Luke 10:42 – When It Is More Blessed To Receive

"...Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42

If Jesus comes to your home, what would you do? Would you ask Him to sit down and then start serving Him? Or would you sit down and start drawing from Him? Would you let Him serve you and fill you up?

Jesus walked into the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38). Martha saw His weariness. She knew that Jesus had been walking for miles, going about doing good, healing the sick and meeting the people’s needs. Obviously, He must be tired, she thought, so she saw Him as someone she had to care for.

Mary, however, saw beyond Jesus’ external weariness into His divinity. She saw that He was someone she needed to draw from. And by doing that, she made Him feel like God — the Savior who had come to serve her and not to be served by her. (Matthew 20:28) Jesus even commended her for choosing the better portion!

Our human minds just find that hard to believe. Some people tell me, “But Pastor Prince, the Bible says that it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) When it comes to man, that is true. But when it comes to God, He wants to give. In fact, unless you learn how to receive from God, you will have nothing to give to man.

Which sister gave Jesus the sweeter feast and filled Him up? Martha who was busy preparing food for Him? Or Mary who sat still and drew deeply from Him? It was Mary. She made Jesus feel a sense of His divine glory. She allowed Jesus to be the giver, to be God.

Like Martha, we always reverse the roles. We somehow think that God needs our service, but He actually wants to fill us first. Mary’s ears and heart were more precious to Jesus than Martha’s hands and feet.

We use our ears and hearts to draw from Jesus. We use our hands and feet to serve Him, and there is a place for that. But our sense and appreciation of God’s divine fullness is more precious to Him than all the service we can render Him. And when you draw from Him, you cannot help but become a great giver and server.

(source: Pastor Joseph prince's daily devotional)

Zechariah 4:10 – Do Not Despise Humble Beginnings

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin... Zechariah 4:10

It’s interesting to see how God never despises the little things. When the boy brought his five loaves and two fish, the disciple Andrew scoffed, condescendingly patted the boy on his head and said to Jesus, “What are they among so many?” In direct contrast, God did not despise the boy’s small lunch.

So don’t despise the little things that you have right now. See them as your very own “five loaves and two fish” even when people around you mock and belittle you. Learn to disregard such people and lay your little before Jesus. While you and I have no power to multiply, Jesus certainly does!

Whatever you are building right now in your career, ministry or business, don’t despise the day of small, humble and seemingly insignificant beginnings. Involve Jesus and allow His provision of favor, wisdom and power to multiply and grow the little things in your hands.

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's "meditate and believe right")

2 Corinthians 3:5,6 – Condemnation Kills but the Spirit gives LIFE

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant (GRACE) – not of the letter (LAW i.e. 10 commandments) but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:5,6

Many of us are familiar with the Gospel account of how four good friends, undeterred by the crowds blocking their way, broke through the roof of the house Jesus was in and lowered their paralyzed friend on his mat, right in front of Jesus. (Matthew 9:2, NLT – Some people brought to Him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, My child! Your sins are forgiven.”)

When Jesus saw the sick man, He said, “Be encouraged, My child! Your sins are forgiven.” These bold, gracious words scandalized some legalistic scribes there, but they penetrated and restored the soul of the poor paralytic. For years, he had probably believed that he was paralyzed because of his sins. Jesus then said to the man, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” (Matthew 9:6). And the paralytic man leaped to his feet!

NOTE: Before the man could receive healing from the Lord, he needed to be assured that his sins were forgiven. Why? Because receiving becomes easy when you know and believe that you’ve been forgiven of your sins (NO Condemnation) and are free to enjoy all the good that God has for you (NOT Sin-conscious)!

When you know that your sins are forgiven because you believe in Jesus, you will begin to thank the Lord for His grace and rejoice in the fact that you are completely forgiven and can receive the healing and provision you need from Him!

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's "meditate and believe right")

John 15:5 – Without Jesus We Cannot, Without Us He Will Not

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

Without Him, we cannot. Without us, He will not. What this simply means is that we need to recognize the fact that if we do not depend on Jesus, there can be no real, long-lasting and abiding success – without Him, we cannot. Believers who want to experience His success need to recognize this truth and begin to depend on Jesus and Jesus alone.

Without us, He will not. Jesus is a gentleman. He will not force His unmerited favor and success down our throat. He needs us to allow Him to work in our life. He waits patiently for us to trust Him. He waits patiently for us to depend on His unmerited favor.

God’s unmerited favor is ever-flowing toward us and Jesus is waiting for us to come to the end of ourselves. He is waiting for us to stop struggling in our own attempts to somehow “deserve” His favor, and just depend on Him. So in the areas that we are still depending on our own efforts to succeed, start resting in Jesus’ unmerited favor and begin experiencing His manifested presence and glory upon everything we touch!

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's "meditate and believe right")

Luke 13:12 – Prayers That Proclaim

But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” Luke 13:12

When you have a need, do you pray or do you plead? Do you begin your prayers with words like, “Please God, please! God, I beg You to have mercy!”

Prayers that plead and beg imply that your heavenly Father is not willing to do it. Yet, He is far more gracious and willing to give to you than you are willing to ask, think or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20) He desires above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. (3 John 1:2)

In fact, long before you have a need, God has already met that need. Long before you knew you needed a Savior, He sent His Son to be your Savior. This is your God! He is a good God. So when you beg Him for something, you are actually saying that He is reluctant to give and needs to be persuaded strongly before He will move. Yet, He is not like that.

Jesus knew the heart of the Father. When He saw the woman bound with a spirit of infirmity, He did not pray, “Oh Father! She has been suffering for 18 long years! I beseech You, Father, have mercy on her. Please, please heal her!” No, when Jesus saw her, He immediately proclaimed,”Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity,” because He knew the heart of the Father. He knew that the Father wanted her delivered from her crippling condition.

At the end of a church service, I don’t stand and pray, “Oh God, please bless Your people. Oh God, do keep them. Oh God, be ever so gracious to them!” Instead, I proclaim, “The Lord bless you. The Lord keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you!”

Beloved, when you pray, proclaim your healing, protection and provision because your Father’s heart overflows with love for you. And when you declare it, He sanctions it. When you declare it, He establishes it!

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's daily devotional)

John 19:2 – Be Free of Stress

"...the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head..." John 19:2

Doctors tell us that many of the sicknesses we suffer in our bodies are psychosomatic, meaning they are a result of mental or emotional stress that we have put ourselves under.

Perhaps you were abused or emotionally hurt by someone you trusted. Maybe you still feel angry and hurt when you think about it. Beloved, I want to encourage you to start involving Jesus. He is your answer. See the Lord holding you, gently healing your wounds. See Him restoring you, putting courage into your heart and taking away every sense of shame and guilt.

At the cross, Jesus took on Himself the bitter sting of every one of your frustrations, hurts and emotional pains when He wore the crown of thorns on your behalf. He did it so that you can be free from fears, depression and stress. Jesus is God's divine exchange - He took all our pains and sufferings so that we can have peace and wholeness forevermore!

Today, bring the Lord into every situation of stress instead of allowing it to accumulate and affect your health. Let Jesus saturate your heart and mind with His peace and rest.

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's "meditate and believe right")

Matthew 8:1-3 – Beyond All Expectations

When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:1-3

When the Lord blesses you, He blesses you beyond what you expect. In the healing of the leper, Jesus reached out and touched the leper, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately, the man was healed.

Notice that Jesus touched the leper first before He healed him. That simple touch restored a sense of humanity and dignity to the man who had not been touched for a long time. Because of his unclean and physically repulsive condition, no one wanted to be close to him, much less touch him.

Jesus knew that the leper needed more than just physical healing, so He gave above and beyond what the leper had hoped for. Beloved, that’s the love and over-supplying grace of your Savior! What is your lack today? As you meditate on the largeness of His grace toward you, know beyond any doubt that Jesus’ provision will exceed all your expectations!

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's "meditate and believe right")

Genesis 12:2 – Blessed To Be A Blessing

I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. Genesis 12:2

When God called Abraham, He said to him, “...I will bless you... and you shall be a blessing.” We who are new covenant believers in Christ are called the seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:29), and like Abraham, we are called to be a blessing.

Now, how can we be a blessing if we are not blessed in the first place? How can we be a blessing to others when we are always flat on our backs with sickness, living from hand to mouth, never having enough for our own family and always having to borrow from others?

No way! God wants you healthy and strong, and He wants you to have more than enough financially so that you can be generous with your relatives, friends, community or anyone who needs help. He wants to bless you so that you can, like Abraham, be a blessing to many!

(source: Pastor Prince's "meditate and believe right")

Philippians 4:19 – God’s Grace Is Always Supplying

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19, NLT

When Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” the wall of sin that separated us from God crumbled, and God unleashed a flood tide of His grace upon us. That grace is still flowing toward us today, supplying whatever we need in this life, daily loading us with benefits!

The essence of God’s grace is SUPPLY. When you are conscious of His supply, instead of the demands of the world, you are under His grace. That’s when you will see His abundant provision for every need and situation.

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's "meditate and believe right")

Romans 5:19 – Righteous Forever Through Christ’s Obedience

For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19

You have been made righteous forever through Christ’s obedience. Because your righteousness from the Lord is not based on what you’ve done, but what He has done at Calvary, you cannot lose this righteousness through what you do or don’t do. And because you are righteous, healing and provision — blessings that belong to the righteous — belong to you!

When you realize that you cannot earn this righteousness, you’ll realize that your failures cannot cause you to lose this righteousness, and therefore your right to God’s healing and supply. You are forever righteous because of Jesus’ obedience (not your obedience) and finished work. Through His perfect sacrifice, He has qualified you for healing, wholeness, good success and long life!

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's "meditate and believe right")

Exodus 15:23–25 – Jesus at the cross made everything sweet for us in life :)

...when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter... And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. Exodus 15:23–25

God turned bitter, poisonous waters into sweet, refreshing waters for His people when they came to a place called Marah (meaning “bitterness” in Hebrew). When the Israelites could not drink the water, Moses cried out to the Lord. The Lord showed him a tree, which Moses cast into the waters. When he did that, the Bible says that “the waters were made sweet”.

God’s solution then is still God’s solution now: Throw in the tree – a picture of Jesus at the cross – to turn the bitter waters sweet.

Today, if you are facing a “bitter waters” situation in your body or life, be encouraged and bring in Jesus and see what He did for you at the cross. Relief and healing don’t come from dwelling on your pain. Bring in the tree – meditate on how the cross of Jesus has saved and redeemed you – and let the Lord turn your bitter waters sweet!

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's "meditate and believe right")

Matthew 6:31–32 – God Gives Us What We Need

Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. Matthew 6:31–32

Our God is a practical God, who is interested in providing for our practical daily needs. Just take a look at Jesus throughout the four Gospel accounts.

To those who were hungry, He provided food by multiplying the loaves and fish. To the fishermen who toiled all night and caught nothing, He gave them more than a boatload of fish. Jesus didn’t stop there – whoever encountered Him received from Him what they lacked. He healed the broken hearted and gave sight to the blind. The sick who came to Him were all healed. Even the dead received His resurrection life!

My friend, Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever! He is still providing. So whatever you need today, whether it is wisdom, favor, healing or divine strength, go to Him. He is a practical God who is interested in every area of your life, and who is more than willing to supply your need!

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph prince's "meditate and believe right")

John 1:17 – Grace is a person and that person is JESUS

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1:17

The grace of God is defined as “undeserved, unearned and unmerited favor”. And one of the definitions for favor is “preferential treatment”! Today, God wants you to know that you have His favor on you. He wants you to know that He gives you preferential treatment which you do not deserve. And He wants you to depend on and take full advantage of it in your life.

The more you behold Jesus and His love for you, the more you believe and confess that God’s favor is on you, the more you will see His favor work for you. God’s favor is multiplied in your life when you simply believe that the favor of God that is on Christ is also on you because of what Jesus’ work at the cross has accomplished.

Today, you don’t have to struggle for favor. Just release it by speaking forth God’s Word in faith. On your way to work, say, “God’s favor surrounds me as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12)

Expect to receive preferential treatment wherever you are. Say, “I am surrounded with the favor of God because of Jesus’ finished work. I have favor before God and man!” And see God’s favor work for you!

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

2 Corinthians 8:9 – The Divine Exchange

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

The apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 8:9 that for our sakes Jesus became poor so that we through His poverty might be made rich. At the cross, Jesus took on all our sin and poverty. He was humiliated, spat upon and stripped naked. The Roman soldiers even gambled for His clothes.

The One who fed more than 5,000 people, gave fishermen a net-breaking, boat-sinking load of fish, and who placed the gold, diamonds and rubies in the earth, took your place of poverty at the cross, just so that you can take His place of abundance. A divine exchange occurred at Calvary – your sin for His righteousness and your poverty for His provision.

My friend, Jesus is the reason you can be the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath. He is the reason you can be blessed to be a blessing. Put your trust in His presence in your life and what His finished work has accomplished for you!

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's "meditate and believe right")

The cross is a “plus” sign. Because of what Jesus finished at the cross, all blessings, healing, health, wealth, power, has been added to our lives. Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

Psalm 91:16 – God Satisfies You With Long Life

With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation. Psalm 91:16

God’s heart is never for you to suffer crippling illnesses, die prematurely or live a life that is miserable.
Psalm 91:16 says, “With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” That is God’s heart for you! This means that God not only wants you to have a long life, but He also wants you to have a satisfying life that is full of His peace, provision and joy! In the verse, the word “salvation” is the Hebrew word Yeshua, the name of Jesus. So God will satisfy you with a long life that is full of Jesus and His grace!

Beloved, chronic illness, depression and a short life are not, and will never be, part of God’s plan for you. He wants you to experience a long, full life in which you walk in all the blessings of health, wholeness and provision that He has given you through Jesus!

Today, see the provision that Jesus made at the cross to redeem you from every curse of sickness and lack. Give Him thanks and step into His provision of a satisfying and fruitful life full of health, strength, peace and joy!

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's "meditate and believe right")

1 Corinthians 1:30 – Jesus is our righteousness, sanctification and redemption

1 Corinthians 1:30
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption –



When the devil accuses us of having done wrong and tells us that we don’t deserve God’s blessings, what should we do? Well, the Lord showed me one day what we are to do. We are to point everything back to Jesus, who qualifies us for all of God’s blessings.

So when the devil says, “You are not righteous enough,” just look to Jesus and declare, “He is my righteousness!”
When the devil says, “You are not holy enough,” just look to Jesus and declare, “He is my sanctification!”
When the devil says, “You don’t deserve to be healed,” just look to Jesus and declare, “By His stripes I am healed!”
When the devil says, “You don’t qualify for the blessing,” just look to Jesus and declare, “He is my qualification!”

Each time you point everything back to Jesus, the devil has nothing to say because Jesus qualifies you for all of God’s blessings. In and of yourself, you do not qualify. Without Christ, there is nothing good in you that can qualify you.

But with Christ, your disqualification becomes your qualification for the undeserved, unearned and unmerited blessings of God. And because God puts your life in Christ (Colossians 3:3), who is the all-deserving one, you become all-deserving. Because you are in Christ, you are qualified.

Jesus qualifies you because He died for you and gave you a blood-bought right to every blessing of God. You have a blood-bought right to a life full of meaning, purpose and abundance. You have a blood-bought right to walk in divine health. You have a blood-bought right to God's provision even when the economy is bad. You have a blood-bought right to preferential treatment because God favors you. You have a blood-bought right to the good life!

My friend, you have a right to all these blessings not because you are good, but because Jesus shed His blood and qualified you to have them. So don’t let the devil or anyone tell you that you can’t expect to walk in the blessings of God!

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's daily devotional)

Luke 6:19 – Everyone Who Came To Jesus Was Healed

And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. Luke 6:19

Did you know that when Jesus walked on earth, more than two-thirds of His ministry involved healing the sick? He went about healing the sick and all who came to Him were healed. The Bible records that “the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all”.

That’s a powerful image to have in your mind as you meditate on the Lord's healing promises for you. See yourself receiving from His compassion and His power to heal you. Before long, His healing will fully manifest in your body and fill you with joy!

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's "meditate and believe right")

Matthew 26:26 – Power From Jesus’ Body To Yours

“Take, eat; this is My body.” Matthew 26:26

Can you imagine the Lord sick, nursing a cold or fever while He walked on earth? No, our Lord Jesus was never sick! He was vibrant, full of life and full of health. When He told His disciples, “Take, eat; this is My body”, they could practically visualize what it meant because they had lived and walked with this Man. They had seen people without hands or feet made whole when they touched His body. (Matthew 15:30–31)

Even His clothes were soaked with His health! A woman who had a bleeding condition for 12 years – no doctor could cure her – was healed immediately when she touched the hem of His garment. If the hem of His garment was soaked with His health, vibrancy, energy and divine radiance, how much more His body!

You know, some of the most encouraging verses in the Gospels are these: “And as many as touched Him were made well” (Mark 6:56), for “power went out from Him and healed them all”. (Luke 6:19) I love those verses! That is our Jesus!

So that night, when He said, “Take, eat; this is My body,” as He broke the bread and gave it to His disciples to eat, they knew what it meant. They were probably thinking, “We are going to ingest His health into our bodies! Hallelujah!”

That is what you must believe when you partake of the Holy Communion. It is not just a ritual or symbolic act. No, you must believe that He is the true bread from heaven who took your cancer, diabetes and heart disease, so that you can have His supernatural health! And when you eat of His broken body with this revelation, you will have life in abundance and the health of the Lord!

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's daily devotional)

1 Peter 2:9 – You’re A Special Breed

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for you, you are a special person to God. You are His beloved child and you have the constant presence of His Son. And it is the Lord’s manifested presence, His glorious power working in your heart and through your hands that will cause everything you touch to prosper with the Jesus-kind of results. In fact, even your harshest critic will have to conclude that the Lord is with you and is blessing the work of your hands!

So stop looking at your outward circumstances or the position that you are in. In the natural, you may be unqualified and inexperienced, but remember that all your disqualifications exist in the realm of the natural. You, beloved, are special, extraordinary. You live and operate in the supernatural realm! You have the Lord Jesus with you 100 percent. You are a successful person in the Lord’s eyes and as you depend on Him, He will cause everything that your hands touch to prosper. All those around you – your bosses, colleagues or teachers – will sit up and notice that you are indeed special!

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)

(source: Pastor Joseph Prince's "meditate and believe right")

Hebrews 13:5 – God Will Never Turn His Back On You

Hebrews 13:5
... He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

For six whole hours, the Son of God was suspended between heaven and earth. And at the height of His suffering on the cross, He cried out in the deep darkness, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”(Matthew 27:45-46)

For the first time, Jesus addressed His Father as “God”. The Father had forsaken the Son. As Judge of the universe, God had to turn His back on His Son, who was carrying the filth of the world’s sins, for His eyes are too pure to behold evil. (Habakkuk 1:13)

If the Father had not turned His back on His Son, He would have to turn His back on you today when you call out to Him in your hour of need. But because Jesus has taken your place, today, you take His place, and you have God’s face smiling on you always!

Right now, God’s face is smiling on you. His countenance is shining on you. I can stand before you and declare, “The Lord make His face shine upon you.” (Numbers 6:25-26) And it is all because Jesus has paid the price for God to never leave you nor forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

As Judge, God turned His back on His Son. But as Father, He cried. His heart was broken because Christ was never more pleasing to Him than when He was on the cross. Christ’s suffering was a sweet-smelling aroma to the Father. (Ephesians 5:2)

Do you remember what Jesus said? “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.” (John 10:17) If you are a parent, you love each one of your children equally. But when one of them does something special for you out of love, it touches your heart, and you just want to run to him and hug him.

That was what happened at the cross, except that the Father could not embrace His Son. Instead, He had to turn His back on His Son because our sins had to be punished in His Son’s body.

Beloved, when you cry out to the Father for help today, know that He hears you and will surely help you. Because of Jesus, He will never turn His back on you!

Give our Lord Jesus all the praise :)