SCRIPTURE

“Do not remember the former things, Or ponder the things of the past. “Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even put a road in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert…”

(Isaiah 43:18-19 AMP)

DEVOTIONAL:

January 1^st ushers in a brand-new year, filled with personal ambitions, hopes and dreams. The challenges of last year are set aside. You may be one that writes down your  “New Year’s resolutions, believing that this year is going to be better than the last. That’s fine, God’s Word encourages us to “write the vision and make it plain…” (Habakkuk 2:2).

But, there’s something much better than New Year’s resolutions, and that’s the Word of God. Make your most important “resolution” this year to spend quality time, meditating the Scriptures. (See Joshua 1:8.) God’s promise to do a new thing in each of our lives will come to pass as we believe and confess His Word in faith.

Don’t fear or be discouraged that it looks impossible—with God all things are possible to him who believes. As God spoke to Israel, He is the God who puts a road in the wilderness, who makes a way where there seems to be no way. Do you feel you lack in some area—resources, time, strength, ability—that you don’t have what it takes? That is a lie of the devil. Your God is the God who creates rivers in the desert and supplies all that you need to enter into His good plans for you. (See Jeremiah 29:11.)

Have a happy and blessed New Year!

PRAYER:

Lord, I thank You that You have good plans and purposes for this new year. I thank You for the blessings and I let go of the troubles of last year. By faith, I receive the new thing that You are doing in my life and trust You to bring it to pass. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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(Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV)

DEVOTIONAL:

Merry Christmas!

As we celebrate the birth of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, let’s look at this week’s scripture, a prophecy about Him that was written 700 years before His birth. Though Jesus operated on earth as a man dependent upon the Holy Spirit, His Names, “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father” reveal His power and divinity while “Wonderful Counselor” and “Prince of Peace” describe His gentle and compassionate nature.

This humble, meek Savior, who sacrificed Himself for the salvation of man, His own creation, was with us for only a short season before He returned to the Father. But soon, Jesus will come again to reign upon the earth. His government will surpass all the governments of the earth in power and peace. The injustices, division and violence that now plague our fallen world will be no more, for Christ will establish His kingdom and uphold it with justice and righteousness when He comes, and He will reign forever.

This Christmas as we look upon the newborn baby in the manger and the angels singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men,” let us remember that this sweet little babe will majestically return to earth as the most powerful of all—“King of kings and Lord of lords!”

PRAYER:

Father, I thank You for sending Jesus to the earth as a newborn babe, born of a virgin. I give You glory as the angels sang that night so long ago. I thank You, most of all, that Jesus paid the ultimate price for my sins, so that I can be forgiven and spend eternity with You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man… (1 Timothy 1:8–9)

DEVOTIONAL:

Tithing is for the believer today. However, it is not to be done by the works of the law, but by faith. Scripture tells us, “Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man…” (1 Timothy 1:8). One of the reasons God chose Abram (Abraham) was because he would teach his children (Genesis 18:19). Abraham taught his family the things God taught him, which we can clearly see in the life of Jacob who said to God, “And of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth (tithe) unto thee” (Genesis 28:22). There is some dispute among theologians whether this is referring to the tithe or an additional offering. The point is Jacob knew about the tithe.

We see the evidence of tithing even in the time Jesus walked the earth. “But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Luke 11:42). Notice, Jesus told them not to leave the other undone. Jesus was saying don’t stop tithing.

The tithe acknowledges God as the Sovereign God, the “I Am,” God as person, eternal, self-sufficient, and self-contained. It says that we are stewards over this earth and we are under His Lordship. A steward exercises all the privileges of ownership, but is not the owner.

It is ironic that one of the main reasons some church folks don’t tithe is because of the fear of not having enough. However, if they will tithe (by faith), and connect up to God’s Word (the Covenant), they will always have enough. He will see to it. One of His names is El Shaddai, which means the Breasty One who nourishes and supplies, the God who is all-bountiful and all-sufficient.

My friend, are you ready to trust your all-sufficient God to meet all of your needs today?

PRAYER:

Dear God, I praise You as the all-sufficient God who will meet every need I have. I am a tither and I receive all of the benefits of tithing in my life and my household. I do not fear not having enough because I know that Your Word is true, and by faith, I will obey it in my giving of tithes and offerings. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s book, The Power of the Tithe. To order this must-read book, click here. Discover how you can live an abundant and protected life!

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…for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. (1 Samuel 2:30)

DEVOTIONAL:

God uses the tithe to re-train or renew our minds. Tithing keeps us pointed in the right direction toward God, who is our Source. A famer during the time of the Old Testament would bring in the crops when he went to harvest, and would set apart ten percent for God. Get this picture now. He has been waiting on this harvest for a couple of months, and now it finally comes in. It’s precious to him, yet he takes the tenth and honors God with it. God knows that this farmer could use all of it, yet he puts God’s portion aside.

When you honor someone or something, you treat them with special distinction and respect. You give them a special place and special recognition. We even have a term that we use when we financially bless the speakers that come to our church. We give them an honorarium.

God’s desire is to prosper us in every area—spiritually, mentally, physically, socially and financially. Tithing gives Him a channel or opens the door for those blessings to flow. I heard one man call it the “Covenant Connector.” God wants us to see Him as our Source and to know that He delights in the prosperity of His people. Through tithing (honoring God with our ten percent), He will bless us, protect us, and cause us to be honored. God said, “For them that honor me I will honor…” (1 Samuel 2:30).

PRAYER:

Dear God, I desire to honor You in every area of my life, including my finances. (If I have failed in this area), I repent now, and I purpose to set aside ten percent of my increase from this point on and faithfully return my tithe to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s book, The Power of the Tithe. To order this must-read book, click here. Discover how you can live an abundant and protected life!

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My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge… (Hosea 4:6)

DEVOTIONAL:

There is a profound truth in the book of Hosea. It reads, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6). There are many Christians who do not enjoy the blessings that are available to them merely because they do not tithe. Over the years, I have observed that there are people in the Church, from the newly born-again believers to the folks who have been in church for years, even ministers who do not tithe or are not faithful in their giving. These people seem to be the same ones who are constantly having financial problems or are trying to “make ends meet.” Almost every time, the root of the problem can be traced back to the area of tithing.

I define the tithe as ten percent (10%) of all legal and legitimate (justified in scripture) financial increase. The tithe literally means “the tenth portion.” That portion belongs to the Lord, and He trusts the Christian to bring it to Him. It is something you return to God, such as returning a rental car when you are finished using it. The car does not belong to you. It was never yours, only yours to use. God enables us to work a job, have a business, or come into an inheritance of which He has already counted out ten percent as belonging to Him.

There are many blessings that result from tithing such as protection, revelation, wisdom, miracles, strength, and success in life. Tithing is a basic Bible principle given by God, and when understood and acted upon in faith, it will bring great rewards!

PRAYER:

Dear God, all I have belongs to you. I thank You that I have the privilege of giving back to you a portion of what You’ve given to me, my tithe. As I act in faith, I receive all of the benefits of tithing: protection, revelation, wisdom, miracles, strength, and success in life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s book, The Power of the Tithe. To order this must-read book, click here. Discover how you can live an abundant and protected life!

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…The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
(Proverbs 13:22)

Devotion:

Men don’t rule the world system, satan does. He is the one pulling the strings, deceptively operating a Babylonian system of economics that he put in place after the fall of Adam in the garden of Eden, one that is doomed for destruction (see the book of Revelation, chapters 17 and 18).

This demonic system is based on buying and selling, and is almost completely opposite of God’s system, which is based on sowing and reaping, and guarantees our success and prosperity independent of the world’s economy. It’s up to us, the Church, to switch systems so we can fulfill what God has called us to do in the “Last Days.”

It will cost billions of dollars to bring in billions of souls to the kingdom of God. Today, under the world system, a great deal of the money that we need is in the hands of the wicked, and God wants it transferred into the body of Christ so we can get the gospel preached on the level God intended.

Satan controls the world through fear of not having enough. The only ones who will thrive independent of this demonic-controlled environment are those believers who operate in God’s law of sowing and reaping, seedtime and harvesting.

Are you one of those who have accepted God’s way to have abundance?

Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for Your kingdom way to abundant living and for winning billions of souls to Jesus Christ. I reject the world’s system ruled by satan and I accept Your way. From this moment on, I will operate according to your law of sowing and reaping, seedtime and harvest. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
(Proverbs 13:22)

Devotion:

There is provision that has been lying there, and even when God tells us to do something, we look at it and we begin to look at the cost. We bring the cost of this thing down, down, down until we can reasonably figure out how we can work for it or how we can get enough people together to make it happen.

Leave it alone! We need to receive what God tells us He’s going to do on the level that He gave it to us.

I’m saying that God is lavish. He is extravagant. Your desire for nice things didn’t come from you. It is the nature of God in you. Look around the throne of God! There is nothing cheap around there. There is gold. There are diamonds. I’m saying it’s time for heaven to come to earth. Now, for you to receive it, you cannot appeal to your senses. Because senses always bring human limitations and you must go beyond your human limitations.

Why? God wants you to receive it by grace through faith. Remember, you can’t pay for anything that comes out of heaven. God’s plan for the Church is not for us to hoard things as some people have done in the world, but to be distribution centers for God to eradicate systemic poverty in the world.

Are you ready to receive God’s extravagant blessings that He’s stored up for you?

Prayer:

Dear Lord, I am believing You for (Name something you have been praying about.). Thank you for Your extravagant blessing, and help me to recognize Your provision. I declare right now that I will no longer limit You with small thinking, but rather, I receive what You tell me You’re going to do on the level that You give it to me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s book, Training for Reigning. To order this kingdom-empowering book, click here. Discover how you can learn to live a life without limits!

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For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
(Romans 8:14–17)

Devotion:

In the United States, we live in a democratic society where our leaders are voted into office. But it’s not that way in some countries. You and I know that if a king rules over a country, that king does not ask the people of his kingdom to elect his son or daughter to be the next king or queen. If a king is in charge of a country, then the king’s child is the next in line to reign. In fact, oftentimes that child gets to rule in power with their father and mother because he or she is part of the royal family.

Well, as believers, you and I are children of God. We are new creations, a race of kings. Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

The suffering mentioned in this week’s scripture has nothing to do with suffering sickness or suffering some disease. That’s not the suffering he is talking about in this verse. We are partakers of His suffering, meaning that we have to stand for what Jesus died to provide when He suffered on the cross.

We have to stand against persecution and believe what Jesus taught us—that we can have victory in every situation!

Prayer:

Father, thank you for “adopting” me into Your own family. I call You, “Abba, Father.” I stand in faith now to receive all the promises Jesus bought and paid for on the cross in my behalf. Thank you that I can have victory in (Name a situation or concern you have.) In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s book, Training for Reigning. To order this kingdom-empowering book, click here. Discover how you can learn to live a life without limits!

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…and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
(Ephesians 2:6)

Devotion:

Stop thinking you’re just somebody stumbling through the earth “trying to make heaven your home.” The Bible says you’re already seated in heaven, in heavenly places. You’re walking in your body in the earth and you’re seated with Christ in your spirit in heaven. You’re in both places at the same time. You start getting this revelation and you will leave all the petty jealousies and all the strife that has hung people up behind you.

You’ll set your affections on things above. Having a billion dollars to you won’t be any different from having one hundred dollars because the true riches are in the anointing.

God is speaking to you right now…”Ok, get out of the boat, place a demand on that anointing! Let’s make that potential come out.” It’s time to expose who you really are and who He really is. The devil’s so scared that you’re going to come out and discover who you are because all of a sudden you’re going to tell him where to go, and tell those demons and disease where to go, too!

Prayer:

Father, I purpose to “get out of the boat” like Peter did when he walked on water. I now place a demand on the anointing to release my potential in Jesus to discover all that You’ve placed in me. I have power over the devil and every demonic attack he sends my way. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s book, Training for Reigning. To order this kingdom-empowering book, click here. Discover how you can learn to live a life without limits!

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Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
(Matthew 6:10)

Devotion:

Jesus walked on this earth with the purpose of bringing eternal life to the lost and training us to reign with Him. The things that He did and said were structured around and pointed back to the kingdom of God. He encouraged us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

Jesus got a handful of people and changed regions one at a time by the power of the Holy Spirit working through them. He is still changing regions one at a time with a handful of people—and He wants to use you! He wants to tap your potential. Perhaps you’ve had bad experiences in the past and now you’re a little shy about stepping out. I’m here to help you conquer that fear.

Expect more from yourself than what you did in the past because your potential is there, waiting to be used. Say this now, “Hey, I am not going to leave this earth with all this potential inside of me. Lord, let your kingdom come in my life here on earth this day, as it is in heaven.”

Prayer:

Father, I believe You have a great purpose and plan for my life. I receive the courage to step out in faith to be all that You’ve called me to be and to do all that You’ve called me to do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

This devotional is excerpted from Bill Winston’s book, Training for Reigning. To order this kingdom-empowering book, click here. Discover how you can learn to live a life without limits!

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