26/04/25

Gospel Corner

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
Today’s Word

Today’s Scripture
A lying tongue hates its victims, and flattering words cause ruin.
Proverbs 26:28, NLT

Flattery
In Daniel 6, to get rid of Daniel before he would be made the highest administrator in the Persian empire, the other administrators and high officers used flattery to get King Darius to pass a law that they knew Daniel would not obey because of his faith. The king’s ego was so inflated that it almost resulted in the death of Daniel. This king loved Daniel, but he didn’t realize they were doing it to trap Daniel.

Be careful when people first flatter you, telling you how wonderful you are, and then ask you for something. When they do, just cancel out everything they said before, because even if it is true, they said it with the wrong motives. Flattery is a tool that leads to ruin. If you’re not secure in who you are and you need others’ praise to feel good about yourself, you’ll make decisions that you may regret later. You have to discount all the flattery, act as though they don’t like you, that they’re not for you, and then make the decision. Don’t get trapped by deceptive words.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that I don’t have to look to someone else to tell me who I am because You have already told me that I am Your masterpiece. Thank You that my identity and value is securely in Your hands. Help me to discern when others are using flattery to try to get me to do what is wrong. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

Over the last two decades, I’ve had the privilege of ministering to precious people from all walks of life. I’ve had the honor of meeting people in my congregation and at conferences around the world and hearing their stories. For those whom I didn’t get to meet in person, their letters and emails to me told their stories.

Stories of liberation from years of anxiety and depression. Stories of being rescued from the prison of fear. Stories of breaking loose from destructive habits and addictions.

Yet, for every person who found their breakthrough, I also know of many who are still struggling today. They are bound by severe insecurities, trapped by all kinds of disorders, and gripped by constant fear. They’ve tried every solution they can think of, but are still desperately clawing to be freed from their emotional and physical prisons.

How did those who experienced victory break free? Why are others still trapped?

The answer is simple but powerful: their beliefs. What you believe is critical.

You see, if you believe wrong, you will struggle with wrong thoughts. Wrong thoughts will produce unhealthy emotions that will lead to toxic feelings of guilt, shame, condemnation, and fear. And those wrong feelings will ultimately produce wrong behaviors, actions, and painful addictions.

Wrong believing starts you on a path of defeat. It is what keeps you trapped and drives you deeper and deeper into paralyzing captivity.

Right believing, on the other hand, is the door out of this vicious cycle of defeat. When you believe right, you will live right. Right believing always produces right living.

Today, begin to believe right by choosing to know and believe in the powerful truths of God’s Word and in His love for you. In the days to come, set your heart to discover and meditate on the Savior you have in Christ and what He has already accomplished for you.

Choose to renew your mind with God’s truths about who you really are in Christ and how precious you are to Him. I pray that as you begin to encounter the person of Jesus, you will begin to experience your breakthrough and lasting victory!

25/04/25

Gospel Corner

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
Today’s Word

Today’s Scripture
“Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms!” “No, my lord!” she cried. “O man of God, don’t deceive me and get my hopes up like that.”
2 Kings 4:16, NLT

Too Good to Be True?
A wealthy woman and her husband in Shunem had tried to have a child for years but were now too old. It was the one thing missing in her life, a dream that was close to her heart and one she wanted so badly, but she had given up. When the prophet Elisha spoke today’s Scripture, she didn’t have the faith. Down deep she wanted to believe, but her mind told her all the reasons why it wasn’t going to happen. She was saying, “Don’t get my hopes up. That’s too good to be true.” But what God had spoken over her came to pass. God exceeded her expectations even though she didn’t believe. That’s the kind of God we serve.

Even if you don’t have the faith, there are some things that God is still going to do. Just because you gave up doesn’t mean God gave up. He is so merciful, so loving, that He’s going to override your unbelief and do things that you never dreamed, things that will bring you more joy, more fulfillment than you can imagine.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that You are the Almighty God who makes what seems too good to be true become a reality. Thank You that one touch of Your favor can turn around what looks like it will never change. I believe that You are going to do more than I can imagine. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

It must have drawn many looks—some curious, some sympathetic, some possibly of disgust. For the owner and all who saw it, the withered hand must have spelled “challenging,” “difficult,” and very likely, “impossible to heal.”

But where others saw the witheredness, Jesus saw only God’s supply of healing and wholeness available to the man. That’s why He said to him, “Stretch out your hand.”

Jesus didn’t see the lack others saw. He only saw the Father’s superabundant supply of grace all over that withered hand. He saw the Father’s heart to heal and bless the man!

Today, don’t focus on your pain, symptoms, or the doctor’s negative report. Whether it’s an aching back, ailing heart, or barren womb, see His healing power enveloping your body. See His grace supplying life and health to you!

Gospel Corner

24/04/25

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
Today’s Word

Today’s Scripture
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.
1 Peter 1:6, NLT

Don’t Believe the Forever Lies
God never says that we won’t go through trials, through hardships, through unfair situations. But Peter says that it is just for a little while. He doesn’t say “years from now” that your faith is going to be shown genuine and purified like gold. No, in just a little while you’re going to see God do something awesome in your life. In just a little while your health is going to turn around, your child will get back on course, you’ll overcome the addiction.

Don’t believe the forever lies that the enemy loves to whisper, “It’s going to be years before…”. He’s trying to get you discouraged, doubting what God can do, to where you give up on your dreams. Don’t fall into that trap. God says in just a little while what you’re believing for is going to show up. Keep that playing in your mind. It’s not permanent, but in a little while. That’s how you wait with expectancy for the joy that’s ahead, knowing that in just a little while the God you serve is going to show up.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that the trials I go through are but for a little while, and You have purposed to use them for my eternal good. Thank You that You are the God of all grace and that You will bring me through them to the wonderful joy that’s ahead. I believe that greater is coming. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

SECTION TWO

What does “the truth shall make you free” really mean?

Examine the context of this verse and you’ll notice that Jesus said this to the Jews of His day. These were people who at an early age grew up studying and learning the law. Yet, these people, in ways very similar to us today, still battled with fears, anxieties, sicknesses, and all kinds of oppression, bondages, and addictions.

So this truth that Jesus was talking about clearly cannot be the law, because these people could not find freedom in the law. In fact, the truth of the law only brought them into religious bondage.

My friend, the truth that shall make you free, is the truth of His grace. This is the truth that He came to give us. His Word proclaims that “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

The good news is that grace came to set you free from the curse of the law. Grace is not a doctrine or a theological subject. When Jesus talks about grace, He is talking about Himself. Grace is a person. Grace is Jesus Himself.

The truth that has the power to fling wide open your prison doors is His grace. His grace is the antidote to counteract every poison in your mind!

When you encounter Jesus, taste His love, and savor His loving-kindness and tender mercies, every wrong belief begins to dissolve in the glory of His love. And every dark thought and evil addiction that may have held you captive cannot but scatter when it is exposed to the light of His grace!

Your freedom is found in rightly believing in Jesus—His favor and His love in your life. When you believe right about His grace, you will begin to live right.

The more you see in His Word what His grace has done for you, the more fears, condemnation, depression, and destructive habits will lose their grip in your life. And the more you believe and enjoy His grace and love, the more you’ll find the Lord’s wisdom, stability, and peace guiding your decisions and actions.

Right believing always produces right living and the right results.

23/04/25

Gospel Corner

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
Today’s Word

Today’s Scripture
Do this, knowing that this is a critical time. It is already the hour for you to awaken from your sleep [of spiritual complacency]; for our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
Romans 13:11, AMP

This Is a Critical Time
Some people live with a low-time mentality. “I never get any good breaks. I’ll never get out of this neighborhood. I’ll never be successful. It’s been too long.” You have to turn it around and get in agreement with God. Today’s Scripture stresses the importance of the season. This is a critical time, so don’t take it lightly. What you’ve been believing for is not years down the road. It’s at hand. It’s close. It could happen any day. You are closer to meeting the right person than you’ve ever been, closer to seeing your health turn around than you’ve ever been, closer to seeing explosive blessings than you’ve ever been. Live with this expectancy. There has to be an anticipation in your spirit that this could be your day. Don’t discount it and think, “This isn’t for me.” If you don’t wake up, if you don’t stir your faith up, you’ll miss the new things God wants to do. God wants to give you favor right here, right now. Get your hopes up.

Are you awake? Do you believe it’s your high time?

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You for the call to wake up, to get my hopes up, to start expecting things to change. Thank You that I’m closer to going to the next level and seeing explosive blessings than I’ve ever been. I believe that I’m about to see this high time. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

Beloved, in the natural, there are so many reasons for us to be afraid. We can be fearful of terrorist attacks. We can be worried about contracting diseases and plagues. We can be anxious about destruction and accidents. Round the clock, there seems to be legitimate reasons for us to be filled with dread.

But there is a realm that is higher than what we see in the natural, and I declare to you today that YOU SHALL NOT BE AFRAID. Fear is a spiritual condition, and cannot be combated with a natural answer, or by us trying to reason it away. The Bible tells us that the natural mind cannot understand things that are spiritual (1 Cor. 2:14).

So how can you not be afraid? Invite the God of peace to reign in your life. As you do that, the robust peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus.

Beloved, as you allow the Lord Jesus to be your refuge and your hiding place, you can receive the peace that He gives. Today, hear your Lord Jesus whispering to you, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

Receive His supernatural peace, which is beyond what is logical, beyond what your limited mind can comprehend. Receive His supernatural peace that will guard your heart and become a bulwark for your mind. And may Jehovah Shalom, our God of Peace, fill your heart and set you free to live fearlessly in these dangerous times!

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
Today’s Word

Gospel Corner

22/04/25

Today’s Scripture
“You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
Mark 16:6–7, NIV

Go to Where God Is.
Mary Magdalene and two other women had gone to the tomb that Sunday morning to put perfume on Jesus’ body. They had heard Jesus say, “It is finished.” They had watched Jesus breathe His last breath. His lungs did not move again. He had no pulse. He was taken down from the cross and lain in a tomb. All the circumstances said it was over. But an angel met them at the tomb and said, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? Jesus is not here. He has risen!” The angel was saying, “Why are you going to where God was? You need to go to where God is.” What looked like an ending was only the beginning of something far greater.

When doors close, people walk away, or a dream doesn’t work out, don’t go by what it looks like. Don’t get stuck where God was; go to where God is. He’s doing a new thing you can’t see yet. That had to end, that door had to close, so you could go to the next level of victory, abundance, and favor.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that You are always going ahead in my life, lining up the next level, and You’re not in the past. Thank You that I don’t have to be stuck at the closed door or waiting for the person who walked away. I believe that what looks like an ending is only a fresh new start. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Something very unique and precious happens when you see that the Lord is with you. Trust the Lord to open your eyes to see Him in your situation, and the more you see Him, the more He manifests Himself.

If you are in the midst of committing to an important business agreement, I assure you that if you can see the Lord there with you, His wisdom will flow through you, and He will give you supernatural insight to locate any loopholes, details, or exit clauses that are missing from that contract that you are about to sign.

Once you involve Jesus and acknowledge His presence, you will sense Him intervening in any decision you are about to make, through the absence or presence of His peace. Sometimes, everything can appear to be in order on the surface, but somehow, you may sense a discomfort rising up in you every time you think about your decision. My advice to you would be to not rush into it.

You see, once you have involved the Lord, the lack of peace that you feel is often His leading to protect you. You can even be in the midst of an argument with your spouse, but the moment you become conscious of the Lord’s presence, your words will change.

Somehow, there will be a supernatural restraint that you know is not from yourself. That is also the Lord!

Beloved, it is important for you to eradicate the notion that the Lord is present to find fault with you. You may have been raised in an environment where your parents were constantly picking on your faults and pointing out your mistakes, but don’t project this characteristic onto the Lord.

God knows every idiosyncrasy about you, yet He loves you perfectly because He sees you through the lens of the cross, where His Son has removed every failing from your life. This means that even your current argument with your spouse is washed by the blood of Jesus.

The Lord’s presence is with you not to judge you or smack you on the head with a giant bat the moment you fail. No, my friend, His presence is with you to direct you, guide you, lead you into becoming more like Christ, and to make you a success in every endeavor you undertake.

Gospel Corner

20/04/25

It is wonderful to know that God does not measure and judge you based on your performance today. Instead, He looks at Jesus, and as Jesus is, that is how He sees you. His Word declares that “love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.”

As new covenant believers, we do not have to fear the day of judgment simply because all our sins have been completely judged at the cross, and as Jesus is, so are we! Notice that it does not say that “as Jesus was on earth, so are we in this world.” That would have been amazing enough because during Jesus’ ministry on earth, healing, blessings, and abundance followed Him everywhere He went.

It is wonderful to know that God does not measure and judge you based on your performance today. Instead, He looks at Jesus, and as Jesus is, that is how He sees you. His Word declares that “love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.”

As new covenant believers, we do not have to fear the day of judgment simply because all our sins have been completely judged at the cross, and as Jesus is, so are we! Notice that it does not say that “as Jesus was on earth, so are we in this world.” That would have been amazing enough because during Jesus’ ministry on earth, healing, blessings, and abundance followed Him everywhere He went.

Yet, that is not what the Word says. What it says is, “as Jesus is” (notice the use of the present tense). In other words, as He is right now, so are we in this world.

What a powerful revelation! Just consider where Jesus is today. The Bible tells us:

He [God] raised Him [Jesus] from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.—Ephesians 1:20–23

Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand today, in a position of power and authority. If I were you, I would take some time to meditate on this passage because the Bible tells us that as Jesus is, so are we right now, in this world.

Meditate on how as Jesus is “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named,” so are we! See it in God’s Word for yourself. See yourself as Jesus is, far above every principality and power, far above every disease and physical condition, far above every kind of fear, depression, and addiction, and begin to reign over every negative situation in your life today!et, that is not what the Word says. What it says is, “as Jesus is” (notice the use of the present tense). In other words, as He is right now, so are we in this world.

What a powerful revelation! Just consider where Jesus is today. The Bible tells us:

He [God] raised Him [Jesus] from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.—Ephesians 1:20–23

Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand today, in a position of power and authority. If I were you, I would take some time to meditate on this passage because the Bible tells us that as Jesus is, so are we right now, in this world.

Meditate on how as Jesus is “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named,” so are we! See it in God’s Word for yourself. See yourself as Jesus is, far above every principality and power, far above every disease and physical condition, far above every kind of fear, depression, and addiction, and begin to reign over every negative situation in your life today!