He Is Your Abba, Father

Galatians 4:6

6And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

Have you ever realised that God was never known as “Father” until Jesus came to earth and revealed Him as such?
In His prayer to His Father, Jesus said, “And I have declared to them Your Name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26) Now, what name was Jesus referring to? It was the name “Father”. If there was anything close to Jesus’ heart, it was to introduce God as “Father” to us.
In the Bible, Jesus said, “Therefore, do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’… For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” (Matthew 6:31–32) Once, He said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11)
Jesus wants you to always have one image of God in your mind — that He is your Abba, Father. Why? Because He wants you to know that there is nothing more important or too insignificant for God when it concerns His child.
Imagine a father playing with his five-year-old son, when he notices a splinter embedded in his little boy’s thumb. The concerned father asks, “When did you get this?”
“A few days ago.”
“Why didn’t you tell Daddy about it?”
“Mummy said that Daddy was busy, and that I should not bother him about it.”
If you were that father, wouldn’t it break your heart to hear your child say this to you? A splinter may be a tiny thing, but there is nothing too small when it concerns your child because if it affects your child, it affects you too. Now, you are God’s child, so don’t think that your problem is too small for God. If it is important to you, it is important to Him too. Always remember that He is your Abba, Father.

Blessed Are Your Baskets, Kneading Bowls And Nets!

Deuteronomy 28:5

5Blessed 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 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 was blessed materially.
Beloved, your Father in heaven does not want you to worry about the means by which you get your blessings. He says to you, “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.”
This means that if you are a taxi driver, your taxi will not break down on your rounds because God says to you, “Blessed shall be your taxi.” 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 favourably 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 Simon Peter to throw his nets into the water. When Peter threw one net down, he caught so much fish that the net began to break. To save the bumper haul, the other disciples quickly filled their boats with the fish, lest the net completely gave way. (Luke 5:4–7)
Then, 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 the Bible says that “although there were so many, the net was not broken”. (John 21:11) In the first case, the net broke. In the second case, it did not! Something supernatural happened to their net after Jesus rose from the dead!
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!

Pray Up Your Immune System!

1 Corinthians 14:4

4He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself…

Many Charismatics and Word of Faith folks believe that when you speak in tongues, you edify or build up your spirit man. Well, that is only one-third true. The Bible does not say that the speaker edifies his spirit. It says that the speaker edifies himself. This means his entire self — spirit, soul and body. So he who speaks in tongues builds up his spirit, soul and body.
Does this include building up your immune system? Yes, it does! Brain specialist Dr Carl Peterson of Oral Roberts University found out through scientific experiments that when a person prays in tongues, his brain releases two chemical secretions that help boost his body’s immune system by as much as 40 per cent.
Your immune system is your first line of defence against diseases. Remember the SARS outbreak in Singapore in 2003? Not everyone who had the disease died. Only those whose immune systems were weak died. So to boost their immune systems, many people resorted to pills and herbs.
According to Dr Peterson, the two chemical secretions that boost the immune system are released by one part of the brain which has no apparent human activity. And that part of the brain is stimulated by praying in tongues — no need for pills or herbs!
A 74-year-old church member decided to build up his immune system against more heart problems. For more than 30 years, two of his main veins were 70 per cent blocked and five smaller vessels were 80 per cent blocked. So during a church service, when I asked those who wanted to be healed of heart problems to stand up, he stood up, placed his hand over his heart and prayed in tongues.
He shared that at that moment, he believed that the Holy Spirit touched him and that he became a different person. When he went for his medical check-up, his surgeon found that all the blockages in his veins were gone! Even a scheduled heart-related operation was cancelled as there was no necessity for it. Indeed, he was a different person. He literally had a change of heart — a brand new heart from God!
Beloved, you may not have a heart condition like that brother did, but you can also pray in tongues and pray up your immune system!

God Wants To Set You Up For A Blessing

Ruth 2:12

12The 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 sometimes asked 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 once we put it into 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 basketfuls left over! (John 6:1–13)
Whenever we give what little we have, whether it is money, time or energy to God, it opens up our hearts to receive. God can then 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 adequate protection and ensured that she was well-provided for through Boaz, who took on the role of kinsman-redeemer for her and Naomi. (Ruth 2:9, 4:9–10)
Beloved, when you trust Him with all that you have today, know that He loves you and is setting you up for a blessing. Expect good things to happen!

Dwelling In The Secret Place Of The Most High

Psalm 91:1

1He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

In the Old Testament, there was a place where God met with His people. In Exodus 25:22, God said, “And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony...” This place was above the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant, under the wings of the two cherubim. The psalmist calls it “the secret place of the Most High… under the shadow of the Almighty”.
The mercy seat covered the ark which contained the three emblems of man’s rebellion: The golden pot of manna — man’s rebellion against God’s provision, two tablets of stone on which God wrote the 10 Commandments — man’s rebellion against God’s standard, and Aaron’s rod — man’s rebellion against God’s authority. Once a year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would sprinkle the blood of the sacrificed animal on the mercy seat and so make propitiation for the sins of Israel.
Today, it is not the blood of animals that makes propitiation for our sins, but the holy blood of the Son of God. (Romans 3:24–25) The Greek word for “propitiation,” hilasterion, literally means “mercy seat”. So Christ is our propitiation or mercy seat. His blood speaks for us and puts God on our side. God does not see our rebellion. He sees the blood of His Son and accepts us!
That is why we can come boldly to the secret place of the Most High, in Christ, and feel secure that we have every right to be in His presence. We can come boldly to God to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
And because Christ, our mercy seat, covers us with His blood, we are under God’s canopy of protection. We are in the secret place of the Most High, abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. Here, no evil will befall us, nor will any plague come near our dwelling. (Psalm 91:9–10) In the secret place of the Most High, we are favoured and kept safe from all harm!

You Will Have Whatever You Say

Mark 11:23

23For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

God says that we will have whatever we say. So whatever we want to have, we can say it and have it.
Unfortunately, we often say what we don’t want to have. For example, we say, “I don’t know why my money just gets used up so fast every month. Even when my boss gives me an increment, there never seems to be enough money.” And, true enough, we see “money not enough” at the end of every month.
You see, you will have whatever you say. So why not change what you have been saying to, “From now on, I will have more than enough because Jesus became poor at the cross, so that I might become rich — 2 Corinthians 8:9. So poverty, be gone in Jesus’ name!”
Whatever mountain of difficulty you have, be it a mountain of debt or serious health condition, Jesus says, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.”
Jesus highlights the importance of saying by mentioning the word “say” thrice, but the word “believe” only once. Our problem today is that there is more preaching on believing than saying. So the reason people find it hard to walk in faith is that they are not saying enough.
But if you focus more on saying God’s Word, faith will come. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) That is how God quickened the faith of Abraham. He changed Abraham’s saying when He changed his name from Abram to Abraham, which means “father of many nations”. (Genesis 17:5) From then on, whenever Abraham introduced himself, he would say, “Hi, my name is ‘father of many nations’.”
Beloved, declare your abundance, saying, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1) Speak forth your healing, saying, “By Jesus’ stripes I am healed!” (Isaiah 53:5) And you will have whatever you say!

Expect Good Happening To You!

Ephesians 6:17

17And take the helmet of salvation…

When the phone rings at odd times, most people think, “Oh dear, it must be bad news.” They don’t think, “I wonder what the good news is that it cannot wait till morning!”
When we hear, “The boss wants to see you,” instinctively, we think, “Oh dear, this is not good.” But how do we know that it is not a promotion?
Our minds are inclined towards the negative. So to guard our minds against negative thoughts, we are to put on “the helmet of salvation”, which is “the hope of salvation”. (1 Thessalonians 5:8)
If you are going through a trial right now, putting on as a helmet the hope of salvation means that you have a confident expectation of good coming your way. It means that you choose to believe that this trial that you are going through is only temporary because God will see you through it. It means that you believe that this difficult period will end with your salvation — your preservation, wholeness, wellness, health and prosperity!
You may not know what is going to happen this week. But one thing that you can do is put on the helmet of the hope of salvation. And tell yourself that you are going to have a fantastic week!
“Well, you know, Pastor Prince, you never know what to expect. We hear so much bad news these days — another flu outbreak, another company retrenching its workers… I really hope that I will not be retrenched next. But I cannot be sure. I am keeping my fingers crossed.”
No, my friend, biblical hope is not “I hope so”, but “I know so”! You can have a confident expectation of good happening to you because you are not like the people of the world. You are a child of the living God. You have a Saviour watching over you. There are more angels given charge over you than there are demons against you. And greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4) There is every reason for you to have a confident expectation of good happening to you!

The Lord Is Able And Willing

Matthew 8:3

3Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

When you see someone receiving a miraculous healing or financial breakthrough, do you ask, “What about me, Lord?” I believe that the leper who came to Jesus must have asked the same question.
He must have heard or seen from a distance, since he was not permitted to be out in public places by the law, how Jesus had healed people. So he had no doubt that Jesus could heal him, but he was not sure if Jesus would. He said to Jesus, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” (Matthew 8:2) His words tell us that he was confident of the power of God, but not the love of God for him.
Like the leper, maybe you don’t have a problem believing that God can give you your miracle since He is Almighty God. But you are wondering if He will do it for you. Let Jesus’ action and answer to the leper settle it once and for all. He stretched forth His hand, touched the leper and said, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately, the leper was healed.
I want you to notice that Jesus touched the leper. He could have healed him from a distance with just a spoken word. He had healed others this way as in the case of the centurion’s servant and the Syrophenician woman’s daughter. So why did Jesus touch the leper?
Jesus knew that for so many years, the leper had been cut off from his family and society, so he must have been feeling dehumanised. I believe that Jesus touched him to make him feel like a human being again. His touch was His love language to the leper.
Can you see God’s heart of love here? Can you see how much He loved the leper? That is how much He loves you. The day that you come to know the heart of God and believe that He wants you blessed more than you want to be blessed is the day that you receive your miracle!
Beloved, catch a glimpse of God’s heart of love, and you will believe that He is not only able, but also willing to make you whole!

Don't Just Know But Believe!

1 John 4:16

16And 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.

You may have heard and know that God cares for you and loves you, and that He demonstrated His love for you by dying on the cross for you. But it’s one thing to know this; it’s another thing to believe the love that God has for you.
For example, it’s one thing to know that the sun shines on us during the day. But it’s another thing to believe that the sun is still shining even though you don’t feel its warmth and all you see are cloudy skies.
Sometimes we are slow in believing God’s love for us when we are going through a bad patch. Today, God wants you to know and believe that He loves you in the midst of the deal falling through, when that job is slow in coming, when the boss is fault-finding, when your child still refuses to come home.
In the midst of the pain, He wants you to know and believe that He is wholly for you, on your side and defending you. And if God, the most powerful being in the universe, is for you, can anyone or anything come against you successfully?
Perhaps you feel like you have messed up big time. God wants you to know and believe that though others may be angry with you, He will never be angry with you. Neither will He condemn you. The sum total of His anger against your sins fell upon Jesus at the cross. So He wants you to know and believe that He will never punish you because Jesus was punished in your place.
When you feel unworthy because you have just blown it for the hundredth time, know and believe that your heavenly Father still offers you the gift of no condemnation. So come boldly to His throne of grace to receive mercy and grace. (Hebrews 4:16)
My friend, know and believe that since He loved you and died for you while you were still a sinner, at your worst and ugliest (Romans 5:8), how much more is His love for you now that you are His beloved child and the righteousness of God in Christ! (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Let The Lord Be Your Defence

Psalm 94:22

22But the Lord has been my defence, and my God the rock of my refuge.

Imagine being a poor widow, a stranger in the land and holding the lowliest job in society. That was Ruth’s situation, so it would have been easy for her to feel vulnerable and defenceless. But because Ruth trusted the Lord (Ruth 1:16), He placed her under Boaz’s protection.
Boaz, the owner of the field she worked in, commanded his young men saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.” (Ruth 2:15) What he was saying to his men was this, “She might be a gleaner, but because I care for her, treat her with respect and make sure she is not put to shame.”
Boaz is a picture of our Lord Jesus. If you are feeling vulnerable and defenceless right now, imagine Jesus commanding His angels, “Watch over this one who belongs to Me. Make sure he is treated with respect and not put to shame because he is someone I love and someone whom I died for.”
God’s Word tells us that if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) No one who has set himself against us can prevail over us because when God is for us, His protection is upon us. That is why I have never answered any of the poison emails which I have received in the course of my ministry.
My attitude is this: Jesus is my defence. If He does not defend me, it means that there are things in my life that are not worth defending, and I would be glad to find out about them now rather than later. On the other hand, because I take the Lord as my defence, and He defends me, what can those who are against me do to me?
When you defend yourself, you have only your two hands and your own human resources. But when you let Jesus take up your defence, He defends you with His nail-pierced hands and His legions of angels! The results will be amazing! Beloved, the Lord is your defence and refuge. Trust Him to defend and protect you!

Forgive And Let God Take Care Of The Rest

Ephesians 4:32

32And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

People like to say, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget.” Have you heard that before? Now, in the first place, nowhere in the Bible does God tell you to forgive and then to forget. It is not in the Bible! The devil is adding something here to make the whole thing burdensome.
God only tells us to forgive because God in Christ has forgiven us a debt we cannot pay. When we do this, we do ourselves a favour because bitterness and unforgiveness in the heart can sometimes destroy our health!
So just forgive and let God take care of the rest. When you really forgive, sometimes, He makes you forget. But sometimes, you still remember the incident because it was a major thing in your life. Yet, when you look back at it, the pain is no more there. The sting is gone and you are not bitter.
Joseph forgave his brothers before they came and bowed before him. He remembered what they did to him, but he did not remember it with bitterness. (Genesis 50:15–21) So you may remember the incident, but the bitterness is gone because you have put the cross in the picture — “God in Christ forgave me. Daddy, I forgive you. Mama, I forgive you. My cousin, I forgive you.”
When you forgive, forgive by faith, not by your feelings. We live by faith, not feelings. (2 Corinthians 5:7) Some people are waiting for feelings — “I am waiting, Father, for the right emotion to come on me to forgive.” You will wait forever!
No, forgive by faith, and do it once and for all. Spend time in prayer. Take out your diary and write it down: “Father, I bring this person before you. You know what he did to me. Father, as You forgave me through Jesus’ cross, even though I did not deserve it, by faith, I now forgive this person and I let my anger against him go in Jesus’ name. Amen!”
Once you forgive by faith this way, you will see the sting of bitterness removed from your heart. You will experience the peace and joy of God filling your mind, and see a greater measure of wholeness in your body!

The 12 Wells And 70 Palm Trees

Exodus 15:27

27Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters.

Would you like to know an important biblical key to divine health? It is found in this verse, which comes right after God says, “I am the Lord who heals you,” to His people after He brought them out of Egypt. (Exodus 15:26) The wells of water and palm trees speak of refreshment. They paint a picture of an oasis in the middle of the desert. The Israelites rested and were refreshed there. But why the numbers 12 and 70?
There are no insignificant details in the Bible. The 12 wells of water and 70 palm trees represent anointed ministries that refresh you with the Word of God. If you want to know Jesus as the Lord who heals you, sit under anointed preaching of the Word of God because when His Word goes forth, it will heal you. It will become medicine to all your flesh! (Proverbs 4:22)
How did I make that connection? Let the Bible interpret the Bible. Matthew 10:1 says that when Jesus had “called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” He sent out the 12 and said to them, “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons...” (Matthew 10:7–8)
Then, in Luke 10:1, the Lord “appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go”. He also said to the 70, “And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” (Luke 10:9)
In other words, Jesus anointed the twelve and seventy disciples to preach God’s Word and heal the sick. Today, if you want refreshment, if you want health and healing, don’t sit under ministries that tell you that sometimes God does not heal or that He gives you diseases to teach you lessons. Instead, sit under anointed ministries that preach the good news and practise healing the sick. That is how you begin to walk in divine health!

Claim Your Restoration!

Acts 3:20–21

20… that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

As a believer, you have the right to expect restoration of the things that the devil has stolen from you. It may be your health, marriage or finances, but payback time is definitely coming!
Acts 3:20–21 tells us that before Jesus comes back for His church, we will experience “the times of restoration of all things”. What a hope that gives us, knowing that God will restore to us all things before Jesus returns!
My friend, if the devil is attacking you in any area, tell God, “Father, I will not allow the devil to rob me of my health, marriage, children or finances. These blessings are blood-bought and paid-for by Your Son!” Claim your restoration in Christ and heaven will hear you.
There will be such times of restoration of all things to the body of Christ that His people will only get better, stronger, healthier, and more prosperous and glorious! When God restores, even under the Old Covenant, His people always received much more than what they had originally lost, in terms of quality and quantity. How much more will our restoration be under the New Covenant because of the shed blood of the Lamb of God!
A divorcee with a teenage son came to our church and accepted the Lord in May 2003. She began to pray for the restoration of her marriage and the reunion of her family. In the natural, she knew that the chances of this happening were close to zero since she had not met nor spoken with her ex-husband since their divorce 10 years ago. She did not even know if he had remarried since then. But God caused their paths to meet at a wedding at the end of 2003. Today, their relationship is healed, and together with their son, they worship as a family in church.
Even though what happened for that sister may not be for every divorced person, I believe that God wants you to know that your times of restoration are here. Heaven is waiting to hear you stake your claim for restoration!

God 'Daily Loads' You With Benefits

Deuteronomy 28:6

6Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

In the Jewish community, the phrase “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out” refers to being blessed in the affairs of one’s daily life, whether in or outside your home.
So here, God is saying that you are blessed in your daily life. Do you believe it? Do you believe that every day, your family life and work life are blessed? Or do you think that you are blessed only during Christmas when you receive your gifts and year-end bonus, or when you get that promotion you have been wanting? Or do you think that the blessed life only begins when you meet the man or woman of your dreams?
No, beloved, you are blessed every day and you have God’s Word for it! Psalm 68:19 says, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!”
And because God’s Word says so, believe that every day of your life is loaded with benefits. Every morning, when you get up, believe that it is a day that the Lord has made, and rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24) Start the day expecting it to be loaded with the benefits that God has prepared for you.
At night, when it is time to sleep, know that you will be blessed when you get up in the morning because there will be another load of benefits waiting for you from your heavenly Father who loves you so much!
You can’t make your blessings happen. But if you will just believe God’s Word and act like it is so, the blessings will manifest in your life. In fact, God wants to bless you more than you want to be blessed! His Word declares it: “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out… Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!”
So believe God’s Word. Believe Him for the blessings, and you will find yourself enjoying His daily benefits!

God Has Already Been To Your Future

Isaiah 54:2

2“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.

The Lord told our church at the end of 2004: “I, your God, have gone ahead of you and I have already been to your future. I have seen it. And I declare that it is good.” I believe that this word is not only for our church, but for every member of the body of Christ.
I tell you, when God declares your future good, it will be good! It will be filled with many wonderfully good days! (1 Peter 3:10) Though an evil day may come, you are to remember that it is only one evil day, in which God will cause you to stand. (Ephesians 6:13) According to God’s Word, you will have many more good days than evil days!
What do you do when the Lord tells you that you are going to have a good future loaded with His blessings? You prepare for it! In other words, before the blessings come, before the increase comes, He wants you to enlarge the place of your tent and stretch forth the curtains of your dwellings.
For example, if you are believing God for a child, start reading books on babies and start preparing the baby’s room. In fact, prepare to have more than one child. Start looking for a bigger place for your family for God says, “do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes”. Get ready for expansion!
My friend, God wants you to get ready, and expect such favour and increase in the days ahead that “you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited”. (Isaiah 54:3)
Today, know that you stand on favour ground because God has declared your future good. Expect good things to happen to you. Expect to see the favour of God on you and your family. Expect the blessings and increase of the Lord. Expect good days to show up in your life!

Our Help In Time Of Need

Hebrews 4:16

16Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

If you are facing a time of need right now in your life, I want you to know that you have a standing invitation from your heavenly Father to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
The phrase “help in time of need” means that you get healing when you are sick, provisions when you are in lack, restoration when your relationship with a loved one breaks down, and favour when news of retrenchment or bad prospects is rife.
“Pastor Prince, how can I come boldly especially since I have been a lousy, sinful Christian?”
You can come boldly because you come to God by the blood of Jesus Christ and not by how you have lived your life. So whenever you come into God’s presence, you don’t have to be afraid that your sins will be shown up because the blood of Jesus has removed every one of them. God cannot detect even one single speck of sin because He sees only the blood of His Son that has been shed for your total forgiveness and acceptance.
My friend, when you have failed and need mercy, God’s Word assures you that you will find mercy when you come boldly to God. Mercy means that you don’t get the bad things you deserve, such as condemnation, poverty, failure, loss and even death.
And mercy is not the only thing that you will obtain when you come boldly to God. You will also find grace. Grace means that you get the good things that you don’t deserve, such as health, protection, anointing, favour, good success and life more abundant.
So come boldly to the One who loves you passionately, unconditionally and with an undying love. Come boldly to Him who knows everything about your situation and has the solution. He has wisdom far beyond that doctor you highly respect, that lawyer you greatly honour and the best experts you can consult. Beloved, come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace to help in your time of need!

Blessed In More Ways Than One

Romans 5:1

1Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are not trying to get peace with God, we already have peace with God, having been justified by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ. This peace with God brings us the peace of God, which guards our hearts and minds. (Philippians 4:7) Then, the peace of God inside us will translate into the peace of God outside — in all of our outward circumstances.
Firstly, you will find that what would normally cause you much care and anxiety will no longer be the case. Secondly, not only will everything turn out well, but you will also be very blessed. When Jesus, the Prince of Peace is your peace, this is what happens. And this is exactly what happened for the following people in our church.
A church member, though stricken with cancer, enjoyed the peace of God, knowing that God was her healer. She later received confirmation from two different doctors that she had been completely healed of cancer. In addition to receiving her blessing of complete healing, she also received from her insurance company a critical illness claim of $50,000.
Another church member, upon hearing news of her retrenchment, committed the matter to God, believing that He would work all things out for her, especially her loss of a regular income. Shortly after, she received her retrenchment package — a substantial five-figure sum. And within days of her retrenchment, she received calls from her contacts in the industry, offering her jobs, two of which were jobs in multinational corporations (MNCs).
At that time, she had not yet started looking for a job, so the calls were unexpected and welcomed. She finally opted to work for one of the MNCs — a dream come true for her — at a salary that was 30 per cent more than her previous salary! When she simply prayed, “Abba Father, I trust You to look after me,” and rested in His love and peace, she was blessed.
Because Jesus is your peace, you are blessed in more ways than one. Your soul will prosper. Your health will prosper. Your wealth will prosper. Your loved ones will be taken care of. Your relationships will flourish. You will enjoy the favour of God because He is your peace.

Jesus Feels Your Pain

Leviticus 2:4

4“And if you bring as an offering a grain offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.”

Private pains, deep hurts, shameful addictions — you may think that nobody understands what you are going through, but God does. He feels all your pains and is able to help you. (Hebrews 2:18, 4:15)
In the Old Testament, the grain offering brought to God speaks of Jesus’ life on earth. The fine flour, which the grain offering is made with, is flour that has been pounded, ground, beaten and sieved through to get it consistently even and fine. Therefore, it typifies the humanity and sufferings of Jesus.
One of the ways the Jewish women baked the grain offering was to use an oven. The baking done in the depths of the oven implies that there were “hidden” sufferings that Jesus went though. I believe that Jesus faced sufferings that we cannot fully understand. Even as a young boy, He must have gone through sufferings that prepared Him to die for all humanity at the cross. And during His ministry years, it must have grieved Him when time and time again He found unbelief not just in the people around Him, but even in His own disciples.
Jesus also suffered at the hands of men — slanderers who misunderstood Him. Once, the Pharisees insinuated that He was born out of wedlock because His mother was with child before she married Joseph. (John 8:39, 41) That scandalous remark, probably not the first, must have wounded Him deeply.
Consider also the temptations He faced. There were not only three. God’s Word says that He was tempted for 40 days! (Luke 4:2) Not all the temptations were recorded. Those 40 days must have tried Him sorely.
What does all this mean? My friend, Jesus went through all those temptations and sufferings for you, yet He did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15) There is no temptation or suffering you are going through that He cannot empathise with. So come to His throne of grace today and receive His superabounding grace to face and overcome those trials in your life!

Your Standing Is Wrapped Up In Christ

Hebrews 2:17

17Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

For the people of Israel, their standing as a nation before God was wrapped up in the standing of their high priest. What the high priest was before God, so was the entire nation before God. If the high priest sinned, he brought guilt on his nation, and God would reject the entire nation no matter how law-abiding the people were, how faithful they were in bringing their sacrifices or how hard they had worked.
Conversely, if their high priest was without fault and acceptable to God, God accepted the whole nation even if the nation was full of people who sinned and did not measure up to God’s laws. Unfortunately, the high priests of Israel were often subjected to failure because like any human being, they were imperfect.
But today, you and I have Jesus as our High Priest, who is 100 per cent Man and 100 per cent God. And so, as our High Priest, Jesus’ standing before God is always right, acceptable and pleasing to the Father. Therefore, we can never lose our acceptance with God because as our High Priest, Jesus only brings righteousness on His people.
Today, in heaven, Jesus our High Priest is seated at the right hand of God the Father. (Romans 8:34) This means that God does not look at you. He looks at Jesus. If Jesus is good, you are good. If He is accepted, you are accepted. If God sees Jesus perfect, then He sees you perfect too. If He is righteous, then you are righteous. And Jesus your High Priest is good, accepted, perfect and righteous, which means that that is how God sees you!
You cannot lose your right standing because Jesus Christ is your High Priest. To lose your standing, Jesus has to lose His standing first. But we know that we have in Jesus a High Priest who is perfect and who cannot fail us. So you need never be afraid or conscious of your faults when you come before God. Because your standing is completely wrapped up in Jesus, you can come to God boldly and receive all that you need from Him!

Jesus Is The Only Sacrifice You'll Ever Need

Hebrews 10:12

12But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

Do you know where Jesus is right now? He is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Why is He there, sitting down? Because His work is finished!

You see, we were all born sinners, cursed in our sinful state and condemned by our sinful deeds. But while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. (Romans 5:8) And by His one death on the cross, He became the final sacrifice for sins forever. So now, He sits at the right hand of His Father because the work is finished — there are no more sacrifices to be made.

“What then, do I do when I sin, Pastor Prince?”

My friend, each time you blow it, you thank the Lord that you are forgiven. Each time you fail, you thank God that He does not condemn you because Jesus was condemned for your sins at the cross.

Jesus’ death is the final sacrifice. God does not need any more sin offerings. He does not want you to come to Him, saying, “Oh God, I have sinned again. I feel that I need to do some charity work.” Well, if you want to do charity work, go ahead. But don’t do it to atone for your sins because you cannot!

Neither does God want to hear you say, “I promise you, Lord, from now on, I will tithe 30 per cent.” Now, I am not stopping you from tithing even 50 per cent if you want to, but if you are doing it to atone for your sins, it is a dead work. You tithe because you love God and not for any other reason.

He also does not want to hear this, “God, I will serve in 10 ministries from now on.” It is not your blood, sweat and tears that justify you. It is the blood of the Son of God.

You cannot atone for your sins by doing good because you cannot add to what Jesus did, which is a perfect work. You can only say, “Thank you, God,” and receive the blessings He gives you. Jesus is the only sacrifice you will ever need. Only His one offering avails for all time!

See Yourself In Christ

Ephesians 1:3

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

I remember going through a terrible time of depression when I was 18 years old. Believing that I was demon-possessed, I sought out a great man of God to have him cast the devil out of me. But when this man of God laid hands on me, he began to prophesy over me. He said, “Joe, I see you preaching to thousands, and used by God to impact thousands of lives. Joe, you are called by God and the devil is attempting to stop you.”

“What? I came here for deliverance! I am only interested in saving my own life, not preaching nor impacting lives,” I thought to myself.

You see, what happened was that at that moment, God allowed this man to step into the timeless zone He exists in to bring my future before me. As far as God was concerned, my future had already happened, though I was only 18 years old then. Today, I am a pastor of a church which has a membership of more than 13,000. Today, I am seeing what was told to me long ago.

The fact is that God does not see as we see. Abraham was a childless 100-year-old man and his wife, Sarah, at 90 years old, was doubly dead in her womb. (Genesis 17:17) Yet, God saw him and talked to him as if he were already the father of many nations.

And God wants us to see the way He sees. We are bound by time and that can limit our vision. Right now, you may see yourself going through a trial in your marriage, work, finances or health. But God sees a blessed marriage, a great success at work, supernatural increase in wealth and a healed body because He tells you that you are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

You see, God sees you in Christ. So when you see yourself in Christ, who is outside time, you step into the timeless zone. And in that timeless zone in Christ, whatever needs and trials of yours are already removed, repaired, restored or resurrected! In that timeless zone in Christ, you are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places!

The Life Of Jesus Is In You

John 10:10

10… I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Jesus is completely God, but He was born completely human. He went through temptation after temptation and conquered every one of them. (Hebrews 4:15) And all that overcoming power is found in His life. And He put that life in you — the life of Christ is in you!
During Jesus’ ministry on earth, He conquered sickness, the winds and waves, the powers of darkness and death. It is His life that brings victory over the devil and all his works. And He put that life in you — the life of Christ is in you!
Finally, Jesus went to the cross. And that life in Him put an end to everything natural of the Adamic race — sickness, poverty, failures, pains, curses and death. All that was natural ceased to be in that life of His. But all that was supernatural remained in Him. And He put that life in you — the life of Christ is in you!
Then, Jesus rose from the dead. And in that life of His was added the power of resurrection. And He put that life in you — the life of Christ is in you!
After His resurrection, Jesus went back to heaven to His Father. Today, He is seated at the right hand of God, resting in His finished work, occupying a place of the highest authority and always interceding for us. And He put that life in you — the life of Christ is in you!
And because Jesus went back to the Father, the Holy Spirit came to indwell you (John 16:7), so that you will live life with His anointing in you and walk in His overcoming power. All that Jesus is, God meant for you to be. All that He has, God meant for you to have. All the exciting things that you read in the Bible about Jesus, all the treasures of Him hidden in the Old Testament and the unsearchable riches in Him that you find in the New Testament, all of that life of His, is not out there somewhere. God has deposited all of it in you so that you can live the abundant life that Jesus came to give you!

Make Room For The Blessings

Deuteronomy 28:8

8The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses…

When Jesus walked on earth, He had no bank account or visa card. Yet, He was rich, lacking nothing. He had whatever He needed for Himself as well as for the people around Him. When they needed healing, He provided it. (Matthew 12:15) When they needed food, He provided it. (Matthew 14:13–21) As long as they had Him, they had whatever they needed.
Likewise, when you have Jesus, you have an anointing within that makes you rich, even though in the natural, when you look at your finances, there is not much. God Himself has promised that He will command the blessing on you in your storehouses. Notice that He said “storehouses”. This means that He will command the blessing on your bank accounts, investment plans and everywhere that you put your money! Your storehouses will be blessed because when God commands the blessing, the blessing has no choice but to come on you in your storehouses!
We saw this happen to one of our church’s storehouses — our investment in Marine Cove, an open-air seaside shopping-cum-dining-cum-leisure resort complex. We invested in the place because we wanted to multiply the Lord’s money. We did not want to leave the money in the bank because the interest rate then was less than one per cent. We prayed about it and the Lord led us to Marine Cove.
And since day one, we have been making money from that investment! In fact, in one particular year, our highest return was 11 per cent nett! When SARS hit Singapore in 2003, people were avoiding the air-conditioned malls and coming to Marine Cove. The place was packed. Only God could have known how things would turn out. We even made money from the parking charges! That was how much the Lord was multiplying His money through our investment. Beloved, just believe God when He says that He will command His blessing on you in your storehouses. Get ready your storehouses and make room for the blessings. Position yourself to capitalise on the opportunities that He is sending your way!

A Watery Shield All Around You

Ephesians 6:16

16above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

I believe that when you pray in the Spirit, that is, in tongues, a shield goes up all around you — a “watery” shield.
But why is it a watery shield?
Once, I was meditating on Ephesians 6:16 which says, “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one”. At first, I had a picture of a Roman soldier’s wooden shield. But three words kept repeating themselves in my mind: “quench” and “fiery darts”. Then, the Lord said, “Son, if it is a wooden shield, the fiery darts will burn it up.” He showed me a watery shield instead, which was able to quench the fiery darts.
You may ask, “Where did the water come from?”
Remember that Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38) The next verse says, “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit...” (John 7:39)
Jesus was speaking about the Holy Spirit, which He likened to rivers of living water flowing out of our hearts. So when we pray in the Spirit, rivers of living water will flow, quenching the devil’s fiery darts thrown at us.
This happened one day when I was having supper with a church member. Now, I don’t often pray in tongues when I say grace over my food. But that night, I just felt like doing so. I was following the Spirit’s prompting. So I prayed in tongues as I laid my hands on my packet of nasi lemak (coconut-flavoured rice).
Soon, we were tucking in our food and talking when suddenly, I bit something hard. I spat it out quickly and realised that it was a nail! Then, I realised that this was the reason the Lord wanted me to pray in tongues. And though the devil was trying to “nail” me, he failed!
My friend, put up the watery shield that God has given us. Pray in the Spirit and quench the fiery darts of the enemy!

True To Your Assessment

Leviticus 27:12

12and the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be.

Your colleague says that this week is going to be a lousy one because the new boss is mean. You disagree and say that it is going to be a blessed week. Both of you will go through the same week, but with very different outcomes. While your friend’s week will indeed turn out to be a lousy one, yours will be filled with the favour of the Lord!
In the Old Testament, when someone brought what he had to the priest for a valuation, whatever the priest assessed the value of the item to be, it was so. If he assessed it to be of good value, then it was of good value. If he assessed it to be of poor value, then it was of poor value.
Today, you are also a priest because of Jesus’ blood. (Revelation 1:5–6) And “as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be”. If you assess your year to be one of financial breakthroughs, so it will be for you. If you assess your life to be filled with divine health, so it will be for you.
There was a stroke patient who was bedridden. While listening to my sermons, he assessed that with God as his salvation, his life would be long and satisfying. (Psalm 91:16) He believed that God would help him walk again. Not too long after his assessment, he was able to walk and was no longer bound to the bed! The next assessment he made about his health was complete recovery with God as his helper.
Actually, you have more authority than the Levitical priests of the Old Testament. They were of the old priesthood of mortal men. But you are of the greater and “forever” priesthood of Jesus! (Hebrews 7:8,17) Not only that, you are a king-priest. (Revelation 1:6) In other words, you are a king as well! And as a king, your assessment is also binding because “Where the word of a king is, there is power…” (Ecclesiastes 8:4)
My friend, this means that you have double portion of assessment power. Therefore, assess good things for your life, and it will be so for you!

It Shall not Come Near You!

Psalm 91:7

7A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.

Your doctor or insurance agent may ask you, “Do you have a family history of cancer?” If you say “yes”, they will tell you that you will probably get some form of cancer too.
Now, if you are without God, you would probably agree with them and start worrying about your health. But you are not without God! In fact, His Word tells you, “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.” Therefore, even if you have a family history of cancer, and your family members have died of cancer, you can have the confidence to say that it will not come near you!
My mother had this attitude. After a thorough medical check-up, the doctor was surprised and told her that she did not have high blood pressure or heart disease, although these two conditions have plagued her father and siblings. You see, my mother had already firmly declared that no deadly family related disease would come near her.
Praise God for my mother’s trust in God’s Word because I am the generation after her! In fact, after my mother told me about the results of her check-up, I randomly opened my Bible only to read about Rahab the harlot who by faith, “… did not perish with those who did not believe”. (Hebrews 11:31)
Beloved, God wants you to know that even though you are in this world, you are not of this world. You belong to Him. You don’t have to get caught in dire situations along with the people of the world. Because God is on your side, “Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence”. (Psalm 91:3)
Even when it comes to generational diseases, you can boldly declare, “That disease stops here!” because you have God and His Word. And when you believe God and His Word, you will see His promises come to pass for you — “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you”!

Jesus Prays Perfect Prayers For You

Hebrews 7:25

25Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

The Bible says that Jesus always lives to make intercession for us. Once, I used to think that Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand today, praying all the time, waiting and hoping for the Father to do something.
But that is not the truth. Look at what Jesus prayed when He stood before Lazarus’ tomb. He declared, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.” (John 11:41) He prayed these words before Lazarus came forth from his tomb alive. Jesus knew that His prayers would always come to pass because the Father always hears Him. (John 11:42)
So what does “Jesus always lives to make intercession for us” mean then? Because Jesus is our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14), we get a picture of what happens when we pray if we understand what the high priest did with the burnt offering of a bird in the Old Testament. (Leviticus 1:14–17)
The birds brought to the high priest are a picture of our prayers flying to the Lord Jesus because we pray to the Father in Jesus’ name. Now, just as the high priest removes the bird’s feathers after killing it, Jesus removes all that is superfluous and unclean from our prayers, which are usually tainted with our self-centredness and fleshly desires.
Then, just as the high priest offers the bird as a burnt sacrifice, a sweet aroma to the Lord, Jesus our High Priest adds His perfection, beauty, excellence and fragrance, which the Father so delights in, to our prayers. And He presents our prayers to the Father as the perfect prayer.
My friend, that is how Jesus lives to make intercession for us. And He does all this because He loves us. When you know that He presents a perfect prayer on your behalf to God, you don’t have to run to a church leader to pray “more accurately” for you.
You can take advantage of His intercession for you and say, “Lord Jesus, I don’t know what else to say… please pray for me.” And when Jesus prays for you, His prayers will always be answered because the Father always hears His Son when He prays!

God Will Cause Your Gift To Prosper You

Proverbs 17:8

8A present is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor; wherever he turns, he prospers.

When we see something mouldy, we throw it away. But when Alexander Fleming saw his culture dishes contaminated with mould, he discovered penicillin. You see, he had a gift which prospered him.
Joseph, a Hebrew slave in Egypt, had nothing except his gift of interpreting dreams. But look at what the gift did for him! It prospered him, making him the most powerful man in Egypt after Pharaoh. (Genesis 41)
“But, Pastor Prince, what if I don’t have any gift?”
My friend, don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t have any gift. God has given each person a gift that can bring them tremendous blessings, open doors of opportunities and bring in great financial blessings.
Now, perhaps you may not be aware that you have a gift inside you, or perhaps it has profited you nothing thus far as you have not found out how to use it. You need to take your gift and ask God for wisdom to cultivate it until it becomes such a powerful tool or “precious stone” that wherever you turn, you prosper.
This was the case with a church brother who was tremendously gifted in the creative arts. For a long time, he lacked the confidence and boldness to leave the security of his police job and step out on his own. But when he began to seek God’s wisdom for his situation, God dispensed wisdom to him which gave him boldness to leave his job and go back to school to pursue the creative arts. In school, he prospered, becoming one of its top students and impressing the principal so much with his creative gift that he was offered a teaching position in the school even before he graduated.
Now, please don’t go and leave your job after reading this. Instead, what you should do is ask God for wisdom regarding your gift. For when the wisdom of God is added to your gift, that gift or present “is a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor; wherever he turns, he prospers”.

Give God's Word Priority And See Good Success

Joshua 1:8

8This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

In life there is good success and bad success. Bad success is the kind of success which robs you of time with your family, friends and church, and destroys your health and relationships. Good success, on the other hand, prospers you in every area of your life.
Now, God wants you to enjoy good success and the key to this lies in what God told Joshua when he took over the reins after the death of his leader Moses — “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.” Spending time daily in God’s Word will give you godly wisdom which will make your way prosperous and give you good success.
“Pastor, you make it sound so simple — all I need is to spend time in God’s Word?”
Well, just look at how Joshua’s life turned out in the end. When Joshua died, “they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash”. (Joshua 24:30) Joshua had a whole mountain for his inheritance! He was prosperous and successful!
It was also said that Israel served the Lord, not idols or other gods, all the days of Joshua’s life. (Joshua 24:31) This means that while Joshua was around, people were impacted for God’s glory.
And at the end of his life, a fulfilled Joshua had this to say, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) Having your family with you, loving God and serving Him, is the most important success and greatest prosperity that you can ever have. Beloved, when God’s Word takes priority in your daily life, you will not only have a blessed bank account, but also a blessed ministry, family and life!

Jesus, The Measure Of Your Righteousness

2 Corinthians 5:21

21For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

God wants us to seek His righteousness and not our own righteousness. When we seek our own righteousness, we will always end up feeling miserable because we can never be righteous by our works, no matter how hard we try. That is why our loving Father wants us to remember that righteousness is not right behaviour but a person — Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:30), and that we have “become the righteousness of God in Him”.
A lady who was worshipping in her previous church attempted to establish her own righteousness by confessing all her sins to “clean” herself up. But she found that the more she confessed her sins, the more sins she discovered in herself. She became guilt-stricken and miserable. Feeling stressed out and weary of confessing her sins all the time, she eventually left her church. In fact, she never stepped into another church again for the next 10 years.
One day, someone gave her my message tape entitled You Will Never Lose God’s Everlasting Righteousness Given To You and she started listening to it. Once she learnt that Jesus was the measure of her righteousness and acceptance before God, she began to seek God’s righteousness. Before long, peace and joy came flooding back into her life.
Today, she worships in our church. She testified of how God has supernaturally cancelled a long-term medical condition she had. Even her husband, once balding, found hair sprouting supernaturally! God was adding all these things to her according to His promise — “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”. (Matthew 6:33)
Beloved, seeking God’s righteousness means that you see Jesus as someone who knew no sin but became sin for you, so that He could give you His righteousness and make you the righteousness of God in Him!
And as you proclaim daily the truth that you are the righteousness of God in Christ, you will see “all these things” (Matthew 6:33) added to you — without even asking for them!

Don't Let Your Past Rob You

Philippians 3:13–14

13Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Are you living a life of regrets thinking “if only…”? If only I had that college education… if only I had married the right girl… if only I had taken up the other job… if only I had not made that stupid mistake… Is your past robbing you of the joy of today? Then you need to forget your past.
You might say, “But Pastor Prince, you do not know what I did in the past!”
Consider Paul. If the devil had anything to bring against Paul, it would be reminders of how he had persecuted the early church, and caused the deaths of many, including Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
Paul had done horrendous things that were hard for him to forget. But he had such a revelation of God’s awesome forgiveness that he could say, “… forgetting those things which are behind… I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Beloved of the Lord, God has forgiven not only your past sins, but also your present and future sins. God has completely forgiven you and declared, “Your sins and lawless deeds, I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17)
Like Paul, you can forget your past, the wrongs you have done, and the hurts you have caused others. God can take the tears of yesterday and transform them into the miracles of tomorrow. God can restore in all abundance to you what you have lost. God can cause all things, even the painful things of your past, to work together for your good.
His Word says, “The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 58:8) It will cover your past. Wherever you go, God’s glory covers your past. It is no longer the same past that you know of because God’s glory has descended on it. Your past is past! It has been wiped out. It is gone. So don’t let your past rob you of the joy of today any longer!