A Devotional by Pastor Cesar Castellanos
Today’s Bible Verse
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of the robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.”
Luke 10:30
The Power of Compassion
When a person suffers from a physical wound they require the immediate application of an antiseptic to avoid infection. Just as it occurs in the natural realm, so it also happens in the spiritual realm. In the same way that an untreated physical wound becomes infected, a spiritual wound lacking divine healing will lead to a spiritual infection of the soul. This infection produces bitterness, hatred, revenge, depression, loneliness, sadness and other negative consequences.
One of the enemy’s strategies is to gain entry into peoples’ lives in a very subtle way. He works to gain ground silently until he has complete control over them. Hidden, inner wounds are one way he does this and often the deepest wounds we suffer are caused by those who are the closest to us including our spouse, our children, our parents or our siblings. Remember that through such things, Satan wants to rob us of all hope and happiness. These kinds of wounds drain our strength and leave us without the will to deal with the pain of deep emotional hurts. In the very moment that our guard is down, we accept defeat and begin to believe that failure is a permanent feature of our lives. We need to understand that this last statement is not true! God’s purpose for us is to have complete peace and freedom from every kind of oppression. Nevertheless, we must face the fact that life is not always easy and straightforward. The Bible says, “But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him” (Luke 10:33-34).
Something to Think About
A professor at a School of Medicine that is known worldwide asked his students to decide on a problem of medical ethics. He said, “This is the story of a family. The father has syphilis, the mother has tuberculosis, and together they have had four children. The first one is blind, the second one died, the third one is deaf, and the fourth one has tuberculosis. Presently, the mother is pregnant once more. They are willing to have an abortion, if you decide it is the necessary action to take. What do you recommend?” The students gave various individual opinions. Then the professor asked them to separate into groups to discuss the problem with each other. All the groups returned to say that they would recommend the abortion. “Congratulations,” the professor said, “You have just taken the life of Beethoven!”
Prayer
“Dear loving God, thank You for thinking about me. Thank You for forming me in my mother’s womb. Thank You for giving me the privilege of seeing Your eyes when I was just an embryo. Thank You for having planned all of my life in such a detailed way. Thank You for choosing me for Your service. I Love You God. Amen.”
Declaration
“There will be no sadness in me, because the Lord will comfort me.”
Today’s Bible Reading
- Old Testament: 1 Kings 1; Psalm 119:1-8
- New Testament: Luke 1:1-25; Ephesians 1:1-14