GOSPEL CORNER

09/10/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”
Genesis 16:9–10, NLT

WHAT YOU RUN FROM
In Genesis 16, Hagar had first treated her mistress, Sarah, with contempt; then Sarah got so upset that she treated Hagar harshly and made her life miserable. Finally, Hagar had had enough and ran away, fleeing into the wilderness. The angel found her beside a spring of water and told her to return and submit to Sarah’s authority. It’s the principle that anything you run from, you’re going to have to go back and deal with eventually. I’m not talking about staying in an abusive relationship, but I am saying you can’t run and change jobs, change friends, change churches, or change spouses every time things get hard. You can’t pack up because you’re uncomfortable. God will give you the grace to be there. The angel went on to say, “If you go back and serve Sarah, God will give you more descendants than you can count.” When you do the right thing when it’s hard, there is a blessing that follows. God will show out in your life and take you to levels that you never dreamed.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You for being the amazing God who can take my messes and the things I’ve run away from and turn them into miracles when I return and face them. Thank You that Your grace is always there to help me. I believe that You are working all things together for my good. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

What has a right understanding of your righteousness got to do with expecting good to happen to you today? Everything!

Many believers associate righteousness with a list of things that they have to do, and if they fulfill this list, they feel “righteous.” Conversely, when they fail in terms of their behavior, they feel “unrighteous.” But this is the wrong definition and understanding of righteousness.

Let’s go back to what the Bible has to say. Look at 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For He [God] made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [Jesus Christ].” We are not righteous because we do right. We became righteous because of what Jesus did for us at the cross.

“Righteousness,” therefore, is not based on our right doing. It is based entirely on Jesus’ right doing. Christianity is not about doing right to become righteous. It is all about believing right in Jesus to become righteous.

Do you realize that we have been conditioned to associate being blessed with doing right? Most belief systems are based on a system of merit whereby you need to fulfill certain requirements—give to the poor, do good to others, and care for the underprivileged—to attain a certain state of righteousness. It all sounds very noble, self-sacrificial, and appealing to our flesh, which likes to feel that our good works have earned us our righteousness.

But God is not looking at your nobility, sacrifices, or good works to justify you. He is only interested in Jesus’ humility at the cross. He looks at His Son’s perfect sacrifice at Calvary to justify you and make you righteous!

Attempting to be justified by your good works and trying your best to keep the Ten Commandments to become righteous is to negate the cross of Jesus Christ. It is as good as saying, “The cross is not enough to justify me. I need to depend on my good works to make myself clean and righteous before God.”

The apostle Paul said, “I do not frustrate the grace [unmerited favor] of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” My friend, consider carefully what Paul is saying here. He is effectively saying that if you are depending on your good works, your doing, and your ability to keep perfectly the Ten Commandments to become righteous, then Jesus died for nothing! That’s what “in vain” means—for nothing!

So don’t frustrate the grace of God by depending on your good works to make yourself righteous and put God on your side. Jesus’ sacrifice is more than enough to justify you! And when you know that you are justified, you can be confident that the unmerited favor of God is on your side and expect good to happen to you today.

GOSPEL CORNER

08/10/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

Today’s Scripture
For even before I was born, God had chosen me to be his and called me—what kindness and grace—to reveal his Son within me so that I could go to the Gentiles and show them the Good News about Jesus.
Galatians 1:15–16, TLB

ACCORDING TO THE PLAN
Saul was the biggest enemy of the early church, arresting people who were followers of Christ. He was like a terrorist until a sudden light from Heaven struck him to the ground on the road to Damascus and Jesus revealed Himself to him. That day was a turning point, and Saul eventually became the apostle Paul. If God based His will only on our decisions, Paul wouldn’t have had a chance. The beauty is that God has a sovereign will that overrides our choices and puts us into His purpose. It’s the goodness of God, stepping in and showing us mercy and love when we should have judgment. In Paul’s case, this sovereign act brought him into his destiny to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.

When you understand that God is sovereign, that He’s not basing everything on your choices, your ability, or your background, you can stay in peace. Disappointments, losses, and bad breaks are all working according to the plan and purpose He decided long ago. You have to trust that He’s sovereign when you don’t understand.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You for loving me and for never writing me off when I’ve been off course and failed. Thank You that You saw a chosen vessel in Saul when he was persecuting the church, and You’re going to use me as Your instrument as well. I believe You are bringing me into my destiny. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

SECTION TWO

The name “Jesus” is Yeshua in Hebrew, which contains an abbreviation for Yahweh, the name of God in Hebrew. So the name “Jesus” literally means “Yahweh is our Savior” or “The Lord is our Savior”! What a beautiful name!

Every time you call the name of Jesus, the name that is above every other name, you are calling God Himself to save you. Saving you is Jesus’ job description! Whatever the challenge or circumstance, whatever crisis you are in—physical, financial, or emotional—you can call on the name of Jesus and Almighty God Himself will save you!

My friend, you can take time to know the names of God, which He revealed under the old covenant, such as Elohim, El Shaddai, El Elyon, Jehovah-Jireh, Jehovah-Rophe, and Jehovah-Nissi. You can do a complete study on the names of God. I am not against that at all. I teach on the names of God in my church as well, but all these names will mean nothing to you if you don’t know that God Almighty Himself, Jesus, wants to save you first from all your sins, then from all your challenges.

God can be all powerful, but if you are not confident that He is interested in your success, His power would mean nothing to you. So, you don’t have to memorize all the names of God from the old covenant. What you need is a full revelation that Jesus, in the new covenant, is your Savior! What is Tiger Woods famous for? Golf! What is David Beckham famous for? Soccer! (He’s also famous for product endorsements!) What is Jesus famous for? Saving you!

What do you need saving from today? See Him in your situation, rescuing, protecting, and providing for you!

GOSPEL CORNER

07/10/24

I love rainbows. Who doesn’t? But do you know how the beautiful rainbow came about?

In the book of Genesis, God placed a beautiful rainbow in the sky to remind Himself and us of His oath never to flood the earth again. Then, in the Book of Isaiah, He declared that just as He had sworn never to flood the earth again, He has sworn never to be angry with us again.

My friend, God is NOT angry with you today because of the covenant of peace established by the blood of Jesus. Today, see the Lord smiling at you, eager to bless and heal you!

06/10/24

GOSPEL CORNER

Look at today’s reading. It didn’t matter who they were or what kinds of past these people had. As long as they sought Him for healing, Jesus healed them gladly and graciously. He never asked them what they had done or not done, or if they had repented. He never asked them to sign a pledge to follow Him and never told anyone that He would not heal them because they deserved to be sick.

Surely none of them were perfect in their thought life or behavior. Surely there were some who came to Him without strong faith. Yet, all this didn’t matter to Jesus. All that mattered to Him was that they had been suffering and needed to be set free.

Beloved, see this compassionate Savior when you come to Him for healing. He puts no demands and no conditions on you. He simply wants to heal you and set you free!

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05/10/24

GOSPEL CORNER

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

Today’s Scripture
There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a human being.
Joshua 10:14, NIV

BOLD PRAYERS
In Joshua 10, Joshua was winning a battle against five armies, but darkness was coming and the enemy would escape, so he prayed a bold prayer. He asked God to stop the sun in place. In the natural, there’s no possibility of this, but God created the solar system. He spoke the universe into existence. He can stop what He wants to stop and still cause it to work. The next verse simply says, “So the sun and the moon stood still until the Israelites defeated their enemies.” No big explanation for this amazing occurrence. God is not intimidated by bold prayers, and He’s not at a loss to figure out how to bring about His purpose. Stopping the sun was no big deal.

Are you praying bold prayers? Maybe not for the sun to stop, but how about for your child to do something awesome, for you to set a new standard for your family, for you to accomplish that dream that seems far out? God put the desire in you. Perhaps He’s just waiting for you to ask.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You for giving me every reason to believe You for above and beyond the natural. Thank You that nothing and no one is more powerful than You, and I can believe You for the extraordinary. I believe that You are going to show out in my life as You did with Joshua. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

In Romans 4:13, it is clear that God’s promise that Abraham and his seed would be heirs of the world was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Today, because we belong to Jesus, we are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise (Gal. 3:29). And the more we believe that we are righteous in Christ, the more we will experience His provision.

My friend, being an heir of the world and walking in Abraham’s blessings of health, protection, and abundant provision come by faith. This is believing that even though we don’t deserve any blessing from God, we have been made righteous by the sacrifice and finished work of His Son, and qualify for all His blessings!

On the cross, Jesus took our sins and gave us His righteousness. He took our poverty and gave us His abundance. He took our shame and gave us His victory. Today, believe that you have been made righteous by Jesus’ finished work and start walking in the blessings of Abraham!

04/10/24

GOSPEL CORNER

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Proverbs 3:5, MSG

PUT IT IN GOD’S HANDS
We all face things we don’t understand, things that don’t seem fair, but you have to know that God will not mismanage your life. He will not allow hardships and bad breaks that don’t have any purpose. He doesn’t just sit back and say, “I can’t believe that just happened to you. Too bad.” He’s ordering your steps. Nothing happens without His permission. He’s promised that all things will work together for our good. Sure, there are things we don’t understand, things that don’t make sense. But if you stay in faith, don’t get bitter, and just keep doing the right thing, you’ll see it all come together in time. Today’s Scripture says to simply trust God and don’t try to figure out everything that happens along the way. If you try to figure out all the things that happen that don’t make sense, you’ll get confused and discouraged. Put it in God’s hands. “God, I believe that You have a purpose for this problem. When it all comes together, You will get the glory for it.”

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that You are my God and that You are ordering my steps. Thank You that I can be free from trying to figure everything out on my own. I declare that I am in the palms of Your hands, and I am going to trust You from the bottom of my heart. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

A warning is issued in 1 Peter 5:8—”Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

I know that a lion roars to intimidate and to bring fear, but I used to wonder what kind of fear the devil tries to instill in the believer. We must let the Bible interpret the Bible. We can’t base our interpretations on our denominational backgrounds or our experiences.

One day, I was reading Proverbs 19 when I came across verse 12: “The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.” Who is the king that this verse refers to? It is our Lord Jesus!

So when the devil goes about like a roaring lion, he is trying to impersonate the King. He is trying to make you feel as if God is angry with you. Every time you hear preaching that leaves you with a sense that God is angry with you, guess what? You have just been roared at!

But know this, beloved: God will NEVER be angry with you ever again. He only has to tell us this, but He wanted us to be so sure that He swore in His Word that He would never be angry with us again.

Today’s verses are from Isaiah 54, which is right after the famous messianic chapter of the sufferings of Christ in Isaiah 53. Therefore, Isaiah 54 is spelling out the triumphs and spoils of His sufferings.

Do you know why God will never be angry with us again? It is because of what Christ has accomplished for us! On the cross, God poured out all His anger on the body of His Son. Jesus exhausted all the fiery indignation of a holy God against all our sins, and when all of God’s judgment of our sins had been completely exhausted, He shouted, “It is finished!” (John 19:30).

And because our sins have already been punished, God, who is a holy and just God, will not punish us today when we believe in what Christ has done. God’s holiness is now on your side. His righteousness is now for you, not against you. You are His beloved, in whom He is well pleased because of Jesus’ finished work!

The next time the devil tries to rob you of your sense of being beloved by making you think that God is angry with you, just ignore him. Ignore him when he says, “How can you call yourself a Christian?”

You are a righteous, accepted, and beloved child of God! When you believe this, you will have the confidence to face every challenge with boldness, knowing that you have God’s unmerited favor on your side!

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
Today’s Word

Today’s Scripture
Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few.”
2 Kings 4:3, NIV

UNLIMITED SUPPLY
In 2 Kings 4, the creditors were coming to take a poor widow’s two sons as the payment for her bills. All she had of value was a small jar of oil. The prophet Elisha told her to ask her neighbors for empty jars. He specifically said, “Don’t ask for just a few.” When she poured her oil in them, it kept flowing until all the jars were full. She was able to sell the oil and had plenty of money to pay her debts.

The principle is that God is going to fill all the containers you bring Him. It’s not a supply problem; it’s a capacity problem. Too often we let disappointments, delays, and things that haven’t worked out lower our expectations. We’re not stretching, not believing for great things. Are you putting limits on what God wants to do in your life? Are you focused on what you think can happen only in your ability? God has an unlimited supply for all your needs. Don’t base your containers on what you can do; base them on what God can do.

PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that You are thAe Most High God who has given me gifts and talents and resources. Thank You that You can take what seems like it’s not enough for my needs, and You can make it flow into abundance. I believe that You are going to multiply what I have and show out in my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Wake up every day expecting good. Keep your thoughts and mind positive, full of joy, full of hope, and full of anticipation of all the good things God has in store for you, His beloved!

Spring up from your bed, stand in front of your mirror and boldly declare, “I am the disciple whom Jesus loves. I am the apple of His eye. Everything I do and touch shall be blessed! The Lord’s wisdom, favor, and provision flow mightily in and through me. Amen!”

When you do this, you are accessing the Lord’s abundant provision for you, and all the stress, worries, negative emotions, and anxieties will fade away.

Perhaps today, you have to make an important presentation to your biggest client, or go for the final interview for a job you really want. Perhaps you are way behind the curve in completing an important project at work. Whatever the demands on you, start the day expecting good and to see His provision flow!

02/10/24

GOSPEL CORNER

When I was the president of my youth ministry, I used to preach hard and strong messages, telling my youths, “You’ve got to love God! You’ve got to love the Lord with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul!” All that time, when I was preaching this to the young people, I was wondering to myself, “How in the world do I do that?”

I would look at myself and check my heart, mind, and soul—did I really love the Lord that perfectly? How could I expect my youths to love the Lord that way when I knew that I myself had failed?

At that time, I was not established in the new covenant of grace yet. I did not know that by preaching that way, I was actually placing all my youths under the law because the sum total of the law is to love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength (Matt. 22:37–40, Mark 12:29–30).

Let me ask you this: Has anybody ever been able to love the Lord with all his heart, mind, and soul? No one. Not a single person has been able to do that.

God knew all the while that under the law, no one could love Him that perfectly. So do you know what He did? The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” I love that little word “so.” It speaks of the intensity with which God loves us.

When God sent Jesus, He was effectively saying this to us: “I know that you can’t love Me perfectly, so watch Me now. I will love you with all My heart, all My soul, all My mind, and all My strength.” And He stretched His arms wide and died for us.

This is what the Bible says about what Jesus did on the cross: “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Rom. 5:7–9).

My friend, the cross is not a demonstration of our perfect love and devotion to God. The cross is God’s demonstration of His perfect love and His perfect grace (unmerited favor) toward us, for it was while we were still sinners that Jesus died for us. He did not die for you and me because of our perfect love for God. He died for you and me because of HIS perfect love for us!

Let me give you the Bible’s definition of love to make this even clearer for you: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Beloved, that’s the emphasis of the new covenant of grace (unmerited favor)—HIS love for us, not our love for Him!