“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
Deuteronomy 6:5
The desire of God’s heart is to have a relationship with each one of His children. However, when we launch into the challenge of relating to God, we realize that it is so wonderful that we are convinced He exists. Although we cannot see Him, we need make an extra effort to keep a good level of daily faith in order to stay in fellowship with Him. Dr. Cho shared that there were times when he went to bed with the greatest faith in the world, but when he was sleeping at night it was like his faith grew wings and flew away. This implied that he needed extra effort to keep faith alive in his spirit. When the Lord called me to the ministry, He spoke to me about the size of the ministry and He gave me some guidance that would help me to fulfill His dream. He spoke to me about the order of priorities in my life telling me the following:
1. God must be the number one priority of your life.
Many people believe in God, but they are not in love with Him. What the Lord taught me was that I must live my life completely in love with Him. Just believing in God is not enough; the demons also believe in Him and tremble at His name. God wants us to love Him with all our mind, soul and strength. From the moment we open our eyes in the morning we must tell Him that we are in love with Him. God desires for us to feel His presence with every breath we take. He wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him. I am not talking about loving Him in a religious way, but that we have a deep relationship with God’s Spirit.
2. Your life is very important because it is the channel through which His Spirit flows.
We have to take good care of our bodies. This includes being disciplined when eating, taking special care every day to look after our physical health. We have to take care of our minds too, which has to do with what we read, watch, and listen to. We must treasure in our minds the river of His Word; as it runs contrary to the tide of this world. We also have to control our emotions. If we were hurt in our childhood, God’s grace can reach into the deepest places of our being and give us total healing. Feelings are very important because our lives are instruments and tools that God uses and He needs a sanctified tool for His work.
3. Your family must be a model.
God taught me that I could not have an ordinary family, but I must have the best one in the world. I had to love my wife and my children with all my heart and be an example to them. We must place our family before the ministry.
4. We must develop the ministry.
Although the family comes before the ministry, it is important to understand that the family we form must be motivated by our example in the ministry. This will lead them to develop in their own ministry. I know that in these last days, God is bringing a spiritual awakening within the family. Contrary to the past, families are no longer happy by being passive members in their communities. There is a passion and a desire in them to extend the work of the Lord. He is raising priestly families.
5. There is also secular work.
Work is important, but if it takes primary place, it brings a breakdown in the spiritual, physical and ministerial areas of family life. Let’s seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things will be added to you. Start by setting goals in order to be more productive. Begin by declaring that God is going to bring twice the level of prosperity you are experiencing now.
Allow the love of God to flow through your whole being and without hesitation give yourself to Him. Ask the Lord to bring order into your life and you are going to experience happy and unforgettable moments under the shadow of His wings. Submit yourself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and depend totally on Him in everything that you do. Then, you are going to enter into a new dimension of growth and power.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Developing a home goes further than having a beautiful house, good furniture, precious objects or elegant decorations. The key to having a good home is constant contact with the Word of God, because the Bible can help you grow in your self-control, patience, and faith. Both the successes and the failures of a marriage depend on how divine instructions are obeyed, and every home will have its own particular trials. God’s word alludes to them in the parable of the Two Houses in Matthew 7:24-27:
1. Rains are the first trial and can symbolise the adjustments of the first years of marriage.
2. Rivers can be likened to financial problems, where debts try to drown the relationship of the couple and lead them to desperation.
3. Winds are the strongest areas of trials. They could be compared to winds of infidelity that would spoil any home.
Claudia and I have been married for more than thirty-four years. Since the first day of our marriage we made the decision that the foundation upon which our home would be established would be the Word of God. Since then, every step that we have taken has been under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, because we have based everything on the Scriptures. When there have been differences, we never try to solve them by shouting. However, we sit down and have a discussion, because we know that the Word has an answer for each one of our problems.
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“God’s priorities are placed in my heart; I know that each day they assure me of His protection.”
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.
