Faith

June 02, 2020·Maria Clara Arruda Marques

Analyze your heart

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 Where is your heart? This is an important question and that over time, we must look within and analyze: Is my heart really in the right place? How to analyze our hearts The meaning of the word “treasure” is a set of riches, so this Matthew 6 biblical text is telling us that our hearts will always be in what is precious to us. What is most valuable today? What makes our hearts beat faster? What has been our motivation each day? These are questions that we need to ask daily and especially at decisive moments in our lives so that we can probe what our real intention is. When we question where our hearts are, we must investigate and analyze what has defined our priorities. So, if we want to find where our heart are, we need to realize where we put most of our stengths […]

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May 31, 2020·Léo

Run to the Lord!

Where is our refuge? Who have we believed and trusted? In moments of anguish and pain, into whose arms have we been running? These days I have been thinking a lot about refuge. About who I have placed my hopes on. In times of suffering, we need to run to the right place. I would like to talk a little about it! Come on? Where is our heart? “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21 The Bible makes it very clear to us that what we pay attention to will greatly influence our decisions. However, several times we pay attention to things that do not matter and this brings us great losses. Whenever we have our hearts in the wrong place, as soon as we experience some difficulty, we tend not to run to God or even to blame Him, even though we have no reason to do so. However, this does not happen only when we are in an uncomfortable or painful situation. This also happens, often, when we are happy and “without problems or difficulties” in our lives. We end up forgetting that it is the Lord who does all things and […]

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May 28, 2020·Léo

Just be yourself!

Have we done things to please others? Where’s our treasure? Have we sought the approval of men and women instead of the Lord’s approval? God has spoken a lot to my heart about it and has shown me how I must seek only to please Him and no one else. We constantly do things to please other people and I would like to talk a little about this topic. Come on? God reveals our identity I have been thinking a lot and learning a lot about character, about who I am and how I should act. In this adventure of getting to know myself better, I realize more and more that I can only clearly understand who I am, when I know my Father more and more. It is no use wanting to discover, for myself, who I am, since I don’t even know what I need and don’t I was the one who grew up. I have a Creator who knows me, knows all my yearnings, all my struggles and knows more about me than I do myself. “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,” Genesis 1:26 Knowing that we are made in […]

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May 22, 2020·Maria Clara Arruda Marques

A study about David

David’s story is one of the best known in the Bible. He was the man chosen by God to lead his people and he was certainly a man very used by Him. The story begins to be told, in the Old Testament in the chapters of 1 and 2 Samuel and continues until 1 Kings and 1 Chronicles. It is one of the stories that most impacts and confronts my life. I was always intrigued by the fact that David was considered “a man after God’s own heart”, and as I studied his life, I began to notice that he was like that because he sought to understand God’s heart. David’s early life He was the youngest of Jesse among 8 brothers and belonged to the tribe of Judah. He was raised and trained to exercise the profession of shepherd. He also stood out for countless talents such as being a great warrior with the right to even sing in his honor, play the harp and even make musical instruments for worship in the house of the Lord (1 Chronicles 23: 5). When describing David, one of Saul’s servants used the following terms (1 Samuel 16:18): “is a talented harp […]

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May 16, 2020·Maria Clara Arruda Marques

Don’t lose your faith

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” John 6:5-7 Jesus asked the disciples how they would feed all those people who were coming toward him. They looked at their insufficient resources, at their empty hands and were filled with despair and anxiety. The disciples forgot who Jesus was and the miracles he had already done, doubted Him with a perspective of limitation and impossibility. At what point had they forgotten that they were before the son of God? Jesus had just calmed an angry sea and healed several sick people. Was there anything that would be too difficult for Him? Where was the faith of the disciples hidden? Why did they stop looking at the greatness of the God they served and put their attention only on the circumstances? Jesus knows what you have been facing Jesus knew of the insufficiency […]

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May 03, 2020·Léo

We need to stand up!

Are we living God’s will? Have we done things for Him and in the way that He asks of us? We need to talk about the comfort zone. I have realized that we need to get up. It’s time to act, we can’t stand still! Are you going to stay still? The comfort zone Unfortunately, it is extremely common to see Christians in the comfort zone. I say this because I am often one of them. Several times I chose to stay chill, calm, instead of obeying the voice of God. How many times have I chosen to stop talking about Jesus’ love to a friend or a stranger?! Or how many times have I not helped a homeless person out of shame?! And how many times have I spent several days without reading the Bible and praying out of laziness or “because I am tired” ?! Unfortunately, several times. I was watching a pastor’s live on Instagram and he made a very interesting comparison: in ancient times, people who read the Bible and prayed every day, were doing nothing but their obligation. However, for the current generation, if a person has the habit of reading the Bible and praying […]

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April 23, 2020·Léo

Learning to rest in God!

Do we really trust God? Have we put our whole life in His hands? Or have we been trying to take control of things and wanting to do it our way? I confess that this has been a great difficulty of mine. For this very reason, I would like to talk to you about it! Come with me! Learning to rest in my life As I said before, I have had great difficulty resting in God and in His plans for me. Not only I have it, but most part of my life I suffered with this. It is extremely difficult for me and shows that my faith is small and that I do not trust God. It is as if I feared more to displease myself than to displease God. But I don’t have to take care of everything. I don’t have to take the reins of my life and do things my way. I am a child of God and it is He who cares for me and my heart. The Lord has shown me this fault of mine and has guided me to improve. Thanks to the care him for me, my leader talked to me about […]

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April 14, 2020·Léo

Did you really understand?

Do you understand that Christ gave himself entirely for you? Do you understand that He didn’t think twice to obey God? Right. But if we understand all these things, why are we so reluctant to give up our carnal desires and live completely for Him? Why, even though we know Jesus’ sacrifice for us, do we sometimes continue to live a shallow gospel? This was a question that my leader asked me. This led me to think a lot about my devotion and obedience to God. I would like to talk to you about it. Selfishness After hearing this question, I started to think and realized how selfish I have been! I have done God’s will and kept His commandments when it suits me. When I realize that in order to do God’s will, I will have to give up my carnal desires, I ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit and listen to my flesh. This is absolutely unfair and selfish! I want Christ’s sacrifice to be saved. But I am not willing to give up my life as a sinner, to be grateful and to glorify Him who saved me. For myself and with my own strength, I […]

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April 09, 2020·Léo

The Joy of the Good News!

How are you in this quarantine period: happy or sad? What kind of news and content have you being consuming? Where have you been looking for happiness? In the midst of the crisis we are experiencing, we consume negative content, such as news about deaths, fake news, economy in crisis and many other things! But we must not let that shake us! Let’s talk about it? Contaminated by Bad News In this period of contamination with the covid-19 virus, we end up letting our minds be contaminated with the amount of information and sad news that we receive. Such contamination can be devastating in our lives, as it shakes our minds and, consequently, there is a great possibility of shaking our spiritual lives. But we cannot let that happen to us or to those around us. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”” Joshua 1: 9 To keep our minds from being filled with sadness, fear and anguish, we need to hold on to God and put everything we are and have in His hands! Let us delight and rejoice in Him! […]

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April 02, 2020·Léo

Don’t know what I need

Are we aligned with God’s heart? What have we asked for Him? Do our requests match His will for us? This week I made some requests for God and I had an incredible response, which made me rethink my whole relationship with God and the way I have approached Him! You can’t miss this! I don’t know myself I was in my moment of prayer, telling God my wishes and what I would like! I talked about my ministerial life, my professional life, my relationships and various things and said that I would like certain things to happen. The next day, the Lord embarrassed me in an absurd way, saying, “Why do you keep asking for different things if you don’t even know what you really need?” It shocked me. I know that the thing I need most is to have the Lord by my side, but instead of asking Him “what do I need?” and asking Him to guide my heart to what really builds me up, I just asked for what I wanted! “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.” Job 38: 4 This question that the Lord asked me, reminded […]

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March 31, 2020·Léo

Fear of the Night

Our Wednesday texts are mostly informative or tips. However, God spoke to my heart in a very strong way and I couldn’t let it pass. In today’s text I will tell you something that happened to me last night. A brief testimony about an experience that I had last night and that paralyzed me. The Testimony In my family, we have the habit of praying together before bed. Something very good that always brings me peace. However, this time it was different. For some reason, after the moment of prayer, when I was in my room, I began to feel a great fear and I was extremely distressed. I didn’t know where that fear came from and why I was feeling that way. Like any Christian, I prayed that God would take that fear away from me and that any attempt by the evil one would be sent away. I slept in distress and without understanding what was happening. I woke up several times during the night and had bad dreams. And I realize that it happened, because I didn’t have enough faith to believe that God would hear my prayer and take that fear away from me (James 1: […]

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March 26, 2020·Léo

A little bit about Faith

Where is our trust? Who or what have we placed our faith in? Where have our expectations taken us? We tend to trust ourselves, our plans or the people around us. But we need to understand and talk a little bit about how harmful this could be. Trusting ourselves “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” James 4: 13-17 James warns us about the danger of trust put ourselves and our plans. As I see it, self-confidence oftentimes is generated by pride, an inflated ego. It’s hard to hear this, but when we trust ourselves, we show that we don’t trust God enough to give everything […]

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March 19, 2020·Maria Clara Arruda Marques

Your hope in the right place

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope” Lamentations 3:21 Often what we can see is only chaos and darkness. Today, it seems that we can only look at what is in front of our eyes, which is the confusion and concern of a pandemic that has been plaguing us. Closed schools, markets with food shortages, more and more cases of infected people every day and many other factors that have contributed to everyone being worried and desperate in the face of this atypical situation in which we are living. But the Bible teaches us to place our hope in the Lord! Putting our eyes on Him and not on the circumstances. An unusual moment This is an unusual moment for us, but from everything we live we can learn great lessons. The biggest recommendation of health professionals is to stay in quarantine and not leave the house so that there is a decrease in the number of people infected. This situation has taught us to think collectively, as it is something that the whole world is living together. We have had to take care of our parents, grandparents and family. Ensure the health of everyone in […]

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March 17, 2020·Léo

Avoidable doubt!

Where is our faith? In the midst of obstacles and so much tribulation, we need to stop and remember that God is above all things. We shouldn’t have no doubt, what we must have is the conviction of our faith. In times of disease and pandemics, we act out of fear rather than faith! We are paralyzed and forget that God is in control. However, this doesn’t happen only in these days of illness and crisis. Whenever we have an obstacle, we tend to be afraid. We need to talk about the fear that makes us forget the fact that God is in control of all things. Doubt can create fear Once, when I was around 9 years old, I was riding a bicycle with my brother in a square. Suddenly, I realized that I was pedaling towards a branch that, in the eyes of a 9 year old boy, was gigantic. I was in doubt if I could face that obstacle. I was afraid and slowed down, but I couldn’t get out of the way and when I got to the branch, I fell off the bike and got hurt. If I had had the courage and the conviction […]

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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 […]

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February 27, 2020·Léo

Walking in Humility

Since the beginning of my adolescence I have always fought my ego and I still fight against it today! Being humble is one of my biggest difficulties! Realizing that nothing is about me, but about Jesus Christ, is one of my daily struggles! I am very grateful to God for showing me, through the Bible, through people or in prayer, where I am commiting mistakes and what I should do. By His grace, I have learned a lot about humility. My spiritual leader has taught me that from the moment we become subject to God and our brothers, we learn much more and our wisdom grows. I still have a lot to learn about humility, but I would like to share with you what I have learned! What is Humility? According to the dictionary, humility comes from Latin humilitas, and it is the virtue of knowing your own limitations and weaknesses and acting accordingly. It refers to the quality of those who do not try to project themselves on other people, nor show themselves to be superior to them. Therefore, we can see that humility is a good thing and helps in the order of society, avoiding intrigues and discussions. […]

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February 18, 2020·Léo

3 Tips to be an active Christian

Do you want to do more for the Kingdom of God? Are you tired of being in a spiritual comfort zone? If you are reading this text it is probably because the answer to the two questions above is “yes”. This is a good thing, because recognizing our mistakes in our life with Christ is the first and one of the most important steps to improve. In today’s post, I’m going to talk a little bit about how we can be more present in Kingdom activities and how we can help on the edification of the Church of Christ. Spiritual Sloth According to the dictionary, laziness can be interpreted as aversion to work or even negligence. It is the lack of willingness to perform a certain task. Something that leads us to do things as if we did not care and not do our best. “Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son” If laziness is not overcome, it will affect all areas of our lives, including work, studies, family and especially spiritual life. Proverbs 10: 4-5 By […]

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February 13, 2020·Léo

Enjoy the moment that God gave you!

I’m going to start today’s post by asking a question: Have you been enjoying the moments that God has given you, or do you spend most of them worrying about the future and what’s to come? “So, don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow worries about itself. Your own evil is enough every day. ” Matthew 6:34 We live in a chaotic and very busy world. Many things happen around us and we are pressured in various ways, so this leads us to be anxious and concerned about what is to come. But is that what God wants for our lives? Why do we care? The Bible tells us (1 Thessalonians 5:23) that we are the fusion of body (soma), soul (psyche) and spirit (pneuma). Therefore, we can conclude that we are divided between what is heavenly and what is earthly. In our minds we have thoughts placed by God and coming from ourselves. ”And he said: What comes out of man, that is what contaminates man. Because evil thoughts, adulteries, prostitution, homicides, thefts, greed, mischief, deceit, dissolution, envy, blasphemy, pride, madness come out of men’s hearts. ” Mark 7: 20-22 In this passage, Jesus clearly shows us that everything that […]

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January 30, 2020·Maria Clara Arruda Marques

Jesus is the fountain of living water

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14 What have you been feeding your soul with? Where have you sought refuge from the bad days? Distracting yourself on the internet? Drowning at work? It is as if at all times, God was showing us that “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.” That is, if you drink the things of this world, your thirst and your inner emptiness will never pass. The real food, rest and refreshment for our soul comes from just one place: Jesus! The essential water for us to live He himself said that “whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life”. Don’t get lost in fleeting and visible distractions. Refresh your soul with living water! When the woman asked Jesus for physical water, He offered her spiritual water. We know that the human body cannot survive without physical water, just as the spiritual body […]

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January 16, 2020·Maria Clara Arruda Marques

Do not worry!

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all […]

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January 14, 2020·Gabriela Angerami

Read the Bible every day

Having discipline in Bible reading can impact our lives and therefore impact our year 2020 to be a different year. There are several verses that speak about the power of God’s Word. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God “may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper that any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8 Application Reading Plan To help you with this daily Bible reading challenge, we have a variety of reading plans available in the JFA Bible app. Access the reading plan area from the application main menu. =) Annual Plans We have 3 annual plan choices so you can […]

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January 09, 2020·Gabriela Angerami

Don’t waste opportunities

For 2020 to truly be a year of opportunities, we need to be able to identify them. Hence the question arises: How do we identify opportunities? To answer this question it is worth talking a little about WISDOM. See what the psalmist says: Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 (NIV) Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. Psalm 90:12 (NLT) The Psalmist is basically talking about the brevity of life and that our days need to be numbered, that is, lived wisely and not wasted. About wisdom We as humans already have a wisdom in us related to our ability to read the world, read people, and read circumstances. From our reading we try to make the best plans, projects and make the best decisions. However, we who believe in God have access to His wisdom. We have access to a spiritual understanding of life. The Father is able to reveal to us things we would never be able to see on our own. The Bible itself gives us the wisdom of God. The Word brings to our understanding teachings that we […]

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December 13, 2019·Marcelo Brandão

New robes

Welcome to the third decade of this millennium. It may be that some of you have not even noticed. It’s two thousand and twenty. If you read what I have been writing here since last year, you will find that I understand that New Year’s Eve is nothing more than day after day. Even so, we make plans, organize the agenda, promise things, say we will start the diet next Monday. We set goals. We say that we are going to pay off debts and until we will be “better Christians” this new year. Although I know many of you will reach your goals, I want to suggest a new way of seeing your brothers. It is the vision that I will try – yes, try – to apply to my year much more intensely than I did last year. Old robes In December, I finished reading two books that I recommend to everyone. Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “The Cost of Discipleship” and Tim Keller’s “Transformed Ego” opened my eyes to many things about my life as a true disciple of Christ. As full as I am in my ministries. Or even within my secular work. As long as I am in […]

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December 03, 2019·Marcelo Brandão

Day of the Bible! (in Brazil)

On the second Sunday of December in Brazil we Christians celebrate the Day of the Bible! The commemorative date was created in 1549 in Great Britain and was set up in Brazil only in the year 1850. Since then every year we have a date on the calendar especially to commemorate the free access we have to the Word of God. The privilege We have so many bibles available in some countries that people end up not placing so much value on it. In marketing we learn about value, price and demand. Generally, we don’t give such a high value to products that are easily found anywhere and for a low price. We think it is of low importance. Where we have many Bibles available, we ended up finding it too common and we do not recognize the value of having a copy of the HOLY book. Christians are persecuted in some countries. In those places, possession of God’s Word is prohibited. This possession can lead the bible bearer to death. In those countries, Christ’s followers have to meet in secret and hidden places to preach the gospel and read the Word. Bible even becomes a product of trafficking. Unfortunately, […]

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