Jesus Met Every Claim Of God

Leviticus 1:5

He shall kill the bull before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, God instructed them to set up a tabernacle as a place of meeting between Him and them. Near the door of the tabernacle was an altar. It speaks of the claims God makes on the righteousness of man. For this reason, an offering had to be killed, its blood sprinkled all around on the altar and its body burnt on the altar before one was counted worthy to go into God’s presence.

The sprinkling of the blood of a bull or goat all around on that altar meant that the Israelites were under the covering of the blood of that animal. Even when they sinned, their sins were covered by the blood until the next sacrifice.

The blood speaks of Jesus’ blood shed for us at the cross. Yet, His blood is worth so much more than the blood of bulls and goats because His blood is effective forever! In fact, His blood has met every single claim of God on man to the point that God is so completely satisfied that He now enjoys the savor of rest in what His Son has done.

You too can rest knowing that God is fully satisfied with you because of Christ’s perfect sacrifice. Even if you fall into sin, you can turn to the blood of Jesus. Your sins are not merely covered by His blood, like how the blood of bulls and goats covered sins. No, your sins have been washed away by His blood! (Revelation 1:5) In fact, your sins and lawless deeds God remembers no more! (Hebrews 8:12; 10:17)

Jesus was your perfect offering placed on the altar of sacrifice. By just one offering of Himself, “He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified”. (Hebrews 10:14, KJV) Jesus has not only sanctified you or made you holy, He has perfected you forever! Today, you can enter boldly into God’s presence because He sees you the way He sees Jesus. He sees you perfected forever because you are in Christ!

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Jesus Has The Final Word

Revelation 1:8

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord…

The doctor has just told you that you have an incurable disease. The X-rays and blood tests confirm it. Your worst fears have come true and you feel like your future has been sealed. The doctor’s report is not final. Jesus declares to you, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 1:8) He has the first word as well as the final word in your situation. The experts and medical reports don’t!

Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. But Jesus did not speak Greek, He spoke Aramaic or Hebrew. So He would have said, “I am the Aleph and the Tav.” Aleph and tav are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. So what Jesus is declaring to us is this: “I have the first word in your situation. And I have the final word in your situation!”

Each Hebrew letter has a corresponding picture. Interestingly, aleph is associated with an ox and tav, a cross. Together, they make up a beautiful picture of what Jesus did for us – He is the sacrificial “animal” on the cross. It was for us that He suffered, bled and died.

When Jesus hung on the cross, He took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. (Matthew 8:17) That is why your sickness does not have the final word in your life, Jesus does, because He took your sickness upon His body and paid for your healing with His blood.

When Jesus hung on the cross, He took our curse. (Galatians 3:13) We were supposed to be cursed because of our sins, but He took our place and the curse fell on Him. Today, we take His place and His blessings fall on us!

So why settle for the curse of sickness or even poverty when the price for your healing and provision has been paid by Jesus? Sickness and poverty do not have the final word in your life. Jesus does because He redeemed you from every curse!

When man says that it is impossible, Jesus says that it is possible. The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, has the final word in your situation!

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God Sees Good Even In Times Of Evil

Isaiah 48:17

…an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

God does not play a game of counterattack with the devil – the devil does something bad, then God steps in to bring something good out of it. The truth is, when something bad happens, it is the devil reacting to something good that God has started. I think that if you want to understand what God is doing, just look at what the devil is doing and see it in reverse.

I see this truth in the Bible. When Christ was born, soldiers were sent to kill all baby boys under the age of two in Bethlehem. The folks in Bethlehem then would have seen only evil. But there were those like Mary who saw God’s goodness. They knew that God had sent a Savior into the world! The killing of the infants was just the devil’s reaction to the gift of salvation that God had sent.

Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” If God takes care of the birds, how much more will He take care of you! So, if the devil attacks the birds with disease like the bird flu, the devil is reacting to God’s provision for His people. In other words, he saw that God’s provision had already been released on His people in a big way!

With every new virus that the devil throws at us, you must discern that the devil is trying to pervert and reverse what God is already doing. Then, you will know that something good is going to come out of it. You see, every new strain of virus tells us that God has already released a new anointing of health for His people. And I believe that He releases new levels of increase for His people too. So don’t just see the evil. See the good that God is already doing!

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Choose The Good Part

Isaiah 48:17

..”I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.”

God instructs us for our own benefit. He wants us to profit in every area of our lives – health, finances, career, marriage and even family relationships. The Bible says that it is God who teaches us to profit. And it is He who leads us in the way that we should go.

God always has our best interests at heart. We only have to sit at His feet, listen to His Word and just have fresh, daily communion with Him, and He will make our way fruitful.

The problem is that we are constantly bombarded with things to do every day, like sending the kids to school, attending a business meeting or making a sales presentation. Likewise, in church, there are just as many important things to attend to – ministering to the needy, reaching out to the lost and healing the sick. But all these things will be taken care of when we sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to His Word.

What was the Lord’s response to Martha’s complaint that her sister was sitting at His feet and listening to Him, instead of helping her with the many tasks? “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

Yet, many of us are like Martha. We worry about many things. And we are so busy that we have no time to sit at Jesus’ feet to listen to His Word and enjoy communion with Him. When we fail to draw from Him, we end up running on our own strength, and relying on our own flesh and wisdom to get things done. Did you know that you can never have a plan that is better than God’s?

Do you want to be led by God’s wisdom and timing in your decision-making? Then, make it a point to choose the good part like Mary did. Spend time with Jesus, open your Bible and say, “Lord, speak to me.” You will find that your heavenly Father will take care of your troubles, and He will teach and lead you to profit!

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God Will Do All He Promises

Proverbs 4:20-22

My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes…

God has given us a sure way to receive the answers to our problems and challenges. It is His Word. Every answer or solution we need is found in the Bible. Yet, many Christians are not walking victoriously in certain areas of their lives. This is because the devil continuously wages a war of distraction against them. He has managed to take them away from the one thing that can bring them victory – God’s Word. He will do everything possible to prevent them from opening the Bible because he knows that the Word will deliver them.

The distraction can be very subtle: A lot of things to get done, a lot of TV programs that interest you, or it may take the form of a big problem that makes you feel that you need to focus all your attention on it. The enemy knows that if he can get you to take your eyes off the Word of God, he can keep you from winning the battle. When you are going through a tough time, it is not enough to know that God’s answer to the problem is “somewhere in the Bible”. Find the scripture in which God has promised the solution. Meditate on it until the truth of that scripture is revealed to you. When you do this, no demon or devil can prevent that word from God from bearing fruit in your life.

Even Jesus Himself used the Word to defeat the devil in the wilderness – “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'” (Matthew 4:4) The way to defeat the enemy is with “It is written…”

There is no substitute for the written Word. God tells us that we will find life and health if we give our attention to His Word and keep it in the midst of our hearts. So get into the Word and let God’s promises abide in you.

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Miracles Still Happen

Colossians 2:10

…and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

When you look at yourself, what do you see? Do you see someone who is imperfect and lacking in many areas, or someone who is whole and complete in Christ?

There are believers who see themselves as incomplete. That is because they are conscious of their lack and imperfections. They say tings like, “There are so many things I have done wrong! How can I be complete with all of these things?” They see their weaknesses, condemn themselves and feel inferior to others.

The good news is that God does not see the way man sees. Man sees the flesh, while God sees the spirit. He sees us already complete in Christ. In spite of our imperfections, He sees us as new creations, partakers of His divine nature and more than conquerors over our faults. And He wants us to see ourselves the same way He sees us.

What we think we need or are lacking in, whether it is godly character traits or physical health, we already have in Christ.

You are not going to be complete in Christ some day – you are already complete in Christ right now! And what remains for you to do is to walk in that completeness every day by believing that it is true and confessing that what you need, Jesus is to you. He is your complete forgiveness, complete righteousness, complete favor, complete healing and complete protection.

So don’t focus on the lack you see in yourself. Focus instead on how in Christ, you are complete in everything at this moment. And instead of weaknesses, lack and defects, you will see His strength, wholeness, soundness and completeness manifesting in you!

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The Clause That Makes It All Happen

Hebrews 8:12

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.

We are no longer under the old covenant. We are now under the new covenant. And in this new covenant, God says that He will do three things for us:

Lead us – “I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts.” (Hebrews 8:10) These are the laws of faith, love and liberty to guide you in everything you do. It is a spontaneous, dynamic, active and intimate way to be led by God.

Work miracles for us – “I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” (Hebrews 8:10) The phrase “I will be their God” denotes a miracle working God. So if you are sick and God says, “I will be your God,” get ready for healing! If you are poor and God says, “I will be your God,” get ready for His supply!

Cause us to know Him effortlessly – “…all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.” (Hebrews 8:11) The Greek word for “know” here is eido. It means to know intuitively without effort. This means that you will know God easily.

Do you want to experience all these blessings in your life today? Then, you need to know the clause that makes it all happen: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” The words “no more” in the Greek carry a strong double-negative. So God is saying, “I will never, by no means, ever remember your sins!”

The more you believe this in your heart, the more you will see those blessings fulfilled in your life. When you realize how much God has forgiven you and remembers your sins no more, you will know Him, His ways and His will for you intimately and intuitively without effort.

So believe in your heart today the clause on which all these blessings hinge, and get ready for miracles and hopes fulfilled in the days ahead!

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Covered, Protected, Delivered

Exodus 13:21

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.

When the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, God led them by going before them in a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.

By day, God spread the pillar of cloud as a covering over His people in the desert to prevent the scorching sun from striking them down. The people were shaded and kept cool. Today, you are also under His covering. He will not allow you to be struck down (Psalm 121:3-8), nor be oppressed by the “heat” of the day. (Isaiah 54:14)

At night, when the desert became dark and cold, God gave His people the pillar of fire to light the way for them, as well as to keep them warm and safe. Today, as you walk with God, you will not be overwhelmed by the cold, dark places in life because God’s Word says, “You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.” (1 Thessalonians 5:5) You will not fear the terror by night or the pestilence that walks in darkness because God will deliver you from them. (Psalm 91:5-6)

Like the children of Israel, who only needed to look up, and keep their eyes on the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, all you need to do today is to look up and keep your eyes on Jesus. When you need His direction for a situation, look to Jesus who has the words of eternal life. (John 6:68) When you see symptoms of sickness in your body, look to Jesus who has borne away every disease and physical affliction. (Matthew 8:17)

When the children of Israel were bitten by serpents in the desert, God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole – a picture of Christ being judged on the cross. (John 3:14) Those who looked at the bronze serpent instead of their wounds were healed. (Numbers 21:9) He who looks to Jesus lives!

Look to Jesus. He is your covering, protection and deliverance!

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Living Above The Sun

John 10:10

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

If you are not enjoying an abundant life, you will feel as if life is full of toil, meaningless and empty. You feel like someone “grasping for the wind”. (Ecclesiastes 2:11) It seems as if nothing you do adds up to much.

The Bible calls this life “under the sun”. (Ecclesiastes 2:11) Someone who lives life under the sun may or may not know God, but God is either forgotten or not the center of things in his life. His thoughts are earthly and he does things to gratify his flesh. In the end, he finds life depressing and unfulfilled. Life under the sun is full of despair.

But this is the opposite of someone who lives life above the sun with God. For life with Him is filled with joy and pleasures at His right hand. (Psalm 16:11) Life is abundantly full and good just as Jesus promised, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”.

When you live life above the sun, your thoughts are heavenward and you become Christ-occupied. You live for Him because you know that all things were created through Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:16) When you live for His glory, your life takes on a new meaning and purpose.

God’s Word says, “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:17) The Greek word for “consist” means “held together”. In Christ, all things are held together. And that is why when Christ is the central figure in your life, you will have it all together. Your mind will be held together. Your hopes and dreams will be held together. Your family will be held together by the cords of His love.

Your life will not be empty, but full of God’s goodness because “Christ in you, [is] the hope of glory”. (Colossians 1:27) It is a wonderful life – this life lived above the sun. And you will have an even more wonderful life to come in heaven!

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God’s Help

Psalm 55:22

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you.

Have you eve been in a situation and said something like, “I can’t see a way out of the mess I am in.” or “I know that this whole thing is my fault.” or “I don’t even know whether God hears my prayers.” If you stop and think about it, a whole lot of our troubles are probably of our own making.

Now you might have heard that “God helps those who help themselves”. But contrary to popular belief, that saying is not in the Bible! God does not help those who help themselves. God helps those who are helpless and dependent on Him. He helps those who look to Him as their only source of help for their problem. If you say, “My problem is that I am weak.” God says, “I am your strength.” If you say, “Lord, I am the problem. I am a nobody.” God says, “I will make you a somebody.”

Unfortunately, many of us are still trying to help ourselves, we think that some things don’t really need God. But God says, “Without Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Do we really believe that? Or do we believe that without Him, we can still do some things to help ourselves? When we stop trying to do things ourselves, we find God more than willing to be our Savior. But when we continue to try to work things out ourselves, we are trying to be our own saviors. Then God will say, “Save yourself, because I can’t help you when you don’t need My help.”

God wants us to cast our cares on Him, but often we continue to try and bear them ourselves, even though we say that we are trusting in Him. Only when we realize that we can do nothing, and are nothing in and of ourselves, can we do all things through Christ who strengthens us! (Philippians 4:13) Then, we will see the undeserved, unmerited help and favor of God deliver us from every evil!

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