devotional

Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.” (Exodus 12:21-24)

One of the greatest revelations that God gave the people of Israel was Passover. It happened at a time of great uncertainty for the Jewish, as they lived under the oppression of Pharaoh; this lead the people to cry out to God for a miracle and to deliver them from this controlling spirit. God heard their outcry and sent Moses with the mission of freeing them from the yoke, but he gave this word of warning, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go” (Exodus 4:21).

With the fatherly heart that has always characterized our good God, he also said to Moses, “Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” (Exodus 6:6,7). God was talking about what was to happen in the coming days: redemption, judgment, miracles and protection. Freedom would come after redemption. Moses prepared the people of Israel to celebrate Passover, that way they would be protected from the last judgment that would be devastating for Egypt.

Every instruction given by Moses to the people, every teaching about Passover had to be everlasting and it was a symbol of what would happen when God sent His son to redeem humanity.

The important Passover elements were: The lamb, a prototype of Jesus, the lamb of God; the basin, the container that represents our life of faith through which we receive the benefits of the blood. The blood, which was to be collected in the basin, represented the blood of Jesus that one day he would shed for mankind. The hyssop, a model of our confession of how the blood of Jesus benefits each one of us.
The father was to apply the blood; he would paint the lintel and the doorframe of the house and no member of the household could leave until the following morning.

Something to think about
Through our faith in Jesus we have been included in God’s family, He is our Great Deliverer who submitted the spirit of the oppressor, and through His blood gave us protection.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for thinking of me by coming to redeem me. I acknowledge that you have given me complete freedom and you will keep me from falling in the enemy’s trap.

Declaration
“The hand of the Lord redeems me and the power of the Lord delivers me”.

A little while ago, my daughter María Alejandra came home from school telling me that one of her friends had hurt her and that she was very sad.

The hurt came about because there were already enough players for a game they were playing and no-one else could play. For a little six-year-old girl this is a terrible insult, especially if it comes from someone she considers a friend.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 4:23 that above all things we guard we must guard our hearts, for from it flow the springs of life. As believers, we have a daily responsibility to guard our feelings, thoughts and emotions from anything that might hurt or wound our hearts. Learning to do this helps us mature.

We can’t be like six-year-old girls allowing others’ attitudes, words or circumstances to hurt us, making us bitter, sad or resentful, or worse, robbing us of God’s peace and joy.

You are the one who determines what your thoughts, feelings and reactions will be. In Hebrew, the verb to guard comes from the word Shamar, which means to close something in or put limits around it; shepherds used it in talking about caring for their sheep and keeping them enclosed where they would graze so that nothing would harm them.

It’s the same with our hearts – God asks us to establish limits, and if something has hurt us we must learn to take it to the cross, leave it there and carry on with our lives.

For many years I struggled in my heart and my thoughts and was easily offended. Any little discussion with my parents, a boy I liked, discussions with my friends and my mind would get carried away…in the end I was miserable, because my feelings got so easily hurt. And what’s in our hearts is what we convey to those around us.   

But one day I understood that I had a responsibility to guard my thoughts because God was asking me to have a healed heart that could love and be happy.

Today, decide to be happy and enjoy the peace that Jesus gives us, guarding your heart, not allowing anything or anyone to offend you, and leaving everything that might hurt you at the cross.

See you soon!

Following our large conference “Reaching Your Generations”, God has brought an amazing awakening. Prophet Morris Cerullo gave a word from God that there would be changes and the most important change has clearly been on the inside of us. All of us have thought patterns in every area which have been forming since childhood. These patterns have defined our thoughts, feelings, actions and, therefore, the outcomes we've experienced. Everything you are today in every area of your life - spiritual, personal, family, financial and ministerial - is a direct result of these thought patterns, which must be dealt with at the root. If you are unhappy most of the time, if you are not doing well financially, if you don't have a good family, if you are frustrated with your work, if you've tried several times to start your ministry and nothing's happened, you need to make changes at the root rather than the outside.  

It works exactly the same with a tree. The fruit a tree produces is the direct result of how the tree is performing at the root. If the fruit is bad, removing it isn't enough to cure the problem. Changing the fruit at the branch is impossible, so what should you do? Work at the root, that's the key. Perhaps you have been programmed from a child by words about happiness, money, serving God, consecrating yourself to the Lord and in many other areas of daily life. You were defined by the words of your parents, close relatives, teachers, the media, those in authority, and many other influences that left you with negative thoughts completely opposed to God's thinking as shown in His Word. God says: “I have only good thoughts, never bad thoughts, towards you. I am your light and your salvation. Do not fear. I will keep you. I want to bring you out of slavery so that you will never walk with your head bowed low, only with your head high. When you lift up your eyes, you will know for sure where your help comes from. Delight yourself in me, rejoice in me, and then I will give you all the desires of your heart. I have come that you may have life and life to the full. I came into your life at just the right time to undo the works of the devil. I am your shepherd so you will never lack anything.” God is saying to you: “I've got it for you”, like in many other verses in the Bible that talk about who God is to us and what we are to him.  

This truth can completely change your life. Jesus said: “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32), so do you see what you have to work on? The root. Only when you start praying to God with all your heart, reading the Word with passion, having that desire and desperation to receive the Truth in your heart and you do it every day, speaking out these truths and living in contrast to your old thoughts patterns, even those you developed yesterday. I am totally convinced if you do this that you will experience powerful, supernatural change enabling you to live a life of fullness and victory and therefore fulfilling the perfect will of God on this earth, with a purpose and destiny that he planned for you, and you will also be a blessing to mankind beginning in your place of influence, whether small or great.  

I have just finished a youth event in Brazilia, Brazil, and it was fantastic to see over 6,000 youth crying out for change, for a passion for God and His Word. I know that God has started a great revival in Brazil among the youth and families through the G12 Vision. I was also in my friend Laudjair Guerra's church - what a great man full of passion for God and the Vision.  

So, we are going to change at the root. See you next time. Remember these are times of change for the better. Yours in Christ. Much Love.