13/08/24

GOSPEL CORNER

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

Today’s Scripture
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Hebrews 12:15, NIV

NO BITTER ROOT
We all go through tough times, disappointments, and hurts. But we can’t let a bad break, a divorce, or a rough childhood cause us to get bitter. If we let bitter feelings take root, that bitter root will always produce bitter fruit. Bitter people don’t have good relationships. They’re too negative. When we’re bitter, it affects our attitudes. We see everything through a critical lens. Nothing is ever good enough. Bitter people can smile on the outside, but inside they’re critical and filled with self-pity. Bitterness infects everything you do and follows you everywhere you go.

When we hold on to things we should let go, refusing to forgive, remembering the worst, we only poison our own lives. God is saying, “Get over it.” Life is flying by. You don’t have time to waste another minute being negative, offended, or bitter. If someone did you wrong or you had a bad break, get over it, quit reliving all the hurt, and move forward. God will make it up to you, and you’ll come to the new beginning He has in store.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that I can prevent bitter roots from ever starting to grow in my life by letting go of whatever holds me back. Show me if there is anything that is causing me to be bitter or resentful, and help me to release the bitterness and forgive any person who hurt me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

When you look at yourself (your weaknesses) and your negative circumstances, it’s easy to become seized with anxiety, fear, and despair.

That’s why God wants us to look away from ourselves and look at Jesus. In God’s eyes, because He has placed us in Christ, Jesus’ reality is our reality today—”as He is, so are we in this world”!

So don’t focus on your vulnerability or the lack in your life and get discouraged. Ask yourself: Is Jesus abandoned, forgotten, sick, and poor today? No, He is at the right hand of the Father, full of life, peace, joy, and favor.

All of heaven’s resources are at His disposal. He is greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved by the Father today, and so are you!

To be Jesus-occupied like this is to see as God sees. And when you see as God sees, you will also see the grace and supply of the Lord swallow up every lack in your life!

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12/08/24

GOSPEL CORNER

The world tells you that those with the qualifications, talents, and experience get the jobs, promotions, and high salaries.

My friend, though you live in this world, as God’s beloved child, you need not be limited by it. You have God’s favor—His unmerited, unearned, undeserved grace!

Read Ecclesiastes 9:11—”The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.” So even if you are not the smartest, strongest, most knowledgeable, or best looking in the natural, God can still give you good success when you depend on His grace.

Instead of mulling over your “disqualifications,” be conscious of God’s favor on you. Smile and say, “God’s favor is all over me because of Jesus. I expect good things to happen to me today!”

Beloved, be conscious of His favor. Believe it. Confess it. And you will experience it!

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTERIES
TODAY’S WORD

GOSPEL CORNER

11/08/24

Today’s Scripture
…the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials.
2 Peter 2:9, NIVl

We all know that God opens doors. We’ve seen Him give us favor, good breaks, promotion. But the same God will close doors. Maybe you prayed, but a relationship didn’t work out or you didn’t get the promotion or the loan. Too often we become discouraged and feel that God let us down. But we can’t see the big picture that God sees. He knows where every road is leading. He sees the dead ends and the shortcuts. A big part of faith is trusting God when you don’t understand why things happen the way they do. When a door closes, you don’t know what God is saving you from. God may close a door because a relationship or a position will lead to heartache and pain. If He opened what you think is the opportunity of a lifetime, it could limit what He wants to do in your life. The bottom line is: God has your best interest at heart. Instead of being discouraged, have a bigger perspective. The reason the door closed is because God has something better in store.

Prayer For Today
“Father, thank You that You know best when it comes to the things I want and ask You for. Thank You that You see what I cannot see and You have reasons for closed doors as well as open doors. I believe that You have something bigger, something better, something more rewarding up in front of me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

Do you know of anyone who is in a worse situation than Joseph when he stood naked in an Egyptian market, waiting to be sold as a slave? His whole world appeared to have collapsed around him.

Just a few days earlier, he was in his father’s embrace but now, his own brothers had betrayed him. All that he owned had been stripped from him. He was reduced to nothing more than a slave in a foreign land.

Was this the end of Joseph? In the natural scheme of things, it sure looked like it was. But even with the odds stacked up against Joseph, the Lord was far from finished. Even in this dire situation, the Lord was with Joseph, and at this dark and bleak juncture in Joseph’s life, the Lord called him a successful man (Gen. 39:1–2)!

Remember, it is not what you have. It is who you have that makes all the difference.

“How can the Lord make a young slave with not a single cent or possession to his name succeed?”

Well, let’s continue with Joseph’s story. Genesis 39:3 tells us, “And his master [Potiphar] saw that the LORD was with him [Joseph] and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand.” This is a powerful statement and it offers a promise that you can believe Jesus for, in every area of your life.

Can you imagine every project, assignment, and even errand that you undertake becoming prosperous? Your hands become hands of blessing.

You touch your family members and they are blessed. Your company may be struggling to manage a difficult project, but once it is placed in your hands, the project becomes blessed. You become a blessing waiting to happen to someone, waiting to happen to something, everywhere you go!

Now, how will this happen? The Lord Jesus will make it happen when you depend on Him in the same way that Joseph depended on Him.

Joseph had nothing. He could not trust in his skills or experience (he had never been a slave), nor could he trust in his natural connections (his father was out of the picture because he believed that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal). All Joseph had was the Lord’s presence, and he depended on the Lord to manifest His presence, His power, and His glory through him!

That’s what you and I need—a manifestation of His presence in everything that we do! You see, it is one thing to have His presence (all Christians have His presence because they have accepted Him as their personal Lord and Savior), but when His presence is made manifest in your life, that’s when His glory shines forth through you!

My friend, God wants to make everything you do prosper, just like He did for Joseph. See Him leading and blessing you, and increasing your effectiveness today!

GOSPEL CORNER

10/08/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

Today’s Scripture
“You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you.”
1 Chronicles 17:25, NIV

God-Sized Prayers
In 1 Chronicles 17, God gave David the amazing promise that one of his descendants would always be on the throne. He would have an everlasting dynasty. David could have said, “God, that’s impossible.” Instead, David understood this promise and dared to pray, “God, I’m asking You for something big, not because I have all the talent, education, and connections, but simply because You promised it.”

The dreams God has placed in your heart may seem impossible. But you have to say, “God, You promised it; now I’m bold enough to ask You for it.” When you do, don’t be surprised if you have doubts. The enemy gets stirred up when you start asking God for big things. Doubts will bombard your mind when you start praying God-sized prayers and asking Him to take you places that you’ve never been, to touch a family member who has been off course, or to give you the hidden dreams of your heart. Negative thoughts will come: “Who do you think you are?” Just smile and reply, “I am a child of the Most High God.”

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that You created me to live an abundant life, not a small life. Thank You for the challenge to ask You for big things and to see the greatness of Your power. Help me to dare to ask big and to believe for what seems impossible. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

I love how in Luke 24, the Holy Spirit intricately records for us the meeting that Jesus had with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus on the very first day of His resurrection. With heavy hearts, grieved and shell-shocked, they talked about how Jesus, whom they greatly esteemed, had been taken by the religious leaders, condemned to death, and crucified.

Read the full story and notice how the two disciples were caught up with their own understanding of the events that had transpired and with their thoughts about the redemption of Israel. As a result, they were downcast, disappointed, and depressed. This is what happens when the truth about Jesus is absent from our minds.

The disciples had hoped that Jesus would be the one who would redeem Israel. To them, Jesus was simply a means to an end. They were more consumed with Israel’s redemption than with the Redeemer Himself. No wonder they were depressed!

Jesus can never simply be a means to an end, no matter how noble that end may be. We need to be occupied with Him and allow everything to revolve around Him as He takes center place in our lives.

The disciples were downcast because they didn’t believe in what God’s Word had prophesied about Jesus’ suffering and resurrection. If they had believed and understood that the events in the last three days were all orchestrated by God and that the cross was His grand redemption plan to save all men, they would have been rejoicing with faith, love, and hope. They would have been greatly anticipating their reunion with the resurrected Christ instead of being so inward-looking and discouraged. But because of their wrong beliefs, they had become disillusioned and were mentally defeated.

If you are feeling fearful, anxious, or depressed today, do a quick check. What’s on your mind? What’s your heart occupied with? Are your thoughts filled with faith in Jesus, the Shepherd of your life, or are they filled with apprehensions about the future, fears about your current situation, and excessive self-introspection?

Give Him center place by believing that He is the answer to every thing you need in life, and begin to walk in a new measure of His peace, joy, and liberty.

GOSPEL CORNER

09/08/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

Today’s Scripture
“God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore they called the name of that place Baal Perazim.
1 Chronicles 14:11, NKJV

Bursting Through
David had just been anointed king over all Israel when he heard that the Philistine army was about to attack. He asked God what he should do, and God gave David the promise that his army would defeat the Philistines. God gave them such a great victory that David compared it to “the bursting forth of water,” and he named the place Baal Perazim, which means “the God of the breakthrough.” He was saying that when God releases His power, it is like a flood of His goodness, of His favor, of healing, of new opportunity.

You may have obstacles that look impassable or dreams that look unattainable. But when God releases a flood of His power, nothing will be able to stop you. You may not have the connections or have the funding to accomplish your dreams. But when God releases a flood of favor, it’s not a trickle or a stream. You won’t have to look for people to help you out. You need to get ready for good breaks, opportunity, and the right people to come bursting through.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that You are the God who bursts through like a flood and brings me to my destiny. Thank You that Your power breaks through with Your favor, healing, and new opportunities. I believe that the forces for me are greater than any force that is against me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Today I want you to see two powerful keys to winning life’s battles from the account of King Jehoshaphat. The first is to believe in the Lord, and you will be established. God’s Word tells us also to believe the words of His prophets (the pastors and preachers whom God has placed in your life), and you shall prosper! That is the power of right believing.

Don’t be myopic and be caught up with your current challenges, running around like a headless chicken, trying to solve your problems in your own strength. God doesn’t want you to live in a perpetual state of uncertainty, anxiety, stress, and fear. When you believe right, you will experience true Bible hope and start living with a certain, joyful, confident expectation of good regardless of your current circumstances.

The second key is to go into battle singing praises to God. This was what Jehoshaphat did. It may have been an unusual military strategy, but as the Israelites began to sing and praise, God caused confusion among the enemies’ camps, and they utterly destroyed one another. Judah did not draw a single sword that day, but the battle was won. In fact, it was won before Judah’s troops even arrived at the scene.

God deliberately records for us the words with which the people of Judah praised Him: “Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 118 begins and ends with this same refrain—a refrain so close to God’s heart that it features very prominently in many key moments in Israel’s history (1 Chron. 16:7, 34; 2 Chron. 7:3).

My friend, there is something very special about these two simple lines of praise. The word for “mercy” here is the very potent Hebrew word hesed, which speaks of God’s grace, love, tender mercies, and loving-kindness. No matter how many times you have failed and fallen short, and even if the troubles that surround you are a consequence of your own actions, would you turn to the Lord today and praise Him for His goodness and His hesed (His grace)?

When you are feeling down, overwhelmed, or fearful, worship Him with these words, and as you praise Him, He will “set ambushes” against all your enemies, troubles, fears, challenges, and addictions, as He did for Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah (2 Chron. 20:22).

By the time you reach your battlefield, I believe your enemies will all have fallen. Not a single one of your adversaries will escape because the Lord Himself fights your battles.

GOSPEL CORNER

08/08/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

Today’s Scripture
The LORD kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised.
Genesis 21:1, NLT

THE PROMISE IS FOR YOU
When God told Abraham and Sarah that they were going to have a baby, they were way past the age of childbearing. As time went by, with no sign of a child, Sarah told Abraham to sleep with her maid, thinking that way they could have a baby. But that wasn’t the promised child. God didn’t put the promise in someone else. He put the promise in Sarah, but she was discounting herself. “I’m too old. There’s no way.” She had to quit counting on someone else to make it happen. Finally, at ninety years old, she gave birth to Isaac.

God will put promises in your heart that seem impossible. Thoughts will tell you all the reasons it can’t happen. But how do you know that God is not going to do something extraordinary, uncommon? God put the promise in you, not someone else. You have to do as Sarah did and recognize who you are. You’re gifted, you’re talented, you’re valuable, and you’re fearfully and wonderfully made. You have the favor of God to see the promise fulfilled.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that what seems impossible always remains possible with You. Thank You that You have put promises in me that are part of Your plan and purpose for me. I believe that You have given me favor beyond what I’ve imagined, so that I can become who You say I am. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

I want to share with you a beautiful truth from the story of Gideon in Judges 6. Even after Gideon had God’s promise to “go in this might of yours” and save Israel, he was still fearful and unconvinced. He asked for a sign to confirm that he was indeed speaking to the Lord.

Gideon then presented an offering to the Lord, and fire rose out of the rock to consume the offering. Then our Lord Jesus disappeared. Only at that moment did Gideon’s lightning-fast mind perceive that he had indeed been speaking with the Lord Himself. He gasped, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face” (Judg. 6:22).

Gideon began to panic, because in those days, they believed that if they saw God face to face, they would die. But before Gideon could frighten himself any further, the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die” (Judg. 6:23, boldface mine). So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it “The-LORD-Is-Peace” (Judg. 6:24), or in Hebrew, Jehovah Shalom. This is the first time the name Jehovah Shalom appears in the Bible, and the word that goes with this name is “you shall not die.”

According to the Strong’s Concordance, the word shalom refers to completeness, safety, soundness, welfare, health, and supply. It also refers to peace, quiet, tranquility, and contentment, as well as friendship in human relationships and with God in a covenant relationship.

So if you think that Jehovah Shalom just gives you peace of mind, you are wrong. When you receive the Lord as Jehovah Shalom in your life, you are receiving so much more!

My dear friends, I believe with all my heart that the Lord wants to speak to you today about the world we live in. Like Gideon, we may be surrounded by bad news, like news of diseases such as Ebola and Zika, of bomb attacks, of random shootings, of hijackings, of missile strikes, and of fatal accidents.

But God has already foreseen the problems that we will face in this day and age, and His protection and covering over us is all-encompassing!

GOSPEL CORNER

07/08/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

Today’s Scripture
…singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:19–20, NKJV

WHAT ARE YOU MAKING?
We’re all making something. Some people are making sadness, thinking about what they’ve been through, what wasn’t fair, who they lost. That’s drawing in more sadness, more discouragement. Other people are making worry, playing all the negative thoughts over and over in their mind. “What if it doesn’t work out? What if I don’t get well?” That’s drawing in more stress, more heaviness. Why don’t you start making melody in your heart to the Lord. Start having a song of praise inside. Instead of saying, “These children are so much trouble,” start saying, “Lord, thank You for blessing me with children.” Instead of saying, “It’s a pain to go to work,” say, “Lord, thank You that I have a job.” Instead of saying, “The medical report is not good. I don’t think I’ll ever get well,” be saying, “Lord, thank You that You’re restoring health to me.”

Are you creating an atmosphere of doubt, worry, and mediocrity. Or are you creating an atmosphere of praise, victory, and abundance? All through the day, under your breath, be one who is making melody in your heart.

A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that I can make melody to You in all my circumstances because You are bigger than any of my circumstances. Thank You that I can put the old sad songs of defeat behind me and start singing songs of victory. I declare that I will create an atmosphere of praise to You today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

SECTION TWO

The Bible says that God has “disarmed principalities and powers,” referring to Satan and his cohorts (Eph. 6:12). So the devil has already been disarmed. But do you know what weapon he was wielding before his forced disarmament?

Today’s Scripture gives us the answer clearly: the devil was armed with the “handwriting of requirements that was against us.” On Mount Sinai, God wrote the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone. The “handwriting of requirements” was thus a reference to the law that was written by the finger of God.

Let me stress that the law is holy, just, and good. It was designed by God to expose man’s weaknesses, sins, and inability to be holy, just, and good so that man would see his need for a Savior. You need to understand that no amount of keeping the law can make you holy. Only the blood of Jesus can do that.

The devil then armed himself with the law to accuse and condemn man. Now, listen carefully to this: God didn’t give the law to arm the devil, but the devil, knowing that the law was against us, took advantage of it and has been using it as his weapon to further alienate us from God.

That’s why when God nailed the law to the cross, He made a public spectacle of the devil and all the powers of darkness! Once the law was nailed to the cross of Jesus, God knew that the law no longer had the power to condemn us as long as we believed on Jesus. Therefore, when you know and believe that Jesus has fulfilled completely the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf, the devil cannot use the law to condemn you every time you fail.

Today, if the enemy uses the law to point out your sins, look to the cross of Jesus and reject the condemnation. You may say, “No one can blot out God’s handwriting.” Yes, you are right. No man can, but God can!

And God did it righteously. My friend, you have been redeemed from the curse of the law. The devil and his crew have been disarmed. Hallelujah!

Refuse to subject yourself any longer to the old covenant system of the law. Don’t put the weapon of the law back into the devil’s hands. Every teaching that says, “You have to keep the law to be blessed by God,” is doing just that.

Reject such legalistic teachings and rest in the truth of God’s disarmament and grace. The more you believe and embrace the truth of His grace, the more you are empowered to experience victory over your failings and challenges. This is how you reign, and when you reign, the devil doesn’t!