Topic: ADD FOR TODAY - A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus endured our poverty that we might share His abundance.

TODAY's VERSE
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Meeting God’s Conditions
We must make an important, logical distinction between earning God’s grace, which is impossible, and meeting God’s conditions, which is obligatory. We cannot earn God’s abundance, which comes only through grace; however, we are required to meet the conditions God has laid down for receiving His abundance through faith. If we do not meet these conditions, our faith has no scriptural foundation. In fact, it is merely presumption. To meet God’s conditions, our motives and attitudes must be right. We would all do well to examine our motives very carefully, especially concerning monetary gain. Impure motives concerning money include: (1) idolizing wealth (“Covetousness…is idolatry” [Colossians 3:5]; “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” [1 Timothy 6:10]); (2) pursuing wealth by sinful methods (“Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay is the man who gains riches by unjust means” [Jeremiah 17:11 NIV]; [see also Proverbs 28:8]); (3) trusting ultimately in wealth for security and well-being (“He who trusts in his riches will fall” [Proverbs 11:28]; “Let not…the rich man glory in his riches” [Jeremiah 9:23]); (4) using wealth for selfish gain and self-serving interests (“There is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty” [Proverbs 11:24].)
 
In Luke 12:16–21, Jesus related the parable of the rich man who built bigger barns and filled them with his produce. But the Lord said to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you” (verse 20). Jesus then added, “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (verse 21). The first direction in which we need to be rich is toward God, giving Him our tithes and offerings for the building of His kingdom.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that I receive God’s abundance for me through faith as I meet His conditions because Jesus endured my poverty that I might share His abundance. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus endured our poverty that we might share His abundance.

TODAY's VERSE
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Caring for the Poor
Yesterday, we considered four wrong attitudes in relation to money. There is yet another attitude that we must be careful to avoid, and that is a wrong attitude toward the poor. The Bible consistently warns us against despising or exploiting the poor.
 
There are a multitude of Scripture verses on this subject, but we will look at several verses from Proverbs:
 
He who despises his neighbor sins; but he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.
(Proverbs 14:21)
He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given.
(Proverbs 19:17)
 
Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry him-self and not be heard.
(Proverbs 21:13)
 
He who gives to the poor will not lack, but he who hides his eyes will have many curses.
(Proverbs 28:27)
 
The righteous considers the cause of the poor, but the wicked does not understand such knowledge. (Proverbs 29:7)
 
These verses - and others like them - place a tremendous re-sponsibility upon us to have concern for the needs of the poor. One mark of righteousness is considering the cause of the poor. Conversely, a mark of wickedness is simply averting one’s eyes from the plight of the poor. Furthermore, a reward is promised in relation to caring for the poor. When we give to the poor, Solomon told us, we are lending to the Lord. When the Lord repays our loans, He does not forget the interest!

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that I will have concern for the needs of the poor, and that I will care for them, because Jesus endured my poverty that I might share His abundance. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus endured our poverty that we might share His abundance.

TODAY's VERSE
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Enjoying the Blessing
Let’s look at the list of curses in Deuteronomy 28. Read this entire chapter for yourself, considering whether you are enjoying a blessing or enduring a curse. If we are redeemed children of God, the curses do not belong to us, but the blessings do. Let us focus particularly on those blessings and curses related to wealth and poverty:
 
If you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:….Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.…You shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways….Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.    (Deuteronomy 28:15, 17, 29, 47–48)
 
The will of God is expressed in verse 47 - that we should serve the Lord our God with joy and gladness of heart for the abundance of all things. Abundance is a beautiful word that occurs many times in the Bible. In essence, it means you have all you need, and then some - you have blessings leftover for others. The will of God is that we, as His people, should serve Him with joy and gladness for the abundance of all things He gives to us.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that I will serve You with joy and gladness for the abundance of all things, because Jesus endured my poverty that I might share His abundance. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus bore our shame that we might share His glory.

TODAY's VERSE
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Freed from Shame
Shame is a cruel and ugly emotion, and it is found even among Christians. It is often the result of sexual abuse or emotional abuse, such as being ridiculed at school. I once read a story about a headmaster who singled out one boy and told him to stand up, then said to the whole class, “All of you have passed your exams except him.” How could this young man feel anything but shame? Many experiences of childhood can cause shame. Those that happened longest ago are sometimes the hardest to uproot. First in is often last out.
 
Perhaps the most common source of shame in our Western civilization is sexual abuse (even by professing Christians). I have dealt with countless victims in this regard. Only when they come to the cross will they be set free from that shame.
 
This prophetic utterance describes what Jesus did for us:
 
The Lord GOD has opened My ear; and I [Jesus] was not rebellious, nor did I turn away. I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.   (Isaiah 50:5–6)
 
Jesus said, “I gave My back.” He could have saved Himself; He could have called for twelve legions of angels to rescue Him. (See Matthew 26:53.) But He did not. He gave His back. The depictions we see of the scourging of Jesus have very little to do with our own familiar reality. It was a horrible scene because the scourge had little pieces of metal or bone embedded in the thongs. When they fell on a man’s body, they tore away the skin and exposed the raw flesh. That is what Jesus endured for our sake. And He did not hide His face from shame and spitting. On the cross, Jesus bore our shame.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that on the cross, Jesus freed me from shame - because He bore my shame that I might share His glory. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus bore our shame that we might share His glory.

TODAY's VERSE
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

TODAY'S MESSAGE - “Despising the Shame”
Here is a brief account of what happened after Jesus’ arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. Pontius Pilate had handed Jesus over to the soldiers to take Him out to be executed.
 
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. [Remember, every blow of that reed pressed the crown of thorns deeper into His skull.] And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified….Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.   (Matthew 27:27–31, 35–36)
 
Jesus was actually exposed naked two times in that scene. And they sat and watched Him on the cross for three hours. Most depictions of Jesus on the cross show Him wearing a little loincloth. But there was no loincloth; He was exposed naked. His shame was exposed to everybody who passed by, mocking Him.
 
The epistle to the Hebrews emphasizes this truth: “Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,…for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2).

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that Jesus was exposed to shame on my behalf, enduring the cross and “despising the shame” - because He bore my shame that I might share His glory. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus bore our shame that we might share His glory.

TODAY's VERSE
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Helping God’s Chosen Ones
My wife and I were once involved in helping two Jewish women who had escaped from Soviet Russia. In a sense, these women had cast themselves on our mercy. We went to a lot of pain and trouble to help them, and, by the grace of God, we ultimately succeeded in doing so. One day, I was complaining to myself as I toiled up a steep hill in Haifa for them. It was a hot day, and, though these women were always very grateful, I was thinking that this was an awful lot to go through for them. And God gave me this verse; I did not know where to find it in the Bible, but the words just came to me:
 
Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect [God’s chosen ones], that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.   (2 Timothy 2:10)
 
From that experience, I saw that my position was far from that of Jesus on the cross. The inconvenience I was enduring was so min-iscule in comparison. But the purpose was to help God’s chosen ones enter into salvation with eternal glory.
 
We all need to devote more time to thinking about that word glory, because it is our destination. If there is a price to pay for glory, believe me, it is worth it. We may be called upon sometime to give up those two idols of convenience and comfort. If we could just get a vision of all that can come out of our personal inconvenience and sacrifice, we would one day see people in glory who are there because of what we did.
 
That was the motivation of Jesus. He did not do it for Himself but to bring many sons to glory.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that I will give up those two idols of convenience and comfort, as Jesus did, to help bring salvation to God’s chosen ones. Jesus bore my shame that I might share His glory. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus bore our shame that we might share His glory.

TODAY's VERSE
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Boasting in the Cross
One day, the Holy Spirit spoke to me through tongues and interpretation: “Consider the work of Calvary, a perfect work; perfect in every respect, perfect in every aspect.” God showed me that if I could understand fully what Jesus did on the cross at Calvary, I would find it was perfect, complete. There was nothing that needed to be added, nothing that could ever be taken from it. Every need had been supplied. It made me want to know more about the cross. Gradually, over the years, the Holy Spirit has opened up the Scriptures to me more and more.
 
But God forbid that I should glory [boast], save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.   (Galatians 6:14 KJV)
 
Paul had only one thing to boast about - the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is an amazing statement when you consider that in Paul’s day, the cross was the absolute embodiment of all that was shameful and revolting.
 
In his book A Doctor at Calvary, Pierre Barbet, a Catholic surgeon, tried to pinpoint and describe the physical experience of a person being crucified. The problem was that there was no standard of reference because no one in the past two centuries has ever seen a person crucified on a cross. It brought home to me how remote the cross can be to us as an instrument of shame and torture.
 
Paul did not boast about his Jewish ancestry or the churches he founded or the miracles he had seen. He boasted only about the cross. May that same spirit be in each one of us - a spirit willing to be emptied of carnal boastfulness, pride, and self-sufficiency - so that we can humbly acknowledge the cross of Jesus Christ.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that I will boast in the cross of Jesus Christ, for Jesus bore my shame that I might share His glory. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus bore our shame that we might share His glory.

TODAY's VERSE
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Ordained for Glory
Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?   (Romans 8:29–32 NIV)
 
When we are identified with Jesus in His death, we enter into His abundant inheritance. We become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. But there is a process. Five stages were outlined by Paul, all of which are in the past tense. The first two steps took place in eternity before time began: God foreknew us and predestined us. Then, God called us through the preaching of the gospel. When we responded to the call, He then justified us. But He didn’t stop there; He also glorified us. He brought us up to share glory with Jesus in heaven as kings and priests. Not in the future, but in the past.
 
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.    (Colossians 3:1–4 NIV)
 
We already share Christ’s glory, but it is in the unseen, invisible world. Where Jesus is, we are.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that God foreknew me, predestined me, called me, justified me, and glorified me. Jesus bore my shame that I might share His glory. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus endured our rejection that we might have His acceptance with the Father.

TODAY's VERSE
Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:5–6

TODAY'S MESSAGE - We Are Accepted!
Rejection, simply defined, is the sense of being unwanted or the sense that, although you want people to love you, no one does. Or it can be the desire to belong to a group from which you feel excluded - it seems you’re always on the outside looking in. One reason that so many people today suffer from the problem of rejection is the form of our society and its pressures, particularly those causing the breakup of family life.
 
What is the opposite of rejection? It is acceptance. I love the last part of Ephesians 1:6, which says, “He [God] has made us accepted in the Beloved.” Jesus, God’s true and only begotten Son, was rejected so that we, who were unworthy rebels, might have His acceptance with the Father. The surest remedy for our problems is to believe that Jesus bore our rejection that we might have His acceptance with the Father.
 
God’s family is the best family. There is none equal to it. Even if your own family did not care for you - perhaps your father rejected you or your mother never had time for you - God still wants you. You are accepted. You are the object of His special care and affection. Everything He does in the universe revolves around you.
 
When God says that we are accepted, He does not mean that we are merely tolerated. We never take too much of His time. The only thing that upsets Him is when we stay away too long. He does not push us off into a corner and say, “Wait. I’m too busy. I don’t have time for you.” Rather, He says, “I’m interested in you. I want you. You’re welcome. Come in. I’ve been waiting a long time for you.”

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that “God has made me accepted in the Beloved,” and He welcomes me. Jesus endured my rejection that I might have His acceptance with the Father. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus endured our rejection that we might have His acceptance with the Father.

TODAY's VERSE
Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:5–6

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Remedy for Rejection
I believe the primary result of rejection is the inability to receive or communicate love. None of us can communicate love unless we have first received love. This point was made by John in the New Testament, when he wrote, “We love Him [God] because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). I do not believe anyone can love unless he has first been loved. Thus, a person who has never been loved cannot transmit love.
 
 The secondary results of rejection are the three main ways in which people commonly react to rejection: first, there is the person who gives in; second, there is the person who holds out; and, third, there is the person who fights back. These three ways of reacting to rejection have one thing in common. Each is essentially defensive, offering a method of covering up the hurt. None of them is a positive solution. God, however, has a positive solution.
 
In Isaiah 61:1, we find a promise that was fulfilled through the coming of Jesus the Messiah: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners” (NASB).
 
In fulfillment of this promise, God has provided a remedy for rejection. It comes to us through Jesus and the cross. God’s eternal purpose, even before creation, was that we might become His children - His sons and His daughters. When Jesus bore our sin and suffered our rejection, He opened the way for our acceptance by the One whose acceptance truly matters.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that I step out of the results of rejection, receiving instead the remedy God has provided for me in Jesus Christ the Messiah. I proclaim that Jesus endured my rejection that I might have His acceptance with the Father. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus endured our rejection that we might have His acceptance with the Father.

TODAY's VERSE
Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:5–6

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Experiencing His Acceptance
To receive God’s provision for rejection, you must grasp two basic facts. First, God did not make a lot of different provisions for each of the various needs of humanity. Instead, He made just one, all-inclusive provision that covers all the needs of all people. This cover-all provision was the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross.
 
Second, what took place on the cross was an exchange that God Himself had planned. All the evil consequences of our sins came upon Jesus so that, in return, all the benefits of Jesus’ sinless obedience might be made available to us. For our part, we have done nothing to deserve this, and we have no merits or rights by which to claim it. It proceeded solely out of the unfathomable love of God.
 
Therefore, it is futile to approach God on the basis of some merit or virtue that we imagine we possess. Nothing we have to offer of ourselves can be compared with the merit of the sacrifice that Jesus offered on our behalf.
 
Christ bore our rejection on the cross, along with all of the shame and betrayal, agony and heartache. In fact, a broken heart was the cause of His death. We are accepted because of His rejection. We are accepted in the Beloved. It was an exchange. Jesus bore the evil so that we might receive the good. He carried our sorrows so we might have His joy. The way is opened for man to come to God without shame, without guilt, without fear. Jesus bore our rejection so that we might experience His acceptance.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim the truth of the exchange Jesus made for me: I am accepted because of His rejection. I receive the good because He bore the evil. I have His joy because He carried my sorrows. I proclaim that Jesus endured my rejection that I might have His acceptance with the Father. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus endured our rejection that we might have His acceptance with the Father.

TODAY's VERSE
Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:5–6

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Steps to Acceptance
There are four steps you must take to experience acceptance with God. The first thing is to forgive every person who has rejected you or harmed you in any way. As Jesus instructed us, “When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:25 NIV).
 
This statement is all-inclusive: if you hold anything against anyone, forgive, and then God will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, God does not forgive you. This truth applies especially in our attitudes toward our parents, who most commonly cause the problem of rejection. Lives have changed when people have realized they have a scriptural obligation to honor their parents. Ephesians 6:2 says, “‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with a promise.” That does not mean that you ignore their faults completely, but you must forgive them and determine to honor them to the greatest extent that you are able. I have never known anyone who had a wrong relation to his parents who was really blessed and prosperous. Second, you must lay down the negative results of rejection: bitterness, resentment, hatred, rebellion. These attitudes are poisonous; they will infect your entire life. They will cause deep emotional problems and, quite likely, physical problems, as well. You cannot afford to entertain these thoughts.
 
By a resolute decision of your will, push them from you. Say with conviction, “I lay down bitterness, resentment, hatred, and rebellion.” People who have recovered from alcoholism are often told, “Resentment is a luxury you can no longer afford.” That is true. None of us can afford resentment. Its effects are toxic.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I forgive every person who has rejected me, and I lay down bitterness, resentment, hatred, and rebellion. I proclaim that Jesus endured my rejection that I might have His acceptance with the Father. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus endured our rejection that we might have His acceptance with the Father.

TODAY's VERSE
Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:5–6

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Accepting Ourselves
By an act of faith, you must believe what God says in the Bible: that you are accepted in Christ. Scripture tells us that God’s purpose from eternity was to make us His children, and He accomplished this purpose, He made it possible, through Jesus’ death on the cross on our behalf. (See Ephesians 1:4–6.) When you come to God through Jesus, God accepts you. He will not turn you away.
 
To make this step toward acceptance, you must accept yourself. Many times, this is the hardest thing for us to do. We look back over a record of failures and false starts, maybe the ways in which we have failed others. You may label yourself “failure,” but God labels you “My son” or “My daughter.” We must accept ourselves because God has accepted us.
 
When you come to God through Jesus, you are a new creation: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17–18). That is the new creation. Do not think about yourself in terms of what you were before you came to Christ, for you have become a new creation.
 
Let us pray together: “God, I thank You that You love me, that You gave Jesus, Your Son, to die on my behalf. I thank You that He bore my sins, took my rejection, and paid my penalty. And because I come to You through Him, I am not rejected, I am not unwanted, I am not excluded. You really love me. I really am Your child. You really are my Father. I belong to Your family. Heaven is my home. Thank You, God. Amen.”

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I believe what God says - that I am accepted in Christ - and I accept myself, as well. I proclaim that Jesus endured my rejection that I might have His acceptance with the Father. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus endured our rejection that we might have His acceptance with the Father.

TODAY's VERSE
Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:5–6

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Finding Your Place
There is another important stage in achieving acceptance, and that is receiving acceptance from God’s people. This means finding your place in the body of Christ.
 
You see, as Christians, we are never isolated individuals. We are brought into a relationship with our fellow believers. That relationship is one of the ways in which our acceptance is worked out in our day-to-day living. It is not enough to be accepted by the Father in heaven. That is the first step, and indeed the most important one. However, after that, acceptance has to find expression in our relationships with our fellow believers.
 
Collectively, Christians constitute one body, with each Christian being a member of that body. None of us can say to our fellow believers, “I don’t need you.” We all need one another. God has created the body in such a way that the members are interdependent. None of them can function effectively on its own. That principle applies to each one of us. It applies to you. You have to find your place in the body of Christ. You need the other members, and they need you. Finding your place in the body makes your acceptance a real, day-to-day experience.
 
If you are crying out in your heart for this kind of involvement, I suggest that you pray this prayer: “Lord, I long to dwell in Your house, to be part of a spiritual family of committed believers. If there are any barriers in me, I ask You to remove them. Guide me to a group where this longing of mine can be fulfilled, and help me to make the needed commitment to them. In the name of Jesus, amen.”

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that I am open to finding my place in the body of Christ, as I just prayed. I proclaim that Jesus endured my rejection that I might have His acceptance with the Father. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus endured our rejection that we might have His acceptance with the Father.

TODAY's VERSE
Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:5–6

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Spiritual Life: Fellowship with God
After Peter drew his sword in Jesus’ defense, so that He would not be arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to him, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?” (John 18:11). Jesus drank the cup to the very dregs. You see, Jesus’ work was not completed on the cross. In fact, the bitterest dregs came after physical death. In every sense, Jesus exhausted the cup. First, there was spiritual death; second, physical death; and third, spiritual banishment from God.
 
Jesus tasted death for every person so that we might have life. And we have life in the three aspects of life that Jesus forfeited. The parallel is exact.
 
First of all, we have spiritual life - we are brought into union and fellowship with God here in this life, right now, through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus was joined to the Lord; He lived by the life of the Father. He said, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). This was the case until He took our iniquity upon Himself and was separated from the Father. He was cut off that we might be united. Through faith in Jesus, you and I can be joined to the Lord in the Spirit and walk this life in union with God, just as Jesus walked His life in un-ion with the Father by the Spirit. This is the end purpose of the gospel.
 
First John 1:3 states, “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” Jesus forfeited the fellowship so that we might enter into the fellowship.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that Jesus tasted death that I might have life; that He was cut off that I might be united; that He forfeited the fellowship that we might enter into it. I proclaim that Jesus was cut off by death that I might be joined to God eternally. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus was cut off by death that we might be joined to God eternally.

TODAY's VERSES
For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. Isaiah 53:8
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Physical Life: Resurrection Life
Jesus tasted death in every aspect for every person so that we might have life in every aspect. Yesterday, we talked about the first aspect, which is spiritual life. Today, we will look at the second aspect, which is physical life. This life comes in two successive phases. First, we have life in our physical bodies now. But our bodies are mortal; thus, second, at the resurrection, our bodies will be changed into immortal bodies.
 
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you [that means “dwells in you right now,” not after the resurrection], He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.    (Romans 8:11)
 
We each have a mortal body with resurrection life. Mortal flesh, a mortal body, but resurrection life made manifest in it. Not just operating in it, but made manifest in it. If this verse does not refer to divine healing and divine physical strength and vitality, then I do not understand these words! But that is not the conclusion. The conclu-ion is a changed body. Concerning this changed body, Paul wrote,
 
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.   (1 Corinthians 15:51–54)

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that because Jesus tasted death for me, I have life - resurrection life now and life eternal. I proclaim that Jesus was cut off by death that I might be joined to God eternally. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus was cut off by death that we might be joined to God eternally.

TODAY's VERSES
For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. Isaiah 53:8
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Eternity with God
The third aspect of the life we have in Christ is the consummation of the work of Jesus in eternity - an eternity spent in the presence of God rather than being eternally banished to hell.
 
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.   (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)
 
The consummation of redemption is eternity in the presence of God. The last two chapters of Revelation describe our eternity in the presence of God:
 
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea [no more separation, no more bitterness]. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:1–2)
 
I believe the New Jerusalem is the church coming down out of heaven. And it is God’s permanent dwelling place. One of the supreme purposes of God in the church is to have a dwelling place where He can live permanently. Verse 3 says, “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.’”

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that I will have eternity in the presence of God instead of banishment, because Jesus was cut off by death that I might be joined to God eternally. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus was cut off by death that we might be joined to God eternally.

TODAY's VERSES
For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. Isaiah 53:8
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Union with Christ
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.   (1 Corinthians 6:17)
 
The word “joined” is not in the past tense but the ongoing present tense. In other words, “He who is cleaving continually to the Lord is one with Him.” There is a spiritual union with God that is parallel to the physical union between a man and a woman. That is what the Scripture says. It is so real, so intimate, that the believer can cleave to God so that he is one with Him.
 
Just as Jesus is one with the Father, so believers can be one with the Son. “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” I want to emphasize again that it is not a single event in the past tense. It is a continuing present: “He who is cleaving continually to the Lord.” Jesus lived by continual union with the Father. If the union had ever been broken, which it never was until the cross, He would have forfeited life. And you and I, as believers, live only insofar as we live in continual union with the Son, Jesus Christ. Living in union with Him, we are one spirit.
 
The primary activity of the human spirit is union with God. It is the only part of man that can be united directly with God. The great privilege we have with our spirits is union and communion with God.
 
The believer has to live by his union with Christ, just as Christ lived by His union with the Father. We are dependent for life, moment by moment, upon our union with Christ. Don’t ever trust in yesterday’s experience for today.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that I am living in union with Christ—and that we are one spirit. Jesus was cut off by death that I might be joined to God eternally. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus was cut off by death that we might be joined to God eternally.

TODAY's VERSES
For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. Isaiah 53:8
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Communion with the Creator
In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Paul prayed, “Now may the God of peace Him-self sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless.” Paul here put together the three elements that make up a complete human personality, listing them in descending order from the highest to the lowest: first, spirit; second, soul; third, body.
 
The spirit is the part of the human personality that was directly breathed into man by God at creation. It is therefore capable of direct union and communion with the Creator. In 1 Corinthians 6:17, Paul said, “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” It would not be correct to say “one soul with Him.” Only man’s spirit is capable of direct union with God. In the original pattern of creation, man’s spirit related upward to God, his Creator, and downward to his own soul. God communicated directly with man’s spirit and, through man’s spirit, with his soul. Together, man’s spirit and soul expressed themselves through his body.
 
Let me give you three definitions of the functions of spirit, soul, and body - definitions that are simple but no less helpful. The spirit is God-conscious. The soul is self-conscious. The body is world-conscious. Through the spirit, we are conscious of God. In our souls, we are conscious of ourselves. And through our bodies and their senses, we relate to the world around us.
 
When the spirit of man is brought back into union with God, it is rekindled to become a lamp. The Holy Spirit comes in and fills up that lamp, shedding light on man’s whole inner being. (See Proverbs 20:27.)

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that I am in direct union and communion with my Creator, because Jesus was cut off by death that I might be joined to God eternally. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus was cut off by death that we might be joined to God eternally.

TODAY's VERSES
For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. Isaiah 53:8
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Marriage Relationship with the Lord
In Romans 7, Paul said that through the law, we were married. The law was like a marriage covenant, and it was for life. To whom - or to what - were we married? We were married to our fleshly nature. The whole essence of the law is that we are required to keep it in our own ability. Doing this is dependent on our fleshly nature, which explains why it never works.
 
Coming under the law is like participating in a marriage ceremony in which you are married to your fleshly nature. As long as your fleshly nature remains alive, you must remain married to it; you cannot divorce it and marry somebody else. The good news is that your first spouse died. When did that first spouse die? When Jesus died on the cross. Our old man was crucified with Him. When you grasp that fact, you say, “Praise God. I’m free. I don’t have to go on with this awful spouse of mine who gave me an awful life and gave me no blessings, peace, or righteousness. I’m not tied to that vile spouse any longer. I can be married to another.”
 
The alternative is to be married to the One who rose from the dead - the risen, glorified Christ. He can become your husband whether you are man or woman. What we are talking about is a relationship in the Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 6:15–16, Paul provided a picture of sexual union between a man and a prostitute. He used that picture of union to help people envision another kind of union that they can have - a union with the Lord. It is not sexual; it is spiritual - that is, a marriage relationship with the Lord. “He who is joined to the Lord is one” (1 Corinthians 6:17) - not in soul or in body, but in spirit.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that I am married in the Spirit to the One who rose from the dead - the risen, glorified Christ. I proclaim that Jesus was cut off by death that I might be joined to God eternally. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
Jesus was cut off by death that we might be joined to God eternally.

TODAY's VERSES
For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. Isaiah 53:8
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Worship: The Consummation
In John 4:23–24, Jesus said that the Father is looking for those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Worship is a function of the spirit. What is the act by which we are joined to the Lord as one spirit? Worship. That is why worship is the highest activity of human beings.
 
When we are joined to the Lord in worship, we begin to bring forth or birth the things that God wants brought forth. Worship is not a sort of appendix to the Christian life. It is not an afterthought, a mere addition to our services. Worship is the culmination - it is the confirmation. If I may say this without offending anybody, worship is the consummation of our marriage to the Lord. It unites us with Him as one spirit. When we have that marriage union, it is always for the sake of procreation. That is when we procreate; that is when we bring forth spiritual fruit. By “spiritual fruit,” I mean the fruit of the Spirit, which is listed in Galatians 5:22–23: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
 
The people who bring forth the kinds of fruit specified in this passage do not need to be governed by the law. They are not under the law. They have escaped from their marriage to the flesh under the law, and they are free to be married by the Holy Spirit to the resurrected Christ and bring forth the kind of fruit that is appropriate to that union. The key to the Christian life is not effort. It is union.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, for Your work on the cross. I proclaim that as I worship the Lord, I am united to Him in one spirit. I proclaim that Jesus was cut off by death that I might be joined to God eternally. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
 I have been forgiven and set free from my sins.

TODAY's VERSES
In [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:14

TODAY'S MESSAGE - A Clean Record
One of the most wondrous aspects of God’s nature is that when He forgives, He does not partially forgive. He totally forgives. Micah stated this beautifully:
 
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the trans-gression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.   (Micah 7:18–19 NIV)
 
Isn’t that beautiful? Everything that we have ever done wrong - everything that could ever make us feel guilty, every accusation that the enemy could ever bring against us - God treads underfoot and hurls into the depths of the sea.
 
Someone remarked once that when God casts your sins into the sea, He puts up a notice that says, “NO FISHING!” Don’t ever try to go back and resurrect something that God has buried. If God has forgiven you, you are forgiven. There are no questions. God’s forgiveness is total. In Isaiah God speaks to His people, saying:
 
I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. (Isaiah 43:25)
 
When God forgives us, He blots out the record. It is clean. It is just as though that which was forgiven had never taken place. Not only does He blot out the record, but He blots it out from His own memory. He says that He will remember our sins no more.
 
God does not have a bad memory, but He does have the ability to forget. And when He forgives, He forgets!

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for Your forgiveness. I proclaim that God’s forgiveness for me is total: He has blotted out my record and it is clean. I have been forgiven and set free from my sins. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
 I have been forgiven and set free from my sins.

TODAY's VERSES
In [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:14

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Nothing Shall Hurt Us
For He [God] delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.   (Colossians 1:13–14 NASB)
 
Through our faith in Jesus and His sacrificial death, God has delivered us from the domain of darkness. Notice that word domain. In the original Greek, it is authority. Satan has authority over the disobedient, the unbelieving, and the unsaved. But through Jesus, God has delivered us from that domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption.
 
Note the key word redemption. We have been bought back. We are no longer under the power of the curse, because of the redeeming death and shed blood of Jesus Christ.
 
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.   (1 John 3:
 
Why did Jesus come? To destroy the works of the devil. That includes the curse! Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.   (Luke 10:19)
 
Satan may have power, but Jesus has given us power over the power of Satan, so that “nothing shall by any means hurt [us].”

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for Your forgiveness. I proclaim that Jesus has delivered me from the domain of darkness, and that He has given me power over all the power of Satan, so that “nothing shall by any means” hurt me. I have been forgiven and set free from my sins. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
 I have been forgiven and set free from my sins.

TODAY's VERSES
In [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:14

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Total, Permanent Victory
The sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross is the only basis of God’s provision for every need of the whole human race. Instead of God doing a lot of different actions at different times, Scripture says, “By one offering [sacrifice] He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14).
 
The writer of Hebrews explained that after Jesus had offered that one sacrifice, He “sat down at the right hand of God” (verse 12). Why did He sit down? Because He was never going to have to do it again.
 
Through His work on the cross, Jesus administered to Satan and his kingdom a total, permanent, irreversible defeat. Jesus will never have to do that work again. Satan has already been defeated. You and I do not have to defeat Satan. But we must apply the victory that Jesus has already won and walk in that victory.
 
We read in Colossians 1:12, “Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” Our inheritance is in the light, and there is no darkness whatsoever in it. It is totally in the light. How has He done it?
 
He has delivered us from the power [I prefer to say “domain”] of darkness and conveyed [translated] us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.   (verses 13–14)
 
By redemption through the blood of Jesus, we have been delivered from the domain of darkness and translated, or carried over, into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for Your forgiveness. I proclaim that through the cross, Jesus administered to Satan and his kingdom a total, permanent, irreversible defeat. I apply the victory Jesus has won, and I walk in that victory, for I have been forgiven and set free from my sins. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
 I have been forgiven and set free from my sins.

TODAY's VERSES
In [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:14

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Freedom from Legalism
In Romans 8:15, Paul was speaking to Christians baptized in the Holy Spirit, and he said, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear.”
 
Bondage means enslavement. Paul was warning Christians not to let the devil get them back into slavery. And the suggestion is very clear that the form of slavery to which they would be enticed to return would be that of religious slavery - subservience to the law from which they had been delivered when Jesus died on the cross.
 
The whole of the book of Galatians deals with this very issue of not being enslaved by religious legalism after having been set free by the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit. As a matter of fact, Paul treated that issue as something much more severe and dangerous than even sexual sins, such as fornication or adultery. It is quite remarkable, but the epistle to the Galatians is the only one of Paul’s epistles that he does not open by giving thanks to God for the people to whom he was writing. So upset was he by what the Galatians were doing that he launched straight into his subject. “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ” (Galatians 1:6).
 
This is a clear example of religious demons bringing people back into the slavery of legalism. Let us heed Paul’s emphatic warning: “Be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage [slavery]” (Galatians 5:1 KJV).

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for Your forgiveness. I proclaim that I will not be enslaved by religious legalism after having been set free by the gospel and by the power of the Holy Spirit. I have been forgiven and set free from my sins. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
 I have been forgiven and set free from my sins.

TODAY's VERSES
In [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:14

TODAY'S MESSAGE - “No Condemnation”
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus….For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. (Romans 8:1, 3)
 
There are two kinds of coffee: percolated and instant. Percolated coffee takes longer to make because it has to go through the brewing process. The book of Romans is like percolated coffee. We cannot get instant coffee out of Romans chapter 8. We must go through the preceding seven chapters. Those are the percolator. But the result is that much richer. Only when we have been through those chapters do we get to the “therefore.” The preceding chapters deal with the total sinfulness of all humanity, as well as with the failure of religion to change man’s sinful nature. Using the examples of Abraham and David (see chapter 4), with a comparison between Adam and Christ (see chapter 5), Paul moves on in chapter 6 to reveal God’s remedy for the old man: execution. God doesn’t patch up the old man. He doesn’t reform him. He executes him! The good news is that this execution took place when Jesus died on the cross.
 
Romans 7 deals with our relationship to the Law. I always used to think, Why come to the law after all that? But I have learned that the ultimate hurdle we have to get over, the last stage of this percolator, is how we relate to the Law. Without the percolator, we cannot live in Romans 8, because the essential condition is “no condemnation.” The moment in which we come under condemnation is the moment when we are out of the Spirit-controlled life of Romans 8. The devil’s main objective is to bring us under condemnation. The objective of God’s Word, especially in Romans, is to deliver us from condemnation.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for Your forgiveness. I am free from the devil’s efforts to bring me under condemnation, and there is no condemnation for me because I am in Christ Jesus. I have been forgiven and set free from my sins. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
 I have been forgiven and set free from my sins.

TODAY's VERSES
In [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:14

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Fully His
There was a boy who lived in a town on the seaside. He was a skilled and clever carver, and he carved himself a little wooden boat. When he put sails on it, it really sailed. One day, he took it down to the shore and was sailing it at the edge of the sea, but the tide changed and carried his boat out to sea, and he could not recover it. So, he went home without his boat.
 
With the next change of the wind and tide, the boat came back again. A man walking along the seashore found the boat, picked it up, and saw it was a beautiful piece of work. He took it to a local shop and sold it. The shop owner cleaned it up and put it on display in his shop window with a price of thirty-five dollars.
 
Some while later, the boy walked past the shop, looked in the window, and saw his boat with a price of thirty-five dollars. He knew, however, that he had no way to prove that it was his boat. If he wanted his boat, there was only one thing he could do: buy it back.
 
He set to work, taking any job he could to earn the money to buy his boat. Once he earned the money, he walked into the shop and said, “I want to buy that boat.” He paid the money, and, when he got the boat in his hands, he walked outside and stopped on the sidewalk. He held the boat to his chest and said, “Now you’re mine. I made you and I bought you.” That is redemption. First, the Lord made us, but we were in Satan’s slave market. Then, He bought us. We are doubly His. Can you see how valuable you are to the Lord? Think of yourself as that boat for a moment. You may feel so inadequate, so worthless. You wonder whether God ever really cares. Just try to believe that you are that boat in the Lord’s arms and He is saying to you, “Now you’re Mine. I made you and I bought you. I own you; you’re fully Mine.”

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for Your forgiveness. I proclaim that I am in the Lord’s arms, and He has declared that I am His. He made me and bought me; He loves me; I am fully His. I have been forgiven and set free from my sins. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
 I have been forgiven and set free from my sins.

TODAY's VERSES
In [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:14

TODAY'S MESSAGE - True Identity
The reason that Jesus Christ came to earth was - and is - to bring us to God. If we stop short of this revelation of God, we have stopped short of the full and final outworking of redemption’s purpose. When we come into the fullness of this revelation and into that direct relationship with God as Father, it supplies certain factors that are conspicuously lacking in the emotional experience of many people in our culture. The three things that come out of this revelation and relationship are identity, self-worth, and security.
 
Identity is a real problem for people today. An interesting clue to this problem was the success of the book and TV miniseries Roots. The essence of that story was a man’s search for his roots, or origins, in order to gain a stronger sense of identity. All humanity is busy with the same search. Men and women want to know where they came from, who is behind them, how it started, and who they are. Scripture and psychology agree that a person really does not answer the question, “Who am I?” until he or she knows who his or her father is.
 
Today, human relationships between parents and children increasingly have become broken and fragmented, and the result has been a widespread identity crisis. Christianity’s answer to that identity crisis is to bring men and women into a direct, personal relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. People who truly know God as Father no longer have an identity problem. They know who they are - they are children of God. Their Father created the universe, their Father loves them, and their Father cares for them.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, that You have redeemed me. I proclaim that because of my relationship with God the Father, through Jesus, I know who I am. I proclaim that I am a child of God. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
 I have been forgiven and set free from my sins.

TODAY's VERSES
In [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:14

TODAY'S MESSAGE - True Self-worth
I cannot begin to count the number of people I have ministered to whose greatest problem was a failure to appreciate themselves sufficiently. They had too low an esteem of themselves, which caused them many spiritual and emotional agonies.
 
1 John 3:1 says, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are” (NASB). Once we really comprehend that we are children of God, whom He loves intimately and personally; that God is interested in us, is never too busy for us, and desires a direct and personal relationship with each of us, we gain a tremendous increase in self-worth.
 
Once when I was on my way to a meeting, I literally ran into a woman. We were going in opposite directions at considerable speed. After our collision, she picked herself up and said, “Mr. Prince, I’ve been praying that if God wanted you to speak to me, we’d meet.”
 
“Well,” I said, “we’ve met. But I can only give you about two minutes. I’m very busy.” She began to tell me what her problem was, and after a while, I interrupted her, saying, “I’m sorry, I’ve only got one minute left…but I think I know your problem. Will you follow me in this prayer?” I led her in a prayer in which she just thanked God because He was her Father and she was His child, that He loved her, that He cared for her, that she was special, and that she belonged to the best family in the universe. Then, we parted ways.
 
About a month later, I received a letter from the same woman, in which she wrote, “I just want to tell you that being together with you and praying that prayer has completely changed my attitude toward life. For the first time, I really have a sense of my own worth.”

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, that You have redeemed me. I proclaim that it is my direct and personal relationship with the Lord that gives me self-worth. I proclaim that I am a child of God. Amen.

[JT]

ADD FOR TODAY
A Daily Devotional from Derek Prince

TODAY'S DECLARATION
I am a child of God.

TODAY's VERSES
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. John 1:12

TODAY'S MESSAGE - Coming to the Father
When Jesus came to earth, His ultimate purpose was to bring to the Father those who would turn to Him. Scripture states this truth in many places, such as the following:
 
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God.   (1 Peter 3:18 NASB)
 
Why did Jesus die? “That He might bring us to God.” Jesus was not the end; He was the way. He said that Himself, quite emphatically, in John 14:6:
 
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”   (NASB)
 
Jesus is the way, but the Father is the destination. I think that, many times in our Christian faith, we really miss the purpose of God. We talk a great deal about the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, our Intercessor, our Mediator, and so on. All of these terms are wonderful and true, but they stop short of God’s purpose. God’s purpose is not merely that we should come to the Son, but also that, through the Son, we should come to the Father.

TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank You, Jesus, that You have redeemed me. I proclaim that through the Son, I come to the Father. I proclaim that I am a child of God. Amen.