Are you grateful for the blessings of God?

* Luís Alberto Alves

How many times does the Lord bless us and end up ungrateful? Place a wonderful person next to us, and with whom we come to live in a beautiful home. Do you know our answer? Contempt. We treated God's gift of God badly, ignoring the requests we made to obtain this blessing.

Jesus Christ will never send anything bad to a child of yours. Always reserve the best. But the man, from the height of his arrogance, with the passage of time begins to find defects in that gift of the Lord. Especially when it comes to love.

My brother: always be grateful for what Jesus did and is doing in your life. If you prayed to the Lord to give you a husband or wife, full of grace and wonders of the highest, never put defects. On the contrary, always give thanks, for Jesus never gives anything bad to anyone.

Close your mouth and praise, even in times of crisis, until you open your eyes. Never mention that the neighbor's gift he received from the darkness is better than yours. In this way, Jesus will continue to live in your heart.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Defeats are sometimes victories

* Luís Alberto Alves

For lack of vision, many Christians believe that in defeats, God is far from them. They can not visualize that in the loss of something, Jesus Christ continues to speak and show that something better is going in the direction of that evangelical brother.

How many people do not plunge into depression after the end of dating, engagement or marriage. The world is over for them. They are angry with God. They preferred to continue suffering in a sickly and possessive relationship, where love ceased to exist.

But the cauterized mind prevents one from seeing the best of the Lord. They fight with Jesus Christ and even get out of their way. Perhaps they have never read Isaiah 55, verses 8 through 10, where He makes it clear that their thoughts are higher than ours. That is, it promises something wonderful.

God is always in charge, He will never leave anyone alone. You know exactly what we need. From the money to the house purchases, to the necessary resource to pay off the debts. Nothing escapes your command, even when we are defeated.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Obedience is the basic rule of the Christian

* Luís Alberto Alves

Obeying has been the stone in the shoes of several members in today's evangelical churches. People, especially workers, ignore church leadership warnings. Pastor, in their view, exists only to preach the Word, should never advise them.

Rebellion is the fuel of this people. They only look at material goods, leaving the spiritual in limbo. At this time of year, few really want to continue doing the work. The business is to plunge headlong into the lentil dishes offered by the darkness.

To obey, in the evaluation of this generation, is something of a grimace. Everyone can do whatever they want. After all, in their opinion, Jesus Christ is love and will forgive them. They just forgot that the Lord is Justice and most of the time it is heavy.

When the member is old in ministry, it is worse to obey the church authorities. It calculates that bank time serves as a green card to enter Heaven. They fit the profile of the old Christian. For this type of brother, church time serves as a reference.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Our life before eternity is equal to dew drop

* Luís Alberto Alves

Today the football world is saddened by the tragedy that has occurred with the team from Santa Catarina Chapecoense. In the fall of the plane in Medellín, Colombia, he lost 19 players in one fell swoop, in addition to members of the technical commission and leaders. 22 journalists died in the accident.

In the latest videos displayed on the internet, athletes appear cheerful and relaxed. They would play the first match against Atletico Medellín for the South American Cup and decide the final in Brazil. Joy was the feeling of winning such a coveted title.

Jesus, through the apostle Matthew, warned that it will come on a feast day, just as it was in Noah's day, when many would marry. Perhaps, when they got on that plane, Chapecoense's team did not realize they would be saying goodbye to this life forever.

Sometimes we value our lives too much here on Earth, leaving the abode in eternity behind. Jesus Christ promised us in the Heavens many mansions. Our mistake is to continue looking at earthly things, leaving aside the heavenly, where we will be if we please the Lord.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Prayer: most powerful weapon of the Christian

* Luís Alberto Alves

The best weapon to defeat the forces of darkness is still prayer. The enemy is not afraid of shouting, abrupt gestures, ugly faces, upturned eyes or punches on the wall, not even empty words. What sets him to run is prayer.

Today we pray little. Many Christians worry only about making money and consuming, especially at this time of year. The care of speaking to Jesus Christ is put aside. Looks like they never bought clothes, shoes or food. That's the rule today.

You come to the church and few are ready to pray, to speak with God in intimacy. They only think of surfing the internet or even gossiping about the brother who dresses humbly because of the low salary. He does not really give himself to the Lord.
Then they complain that life is a tragedy, of not winning victories.

 The reason is simple: lack of communion with God. When you begin speaking to Jesus Christ through prayer, everything will be easier. It will open doors that have never been opened. Try it!

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

What space does the young man have today in the Christian world?

* Luís Alberto Alves

I notice in several evangelical churches that young audiences are restricted only to praise, preferably tuned in to the rhythm of techno, house and rock. It is as if their world revolves only around music. That they do not think let alone face daily struggles. Some pastors do not even allow some of them to bring the word into worship. They can only hear, but never talk.

They are at the height of adrenaline and seek to discharge this energy, but without finding space within the church. Soon they begin to associate the Gospel with something grimace, without perspective, because at this stage of life people seek novelties. They do not like routine, of stagnation. They look to the future always, they want to advance fast in the realization of their dreams.

It is wrong to leave this important public aside. It must be heard, because sometimes their suggestions are of great importance. Why today the devil focused fire is on this portion of the population to end the fear of God. Instead of countering this strategy of the enemy, some churches unconsciously aid Satan and his demons when they discriminate against the youth in the congregation.

We need to open our eyes more. Leave the sameness. Pray to Jesus Christ for our Master to give us strategies of struggle so that we can rid the young of the terrible future that evil lives to plan for them. Selfishness must be set aside. Otherwise, they will increase the statistics of drug addicts, murderers, thugs and perverts in our society.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Church needs to prepare more

* Luís Alberto Alves

In the middle of the 21st century, most evangelical churches are not prepared to face the new challenges of this generation. Many are still mindful of the start of counter reform. In others, it seems that time continues to stagnate. God asks the leaders to open their spiritual and material eyes, discovering resources of how to win more souls to the Lord.

It is good to read the Bible, but we can not leave the knowledge provided at this time in the background. Technology exists by God's permission. He shed knowledge about the minds and projects, which were dreams, today is reality. We need to take advantage, on the positive side, to increase the preaching of the gospel, driving out the stagnation of the Christian world.

Vanities should be left out. Sharing knowledge is important, especially with people who have recently arrived at the work. Teach the liturgy and how to work with certain situations that will appear in the course of the preaching of the Word. After all, nobody is born knowing anything. Unfortunately, teachers are missing to fill this gap.

When a church focuses on this requalification, the ministry grows and reaches different lives. They use technology for the Kingdom of God. Young people are involved in this issue and need to be better exploited. It is wrong to leave that portion of Christian members aside. They must be incorporated into the body of workers and depart from the forces of evil.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Some evangelical churches are sick

* Luís Alberto Alves

Can an evangelical church get sick? Yes! The process is slow, but over the years it contracts the disease of idolatry, deception, nepotism, arrogance, arrogance, and vanity. If she is not alerted, she will go to the ICU and die without regret.

Today, the number of Christians without churches grows in the world. They are people who respect Jesus Christ, but tired of the filth in these denominations chose to stay out without making any commitment. They watch preaching but prefer to stay away from contamination.

On the outside, everything is beautiful, but when you enter and you get to know the work routine, the rotten ones appear. People fighting for positions, as in the political world; Others striving to appear, always in evidence, especially in the ministries of praise.

Others, schooled in theology courses, are treading on the other brothers, who preferred to adopt the Bible as a reference, instead of choosing books written by authors of Christian reform. This is the short script that leads many churches to death, to the sorrow of the Lord.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

We must worry to go to Heaven

* Luís Alberto Alves

"I will give you joy in this world / and there in the other life and peace," is one of the stanzas of a well-known choir in the evangelical Pentecostal churches. It is beautiful Jesus Christ to give us joy in this terrible world, where the evil one tries in various ways to turn us away from the Lord.

Unfortunately, many brethren in Christ end up falling into the trap of Satan. He never joked or left for a second to be an enemy of God. The Christian, however, is hesitant, now stands firm on the rock, and now thinks of leaving the presence of the Lord.

There is a better proposition than to have life and peace in eternity. That is, forever. Living in a place where there will never be death, sadness, melancholy, hunger or all kinds of evil barriers that are around us, is what every Christian must always aim for.

Our concern is to fight to stay with Jesus Christ forever and ever. Forget the garbage offered by the Devil. Do not be deceived, he will always put before us his dirty proposals, but with cleaning varnish. Pay the price and stand firm in the Lord.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

The beauty is deceitful

* Luís Alberto Alves

Who has never looked at a very beautiful woman on the street? And at work? The secretary, all produced, and beautiful, who always seeks to come to the service wearing classic clothes, but that subtly enhances the physical beauty and aims to seduce everyone. Man, by nature, is attracted to the eyes. Fix them on the woman, and the enemy whistles in your ears that in the age of the world, it was not a sin to desire someone. The enemy will hammer day and night that there is nothing wrong with wanting such a beautiful woman.

The weak in spirit will not resist the invitation and for a few seconds, for this is the time spent by the male orgasm, throw salvation through the window and eternal abode in the Heavens to satisfy the desires sinful of the flesh. Some still find strength to return to the Father's arms, others remain in the mud where they slipped and from there they never rise again, making their way into hell, as Satan's plan was to offer this dish of lentils.

Beauty is fleeting, as it is written in Psalms. It does not last forever. Search the pictures of the big Hollywood movie stars in the '40s,' 50s, and 60s. At the time, they sparked unbridled passions. Today, in case of those still alive, they are women marked by wrinkles without any beauty, which in the past provoked follies. But how many think so? They invest deeply in vanity, ignoring the counsel of the servants of the Lord. And so the world turns to these people.

There is nothing uglier than a beautiful woman in her youth. Plastic operations no longer solve the problem. The skin is too sensitive to undergo cuts from the scalpels of surgeons of this specialty. But when we have the love of Jesus Christ in our hearts, we remain beautiful inside. For we are no longer attached to the ideology of beauty proposed by the world. We look only to the Lord and everything goes well. Therefore let my sister be a slave to beauty. She passes quickly.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Many prefer the crumbs of the Devil to the feast of Jesus Christ

* Luís Alberto Alves

I observe how ungodly people are slaves to the Devil. Passively accept the dishes of lentils offered by him. I realize, for example, on a prolonged holiday eve, for a few cans of beers, women produce to be present at bars and there to get someone's attention to pay their bills and then end up in some hotel room. All futile.

Others bet on sensuality, loaded makeup and extreme vanity, to arouse the lust wherever you go. That is, to provoke sexual desires in men or even women, because in today's rotten world, lesbianism is growing rapidly, in an affront to the Word of the Lord. They forget that next week they will return to the routine of work in the office or factory.

The Devil is clever. He picks up a dirty dish and throws some crumbs of sweet fruit inside it, placing on top a nice paper of doubtful quality and the deception is complete. The wicked drops like fish by biting the bait of the hook. He spends his pay money in rubbish and will get into trouble when he gets home, where his bills await him.

It is important to think of the Heavens. There, the streets are golden, without pain, hunger, sadness or anything negative was part of this dark world. It is the feast of the Lord, offered to his servants. At times, we Christians, realize how hard it is to keep our hearts in Jesus Christ. We look at the lentil dish and we are tempted. But the Holy Spirit reveals to us that the taste of the food served at the banquet outweighs any third-rate food offered by Satan and his demons.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Divine justice is not like ours

* Luís Alberto Alves

How many times, even after our conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ, our hearts are still filled with anger, anger, and desire for revenge against the people who have hurt us in the past of lost sheep in the world. Even if we are faithful to God, we are sometimes surprised by the desire to repay in the same currency the wickedness committed against us.

We erroneously interpret that the justice of God is similar to that which exists here on this corrupt planet. We think that Jesus Christ will cast fire from the heavens on the heads of the tormentors used by satan to afflict our lives. Fortunately God does not think the same man. He is different from us. His love is totally opposite to that practiced on earth.

Many Christians do not pray for their enemies. On the contrary, they ask in the prayers to God to rain of their wrath in the life of the Peninas that made fun of our disgrace. Some even ask death to come upon them quickly to show that Jesus Christ is righteous. However, this type of Christian is unaware of the intensity of the agape love of the Lord.

Therefore, my brother in Christ Jesus, think well before wishing death to those used by the darkness to finish with you. Pray that God will reach them and make them vessels of honor filled with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. No matter how badly done, just delivered into the Lord's hands. The wisdom of God is greater than yours, and the good work will be completed in that life for the glory of the Lord.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Commission approves IPTU exemption for religious temples rented in Brazil

* Luís Alberto Alves

Ordinary meeting for discussion and voting of the draftsman's opinion to amendments to the substitute and to the attached drafts.

A special committee of the House approved on Wednesday (9) the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 200/16, which provides for exemption from the Tax on Urban Property and Territorial Property (IPTU) for temples of any religious cult, Who are only renters of the property.

The proposal is authored by Senator Marcelo Crivella (PRB-RJ), elected mayor of Rio de Janeiro, and has already been approved by the Senate. Now it will be sent to the House Plenary, where it will have to be submitted to two votes. In order to be approved, it will need the favorable votes of three fifths of the deputies in each round, that is, 308 votes.

The rapporteur of the proposal, Deputy Jorge Tadeu Mudalen (DEM-SP), recalled that, currently, the understanding of the Federal Supreme Court is that the tax immunity of temples in relation to IPTU is restricted to properties owned by religious entities.

"It is beyond the scope of immunity that the religious entity is a renter of property owned by a third party," he said, adding that such entities are charitable by definition. "If these entities have resources in abundance, it is desirable that they be used for social assistance or religious services," he said. The deputy also stated that taxation, although necessary for the maintenance of the State, is a restriction on the enjoyment of property and freedom of the citizen.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Miracles still happen

*Luís Alberto Alves

Today the Christian is very skeptical. No wonder. There are several picks acting in evangelical circles. Some promise wonders to let her hair stand on end. After all it is necessary to distrust those waving with one hand and with the other takes the money of the sheep.

I myself do not believe in many pseudo miracles watch on the internet. After editing any trash seen jewelry. On Saturday (4) I watch a cult of a pastor well used by the Holy Spirit in the healing area. God knowing my unbelief let me near him at the time of prayer.

There I could see with my eyes, after the outpouring of oil oil on a boy with terrible pain in the kidneys, caused by stones. During the prayer the stones broke the skin of the boy and fell into the hands of another pastor, brother of a friend who is also a pastor.

There was no trick. God really worked in that life, and Jesus Christ worked miracles in that service, freeing prisoners, healing the sick and great outpouring of his Spirit. The secret of this anointing? He said it prayerfully. Something close to 12 hours in a chat with the Lord!

* Luís Alberto Alves is pastor

What kind of prayer you do?

*Luís Alberto Alves

There are several types of prayers. From the pure sincere interest, pushing God on the wall, as if he had an obligation to meet all our whims. But the church teaches time for some people that the wheel does not turn out the way you think.

When we pray, we need to worry about exalting grace of Jesus Christ in our lives. Lose the habit of opening prayer already asking. As if God were a bank to put money in our hands. It is important to exalt the supremacy of the Lord.

Never pray for the evil of thy neighbor. Even if that someone has done you terrible harm. Ask Jesus to turn it into an instrument of God, and blessing and not a curse in anyone's life. We should not pray with a heart full of bitterness and hatred.

If you find the style of prayer that pleases Jesus Christ, you will have great chance to win the blessings that both pursues. Perhaps more than 20 years. The Lord knows your needs. No need to threaten him. He will bless you in time.

* Luís Alberto Alves is pastor