Devotional for friends // Devocional para as amigas

Chapter 6 of Daniel’s book in the Bible tells us a story about something that could have happened to Daniel if he didn’t have a good habit of talking to God. In fact, his enemies knew that would be hard to get rid of Daniel because they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him (Daniel 6:4). The only thing they knew, Daniel’s enemies, as Daniel was faithful to his God, and every day, three times he would go up to his room and pray to God. Daniel kept doing that, giving thanks to God, even when the problem arose. “When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously” (Daniel 6:10). When I read this verse, I think that many times I, and probably you, when we realize that we have a problem, th...

Interesting how awesome the Word of God speaks to us, to me. In my reading this morning I came up with the passage of the story written in the Book of Daniel about the trial the 3 young Jews had to go through because they refuse to worship as a god the statue of gold that the king of Babylon had set up for. Like any king, especially the tyrants, hate when somebody defies their authority. However, if you know that your God is the Creator, all-powerful, you sensibly would choose to obey your own God, who is infinitely more powerful than any man. That was exactly what they did. They were brave enough to confront the king saying “ O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have ...

Você está perdido? There is always this time in life when we are certain about what to do with our lives. We have a goal, and an objective to reach. However, it is often that life turns the other way around and our plans are made nothing. Frequently I hear people say, “I am lost, I don’t know what to do!” That happens when we put our goals into something that changes. Everything in this world change. You and I are changing by the minute. My thoughts right now are running like crazy, and if I don’t set a goal in something that doesn’t change, I can’t do anything. What is it?   Jesus. The word of God. You might think I am crazy, and lunatic or even a fanatic. But who really knows me, know that I am none of those things. I am a very sensible person who has lived and experienced many things. And I don’t lie. So, if you are experiencing a sense of loss and despair, how about putting your hope in the One who cannot change whatsoever. If you lost...

Today I woke up with a lot of pain in my neck going through my upper back, my trapezium is killing me. That’s ok. Fibromyalgia knows each muscle in my body, and it chooses one of each to bother me. That’s ok, at least I have muscles, at least the pain is in my muscles and not in my heart or my internal organs. Sometimes it is incapacitating. Like today, I thought I wouldn’t be able to get up of bed. I think I spent most of the night feeling the pain. Ok, why am I talking about my pain? Because the verse of my day will be this one: “this is the day that the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalms 118: 24). Have I lost my mind? I can assure you that no, I have not. Although I am not feeling 100%, I have food, shelter over my head (and it is raining today in San Diego), I have clothes, a cat, and things to do. It will be a little bit harder, but not with my strength but with the strength that Jesus gives me every day, I will get through this day...

I don’t know how your day is, today. I don’t know how long you have been suffering. I don’t know how you feel inside. But I know that there are days or seasons in our lives that we may feel dry. As if we are living in deep winter when we have no hope of the sun coming up to shine on us. There are days that everything looks grey, and maybe we think we are as good as dead. Why do we pass through such seasons in life? But as we know that there is winter and soon after comes the spring, we should know that after winter always comes the Spring. And it is beautiful. The passage today has something to do with dry bones, that is written in Ezekiel 37 . The Lord took him to a valley. Probably in that valley might have happened a battle, and there were a lot of skeletons. The people of Israel was feeling like those dried bones, without hope (Ezekiel 37:11). But God had other plans. You know God gives life. So, He told Ezekiel to prophesy to those dry bones....

Você é altruísta como você pensa que você é? Prove! We live in a world of self-centeredness. Everything is about self. I don't know how long it will take to this world to see that this, self-centeredness doesn't work. My point exactly is you cannot live only to please yourself. Why? Because you don't live in your own world. This planet, that by the way, is being destroyed, because people are too busy with their own life and self-centeredness that they don't have time to see a little bit beyond. Another day I heard that someone said on the internet they are self-partnered. She meant that she is married to herself. My thought exactly was: excuse me? Why not say only that you chose to be alone? live your own life to yourself and nobody else, because nobody else is more important than yourself. That the world should revolve around her because she is the best, and nobody is good enough to share your life with. Do you know what I mean? ...

Faith is a beautiful thing to have. I pity those who rather hope in things they can see and touch, which are finite than in things that we cannot see, for those are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18 ). For it is written: “ the LORD answered me: … but my righteous shall live by faith ” ( Habakkuk 2:4 ) We know that many terrible things have been happening all over the world. Most of them by the hands of men who don’t know the LORD. We also know that God is just, although people have no patience and keep asking “where is God when all those bad things happen”. God is Sovereign and patient; He is seeing all of these injustices that have been done to His creation and His children. There will be a day when they will be held accountable for all the evil. I am in no hurry to see God’s judgment. Sometimes we wish that something happens, the bad people get caught, and that they have the punishment they deserve; because we are human, and we live under the pressure of ...

Let’s imagine 3 people in a room. They have a fallout. There will be one that loves to be right about everything and is unlikely to admit the blame. The other one will admit the blame easily, even if he (she) is not the one to be blamed. The third most likely point a finger. We aren’t here to figure it out who’s, in fact, is the one to be blamed but to figure it out which one of them is you. Can you take the blame? Have you ever felt remorse for doing something wrong, even when you thought you were doing what you thought was the best? Did you admit being the guilty one and took the consequences, or you kept trying to explain yourself? Have you ever taken the consequences without complaining even knowing that you haven’t done anything wrong? How often can you admit to yourself fast enough that you have done something wrong before the other person notices that you actually did something wrong, and felt bad about it, even that it was in the best i...