Eternity

August 15, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Be a good soil

Still on the subject of burying and planting, I want to remind you of the importance of taking care of the soil first. We often think that just the seed and how much we water it are the only things that matter. We also care about the sun, the temperature, whether the vase is beautiful…But knowing the ground and preparing it are the first and most important steps. Multiplied harvest “He also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.” It is because of the quality of the soil that at different times we will need to wait for God’s preparation. In Mark, chapters 4 and 13, we can read parables about sowing, stories that make clear the importance of preparing a good soil and paying attention to the place where we are planting our seeds. The Word says that the seed cannot be planted shallowly, lest its roots burn with the sun because they are not deeply fixed. If it is just dropped on any surface, birds can eat it and you will lose it. If it is among thorns, it will suffocate and not grow. But if it is in good […]

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July 04, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Gift X Fruit

For a long time I had doubts about the difference between gifts and fruits. And the meaning is so deep and beautiful. When we understand this difference, we feel part of something and it fills us with hope and identity. A good soil “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” Matthew 12:33 What God does and pours out to us concerns the gift. Fruit is the result of what we do with the gift He has given us. If the gift is the seed that God gives, it says much more about the Lord. The fruit speaks more about the type of land in which that seed was deposited. That is, the fruit speaks about us. Everything we receive from Him must be used for the sake of the Kingdom. We are graced by Him so that we can serve each other better. Thus, we can build the path to His Kingdom in the best way. These seeds planted in our hearts, the gifts we receive from the Father’s grace, need to be watered and cultivated. Through the […]

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May 25, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Used or approved?

Many times we confuse God using us with approving us and we end up taking paths that are not what God wants for us. We seek to be used and do not act to move towards approval. Used by god “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13 To be used by God is to be a channel for a certain action. For example, at one point the Lord used you to say something to someone who was asking for an answer. When you minister over someone’s life, it doesn’t come from you and your knowledge, but it is an act of God through your life. And He can use anyone, any place, any situation. As in the book of Numbers, where the donkey that belonged to Balaam is used to send God’s message and guide the man in the opposite direction, where his mission would be. In many situations we seek to be used, but this is so momentary. The animal didn’t keep talking and having words of wisdom coming out of its mouth for the rest of its life. It was just that moment, and […]

eternity follow-jesus god growth

April 12, 2023·Rapha Abreu

You only have this life

You only live once. I know this is nothing new. But that also means you only have one life to have faith and follow Jesus. This is not carried into eternity, because there is already everything. The eternity “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” Jude 1:20-1:21 We understand eternity as a life after our earthly death, a life that we will spend physically with God. In a paable way like never before. So we can only work on our faith and prayer while we are here. When we go there, we won’t need it anymore, as it prepares us for a life of worship in Eternity. It is here on earth that the Kingdom is prepared and has its members well aligned and adjusted. Our life here must be based on the search for closeness to God. If we are going to be living with Him, this search will no longer be necessary in eternity. But it is our pursuit here that leads us to Him there. Bring […]

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April 06, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Have you been focusing on death or resurrection?

At Easter time we remember how loved we were by God, who sent His own Son to suffer and die for our sins. The sacrifice of an immaculate lamb that cleansed us and made us the Father’s family. But what about in our day-to-day life? Have we been focusing on the resurrection? The lost “At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’)“ Mark 15:33-34 It’s beautiful how Jesus gave Himself for so many people who didn’t deserve even a drop of His sweat. The sixth shows us this pain and makes us recognize His sacrifice. But when we focus only on her, losing hope is inevitable. People who loved Jesus suffered with Him, saw the Man they trusted and followed being killed in a cruel way. We humans know that death is the end here on earth. The people who were close to Him thought they would never again see the One who “was” the promise. In our lifetime, in the midst of what seems like death, finding hope for […]

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September 22, 2022·Rapha Abreu

Emotion vs Feeling

We are approaching the end of September, but that does not mean that we should let our guard down in relation to our emotions and our psychological state. You deserve care. Faced with this subject, I want to ask you a question…Do you know the difference between emotion and feeling? The insecurity to feel “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” 2 Corinthians 11:30 In common sense emotions and feelings are synonymous, but according to some scientists, emotions are automatic and unconscious behavioral responses, whereas feelings are characterized by being conscious experiences that add up to all these unconscious responses. That is, it is as if the feeling only exists because of several emotions together. I brought this explanation so you don’t feel guilty anymore. When we feel, we think we are to blame for it. Some people may even consider this to be a lack of God. But we are in a human body, and we can go through many afflictions in the world, and that is not our fault. Feelings only become our fault when we don’t act against them and allow them to rule us. Don’t listen to what’s transient In […]

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September 01, 2022·Rapha Abreu

Is fearing death a sin?

I’ve heard some people say that if you’re sure of your salvation, it’s wrong to fear death. It is important to know that fear is a natural feeling, it appears whenever something threatens our present or future. Taking care of ourselves with our life can awaken this feeling. Living the now We recently lost a great Brazilian journalist, the famous Jô Soares. In one of the interviews he did a few years ago, he spoke the following sentence: “I’m not afraid to die, I’m sorry”. Life has so many possibilities, we are so used to thinking about tomorrow and planning until the year that hasn’t even started yet. We are made of “nows”, but these “nows” always lead to tomorrow, and imagining this cycle ending at some point can often despair us. Created for “always” “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart” Ecclesiastes 3:11 The human being was created by an eternal Being. We were created for eternity, she lives in our hearts. Accepting anything less than that is not in our setup. Looking at such a big world and thinking that we won’t have time on earth to see everything […]

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July 28, 2022·Rapha Abreu

[Series: Identity] Shaped by Purpose

This will be the last text on “Identity” and, to close this series, I want to bring another point that shapes our identity: Eternity. Something that says a lot about us is our goals and purposes in life. Where we want to go shapes who we are today, because the future starts now. The Eternal lives in us “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart. Yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end“ Ecclesiastes 3:11 The Son became man so that men could become sons. When we are called “children” we are also called to eternity with the Father. We were created for this eternity, because the Eternal lives in our heart, life goes far beyond what we know because there is something much greater prepared for us. It is this eternity that we carry that has given us the authority to do everything as He did, moving towards that goal. Christ is the greatest example of someone who had his identity sustained in the relationship with God and lived fully everything that was delivered to Him, because no matter what happened here on earth, He had […]

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