JFA Blog

Reflections, studies and news for your walk with God.

July 02, 2021·Gabriela Angerami

How to store up treasures in heaven?

Today I would like to share something about the relationship between generosity and eternity. God wants to teach us to live with eyes that can see far beyond what is visible, temporary, finite and earthly. When the Bible teaches us to be generous, it is precisely teaching us to have an eternal look with regard to our resources, possessions, and money. It is teaching us to store up treasures in heaven. Let me give a simple example here: when a mother or a father sits down with a child to do his homework, the child looks at the video game or some other toy next door and wants to play. The child thinks about what he wants at that very moment. He thinks only of the present while his parents worry about learning, about developing and about the next school years. More than that, parents dream about the future of their children. We who are already grown up are able to plan the next years, to organize ourselves for some future medium or long term dream. But more than this, our Father wants to teach us to live and plan our lives with an eye to eternity. And this also […]

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June 29, 2021·Nicole Leao

Prayer: Trusting in the unshakable rock!

Our Father is the unshakable rock and as it is written in Psalm 125, those who trust in the Lord are like the mountain of Zion that is not shaken. We will have afflictions in this world, but as we well know our savior has already overcome them all. Know that even if the struggle is difficult, our God is a righteous judge and has the power to change any story. With this in mind, today I want to pray with you who are going through a struggle, making a prayer of adoration and surrender. I leave here some passages especially for you today: ‘For it is I who know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. John 16:33 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken, but which stands forever. Psalm 125:1 Remember that you don’t have to repeat the prayer […]

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June 29, 2021·Nicole Leao

Those who trust in the Lord are like the mountain of Zion

How beautiful is this verse from Psalm 125, isn’t it? In Portuguese this Psalm has become a hymn that I like very much and it goes like this: “Those who trust in the Lord are like the mountain of Zion that do not shake but remain forever / As the mountains are around Jerusalem, so is the Lord around his people. Very strong verses indeed. Surely you have gone through a time of instability on this earth, for as we know the evil one lies there, yet I am sure you have overcome or are overcoming this adversity. Now ask anyone who has gone through or is going through a difficult time, how they had the strength to go on, and in general, the answer will always involve faith. We Christians know and know very well who is the God from whom this strength comes, from the one true God, our Father, comforter, just judge, Lord of lords and best friend. From the One who is always by our side and watching over us, who is goodness, but who is also a consuming fire. When we have God by our side, we survive the hardest day. To have God in […]

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June 21, 2021·Nicole Leao

Prayer: Calm down and everything will be solved!

Stress is not good for anyone, but we know that with the rush of everyday life it comes and only makes everything worse. However, the word of God, in Romans 12:12, talks about being patient in tribulations and there it is written: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, persevere in prayer. Certainly we are not 100% every day, but stress only creates more stress, so today I want to talk to you who find yourself in one of those days where one thing happens after another and it seems like nothing will ever get solved. I also want to remind you that feelings and situations are transient, after all, there is no evil that lasts forever. I leave here a passage especially for you today: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplications, and with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 Remember that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I am going to leave it here, because each one of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But […]

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June 21, 2021·Nicole Leao

Keeping Calm in the Midst of Chaos

We get up, pray, and decide “today will be a good day” or “this will be a productive day”, the productive day begins, but then we hit traffic, get our clothes dirty leaving the house, or some other unforeseen event. In the case of those who are home office workers, the child starts to cry, the neighbor starts the drill, dogs bark non-stop. And then stress arrives With this comes stress, which accumulates, accumulates, and accumulates some more. In a short time we forget our posture at the beginning of the day and adopt a completely different one, where we start to believe that nothing works out, that we won’t be able to finish everything we need, and many times instead of following through and doing what is necessary, we just complain. Wouldn’t it be easier to choose to put these little things aside and continue having a good and productive day? Certainly, but we prefer to let the little things get in the way of our performance, finding in them excuses for our bad moods and for being grumpy with those we live with. But come on, it’s not people’s fault what happened to you. Some things are inevitable […]

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June 15, 2021·Nicole Leao

Prayer: Our treasure is in heaven

These days I wrote a text about the importance of remembering that those who have been renewed in Christ do not belong on earth, but in heaven, with our Father, where we will praise him at all times. When we know this we change our way of living, because we know that our treasure is in our eternal home. Then we start to live for the honor and glory of God, no longer for ourselves or to accumulate worldly treasures, but to serve others with the certainty that one day there will be no more sadness, hunger or pain. With this in mind, today I want to pray with you that our goals and dreams will be in the right place. I leave here a passage especially for you today: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; John 11:25 Remember that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I am going to leave it here, because each one of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to follow me, it will be a pleasure, feel free to speak it […]

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June 15, 2021·Nicole Leao

The renewed in Christ are strangers in this world

These days a very dear friend of mine passed away, a person who lived to serve and in whom the image of Christ was reflected in every attitude. All my friends, as well as I, were heartbroken, because we did not expect this, but we found comfort in knowing that he was in the arms of the Father, that he had lived in an integral way, made great friends and left a precious legacy. What is our priority? I know that I am talking about a death, but this is not meant to be a sad text, only reflective. The day after the death I woke up and remembered the lessons left by this dear person. And something that throughout the day bothered me was: we are here to serve the other and spread the love of Christ, so I ask: do people feel loved by us? Do we show all this care and love? Are we so focused on our “little world” that we forget about the other? How often do we think that we are going through something much more difficult than the people around us, and so we give ourselves the false right not to give them […]

devotional word-of-god

June 11, 2021·Nicole Leao

Prayer: Living in God’s time!

This week I wrote a text about how we should not live our lives in a hurry, much less comparing ourselves to others, because each person has a time and more important than that, there is a right time for everything and God knows what it is. After all, life is a big puzzle, in which we do not know which is the final figure to be formed, but our good Father does. That is why we must trust Him, we have no way of knowing what will happen in the future, because it belongs to God, so the best we can do is to entrust it to the Lord. So, with this in mind, today I want to pray with you to deliver our goals into God’s hands and live in His time. I leave here a passage especially for you today: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep […]

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June 10, 2021·Nicole Leao

You don’t have to live in a hurry, God has a time for everything

I see that the last generations are the ones who most talk about enjoying the moment you are in, but in a contradictory way are the ones who most want to conquer everything before 30. At 21 years old I include myself in this thought, I will finish college this year and I am already crazy about what I will do for graduate studies, when I will have my own apartment, car, and a lot of things. Also, even at such a young age I already see friends in a hurry to get married, super anxious about the wedding or even already married and thinking about children. So I ask myself, why is it that the generations that most say that you don’t have to conquer everything before 30 are the ones that are in a hurry the most? Well, there is certainly the point that the country’s economy has been in a bad way for years when we think about the rush to professional life. When we think about haste in relation to marriage, it is either because the couple wants to have a holy relationship and this leads to an earlier marriage or because of the unhappiness of […]

devotional word-of-god

June 08, 2021·Nicole Leao

Prayer: Prepare for battle!

In the last text I wrote about the importance of putting on the armor of God to prepare us for battle, whether it occurs within ourselves, when it is against our flesh, or when the enemy uses someone to get at us. We pray asking and giving thanks for so many things and sometimes we forget to put on the only armor that not only protects our physical, but also our mind and heart. Remember, your mind is meant to be a place of peace, as well as your heart, and if it hasn’t been, maybe it’s time to do a self-evaluation and understand why this has been happening. You are a child of God and called to live a life of abundance, so let’s pray together against the snares of the enemy, against the lies he tells us, for self-control and wisdom. I leave here a passage especially for you today: 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the […]

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June 08, 2021·Nicole Leao

You need to put on the armor of God

Today’s theme came up when I woke up early in the morning with my heart racing and wondered how many people didn’t wake up like that. Sometimes we face battles with ourselves, repetitive thoughts, bad feelings that come and go, and I know it can be very difficult to deal with all this, but the first step is to put on the armor of God. A battle that takes place in our mind and heart, that is, in ourselves, can be more painful and difficult than a battle with another person. Not minimizing battles that occur because the enemy is using someone else to get at you, because for those too we need to be clothed and prepared. But the battles where we have to fight against our own flesh are certainly not easy. We are masters of deceiving ourselves and telling lies to ourselves, putting ourselves in the position of victim and poor wretch. Being that we are children of God and called to live a life of abundance. Our minds and hearts should be a place of peace and tranquility, so why is our heart so troubled? This is a question I have been asking myself, after all, […]

devotional word-of-god

June 04, 2021·Nicole Leao

Prayer: Letting go of fear!

Today I had to take a test that I do every year because I have had diabetes since I was 11 years old, called the glycemic curve. It is a lengthy exam that takes about 3 hours to complete, so I spent a long time in the laboratory to collect all the necessary blood tests. In the meantime three people passed by that caught my attention. The first was a young man about my age who was scared to death of needles and as I am very communicative I started to talk to him to divert his focus, who soon calmed down and finished the exam. The second was a little 10 year old girl, who came into the room crying because she was afraid of the exam, her mother told her repeatedly not to look, but she was so afraid that she needed to see what they were doing in her arm, I started talking to her again, telling her a little about my experience with this uncomfortable exam and even though she was crying she stopped paying attention to the needle and stayed with our conversation, managing to let the nurse take the blood. The third was an […]

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June 02, 2021·Nicole Leao

Create a Powerful Morning Routine

These days I saw an image on Instagram that made me think about how is our morning routine. Well, the image compared the routine of someone who works too much and that of someone who has a balanced life. I agree that the ideal would be for all of us to have a more peaceful routine where we have the morning time, but we don’t live in an ideal world. We work, study, have families, and all of this makes life a bit of a rush, so I would like to ask you, “what are your mornings like?” I particularly identify mornings as a very precious moment of our day. God’s word instructs us to praise Him first thing in the morning. But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. Psalms 59:16 You know, one thing I realized a long time ago is that when we seek God in the morning our day is transformed and no matter how much adversity there is, we are stronger to overcome it. When we seek our father early in the morning the biblical truths, from the […]

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May 31, 2021·Nicole Leao

How is your time with God?

Maybe this is a little different from what you are expecting, but well, here we go. These days I was watching the movie “Cheaper by the Dozen”, a very famous movie that many of you may have seen more than once, about a family that has 12 children. In the movie the family deals with the challenges of everyday life, but with the message of always being united and helping each other. It is not a Christian movie, but it is a movie that when I finished watching, I felt great peace in my heart, it brought me great joy and a feeling of gratitude. But what does this have to do with time with God? Well, at the end of the movie, I looked out my window and had a moment of reflection and contemplation, thinking about how nice that evening was and thanked Him for all that God has done and for His perfect creation. Such a moment led me to reflect a bit on what it is to spend time with God. Our father is omnipresent and is with us all the time, he sees everything we do and to talk to him, we just need to […]

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May 28, 2021·Nicole Leao

Can Love End?

Today we will address a topic that can give much to talk about, so I want to focus on love between a couple, the love in the marriage, that is a great blessing from God. The Father created man and woman to be together. Love keeps the couple together, even in the most difficult times. In Songs 8:7, it is written, “Many waters cannot quench love; the rivers cannot carry it away in the current. If anyone were to offer all the riches of his house to acquire love, he would be utterly despised.” So you may wonder, why do we see love running out all over the place these days? Well, this is not an easy question to answer, but I invite you to come together to better understand why. Love is a decision The first thing we need to establish here is that love is much more than a feeling, it is a decision that must be made on a daily basis. We can say that when a man and a woman like each other, they need to decide: to love or not to love. Love is more than attraction, it requires wanting the good of the other […]

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May 26, 2021·Nicole Leao

Prayer: For a world without hate!

The first biblical commandment, to love your neighbor, seems to be one of the most ignored in recent times, especially during the pandemic. Of course we also saw many acts of love and solidarity, but the excess of hatred was also noticeable. Relatives who no longer speak to each other because of differing opinions, attacks on the internet from all sides. I wonder where the wisdom that those transformed in Christ should have gone. As children of God, we are called to respect, to love, to be light in the world and salt on Earth. Called to be peacemakers, after all, as it is written in Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. This does not mean that we should not take a stand, but rather, that the reactivity that is so rampant out there leads nowhere. The soft word deflects the anger and it is in this space of dialogue where we can all grow with each other and as the body of Christ. So if you want to live in a world where there is more love than hate, I invite you to pray this prayer with me. I leave […]

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May 24, 2021·Nicole Leao

We are adopted by God

You may be thinking: What do you mean adopted by God? Well, adopted by God are those who have been redeemed from their sins by the work of Jesus Christ. These are those regenerated by the Holy Spirit and justified by God through the merits of Christ. Those declared righteous by God are also adopted by Him as sons, members of His heavenly family. In Romans 8:13-17, the apostle Paul writes that believers have received the spirit of worship, and are now led by the Spirit of God. This means that it is the Holy Spirit who bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. But isn’t everyone already a child of God first? Having asked this question, I want to bring the reflection that, in fact, fallen man is a “child of wrath” due to his sinful state (Ephesians 2:3). Therefore, not everyone is adopted by the Lord, of course these people can be used, because when God wants to act, He uses people and situations. He has used even a donkey in the Bible. But to be adopted we must first recognize our salvation in Christ Jesus. (Matthew 13:38; John 8:44; Acts 13:10; 1 John […]

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May 21, 2021·Nicole Leao

The importance of self-evaluation

To talk about this subject, I will tell you a story, a little naive and jovial, but a good example. Well, one day a young woman decided to watch a video about the ten most common makeup mistakes. Always very vain, she used to wear make-up to go out with friends and to church. She liked the subject and felt confident about it. Until one day she decided to watch a video about the ten most common makeup mistakes. After watching the whole video she realized that she had made some mistakes, and that there was much room for improvement. And what happened to this girl? No one looked at her and pointed out the mistakes she was making in her makeup. She had no direct contact with the instructor, she was not evaluated directly by her. So how did she discover that she needed to change? Through self-evaluation! Analyzing the examples given by the instructor in the video, the girl did a self-examination and realized her mistakes and successes. Learning from Jesus Jesus often promoted moments of self-evaluation to his apprentices. He led them to reflect on their own behavior, thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and values, through questions, parables, illustrations, […]

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May 19, 2021·Nicole Leao

God has the power to transform any situation!

Did you know that God has the power to remove from your life everything that limits you and fill it with positive feelings and company, which make you want to evolve and be a better person every day? He can transform our hearts and present a new world, but for that we need to believe and trust this promise. When we trust the Most High, we need not fear any evil, because He will always place us exactly where we need to be to achieve our happiness. God is the master of twists and turns, He knows all the ways, and He is powerful enough to turn all sadness into shouts of victory. But for this we also need to be willing to change our attitudes and allow Him to be in charge of our lives. Allowing some feelings and people to let go, even if it hurts, because God knows better than we do what will bring true joy. And how to do this? The first path to transformation for those who do not yet believe in a single savior, is to accept Jesus Christ. From then on, a whole change will begin in your life. But if you […]

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May 17, 2021·Nicole Leao

Prayer: We can always improve!

Even those who are meek and righteous need to constantly evaluate themselves. We cannot settle for the progress we make in the spiritual life. Even if you consider yourself more meek or righteous than others, the Lord still warns us to examine our hearts, not least because we are all sinners and should seek to grow further according to God’s standards and not our own. So today we will pray for transformation and change of behavior. I leave here a passage especially for you today: Let no one be deceived: if anyone among you considers himself wise according to the standards of this time of ours, then it is better to become foolish in order to attain wisdom. 1 Corinthians 3:18 Remembering that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each one of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to follow me, it will be a pleasure, feel free to speak it in your own way. Prayer Beloved God, I thank you for your undeserved love and because even though I am only a flawed person, you still stretch out your hand over […]

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May 14, 2021·Nicole Leao

Prayer: Destroying False Fortresses

Throughout life we can build walls around us believing that they are there to protect us, but in fact they are only keeping us from everything and everyone. Even many times they are just lies invented by us or thrown up by the enemy to keep us from living the supernatural things God has set aside for us. So today I want to pray with you to destroy these strongholds, freeing yourself to live a new time in your life. I leave here a passage especially for you today: Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the Kingdom and healing all sickness and disease among the people. News about him spread throughout Syria, and the people brought to him all who were suffering from various ailments and torments: demon-possessed, madmen, and paralytics; and he healed them. Matthew 4:23-24 Remember that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I am going to leave it here, because each one of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to follow me, it will be a pleasure; feel free to speak it in your own way. Prayer Beloved God, […]

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May 12, 2021·Nicole Leao

What does the Bible say about jealousy?

This week I wrote a prayer on the subject here on the blog and it was remarkable that there are many people dealing with this very bad feeling. So in today’s text we will better understand what it is to feel jealousy, how it arises, and what the Bible says about it. To feel jealousy, in and of itself, is not a sign of sin or a problem. The word jealousy originates from the Latin zelúmen or, again, from the Greek zelosus. Its origins are related to the word zelos, which means fervor, heat, ardor, or intense desire. And the apostle Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 13:4), says that “love does not burn with jealousy. This jealousy spoken of in this passage is the Greek zelosus. Which can be both good and bad, in the good sense it can mean a “zealous care” that seeks the good, protection, welcome, integrity and happiness of the other person. God Himself expresses His zeal and care for those He has created, saying, “You shall have no other gods before Me. For I am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:3,5). But unfortunately we live in a world corrupted by sin, […]

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May 10, 2021·Nicole Leao

Prayer: Saying Goodbye to Jealousy!

Today I want to pray with you about an issue that I see afflicting many people and that can cause so many disagreements: jealousy. This is a difficult feeling to deal with, which takes people off their axis and can even become an obsession. Jealousy is not only related to the love relationship of a couple, so it can affect any relationship and cause damage that is difficult to repair. I leave here a passage especially for you today: Incline my heart to your statutes, and not to greed. Turn away my eyes from worthless things; make me live in the paths You have marked out. Psalm 119:36-37 Remember that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each one of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to accompany me, it will be a pleasure, feel free to speak it in your own way. Prayer Beloved God, I thank you because I know that you love me so much that it is difficult to imagine such a love. I know that you take care of me and those around me, and for this I […]

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May 06, 2021·Nicole Leao

What would be the world without mothers?

Total chaos! Mothers are essential to society, they have an arduous task of teaching, caring and loving. As such, they have a strong influence on their children and their love is incomparable. The characteristics of a good mother reinforce the woman’s structure as a whole, which is possible to notice even when she plays other roles as a professional or wife. I believe that being a mother is a tremendous profession, because with the day to day it is necessary to manage crises, to be a nurse, a teacher, a psychologist, a chef, an economist, and we could include in this list a series of other professions. My mother always used a very nice term to describe what motherhood is, which is to be a PhD in Human Development. In addition, many mothers, if not most nowadays, are included in the labor market, having to do a real multiplication of their time. We see so many mothers who don’t even have time for themselves and I’m not here to romanticize this, but just the opposite, as a daughter, I want to remind other children the importance of valuing their mothers not only on a business day, but all year round […]

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