A Devotional by Pastor Cesar Castellanos

Today’s Bible Verse

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Romans 10:17

Receiving Divine Promises

“I used to close my Bible and ask for faith. Now I open my Bible and begin to study; and since then my faith has not ceased growing.” (D.L. Moody)

Faith is not in us; it is in God. When we come into contact with His Word our minds are opened and we come to know His will for our lives.

Paul said that faith comes when we attentively hear the Word of God and obey what it says. In order for faith to come, first it is necessary to repent. God has to clean our life of sin and break any bondage we may have. Then the Lord says to us, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” (Psalms 32:8). Once the chains of oppression and the curse of sin are broken, the divine Word can be understood with greater clarity. As we understand what God tells us, faith comes alive in our hearts. Paul said, “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:10).

Hearing the Word leads us to believing it, and believing it elevates us to having a genuine faith that motivates us to confess it. Faith is necessary in every area of life. The author of the letter to the Hebrews says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

A believer who is grounded in the Word of God must be prepared to enter into the dimension of faith. The Bible says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—” (Ephesians 2:8).

When we enter into Jesus’ salvation, we obtain the “passport” for eternal life – through faith in Him! This same faith allows mankind to unleash the power of God in every area of their lives. Faith is the only requirement that God demands of us in order to draw near to Him. The Lord requires only faith as the prerequisite to having an intimate relationship with Him. It is one thing is to know that God exists, but it is another thing altogether to have a personal and permanent relationship with the Author of Life. This can only be achieved through faith.

Faith is essential and can never, for any reason, be substituted or changed. All of us by nature believe in something or in someone, but faith goes much further. It gives us the certainty of the existence of a Superior Being, and the complete conviction that He lives inside us.

Something to Think About

A few months after the assassination attempt on our family, we attended church together one Sunday. As we visited a church in Houston, Texas, my wife heard God’s voice tell her, “You will have a son.” Although this was not humanly possible, we agreed with the word and said that it would be so. The months went by and nothing happened. I told my wife that perhaps the Lord was referring to the ministry. Ten years later, an option to adopt presented itself. Claudia spent almost the entire night asking for God’s direction in this matter and God spoke to her from the Bible where it says, “Do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard and you will bear a son, and you are to call him John, which means gift from God. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord” (Luke 1:13-15). In the morning, my wife said to me, “God spoke to me about the baby.” This is how our son Matias came. His name means, “Gift from God”. He is the son of the promise, who came in a way that we could never have imagined. He has been a source of so much blessing, bringing immense joy to our lives.

Prayer

God Almighty, thank You for the way that You awakened me into faith. It is through faith that I have been able to find grace before Your eyes. I have been able to relate to You through each one of Your promises, which were recorded in Your word for me. Every time I have needed them, they have been there, readily available. They have never let me down, they have been with me to counsel me in the tough decisions in life. They have directed me in the right path. I love You, Lord Jesus, Amen.

Declaration

I keep the promises of God in the deepest depths of my heart.

Today’s Bible Reading

• Old Testament: Obadiah 1; Job 33:12-33
• New Testament: John 17:20-26; Revelation 9