Godly Living Posts / Quotes Archives - Page 5 of 13

Godly Living Posts / Quotes

What does it mean to love the world?

June 27, 2024 - By admin

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1 John 2:15

As someone who preaches strongly on the gospel of grace, one of the most common questions I get asked is this:

Pastor Joseph Prince, are you saying that everything is just by grace and we can live any way we want with total disregard for God? Are you saying that we don’t have to serve Him?

Well, ask yourself this: When someone genuinely encounters the Father’s love, favor, and blessings in a way that is totally undeserving, how do you think they will live?

Take a moment to put yourself in the shoes of the prodigal son in Luke 15. After all the wrongs you have committed against your father, he gives you a lavish reception. He filled him with hugs and kisses.

You just went from starving to being clothed with a fresh clean robe. Equally, by wearing the ring of your father, authorizing you to make payments in his name. And as if that is not enough, your father has invited all the neighbors. He even killed a choice calf, and they are having a homecoming barbecue party with music. This included dancing in your honor.

Now, does this make you want to rebel against your father again by leaving home and going back to the filthy pigpen, wallowing in the mud and feeding on things that will never satisfy you? Of course not!

There is a great misunderstanding that believers who struggle with and indulge in sin, and who are still in love with the world, do so because they don’t love God enough. Believers are told to love God more. Thinking that if people love God more, they would love sin and the world less.

How to test your love for the world

But God opened my eyes one day to the real reason believers are still entangled with sin and the world. I’ve never heard anyone preach this before, so this is fresh from heaven. The apostle John tells us, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

Notice that it is the love of the Father, not the love for the Father. So people who love the world and are trapped by worldly pursuits are actually people who don’t know him. Or don’t believe in their hearts the love of the Father for them.

Rather than messages of “You’ve got to love God more!” what we really need is more preaching that is all about the love of the Father. It will never be about our love for Him, but His love for us.

Beloved, when people come to truly know and believe the Father’s love for them and have it burning in their hearts, they will no longer want to go out and live like the devil. There is just something powerfully transformative about grace.

That’s what right believing in the Father’s love brings. If you’ve tasted and savored grace from your heavenly Father, you never want to live in the wilderness of sin. You will won’t to be away from the Father’s embrace, ever again.

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Find Rest in the Father’s Love

June 19, 2024 - By admin

Did you know God’s original plan for our lives is for us to rest like he rested? Our father’s love is beyond human comprehension. He has set the example.

Here’s a deep summary of how you can rest according Pastor Joseph Prince.

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Isaiah 54:10 NIV

I want to give you a simple but critical truth. Memorize this truth. Feed on it. Let it take root in your spirit and become an anchor in your life. You will never be the same again.

Are you ready? Here it goes:

As a child of God, no matter what happens in your life, your Father in heaven loves you dearly and nothing you do can ever change that.

Will you believe that today? Whether you are going through good times or facing challenging times, you need to know that your Abba loves you.

There is nothing that you can ever do to make Him love you more, and nothing that you can ever do to make Him love you less. Even—or perhaps especially—when you feel like you have failed, know that you will always be the apple of His eye. Always.

God loves you with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3). A love that is the same yesterday, today, forever.

Feel your Daddy God enfolding you in His embrace right now. You are safe. You are utterly loved and completely accepted.

He loved you before you ever knew Him. His love for you has nothing to do with anything that you have done for Him. Nothing you do will ever affect His unwavering, unconditional love for you.

Did you know our father’s love is unconditionally.

There is nothing for you to prove. You only need to rest and receive your Abba’s love. Let your life become established and grounded in a love that is so perfect that no challenge or adversity will be able to knock you down.

If you think that you’ve messed up, turn to your Father. In His loving arms you will find hope, security, and refuge from any storm.

I love how the apostle Paul puts it: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:35, 37–39).

Beloved, there are no caveats or disclaimers when it comes to the love of your heavenly Father. The Bible plainly states that nothing shall be able to separate you from the love of your Father in heaven. It’s an absolute declaration and promise.

“Nothing” means nothing. As a believer, this means that even your mistakes, failings, and sins cannot separate you from the love of your Father. Hallelujah!

If you didn’t know, now you know. Our Father’s love for us has been there since the foundation of the world.

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What Are You Hearing About Jesus?

June 15, 2024 - By admin

Everyday when we watch the news, we are hearing about wars and viral diseases. Do we spend time to hear what Jesus has done for us and who he is? In this detail devotional, Pastor Joseph Prince discusses how to hear from Jesus.

She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

Mark 5:27–29 NLT

Perhaps like the woman with the issue of blood in the Gospels (Mark 5:25–34), you are facing an impossibly hopeless situation in your life. It could be a debilitating sickness, a marital situation, a financial crisis, or a prolonged challenge.

In the natural, the future looks dismal and there appears to be no reason to hope. If that is you, I encourage you to believe that you too can experience the kind of breakthrough this woman experienced.

Imagine: for twelve long years, she had watched helplessly as her condition went from bad to worse no matter what she tried. Most of us would have given up. How did she find hope in the midst of her hopelessness? What gave her the courage to hope again?

I believe that the secret to her faith can be found in these five words: “She had heard about Jesus.”

What you are hearing about Jesus will define your faith

What do you think she heard about Jesus? This is an important question. Because whatever she had heard imparted an audacious sense of Bible hope and confidence in her. And this imbued her with a boldness and tenacity to risk everything just to touch the hem of His garment.

She knew well the religious laws concerning unclean persons such as herself. That meant she could be subjected to public humiliation and, very possibly, violence if she was recognized. Clearly she must have had no doubt in her heart that she would be completely healed the moment she touched the hem of His garment. Or she would not have risked it.

The Bible does not tell us exactly what she heard about Jesus. But I submit to you that she must have heard story after story of how Jesus healed the sick everywhere He went. Also, how good and gracious He was even to the unclean lepers or the down-and-out who came to Him.

How are you acting on what you heard about Jesus?

What she heard about Jesus produced in her a positive, and confident expectation of good. That we can see in what she declared: “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” This hope then resulted in a faith that was effortless.

Faith as defined in God’s Word is “the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen” (Heb. 11:1 NLT). In other words, the hope that she had in the goodness of Jesus became faith. And this faith gave her the boldness to press through the crowd and receive her healing from Jesus.

What are you hearing about Jesus? The more you hear about His goodness and grace, the more faith will unconsciously arise. This will enable you to receive your miracle.

We have the responsibility to act upon what we have been hearing aboyt Jesus.

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The Whole Armor of God

June 13, 2024 - By admin

Our armor is in God. Did you know that?

Google defines armor as a verb to mean provide (someone) with emotional, social, or other defences.

This is what God does to us and wants to do for us. In this devotional, Pastor Joseph Prince expands in detail what is the armor of God.

Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:16–18

The Bible says in Ephesians 6:10–15 that God has provided us with the spiritual armor of truth, righteousness, and the gospel of peace. Today, let’s look at the rest of the armor of God found in Ephesians 6.

What is God’s armor?

Each piece of God’s armor is actually a weapon of right believing by which we experience His victory over the devil’s mind games. Let’s look first at the piece of armor the Bible calls the shield of faith with which to defend yourself and stand strong when the enemy comes against you with thoughts of fear, doubt, and confusion.

In apostle Paul’s time, a shield referred to the huge shield that was used by the Romans, which was as big as a door! See your faith as a mighty shield and picture this—as long as your shield of faith is up, you are untouchable.

No matter how many fiery darts the devil may pitch at you, ALL of them shall be quenched. Too many Christians are taking up the shield of doubt and quenching the blessings of God instead. Don’t let that be you—face your future with boldness with the mighty shield of faith.

Another area the devil likes to attack in your mind is the area of your salvation. When you come under attack, apart from the shield of faith, be sure to have on the helmet of salvation.

God’s armor is for us all

The word “salvation” comes from a beautiful Greek word soteria. It definitely includes eternal life. But it is an all-encompassing word. Which means deliverance (from your enemies, diseases, depression, fears, and all evils), preservation, safety, and salvation. So put on the helmet of salvation by meditating on Jesus. And be filled with God’s wholeness, protection, healing, and soundness. Let His soteria insulate your mind against the enemy’s lies.

Lastly, you have also been equipped with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Wield the sword of the Spirit by praying in the Spirit and speaking out God’s “now word” into your situation. Declare His promises and the truth of His grace over yourself and your circumstances. This will guard your heart against thoughts of hopelessness, despair and fear.

My friend, the whole armor of God has everything to do with what you believe in Christ. When you believe rightly about His grace and His finished work, every evil strategy the enemy has against you will surely fail.

So be strong in the Lord’s love for you. Believe that God is for you and not against you. His truth, His righteousness, His faith, His armor,His gospel, His salvation, His Word, and His Spirit are all weapons of right believing, They are for us to overcome all the devil’s attacks.

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Are you near God?

June 9, 2024 - By admin

You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.

Genesis 45:10–11

In the Old Testament story of Joseph, after Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he tells them to return to their father and to tell him, “Come down to me, do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have” (Gen. 45:9–10).

The name “Goshen” means “drawing near.” God wants you to be in “Goshen”. It is a place of nearness to Him, and there is no place nearer to Him than being in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6).

God’s heart of love is not satisfied with just removing your sins from you. No, He wants more. He wants you in His presence. He wants you in the place where He can lavish the bountiful love in His heart on you!

Why should we draw near God?

When you draw near to Jesus, you enjoy divine protection. In recent years, new strains of deadly viruses have been making headlines. But whatever the virus may be, you can declare, “A thousand may fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand; but it shall not come near me, God’s beloved!” (Ps. 91:7).

When there were plagues and pestilences all over Egypt because Pharaoh refused to let God’s people go, look at what God said about the children of Israel: “I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people” (Exod. 8:22–23).

There is a difference between God’s beloved people and the people of the world. Although Egypt was plagued by swarms of flies and other pestilences, the children of Israel were safe in the land of Goshen. They were completely untouched by the troubles!

So even if there are bad things happening in the world today, remember that as God’s beloved child, you are in the world, but not of the world (John 17:11, 16). No plague, no evil, and no danger can come close to you and your dwelling place because you are safe in the secret place of the Most High.

As the children of Israel were kept safe and protected in Goshen, so will you and I. This is because God calls us His beloved!

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The real meaning of repentance

May 29, 2024 - By admin

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

The word “repentance” in the New Testament is the Greek word metanoia, which simply means “a change of mind.” Meta means “change” and noia refers to your mind.

There are religious folks who have this idea that repentance means groveling in dirt and condemning themselves until they feel they have sufficiently earned God’s forgiveness.

My question is, how condemned and sorrowful do they need to be before they have genuinely “repented”? And after they have “repented,” should they fail again in the same area, does it mean that they did not really “repent” completely the first time?

I do not doubt the sincerity of people who believe in “repentance” this way. However, you can be sincere in your intent but still be sincerely wrong when repentance is not based on right believing that leads to inward heart transformation.

It is possible to beat your breast sorrowfully, put on sackcloth and ashes, cry your eyeballs out, and remain unchanged. Sorrow doesn’t equal transformation.

It is right believing that brings about true repentance (change of mind) and hence genuine transformation. It is impossible to truly repent the Bible way—to experience Jesus, His love, His grace, and His power and to allow Him to change your mind and your belief system—and still remain the same.

What is the kind of repentance God expects from us?

Can you see how man-centered teachings on contrition and repentance can sound so good, but in reality trap people in a permanent cycle of defeat and hypocrisy? The truth is, if you are a new creation in Christ, you already hate the sin and the wrongdoing. It vexes your soul, and you are looking for a way out of your bondage.

The repentance you need—the change of mind you need—is to know that God has already forgiven you. Stop condemning yourself and walk in His righteous identity to new levels of victory over sin.

Now that you understand what Bible repentance is, let’s apply it to winning the battle for your mind. When wrong thoughts come into your head, the repentance or change of mind that you need is to know that those thoughts don’t belong to you.

Repentance in this situation is not about beating yourself up over those thoughts. I used to do that and it only left me more oppressed and defeated.

No, give them no room to flourish by ignoring them while you continue to be established and secure in your identity in Christ. Fill your mind with His thoughts, His living Word, His peace, His joy, and His love.

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God’s Grace When You Least Deserve It

May 25, 2024 - By admin

We have God’s grace. Did you know that? What an awesome blessing!

Not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.

Philippians 3:9

The grace of God is the unearned, undeserved, and unmerited favor of God. When God answers you in your most undeserving moment, that is grace. That is His amazing, unmerited favor!

At your lowest point, in your darkest hour, His light shines through for you and you become a recipient of His unmerited favor, and a recipient of favor can’t help but want to extend grace to others.

My friend, in and of ourselves, we don’t deserve anything good. But because we are in Christ and in His righteousness, God will not withhold any blessing from our lives today. Our part is not to struggle in our own works and be independent from God, but to focus on receiving all that we need from Him.

I believe that the more righteousness-conscious you are, the more you will experience God’s unmerited favor. When the voice of disqualification comes to remind you of all the areas that you have fallen short in, that’s the time to turn to Jesus who qualifies you and hear His voice. That is the true fight of faith!

The fight of faith is to fight to believe that you are made righteous by faith and not by works. Paul, speaking of his own achievements under the law, said that he counts them all “as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Phil. 3:8–9).

Is God’s grace the same as our righteousness?

So there are clearly two types of righteousness in the Bible:

(1) A righteousness that comes from your obedience and from you trying to earn your way to attain it.

(2) A righteousness that comes from faith in Jesus Christ.

Only one of these has a solid, unshakable foundation. One is built upon you and your ability to keep the law, while the other is built upon the Rock of all ages—Jesus Christ. One can only give you the occasional confidence to ask for God’s favor, depending on how well you perceive you have done. The other gives you confidence ALL THE TIME to access His unmerited favor, even when you feel that you are greatly undeserving.

What do you want to depend on when push comes to shove—your wavering righteousness or the perfect, rock-solid righteousness of Jesus? It is your faith in the righteousness of Jesus that gives you the right to God’s unmerited favor.

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Today, because of what Jesus did on the cross, you can expect good things to happen to you. You can ask God for big things and reach out to the blessed destiny that He has for you and your family. His righteousness is your right to God’s unmerited favor! Don’t let any voice of accusation tell you otherwise!

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Choose to Bless the Lord

May 15, 2024 - By admin

I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:1–4

Psalm 34, one of David’s most powerful psalms, was written by him in the cave of Adullam. I find it really interesting that David wrote it during one of the most challenging seasons in his life. It’s by no stretch of the imagination for us to see that this was one of the lowest points in David’s life—on the run from King Saul, full of fear and groveling in the presence of the king of Gath, then hiding in a cave. How the mighty had fallen!

After such a demeaning episode, in his darkest hour, David could have indulged in self-pity and condemnation, but instead he chose not to be defeated by his circumstances. Rather, he chose to bless the Lord and let the praises of the Lord be continually in his mouth.

Was he fearful? Absolutely! However, despite his fear that King Saul would capture him or that the king of Gath would slay him to avenge Goliath, he sought the Lord in worship in that cave.

Why should we bless the LORD?

And God in His faithfulness did not just deliver David from all his fears, but He also transformed all the men who were gathered in the cave with him. They went from being distressed, in debt, and discontented to becoming fearless warriors, giant-slayers in their own right, and faithful, mighty men who served David all the days of their lives (2 Sam. 23:8–39).

Today, do you believe that God loves you and is faithful to deliver you? It doesn’t matter if you are feeling fearful, if you are in distress, in debt, or discontented. Believe right. Believe that when you seek the Lord in worship as David did, the Lord will indeed hear you, deliver you from all your troubles, and transform you.

Worship is one of the easiest, yet most powerful ways of being free from self-occupation. Look away from the painful symptoms or the fearful circumstances that are bothering you and worship Jesus. Be occupied with Him and everything will work together for your good.

How can you praise God?

Would you do me a favor? I would like you to visit josephprince.com/power, where I have included a worship video of me leading my church in singing the words of David in Psalm 34. I want to demonstrate to you through the video how worship is one of the quickest ways for you to focus on Jesus. This helps us to overcome your feelings of defeat.

Equally, I am believing that as we worship the Lord, you will be completely free from any trouble. Or area of defeat that you are struggling with today. Let’s agree together that your body will be healed, that all your fears will disappear, and that all your addictions will be gone in the mighty name of Jesus.

Come magnify the Lord with me, come worship Jesus with the words of David, and experience His goodness and deliverance!

This devotional is wrotten by Pastor Joseph Prince of New Creation church, SIngapore. To read more go here.

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Are you led by the Holy Spirit?

May 9, 2024 - By admin

We make decisions everyday. The question is, are we led by the Holy Spirit? Any decision outside of the Holy Spirit’s leadership, will always led to more problems.

Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.

Acts 16:6–7

The more areas of your life you involve the Lord in, the more you can experience His protection. You can even ask the Lord to guide you in something as seemingly natural as your travel itinerary.

In fact, read the passage above. The apostle Paul allowed the Holy Spirit to lead them at every step.

We see from those Scriptures that closed doors are not necessarily negative, and could be signs of God’s protection over our lives. The challenge for some of us is that we are so adept at planning and scheduling our busy lives that many times, we don’t make room for the Lord to intervene and to guide us to be at the right place at the right time.

Let’s not put our trust in our intelligence and planning, but in His wisdom, leading, and counsel. There is a proverb that says, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps” (Prov. 16:9). Even as we plan, I pray that we will always remember to commit all our ways to the Lord, and allow Him to direct our steps.

How is being led by the Holy Spirit?

Being led by the Spirit does not have to be something complicated. When you walk close to the Lord and have a close relationship with Him, He can lead you in supernaturally natural ways.

Some years ago, a couple in our church were vacationing at a beach resort on Penang Island in Malaysia, when the wife felt like eating something in another location on the mainland. Because of that “prompting” in her belly, they headed off earlier than they had originally planned. While they were loading their vehicle, a man kept hurrying them and asking them to move off as they were apparently blocking the hotel driveway, and that had really irritated them at that time.

In any case, just fifteen minutes after they had crossed from the island to the mainland, they heard the news that an earthquake in the Indian Ocean had triggered a killer tsunami that crashed onto the beachfront they were at, killing more than fifty people. Had they left just a little later, they could have been among the casualties of the tragedy that day. Looking back, the couple believes that the man at the hotel might even have been an angel sent by the Lord to get them out of harm’s way quickly.

I don’t know about you, but I want the Lord to direct all my steps! Call upon Him today and He will answer you.

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Did you know faith is not a struggle?

May 6, 2024 - By admin

Have you ever felt like you needed more faith? Have you ever looked at yourself and told yourself that if you just had more faith, you would see your financial breakthrough or healing? My friend, I have good news for you today: faith is not a struggle. The Scriptures show us that the hearing of faith and the works of the law are total opposites (Gal. 3:2, 5). And since the works of the law are about our self-efforts, there is no self-effort in faith.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17.

For years, my own ministry was a ministry that disqualified people. I would tell my congregation, “There’s nothing wrong with God, nothing wrong with His Word, so there must be something wrong with you!”

But one day, I heard the Lord speaking to me on the inside. He said, “Stop disqualifying My people! My blood has already qualified them. Stop disqualifying them!”

Now, I know that faith is the opposite of the law, and that the more people become self-conscious, and the more they look at their self-efforts to receive from the Lord, the more faith is depleted from them. So when the Lord opened my eyes to grace, I changed what I was preaching entirely and began to declare, “There’s nothing wrong with God, nothing wrong with His Word, and guess what? Through the blood of Jesus, there’s nothing wrong with you! Receive your miracle!”

Hallelujah! Once I stopped pointing the people to what was wrong with them and pointed instead to what was right with them because of Jesus, faith was imparted, and we began to experience an explosion of healing miracles like never before. Cancers were healed, tumors were supernaturally removed, and lives were transformed.

Why is faith is not a struggle?

That is what happens when believers know that they have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus. They begin to understand that they have the blood-bought right to be healed, to experience financial breakthroughs, and to enjoy restoration in their marriages!

When people begin to see more of Jesus, when they begin to become more and more conscious of Jesus having been crucified on their behalf, faith no longer is a barrier to receiving God’s promises. Why? Because the more they see what Jesus has done for them, the more they see what Jesus has qualified them for. Also, the more faith springs up within them and miracles break forth. Hallelujah!

Beloved, you don’t have to wish that you had more faith for whatever miracle you are asking God for right now. You don’t have to try to conjure up more faith.

Simply see Jesus on the cross for you, and the faith you need to face any situation. That includes all the challenges will come into your life. Just look to Jesus and His grace toward you! He is the author and finisher of faith (Heb. 12:2). Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.

The more of Jesus and His love you hear, the more faith rises in your heart. Get hold of teachings that preach all about Jesus and His finished work. Make it your priority to listen to the good news preached.

There is power in the gospel of Jesus Christ! Reach out and receive your miracle from your loving Savior today!

This devotional and many more are from Pastor Joseph Prince.

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