“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

What did God have in mind when He decided to create mankind? This question may be in the minds of many people as we see the way human beings behave. However, there is no room for doubt that God was able to picture in his mind a being capable of living according to, and reflecting, His character and His will. For this reason, He breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life. In the same way God reigns in the heavens, He wanted man to reign on the earth, exercising his authority over all things. God reproduced His character and likeness in this first human being, just as the Apostle Paul expressed it in this way, “For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). God designed a righteous, loving, happy man who could live with others in society and fellowship together. Above all of that, he also could enjoy an intimate and permanent communion with the Creator since God had reproduced His own personality in man. However, when man sinned, his personality was altered by the influence of adverse, negative powers. God in His mercy opened a new path through faith in the person of the Lord Jesus. Anyone who has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior will have the seed of life planted deep inside them so that they can become a partaker of God’s same nature. The Apostle Paul said that when we avail ourselves of the promises of God we become partakers of His divine nature, being led by the Spirit of God. This takes us on to become people of steadfast principles, having the right attitudes and governed by self-control. By this we can reflect, in all our actions, the nature and character of Christ that can only be achieved through a life of faith.

Faith in God is above all human senses and is born in the heart through His Word. “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Faith in God’s Word is like a seed, and when planted in our hearts, it produces fruit for eternal life. God uses different channels in order to bring faith into our lives: through a text in the Bible, a teaching, some preaching, or simply in our daily lives as we share time with those people that have faith in the Lord. Once faith has been born in us, it will always be available to protect us and bless us in the moment we need it most.

Our faith is like a newborn baby, which opens its eyes to begin to discover its surrounding world. After our faith is born, our spiritual eyes are opened to the invisible world where Christ reigns so that we may see and discover the rich blessings that await us in God’s wonderful world.

Faith is for now; hope is for tomorrow. Some confuse faith and hope, and they think, “I know that in the future it will go better for me,” or, “One day I will be healed,” or, “I believe that soon my home-life will change,” or even, “I know my finances will improve,” etc. We should understand that this is not faith; rather, this is hope. One of faith’s ingredients is the substance; I can say that the substance is like a rope and hook that manages to latch onto hope and draw it into the present, and that is when the miracle we desire happens.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
On one occasion a lady who goes to one of our meetings approached me and asked, “Can I speak with you?” “Of course,” I responded. “You cannot imagine how much I have grown in my faith these past days,” she commented. With this introduction she awakened my interest to listen to her; I thought she had something very important to share with me. “As you well know, most of us as women try to maintain our figure, and I allowed myself to be led by commercials that promoted a pill to lose weight quickly. I had been taking them for a month, but they caused havoc in my body. They destroyed my intestinal flora, and in the following couple of months my stomach and colon were not functioning correctly. It was as if evil had been wrought against me. The doctors drove me to despair, giving me just a few weeks to live. I knew that if I managed to attend one of your meetings and get you to pray for me, I would be healed. Thank God I was able to get to the Coliseum and on that day you said you would pray for the sick. I placed my hands over my body and prayed with faith. This is how I received my healing. God gave me a new stomach and a new colon; I have the x-rays from before and after my healing as a testimony to its truth. After this experience, my relationship with God has grown in an extraordinary way; I feel His presence continually close to me. I know that if He gave me the victory in this area of my life, He will do it for any other area where I am in need.” If this lady had not activated her faith to claim her healing, you probably wouldn’t be reading this testimony right now!

TODAY’S DECLARATION
“I am capable of obtaining everything I believe I can achieve.”

Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Three.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING

• Old Testament: Nehemiah 4-5; Proverbs 10:17-32
• New Testament: Luke 16:19-31; 2 Timothy 1:1-7