Devotional for friends // Devocional para as amigas

As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice,     do not harden your hearts     as you did in the rebellion.” Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. (Hebrews 3: 15 – 19) Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shal...

I like Gideon’s story because I used to use it to justify my lack of faith. Although if I had seen an angel, I probably wouldn’t doubt it. But when hard times come, we tend to be more skeptic because our mindset is: “If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” ( Judges 6 :13) Isn’t that right? However, we usually forget our sins. The idols we have put in our lives, our disobedience. We certainly are not praying as much as we should; we have let other things become a priority. It is not like God is punishing us, they might as well be simply the consequences of our disobedience. Then when God decided to help, He wants to know what is in our heart. So, He demands to tear down all our idols. Are you willing to do that? Your job, your career, your friends, your family, your bank account, your health, the food, the entertainment, and so on.   Make God priority again. Yes, you doubt because you think all your priority was...

Se você quer mudar o mundo, comece com você mesmo. Mahatma Gandhi As soon as I realized that being a nutritionist would be the hardest job on earth, just like being a Physical Educator, I said to myself: I give up. I cannot change a person’s heart. I cannot change a person’s lifestyle; because your eating’s habit is something that you have been building throughout your life. And I understand that the person has all authority over his own life and habit; therefore, the changing cannot come from outside, it must come from inside. I have two things in mind here. One is Israel’s story. After Joshua had died, it came the time of the judges for Israel. They had no king or president. From time to time, a judge was raised up to judge the people. But whenever they were alone with their pagan neighbors, they started following their rules, their gods, their habits. Those things started being incorporated into their lives and culture. They started drifting away ...

Can you imagine how gross was the feet of the people in Jesus time? Oh, wait! Next time you see a homeless person who doesn’t have any shoes on, take a quick look to his feet. Yeah! Now you pictured it. Would you sit on a stool with a basin with water and a towel, maybe with some brush and soap to wash those feet? Hardly. This used to be a slave’s job or a women’s job. In that time women weren’t regarded as they are today. But yes, Jesus sat on a stool and washed those filthy feet ( John 13: 1 – 19 ). Peter at first resisted (he might have been ashamed of his feet, who wouldn’t? The King, the Messiah, there, wanting to touch my filthy feet? No way! No! Never!) This was exactly how Peter responded. Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me”. Jesus knew he was going to die for what those filthy, shameful feet represented. They represent our lives, our paths, our sins.   He did it anyway. If you want something with J...

Mantenha a calma e amem uns aos outros I want to keep talking about love. In 1 Peter 4:7-8 says, “The end of all things is at hand (so true); therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly. Since love covers a multitude of sins.” Yesterday I talked about love, and how to love. It is not an easy task and it is not just a feeling. It is above all a commandment, the second most important. If love was just a feeling it couldn’t be a commandment; love one another. Remember what does that mean? We are not supposed to choose who to love (although we do all the time), we are supposed to love one another earnestly. But, read the verses again. Be self-controlled and sober-minded. How hard is that? There are people who love to piss other off, there are people that we say to ourselves “I rather not to talk with that person, that person gets in my nerves”. Yes, I have done it, I believe so have you. ...

Agape: "amor" This morning I woke up with a desire to talk about love. Maybe because my husband is traveling or maybe because my friend is getting married by the end of the month and I have just written his wedding card. But it reminded me of an argument that a friend of mine raised some years ago when I was still in my Master’s in Sao Paulo. She asked: Is love a choice? (I believe she already knew her answer). There were some people who said that a person could not choose who to love. Also, there were those who said yes, love is a choice. I particularly don’t remember what I said on that occasion, but today I am sure. Yes, we choose to love. It is not possible to love if the person has not decided to do so. Love may be a feeling, but To Love is a verb. And it should be regarded as an action verb; just like joy and to rejoice.  If the verb to love is a decision, how do we love? To love in practice is to choose daily actio...

I’m going to start today backward in history. In Matthew 18:3 Jesus said, “Truly I tell you unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. I remember this verse when I was praying this morning, and a vivid image came to mind. It was a little kid hugging in fear the legs of his father. The kid was afraid of a storm, or something. I thought this is what Jesus meant by saying “become like a little child”. What does a child do when he is afraid? He runs to his father or mother to feel safe. We all have done this. We ran to our parents when we were afraid of something, and immediately the fear is gone. So, if we don’t act like this child, and run to our father, who is in heaven, asking him for help and security, we won’t enter the kingdom of heaven. Wait for the link with the next part. Israel, after Moses’ death, was ready to take possession of the promised land. Who was their leader now? Joshua. They had to cross...

You know, living with a disability is hard, imagine now living with an invisible illness, it is worse. One, we suffer as much as any other disability (we find difficulties in every level); two, this one nobody sees it.  I can make a very hard effort to look presentable (although I don’t wear make-up), smiling even standing for some time, but what my body truly wants is rest. However, resting won’t make me feel no so much better. Finalizing the book of Deuteronomy on verse 34:7 I realized that God uses us in many ways. I have only 36 years old and I feel terribly tired daily, counting on my thin strength. Then I read: “he was 120 years old, his eyes were undimmed, and his vigor unabated”. Tell me how can I not feel a little jealous of Moses right now? But I know, God needed him to be this healthy. God doesn’t need me to be this healthy, otherwise, I would not have time for Him; then I read Joshua 1: 9 . I breathed in and out, very deeply and found myself every day ...