JFA Blog

Reflections, studies and news for your walk with God.

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 12, 2020·Léo

The power of the word!

The “word” we are going to talk about is the one we utter, the one that comes out of our mouths! Have we used our mouths correctly? Have we praised God with our words or have we used them to hurt people and gossip? Words have the power to bless and curse. Knowing this, we need to talk a little bit about it to see if we are using it correctly! The word as a blessing. “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10: 9-10 The word can only be a blessing if we are with the heart in the right place. That is, we will only have the ability to bless someone’s life, once our hearts and our lives are centered and focused on Christ. Any goodness that exists in our hearts, whether it big or small, does not come from us, but from the love that the Lord deposits in us. By origin we are flesh, we are […]

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March 04, 2020·Léo

Love of God

How do you see God? As a God of love and grace or as a God who only wants to punish people? It is necessary that we have an understanding of who God really is. At the beginning of my reconciliation with God, I had some difficulty understanding who He really is. So, I want to talk a little today about what I learned of God’s character. Join me! The essence of God “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8 We need to be very clear in our minds that God is all that is good and right, all good things emanate from Him. However, there is a particular characteristic of God that best defines Him: Love. God does not have a specific amount of love, nor love is one of his “ingredients”, which he takes and puts a little bit in each of us. God is love itself. At the beginning of everything He was love, throughout history He was love and He will always be love. Therefore, it is essential that we understand the passage from 1 John 4: 8, because in fact, if we do not love our neighbor, […]

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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·Gabriela Angerami

Bible Offline app has a new look!

At the end of last year we published an article here on the blog talking about the news we would have in 2020. One of them was the app with a new look. And with great joy we are now launching this novelty to our users! Check with us what has changed! 1) New Design We developed a new application design. We make it more beautiful and friendly to improve your experience with the Word of God on the cell phone. We updated the layout of the biblical text for a more pleasant reading and also the colors of the app’s own interface for a clean look. You can now browse the menu at the bottom of the screen or expand the list of features by clicking “more”. 2) “More” menu This menu brings a new organization of the features to make them even more accessible to our users. To start, right at the top there is a search icon, where you can search for specific features. We divided all the tools of the app into 4 categories: • Content • Store • Explore • My Bible In the sequence, we have separated the functions most used by our users […]

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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 20, 2020·Léo

Afraid of God?

Should we be afraid of God? What does the Bible mean when it talks about fear of God? What is this fear? Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. Deuteronomy 8:6 At the beginning of my reconciliation with Christ, I had a hard time understanding what that fear really was. A super important theme that leads us to have respect and zeal for what comes from God. Shall we talk a little about it? Being afraid vs. Fear of God When we know our God and understand who He is, we may be afraid of Him, but we cannot stay in that stage of fright! Why? According to psychology, being afraid is related to an involuntary and natural reaction that is associated with the survival instinct. It is related to self-preservation (action or reaction to preserve one’s existence). So if we do things to and from God for being afraid, we are doing it with the mindset to preserve our own life, and not out of love for Him. That is exactly where fear comes in! Ok. But what is the fear of God? “Much dreaming and many words are […]

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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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February 11, 2020·Léo

2 features from Bible Offline you may not know

Hello! It’s great to have you here on our blog. I imagine you already know Bible Offline application. But there may be some features in our app that you don’t know about yet. In this post, I will talk about 2 of them that can help you in your reading of the Bible. Biblical Quiz Test your knowledge with the “Biblical Quiz” feature and make your reading more dynamic and fun. It is a tool that can instigate you to read even more the Word of God. See how to find the “Biblical Quiz” in the APP in the images below. It is available in the main menu of the APP. Reading Progress Reading Progress is a feature that shows you how much you have read of the Bible, dividing it into parts (Old Testament, New Testament, Pentateuch, Gospels, etc.). Read the Bible every day, delve into the Word and grow in your reading progress. See below how this tool shows the percentages of books read. To mark the chapters as read, it is necessary at the end of each chapter to click on the mark button. I hope these tips can help you! Grace and peace.

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February 06, 2020·Léo

Why do you follow God?

Have you ever asked yourself “why do you follow God?” Or “why do you do what you do for Him?” Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. – Jeremiah 9:12-13 A sister of mine in faith asked me that question. I was very thoughtful and had difficulty finding a concrete answer! Then I started to analyze every area of my life with God and found a serious mistake, which I was making: I was not looking for God for who He is. But for the things that I knew He could do or something that I wanted Him to do. It saddened me. I knew it was not the right way to seek God. The crowd Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. – João 6:26 The crowd had just witnessed the multiplication of bread and fish (John 6: 1-15). However, people were glad to have satisfied their hunger and not to have witnessed […]

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February 04, 2020·Léo

How to do a daily Devotional?

How and what to do in your daily Devotional? Devotional is undoubtedly one of the most important moments in the daily life of a Christian. Therefore, we need to pay close attention to it. 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 be prosperous and successful. – Joshua 1:8 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. – John 6:35 We need to look to Jesus and in the biblical teachings, for food for our spiritual life. That way we will be able to grow, increase our faith and live a life that glorifies God. It is important to remember that the devotional is a personal moment. You should do it in the way that makes you most comfortable. What we are going to talk about are just a few steps that can help you, but there is no exact rule on how to do it. The Place The choice of place has a great influence in the flow […]

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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 28, 2020·Gabriela Angerami

4 tips to be able to read the Bible every day

How to read the Bible every day? I live in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I currently have a busy week. I work, I study, I have a cell group at home, I participate in many church activities, I need to take care of my home, etc … Everyone has their commitments and how easy it is to have a very busy schedule of responsibilities. I know it is challenging to stop in the midst of chaos to spend time reading the Word. I also know that some find it easier to pray while others find it easier to read. To help you in the challenge of reading the Bible every day, I will share some tips here. Tip 1: set small practical goals At the beginning of the year we usually make a lot of plans and set a lot of goals. Weight loss, exercise, read 1 book a month, change your diet and many others. Authors and professionals who talk about changing habits have argued that it is more effective to establish 1 or 2 less aggressive goals and focus on them. Sometimes we set so many goals that we end up not focusing on any. Or the goals are […]

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January 23, 2020·Maria Clara Arruda Marques

The power of the secret place

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” – Matthew 6: 5-6 Jesus was a reflection of what he lived and received in the secret place. And the most incredible thing is to know that what moved the heart of Jesus was not necessity, but love. Love for the Father, for intimacy, for eternity. Encounters with God transform life Rest assured that our greatest encounters with God will always be when our decision is too close the door to the room and spend time with Him. It is in these secret encounters that He tells us truths about who we are. He reveals more about His essence and gives us new sandals to support the “GO” ministry. It is in the secret place that we are equipped for the visible. Moses had an encounter alone with God in […]

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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 13, 2019·Marcelo Brandão

Come 2020!

We are nearing the end of 2019. So you can get ready because that is what they say: new year, new life! And may it be a new life with Christ, especially! This does not depend on whether you had a year of great intimacy or a year of being a little distant from the Lord. God’s Word tells us that the mercies of the Most High are renewed each morning. There is always a new opportunity to draw near to our Father. He embraces us and accepts us through our decision to live the way He tells us to live. If there is repentance on our part, we can resume the step we were in and re-establish our walk with Jesus. Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and turn to God, that He may forgive your sins.” New routine I confess that I have always had great difficulty establishing routines in my life. I don’t like to fall into a routine and lose the intentional force of what I’m doing. At the same time I hate not having a routine for certain things that are needed every day. Reading the Word, praying, fasting, studying, and keeping thought on things above (Col. […]

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December 12, 2019·Marcelo Brandão

For unto us a child is born…

Isaiah 9: 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (7) Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness. It is very likely that this passage was written seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus. Isaiah was one of the prophets who announced the coming of God’s anointed in the Old Testament. I confess that one of the things that strikes me most about the Bible is how ancient prophecies aligned with these later events. Today’s text is intended to remind all brothers of the true meaning of Christmas. And not. I’m not talking about good energy or dressing nice people at the end of the year. The meaning of “Christmas“ The word “Christmas”, coming from the Latin “Nativitatis”, carries the simplicity of the word “birth” in its meaning. Therefore, we celebrate the occasion of one’s birth. Whether or not this is the official date, if we have […]

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December 11, 2019·Marcelo Brandão

Bible Offline Retrospective

December would never be complete without a beautiful retrospective of our year in the Bible Offline. These were great times with each of you. So many moments of reading God’s Word, plans, devotionals and new learning here in this blog. I confess that I grew a lot myself in 2019, either in my understanding of the Bible or Christianity itself. I know I’ve grown a lot internally too and I’m sure the Bible Offline has cooperated a lot for it, as it must have cooperated for all of you reading here and using the app every day. Even though it was a small verse read, I am sure that the Word, which is living and effective, served to bring confrontation and comfort. A few numbers In all, we had 439 million verses underlined with color markers this year, 28.4 million shared verses, 68 million chapters read, and 40 million audio downloads of Bible chapters. Despite such large numbers, as a brother in Christ, I want to bother me and everyone who is reading. We have approximately 65 million Protestant Christians among almost 210 million inhabitants in Brazil. On a basic account we can see that God’s word could have been […]

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December 10, 2019·Marcelo Brandão

Christmas x Consumerism

Dear brothers, everyone must have realized that the posts I have been writing in December have been focusing on the holiday season and on issues related to the fact that 2020 is coming. I believe the title of this post could not be more self explanatory. Particularly, I love Christmas for several reasons. It is a date when we remember the birth of Jesus (even though no one knows precisely the correct date). It’s vacation time. Time to reunite with family. Time to enjoy good times with the people we love. Gift giving In my family we have a tradition of exchanging gifts. And I know this is a common practice in many other families in the world. I do not see this as an obligation, but a time where I am very happy to be able to give gifts to people that are important to me. Yes, I love receiving gifts. But surely my greatest pleasure in these moments is much more in “giving” than “receiving”. However, as with everything else, the world has managed to misrepresent even the act of giving gifts. A beautiful gesture was turned into something without limits. Christmas ends up being remembered as a […]

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