“Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.”
Proverbs 26:2
Any one can be a victim of the curse when they ignore what God has for them. The Lord Jesus was teaching His disciples how to pray and included this phrase in the prayer, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13). This shows us that the key that unlocks the door for the curse to enter is yielding to temptation. The strategy of sin is to keep a person away from God in order to have control over them. The Lord Jesus left a blessing within our reach. That blessing is there to protect us from falling into the Adversary’s trap. The curse can be compared to an abyss, with darkness, sickness, and filthiness amongst its different manifestations. In that pit we lose our identity, we become miserable and feel abandoned. However, the blessings of God are represented by abundant provision, good health, authority as well as the ability to do good deeds. The blessing gives us the capacity for sharing the abundance that God has given to us with others. We can receive all of this if we listen to His voice, keep His Word and put it in practice.
If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). “However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you” (Deuteronomy 28:15). King Solomon says that a curse never comes without reason. In order to know what a curse is, we must understand which area of our lives has been touched by the enemy. When something is out of order, it is likely to be the reason behind that curse. The curse is the effect of evil coming upon our lives. In Deuteronomy, the Lord gives us two opposing sides. On one hand, He presents the blessing and on the other hand, the curse. God said that the blessing is in hearing, understanding, keeping and putting His Word into practice. The curse comes when we do the opposite. This is evident when we close our ears to God’s Word. The Adversary knows this and seeks to fight with every available strategy so that we do not have time to study God’s Word. When we accept this, we go astray like sheep, each one of us choosing our own way. Then, we become aware that in order for God to redeem us He had to place the burden of our sins upon the shoulders of His Son, Jesus Christ. When Jesus reached the Cross of Calvary, He carried the entirety of the curse (Isaiah 1:6). There cannot be a greater demonstration of love than what the Lord showed us through the sacrifice of His only Son. For anyone who understands this and turns to Jesus with his whole heart, God will perform a miracle in his life. He will take every curse that he may have had and will place them on the body of His Son Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul received this great truth and was able to live according to the revelation of the Cross. That is why he said, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13).
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
During the convention we had in Singapore, a Pastor who is also a political figure in his community of about three million people, shared a great testimony with me. He said that the leader of his clan, who was close to dying, called him and told him that after he died, he wanted the Pastor to take his place and administer justice within the clan. Forty days later, this man passed away due to the sickness that had fallen upon him. However, some people did not agree with his decision. One day, after returning from a tribal reunion, someone told him that there was an ambush with men lying in wait to kill him. At first, he was scared, but then he said, “Why fear? My life belongs to God. If He wants me to continue living, I will be kept alive.” He began to walk alone and when he was going through some trees he felt bullets hitting him. Then he said, “Jesus, You are my Savior. You can save me from the bullets.” He was shot a total of 25 times and one of them remained inside him. He was taken to the hospital and after two months he recovered. The criminals were caught and each one of them was brought to him. He said to each one of them, “I forgive you.” The others members of the clan were angry because they wanted to kill the criminals, destroy them, take away their lands and deprive them of everything. But the Pastor told them, “No. My Lord Jesus taught me that if someone hits me I must turn my face and let him strike the other side of my face. This is what God has taught me.” He continued to say, “Now most of the clan are believers. That is how God is working in our lives. Every day there are new challenges in my country. Please pray for the Muslim community so that they may see the light of Christ and may enter into God’s kingdom.” (An Asian Christian Pastor who prefers to remain anonymous)
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“God’s blessing is upon my life, my home, my family, my church, and my city; I know that He will protect us.”
Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Four.
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.
