A Devotional by Pastor Cesar Castellanos
Today’s Bible Verse
He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
Exodus 17:16
From a Negative to a Positive Mindset
Israel had already faced two strong adversities at the beginning of their journey through the wilderness. First they had faced thirst and then hunger. Now it’s their time to face a powerful army. Although Israel had a peaceful attitude, its enemies, on the contrary, had only evil desired for that nation. As their spiritual leader, Moses went to the top of the hill to intercede before God on behalf of his nation. But something caught the attention of the ones who were close to Moses. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up. One on one side, and one on the other so that his hands remained steady till sunset. Joshua overcame the Amalekite army that day (Exodus 17:8-13)
Amalek represents a spirit of negativity that operates by sowing pessimistic, disappointing and contradictory thoughts in people’s minds. Generally, this spirit manifests when we set out to conquer something. Similar to what happened to the people of Israel after their great victory over the army of Pharaoh, now, Amalek wanted to stand in the way. The spirit of Amalek is very deceitful. It works in the minds of people, and even leaders by choosing those in the perfect position to spread rumors or negative words, especially when somebody is determined to move forward. The order God gave through Moses was as follows, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation” (Exodus 17:16). In the times of King Saul, God’s order for him was, “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys” (1 Samuel 15:3). In other words, this verse teaches us that we must destroy all that is affected by negativity. You must completely remove it from your life and uproot it from your heart. However, King Saul didn’t obey God’s orders and God moved away from him. The prophet Samuel rebuked him on behalf of the Lord saying, “Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?” (1 Samuel 15:19). As believers in Jesus we must fill our minds with the Word of God that will keep us from being contaminated by negativity and will give us the strength to uproot all that is trying to intimidate us.
Something to Think About
Alfredo is a Pastor of tremendous charisma and has a special grace to reach people with the Gospel of Christ, so I asked him, “How did you come to Christ?” He laughed and told me, “When I was thirty-three years old I was deeply depressed and experiencing such an emotional crisis that I had decided to jump from the sixth floor of a building. That night when I was going to step over the railing to end it all, I lifted one foot over and just as I was going to lift up the other one I felt two hands grab me from behind. Those hands held my shoulders firmly, and pushed me back, pressing me down against the floor of the balcony. With adrenaline pumping through my body, my heart racing, I desperately tried to turn and see who this person was but I couldn’t do it because he was so strong. After several minutes, I caught my breath and the hands let me go. I immediately turned to see who he was but I found no one. Stunned but with an unusual sense of peace I sat on the floor of the balcony and I looked down thinking I would probably be lying dead on the street by now. Then I realized I would have been such a fool, because the world would go on as always, I thought that my problem was big enough to end my life. After that experience I knew God had protected me because He had something big for me to accomplish. So, I decided to consecrate my life to serve God. Today we serve the Lord as a family.” (Alfredo Mora)
Prayer
“My God, I know that in my daily walk through this world You take my hand and You protect me from any attack of the enemy. You also protect my mind from the deceptions the devil wants to sow in my thoughts. Thank You for your blessed Word that has been sowed into my heart instead and has become a mighty fortress that avoids any negative thoughts. Thank You because with Your victory at the Cross You uprooted all the negativity that had contaminated my mind. I love You Lord Jesus. Amen.”
Declaration
“Faith in Jesus and perseverance in prayer defeat the negative spirit in my mind and in my heart.”
Today’s Bible Reading
Our Bible Reading Plan gives 25 daily readings per month. There is no scheduled reading for today. You can use this time to catch up on any readings you may have missed, or read through previous passages again.
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