Devotional for friends // Devocional para as amigas

  I don’t know many people who really like the book of Job in the Bible. I didn’t know how much I appreciate this book until recently.  The part I like the most is from Elihu forward.  You know, the most part of the book Job’s friends are arguing about whose fault it is that Job is going through all that. Is he really guilty? If he is not, how can we think of a Just God? So that is just the point of the book. We can’t. Our notion of justice is too limited and far from God’s that we can’t make any sense of it.  And I say that not because I am all wise, not at all. Because when Elihu speaks he shows that we know nothing, we are nothing compared to God’s greatness. Our standards for justice are nothing compared to God’s.  You see, God is perfect and we have no idea what is to be really perfect. Because we have never seen perfect, nothing made by man can be perfect. We missed our chance in the Garden of Eden. Everything God does is perfect. When God finally spe...

  Escala de medida da dor We are tempted to think like the ancient pagans “If you are good, you’ll have a good life with no problems; but if you’re evil or bad, the gods will punish you, and you’ll be miserable”. But life shows us a different story, we are tired of seeing good people suffering and bad people thriving. We can recognize a bad and a good person from a mile away. But we forget we judge them from what we see. But God sees them from within. And I am not saying that God agrees with the thought only bad people deserve to suffer. I am saying that our judgment about good and bad is not accurate. But God’s justice goes beyond our understanding, we will never know why some people suffer and other suffers less. I say that because I do not believe that there is one person who has not suffered in life. Some people deal with suffering better than others.  Let’s look at Job from the Bible.  Job was a good man, blessed by God. Considered by God an upright man who feared Hi...

Jesus said that we would be known by our fruits. What fruits? We love saying that God is love and we also love saying that God lives in us. Do you see where I am going, don’t you? Ok. If God is love, and He lives in us, our fruit or our actions should be a reflection of what God is. Isn’t that correct? How exactly can we describe God as love?   In 1 Corinthians 13: 4 – 8a, we should agree that is a description of what God is. So, I am going to substitute the word love for God in these verses and see how it goes. God is patient, God is kind. God does not envy, God does not boast, and God is not proud. 5 God does not dishonor others, God is not self-seeking, and God is not easily angered, God keeps no record of wrongs. 6 God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 God always protects, always trusts always hopes, and always perseveres. 8 God never fails.   Great. That was easy. We can all agree with that. God is all t...

Once you learn how to love, the rest comes eventually as you practice them. Uma vez que você aprende a amar, o resto vem eventualmente conforme você os pratica. So, I went to read the Bible, worried about these coming days. And before I prayed. I asked God to tell me what I needed to do. What is my mission, my part in this story? I needed to know how to break a wall that grows every day, and I don't find any solutions. But the answer was super straightforward. I didn't need to read much, I opened the application's verse of the day, and there was the answer. John 13:34. We are neither perfect nor perfect, nor can we delude ourselves that we will ever be "good" enough to deserve heaven. We never will. We sin several times a day, often committing the same sins. We live sinning, but we cannot live in sin. To sin is part of being human; we are under the curse that God gave since Eden. However, Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit, who shows us how sinful we are and how great ...

  Lent. Some people choose to fast for some type of food or some entertainment or whatever. But during this time of the year, I have learned that it is important to think about the last days of Jesus as a human on earth.    Can we identify ourselves in our current time with that time? If we were to go back in time and find ourselves in that time in Jerusalem, where do you think you would be? Who would you be friends with? This morning I realized that our current world hasn't changed much since then.   We still find people doubting Jesus, mocking and spitting on him (if they could literally), and trying to bring down everything that He represents. Do you see these people?   Imagine if what happened then were happening now? if today were the day Jesus was on the earth walking just like you and me? If today were the day where people were gathered shouting "crucify him", where would you be? Right in the middle together with the crowd or running away as fast as you c...