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Luís Alberto Alves
* Luís Alberto Alves
After introducing the creation of the Gregorian calendar and describing how the Jews count the days of the year, this study addresses the birth of Jesus Christ based on several books of the Bible, both new and old.
In the letter to the Church of Sardis, Jesus Christ told the apostle John: "I know your works, you have a way of being alive, but you are dead. Be aware! Strengthen that which is left, and which was to die, for I have not found his works perfect in the sight of my God. "
In this case, Jesus Christ pulls the ears of Christians who appear to live within the gospel. But it's all façade. They are whitewashed tombs, they are clean from the outside and dirty from the inside. It is that portion of the flock interested only in blessings. In the year 323, when Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, people were falsely converted. Before the government, they were great worshipers, but inside their homes they continued to idolize strange gods. The same is true today.
At the New Year's Eve parties Christians are seen idolizing the birth of Tammuz, the Sun god, who according to the Egyptians was born on December 25, based on the Gregorian calendar. They do not know or believe the words of the Lord. In the book of Jeremiah, chapter 10, verses 1 to 4, Jesus says what the Christmas tree represents: "Hear what the Lord says to you, O community of Israel (today who accepted Jesus as their Savior and only God)! Thus saith the Lord: Do not learn the deeds of the nations, neither be dismayed at the signs in heaven, though the nations be astonished at them. The religious customs of the nations are useless: a tree from the forest is cut off, a craftsman molds it with its chisel, and adorns it with silver and gold, fixing everything with a hammer and nails so that it does not balance. "
Further on in verses 8 and 9 the Lord makes clear the meaning of Christmas celebrated on December 25, including by some denominations: "They are all foolish and foolish, they want to be taught by useless idols (in the case of Santa Claus). Silver beat is brought from Tarshish and gold, from Ufaz. The work of the craftsman and the goldsmith is dressed in blue and red, it is nothing more than the work of skilful craftsmen. "
When Jesus Christ asks this Christian to strengthen himself, it is for his good, not having part with the mud in which is immersed several people, who in the past were embers and today are coals erased in the faith. This kind of work does not please God. With the discovery of other countries (at the time the book of Revelation was written, the Americas and Oceania had not been discovered), the tares spread, taking many Christians away from the Lord's right paths.
In the letter to the Church of Philadelphia, Jesus Christ speaks of true Christians, warriors who do not deny their faith. In verses 8 to 10, chapter 3 of the book of Revelation, it is written, "I know his works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no man can shut (the preaching of the gospel to every creature). I know you have little strength but kept my word and did not deny my name. See what I will do to those who are synagogues of Satan (involved in evil works and false Christians) and who call themselves Jews and are not, but are liars. I will make you fall at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my word of exhortation to perseverance (I have never given up preaching and doing God's work, even in the face of difficulties and deserts), I will also keep you from the hour of trial (fulfillment of all God's words, (Coming from all over the world) (from the first century of our era, several tragedies have hit the earth with wars and countless diseases that have caused the deaths of millions of people) to test the Who inhabit the earth. "
From the words spoken by Jesus Christ in this letter to the Church of Philadelphia in the last 2,000 years, many prophecies have already been fulfilled.
In the first 400 years of our era, wars of the Roman Empire against enemy armies caused the death and destruction of several cities. Sexual violence has spread syphilis and herpes among women. Since the soldiers of the Roman army had the custom of raping the women of the invading cities. They killed or enslaved old men, adults and children. The ill-treatment caused deaths. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Ottoman Turks assimilated the same horrible practices of the Romans, which lasted until 1919, when they were defeated in World War I. It is the custom, which lasts until today, to call the Arabs of the Turks. For they dominated the countries of the Middle East for 1000 years.
Millions were Jews. The remainder was wiped out in Europe, Asia and North Africa. It is the word of Revelation if it is fulfilled, as Jesus described to the apostle John when he was taken up into heaven to hear it. In the last Letter to the Church of Laodicea Jesus draws the ears of Christians without commitment and any responsibility with the preaching of gospel. It is the Christian "wave": it comes and goes according to your wishes. From verses 15 to 19, the Lord says: "I know your works, I know that you are neither cold nor hot (unbeliever or true Christian)! So, because you are lukewarm (not firm in the gospel, still drawn to the world), it is neither cold nor hot, I am about to vomit it out of my mouth (casting it into darkness).
You say, "I am rich, I have acquired wealth, and I do not need anything." (Indeed, billionaires never believe that their wealth was earned by God's permission. If they please, more and more seek riches, forgetting that Jesus said that the love of riches is the root of all evil. He does not recognize, however, that he is miserable, worthy of compassion, poor, blind and naked (without the protection of the Lord). I give this advice: buy me gold refined in the fire (the wisdom of the Lord's words) and you will become rich, buy white clothes (the Lord's holiness, your purity and righteousness) and dress to cover your shameful nakedness Absence of the Holy Spirit and the character of God); And buy eye drops to anoint your eyes (to remove dirt from the soul and be cleansed from sin) and to be able to see (with the spiritual vision of the Lord and discern how to do the work of the gospel and please God). I rebuke and discipline those I love.
Therefore, be diligent and repent. "In these last words, the Lord takes his servants to the deserts to equip them with new strategies to defeat the enemy. Also to remove impurities that still hinder them to continue in the battle against darkness. It is the hard training to stand. It is the proof of the word, where the Lord says that many will be called, but few will be chosen. They are true Christians. They continued in the presence of the Lord, even in the face of difficulties, persecutions, discrimination, betrayals, deceit. They are sure that the best is in glory with the Lord. The Earth is just a place of passage, a station where the train of life will be stopped for a short time. In these words from the book of Revelation, Jesus Christ reveals that the Christians of the Laodicean Church are those a third who have passed through the fire, Being refined like gold and silver.
They will be the people of God and the Lord will reveal himself as their God, for they have not denied it. They stood firm and faithful. After the apostle John was taken in spirit to the heavens and stood before the throne of the Lord, he saw the beauty and splendor of paradise. The dwelling reserved for the servants of God, who preferred to remain attached to the vine, continue to fight the good fight, running the race determined by the Lord. Something even difficult to describe. With the opening of the seals, is that some parts that will be fulfilled in the future begin and others are already occurring, since the first century of our era. Look at what the book of Revelation says in chapter 6, verse 4: "And another horse, red, went out, and to his knight, it was given unto him to take peace from the earth, that men should kill one another; Given a great sword. "The passing of the centuries to this day has shown the fulfillment of this prophecy of Jesus Christ.
Excluding wars, every day several people are murdered around the world. In the 1990s, 1 million people were killed in the Republic of Congo, in Africa. Since 2006, in northern Mexico, 28,000 people have been exterminated by drug traffickers. It is estimated that in large cities in Brazil, about 250 people die on a violent weekend. They are shot by automatic weapons. All for banal reasons. In the 1970s, 1 million Cambodians in Asia were exterminated in a single day; 800 Palestinians were killed in Lebanon in 1982. Two years earlier, the South Korean Army killed 475 students and workers protesting on the streets.
Until the 1920s, the colonization of the Republic of Congo in Africa killed 10 million people. All of them for mistreatment. "In Venezuela, on Saturdays and Sundays, 150 Venezuelans are executed. It is the most violent country in the world today. It even loses to Afghanistan, where car bomb blasts have become commonplace. Throughout the world, violence reaps human lives. Each day, the number of homicides increases. For some reason, someone is capable of taking the life of the other. Car Accidents is another tool of death. On holidays it has become common to lose more than 30 people on the highways, sometimes from entire familiesEach year, 2,180 children die in traffic accidents. In 12 months, about 43 thousand Brazilians die in Brazil in a violent way, or 3,583 per month. By day 137 young people lose their lives in Brazilian cities.
War between gangs
The will to make more money led the man to invent more powerful drugs, with great power to addict in a short time. It is estimated that crack, in Brazil, already has 300 thousand drugged. They are people who can not live without drugs. They are now destitute in the streets. After a while, they die from lung disease or cardiac arrest. It is the fulfillment of the revelation of Jesus Christ: men killing each other.
As He said, the red gentleman would take peace from Earth. There is no safe place today. Be it in the central regions of cities or in closed condominiums. In all of them, violence marks the presence and death ends with lives. The love between the family is something in extinction. It has become common, father murdering son or vice versa, mother killing daughter or the other way around, mother-in-law babbling daughter-in-law or the opposite.
In many cases, children are sexually abused by relatives and then killed in crimes classified as barbarians by the press. The trafficking of women to Europe is another source that results in death. Exploited to the extreme, after a certain period, are executed and the body is thrown in rivers or abandoned in deserted places. They also end up dying after contracting venereal diseases.
The recruitment of adolescents and even children, to work as salesmen or drug carriers, also ends in death. Brazil is currently the country with the highest number of adolescent women widows. His companions lost their lives before they reached the age of 16 or 17. All victims of war between rival gangs in organized crime.
Sometimes homicide occurs for petty reasons. A childish discussion results in tragedy. It is the red horse riding around the world and making true the revelations of Jesus Christ, made to the apostle John in the first century of our era. From now on, the trend is worsening, with an increase in the number of deaths.
On the fourth seal, from the book of Revelation, chapter 6, verse 8, Jesus Christ reveals and the apostle John describes: "And I looked, and behold a pale horse, and his rider, which is called death; And hell was following them, and power was given unto them over a fourth part of the earth to slay the sword, and for the famine, and for the slaughter, and for the beasts of the earth. "
Again, the word of Jesus Christ becomes a reality in the course of these 2,000 years. This knight began to ride from the first century of our era. The wars fought by the Roman army took the lives of thousands of people. As did the troops commanded by Alexander the Great in combat against King Darius, king of Persia (now Iran). The same effect had the wars against the Greek Army, when Athens fell into the hands of the enemy, in this case the Romans.
The barbarians led by Attila the Hun, known as the scourge of God, also brought death and destruction on the European continent. The Vandals, under Geserico, caused countless casualties, when they left Germany, crossed France, passed through Spain, and arrived in North Africa. The Vesigods and the Gauls in the race for Gaul (France) also sowed deaths in their battles.
By the late 400s, Martin Luther's struggle for restitution of the purity of the early church gospel, as described in Acts 2, verse 42, caused many deaths in the battle, waged against the Vatican. After the year 500, the Catholic war against the Muslim-led army broke out in the crusade for the conquest of Europe.
Before, in the year 453, the fall of the Roman Empire in the East, with the taking of the city of Constantinople, present Istanbul, capital of Turkey, provoked the birth of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire. More blood continued to fall on the battlefields.
At the same time, the lack of hygiene facilitates the emergence of bubonic plague. A disease responsible for hundreds of millions of deaths. In the 20th century, between the 1910s and 1920s, the Spanish flu caused a great deal of mortality. Before, at the end of the 19th century, in the period from 1890 to 1900, yellow fever was responsible for countless deaths.
Until the discovery of penicillin in the late 1930s, infections were responsible for the withdrawal of millions of lives. Before, tuberculosis led this ranking of death, including youth. As the world evolves, the death toll from hunger increases.
Confirming the authority given to the yellow horse, whose gentleman is called death and hell accompanies him. It is estimated that 1 billion people (five and a half Brazil) go hungry in the world. Much of it is in Africa. Even in the developed countries of Asia, Europe and the Americas, it is routine to find surviving families of garbage.
Consuming 2,400 calories daily. Below that, the citizen is inserted in the classification of hungry. Today, millions have access to only 200 calories, others eat only a few times during the week. Sudden changes in the climate These words revealed by Jesus Christ in the first century of our era to the apostle John at the time of his rapture are happening until the days of Today, since that time. It is not something that will yet come. It is the fulfillment of the book of Revelation. Someone still doubts the emergence of AIDS, as another disease, with great power to destroy life (interrogation).
There are estimates of 33.4 million people infected worldwide, another 10 million are unaware that they already have the HIV virus. In Brazil, 250,000 do not know that they are carriers of the disease. As there is still no cure, in the next few years these AIDS victims will die. The drugs only prolong the life of the patients, with bitter side effects. The fact that hell accompanies this yellow horse, on horseback all over the earth, with the permission of Jesus Christ, means despair, storm, destruction and violence, aiding in the final outcome.
In the countries of the East, such as Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Tibet, Indonesia, India, and former nations belonging to the former Soviet Union, suicide bombings have sometimes become common, sometimes killing more than 60 people a day . Hurricanes, tsunamis, floods and earthquakes account for high numbers of deaths. For the first time in a thousand years, Northern Russia in 2010 faced 40 degrees centigrade of heat, causing melting of large layers of ice from the North Pole and loss of life. The climate has changed dramatically: in the Northern Hemisphere summer records Temperatures, with forest fires, resulting in the expulsion of animals from their habitat.
In some cities of the United States, bears invade the houses in search of food. The same is true in Alaska and Canada. In the Southern Hemisphere, winter has only a few cold days. Something unusual in the last few decades. The heat, on most days, exceeds 28 degrees Celsius, with low humidity in the air. The population is forced to face the summer weather, when the correct one would be the opposite. These data confirm the fulfillment of the words of Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation.
The fifth seal in this book, chapter 6, verses 9 and 10, reveals the dead who lost their lives in preaching the gospel: "When He opened the fifth seal, I saw, under the altar, the souls of those who had been killed for Of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge, and avenge not our blood upon them that dwell upon the earth?" This data shows that the Christian does not waste time when he embraces the work of God and His righteousness. It is immune to the lentil dishes offered daily by the darkness. This detail in the book of Revelation reveals the reason for Satan's insistence of struggling fiercely to try to divert many servants of God from the path of righteousness.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
* Luís Alberto Alves
Did you know that the land in dispute
A war with world interests
Oil has memorable stories and
Myths of civilization?
If you do not know, see below: That the garden of Eden was in Iraq.
Mesopotamia, where it is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization. Noah built the Ark in Iraq. The tower of Babel was in Iraq. Abraham was from Ur, which was south of Iraq.
Isaac's wife, Rebecca, was from Nahor, who was in Iraq. Jacob met Rachel in this land. Jonah prayed in Nineveh, which was in Iraq.
Assyria, which was in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel. Babylon, which was in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem.
Daniel was in the den of lions. At where? In Iraq! Baltazar, king of Babylon, saw the "writing on the wall" in Iraq. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, carried the Jews prisoners through Iraq. Ezekiel prayed in Iraq.
The Kings were from Iraq. Peter also made prayers in Iraq. The "empire of man," described in the Apocalypse, was Babylon, a city in Iraq.
And you probably do not know these: The word Mesopotamia means "between two rivers," more exactly between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The name Iraq means "Country with Deep Roots."
Certainly Iraq is a deeply rooted country of enormous importance in the Bible. Except for Israel, no other nation has more history and prophecy associated with it than Iraq.
Israel is the most mentioned land in the Bible. Whose name corresponds to Babylon, land of Shinar, Mesopotamia.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
* Luís Alberto Alves
One time, the dictatorial government of an Arab country in the 18th century arrested a great Eastern thinker. To release him, the king asked him several complex questions; If he answered and was right, he would all be on the streets.
Here are some of them: 1) What is the best day? Answer: what we are living! 2) What is the biggest feeling? Answer: love! 3) What is the demonic invention? Answer: the war! 4) What is the biggest asset? Answer: honesty! 5) What is the greatest good? Answer: health! 6) What is the greatest consolation? Answer: hope! 7) What is the greatest law? Answer: Love your neighbor as yourself. 8) Which is the most dangerous man? Answer: the liar. 9) What is the highest judge? Answer: time. 10) Which poison kills the most? Answer: the rancor. 11) What is the greatest baseness committed by the human being? Answer: revenge. 12) What is the most powerful weapon? Answer: forgiveness.
After answering the questions, the king freed him and the thinker can pass free the last years of his life. He was over 70 years old.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
* Luís Alberto Alves
One day the son asks his father:
"Father, will you run the marathon with me?"
... And the father says yes, and they both run the first marathon together.
Another day he asks his father if he wants to run again.
Marathon with him; And the father says yes again.
... Run the two again.
One day the son asks his father again:
- Dad, do you wanna run the Ironman with me?
(The Ironman is more difficult ... it requires swimming 4 km, cycling 180 km and running 42).
... And the father says yes.
* This is all very simple ... until you see the images ... fantastic!
Click and check it out. Are you going to complain about what?
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
* Luís Alberto Alves
Romans 13: 8 - Owe no man any thing save the love wherewith ye love one another; Because those who love others have fulfilled the law.
At first glance, it seems that the biblical text has mixed things up. After all, what is the relationship between financial debt and mutual aid? Paul, however, is emphatic, when he writes: "To no one owes anything, but reciprocal love ..." (Romans 13: 8).
The history of civilizations clearly teaches one thing: communities that have not practiced mutual help have self-destructed. The material indebtedness of members of a society produces insolvency and opens the door to various forms of disorganization when everyone wants to own and almost no one thinks of honoring commitments, social contracts lose their aggregating power. Consumerism without saving is right recipe for recession.
Why does the Bible describe "reciprocal love" as a commandment, as a "debt"? Because the essential nature of love is the stance of bestowal. In more than one context Christ Jesus associates the activity of loving with the fulfillment of divine designs.
"If ye love Me, ye shall obey My commandments." "And My command is that ye love one another" ... "as I have loved you." Reciprocal love guarantees the stability of communities, just as egocentrism guarantees the dissolution of human institutions.
To say that reciprocal love must depend on the "goodwill" of each individual is almost as serious as proposing a public financial policy that depends on the whim of taxpayers. To love is the great debt we take on with the Lord.
He "loved us when we were yet sinners."
Therefore, the Bible says, "the love of Christ constrains us" and must always constrain us to share with others our divine instrument that enables us to be "children of God."
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
* Luís Alberto Alves
Finally the truth is told on American TV. Billy Graham's daughter was being interviewed at the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her, "How could God have allowed something horrible like this to happen on September 11?"
Anne Graham gave a profound and wise answer: "I believe that God was deeply saddened by what happened, as much as we. For many years we have told God not to interfere with our choices, to leave our government and to leave our lives. Being a gentleman as God is, I believe He quietly left us.
How can we expect God to give us his blessing and protection if we demand that He does not become more involved with us? '
In view of so many recent events; Terrorist attacks, school shootings, etc ... I believe that it all started when Madeline Murray O'hare (who was murdered) complained that it was inappropriate to pray in American schools as it was traditionally, and we agreed With your opinion.
After that, someone said that it would be better not to read the Bible in schools either ...
The Bible teaches us that we should not kill, steal, and should love our neighbor as ourselves. And we agreed to this someone.
Soon after, Dr. Benjamin Spock said that we should not beat our children when they behave badly, because their personalities in formation would be distorted and we could damage their self-esteem (his son committed suicide) and we said: "An expert in this Subject should know what he is talking about. "
And then we agreed with him. Then someone said that school teachers and principals should not discipline our children when they misbehave. So it was decided that no teacher could discipline the students ... (there is a difference between disciplining and playing). There, someone suggested that we should let our daughters get an abortion if they wanted to.
And we accept without even questioning. Then it was said that we should give our children as many condoms as they wanted so they could have fun at will.
And we said, "All right!" Then someone suggested that we print magazines with photographs of naked women, and we said that this is a healthy thing and a natural appreciation of the female body.
And we said, "Okay, this is democracy, and they have the right to be free to express themselves and do it." Then another person took it a step further and published photos of Naked Children and went even further by making them available to the internet.
Now we are asking ourselves why our children are not aware and because they do not know how to distinguish good and evil, right and wrong; Because they do not mind killing strange people or their own classmates or themselves ...
Probably, if we analyze seriously, we will easily understand: we reap only what we sow !!! One girl wrote a note to God: "Lord, why did not you save that child in school?"
His response: "Dear child, do not let me enter the schools !!!"
It's sad how people simply blame God and do not understand why the world is striding to hell.
It's sad how we believe everything the Newspapers and TV say, but we doubt what the Bible, or what your religion, you say it teaches.
It is sad as someone says, "I believe in God." But still it follows Satan, who, by the way, also '' Believes '' in God. It's funny how quick we are to judge, but we do not want to be judged!
How we can send hundreds of jokes through email, and they spread like fire, but when we try to send some e-mai talking about God, people are afraid to share and resend them to others!
It is sad to see how immoral, obscene and vulgar material runs freely on the internet, but a public discussion about God is quickly suppressed at school and at work.
You may not want to resend this message to many of your mailing list yourself because you are not sure how you will receive it, or what you will think of it, for sending it.
Is not true? Enjoyed that we care more about what other people think about us than about what God thinks ...
"I assure you that He who sees everything in our hearts is hoping that you, in your free will, send these words to others."
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
For some time Jesus Christ inspired me to compose this praise, which in times of struggle always comes to my lips and the heavy burden is very light. Today, in an unprecedented way, I publish the verses of this beautiful song, which in due course I will add the music to the MP3 file. Meditate on this letter.
* Luís Alberto Alves
To find me / to find me / To live in your heart / To stay by your side / You have to seek me with all the strength of your heart / When you act like this / You will find me Sir.
Do not look at the world / world where the evil one lies / you must look at me / who from the dust of the earth created you / breathed in your nostrils the wind of life / I am the God of peace / I give it in a way that World is not able to give.
You need to find me / for the wounds of your heart / if you close forever / for rancor, sadness, destruction, madness, deceit, prostitution, idolatry do not cling to your feet, like fetters Captives the slaves / the Peace of the Lord, peace as soft incense, so is my peace / that comforts the heart more dejected and wounded / the peace of the Lord / seek my peace / let my peace accompany you.
The door that I open / no one can close / and the door that I close no one can open / for this I give you my peace / the peace of the Lord / the peace that calms the storms / the fury of the enemy / that already knows and knows What awaits you in the day of my fury.
Never look back / never praise the past / never wish to return to the days that do not come back / because you do not know what I keep ahead of you / honey sweeter than the sweetest sweet in this world.
The peace of the Lord / the peace / the peace of the Lord / run after my peace / rest in my arms you will have my peace / the peace of the Lord / the peace / the peace of the Lord / peace, peace, peace / My peace.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
* Luís Alberto Alves
The greatest anger of the adversary was to have to see Jesus on the cross standing and not fallen;
Injured, but standing:
Betrayed, but standing;
With thorns on the head but standing; Condemned by men, but standing; Battered but standing;
Crucified but standing;
Bleeding but standing;
Nailed but standing ...
The biggest anger of the opponent is to see you going through fights, but standing!
Going by slander, but standing !!!!
Being chased, but standing !!!!
Being brave, but standing !!!!
Being disappointed but standing up !!!
Get prostrate - only if it is in the presence of God! So beloved, let us always stand. We will win every battle.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
* Luís Alberto Alves
Time may change, but Satan continues using the same tactics that he tried to bar, on Shittim, the arrival of Israel in the promised land. His strategy is to divert the Christian's focus from blessing. Because someone with a credit card or overdraft, and a constant collection bank, loses his patience, and if he is not firm in Jesus Christ, he will return to the world, imagining that he will have peace from the Lord.
It is in these moments of fierce struggles that we must meditate on the Words that God said in the book of Micah, chapter 5, verse 4: The LORD says: - My people, what have I done wrong? Did I demand too much from you? Answer! I brought them out of Egypt, saving them from slavery, and sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead them through the wilderness. 5 My people, remember the plans which Balak king of Moab made against you, and the answer that Balaam the son of Beor gave you. Remember all that has happened since they left the encampment of the Valley of the Acacias until they came to the city of Gilgal. Never forget the victories that I, the LORD, have achieved.
Jesus Christ has withdrawn us from the mire to be a blessing, a light, an example to a lost world. It is not a sin to have a credit card, overdraft, beautiful clothes and shoes, car of the year, living in a spacious house or apartment, attending good beauty salons. Wrong is we become hostages to it all. Let our lives revolve around these things. Let us exchange the Lord for seconds, minutes, hours, or days of passing pleasures, sometimes so fast, when a blink of an eye.
The Lord did not require anything too much from his servants. He will never place a cross so heavy that he can not carry it or an impossible situation to bear. God knows our limits. You know exactly where we can go.
All we have to do is listen to her sweet words and always obey her orders, sometimes even absurd and silly.
Jesus Christ knows perfectly our future and what is best for our soul and salvation. We can pass through the Valley of Shittim, but do not let the dirt that exists there cling to our spirit and try to accompany us, to prevent the arrival of the blessings that are in the promised land.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
* Luís Alberto Alves
Offices began to file divorce papers into their files because the relationship deteriorated. Reason: the couple left aside the affection and affection and the time spent, when husband and wife were together, was used to see what happened in social networks. Newborn infants were not fed properly, in some cases they stayed all day with dirty diapers. Inconsequential husbands have become lovers of cell phones, instead of reserving their love to their wives and vice versa.
In companies, whether in the production line or even in the offices, are already routine dismissals for just cause. The working hours, which should be used to perform the service for which the employee receives the salary, was spent on social networks. Neither warning letters warned that the employee was at risk of losing his job. Shittim in a more advanced version, without neglecting the dreadful style used by satan to ward off blessings from the Christian.
Consumerism is another mechanism widely used by darkness to try to stop the servant of God from feeling the sweet taste of victory. Many people earn excellent salaries, but the lack of financial control leads them to buy products, which in a short time will be leaning on the wardrobe or any other corner of the house where they live. Mamon (another deity of the kingdom of satan) puts in the person's mind that overspending is not wrong, but a way of showing that it has a good standard of living is not a poor man or a poor man.
The media, especially the advertising agencies, make good use of the art of arousing hunger and thirst for consumption. Through good pieces of advertising, they try to present that the newly launched car is better than that in the hands of that Christian, even with a few years or months of use. Appliances, clothes, shoes, and even houses or apartments, enter this Friday. The fashion, launched every year, is responsible for setting fire to consumer hunger.
Unsurprisingly, today the credit card has become a god. Millions of people can not live without this instrument of credit. Barely paid the bill of the month, the value rises again. Psychologists explain that their clients, when in an advanced stage of consumerism, can not find the strength to resist any kind of purchase. Like drug addicts, they get depressed when they go shopping.
Overdraft is another weapon well used by Mamon. Sell illusion of easy money, the famous limit offered by the bank. The person breaks the limit and can no longer pay off the debt, which monthly increases until it becomes priceless.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
* Luís Alberto Alves
But none of this was enough. Curiosity for the profane led them to the dishes offered by darkness. Balak was the king of the Moabites and had already asked Balaam, the priest of the Lord, to curse Israel. He tried to do it three times, but in all of them they prayed for blessing. But Israel ignored these signs, and the men of the 12 tribes of Judah, who had formed families, began to have intercourse with the Moabites.
In the heat of passion, and the devil seizes this moment well, they lose their fear and worship the gods of that people, among them Baal-Peor. They partook of the sacrifices and plunged ever more into the filth of sin. They did not know that they were about to taste the sweet taste of the blessing promised by God since the time of slavery in Egypt.
Unfortunately today, many Christians are in Shittim near the long-awaited conquest, fruit of many prayers and fasting, and succumbs to the dish of lentils offered by the darkness. Adolescents, young people, adults, the elderly, men or women participate in this menu. Satan only changes the style of offering this meal, apparently beautiful, but rotten content.
Nowadays, the advancement of technology is not new. Through a social network it is possible to locate friends or relatives in distant places and through the chat we talk to them at any moment, as if they were next to us. Any news, good or bad, come quickly to us. So far nothing bad. The problem begins when we become hostages from the mechanism.
The press has already published several reports on technological addicts, in a position similar to the addict of illicit chemical substances. What a blessing, satan puts his finger and turns into a curse. Traffic crashes every day, and many of them serious, because the driver was driving with his cell phone in his hands, not paying attention to what was happening at his side.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
* Luís Alberto Alves
The walk with Jesus Christ is not easy. It is fight over struggle, but the great master always remains by our side. Satan, clever, seeks to divert us from the road that will lead us to blessings. Of course, he does subtly, never to arouse suspicion of his real intentions.
Israel, when it was close to crossing the Jordan River, on the way to the long-awaited promised land where milk and honey flowed, passed through this experience. After seeing and living the miracles performed by God at the opening of the Red Sea, quenching thirst with the water that flowed from the stone, to kill the hungry manna fallen from the sky. None of this was enough to prevent most of this people from falling into error.
This sad episode happened in Sitim (Hebrew means Valley of the Acacias), the last encampment before the crossing of the Jordan river. In the book of Numbers, chapter 25, it is described that the people began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women. They invited them to the sacrifices of their gods, and men ate and prostrated themselves before these gods. Worse: Israel joined the worship of Baal-peor, and the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel.
When we do not know the Word of God, we usually fall into error because we can not distinguish what sin is. We hear the story that God is merciful. It is the right path for all kinds of errors. As if Jesus Christ always ran his hands over our heads and we would be ready for another series of mistakes.
There are no people in the world who witnessed so many miracles performed by God as the Jews. They were freed from 430 years of slavery in Egypt and when they left that land, they carried treasures of the Egyptians in their luggage. It is as if someone had been kidnapped and after being rescued from captivity receive the riches that existed in that dark place.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
* Luís Alberto Alves
The brick does not choose where he wants to stay. In the living room, in the kitchen or in the bathroom. He does not have the option to choose, and often some are at the bottom, at the base, to support the columns. Sometimes God puts you down and you do not understand that it is to support many people that are above.
God places us where HE wants, and you can be sure, wherever we are, GOD will use us. We are all bricks in the work of our God. Whether we are up, down the middle or down does not matter. What matters is that we are in the work and, in the "work", brick is all the same.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
* Luís Alberto Alves
From the moment you accepted that Jesus Christ was your Lord, when you gave your life to Him, you have to be obedient, leaving any kind of rebellion to one side. Here comes the second part of the text, when it is written that Jesus is your shepherd.
This name reminds us of the sheep, a docile and obedient animal. He never rebels against the shepherd who leads them through the pastures. The shepherd cares for them, especially when he senses the arrival of wolves, which here may mean evil spirits. With your staff (a kind of piece of wood, usually a tree branch) you will use it as a weapon to ward off the threat to the herd.
Staff in the spirit world means authority. Every faithful Christian has this anointing on his life. Power to cast out demons by means of prayers and fastings, healing the sick, freeing the captives. The mark of the sheep is obedience. You will never go a path that your pastor has not indicated.
We come to the end of this verse in the phrase "and I shall not want." Looking closely may seem like something empty. It is not! The word "nothing" represents much. It's dubious. It can be peace and at the same time war. "Nothingness" means that the Christian will go through various kinds of material and spiritual trials.
It will have moments of calm and also times when the abundance will not be so great in your life. Time of collection in ministerial life, professional, student, sentimental and personal. There will never be, here in this world, eternal peace. It will only happen in Heaven. This "nothing" is the sign that we will have many experiences in life.
But when we are sheep and God our shepherd, we get through the trials with Jesus Christ on the side, sometimes holding up in our cold and shaking hands. When we pay attention to all these details and feel the soft breath of the Holy Spirit upon us, we can do a preaching that will please the Lord first and those people in need of the love of God.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
* Luís Alberto Alves
Reading the Bible is not as difficult as many imagine. It is important to pay close attention to the text, leaving aside the rambling. Praying, rather, asking Jesus to enlighten the mind and give discernment can never stand aside. But never forget that the Bible is not a book at all. He has the Word of God, which is renewed every day.
When a pastor is going to preach, there is preparation before. The great servants of the Lord study the text that will be read in the church. They ask Jesus to reveal his will through those few words. They meditate on those verses and ask, "Father, what is the Lord saying with this"?
As an example I take the first verse of Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want." Looking at these lines, it's a simple thing. But after all, can God reveal to us what with these lines? Never let the distraction hold you in preaching.
The Word of God is full of details of utmost importance. Notice that the name Lord is with the letter S in uppercase. And? What difference does it make? Enough! It is not any lord, it is God who is in the domain of your life.
After all, the servant (the evangelical Christian) must be faithful to his Lord, who is Jesus Christ. Why did not I write a Catholic Christian, because he is the servant of several gods and the Lord condemns idolatry. Only Jesus Christ is worthy of all worship.
* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor
