Holy Spirit

January 18, 2024·Rapha Abreu

The Names of Jesus

Jesus is described in the Bible in various ways, with different words and names, but these descriptions always reveal His divine character and the profound nature of who He is and was sent to be. God incarnate “He appeared in the flesh…” 1 Timothy 3:16 All those names are beautiful, but the one that captures my attention the most is: “God with us” “Immanuel“! Among all the names by which He is called, this one encapsulates it well. It signifies the greatest miracle and the expression of grace, where God chose to reside among humanity, revealing His love in a personal and accessible manner, close to sinners and the forgotten. Throughout our lives, we strive for luxury, wealth, recognition, and yet, the greatest among us, who could possess all this with a snap of His fingers, remains the most humble and simple, dwelling among us. He loves everyone, even those who don’t deserve that love. The name “Jesus” also carries the meaning of “Savior,” and this is the name we hear most often, embodying the calling of Jesus, the purpose that the heart of the Son yearned for. He came to rescue humanity from sin and the separation from God, […]

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December 22, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Creating other gods

The Lord instructs us several times that He should be the Only One worshiped, above anything else, because He is the Only God. This is not because He simply desires exclusivity. It goes far beyond that thought. Thinking like this makes it seems like God pleads for attention and needs us. But that is not it. One God for all The Father desires to be first in our lives, but He does not instruct us to worship Him solely out of a desire for exclusivity, as if His power depended on it. He calls us to have Him as the Only God because it is not necessary for us to look for something elsewhere. He is already the true source of everything. He is complete, whole, unique, and incomparable. Why would we worship other gods? Why would we create other gods? Just as the disciple Peter said in John 6:68: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” If He already possesses everything and gives us all these wonders through His grace and love, why would we run to other gods? In the past, it was common to hear about a god for each subject. […]

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December 14, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Prayer: Reaching for eternity

I want to use this space to pray with you for clarity and depth so that we can prepare ourselves for eternity with the Father. May we walk and act with this purpose, longing for Him and sharing His love and grace with people along our journey. In this journey, may we love above all, for He loved us first. The love, which is Christ, dwells within us. The Holy Spirit of God resides in me and in you. Therefore, may our response always be one of love and grace. You don’t need to pray exactly as I’m going to say here. I know that everyone has their way of talking to the Father, and it is important that we individually seek intimacy with Him. Therefore, feel comfortable talking to the Lord in your own way. But if you want, I will be happy to accompany you in this prayer. Prayer Father, I come before You today to ask for clarity, not to know all the steps I will take in life and have a false sense of control, but so that I can see You and hear You. I don’t need to understand eternity, but I want to fear […]

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December 13, 2023·Rapha Abreu

An eternity to love

Eternity is something difficult for us to understand. This is because humans are destined to end, humanly and physically speaking. We get hurt, feel pain, are fragile, and mortal. But when we stop to think about this, we may ask ourselves, ‘But what will God do there?’ After all, a perfect place, with His full presence, without any evil, what will He do? Simple, what He has always done and continues to do in Eternity: to love. From the beginning “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.“ Genesis 1:3,4 The world has never been the result of an eternity filled with boredom and emptiness. God was not idle, just thinking of writing a simple story to fill His time. He is complete; everything needs Him to exist, it has never been the other way around. But He loved! The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit already coexisted in perfection, and the creation of such a vast universe was always so that this perfect and complete love could overflow. The world is the full expression of God’s great love and, as it is so sovereign and complete, He invites us to also discover this lifestyle. God’s love […]

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December 12, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Prayer: Bought by the blood

I spoke to you in the previous text about the price paid through the blood of Jesus to redeem our sins. Today, I want to pray about recognizing and remembering this sacrifice daily. We need to surrender and pour out our hearts completely and constantly. You don’t need to pray exactly as I’m going to say here. I know that everyone has their way of talking to the Father, and it is important that we individually seek intimacy with Him. Therefore, feel comfortable talking to the Lord in your own way. But if you want, I will be happy to accompany you in this prayer. Prayer “Father, thank you. I express gratitude today because I can call you Father, all thanks to the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. I can now pray to the Lord wherever I am, without the need for sacrifices or grand temples. I acknowledge the sacrifice of Jesus, which allowed me to receive the Holy Spirit into my heart, granting me the privilege of living in Your love and care, even without deserving it, being Your home. Teach me to deeply understand the meaning of this redemptive act and to value the price paid […]

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December 07, 2023·Rapha Abreu

It wasn’t for free

It wasn’t free. Nothing Jesus did, nothing the Father poured out, was without value or cost. We hear the word “grace” so much that we confuse it with something that doesn’t have a value or that doesn’t need a price to be paid. However, I emphasize, nothing in the Bible was free, but everything came through grace and because of it. It is finished “You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:20 You were bought at a price… The cross was a delivery, a payment, so that God’s grace could reach everyone. I’m not saying that we can buy God, but rather that a cross price was paid for us to reach the Father. We have so many mistakes, so many flaws and faults in our human configuration. Nothing we could do would be able to redeem and cleanse everything we have done, are doing and will still do. Nothing can purify us from our impure way of living except the grace of God. This grace represents unconditional love. If this love is unconditional, the name itself already says that it does not need conditions to exist. The mercy and unmerited favor given by […]

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November 30, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Guided by a Promise

New beginnings are, in a way, endings too. Moving forward means leaving old steps behind. The difficulty in starting over lies both in the uncertainty of the unknown and in the nature of endings. A step in the dark “Truly my soul finds rest in God. My salvation comes from him.” Psalm 62:1 Many times, God calls us to start over, and we take a long time to take action, waiting for Him to tell us what to do after the first step. However, starting over is not necessarily linked to knowing what to do, but rather to continuing to sail even without knowing where the boat is going, resting in the truth that Jesus is in that boat. Noah didn’t know where the boat was going; nothing he knew before existed at that moment, everything was below his vision, flooded. However, he continued, for that was what the Lord commanded. You won’t have the answers at all times; The Lord is not a GPS that will constantly be telling you to turn or go straight. But His silence never meant His absence or lack. He put you on the boat, and He will take that boat to the right place, […]

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November 28, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Prayer: A good soldier

Whenever I hear the word “Missions,” I remember soldiers who are placed in front of tasks that must be completed in the best way, seeking excellence in carrying them out. We are those soldiers in the Gospel. In addition to being called as Children of God, we are also included in the mission of spreading the word, making it known and desired. Today, I want to pray about this Christian mission, about us as His soldiers. Remember that you don’t need to pray in the same way as I’m going to say here. I know that everyone has their own way of talking to the Father, and it is important to have our intimacy with Him. Feel comfortable talking to the Lord in your own way, and, if you wish, I will be happy to accompany you in this prayer. Prayer “Father, I lift my heart to You at this moment, laying at Your feet my complete reverence and a full surrender to You. I desire to be a faithful instrument in Your hands, seeking to be an increasingly effective soldier in carrying out Your works. May my entire being be dedicated to proclaiming Your Gospel and truth, spreading Your […]

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November 16, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Message not sent

The word thrown can hurt, both those who receive it and those who say it. It is capable of dirtying our spirit. But it can also positively transform places and hearts. It is capable of hurting and healing. But what have your words done? Do you understand how important they are? Artificial world “Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.” Proverbs 10:19 Since I was a child, I was taught that we should control what we say, that this is part of self-control. It’s something difficult to do in moments of great emotions (good or bad), because at the time the feeling ends up taking over us, if we’re not focused. And we end up losing control of what comes out of our mouths. We are in a technological era full of different functionalities. We can communicate with someone miles and miles away as if we were right next to each other. This facilitates and unites, but if we don’t know how to balance the use of technology, we easily lose control in our real lives. Power of the word “From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled. With the harvest […]

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November 07, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Overcoming

I have a special affection for the story of Joseph. It speaks about overcoming, forgiveness, perseverance, dreams, and faith. Joseph suffered physically and psychologically. He was emotionally wounded, saw bonds being broken in all his relationships, and experienced God’s silence for a while. But in every moment, he remained steadfast in his faith and held onto his hope in the promises of the Lord. Focus on What’s to come “…Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,” Philippians 3:13 I don’t know if it happens the same for you, but when the end of the year approaches, I feel the need for overcoming. Overcoming the bad things that happened, learning from the difficulties, and leaving them behind, looking forward to the sense of renewal that a new year brings. At this time, I always remember the story of Joseph, which teaches a lot about overcoming, that is, about leaving the past behind and striving to achieve every dream we have. After everything Joseph went through, he was elevated to a position of great influence and power in Egypt, becoming an instrument to save his people from famine. The one who experienced hunger, poverty, forgetfulness, sadness, and the feeling of […]

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October 26, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Prayer: A Worship Heart

It all starts within us. God first plants a seed in our heart, prepares it, and then this tree grows and can be seen by other people, making us a channel of God’s word and blessings. Today I want to pray with you about this order. So that we can understand the importance of first contemplating God’s grace and love, and only after worshiping Him in spirit and truth, we express this externally in words and praise. Remembering that you don’t need to pray exactly as I’m going to say here. Each one has a specific way of talking to God and it is important to have our intimacy with Him. I want you to be comfortable talking to the Lord in His way. But if you want, I will be happy to accompany you in this prayer. Prayer “Father, thank you for offering me a heart like Yours every day. Thank you, because even though I am a failure, the Lord shapes me every day. Teach me to worship You first, within my heart, with my being and spirit, so that later I can express it in words and actions. May people see the shine of Jesus in me […]

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September 25, 2023·Rapha Abreu

How does the glory reveal itself?

Anyone who has never tried to take control out of God’s hands should throw the first stone… I often thought that my way was better and closed my ears to what He had to say to me. I closed my eyes to His ways and followed a direction that I invented and judged to be sensible. In some moments when I decided for myself and for myself, everything worked out right away. But then I saw everything falling apart, becoming almost impossible to hold. He’s not like us “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18 If miracles happened as we imagine and according to our dynamics of faith, those miracles we see in the Bible would be different and much less impactful. This is because often, in our prayers, we plead for deliverance, and not for more structure and strength to face a given situation. But the glory of God is revealed in the midst of trials. We would not recognize the Father’s grace if it were equal to our thoughts and actions. We would easily think that a certain event occurred due to our strength […]

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September 12, 2023·Rapha Abreu

How do you feel inside?

The problem is not that there is chaos around you, as you need to focus on what is happening inside you. God is much more concerned about how you are than how things around you are… He’s in us… “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 In Acts 16 we see the story of when Paul was arrested. He was in captivity, but Paul’s inside was at peace and that set him free. In the story of Mark 4, when the storm hits, Jesus was at peace within and the storm stoped. Their states of mind, the feeling of peace within them coming from God changed the environment. What is within us has enough power to transform everything around us, it is not the other way around… When we fear the Lord, prosperity and peace accompany us wherever we are. Even if the environment calls you to make mistakes, to sin, to lie, to steal… If your principles are well established and your interior is at peace in Him, the environment is changed, not you. 1st step: Obedience “We must […]

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September 07, 2023·Rapha Abreu

What is the enemy’s power?

Whoever looks for you in your past will find you there? Or will you find an empty place? Hell at all times wants to take us to a place of our past, making us live all the mistakes again or taking away our peace with remorse for what has already gone. But while the enemy wants to remind you of your past, God keeps releasing things about your future… God made you new! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 Christ made all things new. You are no longer the same person you were yesterday, He constantly puts you in new positions, plants new dreams in you, continues daily to pour new blessings into your heart. But the enemy just as constantly tries to focus your eyes on what has already been forgiven by the Father. He knows that have been given to you a son’s identity, he knows how much access you have to the Father. What he always struggled to have, you have for free. But we have a lot to learn from the enemy and I know this phrase sounds strange, but I’ll explain. […]

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August 31, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Prayer: Urgency to move

In recent texts, I spoke to you about how the Father is not just a priority, but an urgency. And how He moves through us. Today, I want to use this space to pray about these matters. I want to ask that we can move for Him with that sense of urgency, looking for the Spirit and His work in us. Having strength and boldness to put Him before first place and move in favor of it. Remembering that you don’t need to pray exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because I know that everyone has their own way of talking to the Father and I want you to feel comfortable talking to Him in your own way. But if you want, I’ll be happy to accompany you in this prayer. Prayer “Father, how good it is to know that, even moving in You, I can rest in Your love and in Your action. I can rest knowing that You move through me and gives me strength in the face of everything that is impossible. I want to ask today for my heart to be open and understand how important and essential it is that my first search […]

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August 24, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Move yourself

The word “movement” appears for the first time in Genesis 1, verse 2. From that text, from Genesis to Revelation, it was through people moving that miracles happened. Do not stop “The earth was an empty waste and darkness was over the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was moving over the top of the waters.” Genesis 1-2 It is after this word that the text of Genesis begins to tell us how God created everything in the world in those 7 days. It was after His movement that everything began to emerge. Movement means success. No one who has won and reached incredible places has managed to stand still. People who move change their position and achieve their goals and dreams. Even if it’s not overnight, with each step they get closer to where they want to go. And as the Father moves, He calls you to move and work. Not to stand still. The Lord can do anything with a snap of His fingers, but He will work the impossible and He expects us to do everything that is possible as humans beings . We have the opportunity to participate in the work of the Father. I […]

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July 06, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Prayer: Good Fruits

In the last text we talked about the seed that He sows in our hearts and the fruit that is generated in us when we are in Him. Today I want to use this space to pray together about these fruits and these seeds. Let’s pray for the soil we are (or should be) to be fertile for the Kingdom. I invite you to pray with me. Remembering that you don’t have to pray exactly as it is written here. Everyone has their own way of talking to the Father and I want you to feel free to pray as you prefer. But if you want, I’ll be happy to accompany you. 🙂 PRAYER “Father, thank you for pouring so much on me, even though I didn’t deserve it. I am filled with gratitude for your work, for your mercy, love and care. For entrusting me with something so much greater than myself. I thank you for my gifts and my calling. More than giving thanks for what I receive from You every day, I want to pray for what I deliver before it. God, teach me to take care of what You have entrusted to my hands. Give me […]

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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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June 15, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Led by the Spirit

The Holy Spirit transforms many things in us and many of them have to do with our positioning. These days I heard a preaching from a very special pastor and I would like to share with you some of the ideas he presented. To position “Be on your guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13,14 Sometimes we think that having the Holy Spirit, in certain situations such as arguments or difficulties, is keeping quiet and just holding back, sitting back and waiting for Him to do something. But the Spirit of God gives us discernment for a good position in any situation. To be filled with this Spirit is to know how to position yourself, but not with your own strength, but by recognizing your dependence on Him. God expects us to position wisely. Even if we are without strength, He calls us to act according to His will. If the call comes from Him, He will be the source of strength to walk toward it. He empowers you “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 […]

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June 06, 2023·Rapha Abreu

What does “tetelestai” mean?

In the text of John 19, which narrates the death of Jesus, His last words were: “It is finished”, meaning of the Greek word “Tetelestai”. “When He had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished’. With that, He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit.” John 19:30 Do you know what the weight of that word was when it was uttered by Jesus? No more debts “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us. He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14 We were always taught in church about the last word of Jesus before his death, a word that carries so much devotion and surrender. But studying more about it I came across a wonderful explanation of how this word was used in the time of Christ. When someone committed a crime or had a debt to be paid, that person received a document as a certificate of debt. When the imposed sentence was fulfilled or the debt was fully paid, the Judge updated […]

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May 30, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Slaves of Desire

Immanuel Kant was one of the greatest philosophers of the 18th century. In one of his works (Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, chapter 2), he brought the idea that being free is not doing what you want, but doing what you don’t want. And today I want to talk about this idea and how it appears in different ways in the bible too. The power to evaluate “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh. Rather, serve one another humbly in love.” Galatians 5:13 As humans we have the false feeling that, if we do what we want, we are free. Kant breaks this pattern and shows that, if you do what you want, without measuring consequences, you become a slave to desire and, from that, it is impossible to be someone free. To be free is to do what we don’t want to. For example, I train in a gym. If someone offers me a lot of candies and fried foods after a workout, my craving would be immediately accept it and eat it all at once. But that way I would become a slave to desire, which […]

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February 22, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Sin does not stop the miracle

The Bible often has that part that we almost always skip when reading: the long and neglected genealogy. I understand why we skip. There are many names and that gives that feeling of wasting time in our devotional. But today I want to show you something very special. Everything has a reason “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness“. 2 Timothy 3:16 Everything in the Bible has meaning and importance. God doesn’t do anything for nothing, without purpose and that doesn’t carry a special message. Understanding where we came from and the path we took to a certain place teaches us to be grateful for where we are in the present and also to be hopeful about where we will go. Even if the walk was not made with 100% beautiful steps and only correct choices. An imperfect lineage “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope“. Romans 15:4 The genealogy of Jesus is presented in two ways: by Matthew, beginning with Abraham, and by Luke, who tells it from Adam. Regardless […]

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February 16, 2023·Rapha Abreu

What is revival?

Much has been said about revival. Either because of a wish for it to happen or because of the recent occasions like the Asbury university subject which is on the rise. However, I saw many people questioning what this was and why people are using this term. Do you know what revival means? What it means? When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4 Revival is about special visitations of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Old Testament revivals brought renewal and obedience at specific times when people were far from God. In the New Testament in Acts 2, according to the biblical passage above, the great move of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost is also narrated, which enabled and impelled Christians to start preaching the Gospel. Throughout recent history, it is also possible to see […]

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December 08, 2022·Rapha Abreu

Don’t sell your anointing

These days I heard this phrase from the title of a friend and it was kept in my heart. So I decided to look more closely at God for what that really meant, as I felt it was Him speaking to me through this friend, that it was Him reminding me of my worth and what I was anointed for in the Spirit. Anointing “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come”. 2 Corinthians 1:21,22 This word means to anoint, to apply consecrated oil to a person. In the religious sense, anointing is practiced with the intention of exerting spiritual influence, sometimes with the purpose of blessing or even healing. An anointed person is under divine protection and the anointing can heal any physical or spiritual illness, bringing transformation through its calling. To sell that would be to give it up for something else. Something non-negotiable is that which we would not exchange or sell for anything, as that is the maximum value for us and nothing would be big enough to […]

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