Category: July 2017

Psalm 91:14

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.”

Jesus was in a house in Bethany when a woman came to Him with an alabaster flask containing very costly fragrant oil. She poured the oil on His head. (Matthew 26:6-7) This woman loved the Lord. She had set her love upon Him. But those who were present considered what she did a great waste because the oil could have been sold for an amount equal to one year’s wages, and the money given to the poor instead. Even Jesus’ disciples were indignant and asked her, “Why this waste?” (Matthew 26:8)

But Jesus defended her, saying, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me.” (Matthew 26:10) Not only that, He accorded her the highest honor when He added, “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” (Matthew 26:13)

Two thousand years have passed since this woman anointed Jesus with the expensive oil. She never expected in her wildest dreams that her act of love would be told down through the ages. Many kings and rulers have come and gone. Their great acts have faded from the memories of men. But what this woman did for Jesus is still told today around the world as a memorial to her!

When you get a revelation of how much Jesus loves you, you will set your love upon Him. And when you act out of love for Him, though others may see it as a waste of time, energy or money, He will defend you and deliver you from your critics. He will also set you on high. Your ministry will become powerful and life-changing. Your work will be highly esteemed among your peers. Your company will be prominent and highly successful. And it will not just be a job that you have, but a position of influence to impact many lives. So set your love upon Jesus. Make Him the love of your life today, and He will defend, deliver and set you on high!

2 Corinthians 5:21

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

When an Israelite brings an animal as his sin offering, he lays his hand on it before killing it. (Leviticus 4:1-4) By laying his hand on the sin offering, his sins are transferred to the innocent animal. The animal dies for his sins and he goes free. In contrast, during the burnt offering, when the Israelite lays his hand on the animal (Leviticus 1:3-4), the beauty, worthiness and acceptance of the unblemished animal are transferred to him. God accepts the perfection of the animal sacrifice on his behalf to make atonement for him. Because God accepts the unblemished burnt offering, the offerer now has right standing before God.

Do you know that the two offerings speak of Jesus’ one offering of Himself when He hung on the cross? He is both our sin offering and burnt offering – “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us [as our sin offering], that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [as our burnt offering]”. The moment you put your faith in Him, just by His one sacrifice, your sins were transferred to Him, and His righteousness was transferred to you. That is the grace of God toward you!

As our sin offering, He offered Himself once and for all. (Romans 6:10) The sin offering was never a daily offering because God does not want His people to be sin-conscious. However, the burnt offering was both a morning and evening sacrifice (2 Chronicles 13:11) because God wants His people to be righteousness-conscious. God wants you to lay claim daily to Jesus as your burnt offering and say, “Father, I thank You that Jesus is my burnt offering. All that Jesus is before You – His righteousness, excellence, beauty and perfection – has been transferred to me. Jesus has Your unclouded favor, so I enjoy Your unclouded favor in my life. Jesus is the righteousness of God, so I am the righteousness of God in Christ. As He is before You, so am I.”

Because Jesus became your burnt offering, what He is to the Father today, you are! That is what it means to be in Christ.

Genesis 8:24

Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.

For 40 days and nights, it rained so hard that the whole world perished, except for Noah and those who were with him in the ark. At the end of 150 days, on the 17th day of the seventh month, the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat.

In Hebrew, the word “Ararat” means “the curse is reversed”. The waters of judgment receded, causing the ark to rest on the mountains of Ararat, on new ground where the curse is reversed. And it happened on the 17th day of the seventh month on the Feast of Firstfruits – the exact date that Jesus rose from the dead 4,000 years later!

When Christ rose from the dead, we were raised together with Him. (Colossians 2:12). We who are in Christ our true ark stands on resurrection ground where the curse has been reversed (Galatians 3:13), where diseases, poverty and failures have no right to operate! As a believer, you are on no-curse ground. You stand in the blessings zone where it is very easy for God’s blessings to rain all over you.

Jesus tells us, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22) So ask, believe and receive you miracle!

Matthew 6:25

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”

Do you worry about your health, finances, family or future? Even when all is well, some still worry because they have heard others say things like, “You should worry when everything is peaceful because something is wrong when the devil leaves you alone.” So they worry even when there is nothing to worry about!

But Jesus does not want you to worry about what you will eat or drink, or about your body and what you will put on your back. He tells you not to worry about your daily provisions because God, who is your heavenly Father, knows that you need all these things and He wants to add these things to you. (Matthew 6:32-33)

The problem with us today is that we think that we must do something to help ourselves. Some of us may even think that it is easy for Jesus to say, “Don’t worry. Take no thought for your life,” because He does not understand the problems we face in life. But the truth is that Jesus understands every problem we face in life. In fact, He faced what would be called the “final problem” – death. Death is the “final problem” because it puts an end to all our other problems. Jesus faced death at the cross, conquered it and rose from the dead. And because He conquered the problem of problems, we can trust Him when He tells us not to worry!

Romans 8:32

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Some Christians mistakenly believe that God gives and also takes away. At funerals, we sometimes hear the minister say, “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Job displayed this very same attitude when he received the news that he had lost his property and children. Thinking that God was the source of his problems and not knowing that it was actually Satan who had come against him, he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21) Such a statement seems to honor God, but in reality, it reveals an erroneous view of our heavenly Father.

As children of God, we know what the Father’s will is for us. He is a giver, not a taker! Jesus said, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32) It is the devil who is the thief. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus came to give us life more abundant. (John 10:10)

Jesus met every need and healed every sickness brought before Him, and at the cross, and He gave His own life. Never once did He take anything away from the anyone who came to Him. And the Bible says that whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father. (John 14:9) Your heavenly Father wants you to know today that He is the one who gives you all good things. And if He has already given us heaven’s best – Jesus, “how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things”?

Psalm 91:14

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name”.

Jesus was in a house in Bethany when a woman came to Him with an alabaster flask containing very costly fragrant oil. She poured the oil on His head. (Matthew 26:6-7) This woman loved the Lord. She had set her love upon Him. But those who were present considered what she did a great waste because the oil could have been sold for an amount equal to one year’s wages, and the money given to the poor instead. Even Jesus’ disciples were indignant and asked her, “Why this waste?” (Matthew 26:8)

But Jesus defended her, saying, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me.” (Matthew 26:10) Not only that, He accorded her the highest honor when He added, “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” (Matthew 26:13) Two thousand years have passed since this woman anointed Jesus with the expensive oil. She never expected in her wildest dreams that her act of love would be told down through the ages. Many kings and rulers have come and gone. Their great acts have faded from the memories of men. But what this woman did for Jesus is still told today around the world today as a memorial to her!

When you get a revelation of how much Jesus loves you, you will set your love upon Him. And when you act out of love for Him, though others may see it as a waste of time, energy or money, He will defend you and deliver you from your critics. He will also set you on high. Your ministry will become powerful and life-changing. Your work will be highly esteemed among your peers. Your company will be prominent and highly successful. And it will not just be a job that you have, but a position of influence to impact many lives.

So set your love upon Jesus. Make Him the love of your life today, and He will defend, deliver and set you on high!

Luke 7:13

When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”.

There is no trial, difficulty or challenge we face today that our Lord Jesus cannot identify with. The moment we experience a trial, He feels it too and is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because He, “was in all points tempted as we are”. (Hebrews 4:15)

Jesus’ compassion for you is the same compassion He felt for the widow at Nain when He saw the dead body of her only son being carried out of the city gate to be buried. (Luke 7:11-15) It must have been terrible for her to experience the death of her only son after having already experienced the death of her husband. What a horrible thought to be left all alone in the world with no means of support! When Jesus saw her, He was moved with compassion and said to her, “Do not weep.”

Now, some religious leaders might also be moved to approach her, but only to say, “Something is terribly wrong. Your husband died. Now, your only son has died. You must find out what is wrong. You better ask God what sin you have committed and repent. Or perhaps there is a curse in your life that needs to be broken.”

Isn’t it beautiful that Jesus did not extend more confusion or condemnation toward her? He only extended His compassion to her, telling her, “Don’t weep.” This same Jesus will also come to you when you are most distraught and say, “Don’t cry.” And Jesus’ sympathy does not stop at “Oh, you poor thing! I am so sorry about what has happened to you.” No, His sympathy will move Him to give you the miracle you need in your life. That is why He raised the widow’s son back to life!

Rest in the truth that He who is seated at the Father’s right hand today understands what you are going through and sympathizes with your weaknesses. The compassion of Jesus toward you causes Him to breathe life into your dead situation and turn it around for your good!

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

It pleases God when we believe that He is the giver, the blesser and that “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”. Such was the faith of Ruth the Moabitess. When she decided to make the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob her God, she found Him to be her rewarder, who lovingly provided for her, divinely guided her, jealously protected her, gloriously redeemed her from her hopeless situation and richly restored her life.

Today, this same God says to you that He is your rewarder. And when He is involved in your life, you will be amply rewarded. Peter, the fisherman, would testify to that. His fishing boat, which represented his life, caught nothing the whole night. But in the morning, when the boat was returned to him after he had loaned it to Jesus, it was no longer the same boat. It was anointed, blessed and so magnetized that a great number of fish was attracted to it. In fact, he received a net-breaking, boat-sinking load of fish! (Luke 5:1-11)

Because God is your rewarder, if He borrows your “boat” even for a while, be assured that He will surely return it to you with a supernatural increase. Even if what you give Him is little, when placed in His hands, it will return to you blessed, anointed and multiplied. This happened to the little boy who gave Jesus his lunch of five barley loaves and two fish. It must have thrilled the boy to see his small lunch supernaturally multiplied and satisfying not just him, but 5,000 men, not counting the women and children, and even leaving behind 12 baskets full of leftovers. (John 6:1-13)

Believe that God is a rewarder. When you give Him your finances, time, possessions and abilities, know for sure that He will return them to you blessed, anointed and multiplied!

Ecclesiastes 9:11

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…

Before you became a Born Again Christian, when something sad or bad happened to you, you may have cried until you had no more tears left. Your heart simply broke into pieces, and you felt trapped, depressed and totally defeated. But after having become a Christian, when something bad happens to you, you may still cry, but you feel comforted inside. You are sad outwardly, but your heart isn’t heavy. You don’t understand why, but deep down inside you, there is something lifting you up. That something buoyant, which is rising from the inside of you, is the life of Christ in you!

You cannot be completely distressed because Christ in you is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) who says to you, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Yes, it may be a bad situation and you are in a tight spot, but Christ in you is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), and He says to you, “It will all be all right. I will provide a way out for you.” You know you are not defeated because Christ in you is your victory (1 Corinthians 15:57) and He says to you, “You are not fighting for victory, but fighting from victory because you already have the victory in Me.”

Before you knew Christ, when you were down, you were out. But now, when you are down, you are not out because Christ in you is the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) “Hope” in the Bible means a definite, positive expectation of good. Christ in you is the definite, positive expectation of all the glories of God revealed to you. No bad circumstance that you are in can or will ever cause you to be destroyed or forsaken by God!

Ecclesiastes 9:11

…the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.

God’s Word tells us that being faster, stronger and wiser does not automatically make you a winner in life. No, it is actually being at the right place at the right time that causes you to receive blessings. And God, who holds time and chance in His hands, is the only one who can put you at the right place at the right time.

He did this for Ruth. She trusted God for favor when she went looking for a field in which to glean. (Ruth 2:2) Then, the Bible tells us that “she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech”. (Ruth 2:3) Of all the fields in Bethlehem, she happened to end up in Boaz’s field, and he was a close relative of Elimelech, her father-in-law. This meant that Boaz was her potential kinsman redeemer, someone who could redeem her from her plight as a young, childless widow in a foreign land. Boaz also happened to be “a man of great wealth” (Ruth 2:1), and as it turned out, he was willing to redeem Ruth. (Ruth 4:9-10) All these right happenings could only mean that God had placed Ruth in the right place at the right time. I believe that the very day Ruth told her mother-in-law that the God of Israel would be her God (Ruth 1:16), God took note of it and made everything happen right for her.

Today, God also wants you to know that because you have said, “God, You are My God,” He will be your God of divine happenings. He will place you at the right place at the right time, where you will meet the right people, do the right things and even escape danger! You may not know where all the great opportunities are, but God does. He was the one who put in you the skills, talents and gifts that you have, and He knows where you need to be, when you should be there and what you need to be doing to be truly fulfilled!