Beloved in Christ Ministry

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “...But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.” (Jeremiah 20:9, NKJV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria ...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE "Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens." (Psalm 119:89, NIV) TODAY’S WORD Most people’s thoughts were programmed by the people who raised them or by what somebody spoke over them. Maybe they were good people, doing the best they can, but their words are limiting you. As long as you believe what they said about you, their words are defining you. The key to breaking those limitations is to start meditating on what God says about you. A transformation will take place when you renew your mind. Reprogram your thinking with what God says about you. God says, “The path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter.” All through the day say, “I’m rising higher. I haven’t seen my best days. Something good is going to happen to me.” As you meditate on His Word day in and day out, you’re breaking out past the limitations set by others. People may have spoken negative things over ...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10, NIV) TODAY’S WORD   A man in scripture by the name of Gideon was called by God to lead the people of Israel against an opposing army. But, Gideon didn’t think he was capable. One day, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Hello Gideon, you mighty man of fearless courage.” I can imagine Gideon was looking around thinking, “Who is He talking to? I am not a mighty man of fearless courage.” Gideon was afraid, intimidated, insecure; just the opposite. But notice, God didn’t call him what he was. God called him what he could become. Today, know that God sees your potential. He knows what you’re capable of. You may feel weak, but God calls you strong. You may be intimidated, but God calls you confident. You may feel less than, but God calls you well able....

2 PETER 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,   If you would like to walk in a greater measure of God’s favor, 2 Peter 1:2 says that grace, which is the undeserved favor of God, and peace, can be multiplied to you. Peace is the word “shalom” in Hebrew. Its definition includes wholeness, health, safety and provision. So when you walk in divine favor and peace, you will walk in blessings in every area of your life! But how do the undeserved favor and shalom of God increase in your life? It is not by your laboring or toiling to earn it. The Bible says that it comes as your knowledge of Jesus and His finished work increases. It comes as you learn more about and believe that through Jesus’ one sacrifice at the cross, God removed all your sins, gave you His righteousness as a gift and put you in Christ to enjoy everything Jesus has. God’s favor is multiplied in your life when you simply believe that the favor of God that is...

Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith... If you are sick, you must know that you are already healed because of the finished work of Christ. Don’t ask, “Do I have enough faith to be healed? Do I have the right kind of faith to be healed? What if I am lacking in faith?” You are focusing on yourself and your faith, instead of Christ and His finished work. You should be asking, “Did Jesus take away this sickness? If He did, then He must have done a perfect work.” In other words, fix your eyes on Jesus and His perfect work. AB Simpson, who lived in the 19th century, wrote an article entitled Himself . In it, he mentioned his exhausted nervous system, and broken-down heart which could have proved fatal any time. So he sought the Lord for healing. God showed him Matthew 8:17 , which says th...

1 Corinthians 11:29–30 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. Have you ever wondered why some Christians are weak and sick, and die young? I thank God that the Holy Spirit gives us the reason as well as the solution. In 1 Corinthians 11:29–30, He tells us clearly that the one reason some Christians are weak and sick, and die prematurely, is that they don’t discern the Lord’s body when they partake of the Holy Communion. Many believers don’t understand that the pierced, striped and slightly burnt bread, which represents the Lord’s body, is for their health and healing. And when they partake without discerning this truth, they partake in an unworthy manner. The reverse is true: If they discern accurately the Lord’s body, then they will be strong and healthy, and live long. ...

John 11:41 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. Jesus lived a life of thanksgiving. He always thanked His Father for what He had and for always hearing Him when He prayed. That was how He released miracles in His life. In the story of the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1–13), Jesus’ attitude was one of thankfulness. He took a little boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish, gave thanks and had them distributed. He gave thanks for the little that was there and the little multiplied. Not only did the people eat as much as they wanted, there were 12 baskets full of leftovers! So when you see the meager balance in your bank account, thank the Lord for what you have. That’s your “five loaves and two fish”. When you give Him thanks that He is your provider and the source of your supply, in spit...

2 Chronicles 20:15 …Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. When faced with a problem or challenge, we tend to ask ourselves, “What am I going to do?” And well-meaning family members and friends will come along and ask, “What are you going to do?” Jehoshaphat faced a multitude of enemies. But instead of focusing on what he would do, he prayed, “O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” (2 Chronicles 20:12 ) When we turn our eyes to God, we will hear Him say, “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s...You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stan...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” (Genesis 18:14 , NKJV) TODAY’S WORD   ...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.” (Psalm 107:23, NKJV) TODAY’S WORD ...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “...I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:19, NKJV) TODAY’S WORD   ...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “...And in an instant, suddenly, you shall be visited and delivered by the Lord of hosts...” (Isaiah 29:5–6, AMP) TODAY’S WORD   Throughout the Bible, we have examples of how God suddenly...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE "The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7, NIV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Your Creator can see things in you that other people cannot see. Sometimes people will try to push you down or make you feel insignificant. Sometimes our own thoughts will try to convince us that we don’t measure up. But God looks beyond the surface, beyond the mistakes you’ve made, beyond what somebody said about you and sees your incredible value. You may think, “Joel, I’ve messed up. I have blown it. I have failed. I’m all washed up.” No, God still sees more in you. God doesn’t just see what you are; He sees what you can become. You may have made some mistakes, but God still sees victory on the inside of you. People may have tried to push you down, but God sees you rising higher. Now, you’ve got to do your ...

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph...” (2 Corinthians 2:14, AMP) TODAY’S WORD  from Joel and Victoria In life, we all have to deal with the unexpected. Just because we’re believers, just because we’re good people or doing the right thing doesn’t make us exempt from trouble. The scripture says, “The rain falls on the just and the unjust.” When something unexpected happens or you find yourself facing a crisis, don’t automatically go into “panic mode” or just fall apart emotionally. Realize that the crisis is no surprise to God. It may be unexpected to you, but God knows the end from the beginning. He has solutions to problems that you haven’t even had yet. He has equipped you for every battle, and He goes before you to make your crooked places straight! Today, instead of focusing on your problem, focus on your God. Focus on the fact that He is with you. Remember that He is walking with you, leading and guiding you to a pl...

Ephesians 1:7 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace   Some Christians believe that although you have forgiveness of sins, you are not free from the penalties of your sins. In other words, you can still expect punishment from God. For example, some married Christian couples have been told that they are childless because God is punishing them for having had pre-marital sex. So although God has forgiven them of that sin, He still has to punish them for it. I am certainly not for pre-marital sex, but I want you to know that God, who is the only one who can fully appreciate the full value of His Son’s blood and who is completely satisfied by His Son’s sacrifice, is at rest in His heart today concerning your sins! That is why He is not against you even when you fail. Neither is He out to punish you when you sin. No, He still loves you, is for you and wants to help you overcome that sin. In the Old Testam...

Romans 5:5 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.   Today, we express hope as if we can’t be sure what will really happen. We say, “I hope I will win that prize. I hope it won’t rain tomorrow. I hope everything works out well.” But “hope” in the Bible is a confident and positive expectation of good. God wants you to have a confident expectation of good because as His child, He favors you. Because Christ is in you, the hope of glory (Colossians1:27), you can expect the glory of God to shine into every area of your life, including your family, job, ministry, health and finances! God’s Word says, “Now hope  does not  disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” You may have experienced disappointed hopes, but there is a hope that does not disappoint when you are conscious of how much God loves you. It is a ...

Leviticus 2:1 1 ‘When anyone offers a grain offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it.   The grain offering in the Old Testament speaks of Jesus’ sacrifice, and oil in the Bible speaks of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. So the grain offering of fine flour, which had oil poured on it, speaks of Jesus’ humanity being anointed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is fully God. But when He came to earth, He literally emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant. (Philippians 2:7) That is why He needed to be anointed of the Holy Spirit before He could begin His ministry. (John 1:33) Though fully God, He did things by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was anointed to bring the blessings of God into the lives of people. He first spoke of His anointing when He was preaching in His hometown—“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has  anointed  Me to preach the gospel to the poor…” (Luke 4:18) ...

Luke 2:40 40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.   The verse says that the grace of God was upon Jesus. The Bible also says that where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. (Romans 5:20) And when you put the two together, you may find yourself asking, “If the grace of God was upon Jesus, does it mean that He sinned?” No, Jesus did not sin. (2 Corinthians 5:21) So there must be another explanation as to why God’s grace was upon Jesus. There must be another explanation as to why someone can abound in God’s grace even when he has not sinned. Let’s look at the word “grace” when it is first mentioned in the Bible. Genesis 6:8 says that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord”. Noah’s name means “rest”. So the verse is telling us that rest found grace. In other words, when you rest, you find grace! So grace was upon Jesus because His life was a life of rest and trust in His Father. He said, “The Son can d...

Ecclesiastes 9:11 11 …the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.   God’s Word tells us that being faster, stronger and wiser does not automatically make you a winner in life. No, it is actually being at the right place at the right time that causes you to receive blessings. And God, who holds time and chance in His hands, is the only one who can put you at the right place at the right time. He did this for Ruth. She trusted God for favor when she went looking for a field in which to glean. (Ruth 2:2) Then, the Bible tells us that “she  happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech”. (Ruth 2:3) Of all the fields in Bethlehem, she happened to end up in Boaz’s field, and he was a close relative of Elimelech, her father-in-law. This meant that Boaz was her potential kinsman redeem...

John 21:9, 12 9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread…   12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Like many parents, Wendy and I pray for our daughter Jessica every night before she sleeps. When Jessica was two years old, we decided to pray that her diapers would not overflow during the night. Her diapers not overflowing might be a small thing, but we knew that it would give our little girl a comfortable sleep every night. And after we started praying for this, we noticed that her diapers did not overflow. That incident made me realize that our God is not just interested in the big things that affect us. He bothers and cares about the minor things that affect us too. There is nothing too insignificant for Him. So don’t be like some religious people who have this idea that God only wants us to bring the big issues to Him, and that He doesn’t want us to bother Him with small issues. Nothing could be...