A Devotional by Pastor Cesar Castellanos
Today’s Bible Verse
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13
How to Be Spiritually Strengthened
Those who lived at the end of the Nineteenth Century foresaw that the Twentieth Century would be a time of glory due to the expectation of scientific advances. We now live in the Twenty-first Century and it is discouraging. We see political corruption, anarchy, violence, threats of nuclear confrontation, infidelity, sexual perversion, debauchery, atheism, occultism, drug addiction, alcoholism, youth rebellion, and so many other things around us. This leads us to the conclusion that neither the scientific advances, nor intellectualism, nor political or administrative organizations, nor the proliferation of so many religions have been able to change the heart of man. This is why the Lord said to the prophet Jeremiah: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
Human beings have pretended to fill the great void that is in their hearts with external things. We think that happiness depends on money, on the person that we marry, on the place that we live in, on the people who surround us, on fame or social prestige that we maintain, etc. However, the day will come when everything unavoidably ends, and their situation will be worse than it was when it began. You may know of people who are very wealthy, yet are very unhappy. Those people would often be willing to trade it all in order to enjoy the smallest amount of peace and joy. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
It is important for people to understand that within each of us there is a spiritual nature that is crying out to be revived. Its life has been ebbing away due to its separation from God. There are so many that have gone through long periods of spiritual drought where their souls thirst and cry out for the water of His Word, which is the only thing that can truly revive them. They are determined not to listen and quiet the voice of their conscience. They don’t realize that the solution is so simple. The only thing they have to do is stop, turn their eyes to God, repent for having veered from the path, and ask that the water of life would return to their hearts. The Apostle Paul said, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3).
Something to Think About
After my conversion, I did not have a clear direction for my new life with Christ. I had met Jesus without the help of a mentor. Even though I did not have a specific place for my times of prayer, every day I would take a walk and so I used that opportunity to speak with the Lord. I would do this for about two hours. On one of those nights, I walked by a small church where I heard music playing and people singing. I stopped to observe, but the impression I got was a negative one. I thought they were religious fanatics, and I said to myself, “This is not for me.” I decided to get away from that place, but when I tried to move, I felt like I was paralyzed. My body would not respond. It was then when I heard a voice telling me, “You have to go inside.” I responded, “But I don’t like it.” Once again the voice insisted, “You have to go inside.” I had no other option. When I entered that place, the initial negative impression that had come to my mind had now disappeared, and I felt an environment of peace. When the preaching began, I marveled at the knowledge that they had of the Bible. One of the texts that they shared that day was, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). From that moment on, a great desire to know the Holy Spirit of God awoke within me. I understood that to know Jesus is to experience salvation, but to know the Holy Spirit is to have strength that will sustain us while on this earth. I understood that He is the only one who can guide us, and that without Him it would be practically impossible to finish the race in our Christian life.
Prayer
“Dear God, thank You for revealing to me that Jesus Christ is my Savior. Thank You, because when my soul was dry, You gave me the water from the fountain of Life, and I was revived by the power of Your Spirit. Thank you, because you broke my chains and you taught me that abundant life is only found by your side. I love You, my Lord. Amen.”
Declaration
“I sought God and He found me, I cried out and He revived me, I believed and He delivered me.”
Today’s Bible Reading
- Old Testament: 1 Chronicles 1-2; Psalm 123-124
- New Testament: Luke 7:11-17; Colossians 1:1-14