sábado, 27 de março de 2021

 What danger of the poison of injustice can produce in the hearts ...




When we are going through adversities, injustices ... When we go through moments of calamities and think we do not deserve it, we are tempted to question many of the injustices that we experience with resentment and resentment in our hearts against God or against people. We think the Eternal is taking too long to help us, to answer our cry, our prayers. We are tempted to look to the side and judge: why is so-and-so prospering on the path of error? Why does he thrive on his iniquity? And I who obey, disown my flesh, humble myself before the Eternal, treading the right path, do I suffer like a malefactor? This is how the psalmist David felt in Psalm 73 and it can happen to you and me! It hurts to look at some injustices, in fact we don't want to suffer ... Anyway, the world is unfair! This is a fact! And the Eternal uses these injustices, to teach his servants some principles and dangers: We have to take care of our eyes and hearts! Not always what we see with our eyes means reality and the enemy's real intention is to distance ourselves from the Creator, painting the image of an unjust and sarcastic God! Who wants to see you suffer. The devil also makes people who do his will prosper, to somehow convey the mistaken idea that with him, people get what they want! We see this clearly in some sects. Of course, the devil gives, with the objective of entangling the individual in his sea of ​​sin and disgrace, to finally reap his souls! However, the Eternal does not always give us what we want, but what he thinks is best for us! In order to glorify him with our lives! Entering the path of hurt and resentment against the Eternal is the ultimate goal of Satan when he decides to invest in the life of a human being fearing the Creator! Let us always watch ...

No temptation came upon you, but human; but God is faithful, who will not let you try beyond what you can, but with the temptation he will also give you the escape, so that you can endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13


Psalm 73: 1-28

1 God is truly good towards Israel, towards the pure in heart.

2 As for me, my feet have almost gone astray; there was little left for my steps to slip.

3 For I was envious of the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For there are no grips in his death, but his strength is steadfast.

5 They are not in work like other men, nor are they afflicted like other men.

6 Therefore arrogance surrounds them like a necklace; they dress in violence as in adornment.

7 Their eyes are swollen with fat; they have more than the heart could desire.

8 They are corrupt and maliciously deal with oppression; speak arrogantly.

9 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongues walk the earth.

10 Therefore his people return here, and waters full of glass are squeezed out of them.

11 And they say, How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?

12 Behold, these are wicked, and prosper in the world; increase in wealth.

13 Truly that I have purified my heart in vain; and washed my hands in innocence.

14 For the whole day I have been afflicted, and I have been punished each morning.

15 If I said, I will speak thus; behold, it would offend your children's generation.

16 When I thought about understanding this, it was very painful for me;

17 Until I entered the sanctuary of God; so I understood their end.

18 You have certainly put them in slippery places; you cast them in destruction.

19 How they fall into desolation, almost in a moment! They are totally consumed with terrors.

20 Like a dream, when you wake up, so, O Lord, when you wake up, you will despise their appearance.

21 So my heart went sour, and my kidneys are stinging.

22 So I became stupid, and I knew nothing; I was like an animal before you.

23 However, I am continually with you; you supported me by my right hand.

24 You will guide me with your advice, and then you will receive me in glory.

25 Who have I in heaven but you? and there is no one on earth that I want besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.

27 For, behold, those who stretch out from you will perish; you have destroyed all those who turn away from you.

28 But it is good for me to approach God; I put my trust in the Lord GOD, to announce all your works.



Even when we are faithful to the Eternal and his Word and we live a life of integrity, there is no guarantee that injustices will not happen: We see this clearly in Job's life: a man of integrity, faithful, God-fearing and who turned away from evil. We will certainly be tempted with scarcity, lack, loss and injustice, but this will not last forever. There is a promise of fidelity on the part of the Creator. That's our hope ...

There is a Memorial, and if you are in Christ, your name is there!


Malachi 3: 1-18

1 Behold, I am sending my messenger, who will prepare the way before me; and suddenly the Lord will come to his temple, whom you seek; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes, says the LORD of hosts.

2 But who will endure the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appears? Because he will be like the goldsmith's fire and like the laundrymen's soap.

3 And he will set himself up as a melter and purifier of silver; and he will purify the children of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; then they will bring an offering to the Lord in righteousness.

4 And the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the old days, and as in the early years.

5 And I will come to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who defraud the daily laborer in his wages, and the widow, and the orphan, and who pervert the rights of foreigners, and do not fear me, says the Lord of Hosts.

6 For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

7 Since the days of your fathers, you have strayed from my statutes, and have not kept them; turn to me, and I will become to you, says the Lord of hosts; but you say, What shall we return to?

8 Will a man rob God? Yet you steal from me, and say, In what do we steal from you? In tithes and offerings.

9 You are cursed with a curse, because you rob me of this whole nation.

10 Bring all the tithes to the treasury, so that there may be food in my house, and then prove me in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I do not open the windows of heaven to you and pour out such a blessing on you. until there is not enough room to collect it.

11 And because of you I will rebuke the devourer, and he will not destroy the fruits of your land; and your vine in the field will not be sterile, says the Lord of hosts.

12 And all the nations will call you blessed; for you will be a delightful land, says the Lord of hosts.

13 Your words were aggressive to me, says the Lord; but you say, What have we spoken against you?

14 You have said, It is useless to serve God; what good is it for us to be careful to keep its precepts, and to walk in mourning before the Lord of hosts?

15 Now then, we call the proud blessed; also those who commit wickedness are built up; yea, they tempt God, and escape.

16 Then those who feared the Lord often spoke to one another; and the Lord saw and heard; and a memorial was written before him, for those who feared the Lord, and for those who remembered his name.

17 And they will be mine, says the Lord of hosts; that day they will be jewels for me; I will spare them, as a man spares his son, who serves him.

18 Then you will return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked; between what serves God, and what doesn't.


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Don't be discouraged

 John 14:1-31


1 "Do not let your hearts be disturbed. Believe in God; believe in me also.


2 In my Father's house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I will prepare a place for you.


3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to me, so that you may be where I am.


4 You know the way I'm going ".


5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how then can we know the way?"


6 Jesus replied, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.


7 If you really knew me, you would also know my Father. By the way, you already know him and have seen him ".


8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and that is enough for us."


9 Jesus replied, "You don't know me, Philip, even after I have been with you for so long? Whoever sees me sees the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?


10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just mine. On the contrary, the Father, who lives in me, is doing his work.


11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me; or at least believe because of the same works.


12 I tell you the truth: He who believes in me will also do the works that I have done. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.


13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.


14 Whatever you ask for in my name, I will do ".


15 "If you love me, you will obey my commandments.


16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever,


17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive it, because it does not see or know it. But you know him, because he lives with you and will be in you.


18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come back to you.


19 In a short time the world will no longer see me; but you will see me. Because I live, you will also live.


20 In that day you will understand that I am in my Father, you in me, and I in you.


21 Whoever has my commandments and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will also love him and reveal myself to him ".


22 Then Judas (not Iscariot) said, "Lord, but why will you reveal yourself to us and not to the world?"


23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, we will come to him and make our home with him.


24 He who does not love me does not keep my words. These words that you are hearing are not mine; they belong to my Father who sent me.


25 "I have told you all this while I am still with you.


26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.


27 I leave you peace; my peace I give you. I don't give it as the world does. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor be afraid.


28 "You heard me say, I am going, but I am coming back to you. If you loved me, you would be happy because I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than me.


29 This I have told you now, before it happens, so that when it happens, you will believe.


30 I will no longer speak to you much, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no claim on me.


31 However, so that the world may know that I love the Father and that I do what my Father has commanded me. Get up, let's go from here! "


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domingo, 7 de março de 2021

 HAVE YOU ALREADY “FALLEN FROM THE HORSE”?


Acts 9: 1-29

1 And Saul, still breathing threats and deaths against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest.

2 And he asked him for letters to Damascus, to the synagogues, so that if he found some of this Way, whether men or women, he would lead them prisoners to Jerusalem.

3 And as he was on the way, it came to pass that, as he approached Damascus, a bright light from the sky suddenly surrounded him.

4 And when he fell to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

5 And he said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Tough is for you to recalcitrate against the goads.

6 And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what do you want me to do? And the Lord said to him, Arise, and go into the city, and there you will be told what you should do.

7 And the men who were going with him stopped in amazement, hearing the voice, but seeing no one.

8 And Saul arose from the earth, and, opening his eyes, he saw no one. And, leading him by the hand, they led him to Damascus.

9 And he did not see for three days, and he neither ate nor drank.

10 And there was a certain disciple in Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! And he replied: Here I am, Lord.

11 And the Lord said to him, Arise, and go to the street called Direita, and ask in Judas' house for a man from Tarsus named Saul; for, behold, he is praying;

12 And in a vision he saw that a man named Ananias came in, and he put his hand on him, that he might see again.

13 And Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how many evils he has done to your saints in Jerusalem;

14 And here you have the power of the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.

15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, because this is a chosen vessel for me to carry my name before the Gentiles, and the kings and children of Israel."

16 And I will show you how much you must suffer for my name.

17 And Ananias went and entered the house and, laying his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the path where you were coming, sent me, that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

18 And immediately scales fell from his eyes, and he recovered his sight; and, getting up, he was baptized.

19 And when he had eaten, he was comforted. And Saul spent a few days with the disciples who were in Damascus.

20 And immediately in the synagogues he preached Christ, that he is the Son of God.

21 And all who heard him were astonished, and said, Is this not the one in Jerusalem who was persecuting those who called on this name, and that is why he came here, to take them prisoners to the chief priests?

22 Saul, however, tried harder, and confused the Jews who lived in Damascus, proving that that was the Christ.

23 And after many days had passed, the Jews took counsel among themselves to kill him.

24 But his pitfalls came to Saul's knowledge; and how they guarded the doors, both day and night, so that they could take his life,

25 When the disciples took it at night, they lowered it, in a basket, over the wall.

26 And when Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he sought to join the disciples, but they all feared him, not believing that he was a disciple.

27 Then Barnabas, taking him with him, brought him to the apostles, and told them how on the way he had seen the Lord and spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

28 And he walked with them in Jerusalem, coming and going,

29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus. He also spoke and disputed against the Greeks, but they sought to kill him.

We find in the Bible the story of a young man who had to “fall off his horse”. He fell from his pride and pride to be a wonderful instrument in the Lord's hands. His name is Paulo de Tarso.

Paulo comes from the Latin Paulus, which means "small". He became small because he “fell off his horse”. Before, it was called “Saulo”, which means “anointed”. He knew the meaning of his name: and considered himself the "anointed himself". It was precisely because of spiritual pride that Saulo needed to “fall off the horse” of his self-sufficiency.


Saul was devastating the Church; he would enter the houses and drag men and women out to throw them in prison (Ac 8, 1b-3). Observe the fury of this young man. In fact, all of this happened because Paul allowed, from the day he saw the stoning of Stephen, that a great hatred invaded his heart. This led him to commit barbarities that are narrated in the Acts of the Apostles, for believing that he was doing the will of the Creator.


It was a loophole that he opened! And in his life, what gap has been opened? Perhaps the revolt against someone in your family, your father or your mother, grandmother; grandfather, uncle, brother, cousin, friend, acquaintance, an affective situation that made you feel rejected; feeling humiliated, physical or psychological abuse, unrestrained sexuality or drug use.

Anyway, the fact is that the breach created resentments in his heart, and Satan was able to enter it. And when he enters, he does a great deal of damage, as he did in Saulo. Jesus loves everyone, Saul was no exception. The Lord loved him, knew his heart. Jesus saw the damage that happened in his life, because he gave the enemy a breach, and he came with the power to rescue him.

In the Hebrew language, Jesus called him “anointed”: Saul. An "anointed one" could not act like Paul. But, to God, he was his chosen one, His anointed. At that moment, Saulo “fell off his horse”! And the Lord gave him an order: "Now, get up, enter the city, and there you will be told what to do" (Acts 9: 6).


That young man, who emanated threats and revolts, is caught by Jesus and is transformed when Ananias lays hands on him: he is filled with the Holy Spirit!


That same Jesus loves and knows you. He knows what breach you opened and the same love he had for Saul, he has for you. Saulo “fell” from his pride and, “falling to the ground, he heard a voice that said:‘ Saulo, Saulo, why are you persecuting me? ’” (Ac 9.4).

God wants to enter his life as he did in Saul's life, even if it is necessary to make you “fall off the horse”. You cannot go on with that kind of life. You are an elect, a chosen one, like Saul! What God has done, changing the course of Saul's life, wants to do with you. You just have to accept it!


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