“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement.”
Romans 12:3b
One of the things I have come to realize is that success with poor character is a futile endeavor! A person’s character is the single most important and influential quality in their developing leadership. A God-filled leader will exhibit true, godly character, in every area of their life and ministry.
The most famous Psalm-writer is also one of the most famous sinners, covering up his sin and thinking no one else would ever find out about it. Even today, many people fall into the same trap as David, believing the lie that they can get away with it. The Lord reprimanded David through the prophet Nathan saying, “But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the LORD” (2 Samuel 12:14a). David lost sight of the fact that as God’s anointed servant, all of his actions were constantly under scrutiny by God’s enemies. The Apostle Paul says the same about his life and actions, “…we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men” (1 Corinthians 4:9b) . God had so much more to give David, but his sin impeded the full measure of his prosperity. Instead, he opened the door for curses, bad behavior patterns and evil to come and reside in his house. God forgave his sins, but he did not take the curse from his life because Jesus Christ had not yet come to the world.
In spiritual terms, when there is an enemy that is subdued but not destroyed there is a spirit that can oppress a person. Although they may have a profound desire to be free from it, the spirit is more powerful and will dominate them. That person is totally sincere in not wanting to be conquered by it, but they feel like a slave because they cannot run or escape the situation. In order to eliminate the enemy and live in complete freedom we need the Spirit of God, who can act on our behalf when we have genuinely repented.
The love of Jesus is so great, that even if we have committed sins that are worse than David, He still forgives us. He takes away the curses from our lives. There is no greater love than that. If we truly repent, just as David did, by asking God for forgiveness, changing our attitude and renouncing our sin, He will extend His mercy to us. Then, the Lord will remove the curse from our lives and our families, from our finances and from our ministries. He will bless us greatly.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Having a subdued enemy is like a family that adopted a lion cub. This pet was the favorite animal of the family’s child and they believed that they succeeded in domesticating it. The cub was growing quickly and everything seemed to go well. Until one day, he tasted a drop of blood that proved to be just enough for his savage nature to be awakened. This caused the lion to kill the child. Something similar happens with those who have roots of greed, lust, and other sins in their hearts and have not truly uprooted them from their lives.
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“God heard my prayer, forgave me, set me free, restored and blessed my life.”
Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume One.
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.
