Christmas is a time to remember that God sent his only Son to earth to die on a Cross for our sins...
Christmas is a time to give thanks for the hope of having Jesus...
Christmas is a time to reflect and understand the message of Jesus: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17)
And then Jesus is knocking at his door. You open?
Ancient coins have been found depicting a tree stump (representing the dead Nimrod) and a small tree growing nearby (Tammuz). The idolatrous Israelites performed their rituals under trees:
“...yet on every high hill and UNDER EVERY GREEN TREE YOU WALK BROWING UP AND WHOLORYING YOURSELVES.” Jeremiah 2:20
“Only acknowledge your iniquity, which you have transgressed against YHWH your God; AND YOU HAVE EXTENDED YOUR WAYS TO STRANGERS, UNDER EVERY GREEN TREE, AND YOU HAVE NOT HEARDED MY VOICE, SAYS YHWH.” Jeremiah 3:13
It was also the custom of the apostate Hebrews to decorate the tree for the worship of idols:
“(...) Because the customs of the nations are despicable;
Because the FOREST TREE he cuts down, the work of the hands of an ax worker.
WITH SILVER AND WITH GOLD HE DECORATES IT…” (literal translation of Jeremiah 10:3-4, directly from the Hebrew).
In the text above, it is not clear whether there was a cult to the tree itself or to the idol arising from it. For some scholars, the quoted passage refers to decorating the tree for idolatrous purposes (see “All About Christmas 2,000 BCE to Date”, written by Ed Stevens and edited by James Trimm).
Ed Stevens and James Trimm teach that the Egyptians used palm trees and the Romans PINE trees for the worship of their gods, which later resulted in the “Christmas Tree” (“All About Christmas 2,000 BCE to Date”, written by Ed Stevens and edited by James Trimm).
The use of trees for idolatrous purposes has a remote origin in Babylonian religion. Many Hebrews even performed profane cults under trees, as well as decorating them in honor of the gods. A similar custom was observed by the Egyptians and the Romans. All of this ended up being syncretized in the Christmas Tree.
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My mom isn't watching...
My leader is not watching...
My pastor is not watching...
My wife, my husband are not seeing...”
"God is watching and so is the devil, and he doesn't play at being the devil"!
“Technology can be a blessing, but it can also be a curse if we don't have control...” (Débora Menezes).
*Posted by Júlio César Prado
It is impossible for any Christian who spends his nights, month after month, week after week, day after day watching the top shows: soap operas, Big Brother (BBB), movies and shows, to develop a Christian mind.
My advice? Stop watching television and cut off cable, especially Netflix. A young couple a few days ago confessed: “We canceled cable TV because we want to have time to study the Bible and read the books that will help us develop a Christian mind. The husband said: I can't control the television, I'm spending almost all my time indoors watching TV. We have radically decided to cancel cable TV.”
In an article published on the website Observatório da Imprensa, journalist and Doctor of Philosophy, Orlando Tambosi wrote that “the market war drags the television networks more and more towards vulgarity, obscenity, rudeness, the exploitation of sex and violence , without distinction of public and time”. Rede Globo's nine o'clock soap operas are totally diabolical. When you sit in the living room to watch soap operas, a legion of demons (fallen angels) accompanies you and your guardian angel turns away completely. Christians who await the return of Jesus should never watch soap operas and other TV programs because we are living in the end times.
The eroticization of the Internet is a more real phenomenon than one might imagine at first glance. International surveys show that one third of Internet accesses are made by people looking for some kind of virtual sexual activity. These include visits to "sites" with explicit sexual content and endless hours spent in so-called erotic chat rooms. The phenomenon has behavioral implications and a surprising economic implication. On the behavioral side, experts are frequently diagnosing Internet sex addiction, which ruins marriages and alienates people from normal relationships.
In Brazil, psychologists already receive patients complaining about spending 14 hours a week in front of the screen in search of virtual erotic adventures. They can't kick the habit without expert help. In exchange for virtual pleasure, many people completely lose contact with reality and need special care to get rid of the disease – just like drug addicts - As the network expands at breakneck speed, the problem tends to take on an ever-increasing dimension. bigger time.
TV and the Internet, little by little anesthetize the spiritual conscience and predispose us to the most corrupt things. If Heaven is our destination, if that's where we want to go, then we need to make radical changes that will help our spouse and children get to Heaven. Please, dear wives, don't go to sleep leaving your husband alone on the internet. The man is generally defined as a “nocturnal animal” he needs the help of a wise wife who takes him to bed earlier. “Right thoughts, and pure and holy purposes, do not come to us spontaneously, we have to fight for them” (Counsels on Health, pg. 291).
We will never have a Christian mind without reading our Bible daily with meditation. Because? Because we cannot be profoundly influenced by something we do not know and have not experienced. The apostle John, who at first was known as the “son of thunder” because of his temper, but who later became known as the “disciple of love”, gives us the hint of victory: “What was from the beginning, the what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at, and our hands have touched of the Word of Life... this we proclaim to you” (1 John 1:1, 3).
By beholding Jesus in the gospels, assimilating His character and mind through prayerful study of the Bible, our minds begin to like what Jesus likes, and the evil desires of human nature lose their hold on us. It works like a daily download of the heavenly program that is downloaded by the Holy Spirit and implanted in our minds. This heavenly program is called: The Mind of Jesus! The Holy Spirit communicates the Mind of Jesus to us, not in a day, or in a month, but during a lifetime. It's an ongoing, daily process that doesn't happen by miracle, but by fellowship alone with God and His Word. The mind of Jesus is a very heavy file that contains all of His character traits and temperament developed during His 33 years of earthly life. This heavenly download is slow and our mind, our hard disk, would not support something faster, however, it can be speeded up or delayed, and even interrupted, depending on the frequency of this communion.
“It is in good thoughts that the only safety for every soul lies. Man 'as he thinketh in his soul, so is he' (Proverbs 23:7). The faculty of mastering develops through exercise. What seemed difficult at first becomes easy by constant repetition, until pure thoughts and actions become habitual” (Counsels on Health, p. 295).
We need to develop selective awareness. “God does not want us to hear all there is to hear, nor to see all there is to see. It is a great blessing to close our ears so that we do not hear, and our eyes so that we do not see” (Mind, Character and Personality, p. 332) (Photo: Disclosure).
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*Júlio César Prado is a journalist
Because it hurts?
It is necessary…
When Joseph was betrayed and sold into slavery by his brothers, he suffered innumerable pains; humiliated, slandered, arrested... his pain favored not only him, but countless people, including those who led him to suffering.
After his father Jacob died, his brothers were afraid that Joseph would take revenge on them.
What did he say?
You meant evil against me, but GOD meant it for good, to make it as it is this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:20
Paul suffered a lot for the sake of the Gospel of CHRIST, that is, to take the teachings of JESUS.
So that for Paul not to exalt himself, he was given through Satan, a thorn in the flesh; he pleaded with the LORD three times that this thorn be taken away from him.
What was the answer?
My grace is sufficient for you, because My strength is made perfect in weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:9a
Nobody likes to be in pain; but for the greater good, it may be necessary, for the benefit of the life of one, and many...
Joseph and Paul teach us with the pain of suffering:
After Joseph's humiliations and pains, he was exalted;
Joseph's pain benefited his family and other nations;
Humiliation and pain put the person in a place of total dependence on GOD;
There are useful and necessary pains;
Pains will bring benefits to the sufferer, and to others;
Do not beg the LORD to remove the thorn that causes pain;
The thorn reminds you that the grace of the LORD JESUS is sufficient;
His strength perfects us in our immense weakness.
Paul suffered to bring the Gospel to humanity.
Let's endure the pain of thorns, to generate miracles and benefits in our lives, and in other people's lives?
His grace is sufficient for us!
IT'S BETTER SUFFER NOW
God's children are continually corrected and disciplined by Him, to teach them the truth, purify their faith, teach resilience and detach their hearts from this world.
The others are left to the passions of their hearts, to the mistakes and lies common to men and even enjoy an apparently peaceful and trouble-free life. However, in that sinful slumber they will be taken suddenly and judged and justly condemned for their sins.
Happy is he whom the Lord rebukes and disciplines like a son.
HEBREWS 12.4-11
The devil doesn't want us to know the truth about him!
“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you!” James 4:7.
“And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." Romans 16:20.
“The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” John 10:10.
“And the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of his testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death.'” Revelation 12:11.
“Be sober; watch; for your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour; whom you resist, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are fulfilled among your brethren in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-9.
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.” 1 John 4:4.
“Whoever commits sin is of the devil; because the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8.
Satan doesn't want us to know that we have nothing to fear
“Do not fear, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10.
“Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you.” Luke 10:19.
“For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7.
He doesn't want us to know about the power we have access to.
"What do we say, then, to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31.
“And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. That is why I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in needs, in persecutions, in anguish for Christ's sake. Because when I am weak then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13.
“No temptation has overtaken you but a human one; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13.
The devil doesn't want us to know the promises we have in Christ
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
“Who brought us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love; In whom we have redemption through his blood, namely, the remission of sins;.” Colossians 1:13-14.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, through sin condemned sin in the flesh; That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:1-4.
"I'm already crucified with christ; and I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20.
“To wit, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” Romans 10:9-10.
“But God proves his love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.
“As the east is far from the west, so remove our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12.
Satan does not want us to know that there are conditions
“Not everyone who says to me: Lord, Lord! will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21.
“And be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22.
"And we are witnesses of these words, we and also the Holy Spirit, which God has given to them that obey him." Acts 5:32.
He doesn't want us to know that we have to reap what we sow
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit, of the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8.
“Then, when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is complete, brings forth death.” James 1:15.
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, if he loses his soul? Or what will a man give as a reward for his soul?” Matthew 16:26.
The devil doesn't want us to know what the future is
“O my enemy, do not rejoice over me; though I have fallen, I will rise; if I dwell in darkness, the Lord will be my light.” Micah 7:8.
“Being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord; thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you the end you hope for.” Jeremiah 29:11.¨
Armed to win! God's Word provides us with all the weapons we need to resist Satan and destroy his works. No wonder the devil doesn't want us to know about these Bible verses! If we commit ourselves to the service of God, we will notice the angry devil, but we can be bold to fight back, because we have the promise of victory – always! The result will be confidence, rest and peace in our spirit, fruit of the Spirit will manifest in our lives and we will gain eternal life!
SOURCE: https://cristianismoativo.org/30-versiculos-da-biblia-que-o-diabo-nao-quer-que-voce-saiba
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Be alert and watch. The Devil, your enemy, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
For we are God's creation, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
Devote yourselves to prayer, be alert and be thankful.
Colossians 4:2
But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the men of Ashdod heard that repairs to the walls of Jerusalem had advanced and that the breaches were being closed, they were furious. Nehemiah 4:7
You shook the earth and split it open;
repair your breaches,
for it threatens to collapse. Psalms 60:2
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We are often tested, proven...
The question is: What is our attitude in the face of ordeal? Are we faithful to the Creator or do we despair...
Daniel 3:1-30
1 King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden image, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide; he raised it up in the field of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the princes, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the captains, and all the officials of the provinces, to come together to the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
3 Then the princes, the prefects, and governors, the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, and all the officials of the provinces, came together to dedicate the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they were standing before the image which Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 And the herald cried with a loud voice: It is commanded you, O peoples, nations, and languages:
5 When you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the sambuca, the psaltery, the bagpipes, and all kinds of music, then you will fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has. lifted up.
6 And whoever does not fall down and worship her will be thrown into the fiery furnace at once.
7 Therefore, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the sambuca, the psaltery, and all kinds of music, all peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
8 So immediately some Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews.
9 And they answered and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever!
10 You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the sambuca, the psaltery, and the bagpipes, and of all kinds of music, should fall down and worship the golden statue;
11 And whoever did not fall down and worship would be thrown into the fiery furnace.
12 There are certain Jewish men whom you appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, took no notice of thee; they do not serve your gods, nor do they worship the golden statue that you have set up.
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in anger and fury, sent for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And they brought these men before the king.
14 Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said unto them, Is it of purpose, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that ye serve not my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
15 Now therefore, if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the sambuca, the psaltery, the bagpipes, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the statue that I made , good is; but if you do not worship it, you will be thrown right into the fiery furnace. And who is the God that can deliver you out of my hands?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, We do not need to answer you about this matter.
17 Behold, our God, whom we serve, he is able to deliver us; he will deliver us from the fiery furnace, and out of thy hand, O king.
18 And if not, know, O king, that we will not serve your gods nor worship the golden image which you have set up.
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and the aspect of his countenance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; he spoke, and ordered the furnace to heat seven times hotter than it used to.
20 And he commanded the mightiest men, who were in his army, to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, to cast them into the fiery furnace.
21 Then these men were bound, dressed in their cloaks, their tunics, and their hats, and other garments, and they were thrown into the fiery furnace.
22 And because the king's word was urgent, and the furnace was exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, and rose up quickly; he spake, saying to his counselors, Did we not cast three men bound into the fire? They answered and said to the king, It is true, O king.
25 He answered, saying, But I see four men loose, walking about in the fire, without suffering any harm; and the aspect of the fourth is like the Son of God.
26 Then when Nebuchadnezzar came to the door of the fiery furnace, he spoke, saying, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come! Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.
27 And the princes, captains, governors, and the king's counselors came together, and beholding these men, they saw that the fire had no power over their bodies; not a hair of their head had been burned, nor had their cloaks changed, nor had the smell of fire passed over them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar spake, saying, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, for they violated the king's word, choosing to give up their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any other god but their God.
29 By me, therefore, a decree is made, that every people and nation and tongue that speak blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be broken in pieces, and their houses made a dunghill; for there is no other God that can deliver like this one.
30 Then the king made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego prosper in the province of Babylon.
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