Even the very hairs on your head are numbered...

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don?t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Matthew 10:29-31 (NIV Bible)

Jesus says that His Father has taken the time to count each one of the hairs on our head! While we may be pre-occupied by the color of our hair or how many are falling out on a daily basis, Father focuses in on each strand. What incredible attention to detail!

It is amazing to think that such insignificance in our eyes seems so important to God. God is so big that He scoops the oceans in the palm of His hand, and yet He is so small that He can number each hair on our head. Even the falling of an insignificant sparrow requires His attention. Jesus encourages us that if our Father is intimately involved in the falling of one sparrow, how much more is He involved in our everyday lives!

We don?t have to be afraid, for our Father is watching over us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He really, really loves us and is involved in the smallest details of our lives. If there are days that you feel alone, when you think that no one is really attending to your needs, remember this scripture passage. 

He has taken the time to count each hair on your head, not because He is bored or has nothing else to do, but to simply demonstrate your great worth in His sight. His call to you is not to be afraid. He is in control of all that goes on in your life and since He cares for the sparrows, He will certainly care for you.

Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications © 1999 www.FathersLoveLetter.com

I am familiar with all your ways...

You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Psalm 139:3 (NIV Bible)

The Hebrew word for familiar, biyn, means to be acquainted with or to intimately understand. Father God is familiar with all our ways, which means He is fully acquainted with us and He intimately understands all that we are and all that we do.

This thought of intimacy causes many of us to be very uncomfortable with God, for we are not even comfortable with ourselves. Our minds can't even comprehend this kind of depth of His intimacy and acceptance. He is familiar with all our ways, and yet He still desires to be our Father. This kind of love surpasses anything that we have ever experienced or anything that we could ever possibly hope for or imagine. However, it is a two way street.

Just as much as Father knows us, He wants us to begin to know Him, to become familiar (biyn) with all His ways. Father desires intimacy with His children. He sees us for who we really are, yet He loves us. He wants us to see Him for who He really is, and to allow Him to father us perfectly. 

Jesus and the Father shared in this type of intimacy. In John 17:10, Jesus prayed these words to His Father, All I have is yours and all you have is mine. Theirs was an interaction of hearts that was completely given to each other without reserve.

When we receive Jesus Christ, we enter into the same relationship that Jesus has with His Father because we are now in Christ. Jesus died so that all we might share in this incredible relationship with His Father. Will we begin to yield all that we are over to the One who wants to give us all that He has? 

I think we are getting the better end of the bargain! To become intimate, requires vulnerability. God understands our trepidation so that is why He risked first. He made the first move when He gave up everything He had to win our hearts. He emptied the bank when He sacrificed His only Son so that we might know Him.

Why not respond to this ultimate gesture of love by beginning to risk a deeper relationship with your Father? Intimacy with God begins with us lowering our defenses simply to allow God to into-me-see.

Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications © 1999 www.FathersLoveLetter.com

I know when you sit down and when you rise up...

You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
Psalm 139:2

Father God is intimately aware of all that you do. He knows when you sit down and when you rise up. He even knows what you are thinking. Your Heavenly Father is intimately involved in every area of your life no matter how insignificant you think it is.

He is with you when you go to work. He is there when you play, and He watches over you when you sleep. He will never leave you or forsake you, for He has promised to stay close. Have you ever wondered why the God of the universe would take the time to be interested in such detail? It is simply because He loves you! And because He loves you, no task that you set out to do is too mundane for Father to take notice of.

God may be seated on His throne in heaven, majestically overseeing the entire universe, but He still is watching over you. Just as a father sitting in an easy chair, enjoys watching His children playing at his feet, Father always maintains a watchful eye over us.

He is not pre-occupied managing His creation, for His omnipresence allows him to be everywhere all at once. So take great comfort in knowing that He is always with you. He knows when you sit down and when you rise up and He knows your every thought even before you think it.

Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications © 1999 www.FathersLoveLetter.com

My Child..

 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (NIV Bible)  Matthew 18:1-4

In this scripture passage, Jesus calls us to become like little children. The call isn't to be childish, but to simply be child like. Young children know that they are needy. They look to their parents to provide everything that they need and want...food, clothing, shelter, teaching, activities, guidance and even discipline.

They are like love sponges, having the capacity to soak into their little bodies as much love as we can give them. They live for hugs and kisses and meaningful touch, an intimate connection that affirms them and tells them that they are welcome into this world and that they are greatly loved.

Jesus calls us to become like little children. Since Jesus says that becoming child-like is a pre-requisite to entering the Kingdom of Heaven, we should take note of another characteristic of a little child. Simple faith. Little children have the faith to simply believe that they will receive what they need when they need it. They don't worry about it, they don't strive over it, they simply expect it.

When my youngest daughter Candice, was very small, she was completely confident that I had an unlimited supply of personal finances for her to draw from. Whenever she wanted something extravagant, she would tell me just to go to the bank and get the money, because they had lots. "Just go to the bank dad" she would say. I think in some ways that God wants us to relate to him like my daughter, Candice related to me.

No worries, no striving, just complete confidence in the ability of her father to meet her needs. While my little girl did not always get what she wanted when she wanted it, I couldn't help but to delight in her boldness and her complete trust in me.

As you read this devotional, my challenge to you is to simply let yourself become very little. The expectations in the world we live in are often to be very grown up. While maturity and responsibility are wonderful attributes, for a moment, set aside the strong, self-sufficient, independent you and allow yourself to become very small and needy before God.

He wants to pick you up, give you a hug, and whisper your name in your ear. You are his child, and he is your Father. This is your destiny, this is what you were created for. When you let Him love you in this way, as a father loves his little child, you will begin to realize that you are still a love sponge, and the need for love and affirmation that you had as a little child is still there within you.

When we allow ourselves to be embraced by God, we begin to see that this is what we have been looking for all our lives. We may have searched for it in careers, relationships, and in many others things, but we only find it in one place…the arms of our Heavenly Father.

Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications © 1999 www.FathersLoveLetter.com

Easter Day 7

FOR IN JESUS, MY LOVE FOR YOU IS REVEALED

John 17:26

Jesus came to reveal His Father to us. His desire was that the love the Father had for him would be in us too. His passion was that we would know and experience his Father's heart just as he had known and experienced this amazing love from the very beginning. What a privilege to be caught up in this incredible love affair within the Godhead! 
This gift of relationship with God far exceeds anything that we could ever do to possibly deserve such an honor, but it is offered to us free of charge through Jesus. What an awesome Savior we have, that he would be willing to leave the intimacy and glory of his Father's presence, to make the Father known to us. Through the cross, Jesus has made the way for us to be joint-heirs with him as sons and daughters to his Father.
We all have an invitation, one child at a time, to come to the Father through Jesus Christ and to be partakers of His incredible love. Jesus has come to make his Father known to us, and he promises to continue to make his Father known in order that his Father's love might be in us and that he too might live in us.

Easter Day 6

IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?  

Romans 8:31

Many times when we are feeling discouraged, it is as if the whole world is against us. It is like we are swimming upstream, constantly fighting a powerful current that seems to be pushing us downstream despite all our efforts. It can be a frustrating experience to feel that we are going one way and everyone else is going in another direction.

The reality is that in the world we live in, we will find many people and obstacles that will seem to be in direct opposition to where we are going. This can be a very discouraging and lonely reality unless we take Romans 8:31 to heart.

The truth is that God is for us, not against us. Not only is He on our side but He is in our corner cheering us on as He plans great things for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11).

If we can grasp the truth of our Father’s heart towards us, it will not matter who is opposing us or what is standing in our way! For we will be confident that our Heavenly Daddy is the biggest, strongest, most loving person in the universe and has declared to the heavens that He is for us! What will you say in response to this declaration?

Easter Day 5 - Good Friday

FOR I AM YOUR GREATEST ENCOURAGER

James 1:17

The Father is our greatest encourager! He has not come to condemn us, but to encourage us and give us hope. I believe that He stands on the sidelines cheering us on as we race down the field of life, all the while speaking hope into the deepest part of our being. His shouts of encouragement provide us with the strength that we need, when we need it, in order for us to finish the race that was uniquely charted for us.
I imagine Him running alongside of me, speaking words of affirmation as I continue to press on. With each loving glance and encouraging word, my muscles seem to strengthen and my endurance increases with the assurance that He loves me and wants me to finish well. 
When I do stumble and fall, I am quickly picked up and reminded that I was never actually running the race on my own, for it was Jesus who had been carrying me all along as He ran in stride with His Father.increases with the assurance that He loves me and wants me to finish well. 
When I do stumble and fall, I am quickly picked up and reminded that I was never actually running the race on my own, for it was Jesus who had been carrying me all along as He ran in stride with His Father.
The Father and the Son truly are our greatest encouragers. May their eternal encouragement bring us hope and provide us with the strength we need in order to run the race set out before us.

Easter Day 4

I CHOSE YOU WHEN I PLANNED CREATION.

Ephesians 1:11-12

When I was a little boy, I used to hang around my big brother a lot. My parents would sometimes make him take me with him despite his protests. While he was not always thrilled to have me tag along, he was always there to protect me from his much older friends when things got rough. 
But one of things I remember was the fear that I felt when we would go to a local park to play a game of baseball or football. Being extremely small for my age and 4 years younger than most of the other guys, I was not usually considered as a first round draft pick by the captains who were choosing the teams.
Nobody wants to be the last one on the field the player nobody wanted. Most times I ended up on my brother's team by default and was considered a liability rather than an asset. While I survived those trying years with minimal scars,I realize that the fear of being rejected by the team is not just limited to our childhood yearsMany of us, grow up living with the fear that were not good enough to make the team even in our adult years. Some of us experience this kind of rejection from our parents while others from a spouse or family member. Rejection can happen anytime and any where, from the workplace to the church. While we will always have to deal with one form of rejection or another, I am so glad that this is not how God treats us! There are no rejects on God's team, for He has a wonderful plan for everybody. He is not a respecter of persons, so the water boy gets as much love as the star player.God wants and needs every player on His team. He is the captain that chose you when He planned creation. He is the master planner and He has not left anything to chance. You are wanted and have a wonderful destiny as a child on your Father's team!

Easter Day 3

FOR YOU WERE MADE IN MY IMAGE.

Genesis 1:27

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. While all that He made was good, something deep in His heart was not yet satisfied. So on the 6th day, God created man in His own image. We read in Genesis 2:7 that He breathed into man?s nostrils the breathe of life.
How close must God have been to Adam, to actually breathe into His nostrils? What a tender moment that must have been, as Adam took his first breathe, opened up his eyes only to see the loving gaze of his Father calling him to life. We are not gods, nor will we ever be gods, but we were made in the image of our Creator. Within each person, there lies a divine DNA imprint that comes from God alone.
We are God's children and we have been created to reflect His image. When I look at my own three children, I can see a little of myself in each one of them. It brings me great joy to see a part of me reflected in them. What joy it must bring to the Father?s heart, when He can see His own likeness being mirrored in us.
Jesus was the exact representation of His Father (Hebrews 1:3) and came to show us what His Father was really like. We have the privilege of having the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in our mortal bodies too! What character traits of Father do you have in your life? Do you have His smile? His touch? His laugh? The next time you look in a mirror, look for the Father in your reflection, for He created you in His own image.

Easter Day 2

EVERY GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT IS FROM ABOVE

James 1:17

Every good and perfect gift that we receive comes from the hand of God. Our life, our families, everything good comes from the Father of heavenly lights. And God does not change like shifting shadows for He is always faithful and dependable.
We have not always experienced such consistency and purity in our earthly relationships. Some gifts that we have received have come with strings attached and people that we have trusted in have changed like shifting shadows. But God is not like that. He is the giver of good gifts and He never changes. Never. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. His love is not fickle or conditional, His gifts are showered on us, not because we have earned them, but because He loves to give good gifts to the ones He adores. Every golden sunrise is a token of Father's affection. He paints the sky with rainbows and scatters clouds simply for our delight. All of creation bears witness to His love and His majesty.
If we begin to understand that all we receive in life comes as a gift from our Heavenly Father, then we will begin to look at even the simple things with awe and child-like wonder. Our Father is the most generous person in the universe. He loved us so much that He gave us His only begotten Son, and He continues to love us by giving us the gift of life every day that we live. May every breathe that you take, remind you that your life is a gift from your Father, who loves you and does not change like shifting shadows!

Easter Day 1

YOU MAY NOT KNOW ME, BUT I KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU Psalm 139:1

God knows you. Even if you don't know him, he knows everything about you. He knows how you were made, why you were made, and why you do the things you do. He created you and fashioned you in His extravagant love for His eternal purposes. 
If a car mechanic can recite in great detail, the purpose of every part in a re-built engine, how much more is the Creator of the heavens and the earth able to recite every characteristic of His beloved children.
He knows every bump, every bruise, and every failure. He knows every fear, every inadequacy, and every one of our dreams. He knows us through and through, yet He still loves us unconditionally. The thought of such intimacy with God causes many of us to cringe in fear. How could God know me as I really am, yet still love me? Shame caused Adam and Eve to run from the presence of their all knowing, all seeing Father. But God does not want us to run from Him, but rather run to Him.
Even when we do hide, we can't escape His loving gaze. Yes our Father knows us intimately and He loves us with an everlasting love. His love for us is higher, and deeper and wider than any other love we have ever experienced in our entire lives. The love that we are familiar with is usually conditional and based upon performance.
But thanks be to God, that Father's love is not an earthly love, it is divine in nature and not based upon our own sense of personal goodness, but rather on His goodness and mercy. Yes your Father knows you, and He loves you with all His heart.

GOD WANTS TO SET YOU UP FOR A BLESSING

Ruth 2:12

The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

Have you ever wondered why, in some Bible stories, God asked the people to give what little they had to Him? It may appear cruel, but the truth is that God was setting them up for a blessing! God’s way is to use whatever we have, and multiply it back to us once we put it in His hands.

The widow of Zarephath had only a handful of flour and a little oil to make one last meal for her son and herself before they faced starvation. But she trusted God and used a portion of the little that she had to make a cake for the prophet Elijah. And God rewarded her by making sure that her bin of flour was not used up and her jar of oil did not run dry until the drought ended. (1 Kings 17:8–16)

Similarly, the boy who gave his little lunch of five loaves and two small fish to Jesus not only ate well, but he also saw it being used to feed more than 5,000 people with 12 baskets full of leftovers! (John 6:1–13)

Whenever we give what little we have to God, whether it is money, time or energy, it opens up our hearts so that God can fill us up with more. And when we give our lives to God, we can trust Him to make things right for us and to be the rewarder of our faith.

When Ruth, a childless Moabite widow, left the comfort of her home to follow her mother-in-law Naomi and the God of Israel back to a foreign land (Ruth 1:16), she was given a full reward by the Lord. God gave Ruth protection and ensured that she was well-provided for through Boaz, a wealthy relative who took on the role of kinsman-redeemer for her and Naomi. (Ruth 2:9, 4:9–10)

Beloved, as you trust God with what you have today, know that He loves you and is setting you up for more blessings. So expect to see even more of His provision and abundance in the days to come!

© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2008–2018

THANKSGIVING CAN RAISE THE DEAD!

John 11:41–42

…And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me…

After Jesus had said these words, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And the man who had been dead for four days came out of his tomb!

This is one of the greatest miracles that Jesus performed. Lazarus had been dead for four days when Jesus raised him to life. Wouldn’t you agree that death is indeed an extreme problem? Having no money in the bank, being sick and losing your job, bad as they are, are not as bad as being dead!

But what I want you to see is this: If Jesus, in the most extreme of problems, shows us that the solution is still, “Father, I thank You,” then how much more should we thank God in the midst of the less serious problems we face. If thanksgiving can raise the dead, then let us give thanks in spite of the negative circumstances and we will see victory.

Unfortunately, we tend to do the opposite—murmur and complain. But murmuring and complaining only magnify the problem. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is the language of faith which pleases God. I am not saying that we give thanks for the problems we have. No, we thank God that He is our answer and that He has already given every blessing to us. (Ephesians 1:3)

“But Pastor Prince, what I have is so little.”

My friend, thank God for the little you have and it will multiply. Jesus thanked His Father for the five barley loaves and two small fish, a little boy’s lunch, and they were multiplied to feed more than 5,000 people with 12 baskets full of leftovers! (John 6:8–13) And notice that when the Holy Spirit talked about this event again, He specifically mentioned the Lord giving thanks—“the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks”. (John 6:23) The Holy Spirit seemed to be more pleased with the act of giving thanks than the miracle of multiplication or the 12 baskets full of leftovers.

Beloved, the more you thank God, the more you please Him. What little you have will be multiplied and whatever is dead in your life will be raised to life!

© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2008–2018

LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP

Luke 5:4

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

God wants to bless you—big-time! It was for this reason that He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” The deep is where you will find a whole lot of fish. You won’t find them near the shore in shallow waters. But to launch out into the deep is to move away from the comfort of the shoreline.

My friend, God wants you to break away from your comfort zone and step out in faith to do what He has put in your heart. It may be something simple, but which you have never done before or only dreamt of, like attending a care group. A church member did just that and found love. Today, she is happily married.

Now, our Lord Jesus who said, “Launch out into the deep…” also said, “…let down your nets for a catch.” Notice that He used the plural “nets” and not the singular “net”. Beloved, God wants to give you more than what you need. His dream for you is bigger than anything you can ever dream of. Dream big and God will exceed your dream because He delights in giving you exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20)

Another church member who was formerly working for someone else had wanted to start his own company. When praying with him, I received a word from the Lord for him to launch out on his own. When he did that, he made a handsome profit at the end of the first month alone! Today, he has more than one company and his businesses are flourishing. God is blessing him beyond his wildest dreams!

Beloved, God wants to bless you beyond your wildest dreams. He did it for Simon who was astonished at the size of the catch of fish. (Luke 5:9) But it was not until Simon launched out into the deep that he ended up with the net-breaking, boat-sinking load of fish. (Luke 5:6–7) You, too, will be astonished at your catch when you step out of your comfort zone and launch out into the deep with the Lord!

© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2008–2018

BLESSED ARE YOUR BASKETS, KNEADING BOWLS AND NETS!

Deuteronomy 28:5

“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

In Bible times, reapers carried baskets on their backs to collect the harvest from the fields. They had to ensure that their baskets were strong and sturdy, so that what they collected would not fall out. The women of that day used kneading bowls to knead dough for making bread. If they used poor-quality bowls which broke easily, they would not be able to make bread.

So baskets and kneading bowls in those days represented the means by which one got his tangible blessings. Beloved, your Father in heaven does not want you to worry about the means by which you get your blessings. Because of the sacrifice of Christ, He says to you, “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.”

This means that if you are a cab driver, your cab will not break down on your rounds because God says to you, “Blessed shall be your cab.” If you are a businessman, your capital investment will not fail you because God says to you, “Blessed shall be your capital investment.” And if you are a salesman, your products will be looked upon favorably because God says to you, “Blessed shall be your products.”

These blessings are yours because Jesus paid for them with His death and He enforced them with His resurrection.

On one occasion, Jesus told Peter to throw his nets into the water. When Peter threw one net down, he caught so much fish that the net “was breaking”. To save the bumper haul, the other disciples quickly filled their boats with the fish, lest the net gave way completely. (Luke 5:4–7)

After Jesus rose from the dead, a similar incident took place. Once again, Jesus asked His disciples to cast their net out. They caught a multitude of fish. But “although there were so many, the net was not broken”. (John 21:11) Notice that in the first case, the net was breaking. In the second case, it was not! Something supernatural happened to their nets after Jesus rose from the dead!

Beloved, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, not only are you blessed (Ephesians 1:3), but your nets, baskets and kneading bowls—the means by which you obtain your blessings—are also blessed!

© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2008–2018

THANK YOUR WAY TO PEACE

Philippians 4:6

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

You would probably have read this verse before, but would you like to know how to apply it in your everyday life? Let me give you an illustration to help you.

Let’s say that you are one of those in your company eligible for a promotion and you will know tomorrow whether you get it. You want the promotion badly because it means more income for your family. So you lie in bed at night tossing and turning. You pray, “Father, please take away all my worries about this promotion. Give me faith.” One hour later, you are more anxious than ever. It seems like God is not answering your prayer!

How come? Because you are not doing it God’s way.

Pray like this instead: “Father, I cast all my worries about the promotion into Your loving hands because You care for me and love me.” The Bible tells us to cast all our cares upon the Lord for He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7) Then, say, “Father, I would like to have the promotion.” It is okay to ask Him for that. Now, here comes the most powerful part—thanksgiving. Finish off with thanksgiving. Thank God for His faithfulness.

Say something like, “Father, whether I get the promotion or not, I thank You that You will always provide for my family with more than enough. You who feed the birds of the air and clothe the lilies of the field will take care of us. So I am not going to worry about this promotion. You are the source of all my blessings.” (Matthew 6:30, Philippians 4:19)

When you pray like this, all of a sudden, you are no longer held hostage by the promotion. I call this the “thank You” therapy. The more you know God’s Word, the more you can thank Him. The more you thank Him, the more His peace reigns in your heart. And many a time, before you know it, it is morning! You don’t even remember falling asleep. The peace of God reigns like that.

My friend, whatever your concern is, bring it to your Father in prayer and thank your way to peace!

© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2008–2018

CREATION CAN’T BUT REDEMPTION CAN!

John 9:7

And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

When Adam sinned and fell, everything about creation fell. Yet, people today are still putting their trust in creation. For example, they try to become healthy by eating what is called the “Eden diet”—vegetables and no meat. They are acting as if creation did not fall. They also forget that there are people who eat well and exercise regularly, and still drop dead in the prime of their lives!

Thank God that what creation cannot do, redemption can and did. Jesus demonstrated this when He spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva and put it on a blind man’s eyes. (John 9:6–7) Now, it is certainly unusual to put clay on a blind man’s eyes because he would become doubly blind!

So why did Jesus do that?

He was demonstrating to us that all our body parts come from the ground and that because creation is fallen, the work of creation cannot open a blind man’s eyes. But the work of redemption can! That is why He sent the blind man to the pool of Siloam. The word “Siloam” means “Sent”, referring to the sent one, Jesus. When the blind man washed his eyes in the pool of the sent one, he received supernatural healing for his eyes.

Beloved, when we go to Jesus, the sent one who came to redeem us with the price of His blood, and we rest in His finished work, we will receive the miracle we need. If we believe that by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5), we will have greater health than those who trust in creation.

Jesus was sent to redeem us from every curse that came upon creation with the fall of Adam. (Galatians 3:13) He has redeemed us from sickness, pain, sorrow, depression, poverty and even death. The world may know Him as the Creator. But today, we know Him as our Redeemer. Where the work of creation cannot save us, His work of redemption can and has!

© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2008–2018

JESUS IS YOUR RESTORER AND NOURISHER

Ruth 4:15

And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age…

Famine impoverished the life of Naomi, an Israelite. But it was the deaths of her husband and two sons that left her completely destitute. (Ruth 1:1–5) Or so she thought, until Boaz, who was a wealthy and close relative, entered her life.

As her kinsman-redeemer, Boaz married Ruth, Naomi’s widowed daughter-in-law. And through that union, Naomi had a grandson. The birth of her grandson gave her a new lease of life, causing the womenfolk in her village to declare that the restorer of life and the nourisher of her old age had come into her life. (Ruth 4:14–16)

Boaz is a picture of Jesus, our kinsman-redeemer. Jesus became our kinsman when He was born into this world as one like us. And He became our Redeemer when He paid with His life and blood at the cross to redeem us.

Jesus gave Himself to us as our restorer of life and nourisher of our old age. When the restorer of life is in our lives, what we have lost can be restored. (Joel 2:25−26) And with the nourisher of our old age in us, our bodies can be gloriously renewed even though we advance in our years.

That is why when Moses died at the age of 120, his eyes were not dim and his natural vigor was not diminished. (Deuteronomy 34:7) Caleb, at 85 years old, could still drive out the giants from the land. God had literally nourished his body and made it strong for war. (Joshua 14:11) Sarah was certainly rejuvenated in her old age by God for she was still desirable to a king at the age of 90. (Genesis 20:1–2) God even renewed her womb. She received strength to conceive seed (Hebrews 11:11), giving birth to Isaac in her old age.

Beloved, God is outside of time and your faith in Him brings you into this timeless zone. There, what the years have stolen will be restored. And even as your years increase, you will not grow weak and weary because the restorer of life and nourisher of your old age is in you!

© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2008–2018

BLESSED WITH THE EXCELLENT AND THE PLENTY

Deuteronomy 28:4

“Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

Would you want to buy a chair that Jesus made? I would, even if it cost US$1,000 because it would be of superb quality. Whatever Jesus did, He did it with perfect excellence.

And because Christ is in you, the things which you produce will be of exceptional quality too. That includes your children, who will be champions. Deuteronomy 28:4 says, “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks”.

God was using terms that the Israelites understood since they were farmers and shepherds. Today, “your ground” is the place of your work. This means that “the produce” of your work shall be of excellent quality.

That is not all. God promises that quantity will always follow quality because Deuteronomy 28:11 says that the Lord will “grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body,” which means that you will have plenty of children, “in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground,” which means that your business will flourish and you will be a leading producer in the area of your specialty.

My friend, your excellence and plenty do not come by your efforts. They come by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who paid for you to have divine provision—“though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich”. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Jesus was made destitute of all material things at the cross. He had nothing! As He hung on the cross, He watched the Roman soldiers gamble for His robe. His last possession on earth was gambled away. He became poor, so that you could be blessed with the excellent and the plenty!

© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2008–2018

GOD HEARS YOUR PRAYERS

Romans 4:7–8

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Some people think that if they were more “right” with God, then He would hear their prayers. For example, they sometimes believe that if they had not quarreled with their wives or had those bad thoughts earlier in the day, then God would answer their prayers.

God is not like that. He wants you to know beyond any doubt that you can always come to His throne of grace with boldness and have every confidence that you will receive His mercy and grace. (Hebrews 4:16) You see, because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross, you are already right with God. You don’t need to do anything to make yourself more right with God.

In fact, by faith in Jesus, you have received the righteousness of God Himself! (2 Corinthians 5:21) And no matter how many mistakes you make, you will never lose that righteousness because in the first place, God gave it to you apart from your works. (Romans 4:5–6) In other words, God did not impute righteousness to you because you were good, but because you believed in Jesus.

Because of what Jesus has done for you at the cross, all your sins—past, present and future—are forgiven. God will by no means ever remember your sins or count them against you! (Hebrews 8:12, 10:17)

My friend, because Jesus has been punished for your sins, today, God is not counting your sins against you. This means that your sins won’t stop Him from hearing and responding to your prayers. So you can always run into His presence knowing that you can boldly stand in and enjoy His presence and His love.

When you know this truth, it is going to set you free in your relationship with God. You can talk to Him without fear or any sense of condemnation. You can practice His presence and trust that He always hears you. Should something happen at home or at work, you don’t always have to call for your church leaders—you pray and God hears you!

Beloved, you are righteous in Christ and God hears your prayers—all because of Jesus!

© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2008–2018