JFA Blog

Reflections, studies and news for your walk with God.

October 13, 2022·Rapha Abreu

Take Risks!

“It is only fair that much costs what is worth much”. This phrase is one of my favorites. I heard it from a writer that I admire a lot and it was forever in my heart. Many times we want something so badly, and we make it too valuable for us. We ended up marveling at the idea of arriving at this place, forgetting that the path we have to walk to it requires a responsibility on our part. Come out of the shadow “You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did” James 2:20-22 A lot of passion doesn’t get you anywhere, it needs to be filled with strategy and action. And the answer to that comes from above. When we don’t leave the place and don’t take the risks that come with what we want, we also don’t get anywhere and here comes the monotony and frustration, making us believe that God has abandoned […]

bible choices courage-of-the-lord dreams

October 10, 2022·Ana Júlia Luiz

And when is not the time?

Have you ever had the feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Getting to the level where you clearly feel within you the Holy Spirit saying, “Get out of there!”? It’s a slightly hopeless feeling, it leaves you agitated and scared. Wrong place at the wrong time Earlier this year, I was walking home after a day at work, and while waiting for the bus, I saw a man passing by, being carried by two others. He had a strange appearance and I felt uncomfortable in his presence. It was when I felt inside me someone clearly saying “get out of there”, at that moment I knew it was the Holy Spirit speaking to me. At the same moment this happened, my bus arrived and I had no peace until the moment it left the station and I was heading home. To be ready or not to be? Later, the Lord told me that it was a much more complex situation than I had imagined, which I was not ready to handle. In another situation, maybe He would send me to the man to pray for him, but I wasn’t ready for that, I still didn’t […]

devotional time

October 06, 2022·Rapha Abreu

Where does this light come from?

Last week I brought a text about Genesis 1, about you not despising your “Nothing”, because that’s where God creates, how the earth was created. Today I want to talk about a detail in the order of creation that we often miss: the Light. “Let there be light!” In verse 3 of chapter 1 of Genesis, on the 1st day of creation, God says “Let there be light”. Reading like this, we already imagine the light of day, right? But this light of verse 3 could not be the sun, for it was only created in verse 14, on day 4. So what light is this? What is the source of this lighting? Under a revelation In Revelation 21:11, it says: “It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal”. The first light in the world was not from the sun or a lamp, that first light was from the glory of God!! The light that illuminates everything was and is God himself. In the last chapter of the bible, in Revelation 22:5, it says: “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of […]

bible creation light-of-the-world overflow

October 04, 2022·Ana Júlia Luiz

Ask for help to solve!

These days I was at home absently playing with a Rubik’s Cube. I shuffled it all and after that I wanted to fix it again. Turns out I’m a denier tidying Rubik’s Cube and I always use an app that passes me all the way to tidying up. I usually use it just because I want to keep the cube tidy on my shelf after messing it up, so I’ve never had a problem. That day, God spoke to me through a Rubik’s Cube. Our hearts are like a Rubik’s Cube How many times have we messed up our whole life? We make decisions that are not God’s will, we act on impulse, we sin, we don’t repent, and this is repeated until we find ourselves in a mess that we created without knowing what to do. When we find ourselves like this, we try to fix everything by ourselves, and it seems that every time we try, it gets even messier. That’s exactly what the Lord spoke to me about. Like the Rubik’s Cube, we mess up our hearts, and every time we try to go back and fix it, it seems like the situation only gets worse. There […]

devotional expert-god love-of-god mess

September 29, 2022·Rapha Abreu

Don’t despise your “nothing”

I feel that many times we end up neglecting the text of Genesis 1. Maybe because we see this text only as a “Check-list” of what has been done. I heard a word these days that marked me a lot and I want to invite you to see more deeply the first verses of the bible just as my eyes were opened too. Something is created for something to be formed Verse 1 of chapter 1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth“ A little later, in verse 7 of verse 2, we see the following passage: “Then the Lord God formed a man“. Did you notice any difference between the two sections? In the first, the term “Created“ is used and then the term “Formed“. And it’s not by chance. You cannot create anything from what already exists. When something already exists, we just give that matter a different form. A chair, for example, is not created, it is formed through wood, which already exists. The earth was created, because there was no previous matter for it to form. There was no governorship before Joseph, only Pharaoh existed. God prepared a place for Joseph, a created place where nothing existed. There’s […]

bible bible-themes god growth

September 27, 2022·Ana Júlia Luiz

Prayer: return to your First Love

There is a term widely used to define those people who have just started to walk their path in faith: “First Love”. The use of this term is due to the fact that these people are extremely excited and euphoric about all this, in a gigantic level of passion for Jesus. We talk so much about these people and say things like, “wow, it’s so beautiful when we’re in first love”. But we forget that our life with God shouldn’t change after a while. It turns out that the more “time as Christians” we have, the more we limit our passion for Jesus. We have lost the enthusiasm of “wanting to preach even to a pole” and we are limiting ourselves to living only in that small space that we find to love Jesus, but not do absolutely everything for Him. We have to return to our first love and cry out to the Father to help us to be extremely in love with Him again. Remembering that you don’t need to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want […]

devotional first-love love-of-god prayer

September 22, 2022·Rapha Abreu

Emotion vs Feeling

We are approaching the end of September, but that does not mean that we should let our guard down in relation to our emotions and our psychological state. You deserve care. Faced with this subject, I want to ask you a question…Do you know the difference between emotion and feeling? The insecurity to feel “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” 2 Corinthians 11:30 In common sense emotions and feelings are synonymous, but according to some scientists, emotions are automatic and unconscious behavioral responses, whereas feelings are characterized by being conscious experiences that add up to all these unconscious responses. That is, it is as if the feeling only exists because of several emotions together. I brought this explanation so you don’t feel guilty anymore. When we feel, we think we are to blame for it. Some people may even consider this to be a lack of God. But we are in a human body, and we can go through many afflictions in the world, and that is not our fault. Feelings only become our fault when we don’t act against them and allow them to rule us. Don’t listen to what’s transient In […]

bible choices eternity feelings

September 20, 2022·Ana Júlia Luiz

Furious ocean

There is an ocean known for its fury. Its waters close to the coast are calm and serene, but when looking further away, it is possible to see its agitated waters that run from one side to the other. Few are those who venture, sometimes men, women and even children, taken by their courage in the deepest waters. It is said that those who are completely submerged never return. And indeed, why would they return? When diving into these waters, they are taken by peace, an inexplicable peace. They are taken to adventures that would never be taken, but mainly, they live what without that Raging Ocean, they would never live. Rumors about the ocean are spread by those who observe from afar, not daring to go a little further than the waters that reach their waists. Otherwise, they would be with those who have gone deeper. The ocean For a long time, I heard the text of Ezekiel 47 about the torrents of water, being compared to our relationship with the Lord. Instead of an ocean, the chapter talks about a river, in which the Prophet is carried deeper and deeper to a point where he could only swim […]

devotional dive ocean

September 15, 2022·Rapha Abreu

Do you have the culture of worship in you?

“We must create a culture of worship”. Today I want to talk about this phrase. I don’t know if you too, but I’ve heard a lot. I want to share my view on her. Culture of caring First let’s understand the meanings of culture. There are several, such as cultivation, development, relationship, expressions… What we hear most about is culture as the material or immaterial art that exists in a society. Culture is what shapes who we are and concerns where we come from. They are the characteristics of a people. The Romans brought another, even deeper, meaning to this word. A meaning considered in discussions to date: Beware. Culture, for them, was fully the act of caring. Taking care of a plantation, a dance, a painting, a building…On today’s topic: TAKING CARE OF WORSHIP. Desde quando o Senhor separou Seu povo, como descrito a partir do capítulo 25 do livro de Êxodo, Ele deu instruções detalhadas a respeito do local e de como as ofertas de adoração deveriam ser prestadas. Havia todo um zêlo, ritual e cuidado em relação a isso. Hoje a partir de Cristo, nós edificamos um novo templo espiritual e passamos todos a ser sacerdotes. Podemos […]

care overflow transformation water-of-life

September 13, 2022·Ana Júlia Luiz

A Prayer for Rest

How many times have you closed your eyes tightly, breathing deeply and crying out for the Father? Maybe because you couldn’t take it anymore or maybe because you were already one step away from giving up. The Lord says there in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” The Lord wants to give you rest, but the first step is yours: draw close to Him, trust the Father. Let’s pray for this rest and surrender to God everything we need. Remembering that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each 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 your own way. Prayer “Lord my God and Father, we thank you for this breath of life that you have given us today. Father, on this day, we want to give you all the worry, fatigue, sadness and anguish that have taken over our hearts. We ask that you take care of these things, over which we have no power. Holy Spirit, […]

devotional prayer rest

September 08, 2022·Rapha Abreu

It’s okay to have feelings

We have entered a very important month: Yellow September, a time of greater attention in the fight against suicide. Faced with this, I also saw the need to come and talk about feelings. No feeling is the arrival “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” 2 Corinthians 4:17 What we feel is not forever. Any emotion ends or transforms. Be good or bad. And that doesn’t make you smaller. Several times in my life I have considered myself weak for simply feeling. Maybe because certain feelings can make us vulnerable. Maybe because they can interfere with a lot of things if we don’t focus. But much of what we go through in life takes us to a much bigger place, to another level with ourselves and with God. Many bad times I went through made me arrive at wonderful places and with a transformed mindset. Because a bad moment is not the finish line, but part of the path. Feel is necessary “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy […]

feelings mental-health

September 06, 2022·Ana Júlia Luiz

The Priority of a Child

The book of John chapter 1, verse 12 tells us that those who have believed and received Jesus have the right to become children of God. When I think of my parents, I have the habit of giving them total priority, because often in the rush of everyday life, we can’t spend much time together. But when we have that free weekend or holiday, I put them ahead of every appointment, because they are my priority. During this week the Lord led me to reflect on this. We are children of God. This is our identity which was designated by the Father himself. But have we given Him due attention? Me and the father I once saw the following reflection: imagine that God is by your side physically, every day, from the moment you wake up until you go to sleep. Your day goes by and He is there doing everything with you at ALL times. He’s trying to talk about something, about how you should do something, or he’s just wanting to talk about random everyday topics. However, every time He tries to speak, you completely ignore Him. I can imagine how much it must hurt to be ignored […]

devotional paternity priority

September 01, 2022·Rapha Abreu

Is fearing death a sin?

I’ve heard some people say that if you’re sure of your salvation, it’s wrong to fear death. It is important to know that fear is a natural feeling, it appears whenever something threatens our present or future. Taking care of ourselves with our life can awaken this feeling. Living the now We recently lost a great Brazilian journalist, the famous Jô Soares. In one of the interviews he did a few years ago, he spoke the following sentence: “I’m not afraid to die, I’m sorry”. Life has so many possibilities, we are so used to thinking about tomorrow and planning until the year that hasn’t even started yet. We are made of “nows”, but these “nows” always lead to tomorrow, and imagining this cycle ending at some point can often despair us. Created for “always” “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart” Ecclesiastes 3:11 The human being was created by an eternal Being. We were created for eternity, she lives in our hearts. Accepting anything less than that is not in our setup. Looking at such a big world and thinking that we won’t have time on earth to see everything […]

choices courage-of-the-lord eternity fear

August 30, 2022·Ana Júlia Luiz

Prayer: Be still my soul

“Be still my soul”. This has been a prayer that we have been crying out more every day. We need our soul to be quiet, hear the voice of the Father, take a deep breath and feel the peace that exceeds all understanding. However, many times we don’t talk to the Father about it, we suffer alone, we feel that grip in the heart, that restlessness in the soul and we don’t even think about crying out to the Lord, but today, pray with me, cry for the peace of the Lord in your life. Remembering that you don’t need to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each 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 your own way. Prayer “Lord our God and Father, we thank you for this breath of life that you have given us. Father, we have felt so much restlessness in our souls and so many times we have allowed ourselves to go through this alone, without crying out to You. But on this day, we take a step further, […]

devotional peace prayer

August 25, 2022·Rapha Abreu

Have you been intentional?

“A man is known by the company he keeps…” In Brazil there is a popular saying that says “Tell me who you hang out with and I’ll tell you who you are“. My mother always told me this phrase, changing the ending of the original sentence to “…that I say if I will go along“. I brought this sentence today, with either of the two endings, because I want to talk about intentional connections with you. Be intentional when connecting “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it“ Hebrews 13:1-2 The pun didn’t take away from the fact that she always taught me that we shouldn’t be a respecter of persons. That I should reach out and help, regardless of beliefs, values, or any other circumstance. After all, Jesus rescued everyone. But she also taught me that I should be intentional in my connections. That I am an average of the people I live with and that can bring me closer or further away from God and what He has for me. One step changes the whole race Much […]

choices growth love-of-god love-your-neighbor

August 23, 2022·Ana Júlia Luiz

To Be vs. To Do

In our minds it is common to always think in a meritocratic way: “do it to deserve it”. We end up having that same mindset when it comes to God and the way He loves us. We believe that certain sins, considered more serious, such as corruption, murder, adultery, among others, can alter God’s love. There’s an excerpt from one of Max Lucado’s books that says: “God’s love never ceases. Never. Though we spurn him. Ignore him. Reject him. Despise him. Disobey him. He will not change. Our evil cannot diminish his love. Our goodness cannot increase it. Our faith does not earn it any more than our stupidity jeopardizes it. God doesn’t love us less if we fail or more if we succeed. God’s love never ceases.” Unconditional love When we realize that God’s love does not increase or decrease, regardless of whether we have fallen back into sin or not, it is in the least shocking. We get so used to loves that move according to what we do or how we act, that we forget that God is not a man. He doesn’t love in the limited way that we do. He doesn’t change either, he doesn’t […]

bible devotional heart identity

August 18, 2022·Rapha Abreu

If I am a servant, am I weak?

“Serve”… When we don’t live that word for real, it seems to give the title of “weak” to someone, after all, who seems to be more important? What is sitting around the table or who is serving that table? Who am I to do nothing? “And the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people“ Luke 22:2 He was among us as a servant, and if the greatest was a servant, who am I to sit around and do nothing? Personally, my biggest love language is acts of service. My way of telling someone how special that person is to me is to do something for them. I pay close attention to the things around me and I keep everything people tell me they like or want, then I use this information to do something for her, whether it’s making my mom’s favorite cake, buying my father’s favorite chocolate, setting up decorations for friends’ parties, serving within my ministry… At home and in ministry In my church I am the leader of the general production of the cult, that is, my job is nothing […]

bible love-your-neighbor

August 16, 2022·Ana Júlia Luiz

Guard your heart

During our days, many situations arise that leave us in conflict about how we should act and position ourselves. Proverbs 4:23 says: “Above all else, guard your heart, for out of it are the sources of life.” Solomon advises us to guard our hearts. But how to do it? How can I guard my heart? Continuing from Proverbs chapter 4, Solomon recommends that we turn away from everything that does not please the Lord’s heart and that we should incline our hearts to His Word. (vs. 4:24-27). We have to cling to the Lord daily and cry out for the Holy Spirit’s help in our day. In Ephesians 6 there is an extremely well-known passage that talks about The Armor of God. “Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. […]

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August 11, 2022·Rapha Abreu

The Fatherhood of God

We’re approaching Father’s Day and, just like Mother’s Day, I want to talk a little about fatherhood. Not just about the fatherhood we have contact with in our earthly family. But also the one that was delivered to us by God, in an undeserved way. Is God a Bad Father? I’ve heard phrases like “God is an executioner Father”, followed by an argument that said God killed His own son and how horrible that was. Let’s analyze the text of Ephesians 2, verses 4 and 5: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved“. Perhaps in our merciless human eyes, we would save the perfect so that those who are imperfect would fight for themselves in their mistakes. But God chose to deliver Christ, the pure firstborn, so that he could save those who did not deserve even a tear from this perfect God. That’s because He is made of mercy, compassion and love. God in his grandeur and incorporeal form became flesh to save mankind. He is the Father and the Son. As it is written […]

bible commemorative-dates family fatherhood

August 09, 2022·Ana Júlia Luiz

Prayer: God’s Will

It is a fact that we love to plan for the future, I, in particular, for a long time had the habit of looking ahead and thinking “if this happens, I have a plan, if that happens, so do I”. Many of us have great difficulty letting go of control of our lives, but the Lord invites us to surrender it to Him. In Jeremiah 29:11 it is written, “For I know the plans I have for you” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” The Lord has good plans for us and we have to start handing over the direction of our days to Him, trusting in His Good and Perfect will. I invite you to do that today with me through this prayer. Remembering that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each 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 your own way. Prayer “Lord my God and Father, we thank you for this breath of life that […]

devotional expectation god love-of-god

August 04, 2022·Rapha Abreu

Why bloom like a palm tree?

A while ago I spoke to you about verse 12 of Psalm 92: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon“, explaining a little about the part of the Christian as the Cedar-of-Lebanon. Today I want to focus on the part of us flourishing like Palm tree and explain a little more about it. A vertical growth Palm trees are mainly known for adapting a lot to environments and climates. They are very stable and grow to over 20m in height. Nothing prevents your vertical growth. Even if this tree is tied up, it continues to grow vertically. In addition, she is very strong, supporting forces of nature and standing up in unbelievable situations. In 2005, for example, there was a tsunami in Indonesia. A woman survived clinging to a palm tree for 5 days! A natural disaster, which destroyed very strong buildings and structures, was not fierce enough to bring down a Palm Tree. Strengthened in him This is what God dreams for us and expresses in the text of Psalms: that we flourish like them, that we are unshakable and that we always focus on the truth of the heavens, growing upwards. […]

foundation growth strong

August 02, 2022·Ana Júlia Luiz

Vine or Fig?

In the Bible, plants have great meanings. Several parables and stories of Jesus take place around this part of creation. From all these events several teachings are taken that can guide our lives. There is one in particular that is narrated in Luke 13. History Jesus told a parable that said the following: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, but it has not been bearing fruit. He then went to talk to the one who took care of the vineyard so that he could cut it down, after all he had been looking for figs for three years and could not find it. The winegrower replied, asking him to leave it there for another year. He would fertilize and care for that tree, and if, in a year, it remained without fruit, it would be cut down. Where are you planted? A fact that recently caught my attention in this parable was that the fig tree was planted in the vineyard, among the vine trees. I did a little research and opinions are very divided. Some say it’s normal, others say that the fig tree needs the soil to be in certain conditions to bear […]

devotional fig heart place

July 28, 2022·Rapha Abreu

[Series: Identity] Shaped by Purpose

This will be the last text on “Identity” and, to close this series, I want to bring another point that shapes our identity: Eternity. Something that says a lot about us is our goals and purposes in life. Where we want to go shapes who we are today, because the future starts now. The Eternal lives in us “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart. Yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end“ Ecclesiastes 3:11 The Son became man so that men could become sons. When we are called “children” we are also called to eternity with the Father. We were created for this eternity, because the Eternal lives in our heart, life goes far beyond what we know because there is something much greater prepared for us. It is this eternity that we carry that has given us the authority to do everything as He did, moving towards that goal. Christ is the greatest example of someone who had his identity sustained in the relationship with God and lived fully everything that was delivered to Him, because no matter what happened here on earth, He had […]

eternity gods-glory-2 identity purpose

July 26, 2022·Ana Júlia Luiz

Everything for the Glory of God

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 Our days are usually pretty full. We do thousands of tasks. We work, study, exercise, among many other activities. It happens that we often treat certain tasks, because they are not ministerial, as if they are unimportant and as if we don’t need to dedicate ourselves to them in the same way as we serve in our ministries. It is about everything we do From eating, to getting up or eating, we must do EVERYTHING for the Glory of God. It’s not an easy task, in fact, it’s a change of thinking about life that implies new habits. In praying before something, or thinking “I’m not doing this for myself, nor for people, but for the Lord”. It is about doing everything with excellence, as for the Lord and with love, so that we can manifest the Glory of God through each attitude, each smile or function performed, whether at work, when relating to our families or in our daily routines. I wanted to invite you to pray with me right now, asking that, through each of our attitudes, we […]

devotional faith gods-glory-2 peace