JFA Blog

Reflections, studies and news for your walk with God.

April 18, 2023·Rapha Abreu

God doesn’t need time

I’ve heard some people say the phrase: “God isn’t taking too long, He’s doing his best“. Yes, He is doing the best. But He doesn’t need time to do something better, in that situation you need that time… Omnipresent or busy? “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.“ Proverbs 21:31 God isn’t like a super busy person who needs a longer deadline to do something better. As if He were telling you: “Wait just a little bit more, I just need to do this detail here“. It’s not time that changes what He gives you, it’s you who needs to change so that what He’s doing comes to you at the right time. God can give you the promise He made you in a snap of a finger, because He has the power to make the perfect in milliseconds. But you would not be ready to receive. The time it takes for you to reach that promise has to do with how much He needs to prepare you so you don’t waste it. Ripe to the Whole “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. A time […]

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April 18, 2023·Ana Júlia Luiz

Prayer: Cleanse me Lord

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9 We are human beings, full of sins. The Word itself says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). We are in need of the Lord’s forgiveness. And for that we need to repent. Today, I invite you to pray with me, asking the Lord to purify our hearts from any and all sins. Remembering that you don’t need to pray exactly as I wrote here, because everyone has their own way of talking to the Father. But if you want, I’ll be happy to accompany you. Prayer “Lord, my God and Father, I thank you for this day, Thank you for the chance to pour myself out in Your presence and for Your Amazing Grace that tore the veil that used to separate us. Father, I ask forgiveness for my sins, all those that I have committed. Forgive me, for I am flawed and need correction. Cleanse my heart, purifying it of all the evil present in it and help me to become someone better. That every […]

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April 12, 2023·Rapha Abreu

You only have this life

You only live once. I know this is nothing new. But that also means you only have one life to have faith and follow Jesus. This is not carried into eternity, because there is already everything. The eternity “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” Jude 1:20-1:21 We understand eternity as a life after our earthly death, a life that we will spend physically with God. In a paable way like never before. So we can only work on our faith and prayer while we are here. When we go there, we won’t need it anymore, as it prepares us for a life of worship in Eternity. It is here on earth that the Kingdom is prepared and has its members well aligned and adjusted. Our life here must be based on the search for closeness to God. If we are going to be living with Him, this search will no longer be necessary in eternity. But it is our pursuit here that leads us to Him there. Bring […]

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April 11, 2023·Ana Júlia Luiz

Wonderful Grace

Last weekend, we went through the Easter holiday and honestly, it’s one of my favorite dates of the year. I like to reflect on what brought us to celebrate this very important date. How did it start? Easter started long before Jesus, actually the celebration started in the book of Exodus. Hebrews were slaves in Egypt and I believe you remember that God raised up Moses to free them. Before the Red Sea miracle happened, we know that the Lord sent the famous 10 plagues. We started with the waters that became blood, then the frogs, the lice, the flies, the plague in animals, boils, hail, the locusts, darkness over the land of Egypt and then the tenth plague: the death of the firstborn. God guided, through Moses, that each family of the people of Israel killed a lamb, male, just one year old, without defects, and spread the blood on the doorframes. That way, the firstborn of that house would not be harmed. The lamb delivered in place of the first born symbolized what would become the work and sacrifice of Christ, our Paschal lamb, delivered in our place. By Grace Today, we celebrate Easter because we are freed […]

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April 06, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Have you been focusing on death or resurrection?

At Easter time we remember how loved we were by God, who sent His own Son to suffer and die for our sins. The sacrifice of an immaculate lamb that cleansed us and made us the Father’s family. But what about in our day-to-day life? Have we been focusing on the resurrection? The lost “At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’)“ Mark 15:33-34 It’s beautiful how Jesus gave Himself for so many people who didn’t deserve even a drop of His sweat. The sixth shows us this pain and makes us recognize His sacrifice. But when we focus only on her, losing hope is inevitable. People who loved Jesus suffered with Him, saw the Man they trusted and followed being killed in a cruel way. We humans know that death is the end here on earth. The people who were close to Him thought they would never again see the One who “was” the promise. In our lifetime, in the midst of what seems like death, finding hope for […]

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April 04, 2023·Ana Júlia Luiz

Ecclesiastes and Vanity

During the month of March, some friends and I set out to read the book of Proverbs. We liked it so much that we decided to continue and started Ecclesiastes. In just one chapter, we all felt impacted. Everything is Vanity The “Preacher” begins in the first few verses by saying: “Absolute futility, says the Teacher. Absolute futility. Everything is futile. What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?” – Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 He basically talks about how we get tired day after day for fleeting things. One day this world will end, Jesus will return and what will we take? Nothing. I’m not saying don’t go after a good and comfortable life, but that’s not all. So many people live their lives in pursuit of riches and goals that will have no value in Eternity. The Eternal Sameness The “Preacher” then continues and the title my Bible gives to the passage from verses 4 to 11 is “The Eternal Sameness”. “All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has […]

bible devotional ecclesiastes vanity

March 28, 2023·Ana Júlia Luiz

Friends that are like brothers

During 2022 and early 2023 I have experienced what in the Bible is called “friend who sticks closer than a brother” in Proverbs 18:24. And I had never understood exactly what that was like. I mean, are these friends really closer than my brother? How do I find a friend like that? There were always questions that hovered in my head. In the last two years I started to understand better. How is a friend closer than a sibling? Do you know that friend you can just count on for everything? That’s the kind of friend that is like a brother. A friend who is there to listen, advise, help in moments of anguish, but I believe that mainly, the one who takes you closer to Jesus. I found friends who truly pray for me, just as I pray for them. This is not just any friendship. It was in a service when we took each other’s hands, formed a circle and started to pray, that I began to see how healthy and wonderful it was to be with them. If you’ve already met a friend or a few friends of this type, maybe when it happened you weren’t even expecting […]

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March 23, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Have you been dreading your call?

Do you know what your calling is? What did the Lord form you and call you for? It is important as Christians to know this, because God counts on us. Your calling won’t do anything for you if you don’t say “yes” to it. God does not suggest “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” 2 Timothy 1:9 It all starts with understanding that your calling is not a suggestion from God. It’s not like your life is a suggestion box, where God puts little slips of what He thinks could be better. We need to begin to understand the voice of God as a duty. Not that duty that tires us and is a boring obligation. But listening with obedience and devotion. When our obedience is activated, so are God’s graces and blessings in our lives. And it is through our calling that many of them are poured out on us. Obedience is faith “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.“ James 1:22 […]

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March 21, 2023·Ana Júlia Luiz

Prayer for love

“Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” – Matthew 20:12-14 We have seen exactly what this verse says happen. Love has grown cold in all parts of the world, hatred has spread in an overwhelming way, reaching the point where the Church is being contaminated with it. Today, I want to propose that we pray together so that the Lord may pour out His love on the earth, on the Church and on each one of us. Remembering that you don’t need to pray exactly like I’m doing here, after all, everyone has their own way of talking to our Father, but I’ll be happy to accompany you. Prayer “Lord, my God and Father, I thank you for this breath of life that you have given us today. Father, we have seen so many bad things happen, so much hatred and bitterness among people, even among my brothers. He comes with His overwhelming love for us, a love that constrains […]

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March 16, 2023·Rapha Abreu

What have I done for God?

We go through some afflictions in our lives. We are human and it is normal that not everything is perfect. Even if your neighbor’s grass looks greener, it isn’t. We all go through difficulties. Highs and lows “For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. “But if I were you, I would appeal to God. I would lay my cause before him.” Job 5:6-8 There are times when difficulties are minor and quickly resolved without headaches. There were times when my family and I were at the best of our lives, spiritually as well as emotionally and financially. Soon after, everything seemed to fall apart. It felt like we were being forcibly pulled out of that quieter moment. And then came the difficulties. In difficult times, if we don’t focus on God, we may lose a few nights of sleep. In those moments we always questioned ourselves with the title question: “What have I done for God?“. Do not hinder photosynthesis You have done nothing for God, for He does not change according to our works, whether they are good or bad. In […]

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March 14, 2023·Ana Júlia Luiz

Supporting the Process

During the last weekend, I was talking about this with some friends. Our life is full of processes, many of them are difficult but necessary. The process can be defined by a desert you are going through. It can also be a period of waiting for a promise to be fulfilled. You can now be at any stage of a process. Maybe you’re at the beginning, starting to realize the difficulty of going through something; or else in the middle, already tired and not in the mood to continue; or at the end, where you start to look forward and see what you’ve been waiting for. It’s hard, but it’s worth it! One of my friends said a sentence that is still in my mind: “The process serves to generate testimony. It’s great to hear our brother’s testimony, but that’s not enough. We need to have ours too.” Is very difficult. In my not so long Christian walk, I could already see one thing: generating testimony hurts. There are many situations we face along our journey. Some are so difficult that we think we will not be able to bear it, but the Lord comforts us: “…You will have suffering […]

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March 09, 2023·Rapha Abreu

The strength does not come from you

We are in women’s month, which is celebrated on March 8th. In today’s times, much is heard about the strength of women. This subject is in great evidence and there are millions of people fighting for this force to be recognized. I think it’s important that we talk about it. Identity in Him “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting. But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” Proverbs 31:30 I want to start by saying it’s not through your strength, woman. I don’t know about you, but a lot of issues about women being empowered sometimes overwhelm me. I feel as if I need to produce, do and create at all times, because that way I don’t express my vulnerability, something that every human being has. I understand that people’s struggle has many points and arguments. This is not what I want to discuss or judge, because I understand that this role is not up to me. But I want to remind you that you don’t need to burden yourself with an identity that God has already given you. Graced by Him “And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All […]

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March 07, 2023·Ana Júlia Luiz

Know your why

I’m sure you’ve already wondered about your purpose in life, your mission, why you are where you are. I’ve wondered about this myself many times! After the conversion of my family, when I was 10 years old, I grew up seeing leaders, pastors that I love until today, exhaling their wisdom, teaching and showing the Glory of God through their lives. I confess that I often wanted to be like most of them. However, I need to discern what the Lord wants for my life in particular. As much as someone’s ministry is amazing and admirable, God may have something totally different for me. My purpose is not the same as yours I still remember my first supernatural experience with God. I must have been 11 years old and they decided to play a song during EBD. I closed my eyes listening to the song and said, “God, I don’t want anything but You. Come live in my heart”. When I realized it, I was sobbing from crying, feeling all the Father’s love enveloping me. After this experience, I went through a process of a few years until I understood that the purpose of the other is different from mine. […]

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February 28, 2023·Ana Júlia Luiz

It’s not you

These times I heard a song that had the following phrase “And if my voice fails, You sing for me”. That single sentence, repeated only once, in a song lasting almost 7 minutes spoke to me a lot. Then I found out that the singer had gone through a surgery on her vocal cords and, even after the surgery, she would be unable to sing. During that time she wrote this song and added this line to the lyrics. Today she is fine and is singing again. It was a miracle from God in her life. Still, it wasn’t her story that spoke to me, but the snippet of the song. If you fail, do you continue? Think about what you do. Do you preach? Play? Sing? Teach? If something happens and you can’t do it anymore, what will it be like? What really motivates you to keep going? That’s exactly what God spoke to me. In my church I work in communication, recording, editing and writing, just like I do here on Bible Offline team. And the Lord asked me why I keep doing these things and that got me thinking. I write, record, edit, take pictures, but simply […]

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February 27, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Do you understand Agape Love?

I’ve come here a few times to talk about how the word of God generates real changes in our hearts. These changes start within us and, without forcing it, spill over onto other people. Thus, we become channels of blessings in the lives of others. For we have been blessed to bless. Was born of him “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 I want to start by talking about the importance of focusing on blessing, not receiving blessings. “But why should I love?”. Simple, because He loved you first. Whoever is born of love is love. A bird does not give birth to a cat. If we are children of God, we are also filled with love, for we are children of Love. I know that sometimes we can’t connect with certain people because they are very different from us in some points, so we end up being closer to others with whom we identify more. Just like some people might have the same feeling about us. And that’s okay. But […]

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February 22, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Sin does not stop the miracle

The Bible often has that part that we almost always skip when reading: the long and neglected genealogy. I understand why we skip. There are many names and that gives that feeling of wasting time in our devotional. But today I want to show you something very special. Everything has a reason “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness“. 2 Timothy 3:16 Everything in the Bible has meaning and importance. God doesn’t do anything for nothing, without purpose and that doesn’t carry a special message. Understanding where we came from and the path we took to a certain place teaches us to be grateful for where we are in the present and also to be hopeful about where we will go. Even if the walk was not made with 100% beautiful steps and only correct choices. An imperfect lineage “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope“. Romans 15:4 The genealogy of Jesus is presented in two ways: by Matthew, beginning with Abraham, and by Luke, who tells it from Adam. Regardless […]

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February 16, 2023·Gabriela Angerami

A Faith according to the Bible

In today’s text I would like to talk about FAITH. My heart’s desire is that my confidence in God’s increases more and more so that I reach a truly mature faith, according to the truth of the Word of God. I say according to the Word of God because there are many misconceptions about what Faith is. For some it consists of any form of spirituality. Recurrently we hear someone say “he is a person of faith” simply because that person has some religion. For others, having faith is directly linked to hoping that something good will always happen, as a kind of constant optimism in relation to health, wealth and happiness. Others regard faith as something completely dissociated from reason and intellect. But how does the Bible define faith? Chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews is one of the most cited when the subject is FAITH, as it lists people from the Bible who stood out for being great examples of conviction in the promises of God. This chapter is also known as the “gallery of the heroes of faith”. But before listing them, the first verses bring just a definition: Now faith is confidence in what we […]

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February 16, 2023·Rapha Abreu

What is revival?

Much has been said about revival. Either because of a wish for it to happen or because of the recent occasions like the Asbury university subject which is on the rise. However, I saw many people questioning what this was and why people are using this term. Do you know what revival means? What it means? When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4 Revival is about special visitations of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Old Testament revivals brought renewal and obedience at specific times when people were far from God. In the New Testament in Acts 2, according to the biblical passage above, the great move of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost is also narrated, which enabled and impelled Christians to start preaching the Gospel. Throughout recent history, it is also possible to see […]

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February 14, 2023·Ana Júlia Luiz

Attracted by the Presence

I wasn’t born in a Christian home, quite the contrary. Whenever I tell our testimony, I like to say that we didn’t meet Jesus, He found us, or rather, He attracted us to Himself. So many times we have the feeling that we are going after Him, but the truth is that it is very difficult for you to look at a church, a bible or whatever it is and say “I found Jesus”. He finds us, he attracts us and when we realize it, we can say “I found what I needed”, not because we looked for it, but because He called us. Moses and the Burning Bush “Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed.” – Exodus 3:1-2 What was going on in this situation? Well, the title my bible gives to this text is “God Speaks to Moses” which if […]

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February 09, 2023·Rapha Abreu

How to know God?

Do you know what a house of prayer is for? Do we need to “consecrate” a space as a place of prayer? I wanted to bring some thoughts about the text of Isaiah 56: “For my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations”. Go to him “If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you”. 2 Chronicles 15:2 The Father’s house was not called the house of “preaching” or “mysteries”, such as miracles and prophecies, but of “prayer”. Pointing directly to a relationship with God and the way worship should be performed. Several times I come here to talk about one of our actions. That’s because a lot is heard about what He does and we already know His promises, but it’s important to remember daily what needs to come from us. Knowing God through preaching and miracles takes away our action to build a relationship with Him. Receiving is easy, watching God speaking and doing is easy. But being willing to seek Him requires a step on our part. Listen and do “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you”. Job […]

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February 07, 2023·Ana Júlia Luiz

The God’s Time

I’m sure you’ve heard the advice several times: “calm down, wait for God’s time, everything will be fine”, but it’s never easy to wait, quite the contrary, you always think that a certain thing should already be happening, but still nothing. But don’t worry, I assure you it’s always worth it. I’ve been through some situations of God’s time not being the same as mine, and honestly? If I didn’t wait, I wouldn’t be ready to live what He gave me, I don’t regret waiting one bit. Life is made of processes “There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven:. a time to give birth 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 and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing; a time to search and a time to count as lost; a time to keep and a […]

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February 02, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Does God punish us?

Have you understood the weight and responsibility of freedom or have you constantly tried to sign your decisions with the name of God? Have you remembered that even though everything is released to you, not everything builds your life? “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive“ 1 Corinthians 10:23 Divine punishment “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh. Father, serve one another humbly in love“ Galatians 5:13 It is normal (but should not be) to hear the phrase “God punishes” as a warning to stop acting in some way, transforming the fear we should have into God by fear, distorting the image of a loving God and merciful, placing in His hands a whip. I see that this phrase arose in the face of a difficulty that human beings have in assuming responsibility. We celebrate the freedom of choice that God gives us, but after we choose, we want Him to take the blame for our bad choices. It’s not fair to blame the tools if we are the ones operating them. The […]

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January 31, 2023·Ana Júlia Luiz

Don’t be like a fish out of water

It is very common to hear or use that expression “I feel like a fish out of water”, but at this point I would like to use this phrase with a different meaning. Our Christian life is like being a fish, living in a pond or in the sea. Just like a fish out of its natural habitat, when we leave God’s presence, we end up dying, not physically, but in our interior. The absence of God generates discouragement, anguish and emptiness, because only He is able to fill us completely. As Psalm 16:11 says: You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. That is, a path of life is only found in God. He is the source. It is in His presence that we find full joy. Responsibility in Life with God During our Christian walk we constantly hear the phrase: “Jesus loves you”, and that is a fact, because it was for love that He laid down His life for us. However, several times we end up using this as an excuse, after all “if He loves me regardless of doing something wrong […]

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January 26, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Have you turned the key?

It is true that God opens doors and paths. But we are so preoccupied with His opening that we forget the importance of the passing action. It is necessary and essential that we trust in God’s work, but we also need to remember certain steps that depend on us. We must move Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. Ecclesiastes 11:4 Doors separate places. To access one place, we need to leave another. For example, you live in a condominium where there is a guardhouse with a doorman controlling entry and exit. If you need to leave the house, you’ll need to go through the gate. Even if the doorman opens it for you, is it any good if you just stand there and not move? We can’t just watch! God opens doors, but the choice to go there and enjoy what’s on the other side is completely yours because the Lord gave you freedom of choice. He can only guide you on a path if you want to walk towards it. God will not force you. Trust comes from knowing Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those […]

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