Devotional for friends // Devocional para as amigas

I read this passage from our book of devotionals two days ago. It is a book with passages of C. S. Lewis’s books. The book  The Screwtape letters  is about a demon boss writes to his student. The letter is the demon boss teaching his student what to do to take the new Christian off the right path. What kind of temptations and thoughts should be offered to his patient (as he is called). I liked this book because we can see how easy target we can become when we are not taking seriously the Word of God. How the thoughts and temptations appear to us and why. How we should behave with our superiors or even our parents. In this environment the student facilitate some fights for silly things, which is reality most of out fights and arguments with parents and people in general are all about, silly things. Anyway, it you have the opportunity to read this book, do not let it pass. Take it.   Finding Balance   Screwtape offers ways to cleverly exploit the Patient’s dry spell: B...

Being good   “Even the best Christian that ever lived is not acting on his own steam – he is only nourishing or protecting a life he could never have acquired by his own efforts. And that has practical consequences. As long the natural life is in your body, it will do a lot towards repairing that body. Cut it, and up to a point, it will heal, as a deal body would not. A live body is not one that never gets hurt but one that can, to some extent, repair itself. In the same way a Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enable to repent and pick himself up and begin over again after each stumble – because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time, enabling him to repeat (in some degree) the kind of voluntary death which Christ Himself carried out. That is why the Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to be good. They hope, by being good, to please God if there is one; or – if they think there is not – at least they h...

I  have a problem. Sorry, I meant I have many problems, but one in particular bothers me the most. I bet you have the same issue. What is it? Judgments. I am very judgmental person. But you wouldn’t say that I am. I am also a very good at not telling others about my conclusions after my evaluation. I keep to myself. But I know I should not be doing it in the first place.  Well… once I am here, I am going to confess. I judge when people say that they are one way, and everybody should accept that. I judge when this same person claims to be a Christian because I disagree profoundly with this. When you recognize that you have a problem. A moral problem. You should at least try to fix it. Otherwise, you will pass like a hypocrite. We all have flaws, moral flaws. But I don’t think that we all should be satisfied with them and live like it is ok.  A long time ago, I realized how judgmental I was. I prayed. I am still praying to get better. But I can tell you that I have improved...

When I read the Bible I try to pay attention to the passage that will speak to me. I try to reflect a little on it. Today I was reading in Zechariah 8:16-17 “These are the things that you shall do: speak  the truth  to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make peace; do not devise evil in your hearts against one another and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD”   Then we read in Ephesians 4:15-16 “ Instead, speaking  the truth  in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”   One might ask: what does it mean by the truth? Well there is only one truth, and the truth is Jesus. The word must be the Word of God. The Word of God must be what is in our hearts and minds. We must invite the Holy Spirit to li...

I believe that the world's problem is the lack of love for one another. Everyone wants to love and be loved, but when they can’t, chaos is set free.   Where do you think love comes from? Even the evilest person in the world wants to be loved and gives some love.  There is something about love that we all take for granted.  We want it. Sometimes, we have it, and we cannot hold it for long, not with our efforts.  People love asking for some long-lasting marriage about the secret of it.  Isn’t it interesting? Why do you want to know? Are you willing to love for real? People lately want to love but aren’t willing to give up anything for the other person.    People are too selfish to love. Too afraid to love. People don’t want to risk anything, not even the possibility of something good.   On the other hand, Jesus gave up his throne to become one of us and show us how to love to the last point. Jesus died because of our sins. He had to, otherwise we wo...

Sometimes, I struggle because I stop looking up and start looking around. God is in heaven and also in me. Because I confess that Jesus is the LORD. But we sometimes get swept away by the troubles of our lives. I guess this is normal. Everybody goes through ups and downs in life.  Sometimes, I doubt my faith. When I want things in my timeline, and God doesn’t give me, I think He didn’t listen to me. But I know He always listens. He always answers, too, it might not be the answer I was waiting for. In the Word of God is written that we don’t get what we want because we don’t know how to ask because we ask for selfish reasons (James 4:3). So yes, I have many doubts. But that doesn’t mean I’ll become like a spoiled kid, throw a tantrum, and forget about God just because He didn’t answer me in the way and time I expected.  I must remind myself that I am a mere human, fragile and smoke in the wind. He is the eternal, almighty, all-known one. Who am I to demand God anything? Who do ...

Perseverança: a capacidade de trabalhar em situações mesmo que haja obstáculos ou desafios no caminho Sometimes, when I read the Bible, I feel satisfied and complete. I see no need to add anything else. It is so clear what we are supposed to do. I know nothing in the Bible is easy. That is why we must read it daily to be reminded of what we should be doing and how we should do it.    Sometimes only reading is not enough. You and I need to stop what we are doing and really listen to what those words are saying and what they mean in actual practice. Ask yourself, "How will that word make me a better version of myself?"    People lately claim that they don’t have time to do anything. I wonder what are they doing? Because of what I see, people don’t have time to be with family or friends or rest or take a vacation. So, what exactly are people doing that takes away the time we are supposed to spend with worthy things and spending time with something that will only br...