Devotional for friends // Devocional para as amigas

  What did come to my mind when I was reading my Bible this morning? There are some people that read their bibles as if it was a horoscope or some sort of a fortune teller. My friend that is simply not good. The Bible is the Word of God, the way He speaks through it to you. You cannot simply take advantage of what is written to use for your own purposes. I mean, some people use the Bible to condemn or justify some actions taking the text out of context. A person cannot use the Bible like that. Whenever you decide to read the Bible, open it and make a short prayer asking God to guide your heart and mind to a full understanding of His word, so you can use it properly.    Neither you can read it looking for specific points to satisfy your desires and say that was God talking to you. You cannot manipulate God. When God speaks through His word you will know. Just be open to receiving a rebuke coming from the Bible as much as you are open to receiving a promise or a blessing....

 I liked this picture because it shows that either love or hate is a choice. Something that you choose to feel. If you cannot control yourself, who can then? Eu gostei dessa foto porque mostra que tanto o amor quanto ódio é uma escolha. Almo que você escolhe sentir. Se você não pode se controlar, então quem pode? I want to talk about love and hatred today. People say hate is a very strong word. Yes, it is. But usually, people don’t really get it. Sometimes I think they don’t realize they hate somebody or some kind of people. I mean, people are used to living by appearances. They don’t take their time to analyze what they really feel, or even why they do what they do. They just do, like a default mode.    Today we see hatred everywhere all the time. And it seems to me that people are ok with that. “It is ok to stir up strife with someone who disagrees with me, or it is to stop talking to someone because they have a different political view or have chosen a different way of...

  In Mark 2, he tells us about some stories that happened with Jesus and the people around him. On a certain occasion, a paralytic man wanted to get near Jesus so he could be healed. But it wasn’t easy, there were a lot of people in the way and they would not let him pass. He was being carried by his friends. They decided to use a different entrance. The rest of the story you might know.  My point today is, that sometimes you want to get close to Jesus but there are a lot of people in your way. Family, friends, colleagues, etc. You think (and maybe right) they will mock you, you will create a disturbance in your family and so many other lame excuses you have been giving to yourself. You have been postponing. Maybe it is because you don’t trust in the churches, there have been so many scandals around the churches, that you’d rather lay low. The paralytic friends were real. They helped him to get up there and get him in front of Jesus. Real friends should help you, not mock you,...

  Have you noticed that we always want to be identified as the “good guy”? We love our heroes. They are cool, strong, and have many different powers. The bad guys sometimes are funny, clumsy, and fools although they also have some powers. We know the good will always win.  At least in the movies, we have this knowledge. No matter how strong the evil might look, the good guys will join together and win the battle. What about in the real life? Don’t you think that we are not fighting a battle of good versus evil? Every day there will be something trying to pull us down, to defeat us. During the day we will want to give up or give in, we will give in to anger, gossip, revenge, rivalry, greed, lust, laziness, fear… the list will go on. And by the end of the day, we will feel like all the fight was in vain. We are tired, defeated, and lost. We feel weak and ashamed. We weren't able to fight properly. We sometimes didn’t want even to try to fight. And we drag ourselves to the bench,...

I like talking about Moses and the time in the desert. We can learn so much about that part of the Bible. It is amazing how one can have never read enough of the Bible. You will always learn something new. People who say the Bible is an antiquated, old-fashion book, are completely mistaken. They say that because they haven’t read the book even once, why say they haven’t studied the book ever in their lives. I don’t really understand why some people waste so much energy bad-talk Christianity, the Bible, and Jesus if they don’t even know them. I don’t waste my time talking about people that I barely know. Anyway.   The thing about the crossing of the red sea.  The pastor was fantastic showing us where exactly that happened with proof that really happened in that place. Not that I needed proof to believe it. As he said, if you passed Genesis 1:1 and believed it, why doubt the crossing of the red sea? The point that touched me was about the cloud and the pillar of fire that guided...

  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...