JFA Blog

Reflections, studies and news for your walk with God.

March 20, 2019·Marcelo Brandão

Among so many tragedies: where is God?

The breakup of the Brumadinho dam and the massacre in the Suzano school, in Brazil. The cyclone in Mozambique. The fall of Boeing in Ethiopia and the mass shootings in the USA. It seems that I am citing some tragedies that have occurred in the last decade. But unfortunately they are some of what happened in 2019. And we are not even in the fourth month of the year! I feel completely desperate when I find myself thinking about each of these situations. And I am also completely distressed when I repeatedly hear from Christians and non-Christians the same phrase. “Where is God in the midst of so many tragedies?” I confess that when the Lord put in my heart that this should be the theme of this week’s post I felt distressed. It’s a very delicate subject and I asked God to tell me about anything else, so I’m afraid. However, I was extremely annoyed by the Holy Spirit to talk about it. How does God think? In our simplicity of reasoning and endless distance between the way we think and how God thinks, we try to question Him about why so many bad things happen in the world. […]

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March 13, 2019·Marcelo Brandão

What is my mission as a Christian?

Talk about missions without imagining a Christian with a backpack and a worn out suit in an underdeveloped country is almost impossible for most people. The concept of missionary has been distorting itself over time. Christians today are even divided between those who “have called a missionary” and those who do not. But is thinking this way correct? Is it only a missionary who is sent to an underdeveloped country? After all, what is mission? In the dictionary, we have the main definition of “mission” as the “an important assignment carried out for political, religious, or commercial purposes”. So, basically, be a missionary is to fulfill an assignment that was given to you by someone who is at the head of the mission. Right? We must understand then that if everything is done of Him, by Him and for Him. The mission is entirely of Him! Rom 11:36 “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen”. And what is the mission? The mission is simple and was left by God Himself incarnate, Jesus Christ. And it was not a mission left only for those eleven who heard the message […]

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March 07, 2019·Marcelo Brandão

Gifts and talents: what are they and what are they for?

A lot of doubts are generated on the Christian people about the gifts. And, as many are aware of this, there are still many in doubt about this issue. Of course, there are several Christian lines of thought. Therefore, I will speak throughout this text using biblical passages and avoiding to position myself in line with my opinion, which goes according to the denomination which I fit into the body of Christ. Gifts and talents First, we have to understand that there are differences between gifts and talents. A talent is a result of something that already comes in your genetics or from a training on something. A spiritual gift is the result of the power of the Holy Spirit, acting through you. For example, I will not say that playing guitar is a spiritual gift that God has given me. But God gave me a talent or a facility to learn how to play. What are gifts and talents for? Before doing anything, in any area of life, I like to seek a purpose for it. Follow me: you can buy a watch, but to what it would be useful if you just leave it stored in a drawer? […]

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February 28, 2019·Marcelo Brandão

Fasting: am I doing it right?

Our walk with Jesus Christ teaches us new things every day. Day after day we are learning new ways to live in communion with the Lord ways of exercising our faith. There are three things that are essential in a Christian’s everyday life. Bible reading, prayer and fasting. Of course, no one has any doubts about how to read the Word of God and how to pray daily. But something that has always been difficult for me to understand as a Christian was how to fast correctly. In the beginning, I used to do fasts of food for purposes. Fasts of some kinds of songs and even of social networks. But did I do it right? WHY WE MUST FAST? First we must understand the reason why we fast. There’s a lot of people that do it for material things or blessings for the earthly life. And ok, I can’t say that this is going wrong. After all, we live by faith and not by the ways stated in the law. As the Apostle Paul said in Galatians 2:16, “know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, […]

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February 21, 2019·Marcel Rocco

Becoming stronger in the grace of Christ

2 Timothy 2:1 – You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The apostle Paul’s counsel to Timothy is imperative to all Christians: to sow we need to be supplied. We can not sow what we do not have. It is useless to prepare the earth if there are no seeds in our hands. As we strengthen ourselves in the grace of Christ, he renews us and empowers us for an abundant harvest. This is a continuous process because we do not strengthen ourselves once, but we must fortify our faith daily and we need to appropriate the manna, as in the experience of the people of Israel in the desert, when God made a daily portion of bread come down from heaven. Pray that the Lord will strengthen you and empower you in all areas of your life.

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December 20, 2018·Marcel Rocco

The power of generosity

John 6:11 – Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. One of the secrets of financial health is to know the power of generosity. Our investment in the Kingdom of God is not an obligation or a bargain. It is love for the Master’s cause and a feeling of gratitude for what He has done for us. The five loaves and two fish were probably that boy’s meal. When he gave up his meal in the name of the one who could multiply it, that food satisfied his huger just like the hunger of five thousand people who were sitting that afternoon at Jesus’ feet. We will never be more qualified than Jesus to take care of our resources. He is wiser and knows the needs of each one better. The story of the multiplication of loaves and fish shows us the power of generosity. Ask the Lord for wisdom in the management and use of your resources.

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December 19, 2018·Marcel Rocco

Being faithful to God and His Word

Titus 1:9 – He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. To be faithful to God we must also be faithful to His Word. When we fill ourselves with it, we become capable of making a difference in the world we live in. The Father reveals his plan for humanity through the Word. When we relate to Him through it, we discover our purpose in life as individuals. The Holy Spirit speaks to us in a personal way. As it is written in Psalms 119: 105, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path”. The Bible also generates in us encouragement and wisdom. The text strengthens our faith, enables us to discern and we can refuse lies that are preached or thrown into our minds by the enemy. Pray for understanding the Word of God so that you are able to carry the Lord’s values where you are. That in each reading the Holy Spirit will transform our life. We want to be an extension of the Kingdom of God through our way of thinking and acting.

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December 17, 2018·Marcel Rocco

Sowing for the Kingdom of God

Acts 2:42-47 –They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. We must sow according to the instructions that God gives us. So we can harvest abundantly because He is the provider of the harvest. God gave us care ingredients as communion, reading the Word, breaking bread and prayer. If we ignore these items, we will lose many fruits. Enjoy the gifts of other brothers that complete yours. Together it will be possible to compose a work that will bear many fruits for the Kingdom. Pray that your church will work well in sowing and care. Pray also that there is sensitivity to the direction of the […]

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