Devotional for friends // Devocional para as amigas

  I grew up hearing the word “consecrate”. I didn’t understand the meaning of it. Of course, I have read in the Bible, but I guess I wasn’t paying attention to the context. Maybe because the context in which this word appears the most is in the Old Testament, when the Tabernacle was completed, or when a priest was being anointed. Anoint is another word not common to us in our era. Although among religious people, you may hear it more often. Well, what I want with these words is to show that there is nothing in the Bible that isn’t worthy meditating. I confess that I didn’t feel very encouraged to read the first part of the Bible because of what I heard. Almost that “we don’t really need it. It is the Law, and we are living under the grace of Jesus”. Today, I see that I don’t agree with the first part of that sentence. We cannot get to the New Testament without knowing the Old Testament well. The New Covenant doesn’t exclude the Old Covenant. I w...

  When God met with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he didn’t introduce himself. It was the beginning. God tested Abraham, God gave visions and talked with Jacob, but He never said who He was. Only that He was the God of Abraham. When God met with Moses, Moses asked who He was, how the Israelites would know that he was telling the truth, or if they would believe in him. God then said, “Tell them I AM sent you. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”. I always thought this to be a curious name. When we study in History class and learn about other countries' histories, we learn the names of their gods. None of them has a name like this. It hasn’t been long since I completely understood the meaning of His name. God is. He was not. He is in the present. Before everything, He is. Isn’t that interesting? He has no beginning or end, He just is. Forever. He just exists. He is. It is a very powerful name. Nothing else. He is. When people ask you who ...

  We don’t get tired of reading the Bible. Do you want to know why? Because it is like a new book every morning. I have read the whole Bible many times now, about 6 or 7, not sure; and when it is read with patience, and really paying attention, something will catch your eye. I like Job’s story. Although his friends didn’t really believe in his innocence, that doesn’t mean that what they said are lies. They don’t apply to Job. You know, Job didn’t fall in Satan’s trap; although he didn’t know what was going on, nor why he was going through all that. His friends didn’t know either. They thought Job had sinned greatly, and he was suffering the consequences of his sin. A little further into the chapter 2, Job’s wife (I suppose) got tired and didn’t want to go through the ordeal with him, cursed him, and told him to curse his God and die. I would not want to be in his place, especially at this moment. Not the point. The curious thing was his ...

  Almost a month ago, I received sad news about an old colleague; she has been hospitalized since then, in a coma or in an unconscious state. I cannot imagine what it has been like for her family and closest friends. I had the pleasure of working with her for a short time during my Ph.D., and she was always very kind and loving. I cannot say the same for me, but she was a better person than I was at that time. I asked her forgiveness for once I had lost my temper with her; she wasn’t at fault, she knew what I was going through and didn’t make a big deal of it. What I want to say is that God has his plans and He doesn’t fill us in on what comes next. We stay here wondering the whys, hows, and what should or should not have been done to prevent such and such. There is nothing one can say that will comfort the hearts of her family or friends. We don’t know if she’ll wake up or if God will take her to himself. The Job story in the Bible tell...

  Mouth guard, if only we wore them all day long. Protetor bucal, quem dera pudéssemos usá-lo o dia todo. Happy New Year to all. If you can understand the joke above. The mouth guard above protects our teeth, but what if it could protect us from our uncontrollable impulses to talk?   Let’s start this year with at least good intentions. Let’s get better. Let’s get more humble and wiser. Let’s start with acknowledging the vices we have, which appear in our speech. Here, the author, Thomas a Kempis, and I will quote him the whole section, because I cannot write it better. “Who can fully judge or comprehend just how many and varied are the sins and vices which come to being through our words? Let us ask ourselves, how often are our words: •             pointless and profitless, •             Flippant and foolish,...