God's promise of forgiveness

 “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins” (Isaiah 43:25).

God’s memory is short when we ask for His forgiveness and repent of our sins. He promises to obliterate the very recollection of them from His mind when we turn to Him.

Thank you blessed God for your comforting words n promises to love me when I turn back from my sins. I praise You n worship You coz onli You can forgive my sins, have mercy on me n bless me ... Thank you Lord for Your mercy n kindness that surrounds me at all times. I earnestly pray to you to strengthen me to forgive those who sin against me, hurt me or don't talk to me... Thank you. In Jesus' name i pray .. Amen 

Take your place

 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ...And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

– Ephesians 2:4-6

God has raised us up to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! That's what the Word of God says. Very few of us have actually dared to believe this. We've uplifted Jesus. We've exalted Him--and rightly so! But at the same time, we've unwittingly belittled what He did by not allowing Him to bring us alongside Him.

That was God's purpose at Calvary: to bring us alongside Jesus. To make us what He already was.

You see, Jesus didn't need exalting. He was exalted before He ever came to this earth. He was already one with the Father. He didn't need to get authority over the devil--He'd never lost it!

He put on a physical body so that He could come to earth as a man and gain authority over sin and sickness, demons, fear, poverty and all the other curses that came when the law of death moved into the earth--and He did it. He succeeded. He mastered everything in the world of the intellect, everything in the physical world.

Before He ascended, He said, "All authority is given unto Me both in heaven and in the earth." Then He turned around and gave that authority to us by giving us His Name.

You and I are the reason Jesus came to earth and died and lived again. He didn't do it for Himself. He did it so He could bring us alongside. So we could wear His Name and wield His authority on the earth. He did it so that we could stand before God and be everything to Him that Jesus is.

When you were born again, you were made the righteousness of God in Christ! So as a born-again believer, dare to receive this message, to meditate on it and to act on it. Go ahead--dare to take your place!

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 2:1-13

Honor God in privacy

 Honor God in privacy. Christ was not impressed by the outward show of the Pharisees as they strutted about appearing to be humble and contrite. God cares little for outward showing. He insists that when you pray you do it secretly without expecting accolades or seen by others as saintly.

God walks with you

 But the person who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him.

– 1 Corinthians 6:17

I once heard about a great man of God who looked in the mirror every day when he put on his suit and said, "Suit, everywhere you go today, God goes in you." And you know, he's right. If you have united yourself to God by receiving Jesus as Lord, everywhere you go today...God goes too!

As believers, we need to start becoming more conscious of that. We need to train ourselves to be constantly aware of God inside of us, talking to us, teaching us, counseling us, empowering us, and enduing us with Himself.

We need to continually remind ourselves that we are one spirit with Him. That means that every time we face a problem, every time we face an evil spirit that tries to influence and hinder our lives, God is facing it too. When we meet those things, God meets them. And He's already overcome them!

Let me encourage you when you get dressed today to look in the mirror and say, "I am united to the Lord and I have become one spirit with Him. Body, everywhere you go today...God goes. God is in you. The power of God is in you. The wisdom of God is in you. The victory of God is in you."

Say that to yourself every day-- many times a day. Keep doing it until you begin to develop the habit of thinking that way. Cultivate a constant awareness of the reality of God living in you!

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:17-20

Choose life

 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

– Romans 8:6

If you were given the choice between life and death, which would you choose? The answer seems obvious. But, in reality, it's not.

You see, choosing death doesn't necessarily mean jumping from the nearest cliff. It's much more subtle than that.

The Bible says death is being carnally minded, being entangled in this present worldly realm. The Bible also tells us what life is. "My son, attend to my words," says Proverbs 4:20-22, "...for they are life!"

To be worldly-minded is death. To be Word-minded is life.

In Luke 10, there's a story that illustrates this principle extremely well. It's the story of Mary and Martha. You probably remember it. Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet listening to Him teach while Martha was bustling around in the kitchen cooking dinner for everyone.

Finally Martha couldn't stand it anymore. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work myself? Tell her to help me!" Jesus answered, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41-42).

Mary had set everything else aside, so she could hear the Word. But Martha had let the seemingly important business of living take priority over the Word. She'd chosen death, not life.

You see how easy it is to slip into that?

"But Brother Copeland," you say, "if I didn't spend all my time taking care of the business of living, my life would fall apart!"

Oh, really? Martha probably thought that too. She probably thought if she didn't cook dinner for all those folks, they'd go hungry. But they wouldn't have. Jesus had miraculously fed multitudes before and He could have done it again in Martha's home. She could have plopped herself down at Jesus' feet, and they could have had a banquet at God's expense!

Don't make the mistake that Martha did. Don't get so entangled in the business of living that you choose death by default. Decide to put the Word first place. Choose life!

Scripture Reading: Romans 8:5-13

Seek ye first ....

 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his 

righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto 

you” (Matthew 6:33).

Make God’s way a priority in your life, and everything 

else will fall into place.

When tough times come

 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

– Acts 9:31

There are times when life on this earth is hard and uncomfortable...and even downright painful. When those times come, you deeply need the comfort that only the Holy Spirit can bring.

How do you receive that kind of comfort?

By doing just what the believers in Acts did. By "walking in the fear of the Lord."

Now, when I talk about "the fear of the Lord," please understand, I'm not saying you should be afraid of God. He's your Father! You should be as secure and unafraid when you come before Him as a child who knows he is dearly loved. But you must also have so much respect for Him that whenever He reveals something you need to do, you do it immediately-- even if it goes against your natural desires. That's walking in the fear of the Lord.

Let me show you what I mean. Once, several years ago, I received a very disturbing phone call shortly before I was to preach at one of our meetings. It was painful news about a situation in which one of my children had been wronged. The news of it wounded my heart.

I cried, and in the natural, I wanted to get angry about it, to strike back in some way. But instead, I began praying in other tongues. As I prayed, I was prompted in my spirit to rejoice and praise the Lord.

I certainly didn't feel like praising. I felt like stomping my foot. But, out of respect to the Lord, I put my feelings aside and obeyed. Next, the Holy Spirit impressed me to read a particular prophecy. As I did, I could tell I was being strengthened.

Then suddenly, I realized I was free. By my obedience, I had opened myself to the comforting power of the Holy Spirit. The anger and pain that had filled me just moments before were gone! They had been replaced by the gentle love and reassurance of the Lord.

No matter how tough or painful a situation you may be facing today, trust and obey the directions of your Father. He will make that same supernatural, Holy Spirit-inspired comfort available to you!

Scripture Reading: Matthew 4:1-11