GOD LOOKS BEYOND OUR FLAWS, OUR FAILURES, OUR WEAKNESSES, AND HE SEES THE MASTERPIECE WE CAN BECOME.

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

GOSPEL CORNER

Today’s Scripture
Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Matthew 4:19, NKJV

BEYOND THE FLAWS
One day Jesus saw Peter casting his net into the Sea of Galilee and called him to be His disciple. Peter was a poor fisherman, not a religious leader, synagogue priest, or man of faith. He wasn’t refined and was hot-tempered, impulsive, and used bad language. Jesus already knew that Peter would deny Him three times. Yet God chose him to be one of the twelve disciples who would change the world. Why Peter? Because Jesus could see that in that poor, disadvantaged, uneducated fisherman was a world changer, a history maker. God looks beyond our flaws, our failures, our weaknesses, and He sees the masterpiece we can become.

The enemy would love for us to go through life feeling inferior, focused on our weaknesses, weighed down with regrets, guilty from past mistakes, condemned, ashamed. But Jesus calls us to leave our nets and follow Him. Don’t let negativity limit your life. You are who God says you are. He says you’re a masterpiece. He says you have greatness in you. He says you are destined to leave your mark. Rise up and follow!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that You see world changers in rugged fishermen like Peter. Thank You that You’re working in my life just as You did in Peter, and You will bring me to completion. I am looking beyond my flaws and failures to see the masterpiece in the making. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

SECTION TWO

When our Lord stood in the synagogue in Nazareth and read from the book of Isaiah, He proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord and stopped reading just before the words, “and the day of vengeance of our God.”

In doing so He showed us how to rightly divide the Word of God as today’s Scripture, 2 Timothy 2:15, instructs us to do. He made it precisely clear that we are in the age of grace.

When you learn to rightly divide God’s Word, I believe that you will begin to see His grace, His love, and His security flood every area of your life. Let me share with you a precious testimony of restoration that illustrates this. Valerie, a lady from Illinois, shared:

I became a believer almost twenty years ago and my life changed tremendously. Despite being saved, I felt that something was still wrong because I was repeatedly diagnosed with cancer—four times in all.

After my last relapse of cancer, I watched Pastor Joseph Prince on television and ordered his materials. The first thing I remember learning was that all of my sins have been forgiven! Before that, I was taught of the need to repent and receive forgiveness from God whenever I sinned.

I also learned that God was not looking at my performance to accept me, love me, or bless me, but at Jesus’ finished work on the cross. What a deep blessing these truths were to my heart, body, and soul!

I became a partner with the ministry and today, I have all of Pastor Prince’s teachings and I meditate on them all the time. Now, my walk with the Lord is amazing! I no longer feel condemned or guilty and I am no longer walking in fear! I also have a revelation of Christ’s love for me and I have an intimate relationship with Him.

With God’s help, my finances have also improved. I am fifty-six years of age and I now have my first home! On top of all this, I am cancer-free, have witnessed salvations in my family, and am enjoying better relationships with my family members.

I can’t express in words how much Pastor Prince’s ministry has blessed my life. It is forever changed! My eyes have been opened to GOD’S GRACE and I will never go back to my old beliefs and ways of thinking.

Isn’t it amazing that as Valerie began to learn how to rightly divide God’s Word, she began to experience God’s abundant restoration in quite literally every area of her life, that included an intimate relationship with Him, restoration of physical health, and blessed family relationships?

This is such an encouragement to my team and to me because preaching the gospel of grace is all about helping and lifting up God’s precious people. I am deeply humbled and grateful to be a part of this grace revolution that is transforming one life, one marriage, and one family at a time across the entire world. All honor, glory, and praise to our Lord Jesus Christ!