Come As You Are to Jesus February 10, 2021 bizadmin You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. Psalm 30:11 COME AS YOU ARE TO JESUS 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 lot 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 see if everything was alright. He was candid with me and told me that he was going through many problems in his marriage and became 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 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 the 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 divine presence. They feel like they are 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 moral standing that permits 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! This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days Of Favor—Daily Readings from Unmerited Favor.
You Are Already Blessed January 19, 2021 bizadmin ‘I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’ Joshua 24:13 YOU ARE ALREADY BLESSED God is more willing to bless you than you are willing to be blessed! In fact, He is so keen for you to enjoy His abundance that in His mind, giving you over and above what you need is a settled matter. God has already promised: “I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.” He did not say, “I may give,” which means that it may or may not happen, but He said, “I have given,” which means that it has already happened. It is only a matter of time before your revelation of what you have through the work of Christ brings forth the abundance that He has already blessed you with. A brother in the United States wrote in to share how he needed to buy a car, but had only half the amount of money needed. He kept calculating and strategizing, but the sums just weren’t adding up. He finally quit trying to make it happen and just rested in the Lord’s love and ability to provide for him. Weeks later, he was able to buy a car that was two years newer than what he had wanted, at exactly the amount that he had! My friend, expect divine provision in your life because you are already richly blessed in Christ. Jesus took your place of poverty at the cross—“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). In Him, you are poor no more. So stop looking at the lack in your natural resources. Look to the cross and say, “Because of Jesus’ finished work, I can expect to walk in all of His blessings!”
Believing Is Receiving January 13, 2021 bizadmin For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. Mark 5:28–29 BELIEVING IS RECEIVING You have heard people of the world say, “I will believe it only when I see it.” Generally, that is the way the world thinks. But God’s ways are not like the ways of the world. The world says, “If I can’t feel it or see it, I cannot believe the miracle is here.” God says, “If you believe it before you feel it or see it, you will see your miracle.” Believing first before seeing the evidence of what we are believing for is called faith. Faith is like a spark and Jesus is the dynamite powder. In the story of the healing of the woman with the issue of blood, there were many people who touched Jesus (see Mark 5:31), but nothing happened to them. They didn’t touch Him in faith. But when the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years came to Him and touched Him in faith, He felt power leave His body (see Mark 5:30), and it sparked off an explosion of healing in the woman’s body! Hearing about how good, kind and loving Jesus was fired her faith to believe that He could and would heal her. So convinced was she (even when the condition in her body was still evident) that she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Did she experience her healing first before she believed? No, she believed first in Jesus’ goodness and power, acted in faith and only then felt the healing in her body. In the same way, God wants you to believe in His goodness and love toward you. He wants you to know how willing He is to act on your behalf to bless you, and how, with Christ, He will freely give you every good thing (see Romans 8:32). He wants you to declare by faith that all is and shall be well with you, and to expect to see just that. And then, no matter how long you have had the problem, no matter how bad the experts say it is, an explosion of healing and restoration will take place, and you will receive what you are believing for!
Jesus’ Blood Keeps On Cleansing You January 8, 2021 bizadmin But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 JESUS’ BLOOD KEEPS ON CLEANSING YOU During the day, the devil may whisper in your head, “You cannot go into God’s presence because you have not been reading your Bible and serving in church.” Or he will tell you that it is because of the sin which you have just committed. The devil will always make you feel that you are not qualified or clean enough to go near God. But the truth is, regardless of how you feel and what you have done, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. In the original Greek text, the tense for the word “cleanses” denotes a present continuous action. This means that once you are a believer, the blood of Jesus Christ keeps on cleansing you from every sin! So you can rest knowing that you are always forgiven in this continuous “wash cycle” of Jesus’ blood. Because you are continually cleansed, you are always in the light. Of course, you will fail here and there, but you are still in the light because the blood is continuously washing you! The Bible says that we overcome the devil, the accuser of our brethren, by the blood of the Lamb (see Revelation 12:11). If you have sinned, remind yourself that Jesus’ blood keeps on cleansing you from every sin—24 hours a day, seven days a week—and move on with God! The devil cannot defeat you when your faith is in the blood that cleanses you continuously. Some Christians are guilt-ridden because their consciousness of their sins condemns them. Although Jesus’ blood continuously cleanses them, they would rather hold on to their past mistakes and feel bad about them, thinking that they are being humble and holy when they do this. But this is nothing more than self-righteousness. My friend, the eternal blood of Jesus Christ offers you eternal redemption and everlasting righteousness. Accept the payment of His blood as the final, perfect and only sacrifice you will ever need!
Righteousness Is Not Right Doing But Right Being January 5, 2021 bizadmin But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, Romans 4:5 RIGHTEOUSNESS IS NOT RIGHT DOING BUT RIGHT BEING What do you think righteousness is about? Something you do or something you are? Right doing or right being? The Bible tells us that after Jesus’ sacrifice at the cross, God imputes righteousness not to those who strive to obey the law (see Galatians 2:16), but to anyone who believes in His Son. Because Christ took our sins and gave us His righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 5:21), the moment we believe in Him, God treats us as righteous apart from our works or obedience (see Romans 4:5–8). This is new covenant righteousness—a righteousness that comes by faith and not works. You are not righteous because of how morally upright you are. You are not righteous because you exercise self-control. You are not righteous because you read 10 chapters of the Bible daily. You are not righteous because you feel righteous. But you are the very righteousness of God in Christ solely because the sacrifice of Jesus made you so. When you believe this, your faith is accounted for righteousness. And this is what God wants you to use your faith for. If you are righteous by your deeds, you don’t need faith. You also don’t need faith to know that you are sinful. But you need faith to believe and declare that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, in the midst of your struggles with temptation and sin. For example, when you feel lousy because you have just shouted at your wife, God wants you to exercise your faith to see yourself as still righteous in the midst of that failure. This living revelation that you are still righteous will give you the strength to love your wife and reconcile things with her. The devil may remind you of your foul temper and question your integrity: “How dare you call yourself righteous when you just did that!” Just ignore his lies and boldly declare, “I am not righteous because of what I have done or not done. I am righteous only because of the blood and finished work of Jesus at the cross!”
God Sees Glorious Things In You! December 28, 2020 bizadmin …For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 Picture David when he was a shepherd boy. Many who knew him in his pre-Goliath days would very likely have seen just an ordinary youth—one who lived at home with his parents and siblings, enjoyed the outdoors and loved music. But where others saw a typical teenager, God saw a king in young David. He saw David’s name being uttered in honor forever for even the Lord Jesus is called the Son of David! Picture Moses after he had settled down comfortably in the desert with a beautiful wife, lovely children and good in-laws. He might have seen himself happily retiring in the near future. But God had bigger plans for him. God had big dreams for him. God saw the Red Sea opening up before him and an entire Egyptian army being wiped out in his presence. God saw in Moses the deliverer of His people. Now, step back a little less far in time with me. See a little boy standing alone during playtime. Nobody wants him on their team because he is scrawny and seen as a weakling. As he grows into his teens, he suffers from an inferiority complex. He stammers and stutters so much that all his classmates laugh at him. But today, he is the senior pastor of New Creation Church. Several times each week, he stands in front of a crowd of more than 30,000 people to preach. And he receives invitations to speak in churches and pastors’ conferences worldwide. In those early years, there was no way I could have ever conceived in my mind what God saw in me and the dreams that He had for me. Beloved, God does not see as man sees. God saw in fearful Gideon a mighty man of valor and called him so even when he was hiding from his enemies in fear (see Judges 6:12). God saw in young David a king and anointed him as one (see 1 Samuel 16:10–13). God saw in meek Moses a deliverer and drew him out from obscurity (see Exodus 3). Today, God looks beyond what man sees and says about you, and He has dreams for you that are bigger than you can imagine!
You Are Next! December 19, 2020 bizadmin For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. Psalm 50:10 YOU ARE NEXT! Suppose you have just heard of someone whose financial debts have been miraculously cleared. Or your elated friend has just told you that despite being an average student in school, he scored straight As in all his subjects. Perhaps on Sunday, you heard a newlywed couple share about how they won an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Hawaii, or how a once-childless couple is now expecting their miracle child. When you see or hear of others being blessed, do you ever wonder when it will be your turn? Or do you even find yourself saying, “Oh, he got blessed with the very thing that I have been praying for. There goes my blessing.” Now, just because man’s economy operates on the principle of shortage, it does not mean that God operates in the same manner. So the next time somebody gets blessed, tell yourself, “I won’t be disheartened. I won’t be jealous. I am the next one to be blessed!” Always remember that God does not have to bless anyone at your expense. Nor does He have to bless you at anyone’s expense. We don’t have to be jealous of each other. There is a portion that God gives to you which no man can touch because it has your name on it—“A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven” (John 3:27). Our God is a rich God. He owns the whole universe. He has contacts and blessings you do not know of and which are reserved just for you! There is more than enough for everybody with plenty of leftovers. In fact, you will not be able to take it all because when the blessings start coming in, they will come in a net-breaking, boat-sinking style. You will have to call for your friends in the other boats to come and help you (see Luke 5:1–7)! That is the kind of blessings that our God gives. So get ready for your blessings and overflowing abundance!
Never Alone, Always Cared For December 17, 2020 bizadmin casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 NEVER ALONE, ALWAYS CARED FOR It does not matter how tightly knit our families are or how many close friends we have. When we go through a difficult time or trial, many a time, we still feel all alone and that no one really cares or understands. Martha knew that feeling. She had on one occasion cried out to Jesus, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” (Luke 10:40). Jesus’ disciples also knew what it was like to feel small, alone and in trouble. They cried out, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” when they were swept up in a terrifying storm (Mark 4:38). Today, maybe the cry of your heart is also, “Lord, do You not care that I am left all alone…that I am going under…that I am perishing?” My friend, the Lord does care for you. He loves you so much that He wants you to cast all your cares upon Him—not just some but all your cares. He wants both your big and small cares. There is nothing too small or big for Him. If it is a care in your heart, He wants you to cast it upon Him. When the apostle Peter wrote “casting all your care upon Him,” he was talking about the continuous act of casting all your cares upon the Lord. As a care comes, God wants you to cast it to Him. That is the lifestyle He wants you to adopt. Why? The verse gives us the reason—“for He cares for you.” You are casting all your cares upon the One who loves you, and who left all of heaven to come and die for you. That is who you are casting your cares to. It is not just any person, but it is the One who gave His life for you! When you are going through a difficult time, God wants you to believe that you are never alone because He Himself has said that He will never leave you nor forsake you (see Hebrews 13:5). As the object of His care, He will take care of you for the rest of your life. You are never alone and always cared for!