Luke 2:11 - Let us all remember the reason for the season :)

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world...

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

John 9:7 – Creation Can’t But Redemption Can!

John 9:7
And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

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

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

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

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

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

© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.

1 Corinthians 11:26 – Proclaim The Lord’s Death (Power of Holy Communion)

1 Corinthians 11:26
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

In the Old Testament, whenever the children of Israel sacrificed a lamb for a burnt offering as they faced a strong enemy, victory was theirs. For example, in 1 Samuel 7:7–11, when the Philistines were coming against them, the prophet Samuel offered a lamb as a burnt offering. As it was being offered, the Lord came like a loud thunder on the Philistine army, confusing them. This led to victory for the Israelites.

Every time something bad happened to the children of Israel, by offering a lamb sacrifice, they were proclaiming the Lord’s death, and the battle would turn in their favor.

Today, when we are faced with an enemy, how do we offer our “burnt offering”? How do we proclaim the Lord’s death and come out victorious? Do we ask Jesus to come down to where we are at and die on the cross all over again? Of course not. Jesus died once for all our sins — past, present and future. (Hebrews 10:12) His work is perfectly perfect and completely complete, so He doesn’t have to die for us again. Today, we proclaim His death simply by partaking of the Lord’s Supper.

Every time you partake of the bread and wine, you declare to the principalities and powers of darkness that the Lord’s death avails for you. Every time you partake, you are saying that because Jesus has been judged and punished in your place, you cannot be judged and punished. Because Jesus died young in your place, you will live long. And because He conquered death and stripped the devil of his powers, you will not be defeated. The victory is already yours!

That is why the psalmist David said, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies...” (Psalm 23:5) The Lord’s table is prepared for you in the presence of your enemies because when you partake of the bread and wine, you will see your enemies tremble and scatter! Why? Because when you proclaim the Lord’s death through the Holy Communion, you are reminding the devil and his cohorts of their humiliating defeat at Calvary’s cross! (Colossians 2:15)

© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved

God's Promise to His Beloved: Peace Beyond Understanding

Peace I leave with you,
My peace I give to you;
not as the world gives
do I give to you...
John 14:27

In Israel, Jews greet each other with the words “shalom, shalom”. Unlike the English word “peace”, “shalom” does not just mean peace of mind, but also wholeness for your entire being — spirit, soul and body. It means having a sense of completeness and soundness. In other words, shalom encompasses your provision, health, safety and total well—being.

When Jesus spoke to His disciples in John 14:27, He did not use the English word “peace”. He would have used the Hebrew word “shalom”, saying, “Shalom I leave with you, My shalom I give to you” Interestingly, the word “leave” here actually means “bequeath”, the way a rich man bequeaths his estate to his beneficiary. Jesus wanted His disciples to know that His peace was different from the peace that the world offers. His peace would change whatever trying circumstances that beset them.

His shalom will change all your difficult situations, bringing you from sickness, lack and mental anguish to health, provision and total wellness!

(source: Joseph Prince daily devotional)

God's Promise to His Beloved: No More Flood

Genesis 8:21-22
Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done."

“While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”

Genesis 9:11
Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: "Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

Genesis 9:13-16
"I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

God's Promise to His Beloved: Abundant Life

John 10:10
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

God's Promise to His Beloved: Strength and Wellness

But those who wait on (hope in) the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31

God's Promise to His Beloved: Righteousness in Christ!

At the cross, our acceptance is found. There, Jesus cried out with His last breath "It is finished!" (John 19:30). The work is complete. The full punishment of all our sins was exacted on Jesus at the cross. God's own Son had to be crushed at Calvary for us to obtain the gift of His unmerited favor and His righteousness. The full payment for this free gift was exacted on Jesus' body. It is free for us but it costs God His only begotten Son! (source: Joseph Prince's 100 Days of Favor)

And because of what Jesus has done, God promises: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:16, 17)

God's Promise to His Beloved: Renewal of Youth!

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Psalm 103: 1-5

God's Promise to His Beloved: His Favor Surrounds Me like a Shield!

Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. Psalm 5:12

WE are Righteous NOT by our doing but just simply by believing!
For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the GIFT of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17

God's Promise to His Beloved: By His Stripes, We Are Healed!

But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5 New King James Version (NKJV)

Today, healing is your right because Jesus has paid the price for your healing. Every curse of sickness that was supposed to fall on you fell on Jesus instead. He bore every one of those stripes, so that you can walk in divine health all the days of your life.

XX – Jesus Mulitplies (John 6:5–15)

John 6:10-14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

The Feeding of the 5,000 is also known as the "miracle of the five loaves and two fish" given that the Gospel of John reports that five barley loaves and two small fish supplied by a boy were used by Jesus to feed a multitude.

X is the Greek letter “chi,” the initial letter in the word Χριστός. And here’s the kicker: Χριστός means “Christ.” X has been an acceptable representation of the word “Christ” for hundreds of years. This device is known as a Christogram.

X is also used to denote multiplication.

Hence "XX" for Christ Multiplies :)

DON’T GIVE UP! JUST LOOK UP!

Our Hope is in Jesus.

Looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

Jesus sat down because the work is FINISHED!
He sat down because He has done it all for us.
Our job is to enter His rest. We are to rest in Jesus our true ark, who will carry us through tempestuous waters. Because of Jesus’ finished work, we trust in God’s undeserved unearned unmerited favor toward us.