Blessings

June 30, 2022·Rapha Abreu

[Series: Miracles of Jesus] God multiplies what we give

Today, in our last text of the series “Miracles of Jesus”, I want to talk about the multiplication of loaves and fish. The passage in Mark 8 begins with Jesus speaking to the disciples about the great crowd that had not eaten for 3 days, asking them to have mercy on those hungry people. The logic of the miracle What is striking about this story is that it was described that there were about 4,000 men, without mentioning women or children. Considering one woman and one child for each man present, we can estimate about 12 thousand people present. When Jesus asks the disciples to feed that multitude, they ask in verse 4 where, in that desert place, they could get enough bread to feed so many people, and then Christ responds with a new question: “How many loaves do you have?” They answered, “Seven” and still find some small fish. Jesus took that little food the disciples had, gave thanks and asked them to start distributing it among the people. Would it make sense to start sharing just 7 loaves and a few small fish to feed a crowd? The confronting gospel Jesus has the power of heaven, He […]

blessings faith generosity miracles

June 23, 2022·Rapha Abreu

[Series: Miracles of Jesus] Outstretched Hands

For the penultimate miracle in this series I chose the story of the man whose hand was withered and Jesus healed him. This was yet another healing that Jesus performed on Saturday, a day when non-emergency medical assistance was not allowed. But He always put the human need and the doing of good above this law, showing once again how mercy and generosity are above traditions. Is there a day to heal? The passage begins in Matthew 12, from verse 9. The priests who were working in the temple where Jesus was spending that day wanted to accuse Him of healing on the Sabbath, questioning Him if healing was allowed on the holy day. If the priests were allowed to do active work on the Sabbath inside the temple, Jesus could act too, for He is greater than the temple! Mercy should also be greater than such a doctrine. The Pharisees did not understand that the Sabbath was created for the good of the people, not to burden them. In verse 7, Jesus also mentions the passage in Hosea 6:6, in which God says that he desires the practice of love and mercy above the offering of sacrifices. Even knowing […]

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June 16, 2022·Rapha Abreu

[Series: Miracles of Jesus] Restoring the walk

Today I brought you a thought about the miracle of healing the paralytic for our series of miracles of Jesus. We can often see this story focusing on one person and how Jesus restored his ability to walk, but I want to encourage you to look beyond that. The story The Word says in the book of John, chapter 5, that there was a tank in Jerusalem. In a few moments an angel came down, stirred the waters and the first one who entered the tank was healed. One man in the crowd was paralytic. When Jesus saw him, He asked if he would like to be healed, but because of his difficulty in moving, he never arrived in time to be the first to enter the tank when the water moved, so he thought he would not be able to receive the cure. Christ then said in verse 8, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk“. And in that moment the man was healed. The Generosity of Christ What draws attention in the text above is that even though in some parts of the Bible we read that to be healed we need to have faith in God. […]

biblical-study blessings faith generosity

June 02, 2022·Rapha Abreu

[Series: Miracles of Jesus] Restoring sight

In the next 4 weeks I want to bring you some texts about the miracles of Jesus. I chose for today the miracle of restoring the sight of blind Bartimaeus, a beggar from Jericho who cried out for Christ to have mercy on him and heal him. Clamor out loud In the passage of Jesus through the city of Jericho, in the texts of Matthew in chapter 10, the blind man became aware of his presence and began to cry “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me”. Many around him told him to shut up, but he continued to cry out loudly, as he didn’t care what the people around him thought, he just wanted to get closer to the Only Begotten. Then Jesus, hearing him, commanded that he be called to himself. At that moment, verse 50 says that he threw his cloak to the ground and ran to meet Jesus. The cover message The cover at that time showed the level of a certain person in society, so this Bartimaeus cover told everyone that he had a disability and was a beggar. She was different from the covers of people at a higher social level. Even before […]

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February 03, 2022·Gabriela Angerami

The family who fears the Lord will be blessed

Interestingly, blessing in the Bible is always closely linked to family and generational prosperity. Psalm 128 talks about what happens to one who fears the Lord and walks in his ways: v3. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.… v6. May you live to see your children’s children— peace be on Israel. In this Psalm it is also possible to see that the blessing that is on the one who walks in the ways of the Lord extends to his entire family, from generation to generation. The Blessing on Abraham’s Family Abraham was a God-fearing man. He obeyed the Lord’s call to go to another land. Along his way he built altars in worship of God. His main characteristic was his faith. In Genesis 13:15-16 we see that the blessings upon his life extended to his descendants (v15. “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.”) and included the promise of a future great offspring that would come from him (v16. “I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, […]

blessings family

December 21, 2021·Gabriela Angerami

What do you need for a successful 2022?

So many times we put the responsibility for a better year on external factors such as: the economy needs to improve, the pandemic needs to end, they need to give me a promotion at work. But the truth is that having a better year is just up to us. Of our constancy and perseverance in our relationship with God. With HIM even the most difficult situations in life work together for our good. With Him we understand when we need to change direction. With Him we are more and more perfected and transformed. Only He can work miracles. Therefore, the secret to a successful 2022 is how much we will prioritize our life with God. Constancy to make a difference On any project you participate in, you can see many people coming in with lots of dreams and high expectations, super excited but quickly giving up and abandoning the boat. Dreams, goals and purposes without paying the price of constancy are unlikely to materialize. In God’s Word we can see that relevant people were able to persevere. Daniel in Babylon was called by King Darius to be one of the 3 trustees who would oversee the kingdom’s provinces, something great […]

bible blessings

August 10, 2020·Nicole Leao

I will praise God every day!

Today I want to say a prayer of praise to the Lord with you! Faithful and just is the God we serve and is with us at all times! Remembering that you do not need to repeat this prayer exactly as I am going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. So if you want to accompany me, it will be a pleasure, but feel free to speak your way. I praise you Lord for who You are. You show me Your fidelity in the simplest of everyday situations, even when there seems to be no solution. Wonderful is your name, for the undeserved grace that You pour on me. As I am happy to adore You, your presence satisfies me and my desire is to be closer and closer to You. All your promises have been fulfilled in my life, because You are a God of your word and perfect in everything you do. You move mountains and make the impossible possible. My beloved father, you took care of me and protected me. I praise You because You gave Your only child to die on a cross and today […]

blessings

June 12, 2020·Léo

Rooted worship!

Is the custom of worship present in our lives? Do we understand the true importance of worshiping the Lord? Or do we leave it to praise ministers only? In these times of social isolation, I have realized how great the impact of worship on our lives. Worship must always be present in our lives! I would like to talk a little about it today! Come on? Worship is individual I always had the habit of not worrying about my secret worship, after all, the fact of praising in the church is enough, right? Quite the opposite. It is very common to think that we go to cults, conferences and events to fill up, but this is completely wrong. The moments of worship must be of surrender to the Lord. We go to church to serve, to empty ourselves and to worship the Lord. Spiritual food, receiving, being filled and filled is in everyday life, in the secret, in the place where we are not seen, where only the Lord sees our surrender. Do you think that early church leaders sought the Lord only on Sundays in their services? “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” Psalms 105: 4 Since the […]

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June 11, 2020·Léo

The importance of discipleship!

Your difficulties, your failures, your sins … with whom have you shared? Who has helped you on your spiritual journey? I have realized the importance of having people to accompany us in our life with Christ. We cannot walk alone, because together we can grow and learn more about our Father and his principles revealed in the Word. I would like to talk to you a little about this! Come on? Have someone accompany you “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10: 24-25 The Bible makes it very clear to us the importance of having fellowship with our brothers and encouraging one another. We all know that a spiritual journey is far from easy. Every day we have struggles, problems, difficulties and sadness that we carry. We are human beings with our limitations; unable to account for all of our problems. We are often ashamed to confess our sins, to open up any difficulties. We are afraid or even think we don’t need to. However, […]

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June 04, 2020·Léo

Give Thanks to the Lord!

Have we recognized God’s blessings in our lives? Have we been grateful for the things we received undeservedly? In these last days I have been thinking a lot about gratitude and I started to analyze my ingratitude habits, in my relationship with God! I would like to talk to you about it! Come on? Undeserved life No. I don’t want to talk only about the goods and passing things that we receive from the Lord! I want to talk about everything, everything! I imagine that the main thing we receive from the Lord is life. I think about it a lot and the more I think about it, the more I realize that God really didn’t need any of us! His own glory is enough for Him. However, in love, He decided to create the heavens and the Earth and to place His creatures to command, care for and manage His own creation. In fact, not only has he given us the privilege of taking care of His creation, but the sovereign and sublime God has decided to share with us. It has allowed us the honor of being reached for its power, love, kindness and purity. He loved us […]

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March 03, 2020·Léo

4 Tips to evangelize!

“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.“ Mark 16:15 We know that Christ left us a mission: to bring the Good News (the Gospel) to all people. But whats is the best way to do this? How to spread the gospel to friends and strangers? There is no correct way to evangelize. But today, we will give you some tips on practical steps that can help you in evangelization! What does evangelize mean? Before we talk about this topic, the meaning of it must be cristal clear in our minds. According to the dictionary, evangelizing is: converting (someone) to religion, preaching the Gospel, spreading the constant word of the Gospel. We know that we don’t have the power to convert anyone, because the one who converts is the Holy Spirit. We just plant the seed of the Gospel in the hearts of people. So what would be the true meaning of evangelizing? Evangelize is to talk about Jesus for other people. It is to present the essence of God and show people what He has done for us. To show that the only way for someone to be saved is to […]

blessings faith follow-jesus

July 11, 2019·Marcelo Brandão

Switching curses for blessings

I’ve been thinking a lot about how much the words we hear create things within us. I confess that I was never the person but attentive to the way of speaking during my life. When I gave myself to Christ, however, I began to police more about things that came out of my mouth. I find it most interesting to remember that God created the heavens and the earth declaring things. He did not use his powerful hands and he was not even joking to model some things. All of His power was manifested in matter through His words. “Let there be light”, “Let the earth produce herbs” among other phrases. Seeing that after creating all these things the Bible says that “God saw that it was good” is clear that through his words the Lord was creating blessings. The Greek word for “bless” is ευλογεω (eulogeu). That is a mixture between the words “speak” and “make prosperous or happy”. This shows that our speech has the power to create happiness and prosperity around us. But have we used this power only to create good things? Enough to complain! One of the evils I see most in the day-to-day among […]

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