Author: Billy Conrad

June 16

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. — Philippians 3:10

Scripture reading: Philippians 3

Jesus had what Paul desired. Paul knew Jesus by revelation as we do. He did not know Him from being with Him in His human ministry as the other apostles did. Paul saw that Jesus lived in resurrection power. Paul wanted to gain the rest of faith, so he refused all hindrances and pressed on. He wanted to remove any interference that stood in the way of his knowing Christ. Before facing the Cross, Jesus told His disciples to “stay here and watch” (Mark 14:34) while He went further in the garden to pray.

One day Jesus came upon a funeral procession. A widow‘s only son had died, and Jesus‘ great heart had compassion for her. He touched her son in his coffin and said, “Young man, I say to you, arise” (Luke 7:14). Death had no power; it could not hold him: “He who was dead sat up and began to speak” (v. 15). Oh, compassion is greater than death, greater than suffering. Oh, God, give it to us.

One day, I saw a woman with tumors. In the condition she was in, she could not live out that day. I said, ― “Do you want to live?” She could not speak, but she was able to move her finger. In the name of Jesus, I anointed her with oil. Mr. Fisher, who was with me, said, ― “She‘s gone!”

It had been a little blind girl who had led me to this dying
mother‘s bedside. Compassion broke my heart for that child. I had said to the mother, ― “Lift your finger.” Carrying the mother across the room, I put her against the wardrobe. I held her there. I said, ―In the name of Jesus, death, come out.‖ Like a fallen tree, leaf after leaf, her body began moving. Upright instead of lifeless, her feet touched the floor. ― “In Jesus‘ name, walk,” I said. She did, back to her bed.

I told this story in the service. There was a doctor there who said, ― “I‘ll prove that.” He saw her and confirmed that the story was true. She told the doctor: ― “It is all true. I was in heaven, and I saw countless numbers all like Jesus. He pointed, and I knew I had to go. Then I heard a voice saying, “Walk, in the name of Jesus.‘”

There is power in His resurrection. There is a “righteousness which is from God by faith” (Philippians 3:9). Are we able to comprehend it? Can we have it? It is His love. It is His life in us. It is His compassion.

See that you understand and possess the righteousness of God. Do not miss it. Oh, do not miss knowing Christ! It is the “righteousness which is from God by faith”—the rest of faith.

Thought for today: We are here on probation to slay the Enemy and destroy the kingdoms of darkness, to move among satanic forces and subdue them in the name of Jesus.

June 15

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 3:14

Scripture reading: Philippians 3:1–21

God‘s Word is our food. If we do not edify ourselves with it, our needs will not be met. Let us preach by our lives, actions, presence, and praise, always being living letters of Christ. We should strive to be examples to all men of the truth contained in the Word of God.

Follow the truth, and do not abandon it. Always be watchful
for divine inspiration. If we were to go all the way with God, what would happen? Seek the honor that comes from God alone. Paul spoke about the desire to attain. He said that he reached for “the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). There is no standing still. We are renewed by the Spirit.

Abraham left his home and followed God to a new land (Genesis 12:1–4). We never get into a new place until we come out of the old one. We must model God‘s personality. We can never be satisfied to stay where we are spiritually, for the truth continues to enlighten us. We must move on, or we will perish. We must be obedient to the Holy Spirit who guides us.

Paul was a man who had kept the law blamelessly. He had
tried in his humanity to follow an ideal standard. Then Paul saw a light from heaven, and he was made new. Are you new? He was not with the other apostles, but he had been told of “the Word of life” (1 John 1:1). He had not yet attained to these ideal principles, but he had zeal. Before him was a challenge. He was to “go into the city” (Acts 9:6) where he would be told what to do. The present was nothing to him; he was motivated to follow God‘s command. Everything that had been important to him before, he now counted “loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus [his] Lord” (Philippians 3:8). His chief goal was to “gain Christ” (v. 8).

When Judas and the soldiers came after Jesus in the Garden, Jesus spoke, and the men fell backward (John 18:6). He, the Creator, submitted Himself to these men. Yet He said, “Let these go their way” (v. 8), referring to the disciples. When they abused Him, He did not retaliate. Paul understood these Christlike principles. He recognized the power of Christ, which is able to lift our humanity.

Jesus‘ followers sought to make Him a King, but Jesus retired to pray. Paul desired to “gain Christ and be found in Him” (Philippians 3:8–9). Oh, can I gain Him? Is it possible to change and change, having His compassion, His love?

In an effort to prevent Jesus from being taken, Peter cut off
Malchus‘s ear (John 18:10). Jesus put it on again. See the dignity of Christ, who comes to create a new order of life. May we “gain Christ and be found in Him” so that we might have the “righteousness which is from God by faith” (Philippians 3:8–9).

Jesus identified Himself with us. He came to be a firstfruit (1 Cor. 15:23). How zealous is the farmer as he watches his crops to see the first shoots and blades of the harvest! Jesus was a firstfruit, and God will have a harvest. What a lovely position to be children of God, perfectly adjusted in the presence of God and “found in Him” (Philippians 3:9)! You say, ―It is a trying morning, “or ―I am in a needy place.” He knows and understands your needs. When Jesus saw a great crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” (John 6:5). Jesus knew where the food would come from. He was testing Philip‘s faith. From a little boy‘s lunch, Jesus fed over five thousand. They were all filled, and twelve baskets of bread were left over (v. 13).

Thought for today: Although we are always striving for more of God, we have a sense of contentment in Him.

June 14

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
— Hebrews 4:16

Scripture reading: Hebrews 4

Friends, it is the purpose of God that you should rise into the place of sonship. Don‘t miss the purpose God has in His
heart for you. Realize that God wants to make of you the
firstfruits (James 1:18) and separate you unto Himself. God has lifted some of you up again and again. It is amazing how God in His mercy has restored and restored, and “whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:30). The glorification is still going on and is going to exceed what it is now.

Within your heart there surely must be a response to this call. It does not matter who is against us: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (v. 31). If there are millions against you, God has purposed it and will bring you right through to glory. Human wisdom has to stand still. It is “with the heart one believes unto righteousness” (Romans 10:10).

Brothers and sisters, what do you want God to do for you?
That is the question. What have you come here for? We have seen God work in horribly diseased bodies. Our God is able to heal and to meet all of our needs. The Scripture says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

Do you need to be healed of a critical spirit? The Scripture
warns: “Who shall bring a charge against God‟s elect?” (v. 33). I tell you, it is bad business for the man who harms God‘s anointed (1 Chronicles 16:21–22). “Who is he who condemns?” (Romans 8:34). How much of that there is today: brother condemning brother, everybody condemning one another. You also go about condemning yourself. The Devil is the “accuser of [the] brethren” (Revelation 12:10). But there is power in the blood of Christ to free us, to keep us, and to bring us healing.

Do not let the Enemy cripple you and bind you. Why don‘t you believe God‘s Word? There is a blessed place for you in the Holy Spirit. Instead of condemning you, Christ is interceding for you. Rest in this promise:

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38–39)

Beloved, you are in a wonderful place. Because you are sons and joint heirs, you have a right to healing for your bodies and to be delivered from all the power of the Enemy.

Thought for today: Because God has called and chosen you, He wants you to know that you have power with Him.

Get behind Me, Satan! — Luke 4:8

Scripture reading: Luke 4:1–13

Jesus was wounded so that He might be able to identify with your weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15). He took your flesh and laid it upon the cross so that “He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

You will find that almost all the ailments that you experience come as a result of Satan, and they must be dealt with as satanic; they must be cast out. Do not listen to what Satan says to you, for the Devil is a liar from the beginning (John 8:44). If people would only listen to the truth of God, they would realize that every evil spirit is subject to them. They would find out that they are always in the place of triumph, and they would “reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17).

Never live in a place other than where God has called you, and He has called you from on high to live with Him. God has designed that everything will be subject to man. Through Christ, He has given you authority over all the power of the Enemy. He has worked out your eternal redemption.

I was finishing a meeting one day in Switzerland. When the
meeting ended and we had ministered to all the sick, we went out to see some people. Two boys came to us and said that there was a blind man present at the meeting that afternoon. He had heard all the words of the preacher and said he was surprised that he had not been prayed for. They went on to say that this blind man had heard so much that he would not leave until he could see. I said, ―This is positively unique. God will do something today for that
man.

We got to the place. The blind man said he had never seen. He was born blind, but because of the Word preached in the afternoon, he was not going home until he could see. If ever I have joy, it is when I have a lot of people who will not be satisfied until they get all that they have come for. With great joy, I anointed him and laid hands on his eyes. Immediately, God restored his vision. It was very strange how the man reacted. There were some electric lights. First he counted them; then he counted us. Oh, the ecstatic pleasure that this man experienced every moment because of his sight! It made us all feel like weeping and dancing and shouting. Then he pulled out his watch and said that for years he had been feeling the raised figures on the watch in order to tell the time. But now, he could look at it and tell us the time. Then, looking as if he had just awakened from some deep sleep, or some long, strange dream, he realized that he had never seen the faces of his father and mother. He went to the door and rushed out. That night, he was the first person to arrive for the meeting. All the people knew him as the blind man, and I had to give him a long time to talk about his new sight.

I wonder how much you want to take with you today. You
could not carry it if it were substance, but there is something about the grace, the power, and the blessings of God that can be carried, no matter how big they are. Oh, what a Savior! What a place we are in, by grace, that He may come in to commune with us. He is willing to say to every heart, “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39), and to every weak body, “Be strong” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Are you going halfway, or are you going all the way to the end?

Thought for today: Do not be deceived by Satan, but believe God.

June 12

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said,
out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
—John 7:38

Scripture reading: John 7:37–8:12

I know that dry ground can be flooded (Isaiah 44:3). May God prevent me from ever wanting anything less than a flood. Through the blood of Christ‘s atonement, we may have riches and riches. We need the warming atmosphere of the Spirit‘s power to bring us closer and closer until nothing but God can satisfy. Then we may have some idea of what God has left after we have taken all that we can. It is like a sparrow taking a drink of the ocean and then looking around and saying, ―What a vast ocean! I could have taken a lot more if only I had room.

Sometimes you have things you can use, and you don‘t know it. You could be dying of thirst right in a river of plenty. There was once a boat in the mouth of the Amazon River. The people on board thought they were still in the ocean. They were dying of thirst, some of them nearly mad. They saw a ship and asked if they would give them some water. Someone on the ship replied, ―Dip your bucket right over; you are in the mouth of the river. There are a number of people today in the middle of the great river of life, but
they are dying of thirst because they do not dip down and take from the river. Dear friend, you may have the Word, but you need an awakened spirit. The Word is not alive until it is moved upon by the Spirit of God, and in the right sense, it becomes Spirit and Life when it is touched by His hand alone.

Beloved, “there is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High” (Psalms 46:4). There is a stream of life that makes everything move. There is a touch of divine life and likeness through the Word of God that comes from nowhere else. We think of death as the absence of life, but there is a death-likeness in Christ, who is full of life.

There is no such thing as an end to God‘s beginnings. We must be in Christ; we must know Him. Life in Christ is not a touch; it is not a breath; it is the almighty God; it is a Person; it is the Holy One dwelling in the temple “not made with hands” (Hebrews 9:11). Oh, beloved, He touches, and it is done. He is the same God over all, “rich to all who call upon Him” (Romans 10:12). Pentecost is the last thing that God has to touch the earth with. If you do not receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you are living in a weak and impoverished condition, which is no good to you or anybody else. May God move us on to a place where there is no measure to this fullness that He wants to give us. God exalted Jesus and gave Him a name above every name. You notice that everything has been put under Him.

The tide is rolling in. Let us see to it today that we get right
into the tide, for it will hold us. God‘s heart of love is the center of all things. Get your eyes off yourself; lift them up high, and see the Lord, for in Him, there “is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:4).

If you went to see a doctor, the more you told him about yourself, the more he would know. But when you come to Doctor Jesus, He knows all from the beginning, and He never prescribes the wrong medicine. Jesus sends His healing power and brings His restoring grace, so there is nothing to fear. The only thing that is wrong is your wrong conception of His redemption.

Thought for today: I will not settle for small things when I have such a big God.

June 11

You may be filled with all the fullness of God. — Ephesians 3:19

Scripture reading: Ephesians 3

Some people come with very small expectations concerning God‘s fullness, and a lot of people are satisfied with a thimbleful. You can just imagine God saying, ― Oh, if they only knew how much they could take away! Other people come with a larger container, and they go away satisfied. God is longing for us to have such a desire for more, a desire that only He can satisfy.

You women would have a good idea of what I mean from the illustration of a screaming child being passed from one person to another. The child is never satisfied until he gets to the arms of his mother. You will find that no peace, no help, no source of strength, no power, no life, nothing can satisfy the cry of the child of God but the Word of God. God has a special way of satisfying the cries of His children. He is waiting to open the windows of heaven until He has moved in the depths of our hearts so that everything unlike Himself has been destroyed.

What a wonderful, divine position God intends us all to have, to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is something so remarkable, so divine; it is, as it were, a great open door into all the treasury of the Most High. As the Spirit comes like “rain upon the mown grass” (Psalms 72:6 KJV), He turns the barrenness into greenness, freshness, and life. Your dryness becomes springs, your barrenness becomes floods, your whole life is vitalized by heaven, and you begin to live as a new creation.

No one needs to go away empty. God wants you to be filled. My brother, my sister, God wants you today to be like a watered garden, filled with the fragrance of His own heavenly joy, until you know at last that you have touched the immense fullness of God. The Son of God came for no other purpose than to lift, to mold, and to remold, until “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16).

Thought for today: The Spirit of the living God sweeps through all weaknesses.

June 10

Free from Sin

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. — Romans 8:1–2

Scripture reading: Romans 8:1–17

The Spirit of the Lord wants to bring you into revelation. He
wants you without condemnation. What will that mean? It
will mean a great deal in every way, because God wants all
His people to be clear witnesses so that the world will know we belong to Him. More than that, He wants us to be “the salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13); to be “the light of the world” (v. 14); to be like cities built on a hill so that they cannot be hidden (v. 14). He wants us to be so “in God” (1 John 4:15) that the world will see God in us. Then they can look to Him for redemption. That is the law of the Spirit. What will it do? “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” will make you ―free from the law of sin and death.” Sin will have no dominion over you (Rom. 6:14). You will have no desire to sin, and it will be as true of you as it was of Jesus when He said, “The ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” (John 14:30). Satan cannot influence; he has no power. His power is destroyed: “The body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Rom. 8:10).

To be filled with God means that you are free. You are filled
with joy, peace, blessing, and strength of character. You are transformed by God‘s mighty power.

Notice there are two laws. “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” makes you “free from the law of sin and death.” “The law of sin and death” is in you as it was before, but it is dead. You still have your same flesh, but its power over you is gone. You are the same person, but you have been awakened into spiritual life. You are a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17), created in God afresh after the image of Christ. Now, beloved, some people who conform to this truth do not understand their inheritance, and they go down. Instead of becoming weak, you have to rise triumphantly over “the law of sin and death.” In Romans, we read, “I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin” (Rom. 7:25).

God wants to show you that there is a place where we can live in the Spirit and not be subject to the flesh. We can live in the Spirit until sin has no dominion over us. We reign in life and see the covering of God over us in the Spirit. Sin reigned unto death, but Christ reigned over sin and death, and so we reign with Him in life. Through the agony He suffered, He purchased our blessed redemption.

Thought for today: In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus restored to you everything that was lost in the Garden of Eden.