Life after death

Death is not the end; actually, it is just the beginning. Our life here is just a preparation for the real life. Our bodies have expiration date, but our soul is eternal. When our body dies, our soul will be taken to heaven or hell, there is no other place, and there is no purgatory, correction room or waiting area!

"There was a rich man that dressed in purple and fine linen, who enjoyed luxurious living every day. In front of his gate a beggar named Lazarus was placed, covered with sores, and hungering to be fed crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

The beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried, and while suffering tortures in Hades, he looked up and from a distance saw Abraham with Lazarus in his bosom. So he called out, Father Abraham, take pity on me and send Lazarus to dip his finger tip in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this fire.

But Abraham said, Son, remember that you enjoyed the good things in your lifetime while Lazarus had the bad things; now he is being comforted here but you are suffering anguish. Besides, there is a great chasm fixed between you and us, so that those who want to cross from here to you are unable; neither can they cross from your side to us.

Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ Luke 16:19-31

Salvation has nothing to do with your financial condition; you aren’t saved just because you are poor likewise, you are not condemned because you are rich; iniquities are responsible for one’s damnation. In this story Jesus Clearly shows that one person died and went to Hades while the other person died and went to heaven. Hades is a place of torment, a place of suffering where the rich man was being tormented by fire.

Hades is a place where all unsaved souls are in tormenting waiting for the GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT. Once they will be judged they will be immediately thrown into the lake of fire (the true hell).

One of the torments in Hades is that the person will have full understanding why she is there, and she will remember her family and friends. As we can see in this story, the rich man was so concerned with his family; he didn’t want his family to end up in torments like he is.

There is no turn back, no repentance, no forgiveness, no mercy and no grace for those who are sent to Hades. Once there, they will be tormented endlessness until their judgment to receive a worse torment: The Lake of Fire.

Then the master said, ‘Throw that useless servant outside into the darkness, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’ Matthew 25:30

Hades is a place of cry and pain all the problems and sufferings that a person may have in this earth can’t ever be compared to the torment in Hades and consequently in hell.

The suffering there is indescribable to our human understanding; and the doors that lead to Hades is open wide as it is written: Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14

The door that leads us to perdition is large and usually good. Sins are not painful but its consequences are.

One of the worst torment for a person is man’s total isolation, the feeling of been completely alone. Man was created to relate, fellowship, live in society. Hades is described as: "darkness and thick, utter and dense darkness". This means that he will be suffering alone, without seeing other people, without getting console. He will hear cries, howls, but will be alone.

Don’t think that you will have a fellowship with millions of buddies there. Hades and the lake of fire is a place of total torment, fire and dense darkness.

In Hades the human body is dead but the soul is well alive and the Bible says: “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” Isaiah 66:24

Another terrible torment in Hades is that besides of being burned in fire forever and never there will be worms that will continually eats one’s soul and it will not be burned with the fire. A torment beyond comprehension!

Who will be there?

Millions of people! Not only unbelievers; but many who also knew the truth and even though inside of the church; they used to have a sinful life of gossips, lies, adultery, robbery and so on . Many preachers will be there also; especially the ones that refuse to preach the truth about salvation in order to do not “scare” their congregation!

The Bible does not classify sins, sins are sins and there is no such thing as big sins and small sins. The Bible give us an idea of those who will be left behind: Outside the city are all those who live like dogs—those who do evil magic, those who sin sexually, those who murder, those who worship idols, and those who love to lie and pretend to be good. Revelation 22:15 (ERV)

Some people thinks that Hades and the lake of fire are just for the “end of the world”; If you think like this, I have to warn you that it is for everybody who dies without being saved! The world does not need to end for a person to be thrown into hell. They just need to die anytime without Jesus!

If you are inside of a church and still live in iniquity, if you are not committed to Jesus and do not fully obey His Words; you are in danger! If you are a preacher and you just want to please your congregation by preaching only what they want to hear and consequently hiding the truth; you are also in danger!

We all need to consult ourselves before God and sincerely repent from all wrongdoings; we just don’t know when our soul will be demanded from us. “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ Luke 12:20

God Bless you

The urgent need for a miracle

Have you been in a situation where you need an urgent miracle? A situation where you do not have where to go? A situation where if you look back it is bad and if you look ahead is even worse! I certainly believe so! All of us faced or will face situations where we need a great rescue; it can be a financial crisis, marriage, family, health or any other bad situation.

Moses faced a situation like that, behind him was a great army of enemies and ahead of him was the Red Sea. Moses wasn’t alone; he was responsible in leading thousands of men, women, elderly, children, animals and their possessions out of Egypt.

His situation was not easy, somebody may say: “Oh they just need to swim hard to the next shore”. Unfortunately that was not the case and they did not have enough time available for that, besides, the elderly, the small children and the animals would have a tough time to reach the other side.

Moses needed an urgent miracle! Immediately!

The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. Exodus 14:9-10

They were terrified by their situation; it was definitely a case of death! They had no rational way out! If they stayed, Pharaoh would have them all imprisoned again, and without a miracle from God, they would have died on the sea.

They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? Exodus 14:11

There are situations in our lives that we can’t see a solution. All that we can see is huge mountain of hopeless problems. That people were desperate just like sometimes some people become.

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14

On the dictionary the verb stand firm has two senses: 1. stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something 2. refuse to abandon one's opinion or belief.

They would only see the deliverance if they stood firm towards that situation. And it is the same for you and me. In times when there is no way out, we have to offer resistance against our problems and despite of the magnitude of our sorrows, we have to refuse to abandon our belief in God.

When things get so tough some people immediately stop believing in God, they start look for other alternatives in order to solve the crisis and instead of solution, they end up wrapped in a trap.

And these traps could be a divorce instead of fighting to save the marriage; it could be landing money from a moneylender instead of working hard and trust in the Lord in order to pay the debts and worse of all; some people even commit suicide in order to run from their problems!

When we do not trust in God, we always commit bigger mistakes!

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. Exodus 14:15-16

First thing we need to do is to TRUST followed by standing firm then the Lord will guide us to the kind of actions we have to take. In the case of the Israelites, the Lord said for them to move on and to divide the sea!

There is time to trust, time to stand firm and time to listen and follow God's instructions in order to take the right actions, if we want to see great miracles in our lives.

A simple example of that is when a person is unemployed, he needs to trust that the Lord will provide, he needs to stand firm against all doubts, fears and difficulties that he/she may face, then he/she needs to act according to the Lord's instructions, like keeping searching for a job, and surely the blessings will come.

For all kind of very bad situation that we may face, that is the order to obtain results. If we trust on ourselves we will badly fail, and if we trust on others we will get hurt and frustrated because Jesus Himself said: For without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5 NKJV

If you need a miracle, that is the only way.

God Bless you.

How to believe in God when there is no hope?

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be. Romans 4:18

How many of us are facing situations that are against all hope? Perhaps it is a debt, disease, financial crisis, marriage problems, family, depression, frustration, addictions and death of a beloved one to name a few. Some situations are so critical that we may lose hope towards a solution.

Though we may try hard with all our efforts and resources, we end up too far from the results we expect. The same happened to Abraham.

Each one of us has problems and none of us can judge if one’s problems are high or less important. My problems may seem to you small and your problems might seem to me small as well, but each one of us knows in our own flesh how painful it is despite of what others may think.

The wife of Abraham (Sara) was barren and they wanted so much to have their own child, but they were old and the period of Sara had long ago stopped. That was their problem and they were against all hope.

Genesis 18:11 says: Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.

Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Romans 18:19

Abraham had reason enough to believe that his case had no solution. Just like sometimes we have reason enough to give up a dream or to give up living because a certain situation seems to be completely helpless. When hard situation comes, some people has the tendency to weaken their faith and stop believing in God, they stop attending the church, they stop reading their Bible and consequently they become completely empty and weak.

But Abraham faced his fact and despite his body was good as dead and the womb of his wife was dead as well, he did not weaken his faith!

Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God. Romans 18:20

Abraham did not wave through unbelief despite his situation. His faith was constant it was not like the waves of the sea that are constantly up and down. It is common to see people strong when they come and listen to a message in the Church, but as soon as they arrive at home or at the work, they become down caste again and stop believing the promises of God.

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. James 1:6-8

Abraham believed in God’s promise, he believed wholehearted despite of his apparent situation; he lived by faith and not by sight. If we are like the waves of the sea, full of ups and downs; most certainly we are not going to receive anything that we are expecting to receive.

Abraham did not complain to God about his situation, on the contrary his strengthened his faith and gave glory to God.

I know that to wait for God’s time isn’t easy; however, God’s time is always perfect. When God promised a son to Abraham, Abraham was ninety years old, but his son only came when he was around one hundred years old. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. Genesis17:1

Abraham waited for ten years in order to see his dreams to come true! So many people give up believing because they are waiting for some days, some months or even some years. God’s time is always perfect even if it takes a bit longer. Abraham waited in faith, without weakening in disbelief.

His situation was against all hope, to have a baby was against all odds, but he believed in hope that God would fulfill His promise.

Being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised .Romans 4:21

My friend, do not give up! Do not stop believing! Even if everything around you seems to be over. Remember that everything is possible for him who believes.

God bless you abundantly.

The Blessings of Psalms 23

Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. In order to have the Lord as our Shepherd we need to be his sheep first. A shepherd do not lead other animals like goat and wolf for example, he leads only the sheep.

John 10:27 says: My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. If we want to be a sheep lead by the Lord, we have to listen to His voice and follow Him. If we listen to any other voice or follow any other thing, we are not his sheep.

Once we listen and follow Him we will not lack anything. The reason of the chaos in the world is because people do not listen and follow the True God. Some follow themselves and their corrupted wisdom; others may follow idols, satan, fame, position to name a few. Nevertheless they will be always lacking something or everything!

Psalms 23:2-3 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

When we decide to live under the leadership of our Lord’s voice we will enjoy abundant life in all aspects, He will give us interior peace and our soul will receive salvation. When we listen to God’s voice before taking any action, it will prevent us to make wrong choices in life. How many times we see someone’s life upside down? Debts, divorce, single parenting, misery and the list may go on and on; it is always due to the lack of following God’s instructions. If we follow His voice we will lack nothing!

If a believer does not search first in seeking for the Lord’s guidance but instead, he follows the impulses of his will; he also will have a defeated life even though he believes in Jesus.

Psalms 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley (Or the valley of the shadow of death), I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

If we allow the Lord to be a hundred percent the Leader of our lives, even if we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death ( problems, disease, death of a beloved one or any other crisis), we still believe in His leadership and guidance and therefore we do not doubt in our hearts. Though the situation is not what we had in mind; we fear no evil because we know that He is with us and he will lead us to the way out. (Halleluiah)

Psalms 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Though our enemies want to see our life completely destroyed, they will watch the sheep of God growing in blessings in all their ways. The Lord makes his sheep champions over their enemies and He anoint his sheep with anointing power, so they will be protected against all evil, they will be anointed to bless others as well.

Psalms 23:6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Goodness and love is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, when we listen to God’s voice, when we truly follow him, we are blessed with the Holy Spirit and His fruits in us. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are the seal that we are saved. To Dwell in the house of the Lord forever is not to be a mere church goer, but it means to have a sincere and honest commitment with The Lord FOREVER.

This psalm is powerful but it is powerless if it is just a frame on the wall of some houses or just a dusty yellowish open page on some desks. For the Lord is our shepherd

and for us enjoy of the blessings of this psalm, we need to listen and follow the Lord.

John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.

Be Blessed!

Are you feeling discouraged, fearful and doubtful?

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16 NIV

Do you feel discouraged sometimes?  Perhaps you are a believer that always read your Bible and go to your church, but are there moments that you feel weak and unmotivated?

That is one of the oldest and very useful ways that the devil uses to attack us. Either if we are a believer or unbeliever, he likes to throw flaming arrows of doubts, fears, discouragement, anxiety, sadness, depression to name just a few.

Have you feel so sure about something and in the middle of the way you became fearful and feeling that the blessing will not going to come for you? That was a flaming arrow of doubt towards your heart.

Our struggles are not against flesh and blood but against the evil forces that try to rob our blessings. The devil knows that without faith is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) and that everything is possible for him who believes (Mark 9:23).

We should not be surprised when these feelings of discouragement hits our minds, the devil doesn’t want you and I to be blessed, healed, prosperous and happy. Therefore we should constantly put on the full armor of God to fight the battle against the enemy of our lives which is devil.

Ephesians 6 10-20 says: ^"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

 

We should put on the full armor of God by constant prayers, attending Church services, by reading the Bible and by resisting the devil. If we resist the bad thoughts, temptations and words of doubts and fears, the devil will flee from us.

God bless you

It was the Hands of God who brought this man back to llife

Check this video below:

A man who was supposed to die, he couldn't see, speak and walk, he became like a vegetable and the doctors said that there no more hope only death. In despite of his situation, his mother didn't stopped praying for him everyday in the church. And now he is walking, talking and listening. To God be the Glory. The doctors said: "It was the hands of God, a miracle." This happened in one of our churches in Brazil. This miracle shocked the nation. There is hope for you, just believe..."Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,[a] all things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23

                                                                                 

Is there any harm by watching TV or browsing internet?

Some people are asking and wondering if demons can posses a person through a TV program, internet, secular songs, magazines and books. The answer for that is, it indirectly posses and not directed.

Everything God created is good, God gave to the mankind wisdom and wisdom is good; the problem is that the devil is always jealousy of whatever God created and by that he always tries to distort Gods’ creation.

Through the TV, internet and other ways of broadcasting the word of God has being spread; similarly the work of the devil also has being widely and badly spread.

We have seen teenagers completely disturbed and addicted to pornography that they can easily see on their computers, without mentioning the children who lock themselves on the virtual world of video games and by that they become overweight and antisocial.

We know adults who simply destroy years of marriage due to “cyber affairs” or single people who just start dating a psychopath (without knowing in most of the cases) through chat rooms.

There is no big deal in watching TV, browsing the internet, listening to radio, reading a magazine or a book; the problem is what a person watch, browse or read. If a person browses into divination sites, she will end up bringing sorcery and witch craft for her life. And this will be a doorway for the evil in her life. Some people bring demons to their house/life by playing online Ouija boards and nevertheless they and their houses become haunted by evil spirits.

Some people exchange a good family time to lock themselves in their room up to late watching TV or browsing the internet, there is no dialogue or friendship, they make their computer their best friend. Some people even may lose their jobs because instead of working they are checking their personal emails or chatting with online friends.

Whatever is destructive for us does not come from God!  We are what we absorb; either through food or through things we read, watch and listen. And that is how the devil works. 

What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? 

For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and they will be my people.”
 Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 NIV

For our own sake we should not touch, read, watch and listen to unclean things, because once we absorb those things a demon can posses our lives and the consequences is well know: addiction to pornography , nightmares, emptiness, adultery and divorce to name a few.

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2Corinthians 7:1 NIV

Be Blessed

The Power of Thoughts

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7 NLV

How many times we are so focus thinking towards something that our minds thinks nothing but about that subject, we can end up getting the wrong bus or driving into a wrong turn or simply not paying attention to what our spouse or children are speaking to us.

I have seen cases that a person is so distracted in her thoughts that she even caused a car accident by not paying attention to the traffic light.

I have considered how our thoughts determine a lot about the direction of our lives, our thoughts will always take us somewhere, but it may not be somewhere we want to end up. The cycle of our sins begins in our thoughts, once we feed our bad thoughts, it will give birth to sin.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. Matthew 15:19 NIV

If we spend time thinking about how our boss does not appreciate us, our thoughts will take us straight to a bad attitude at work and possibly poor performance. Thoughts that we are being victims of injustice will steal our peace.

If we focus on how much we do for others and how little our efforts are appreciated or how little we receive in return, our bad thoughts will takes to a place of resentment and our hearts my get hardened and bitter.

If we spend hours nourishing thoughts of anger and even mentally practicing harsh words that we plan to say to our spouses or children, those thoughts will leads to a place of arguments, hurt feelings and deteriorated relationships.

If we feed thoughts of doubts, and questioning why God allowed certain bad situations in our lives, we will prevent God to bless us due to our lack of trust in Him.

If we focus our thoughts on money, success and pleasures we will find ourselves discontent, frustrated, depressed and anxious; without mentioning that some people go to the extreme of corruption, extortion or theft.

If a married person nourish thoughts of having just a "small affair" in order to give some "spice flavour" to his/her life, this person will end up commiting adultery and subsequently, will destroy his/her family.

Our thoughts are powerful and require great self control. If we allow them to run rampant, focusing on things that lead us away from God, then we will wind up at a destination we would never deliberately choose.

I like to say that our thoughts are like a TV program, if it’s not good or if it will bring harm to us or to others, we have to change it immediately because our thoughts determine who we are and how we live.

We then, shall always pray in order to receive strength to put away from us, thoughts that will make us captive and defeated.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

God Bless you in Jesus Name!

Advices in how to choose a spouse

 Many people are in suffering because they chose the wrong person to get marriage with. There is a saying that is spoken all over the world and it says: ‘love is blind’ or ‘love is fool’. The truth is love isn’t blind or fool; unfortunately we are the ones who blind or fool ourselves by denying the evidences.

A bad marriage is capable of destroying lives. Husbands, wives and children suffer with the consequences of a bad choice in marriage. 

The good choice starts before dating someone, boys and girls should not just look the exterior or how funny he/she seems to be. Early in dating the person should look the character, religion/faith, family, if he/she is lazy, if he/she likes to study or to work and etc.

To observe the character is very important because if you spot stains of dishonesty, betrayal, greed, uncontrolled ambition, corruption, ill temper, lies, “half truths”, disrespect, among others; it is already a clear evidence of a red signal indicating that the person isn’t for you.

Do not blind yourself thinking that he/she is like that only with others and not with you. This is his/hers character and they can hide it for a certain period of time but once the couple are already living together the daily living will bring to life what is hidden.

To observe religion/faith is very important because our Lord Jesus said: for without me you can do nothing. (John 15:5 NKJ) If you are a believer and your partner is an unbeliever, chances are that he/she will corrupt your faith by leading you astray from the Lord.

Without mentioning that the vision of an unbeliever is” to be together as long there is love” the vision of a true believer is: 

"Love does not give up. Love is kind. Love is not jealous. Love does not put itself up as being important. Love has no pride.  Love does not do the wrong thing. Love never thinks of itself. Love does not get angry. Love does not remember the suffering that comes from being hurt by someone.

Love is not happy with sin. Love is happy with the truth.  Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things.  Love never comes to an end." 1Corinthians 13: 4-8 NLT

I met a Christian lady who got marriage with a person whose country, religion and culture approve polygamy. She was the wife number four and she was very regretted of her choice. 

A true Christian has the fear of the Lord in their hearts and therefore will try its best to always please the Lord. Not all unbelievers will have the same principles. 

A true believer will never arrive at home drunk, smelling other women perfume or will spank you. But out there, it may be seen as something very usual. The happiness of this world is temporary but the happiness that Jesus can provide is everlasting.

To observe laziness is a must! Some people think that the guaranty of a good marriage is wealth. Who thinks in this way is by all means wrong. But of course misery is a way for unhappiness. 

Your beloved one can be poor, but if he/she is a hard worker eager to go the extra mile to provide the best they can for the family, it is a piece of gold! On the other hand, if he/she is a lazy person you will be in trouble and in hunger. 

The Bible says: Go to the ant, O lazy person. Watch and think about her ways, and be wise.  She has no leader, head or ruler, but she gets her food ready in the summer, and gathers her food at the right time. 

How long will you lie down, O lazy person? When will you rise up from your sleep?  A little sleep, a little rest, a little folding of the hands to rest, and being poor will come upon you like a robber and your need like a man ready to fight. Proverbs 6:6-11 NLT

Men and women should have eager hands to work. Life is not based on eating and sleeping only. It is countless how many times I have counseled people, who came to me complaining that their spouses do not want to work, do not look for a job or do not take good care of the house and of the children.

If your boy or girlfriend is lazy, do not think that you will have the power to change them. You will have what you’ve got!  

Observe a violent behavior. Domestic violence can happen to anyone if we do not observe the evidences in our boy or girlfriend. If they show signs of extreme jealousy, envy, irritability, if they are prone to fight in streets or have the history of attack their family members; it is better to get out of this relationship before you become the next victim.

Observe family standards. When a person really gave his/her life to Jesus they are made new. This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!( 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT )

It does not apply for those who doesn’t have a commitment with the Lord. If your partner was raised in an abusive home with history of violence, crime, drugs among others; chances are that the person you are dating has a bad luggage with bad experiences and traumas with him/her. Most of the cases, even psychologists cannot fully heal a person in this condition.

Usually feelings and traumas are just pushed to the innermost of that person and at any time it can surface bringing disastrous experiences. Only Jesus can complete transforms one’s life from water to wine! It is better to take a person like that to Jesus first and later when this person is totally free; you can safely date and get marriage with.

Common goals. It is important to observe if both parts freely want and agree with the same things like to have kids and how many kids, pets, where to live, etc. If you want kids and the other part doesn’t; it is a good sign that this relationship will not work

Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.  
Proverbs 16:3 NLT


The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.  Proverbs 27:12 NIV

God Bless you my friend.

Verbal Abuse

 He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. Proverbs 21:23 NIV

Some people verbally abuse their children, spouses or subordinates. Words can hurt as much as a punch or a gunshot because it goes straight to the heart. Some children are bullied inside of their own house by their parents or siblings. Some Husbands or wives are also victim of abuse by their spouses

If you say to your spouse: “You are a loser” or to your son: “you are the devil himself”, the devil will just say “AMEN”. Usually the devil works with our own words even if we didn’t mean it. Later on we can see that person failing in all his ways or we can see that child becoming a trouble maker.

In a moment of anger a person may speak curses upon their family and that is the reason we shall guard our mouth even if the other part is provoking and hurting us.

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love to talk will have to eat their own words. Proverbs 18:21 GWT

With our words we can lift or put someone down. Even If we have the reason to speak some “TRUTHS” to another person we have to pray first and ask the Lord to give us wisdom  and right words in order to override the work of the devil through our mouths

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ (Worthless) is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Matthew 5 :22 NIV

 Many parents call their children all kind of bad names, many husbands or wives call their spouses all kind of horrible names! If calling somebody, ‘you fool’ will be in danger of the fire of hell, how much more suffering and pain waits for those who speak worse words!

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. Ephesians 4:26 NIV

If we are angry it is better not to talk! It is better to vent our anger (in a good way) to our Lord by praying earnestly and by seeking His guidance.

Do not let any unwholesome (evil) talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29 NIV

We have to be watchful even with jokes that we may do to our kids and spouses, if it is not to lift them up, it is better not to joke. Our words should be helpful and never to bully our loved ones

We have to break the circle of pain. Even if we grew up listening bad words, words of discouragement, curses, words of humiliations and all kind of verbal abuse; we should not bring it forward to our children, spouses or subordinates. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

In Christ we are a new creation and instead of curses we must speak blessings to our family!

God bless you

Little problems that cause big destructions

I grew up listening to the story of the little foxes and the vineyard. The story says that the adult foxes, because of their size, they could just jump and catch the grapes but little foxes could not jump and in order to eat the grapes they destroy the vineyard.

This story is true and can be applied to our life, the Bible also mentioned this fact and it is written: Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. Song of Songs 2:15 NIV

The adult foxes do not destroy the vineyard, they just catch the grapes and live but the small ones make the vineyard to die and fall to the point it cannot be restored again.

Likewise we have small things in our lives that if we live it there it will destroy our happiness. This story can be applied for our spiritual life, marriage and even health life.

Spiritual life: Some people judge themselves very holy, they do not kill, commit adultery or still but they have small things that are so harmful and dangerous for their salvation as the other sins. A person can become spiritually powerless when they lie, gossip, slander, judge others, lust and so on. Some Christians down look those things as not important and nevertheless, they do not know why they are living in total chaos. There is no such thing as “small sins and bigger sins”, sins are sins and the Bible dos not classified it differently.

Marriage:  We can notice that this verse was writing on the book of Songs of Songs. This book is a portrait of a Christian marriage life between King Solomon and his wife. There are small foxes in marriage life that can destroy it over the time. As I have mentioned, the small foxes do not just catch the grapes, it destroys the vineyard day by day until it dies and fall. Likewise, there are small daily things in marriage that if unrepaired will end up in divorce, separation or coldness between the couple. It can be disrespect, negligence, misunderstanding, bad jokes, and coldness among others. We have to daily catch the small foxes that can destroy our marriage/family by means of prayers and being watchful because the Bible says: Watch and pray. Matthew 26:41 NIV

Health: Some people just decide to take care of themselves when there is a bad news from the doctor. They like to drink and eat whatever they want without care of their heart, kidneys, liver, blood and etc. I have seen people with high blood pressure doing and eating anything they want until they are struck with stroke. We have also to catch the small foxes that can make us sick and week.

God is a God of details, and He pays attention to the small things, the Bible warn us to be faithful on the little things when it says: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much”. Luke 16:10 NIV

Therefore we should not neglect the little things and by doing so we will protect the vineyard of our lives.

God Bless you

Letting go of the Past

“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?” Isaiah 43:18

 1.      Let go of the baggage. Whether we realize it or not, as long as we hold on to our past, it serves as a heavy weight on us. We need to let it go!

2.      Close that chapter. Just as in the verse of Isaiah 43:18, the Lord says, “Do not remember former things.” Another way of saying that would be, “That was then and this is now.” Rather than going back and re-reading the same chapter again and again, close that chapter in your life. Move on . . . read on to your future. You can’t read two chapters at the same time. Close that chapter and let it go. Let it get dusty on your “life bookshelf.”

3.      Quit talking about the past. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21 Every time we talk about the problem or pain, we take what is in the past and bring it back into our present day! God forgets our past . . . so should we.

4.      Let go of the shame. We make mistakes. Sometimes we consciously or unconsciously do things that hurt ourselves or others or we flat out disobey God’s Word. Thankfully, we have Jesus and, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 Even if we have confessed and received forgiveness, we must let go of the shame that may try to linger. Instead of dwelling on the shame, focus on the new spirit in you. Be thankful for the fact: “That was then and this is now.” You are a new creature in Christ and you can shed the shame.

5.      Enjoy today! We’ve all read about or listened to teachings about the power of gratitude and positive thinking! But few of us engage in the practice. Engage is a verb and it requires us to take action. If we are to enjoy the day, we need to do it. I can’t enjoy for you. You must enjoy for yourself. You can enjoy by making a conscious decision to look at the positive things in your life, as small as they may seem right now.

6.      Walk by faith and not by sight. This should be “how we are.” But to walk by faith, we need to know the Scriptures. When we know them, then we can “think” them. That’s what having the mind of Christ is all about. That’s why we need to spend time meditating on God’s Word - so we can think like the Scriptures. That’s what God told Joshua to do, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Joshua 1:8 Instead of focusing on our circumstances, if we want something different, we must focus on the promises of God. And we find those promises in His Word.
Then we must believe. What does it take you to believe -- without any doubt in your heart? The Bible says that “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Keep saying the promise over and over again so your mind can hear it. Surround yourself with the Word. Flush your doubts with the Word. Do whatever you need to believe!


7.      Believe and understand the power of forgiveness. This is a big one! If you have unforgiveness in your heart, GET RID OF IT! Do you hear me shouting? I have realized in my own life the power of forgiveness. Whenever something “comes up,” I immediately say to the Lord, “Oh, look, there is another place where I need to forgive.” Then I go to work and employ the steps to forgive. Remember that forgiving and trusting are two different things. Trust is earned. Forgiveness is a free gift, no strings attached. You can forgive a person and still not trust them and that’s okay. Forgiveness is not accepting the person’s action as right. Just as the Lord forgives us, we must forgive others. The bottom line is that it’s a commandment.
No one else can forgive for you. You are the one who must forgive those who have hurt you, done you wrong, or caused you damage. I know it’s hard. But the Lord calls us to forgive and the benefits far outweigh the act.

Conclusion:
Letting go of the past takes work. If we want to move into a New Beginning, we must let go of the past. Again, the choice is ours. Will we purpose to do it, or will we stay in the rut of the past?

Pastor Michael F.

A prayer that touched heavens

Hanna was barren and her rival Peninnah kept provoking her in order to irritate her. Peninnah was the other wife of Hanna's husband and year after year Hanna would suffer humiliations  from her rival.

The barrenness of Hanna cam be applied to the barrenness of all areas of our life; how many of us need something that is very important and dear to our hearts but the doors seems to be closed and all that we receive is provocation and humiliation from others?

Peninnah was a bad situation in Hanna's life, she was the "other woman" of her husband Elkana and a woman who were having all the children of Elkana. Though Elkana would love much more Hanna then Peninnah, Peninnah would hurt Hanna to the point of making Hanna cry and stop eating.

1Samuel 1:8 says Elkana her husband would say to her,  "Hanna, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"

But in bitterness of soul Hanna wept much and prayed to the Lord. Hanna was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard.

Year after year Hanna would go Shiloh to worship the Lord and every year her rival would humiliate her, but Hanna never stop believing in God and when she could not stand to her suffering anymore, she prayed as she never prayed before and she even made a vow to the Lord. 1 Samuel 1:11 "O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life."

This is an example of great praying. It is the prayer that stops not till it is fully satisfied with praying. Many of our prayers do not reach anywhere because we do not persist in praying. Or our need has not so burdened us that we cannot but keep on praying. But prayer like that Hannah now prayed storms the fortress of heaven. It is such praying that prevails with God. 

All of us may have some "Peninnahs" in our life, it can be a disease, a marriage problem  or a coworker who stole your idea and your promotion, or slanders that may lie and dirt your name and reputation or even a financial bankruptcy that make you to simply lose everything.

Hanna was praying and worshiping before, but her prayer wasn't bringing any result until the day she really pour down her heart in such intense prayer that the prophet Eli thought that she was drunk! 1Samuel 1:14 How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."

She wasn't definitely praying just any how, she was praying with intensity and with bitterness towards her situation.

"Not so, my Lord,"   Hanna replied,"  I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord."  1 Samuel 1: 15

Very often the Lord does not listen to our prayers because our words are been mere shallow words. God gives premium value to this quality of prayer that Hanna was pouring before Him.

After saying that the prophet blessed Hanna, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked him."  1 Samuel 1: 17

Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. 1 Samuel 1;18

It was an act of faith, She believed that the Lord answered her prayer. She changed the appearance of her face and continue her way. she was no longer sad. She received the assurance that her prayer was answered.

This is the assurance that we get in prayer. Even when there is no visible sign of the answer to our prayer we will no longer be downcast. We will find strength to go about our daily activities as if we had already got the answer from God. 

 Early the next morning they arose and worship before the Lord and then went back to their home in Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hanna his wife, and the Lord REMEMBERED HER. So in the course of time Hanna conceived  and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel. 1 Samuel 1:19-20

There will be "Peninnahs" always in our ways, people who will try to put us down, people or situations that will hurt and humiliate us. But we have to learn from Hanna, she poured out her soul before the Lord and even made a vow to the Lord.

Then Hanna prayed and said:  "My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high.

My mouth boasts over my enemies for I delight in your deliverance." 1 Samuel 2:1

Please Check this link below testimonies of people who received a miracle in their lives by faith.
http://impdfilipinas.blogspot.com/p/testimonies_05.html

May God bless us all

Awesome Construction

God is the perfect engineer, everything He created must work in perfection; we can clearly see that by observing the nature, the Earth, the universe and our bodies.

When we pray, sometimes we will not receive an immediate response from God. There are a lot of things that need to be done so that the answer for our prayers can be delivered.

If we ask to an engineer that we want a huge, beautiful, modern and impressive skyscraper; surely the engineer will not deliver our build by tomorrow. It may take more than a year of day and night hard work. There will be a lot of work to be done, the engineer will need to see the land, he will have to prepare a floor plan, a quotation of approximately expenses will need to be prepared and approved, buildings permits, he will need to hire workers, purchase material and lots and lots of other things will be required.

In the same way, before God deliver the answer of our prayers, God may need to work a lot in our lives, by molding us, preparing our hearts and removing all “dirty debris” from our hearts and minds. It depends on what we ask from God. In our minds, it may sound a quite simple thing to do. But God do not make anything just anyhow.

I remember when my uncle purchased a land to build my grandmother’s house; the land was a hill! It took almost a year just to make that land to look plain. All that my grandma wanted was a two bedroom house. It sounded very simple, but the land wasn’t appropriated for an immediate construction.

 Likewise, we may ask even for simple things, but our hearts and minds aren’t appropriated YET to receive it from God. And therefore, for some people, a long and hard work might be required, for others, just a little preparation will be necessary. It all depends in how is the condition of our hearts.

All grudges, lies, immoralities, hatred, hypocrisy, falsehood, addictions, pride, slander, judgment, impurities, etc,  needs to be removed so that the Lord can pour down the answers of our prayers.

Once we decide to change, the Lord will do His work in our lives. If we have the patience to wait, we will see the glory of our answered prayers. On the other hand, if we do not supply the engineer of our lives with our constant prayers, faith and perseverance; we are going to end up like those abandoned building, that unfortunately the landlord could not afford to complete its construction.

God can work in us in order to grant our petitions if we keep the flames of our faith on and if we are eager to change.

My dear friend, I encourage you now to make a prayer, ask what you need and tell Jesus that you allow him to do all the necessary work in your life, tell him that you accept all the changes that your life may need and that you are eager to do your part. Persevere in faith and in prayers. By doing so, you will see the marvelous work the Lord will do in your life.

Be a blessing!