JFA Blog

Reflections, studies and news for your walk with God.

July 29, 2021·Nicole Leão

It’s time to overcome your insecurities

Have you ever felt inferior or self-pitying, felt that everyone was judging you, but in fact none of it was real. As human beings we sometimes have inferiority complex and insecurities that come in and make us feel too small and what does the Bible have to say about this? Well, complexes imprison us and everything that imprisons us is not good, for we have been called to freedom in Christ. Many people feel this way because they have lived in hostile environments, suffered bullying or been criticized too much, and as a result, they end up absorbing the external problems, which makes everything more complicated. But today I want to bring two biblical examples about inferiority and self-compassion. Through the stories of Gideon and the prophet Elijah, we will better understand what the word of God has to tell us about these things. Gideon and inferiority The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why […]

devotional word-of-god

July 27, 2021·Nicole Leão

Prayer: Getting rid of childhood fears

The other day I wrote here about fears that we develop as children and sometimes accompany us into adulthood, be it the night, abandonment, need, sickness… Anyway, you are not guilty or to blame for this fear, but it is certainly horrible to live in fear and we have been called to freedom in Christ Jesus. So today I want to pray with you, asking for deliverance from these fears that you have been carrying around since you were little. Here are some passages especially for you today: I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 Remember that you don’t have to repeat […]

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July 27, 2021·Nicole Leão

Fears generated in childhood still live in you?

Today I want to open this text with a story, since I was very young I have always been afraid of the dark. And it was not little, it tormented my parents night in and night out. They came to my room, prayed with me, told me stories, but not always these things solved it. Restless nights When I was 11 years old during a period I started to suffer with epileptic crises at night, due to abnormal brain discharges, which can be caused by conditions such as hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. Thanks to our good God, these episodes of crises happened few times, but unfortunately they left a bad mark, which was the fear of sleeping and having a crisis again. Once again I saw my fear at night that came since childhood being reinforced and when I started to relax my body, about to sleep I had the following thought: “but what if something bad happens?”, this made me unable to rest and consequently made my parents crazy too, being a situation that we had to face as a family. I remember that at the time, my parents bought a Christian book that talked about fear to […]

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July 22, 2021·Nicole Leão

Prayer: Adoration and Gratitude!

Today I want to join you in a prayer of adoration and gratitude, to bring to mind all that our good God has already done for us. After all, we should not pray as if we were making a “checklist” of requests. It is good to stop and give thanks for what God has already done or is still doing, and to worship Him for His infinite grace and goodness. Worship, like the act of giving thanks for what God is already doing in our lives, creates peace, calms anxiety, as we remember the goodness of the One who first loved us. So I invite you to take this time to reflect a little. I leave here some passages especially for you today: 1 It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High,2 proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, Psalms 92:1-2 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, Hebrews 12:28 Remembering that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m […]

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July 22, 2021·Nicole Leão

God is love and consuming fire! What does it mean?

The term consuming fire is often used in Christian circles, but do you know what it means? Are you unsure if one contradicts the other? Well our reflection today is to understand where this term comes from, why we use it? What is its meaning? And how does God’s love relate to his consuming fire? To begin with in the Bible fire appears many times directly related to God, as a symbol of his presence in some aspect. Examples of this is when God makes his covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15:17, or when he summons Moses when he saw a burning bush in Exodus 3:2. There is also the pillar of fire that accompanied the Israelites, reported in Exodus 13:21. So as we can see, fire can represent the symbol of their presence. Fire is also used for purification, something that we see in our daily life, but spiritually it represents holiness, which is one of God’s moral attributes, for He is fully holy and is the source of all holiness. As it is written in Habakkuk 1:13, God’s holiness is such that His eyes cannot behold iniquity. So why is God a consuming fire? God is consuming fire […]

follow-jesus love-of-god

July 20, 2021·Nicole Leão

Prayer: For a Generous Heart!

Generosity is a powerful tool of connection as we wrote these days around here, which is essential for all areas of our lives, whether in the church, at work, or in our homes. It has the power to transform environments, people’s day. Our God is generous with us many times, although we don’t always realize it, He is so generous that He gave us His only son so that we could have eternal and abundant life. And thinking about this I want to pray with you that we can be more and more generous, have a generous heart. I leave here a passage especially for you today: As a result of your service, (1) they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers (2) will show that you are obedient to the good news of Christ. And (3) they will pray for you with deep affection, because of the overflowing grace God has bestowed on you. 2 Corinthians 9:13-14 Remembering 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 […]

generosity prayer

July 07, 2021·Gabriela Angerami

A powerful tool for connection

Do you know what one of the most powerful tools of connection is? Generosity! Keep this in mind: generosity is a powerful tool for connection. Let’s talk a little bit about it. Paul encouraged the churches to be generous It is interesting that in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, we see him encouraging the Gentile churches to contribute to the church of the Jews in Jerusalem. There were Jews in the Jerusalem church going through need. And Paul knew the weight that Gentile contributions to Jews would carry. The church of the new covenant in Christ Jesus, in which non-Jews, that is, Gentiles also became part of the people of God, was also new at that time. The Corinthian church’s act of generosity to the church of Jews in Jerusalem would symbolize the unity of the church. In this context, Paul was using generosity as an instrument of connection. The results of generosity in the Church In 2 Corinthians 9:13-14 it is very cool to see Paul pointing to what the results of that generous act of the Gentiles would be. “As a result of your service, (1) they will give glory to God. For your generosity to […]

devotional love-your-neighbor

July 07, 2021·Nicole Leão

Prayer: Crying out for God’s help!

What is the help or care from God that you need? We live in a world of 7.874 billion people and each one is going through a different struggle, has a different need, which God knows well and is there to care for and teach. Even with so many people in the world, our Lord still knows the innermost of each one, for He is God, powerful, omnipotent and omniscient. Have you ever thought about how wonderful this is? Well, even with all His majesty, He still has patience for you and me, He cares for each of His children. That is why he hears your and mine cries, in the desert times he is by our side and thinking about this today I want to pray with you. Let’s pray together for God’s help, in whatever area you need it. I leave here a passage especially for you today: The Lord watches over the life of the upright, and their inheritance will remain forever. In times of trouble they will not be disappointed; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty. Psalms 37:18-19 Remember that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it […]

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July 06, 2021·Nicole Leão

In what area are you crying out for God’s care?

It is difficult to find someone who says that life is perfect, there is always one or another thing that could be better, some area of life that needs more care and today I would like to bring an answer, a comfort to the heart of those who are anxious, in 1 Peter 5:7, it is written: “Cast all your anxiety on him, for he cares for you. Independent of the area God has the solution The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty. Psalms 37:18-19 Did you know that for God there is no area of your life that is more or less important? Be it sentimental, health, employment, or even things that to our eyes are simple and we don’t even think that deserve great care. You are important to the Lord and He takes care of His children at all times. An important reminder is that God takes care of the righteous as it is written in the verse, so we always need to evaluate ourselves and ask forgiveness for our failures, forgive those around us, […]

devotional word-of-god

July 05, 2021·Nicole Leão

Prayer: Gathering treasures in heaven!

The other day we wrote here about store up treasures in heaven, we saw that despite the importance of our work and projects, we must also keep in mind where our real good is, that is, in our eternal home. This reminds us that the riches of this world are temporary and as much as we should plan and save, we cannot see our neighbor in need and fail to act. More than having a fat reserve, diversified investments that provide us with a secure future here on earth, when we are generous and invest in people, in the church, in the Kingdom of God, we are accumulating a secure treasure in heaven. So today I want to pray with you to rebuke greed, remembering that your trust is not in earthly possessions, but in God, even if overnight everything is lost, he will still take care of you, because you are His child. I leave here a passage especially for you today: Sell your possessions and give to the needy. By this you will store up treasures in heaven, and the purses in heaven will not wear out or crumble. Your treasure will be secure; no thief will steal […]

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July 02, 2021·Nicole Leão

Prayer: Impacting lives!

We are the salt of the earth, and we can’t lose the flavor, we can’t forget what our mission is, and we need to fight for it. I want to remind you that to impact lives we don’t need to be just in a prominent position, we can do it where we are with the surrounding people. In fact, we must start within our own families, after all, if we don’t make a positive impact at home, how are we going to do it out in the world? I leave here a passage especially for you today: You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its flavor, how can it be restored? It will be good for nothing, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. “You are the light of the world. You cannot hide a city built on a hill. Also, no one lights a lamp and puts it under a vessel. Rather, he puts it in its proper place, and so it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. […]

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July 02, 2021·Nicole Leão

Impact the lives of those around you!

Do you impact the lives of those around you? Better yet, do you positively impact the lives of those around you? These are questions that lead us to reflect about how we conduct ourselves before our neighbor and about something that we have talked a lot about lately here, about our ministry as renewed in Christ. You and I have a mission to be light of the world and salt of the earth, living this way for eternity, but have we been acting this way? I would like you to think in this moment: in the last week have I blessed lives, have I been indifferent, or have I caused harm to anyone? Of course, our first mechanism is to believe that we did everything right, but we need to take responsibility. To become responsible for our faith, for our mission, and for the mistakes we make. And as a sinner who is always learning and seeking to improve, I want to admit to you that in the last week I have failed to positively impact people’s lives, I was so focused on my own issues that I didn’t prioritize those around me and more than that, I negatively impacted […]

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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 […]

devotional word-of-god

June 29, 2021·Nicole Leão

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 […]

prayer word-of-god

June 29, 2021·Nicole Leão

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 Leão

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 Leão

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 Leão

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 Leão

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 Leão

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 […]

devotional prayer

June 10, 2021·Nicole Leão

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 Leão

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 Leão

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 Leão

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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