bit, the more they started to believe that they were righteous in Christ, and the more they refused to accept the condemnation for their past mistakes and for their present temptation, the more they became set free from the very addictions that bound them! A brother from the US, who has been listening to my messages for some time, wrote to share that he had been addicted to pornography and had lived a lifestyle of sexual immorality since he was 14 years old. Although he had accepted Jesus when he was 18 years old, he continued to struggle with this aspect of his life. This is what he wrote: "As a result of some bad influences and some of my own bad choices, I became a pornography addict and began to lead a sexually immoral life at the age of 14. I got saved when I was 18 years old, but I still struggled with those kinds of thoughts and some old, bad habits. I tried everything to break free from immorality and lustful thoughts." "Then, I heard Pastor Prince's message titled, "Good Things Happen To People Who Believe God Loves Them." I listened to it over and over again, and for the first time, God's love became consistently real to me. I was able to receive God's unconditional love over and over again, and it healed my heart." "God's love has set me free! Thank you so much for the message that your church sends out to the world. It is truly changing lives!" The revelation that God loves him unconditionally despite his failures and imperfections was what helped this brother break free from habits that had gripped him for many years. Beloved, God does not want you to sin because sin will destroy you. But even if you have failed, you must know this: There is no condemnation because you are IN CHRIST JESUS and your sins are washed away by His blood! When God looks at you, He does not see you in your failures. From the moment you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, God sees you in the risen Christ, seated at His right hand! As Jesus is spotless and without blame, so are you! God sent His Son to die on the cross for you while you were still a sinner. Obviously, He does not love you only when you are perfect in your behavior and thoughts. His love for you is unconditional. Receive it afresh today and break free from every sin and addiction in your life! |
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coram_deo 03-Nov-21, 05:25 |
From Joseph Prince Ministries: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8 - NOVEMBER 3 - HOW TO BE “UNDEVOURABLE” The devil doesn’t want you to be strong in the Lord’s love for you. Instead, he wants you to question God’s love for you. To accomplish this, one of his key strategies is to try to make you think that God is mad at you. God’s Word tells us that the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. This means that he cannot just devour anyone. He must look for those whom he can devour. Some of us are “undevourable.” There may not be such a word, but it certainly describes a great place to be when the enemy is on the prowl for his next victim. My friend, you can become “undevourable” to the devil. The secret is found in the preceding verse, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7). Can you see it? The secret to being “undevourable” is to be carefree and not be bogged down by anxieties and worries! It is to laugh a lot, enjoy your life, and to take no thought for tomorrow. To the legalistic mind, this sounds terribly irresponsible. However, in God’s mind, your greatest responsibility is to rejoice in the Lord always and to not worry about your past failures, your present circumstances, and your future challenges! Why? It’s because of what God’s grace has already done for you. And it’s because the One who has the power over death is caring for you and watching over you right this minute. If you want to see victory over the enemy’s attacks, then learn to relax, to let go, and to release every oppressive thought, worry, and care into Jesus’ loving hands. Believe with all your heart that He cares for you and that you are not alone in this journey. You have a constant companion in Jesus on this great adventure called life. Note that the devil walks about like a roaring lion. The devil is an impostor who tries to intimidate you through the impression that God is angry with you. Let’s be clear here: there is only one true lion and that is the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ (Rev. 5:5), the King of kings, and He is not mad at you today. His wrath is directed at anything that seeks to destroy you. You are not the object of His wrath; you are the object of His love. So be strong in His love for you. That’s how you resist the devil who will have no choice but to flee from you! This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing. |
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coram_deo 04-Nov-21, 09:09 |
Pastor Joseph Prince is 100% right here. Unfortunately many churches and pastors take a legalistic view of our relationship with God - as if we’re still living under the Old Covenant in the Old Testament. We’re not! And the gift of no condemnation leads to victorious living. As Pastor Prince says, “Right believing always leads to right living.” From Joseph Prince Ministries: When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, LORD.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” John 8:10–11 - NOVEMBER 4 - THE GIFT OF NO CONDEMNATION People often ask, “If believers know that they are free from all condemnation, won’t they go out and sin?” Well, they should talk to Katy, who is chaplain for a corrections facility housing female prisoners in Southern California. After she discovered the message of grace and experienced freedom from condemnation, her life was not the same. She even felt led by the Lord to share directly out of one of my books with the women at the corrections facility. This was the reception: God is using this revelation of His grace to heal the broken-hearted and set the captives free. Physical healings are taking place. Wrong mindsets are being changed. The women are also experiencing freedom from addictions, and their hurting lives are also being transformed by His great unconditional love and the abundance of His grace! Katy and the female prisoners who received the gospel of grace would tell you it is a lie to even suggest that freedom from condemnation would lead to sin. It is just the opposite! Hallelujah! The women began to reign in life over their sins and addictions and to be healed of their brokenness. And they are not alone—this is the constant refrain in the letters and emails this ministry gets from people all over the world who can’t wait to share their deliverance and victory over things that have kept them in defeat. My friend, freedom from condemnation doesn’t lead you deeper into sin. It actually empowers you to break free from sin, from its painful consequences, and it causes you to fall more deeply in love with Jesus and His grace! From today’s scripture, you will notice that our Lord clearly did not think that freedom from condemnation would lead to a life of sin. Now, pay close attention to the account of the woman who was caught in adultery: Jesus gave her the gift of “no condemnation” before He told her to go and sin no more. Yet, many places today reverse the order and say to women such as the ones in the correctional facility, “Go and sin no more first, and only then will we not condemn you.” Subtly or not so subtly, they are being told to get their lives together first, before they can be part of the church. That’s the reason they and others are shying away from places where they hear this. It is not because they are rebelling against Jesus. It is because they have not been introduced to the real Jesus who gives the guilty sinner the gift of no condemnation! Too often, nonbelievers have only been introduced to Christianity as a set of rules that only judges and condemns them. But my friend, Christianity is not about laws. It is about Jesus and how He shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins, for without blood, the Bible says that there is no forgiveness of sins (Heb. 9:22). That is why Christianity is a relationship based on the shed blood of Jesus Christ. His blood washed away all our sins and He fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf. Let me ask you a question: was the woman brought before Jesus guilty? Yes, she was “caught in adultery, in the very act” (John 8:4). But instead of condemning her according to the law of Moses, which required her to be stoned to death, Jesus showed her grace and gave her the gift of no condemnation. Do you think that this woman would go off, look for her lover, and jump back into bed with him after she had received the gift of no condemnation? No, of course not! It is obvious that Jesus believed that when someone really has a revelation that God does not condemn him, he would have the power to get out of the vicious cycle of sin. He would have the power to “go and sin no more”! The truth is that Jesus’ grace swallows up sin. Let His words—“Neither do I condemn you”—transform your heart today and give you the power to “go and sin no more.” This devotional is taken from the book Reign in Life—90 Powerful Inspirations for Extraordinary Breakthroughs. |
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coram_deo 05-Nov-21, 04:46 |
Psalm 141:3 - NOVEMBER 5 - CHANGE YOUR WORDS, CHANGE YOUR LIFE Do you know what the opposite of speaking well is? It is to curse. When our Lord cursed the fig tree, what did He say? Did He say, “I curse you, fig tree”? No, He simply said, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again” (Mark 11:14). And the next day, when they passed by the fig tree again, Peter said, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away” (Mark 11:21). Jesus never used the word curse when He spoke to the fig tree, but He also did not correct Peter because he was right—the negative words spoken were tantamount to a curse. Oh, I hope you got that! Many times people don’t realize that they are unintentionally cursing themselves and the people around them with the constant flow of negative words that they speak about themselves and others. Words of defeat, anger, bitterness, and complaint are toxic. Change your words, and change your life. Flush out the negative words in your life with the words of God’s grace, love, and power! And take note that when Jesus spoke to the fig tree, it did not wither away instantly. This was because when our Lord spoke to the fig tree, it first dried up at its very roots before death reached the leaves. So don’t be discouraged when you speak to your challenge and nothing seems to be happening. Believe that you are speaking directly to the root of the problem and that the outward manifestation of your faith is on its way! I received this wonderful testimony from sister Lorraine, who resides in Darby, England. It shows you the power of praying or speaking, and how change begins from the very first day you speak: My son and his wife have been married for ten years, and were trying desperately for a baby with no success. Six years ago, they began undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments and have had at least seven unsuccessful treatments. Last March, my sister gave me a copy of your devotional and the entry for March 19 was about pleading the blood of the Lamb of God over all that is ours and our families’. The verse in the devotional was Exodus 12:13—“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.” And you shared that what the nine plagues could not do, the blood did. I was thrilled when I read this. So I prayed for my son and my daughter-in-law, pleading the blood of Jesus over their situation, and I was just so excited because I knew that something had happened in the spirit. A few weeks after I prayed, my son called to say that his wife was pregnant. I told him that I wasn’t surprised, as I had prayed for both of them recently. So what six years of medical treatment could not do, the blood of Jesus did! We all celebrated and were so thrilled. A few Sundays later, our son called to say that she was exactly eight weeks pregnant. And it was exactly eight weeks from the day I prayed. Hallelujah! Whatever you may be believing God for, I want to encourage you to open your mouth to speak His Word. Pray to your Abba and proclaim the blood of our Lord Jesus over your situation! The presence of blood means that there has already been a death. It signifies that a payment has already been made. Today we can stand upon the unshakable foundation of God’s promises because the Lamb of God was sacrificed at Calvary and His blood is on the doorposts of our lives. We can declare that no plague, no death, no punishment, no harm, no danger, no evil can come near our dwelling because the full payment for our sins has already been made by our Lord Jesus. What wonderful assurance and peace we can have today—all because of the complete and efficacious work of Jesus! This devotional is taken from the book Glorious Grace—100 Daily Readings from Grace Revolution. |
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coram_deo 05-Nov-21, 20:59 |
When The Storms Of Life Rage 05 November 2021 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 Storms of life. You know them well. They overwhelm you. Wave after wave of relentless battering that knocks you off your feet till you don't know which side is up. Till every ounce of energy is used up and you feel so weak, abandoned, and lonely. Perhaps you're caught in one of life's storms right now. When the disciples of Jesus were out at sea, caught in a turbulent tempest and tossed by the waves, who came to them in their darkest hour? It was Jesus Himself (see Matt. 14:22–33). Jesus came in style, walking on the raging waters. The loving Savior came to them at their exact point of need to rescue them. What does this tell you? That He is above the storms. He walks above—He is greater than—every adversity and opposition that you may be facing right now, and He comes to you to rescue you! With the billowing waves beneath His feet, His first words to His disciples were, "Don't be afraid. Take courage. I am here!" (Matt. 14:27 NLT). What comfort those words must have brought to the disciples who were exhausted and shaking with fear for their lives. My friend, when the storms of life rage, don't go by what you see and hear all around you. Don't go by your negative feelings and emotions. Live by the truth of God's Word, which encourages you to "be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic...For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you" (Deut. 31:6 NLT). Our God is a personal and loving God who is with you in your boat right in the midst of the howling storm. He knows how to lead you to victory every time. He cannot fail you! |
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coram_deo 06-Nov-21, 08:53 |
gracerevonline.com Meanwhile, another super Super Devotional! From Joseph Prince Ministries: Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:13–14 - NOVEMBER 6 - REDEEMED FROM EVERY CURSE Do you know that Jesus loves you and has borne every imaginable disease upon His own body on the cross so you need not suffer them? Today, I want to show you how you can turn to the cross for any and every medical challenge and condition. In the verses above, we see that our Lord Jesus redeemed us from every curse of the law so that the blessing of Abraham might come upon us. Now, Deuteronomy 28 has a long and detailed list of curses, and I want to focus on the curses that cover sicknesses and diseases that Jesus has redeemed you and me from: • Consumption (diseases that cause your lungs to waste away), fever, and inflammation (Deut. 28:22) • Boils, tumors, scurvy, “the itch, from which you cannot be cured” (Deut. 28:27 NLT) • Madness, blindness, and panic (Deut. 28:28 NLT) • Severe boils that cannot be healed (Deut. 28:35) • Great and prolonged plagues, and serious and prolonged sicknesses (Deut. 28:59) Christ has redeemed you from every single one of the diseases and afflictions mentioned here. If you think your particular condition is not quite covered, the Bible goes on to mention “all the diseases of Egypt” (Deut. 28:60). Egypt is a picture of the world. As the people of God, we do not have to be afraid of the diseases the world suffers because He has brought us out of the world, and now we may be in the world but we are not of this world (John 17:11, 14). Not only that. It also goes on to include “every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law” (Deut. 28:61). Hallelujah! Can you see that every disease and every condition is part of the curse of the law and that Christ has redeemed us from every curse? God wants you so blessed in your health that just as He put all your sins on Jesus’ body, He also put all your diseases on Jesus’ body. God loves you so much He allowed His own Son to become a curse so you can be redeemed from the curse of the law. That doesn’t mean the enemy won’t try to enforce symptoms of the curse in your life. But whenever the enemy tries to bring on a symptom of the curse, you can reject it. Refuse to accept it. You have already been redeemed from that symptom in Jesus’ name! This devotional is adapted from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional. |
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coram_deo 07-Nov-21, 05:21 |
From Joseph Prince Ministries: Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. Luke 7:47 - NOVEMBER 7 - YOU HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN MUCH Let’s look at Luke 7:36-50 to see what Jesus said about the forgiveness of sins. Simon, a Pharisee, had invited Jesus to his house. While Jesus was seated at the table in Simon’s house, a woman came to Him. She began to weep and she washed His feet with her tears. Then, she wiped His feet with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with fragrant oil. When Simon saw this, he said to himself, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” Even though Simon did not speak aloud, it is interesting that Jesus answered him by posing this question to him: “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” Jesus said to him, “You have rightly judged.” Then, Jesus turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” The woman loved Jesus much because she knew that she was forgiven much. In actuality, no one has been forgiven little. We have all been forgiven much. As for this woman, she knew it. So the most “dangerous” thing about this doctrine of complete forgiveness of sins is that you will fall in love with Jesus and end up effortlessly fulfilling the greatest commandment: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:36-38). Hallelujah! If you think that you have been forgiven little, then you will love little. But when you know the truth of how much you have been forgiven, you will love Jesus much! Knowing how much you have been forgiven is the secret to loving Jesus! In other words, you will only love Jesus much when you experience His lavish grace and unmerited favor in forgiving you of all your sins—past, present, and future. But His grace is cheapened when you think that He has only forgiven you of your sins up to the time you got saved, and after that point, you have to depend on your confession of sins to be forgiven. God’s forgiveness is not given in installments. Don’t go around thinking that when you confess a sin, He forgives you only for that sin. Then, the next time you sin, you need to confess your sin again for Him to forgive you again. Such is the kind of belief that cheapens His grace. And the result of this is that because you think that He has forgiven you little, you will end up loving Him little, and deprive yourself of running to Him and seeing Him help, deliver and prosper you. Beloved, with one sacrifice on the cross, Jesus blotted out all the sins of your entire life! Don’t cheapen His unmerited favor with your own imperfect efforts to confess all your sins. Accord this gift that Jesus has given you the value that it deserves by fully receiving and experiencing His unmerited favor today! This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Favor—Daily Readings from Unmerited Favor. |
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coram_deo 08-Nov-21, 03:43 |
From Joseph Prince Ministries: My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. Proverbs 4:20–22 NLT - NOVEMBER 8 - IT IS ALL ABOUT SEEING JESUS I want to begin this day by asking you this question: amid all the different things you hear clamoring for your attention every day, are you hearing messages that are full of the good news of Jesus? This is so important because it is the basis of your walking in peace of mind and heart, and life and healing in your body. The true ministry of any new covenant Bible teacher or preacher is to unveil Jesus to you and qualify you by the blood of Jesus. He or she does not come to unveil your faults or bring your sins to remembrance to disqualify you from entering God’s presence and enjoying His blessings. That is what an old covenant preacher does. In the Old Testament, the widow of Zarephath said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance . . . ?” (1 Kings 17:18). The enemy, our accuser, wants you to be conscious of yourself and keeps telling you to look at your every wrong deed and thought. My friend, don’t play his game. Turn away from his accusations and from yourself, and see Jesus. God is not judging you today based on you. He has placed you in Christ, and He sees the excellence, beauty, and perfection of Jesus when He looks at you. The devil wants you self-conscious. God wants you Jesus-conscious. It is in your best interest to find out as much as you can about Jesus—who He is, His titles, His official glories, all that He possesses—because all that He is, God has set to your account. You are a joint heir to all that He has and all the inheritance that is due to Jesus is yours as well (Rom. 8:17)! The law is all about you looking at yourself. The new covenant of grace is all about you seeing Jesus. The Pharisees committed large portions of the Word of God to memory and yet they could not see the Word of God in the flesh, standing before them. We should not be interested in just accumulating Bible knowledge. We should be opening the Scriptures to see more of Jesus. Some people think that if they knew Hebrew and Greek, they would understand the Bible better. Well, the Pharisees knew Hebrew and that did nothing for them. What we need is for the Holy Spirit to unveil to us revelations and hidden gems about Jesus and His finished work. Very often, when Jesus and His grace are not our focus, we find ourselves wandering in the desert of legalism and becoming discouraged and disillusioned with life as a believer. This was something Raymond, who lives in Australia, went through after becoming a believer when he was twelve. He was brought up believing that God would smite him if he did not keep the law perfectly. At the age of fifteen, he stopped going to church and reading the Bible as he felt that it was all too hard. But over the years, he never stopped believing that Jesus is the Son of God. At the age of fifty-four, Raymond kept a promise he made to his father to return to church. It was there that Raymond was introduced to my ministry, and this was his response to receiving the message of grace: When I heard about what Jesus had accomplished for me at the cross, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. For the first time in my life, I felt so close to my Savior and all I could do was cry and say, “You are awesome, Jesus!” over and over again. I know that I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ through His perfect finished work on the cross and that as Jesus is in heaven, so am I in this world. So every time I go through a trial, I just ask myself, “Is Jesus defeated by this in heaven? No. Well, neither am I here on earth.” I have learned to bring Jesus into every situation quickly so that I can rest in His unmerited and undeserved grace and love. Because God is with me, it does not matter what things look like in the natural as God is above all of it. I have learned to trust Jesus and tap into His love and wisdom daily. He is faithful and will NEVER leave me nor forsake me. I can truly say I have experienced the superabundance of God’s grace. I know now that God had never forgotten me even though I turned away from Him. God answered my dad’s prayer and now his entire family serves the Lord! Hallelujah, praise Jesus! Beloved, your enjoying peace, joy, and victory in this life is all about seeing Jesus, because from Him comes every supply and provision—His grace, His love, His righteousness, and His forgiveness. Keep focusing on His grace and love for you and I promise you, your life will be transformed beyond your wildest imagination. This devotional is taken from the book Reign in Life—90 Powerful Inspirations for Extraordinary Breakthroughs. |
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coram_deo 08-Nov-21, 18:39 |
Your Refuge And Fortress 08 November 2021 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Psalm 91:2 What are you saying of the Lord today? If you are saying He gave you the trouble you are presently in or an illness to teach you humility, it's time to change what you believe about Him. If you really believe that God is the author of your problems, would you really be running to Him for help? My friend, let's be like the psalmist who declared, "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust'" (boldface mine). The Hebrew word for "refuge," machaceh, refers to a shelter from storms and danger. This shelter is like the bunkers that many Jews have in their homes in Israel today to shelter them from small-scale attacks. In the figurative sense, when you say the Lord is your machaceh, you are also declaring that He is your place of hope. The Lord is also your fortress. In Hebrew, the word used for "fortress" is matsuwd. It refers to a castle or stronghold, a place of defense and protection against large-scale attacks. Isn't that a beautiful picture? Whatever you might be going through right now, you can declare that the Lord is your refuge and your fortress—your protection in both small as well as big attacks. Perhaps you have not been saying that God is behind your troubles. Perhaps you are not saying anything about the Lord at all. Perhaps God seems far away and you feel cut off from Him. If that is you, can I encourage you to take a break today from whatever you have on your busy to-do list, and simply take time to dwell in His sweet presence? God is not distant; sometimes we are just too distracted to hear His voice or sense His loving presence. Take a moment and see yourself in His secret place. Abide under His shadow. Savor His favor. Receive His wisdom. And find rest for your troubled soul. The feeling of being distant from God is only a feeling, nothing more. He has promised in His Word that He will never leave you nor forsake you (see Heb. 13:5). Our Lord Jesus paid for you to have access to God's constant presence. At the cross, He cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" when God turned His back on Him (Matt. 27:46). He took our place and was rejected by God when He carried our sins so that today, we can take His place of being in the constant presence of the Father and take Him as our refuge and fortress. |
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coram_deo 09-Nov-21, 05:44 |
From Joseph Prince Ministries: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him.” Daniel 3:28 - NOVEMBER 9 - JESUS IS WITH US IN OUR TROUBLES The book of Daniel records how King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made a towering golden statue and commanded all in his kingdom to bow down before it and worship it. Three young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, whom the king had appointed to oversee the province of Babylon, refused to do so. Humiliated by their defiance, the king was livid. He gave them one more chance to bow down and worship his golden statue or be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Without flinching, they said, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t . . . we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” (Dan. 3:16–18 NLT). The king commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual, and ordered some of his strongest soldiers to bind them and throw them into the furnace. The furnace was so hot that the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men into the roaring flames, securely bound. Suddenly, the king jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his officials, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (Dan. 3:24–25). Nebuchadnezzar called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” The three men stepped out of the fire and all the officials and advisers crowded around them and “saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched” (Dan. 3:26–27 NLT). In fact, the flames only served to loose them from their bonds. Amazed at how their God had protected them, Nebuchadnezzar began praising God himself. The king then issued a decree stating that if any person spoke a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they would be cut in pieces and their houses would be turned into ash heaps “because there is no other God who can deliver like this” (Dan. 3:29). Then, the king promoted the three men to even higher positions in the province of Babylon. Beloved, this is *your* God. This devotional is taken from the book The Prayer of Protection Devotional—Daily Strategies for Living Fearlessly in Dangerous Times. |
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coram_deo 10-Nov-21, 07:48 |
From Joseph Prince Ministries: Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Galatians 3:5–6 - NOVEMBER 10 - THE CRUX OF THE REAL GOSPEL We know that preaching, hearing, and believing the gospel are so important because they unleash God’s power to save us from every area of defeat in life. But how do we know if we are hearing the real gospel? What sets the true gospel apart from every other “gospel”? To answer this question, let’s go to the book of Jude. Apostle Jude tells us to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). What is “the faith” here that the church is to contend earnestly for? My friend, when you hear the word faith mentioned in the New Testament, it refers to “justification by faith”—how one is made righteous before God based solely on his faith in Christ Jesus. This is the crux of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is why the gospel is called “good news” and this is what sets it apart from all the false gospels. Unfortunately, what many preach today is hardly good news, because justification by faith has been subtly replaced with justification by works. Yes, they may tell you that you are saved by grace through faith, but then in the same breath they corrupt the simplicity of the gospel by saying that you stay saved or get blessed through works. You’ll also hear about all sorts of things that you need to do for God in order to be qualified through right living. Now, right living is certainly important, but that is not the gospel. Also, right living comes by believing right in the gospel. The crux of the gospel is not right living or good works, but justification by faith. And the apostle Jude tells us to contend earnestly for this. That term is translated from one Greek word, epagonizomai, from which the English word agony is derived. In other words, epagonizomai literally means “to agonize for.” We are to agonize for the faith! We are to fight for the truth that we are justified by faith and not works. This is the real gospel. What else does the Bible say about the gospel we are to preach? Romans 1:17 says, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ ” What is supposed to be revealed in the gospel? Not our sins, as many are fond of preaching, but the righteousness of God! Only hearing about the grace of God and how we are righteous by faith in Christ will set us free from our struggles with sin, addiction, and bondage. Romans 1:17 also tells us that this righteousness of God that we have in Christ is revealed from “faith to faith” and that the just “shall live by faith.” Can you see this powerful truth? It’s not this idea that once you are saved by grace through faith, you move on to works and watch your performance to maintain your salvation. Many Christians experience abundant joy when they are saved, only to lose that joy quickly when they are told, “Now that you’re saved, you need to work to please God in order to stay saved.” No, my friend, it’s from faith to faith to faith to faith . . . all the way until we see Jesus face-to-face! This doesn’t mean that there is no place for good works or living a holy life. These are by-products of living from faith to faith. They will be evident in your life when you live believing that you are justified, made righteous, and blessed through faith in Christ. This is the good news that God’s Word exhorts us to fight for—righteousness by faith in Christ alone! This devotional is adapted from the book Glorious Grace—100 Daily Readings from Grace Revolution. |
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coram_deo 11-Nov-21, 18:27 |
2 Corinthians 12:9 - NOVEMBER 11 - JESUS, BE THE CENTER I love how in Luke 24, the Holy Spirit intricately records for us the meeting that Jesus had with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus on the very first day of His resurrection. With heavy hearts, grieved and shell-shocked, they talked about how Jesus, whom they greatly esteemed, had been taken by the religious leaders, condemned to death, and crucified. Read the full story and notice how the two disciples were caught up with their own understanding of the events that had transpired and with their thoughts about the redemption of Israel. As a result, they were downcast, disappointed, and depressed. This is what happens when the truth about Jesus is absent from our minds. The disciples had hoped that Jesus would be the one who would redeem Israel. To them, Jesus was simply a means to an end. They were more consumed with Israel’s redemption than with the Redeemer Himself. No wonder they were depressed! Jesus can never simply be a means to an end, no matter how noble that end may be. We need to be occupied with Him and allow everything to revolve around Him as He takes center place in our lives. The disciples were downcast because they didn’t believe in what God’s Word had prophesied about Jesus’ suffering and resurrection. If they had believed and understood that the events in the last three days were all orchestrated by God and that the cross was His grand redemption plan to save all men, they would have been rejoicing with faith, love, and hope. They would have been greatly anticipating their reunion with the resurrected Christ instead of being so inward-looking and discouraged. But because of their wrong beliefs, they had become disillusioned and were mentally defeated. If you are feeling fearful, anxious, or depressed today, do a quick check. What’s on your mind? What’s your heart occupied with? Are your thoughts filled with faith in Jesus, the Shepherd of your life, or are they filled with apprehensions about the future, fears about your current situation, and excessive self-introspection? Give Him center place by believing that He is the answer to everything you need in life, and begin to walk in a new measure of His peace, joy, and liberty. This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing. |
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coram_deo 12-Nov-21, 09:58 |
From Joseph Prince Ministries: “But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” Mark 4:20 - NOVEMBER 12 - YOUR HUNDREDFOLD HARVEST IS COMING When you get discouraged that you have been partaking of the holy Communion but your healing is taking longer than you hope for, the enemy can start to play mind games with you. Maybe you are starting to entertain thoughts that the Communion is just an empty ritual. May I tell you there is spiritual warfare going on to get you to give up on the very channel God has ordained to bring supernatural life and health into your body? As I mentioned previously, miracles of instantaneous healing can take place. But our Lord Jesus tells us in today’s scripture what to expect when we are trusting Him for a breakthrough that does not manifest instantly. Notice what He says about how the seeds of the Word of God bear fruit when they fall on good ground. Luke’s gospel also records: “But as for that seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and noble heart, and hold on to it tightly, and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15 AMP). The seeds that fall on good ground “bear fruit with patience.” “Patience” refers to perseverance and endurance. Do you know why patience is involved? Because it takes time for seeds to bear fruit. It does not happen overnight. Just as the farmer waits patiently for the precious fruit of the earth, you also need to be patient (James 5:7). Your harvest will come incrementally—first thirtyfold, then sixtyfold, then a hundredfold. When you begin to partake of the Communion, you might see some improvements, but the pain is mostly still there. That’s a thirtyfold harvest. Don’t give up! Keep on partaking of the holy Communion by faith until you get your sixtyfold harvest. That’s when you know there has been major improvement—you can even feel it—but maybe some symptoms are still there, lingering on. That’s the time to keep persevering, and to keep trusting, and to keep putting your eyes on His finished work until you see your hundredfold harvest of blessings, and you experience full healing for your condition. When a seed is sown, you don’t see anything immediately, but you know it will begin to sprout leaves and grow. You don’t have to keep digging up the soil to check if the seed is growing. In the same way, when the seed of the Word of God is sown, your part is to have faith in the power of His Word and to be patient, as you believe that His words shall not return to Him void. And just as the earth yields crops incrementally, “first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head” (Mark 4:28), I declare that you shall reap the full harvest of your healing! This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional. |
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coram_deo 13-Nov-21, 08:22 |
From the Joseph Prince Ministries’ app: There Is Only One Way 13 November 2021 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. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13) The apostle Paul tells believers who have been born again in Christ that God the Father "has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:13–14). Notice that there has been a change of location. You used to be under the power of darkness. But the moment you believed in Jesus, you were moved and placed under the blood of Jesus, where there is perpetual forgiveness of sins. To understand the total forgiveness of sins, we have to understand the value of the person Who sacrificed Himself on the cross for us. He alone, because He was sinless, could pay for all the sins of every man. When our Lord Jesus died at Calvary, He took all of humanity's sins with one sacrifice of Himself at the cross. He took the judgment, punishment, and condemnation for all sins upon Himself. That's the value of the one Man, Jesus. He is an overpayment for all our sins. Now, does that mean that everyone is automatically forgiven? Of course not! Read today's scripture carefully. While everyone's sin is paid for, every individual needs to make a personal decision to receive the forgiveness of all their sins by receiving Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Jesus is the only way to salvation. There is no other way except through Jesus and His shed blood. There is no ambivalence in scripture as to how a person becomes a born-again believer in Christ. To be saved, you have to confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. Therefore, anyone who tells you that everyone's sin is automatically forgiven and that you don't need to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior in order to be saved is scripturally inaccurate. Such teachings are heretical and are lies from the pit of hell. There is no salvation without Jesus. There is no forgiveness without the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. There is no assurance that all our sins have been forgiven without the resurrection of Jesus. But today, as born-again believers in Christ, there is forgiveness and the amazing assurance that our salvation is secure and we will never be put to shame! This is our reality today—we can enjoy His presence, His righteousness, and His help every day and in every season. |
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coram_deo 14-Nov-21, 09:58 |
From Joseph Prince Ministries: I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. Genesis 12:2 - NOVEMBER 14 - BLESSED WITH GOOD SUCCESS TO BE A BLESSING Make no mistake about this: God wants us to be successful. Yet, He does not want us to have success that will crush us. I am sure that you have heard many stories of people who receive a sudden windfall when they come into a large inheritance or strike the first prize in a lottery. However, for some of these people, the sudden wealth did not give them a better life. Instead, in many instances, we know that it corrupted and destroyed their lives. Often, these people were not able to handle their so-called success, and ended up leaving their wives and allowing their families to break down before their eyes. Perhaps they bought all sorts of things and lived in huge houses. Yet, they still felt a chronic sense of loneliness, emptiness, and dissatisfaction. The sad reality is that many of those who chanced upon such sudden wealth squandered it all away, and some even became bankrupt. Such results are clearly not the Jesus-kind of results, nor are they the Jesus-kind of success. Let me make it clear from the outset: God has no problem with you having money, but He does not want money to have you! “But Pastor Prince, how can you say that God has no problem with us having money? Doesn’t the Bible say that money is the root of all evil?” Hold on a minute, that’s not in the Bible. Let’s be scripturally accurate. What the Bible says is this: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10). Can you see the difference? Having money does not make you evil. It is the obsession with and intense love of money that lead to all kinds of evil. Just because a person has no money in his pocket does not mean that he is holy. He may well be thinking, dreaming, and lusting after money all day long. You don’t need to have a lot of money to have the love of money. If a person is always purchasing lottery tickets, going to the casinos, and gambling in the stock market, this person clearly has a love for money. He is obsessed with getting more money. When God called Abraham, He said to him, “ . . . I will bless you . . . and you shall be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2). We who are new covenant believers in Christ are called the seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:29) and like Abraham, we are called to be a blessing. Now, how can we be a blessing if we are not blessed in the first place? How can we be a blessing to others when we are always flat on our backs with sickness, living from hand to mouth, never having enough for our own family, and always having to borrow from others? No way, my friend. God wants you healthy and strong, and He wants you to have more than enough financial resources so that you can be generous with your relatives, friends, community, or anyone who needs help. How can you be in a position to help others if you need all the help you can get yourself? It’s definitely not God's best for you if you barely have enough for yourself. He wants to bless you so that you can be a blessing! This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Favor—Daily Readings from Unmerited Favor. |
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coram_deo 15-Nov-21, 01:03 |
From Joseph Prince Ministries: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28–30 The Message - NOVEMBER 15 - ONE ENCOUNTER WITH HIS LOVE Many people harbor the misconception that those who are constantly partying, drinking, getting high, and sleeping around are having the time of their lives. Hollywood and the secular media have deified and glamorized the party lifestyle as cool and carefree. They have sold the lie that the YOLO life—the you-only-live-once, consequence-free existence—is awesome. But if you peel back the curtains, you see just how deeply unhappy and depressed these people entangled in a sinful lifestyle are. Our teenagers and youths are being bombarded with these images on their social media channels, in movies, and on television shows, where sinful lifestyles are not only tolerated but also celebrated. Our kids are faced with it daily in school and on their mobile devices. How have many churches responded? By saying, “We have to preach more on the law of Moses, on repentance, and on character.” But do you know what this generation hears when churches preach on those things? One of the testimonies I received from a sister named Melissa, who was struggling with a destructive lifestyle of sin, gives us a pretty good sense of what young people actually hear and what it made her believe: “I didn’t think of going to God and church because people I knew would tell me, ‘You’re going to go to hell because of your choices and how you’re living. God’s angry with you. He’s disgusted with you and He’s not going to bless you.’ Because this was what I constantly heard, this was what I believed about God, and I thought there was no way I could come to Him.” Is there any wonder why some churches are losing the next generation? Young people hear about an angry and capricious God Who is just looking for an opportunity to club them with a big stick and send them to an eternal furnace of fiery damnation. The church proudly proclaims, “We love the sinner but hate the sin.” But in reality, all that those who are struggling with sinful lifestyles hear is, “WE HATE THE SIN,” and they stay away from the church because they understandably equate that with “WE HATE YOU.” That, my friend, is simply not the gospel. The gospel is our beloved Lord Jesus reaching out to the woman at the well who had had five husbands and was cohabiting with another man out of wedlock. The gospel is our Lord Jesus rescuing the woman caught in adultery from the religious mob that wanted to exercise its legal right to brutally bludgeon her to death with rocks. When you observe our Lord Jesus, He was always comfortable with those who were tangled up in sin, so much so that the religious leaders mocked Him and called Him a friend of sinners (Matt. 11:19). He was undeterred by His critics, and just one encounter with His love and grace caused sinners to be transformed forever from the inside out. My dear friend, that’s the grace revolution that we have been talking about throughout this book. Our Lord never endorsed people’s sinful lifestyles; He simply awakened them to His deep and personal love for them, and once they experienced His love, they had the power to walk out of the prison of sin, addiction, and bondage. The woman at the well became an evangelist in her city and many came to know Jesus because of her. The woman caught in adultery walked away with the gift of no condemnation and the power to sin no more. The religious actively shunned the sinner; Jesus actively pursued the sinner. God’s glorious grace opens the prison doors for those trapped in sin and bondage. He has given you the power to walk out freely today. Welcome His deep love for you and you will be set free! This devotional is taken from the book Glorious Grace—100 Daily Readings from Grace Revolution. |
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coram_deo 17-Nov-21, 06:07 |
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? Romans 8:32 - NOVEMBER 17 - HE FREELY GIVES Isaiah 53:5 tells us that by Jesus’ stripes we are healed. Every stripe He bore as He was scourged was for our healing. And He willingly allowed stripe after stripe to rip into His body so you and I could be well. Don’t ever believe the enemy’s lie that God wants you sick or that He is not willing to heal you. At the cross, our Lord Jesus demonstrated once and for all that He wants you well. The Bible even tells us that it pleased the Lord to “crush Him” (Isa. 53:10 NASB). I used to wonder how it could have pleased the Lord to crush His own Son. Then one day, the Lord showed me. My wife, Wendy, and I had gone to a mall and the nearest parking lot we could find was quite a distance away. We did a lot of shopping that day and before we knew it, we had our hands full of shopping bags. By this time, our Jessica, who was a cherubic two-year-old then, was tired and wanted to be carried. I picked her up with one arm, and she was so exhausted she fell asleep on my shoulder almost immediately. As we walked toward our car, I felt my arm go to sleep, and I realized the car was much farther away than I had thought. It felt like a million pins and needles were piercing my arm, and I knew I could stop the burning pain by simply putting Jessica down and making her walk the rest of the way. But she was sleeping so soundly and deeply, I could not bear to put her down. I loved her so much I was willing to “crush” my arm so my little darling could continue to sleep. All of a sudden I began to understand how it could please God to crush Jesus, who is described in the same chapter as “the arm of the LORD” (Isa. 53:1). It pleased the Lord to crush His only begotten Son because of His great love for you and me. That was the only way God could save us from sin and disease, and He willingly chose to give up His Son. Today you can have full assurance God wants to heal you. The Bible tells 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?” God already gave us the best of heaven when He gave us His darling Jesus. What are our temporal needs when He has already given us a gift that is eternal? Whatever your needs are, whether it is financial provision or healing for your body, they are all lesser compared to the gift of His Son. How shall He not with Him also freely give them to you? This devotional is taken from the book The Healing Power of the Holy Communion—A 90-Day Devotional. |
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coram_deo 18-Nov-21, 12:27 |
For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 - NOVEMBER 18 - THE GRACIOUS GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS If you struggle, as many believers do, with whether you deserve to be blessed, favored, and victorious, you are asking the wrong question. The question you should be asking is, does Jesus deserve to be blessed, favored, and victorious? Because you are in Christ, having a blessed future is not contingent on how much you strive to be perfect or how hard you work at changing yourself. It is contingent on the person of Jesus. The Bible proclaims, “as He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). Does Jesus deserve to be blessed, favored, and victorious? Then so do you! This is what being in Christ Jesus means. It means that today, God assesses you and sees you based on the perfection of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ righteousness is your righteousness. In fact, the Bible explains that because Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us, we are now the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). “Righteousness” is a legal term. It means to have right standing before God. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words defines righteousness as “that gracious gift of God to men whereby all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are brought into right relationship with God.” In other words, your right standing before God is based upon Jesus’ right standing before God. Today, you are as righteous as Jesus because your righteousness is from Him. He purchased it for you at the cross. When you received Him as your Lord and Savior, He took away all your unrighteousness once and for all and gave you His gift of righteousness. This righteousness is something that you can never obtain or achieve through your right doing; it can only be received by your right believing in Jesus. And do you know what happens when you receive this gift of righteousness? The Bible declares that “those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:17). Hey, when you reign, your addictions don’t. When you reign, sicknesses don’t. When you reign, fear, depression, and every obstacle that is obstructing you from living your life to the fullest will be torn down and flushed out! This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing. |
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coram_deo 19-Nov-21, 08:42 |
. . . to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:18–19 - NOVEMBER 19 - GOOD THINGS HAPPEN WHEN YOU BELIEVE GOD LOVES YOU! Once, when I was preparing to preach, the Lord shared this with me: “good things happen to people who believe that God loves them.” My friend, good things happening to you does not depend on who you are, what academic qualifications you hold, or what your profession is. Good things simply happen to you when you believe that God loves you! He loves you all the time. Even when you fail, He loves you! His love is not like our love. Our love is conditional, but His love is not. It is not contingent on our behavior. It is contingent entirely on His grace and the work of His Son, Jesus Christ. When Paul prayed for the church of Ephesus, he prayed that they might be able to comprehend “what is the width and length and depth and height” of “the love of Christ” (see today’s scripture). Notice Paul’s emphasis on the love of Christ. In other words, it is not about our love for Christ. Paul was praying for them to have a revelation of Jesus’ love for them and not their love for Jesus. Now, observe closely the result of them knowing the Lord’s love for them: they would be “filled with all the fullness of God.” I have heard many sermons saying that if you do this and do that, you will be filled with the fullness of God. But that is not what the Bible says. It says that when you know the love of Christ, you will be filled with the fullness of God. You will see Him provide for your needs in big and small ways. I want to share a praise report from Kimberly, who lives in Florida, that demonstrates this truth. She and her husband had received the revelation of the gospel of grace and began to see financial breakthroughs where they had previously struggled. On their eighth wedding anniversary, Kimberly’s husband had surprised her with a new wedding ring. He got the new three-carat diamond ring at a supernaturally low price—almost nothing over their trade-in, half-carat diamond! To Kimberly, it was a symbol of God’s favor on their marriage and lives. So you can imagine her dismay when she lost it! Kimberly recalled: I was choking back negative thoughts as I feverishly tried to find the ring. We tore our house apart. The more I searched, the more stressed I became. I remember hearing the Holy Spirit say, “Stop trying to find it. Just rest and I will bring it back to you because I love you.” This gave me peace for about a day and a half but by the third day, I was in tears and frantic again! I cleared my bathroom vanity area three separate times to look for it! I went to the bedroom in tears, looked up, and said, “Jesus, I know that You love me, and You don’t have to help me find my ring to prove that. But because You love me, will You bring my ring back to me?” I prayed that simple prayer, walked back into the bathroom, and found my ring lying on my vanity area! Completely shocked, I immediately called my kids in to ask them if they had placed my ring there, and they said that they had not. I began crying and praising God because He truly answered my prayer by placing my ring in a spot that I had just checked and scrutinized three times! Jesus brought it back to me just as He had promised! I praise Jesus for loving me. Now, my ring symbolizes His grace even more. Have you been there before? You got so frantic and stressed that God had to interrupt your frenzy of worry to remind you that He loves you and would take care of that detail for you? What made the difference for Kimberly was this very knowledge that the Lord loved her. Once she was conscious of how much the Lord loved her, she saw her prayer answered and her precious ring (which the Lord had blessed them with) returned to her. Beloved, I pray that you have been growing in the revelation of how much God loves you as you see all that Jesus has accomplished for you on the cross. The more you realize that it is a revelation of Jesus’ love for you and not your love for Jesus, the more you, your family, and your future will be filled with the fullness and riches of His grace. This devotional is taken from the book Reign in Life—90 Powerful Inspirations for Extraordinary Breakthroughs. |
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coram_deo 19-Nov-21, 12:13 |
From the Joseph Prince Ministries’ app: How To Be Kept In Perfect Peace You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3 You need the truth of God's Word to uproot any wrong belief. This is why it's so important to get into His Word and take time to meditate upon verses that reveal God's unwavering and unfailing love for you. For instance, if you find your mind drifting into anxious thoughts over the smallest things, I encourage you to memorize and quote today's scripture: "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isa. 26:3). Whenever I feel stressed or worried about something, I pull away from life's hustle and bustle and simply meditate on God's promises. Sometimes I like to drive to a quiet park, and as gentle anointed music plays in my car, I feed on and speak His Word, allowing it to permeate my spirit: "God's Word declares, 'You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You.'" And I tell the Lord, "Yes, Lord, it is You who will keep me in perfect peace. Perfect peace comes from You. I just need to rest in Your grace and keep my mind on You. I don't need to think about what to do about this challenge. As I trust in You and keep my mind stayed on You, You will lead me and guide me. My trust is not in my own strength, but in You and You alone, Jesus." What am I doing here? Instead of allowing stress and worry to get to me, I'm training my heart to see how God sees my challenges. The bigger God becomes in my heart, the smaller my challenges become. In fact, many times when I just relax and keep my mind on the Lord, His peace and wisdom begin to flow in me, and the challenge that I was previously so worried about becomes minute and inconsequential in the presence of Almighty God. Are you faced with an insurmountable circumstance today? Learn to see what God sees by meditating on His Word, and let His peace drive out your anxiety. Let His wisdom direct your paths. |
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