The Ground Is Ready for Your Healing December 5, 2021 bizadmin “The plowers plowed on my back; They made their furrows long.” Psalm 129:3 THE GROUND IS READY FOR YOUR HEALING In verse above, we see a powerful and graphic agricultural imagery used to help us understand the violent suffering our Lord Jesus endured for our healing. Psalm 129 is messianic, and this is a picture of the scourging Christ went through. I was reading this verse one day, and I felt the Lord saying to me, “Meditate on why I used words that are associated with farming.” That made me wonder, Why did the Lord say, “They plowed My back” rather than beat, scourged, or hit? Plowers drag a sharp plow that digs into the soil to break up and make deep furrows in preparation for seeds to be sown, as pictured on the following page. I believe that was what happened to our Lord Jesus’ back. When The Roman soldiers scourged him, it was as if His whole back had been plowed. Furrows made in the ground by a plow allow for seeds and irrigation. In Psalm 129, the furrows speak of the scourging Jesus received for our healing. Victims of Roman flagellation were scourged using a whip made up of several long leather thongs embedded with shards of broken bone, metal, and hooks. With each stroke, the thongs would wrap around the victim’s body, and the shards would lodge in his flesh. When it was jerked away, the flesh of the victim would be ripped off and left in shreds, making deep, long furrows across his back. By the time our Lord’s tormentors were done, I believe there wasn’t a single sliver of skin left on His back. Psalm 22, a messianic psalm, tells us that even His bones were exposed and stared back at Him (Ps. 22:17). It was not by coincidence the language of sowing was used to describe our Lord Jesus’ horrific scourging. Furrows are made so seeds can be sown. When you feel like you have no faith to believe in healing, our Lord Jesus says you just need faith as small as a mustard seed (Luke 17:6). It is not about how strong your faith is—just sow your little seeds of faith into the good ground of our Lord. The more you see what He has done for you, the more your faith will grow, and the more you will experience a harvest of healing. When His back was lashed into furrows, He was allowing the seed for your specific healing to be sown, whether it is high blood pressure, a tumor, or your child’s asthma. Whatever condition you or your loved one might be suffering from, Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice speak of how the price for your healing has been paid in full. It speaks of how you are so loved. Now reach out by faith and receive your healing. And even as you wait for your hundredfold harvest, may you experience His love for you never like before!
Worship Activates Angels December 1, 2021 bizadmin The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him and delivers them. Psalm 34:7 WORSHIP ACTIVATES ANGELS Beloved, we have a resource that is greater than any attack the devil can launch against us. Would you like to know how you can activate angels in your life? The most important key is worship. As you offer your praise to the Lord, the passage above tells us that’s when angels are most active. Our Lord Jesus defined “fear” as “worship” for us. When Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, Jesus responded by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:13, which says, “You shall fear the LORD your God.” But He changed the word “fear” to “worship” and said to the devil, “For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God’” (Matt. 4:10). Beloved, when you worship the Lord, His angels camp all around you, surrounding you to deliver you. If you are going through a difficult period in your life and are fearful, choose to worship Him. Fear fills our hearts when we are occupied with ourselves, but when we worship the Lord, we become occupied with Him, His beauty, and His goodness, and His angels surround us like a protective shield. My ministry receives praise reports from people all over the world who, upon encountering His love for them personally through the preaching of the gospel, go on to be conscious of and full of thanksgiving for His goodness and grace upon their lives. Let me share with you a praise report from Sophia (who lives in Georgia, US), who’s also experienced the Lord’s intervention and protection. Today, I read your devotional titled God’s Angels Are Watching Over You and was really encouraged. I recall an incident when my daughter and I were driving down the road behind an eighteen-wheeler when a vintage-looking car suddenly tried to get between our vehicle and the truck. I thought, “Why are you—” Right then, I heard a voice inside speak to me, asking me to be quiet. So I let the car squeeze in front of us. Immediately after I let the car in, one tire of the eighteen-wheeler blew. Surprisingly, the vintage car stayed in front of my car, taking the full impact of all the flying pieces of the exploded tire. Once there were no more tire pieces coming from the truck, the vintage car returned to the left side of the road and drove off quickly. It then dawned on me that perhaps the driver of this car was an angel of the Lord. I was so encouraged to know that God protects us in these days and times! Amen! When God gives His angels charge over you, they go ahead of you to guard and protect you from all sorts of danger. And yes, they may even choose to travel in vintage cars. Hebrews 13:2 says, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (KJV).
Change Your Words, Change Your Life November 6, 2021 bizadmin Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3 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 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!
Bring Every Thought into Captivity October 23, 2021 bizadmin Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 BRING EVERY THOUGHT INTO CAPTIVITY Unfortunately, unbeknownst to many believers today, the enemy has launched malicious disinformation campaigns that have effectively enslaved them for years to low self-esteem, self-hatred, guilt, eating disorders, perversions, excessive fears, and all kinds of crazy habits and addictions. I want to expose the enemy’s lies and to help you see with pristine clarity the enemy’s deceptive and manipulative tactics. These lies will collapse like a house of cards the second you see your true identity in Christ. Your weapons for this warfare are found in the truth of God’s Word, and they are mighty and have the power to overthrow and destroy every stronghold that has been built up through disinformation and wrong believing. And the way we can eliminate these strongholds in our mind is by “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). When I was a young believer, I was taught that it was my responsibility to bring my every thought into obedience to Christ. I tried and struggled with that for years and ended up with more mental oppression, stress, and guilt than I had started with. One day God opened my eyes and said to me, “Son, keep your focus and your thoughts always on the obedience of Christ, and that will be a powerful weapon to pull down the devil’s strongholds in your mind.” When He said that to me, it felt like the lights were suddenly switched on in my head. So what does it mean to capture every thought to the obedience of Christ? Simply this: to focus on Jesus’ obedience to the Father at the cross, through which we were all made forever righteous the moment we believed in Him. Can you see that our obedience today under the new covenant begins with choosing to believe that we are made righteous by Christ’s obedience at the cross? The apostle Paul describes our obedience as “obedience to the faith” (Rom. 16:26)—believing right about what Jesus has done to make us righteous. And when we believe right like this, we will find His grace motivating and empowering us to think and live right. God’s Word tells us, “The just [righteous] shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17). You can say it like this: the righteous shall live by right believing. When you have right believing, you release the power of God to live right. The next time you have negative thoughts, catch yourself and look toward the obedience of Christ. See the cross. See Jesus. See Him washing your mind with His precious blood. When you believe the gospel, the true gospel that says you are righteous through Jesus’ obedience (Rom. 5:19), you will have right living. The right results will follow. My friend, the more you believe right that you have been made righteous and blessed through Christ’s obedience, the more you will see the fruit of obedience in your life. Praise Jesus for His marvelous grace!
Know Your Father’s Heart October 19, 2021 bizadmin Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to propitiate for our sins. 1 John 4:10 KJV Today, I want you to reread the parable of the Father of the prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32). As you read, keep in mind that this Son utterly rejected and completely humiliated and dishonored his Father, then only returned home when he remembered that even his Father’s hired servants had more food than he did! It was not Son’s love for His Father that made him journey home; it was his stomach. In his self-absorbed pride, he wanted to earn his keep as a hired servant rather than receive his Father’s provision by grace or unmerited favor. God wants us to know that even when our motivations are wrong, even when we have a hidden (usually self-centered) plan and our intentions are not entirely pure, He still runs to us in our time of need. He showers His unmerited, undeserved, and unearned favor upon us. Oh, how unsearchable are the depths of His love and grace toward us! It will never be about our love for God. It will always be about His magnificent love for us. The Bible makes this clear: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10 KJV). Some people think that fellowship with God can only be restored when you are perfectly contrite and confess all your sins perfectly. Yet we see in this parable that it was the Father who was the initiator, it was the Father who had missed his Son, who was already looking out for him, and who had already forgiven him. Before the Son could utter a single word of his rehearsed apology, the Father had already run to him, embraced him, and welcomed him home. Can you see how it’s all about our Father’s heart of grace, forgiveness, and love? Our Father God swallows up all our imperfections, and true repentance comes because of His goodness. Do I say “sorry” to God and confess my sins when I have fallen short and failed? Of course, I do. But I do it not to be forgiven because I know that I am already forgiven through Jesus’ finished work. The confession is out of the overflow of my heart because I have experienced His goodness and grace and because I know that as His Son, I am forever righteous through Jesus’ blood. It springs from being righteousness-conscious, not sin-conscious; from being forgiveness-conscious, not judgment-conscious. There is a massive difference. If you understand this and begin practicing this, you will start experiencing new dimensions in your love walk with the Father. You will realize that your Daddy God is all about relationship and not religious protocol. He loves being with you. Under grace, He doesn’t demand perfection from you; He supplies ideal to you through the finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ. So no matter how many mistakes you have made, don’t be afraid of Him. He loves you. Your Father is running toward you to embrace you!
Applying the Written Word October 15, 2021 bizadmin But the righteousness of faith speaks . . . But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and your heart” (that is, the Word of faith which we preach). Romans 10:6, 8 APPLYING THE WRITTEN WORD Let me show you examples of how you can use the written Word to come against the enemy’s attacks. Let’s say that while driving to work one morning, you hear some professor saying over the radio, “One in every five women will develop this disease by the age of forty.” That’s the time you must say, “It is written—‘Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and the perilous pestilence” (Ps. 91:3). If you do this, you are putting up a shield of faith, and you are releasing power as you declare that regardless of what the reports of the world say, your God shall deliver you from every deadly disease! Here’s another example of when and how you can quote the written Word. Suppose, for some reason, and you are crippled by vivid images in your mind of yourself dying young and leaving your spouse and little ones to fend for themselves. Again, this is the time to speak the Word of God against those fears. Declare, “It is written—‘With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation” (Ps. 91:16). Maybe you might know of an acquaintance who was killed in a fatal accident. Now, you are fearful that the same thing might happen to you. My friend, the enemy has just shot you with a fiery dart. We do not know what the other person believed. We can only be responsible for our own beliefs and lives. Perhaps your relatives or family members have died from the same illness, and the enemy is now attacking you with thoughts that you will also develop diabetes as your father and uncle did or die from the same heart condition they had. My friend, if you have been entertaining thoughts like these, NOW is the time to rise and make this declaration: “A thousand may fall at my side and ten thousand at my right hand, but it shall NOT come near me” (Ps. 91:7)! For something to happen at your right hand means that it has to be close to you. This means that even if something unfortunate happens to someone close to you, do not allow fear to hold you in its paralyzing grip. Speak forth the written Word of God!
How to Be Kept in Perfect Peace October 7, 2021 bizadmin You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3 HOW TO BE KEPT IN PERFECT PEACE 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.
Why a Revelation of Your Forgiveness Is So Important September 30, 2021 bizadmin I write to you, little children because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. 1 John 2:12 WHY A REVELATION OF YOUR FORGIVENESS IS SO IMPORTANT People have asked me from time to time, “Pastor Prince, why is an understanding of the complete forgiveness of my sins so important for me to walk in God’s unmerited favor?” This is a good question. Let me share with you some of the implications involved. First, if you have no confidence that all your sins have been forgiven, then your eternal security and salvation will always hang in the balance. Second, if you think that your sins were not fully dealt with at the cross, then you can never have the confidence to enjoy the Lord’s presence because you can never be sure if He is on your side or if He is waiting to punish you for your failures. You will constantly feel unworthy because you assessed your conduct, and you can never really have the boldness to ask God for big things or believe that He will give you success in your life. Third, if you do not believe that Jesus has already forgiven all your sins, it means that when you fail, you will think that you are not “right” with God and that fellowship with Him has been cut off. And instead of depending on His unmerited favor to overcome your failure, you will feel that you need to confess your sin, be remorseful and make amends with God before you can restore fellowship with God and depend on Him again. It comes down to this: When you don’t have a clear sense of your complete forgiveness, you will constantly be on an emotional seesaw. Sometimes, you feel that things between you and God are all right, but you don’t think that it is so at other times. Sometimes, you feel confident that the Lord is with you to make you a success, but at other times, you feel like you blew it, and the Lord will not help you until you confess your sin and make amends. You will be in a constant cycle of feeling insecure, where you are always hopping in and out of God’s favor. All these feelings depend on how well you think you have performed and ignore the cross of Jesus altogether. My friend, God does not evaluate you based on your behavior. He sees only Jesus’ perfect work. But because you do not believe that Jesus has indeed forgiven you of all your sins, you end up feeling like a total and complete hypocrite and failure. I hope you are beginning to see that understanding the complete forgiveness of your sins is not just for theologians. Thinking that your sins are not entirely forgiven will fundamentally affect your relationship with Jesus. While He is all ready to bless you, give you a favor and make you a success, unbelief in His finished work robs you of the ability to receive His goodness, His blessings, His unmerited favor, and His success in your life. The cross of Jesus qualified you, but unbelief in the main clause of the new covenant disqualifies you. Meditate on what God says about your sins in the new covenant and free yourself to receive from Him today. The new covenant is based entirely on His unmerited favor. There is nothing for you to do, nothing for you to perform, nothing to accomplish. Your part in the new covenant is to have faith in Jesus and to believe that you are forgiven and free to enjoy the new covenant blessings through His finished work!