Word Of God

December 22, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Prayer to One God

Our minds, in moments of sadness and turmoil, become weak if they are not established in Christ. Consequently, we begin to try to fill the void within ourselves at any cost, but we can never fill it with anything other than God and His life-giving Word. This prayer is based on the previous text Creating other gods. 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 “Dear God, thank you for being complete. I appreciate that everything we need can be found in You. Please don’t let me create other gods or prioritize dreams and projects over You. I don’t want to seek answers elsewhere. Keep me steadfast in Your word, following Your direction. God, I ask for forgiveness for the times I’ve placed any other subject, place, person, or situation above You. Do not let my eyes stray from You, Father. Grant me discernment to identify and […]

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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 18, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Prayer: Aligning Paths

In the last text, I spoke to you about walking. We mus know that the path and steps will often seem messy, but we must follow with a focus on God’s promises and directions. I want to invite you to pray today for the perfect path we find in God. Also for obedience and faith to take each step towards what the Father has for us. 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 “Lord, first, I want to thank You. For loving me and guiding me, even though I don’t deserve to follow in Your footsteps. Thank You for speaking to me, even though I’m not worthy of hearing Your voice. Make me sensitive to what You have to speak to me, that I can feel You in every breath always. I ask you for firmness to walk with you. My eyes are limited, and Your […]

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December 18, 2023·Rapha Abreu

A messy organized

In moments when life seems messy, it’s normal to think that God is not with us. But the hardships and confusions of life do not mean the absence of the Lord. I understood this in a beautiful way, even after going through difficulties. Finding your place “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9 Many times, and I would venture to say that in most of them, God “mess up” the paths to then align them and allow us to understand them. On a trip I took, on the road, I missed an entrance, and the return was far ahead. At the time, the feeling was stress for having made a mistake, that feeling of wasting a lot of time for a small mistake. But before returning, I found an amazing bakery on the way. Big, beautiful, and full of good options. I stopped, bought something to eat, and continued my journey happily. I wouldn’t have known about that stop if I hadn’t missed the entrance. We know the path by walking. Therefore, it is good to allow yourself to miss an entry. Sometimes your place is at the entrance, on the way, at the […]

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December 05, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Prayer: Promises that guide us

We are often frightened by new paths and only obey God when He explains every detail of what lies ahead to us. But most of the time, He won’t tell us where. He will just show us what we should do now, and as we obey, new paths will take shape in front of us. Today I want to pray for this so that we trust when there is light to see each step, but also (and even more) when everything is dark and abstract. 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 “Dear God, in this moment of reflection and prayer, I open my heart to You. Help me recognize Your greatness and faithfulness more and more each day, placing complete trust in You. I don’t need to know the entire path, nor do I want to rely on my understanding of each step to be […]

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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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October 31, 2023·Rapha Abreu

The sign of return

The Bible is full of details, and the more we study and get to know it, the more we realize those that make all the difference. Today, I want to talk about the death of Jesus and how the tomb was left when the promise is fulfilled. Folding the cloth When Jesus died, a cloth was placed over his face at the time of burial. In John 20:7, we can see that the cloth was not just left aside when He rose, as all the cloths were left in the tomb: “…while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.“ At that time, while the master was eating, the servant would stay out of his sight. When he finished, he would crumple the cloth and set it aside, which meant the servant could clear the table, as the master would not return. If the master got up but, before doing so, folded the cloth, it meant he would come back, and the servant should wait for him. Other studies also suggest that if a man went to eat at the house of his intended bride’s family and folded the cloth when […]

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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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October 03, 2023·Rapha Abreu

What is your real intention?

Generosity is something difficult to put into practice, as most of the time it is accompanied by sacrifice. Whether it’s sacrificing part of our time to serve someone or even donating material resources, which we often don’t have spare, but we do so to share with those in need. Therefore, serving and being generous is an act of courage and gratitude. Surrender and devotion “Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless, I will show my salvation.” Psalm 50:23 We need to be generous, because through this action, in addition to serving other people, we express our gratitude through giving, whatever the scope. More than give material resources or donate our time, we need to look at everything we have, all areas of our lives, in a generous way. Because generosity is at the essence of the Gospel. Pastor Tim Keller said something interesting in one of his sermons: Jesus Christ was the only human being who was not simply born, but who was delivered. God gave, donated His son out of love for us. Christ gave himself out of love for us. He became poor so that we could become rich. Through this surrender of Christ we […]

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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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July 25, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Justice and righteousness

In the beginning, when God created the world and everything in it, He also laid the foundation for righteous living. He is infinite wisdom himself and recognizes the importance of us living according to His righteousness. What are? “Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 16:20 Justice means the quality of who has a just behavior or treatment. It is a way of perceiving, evaluating what is right, just. Righteousness has a close meaning. It means quality, characteristic or attribute of what or who is upright. The virtue of following, without deviation, the direction indicated by the sense of justice, by equity. Virtue of being in conformity with reason, with duty. Justice and righteousness are very necessary traits. We can see their importance being expressed since the first books of the bible by great prophets and leaders. Just like god “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Love and faithfulness go before you.” Psalm 89:14 Throughout the biblical texts, we find in the nature of God teachings, through words and actions, about justice and righteousness. And He invites us to express His glory, to be […]

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June 27, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Have you been a false prophet?

I recently spoke to you about the difference between being used and being approved by God. An approved character requires depth and obedience. Approval comes through real devotion. How to recognize I used Balaam’s donkey in the text I wrote before as an example that God uses what He prefers and finds appropriate for the moment. Isso não diz muito sobre o que ou quem Ele está usando, mas revela muito sobre Deus. About the story of Balaam, I want to remind you what he was called. In the Bible he is recognized as a false prophet. Although there is not a verse that clearly calls him that, there are passages in which we can understand this characterization. In 2 Peter 2:15, we can read the following passage: “They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.” Or also in Jude 1:11 “Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain. They have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error. They have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.” When we read this, it’s normal to wonder about the revelations he made and the words he took to […]

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June 20, 2023·Rapha Abreu

I AM

God reveals who He is to us through various passages of the Bible. Until the moment when He sums it all up in the famous phrase “I Am who I Am”. Being “God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.” Exodus 3:14 In the book of John God is presented to us as the Light of the World (8:12), the bBead of Life (6:35), the Good Shepherd (10:14), the Door (10:9 )… Throughout the biblical text, from the first book, we see God presenting himself to the people in different ways. In each moment He revealed himself in a different way. But he never ceased to exist in the other forms he had already revealed or would reveal himself in the future. Sometimes God needs to remind us of something specific in His character. In moments of pain, He shows himself as Comforter. In the hour of uncertainty, He is the Promise. In times of confusion, He is the Way (14:6). But in all these situations, even if an attribute of the Father is in greater evidence, He simply remains Being. God’s character […]

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February 16, 2023·Gabriela Angerami

A Faith according to the Bible

In today’s text I would like to talk about FAITH. My heart’s desire is that my confidence in God’s increases more and more so that I reach a truly mature faith, according to the truth of the Word of God. I say according to the Word of God because there are many misconceptions about what Faith is. For some it consists of any form of spirituality. Recurrently we hear someone say “he is a person of faith” simply because that person has some religion. For others, having faith is directly linked to hoping that something good will always happen, as a kind of constant optimism in relation to health, wealth and happiness. Others regard faith as something completely dissociated from reason and intellect. But how does the Bible define faith? Chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews is one of the most cited when the subject is FAITH, as it lists people from the Bible who stood out for being great examples of conviction in the promises of God. This chapter is also known as the “gallery of the heroes of faith”. But before listing them, the first verses bring just a definition: Now faith is confidence in what we […]

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February 09, 2023·Rapha Abreu

How to know God?

Do you know what a house of prayer is for? Do we need to “consecrate” a space as a place of prayer? I wanted to bring some thoughts about the text of Isaiah 56: “For my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”. Go to him “If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you”. 2 Chronicles 15:2 The Father’s house was not called the house of “preaching” or “mysteries”, such as miracles and prophecies, but of “prayer”. Pointing directly to a relationship with God and the way worship should be performed. Several times I come here to talk about one of our actions. That’s because a lot is heard about what He does and we already know His promises, but it’s important to remember daily what needs to come from us. Knowing God through preaching and miracles takes away our action to build a relationship with Him. Receiving is easy, watching God speaking and doing is easy. But being willing to seek Him requires a step on our part. Listen and do “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you”. Job […]

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January 24, 2023·Ana Julia Luiz

God is not a genie

I would like to invite you now to close your eyes for a moment and stop to think about your prayers and the hours/minutes you spend with God. Analysis: what do you usually talk about? Do you ask for more or do you have quality time with the Father? Did you think about it a bit? Have you opened your eyes yet? Excellent! Let’s talk about it then. We can easily live a theology in which the human being and his will are placed above everything and God (I hope unconsciously) is reduced to a servant or a genie, etc You may be wondering where I’m going with this and if I’m implying that presenting your needs to God is wrong, but no, that’s not the point. It’s not that you shouldn’t ask, but you can’t summarize your life with the Father in just requests and more requests. Ceaseless search I recently started reading a book that is quite famous here in Brazil, called “The God Who Destroys Dreams – Rodrigo Bibo”. He has several analogies to things in our daily life to explain the central theme of the book, that no, it’s not an evil God who doesn’t let […]

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November 02, 2022·Rapha Abreu

Are you an ambassador for the word?

These days I came across the word “Ambassador” and went to research more about it. In this search I found some Bible verses that pointed to the fact that we are ambassadors through Christ. But after all, what does that mean? Authority in speaking “…For there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God“ Romans 13:1 Ambassador means being a spokesperson for a certain issue, be it a brand, a company, an organization, or the word of God. To be an ambassador it is not necessary for you to be from the company you will be speaking about, for example. But knowledge on the subject is mandatory, it is essential that you identify with a certain positioning and thinking. An Ambassador is someone who is up to date on the subject and has full authority and knowledge about it, whether an employee of a company or a user of its brand. You might be wondering where I’m going with this. Depth breeds authority “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God“ 2 Corinthians 5:20 In the passage […]

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December 14, 2021·Nicole Leao

Is your heart focused on what is eternal?

In his heart man plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9 We make many plans for the year ahead, but the best future we can hope for is in the Lord. We have a Father who wants to teach us to look at life from the perspective of eternity. In eternity we are already victorious with Christ, despite the trials we experience in the present life. At this end of the year I invite you to rest in the Lord’s care and to look at tomorrow as an opportunity to already begin to live God’s purposes and principles. Store up for yourself treasures in heaven and not on this earth Consecrate everything you do to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3 After all, when we sow our riches and time in the Kingdom of God, we are gathering treasures for eternity. So calm your heart and focus on what really matters, on what is eternal. And for this you can count on God’s grace and the empowerment that comes from the Holy Spirit, who is our friend, helper, comforter and the one who comforts us.Submit all your wishes, plans and desires regarding the […]

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December 08, 2021·Nicole Leao

What is the importance of the Bible?

What would Christianity be without the word of its master? About 3.9 billion copies of the Bible have been spread around the world, and it has been translated into more than 3,000 languages and dialects. Throughout the ages, countless people have written to highlight the meaning of Scripture, I mean, to bring understanding about the word, but still what the Bible tells us about itself is all that matters. God’s own word Some writers have called the Bible God’s love letter to us. Others have described it as being a manual for life, but more than that, it is God’s revelation to us (John 1:1-5). Scripture is God’s Word to mankind. It is inspired by God, which means that every word and part of the manuscript comes from God: “For all Holy Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, condemning error, correcting faults and teaching the right way of life. And this so that the servant of God may be thoroughly prepared and ready to do all kinds of good deeds,” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible is also inerrant, meaning that every word in every part of its original, handwritten stage is without error (2 […]

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December 03, 2021·Nicole Leao

Family: God’s project in risk

We have arrived at that time of the year when much thought is given to the family, when people get together for festivities, are more willing to forgive, and love is a much talked about topic. And today I will bring a reflection on where our real attention should be focused: the family. How is your relationship with your family? Many times, caught up in our own thoughts and tasks, we end up leaving those we live with in second place. Yesterday I even watched a very interesting movie called “Christmas in 8 Bites”, which is exactly about this. The story begins with the daughter really wanting a Christmas present, so her father decides to tell her how he got the video game he wanted so much when he was a child, but his parents could not give him. I beg your pardon, but in this text I will tell you the ending… so the father follows an hour of film telling an involving story about the miraculous plans made by him and his friends. His daughter gets very excited thinking that at some point will come time for the father then get the long-dreamed-of gift, as well as the […]

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November 26, 2021·Nicole Leao

Beware of outsourcing the faith!

“21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil. 23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ“. – 1 Thessalonians 5:21-23 Living in fellowship is of such importance, but outsourcing faith is problematic. What do I mean by this? There are those who only read the Bible in church, who only seek to learn from God’s word on Sunday in the service, and here we come to an important question: how autonomous is this person in the faith? None, this is the same person who also outsources prayer. Of course I am not saying that you should not ask for prayer, advice or direction from someone with greater maturity in the faith, it is very important to have people to instruct us in the right way, to counsel and to pray for us. However, that doesn’t mean that this person’s prayer has greater power than yours, you have access to the same God as your brother, the God who created the world and knows you like the back of […]

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