Jesus, the God of the impossible / 4

* Luís Alberto Alves

It may seem easy what I am narrating in this text. Maybe from another part of the world where you read this article, your situation is similar to mine or even worse. But the God who rescued me 13 years ago will also help you find the long-awaited solution.

As I told you about the death of my parents in 25 days, early in September 2005, Jesus took my mother away. Another violent hit. I had not even recovered from my father's death, and I lost my mother.

This time I got the seven-day deadline to remove the burial. I went to several brethren in Christ and even ungodly. Everyone helped me. An entrepreneur was the one who lent me the largest amount and would not accept my return of the amount deposited in my checking account.

In time, the check had enough money in the account and my mother had a decent burial, as everyone needs at this painful time. It was the impossible becoming possible. Financially, Jesus showed how fast and perfect his action is.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Jesus, the God of the impossible / 3

* Luís Alberto Alves

It was up to me to just pray, crying out for the impossible. And at the beginning of the night of that fateful August 6, 2005, God came to my rescue. I telephoned the company where I worked and reported what had happened. Shortly afterwards came the president and the treasurer.

They asked about the death and went with me to resolve the matter. He said he was out of money. They paid for the funeral. When my salary was deposited, I realized that the amount spent on my father's burial was not recorded.

They said it had been a donation. I did not understand, because the treasurer was a very strict person in matters of finance. But God used that man, breaking his heart and showing how much he needed help at that moment.
We only understand the Lord's help when we do not see anything before our eyes. Our mind is confused and everything seems to have no end. It is the time when the rational takes over the body and we forget to look at God.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Jesus, the God of the impossible / 2

* Luís Alberto Alves

13 years ago I had a terrible test. Than to throw everything up and question deeply the action of God. In 25 days, that's right, in less than a month my parents died. What terrible pain, caused by the death of someone dearly loved.

I felt like the boxer struck violently and he feels the tremor take hold of the body and fall trying to lean against the ropes to relieve the violence of the blow. The first feeling is astonishment. The mind refuses to believe what is happening.

To make the test more spicy, I had no money in the bank to bury my father. The hospital, 8 hours after his death, clogged up my answering machine. He had to arrange the burial quickly.

Inexperienced, because few are prepared to administer this painful subject, he did not know the procedures of this process. I went to find out that the funeral service is expensive to bury someone, or as indigent, imposing humiliation on the family of the deceased.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Jesus, the God of the impossible / 1

* Luís Alberto Alves

Many lives devastated by darkness believe in this false thesis and plunge headlong into this fanciful Gospel. In the first months or even years, everything will be fine. But soon the bad days will come, that time of war, where we will only have, for our good, Jesus on the side.

What a liar never sustains, because the lie is like smoke: it can make volume, but soon dissipates. Disappointment will appear. Whoever is not structured in faith, will abandon the ways of the Lord and return to the sewer from where he was rescued.

But what is the reason for God to allow us to go through fights? Would he be a masochist, pleased to see his children go through suffering? Many people even pray accusing God, because in their view, they would not deserve to go through such distress.

Imagine a world where there was no competition. You entered a company without going through any tests. Everything was facilitated. Even evidence in colleges did not exist. The student would be in that institution and after a few years would get the diploma.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Jesus, the God of the impossible

* Luís Alberto Alves

I've been on the walk with Christ for almost 22 years. In this period I have often seen the impossibility of man becoming possible through the action of God. We face struggles and many of them fierce, in a true challenge of faith.
When all is well it is not difficult to believe in Jesus. After all, with the wind helping the boat to sail, we will soon reach our destination. What if you face a storm? Very high waves throwing the boat to all sides and the death near your eyes?

In this picture everything changes. As much as we are Christians, unbelief will appear and try to take care of our soul. For some minutes we will even think that Jesus Christ has abandoned us to be devoured by the lions of difficulties. After all, we are human!

Today, unfortunately, in various parts of the world the gospel without the cross is preached. The convert is convinced that when entering the Army of Jesus Christ, everything will be a sea of ​​roses, we will never face difficulties and we will only have wonderful days ahead.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

The soldier and the storm

* Luís Alberto Alves

One day a soldier was driving the car and a sergeant along with him when they encountered a storm. The soldier asked the sergeant, "What should I do?" The sergeant told him, "Keep driving."
The cars began to stop and lean to the side and the storm was getting worse. He repeated, "What should I do?" "Keep driving," the sergeant replied!

Later, he noticed that a trailer was also stopping.
He insisted, "Sergeant, I stop, it's terrible, I can barely see it and everyone is stopping!" The sergeant said, "Do not give up, keep driving!"

A few more miles later the storm was much stronger, but he obeyed his commander and continued, despite the storm.

Soon afterwards he could see a little ahead and more clearly and continued driving. After a few miles, he was on dry land and a firm sun shone.
The sergeant told him, "Now you can stop and leave." He asked, "But why now?" The sergeant replied, "When you leave, look back and you will see that all the people who gave up and stopped, are still in the storm ...! For you, who did not stop, did not give up, the storm is over."

If you are going through difficult times remember that all others, even the strongest, have stopped, that is, they have given up. Do not stop! Do not give up! Otherwise the storm will never end !!! Continue, for soon your storm will pass and the sun will shine for you again .... !!

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor

Father of his father

* Luís Alberto Alves

Happy is the son, who acquires during his life, strength and maturity to become Father of his parents ..

"There is a break in family history where the ages accumulate and overlap and the natural order is meaningless: it is when the child becomes the father of his father.

It is when the father grows old and begins to trot as if in a fog. Slow, slow, inaccurate.

It is when that father who gripped our hand can no longer stand alone. It is when that father, once firm and insurmountable, weakens at once and takes twice as much breath to get out of his place.

That's when that father, who used to rule and order, today only sighs, only moans, only looks for where the door is and where the window is - everything is corridor, everything is far.

It is when that father, once willing and hardworking, fails to take off his own clothes and will not remember his remedies.

And we as children will do nothing but change roles and accept that we are responsible for that life. That life that has begotten us depends on our life to die in peace.

Every son is the father of his father's death.

Or, who knows, the old age of father and mother is curiously our last pregnancy. Our last teaching. Phase to return the care that has been entrusted to us for decades, to return the love with the friendship of the escort.

And just as we move the house to care for our babies, plugging out jackets and putting in playpens, we will change the routine of the furniture to create our parents.

One of the first transformations happens in the bathroom.

We will be parents of our parents when putting a bar in the shower stall.

The bar is emblematic. The bar is symbolic. The bar is inaugurating an elbow of the waters.

Because the shower, simple and refreshing, is now a thunderstorm for the elderly feet of our protectors. We can not abandon them in any moment, we will invent our arms on the walls.

The house of the one who takes care of the parents has children's arms on the walls. Our arms will be scattered in the form of banisters.

For to grow old is to walk hand in hand with the objects, to grow old is to climb ladders even without steps.

We will be strangers in our residence. We will observe every detail with dread and ignorance, with doubt and concern. We'll be architects, decorators, frustrated engineers. How could we not expect parents to get sick and need people?

We will repent of the sofas, the statues and the snail access, we will repent of every obstacle and carpet.

And happy of the son who is the father of his father before death, and sad of the son who appears only at the funeral and does not say goodbye a little per day.

* Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor