YOU ARE NOT HOPELESS

YOU ARE NOT HOPELESS

Josimar Salum

   Where you are, what you have today is not your final destiny.  

   You are whom God says you are, you have what God has given you in seeds and you are not stuck in your place, you will go wherever God will show you. Nothing in your present is final for you. You have a future. Tomorrow shall be better than today. 

   You deny with all of your heart to accommodate yourself to your circumstances. 

   You know with all of your being that the God of all provision is giving you power to move to the  fullness of abundance in all things. 

   First, you change to whom you believe. It is not in your parents, in your friends and in your community. It is not even in yourself. You shall believe the God of the impossible. You have repented your sins, you have been forgiven, you have been transformed and Jesus is your God, Lord and King alone. In Him alone you have faith. What other people say will find place in my heart only if it matches with the Word of God. 

   Second, you change your thinking, you begin to read the Scriptures, and think according the Word of God. You must believe only in what the Word says and you begin to dream great things for your future. Dream about your school, dream about your job, dream about your wife or husband, your family, and it will pass as you move to these directions.

   Third, you begin to act upon the Word and talk according to your dreams and not according to your present situation. You talk positively, and not according to what other people say. You say who God says you are and speak against your present situation because God is about to move in your life and He is about to change everything. 

   And forth, you begin to pray and talk the Word of God applying to you and your reality. You trust and obey. You believe and wrap your faith with good deeds.

   And finally, you take small steps into your future not based in your current reality, but according to where you want to arrive. 

   “To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭27‬

   “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13

   #ASONE

BEHOLD, THE BOY LYING IN THE STONE-WALLED MANGER WAS GOD WITH US.

BEHOLD, THE BOY LYING IN THE STONE-WALLED MANGER WAS GOD WITH US.

   The King of the entire universe was lying somewhere in a manger on a hill below his great city, in Bethlehem, at a distance of 10 km from Jerusalem, there  were Mary, Joseph and Jesus.

   He, God who does not dwell in temples made by human hands, was lying in a simple barracks carved out of a mountain of rock. A simple manger because there was no other place, neither poor nor rich, to host them in the spring.

   The Christmas boy would grow up and walk through those lands of Israel. And he, made man, would be arrested, flogged, crucified and resurrected.

   Yes, and now that boy made man would with His Spirit dwell in millions and millions of children, young men, young women and men and women everywhere throughout history forever.

   May your body be the manger that shelters Jesus as an eternal dwelling. This body of yours that will be transformed on the great day is a manger, it is a true temple, it is the house of God with billions of others who receive the Glory of God forever.

   This is our Christmas message for you and your family!

   Josimar & Cristina Salum

   12/24/2023

Pagan Christmas or Simply Christmas? By Dr. Josimar Salum

Pagan Christmas or Simply Christmas? By Dr. Josimar Salum

   What if I decide not to celebrate Christmas? 

   Christmas’s day is a pagan tradition of Christianity. But in my case it is a time to talk about the birth of Jesus and the reason God became flesh while the world celebrate it as a motive to sell gifts and make merchandise. 

   Even though it is not December 25th that Jesus was born, it is time to bring the family together for fellowship and see many that had been far away during the year.

   It is an occasion that part of the world talk about Jesus birth without the message of the Gospel while I take advantage of it to share the true message. 

   What harm or sin is there in admiring at Christmas time the creativity of the streets decorated with white, red and blue lights; and in the midst of the heat of Brazilian Decembers, imagine the snow looking at the white cotton on the trees and in the ground or giving and receiving gifts without worshiping some god?

   In fact, parents, disciples of Jesus, who give gifts to their children have nothing to do with this Nordic practice, nor do they know what it means!

   For millions and millions of children that wake up in the morning on December 25th, there is not the slightest mention or even the slightest possibility of anyone asking what this special date is about the name Jesus.

   Because half of the world doesn't know the paganisms of Christmas, it's true, a lot of paganism; also it does not know the joy of gifts that are found on the way, which shared today have nothing to do with the practice of pagans hundreds of years ago. They also cannot hear the story of the Savior who came into the world, who was born in Bethlehem, whatever day it was. 

   They do not hear about the God who became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his Glory as the Glory of the Only Begotten of the Father.

   I decided, only in my religious imagination, that I would never celebrate Yeshua's Christmas with my family and millions and millions of Christians, yes, the birth of Jesus.

   Only in a slight imagination would I stop singing His beautiful hymns, of the Savior who came into the world.

   Only in the imagination and very fleeting, would I miss the opportunity to proclaim the Message of the Cross and the meaning of His Name, the Savior from the sins of his people, in the midst of all this avaricious commercialization and all the pagan symbols that were associated with the Birth of my Savior.

   Yes, I decided, just as a slight vapor in my head, to eliminate once and for all the only opportunity to proclaim and redeem the true message of the Gospel of the Kingdom that still remains in the midst of culture.

   Whoever was born in Bethlehem  was not simply a boy. Whoever was born in Bethlehem was the King of all the Earth.

   “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 

   An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 

   But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 

   Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 

   Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 

   When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”” Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭11‬, ‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭

   #ASONE

HOW DO I HEAR DE VOICE OF GOD? Viviane Almeida

HOW DO I HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD?

Viviane Almeida 

A few days ago, a young man asked me some interesting questions:

“How do I hear God's voice? How do I listen to God? How does God speak? How do I know it is the voice of God? ”

I confess I didn't know how to answer, so I reflected a lot! I thought I would have to give a very thorough explanation to all these questions. After meditating on this for a long period of time, the conclusion brought me full satisfaction.

But first, I summarized all these questions into one.

* "How can I be sure that it is really God who is speaking to me?" *

Second, I have to clarify that my conclusion is not theological or religious in nature, it is basically based on my personal experience.

And lastly, I have no intention of making it a rule for anyone, not even for me. Listening to God cannot be reduced to a rule. There are no rules when it comes to a relationship with God!

* How do I know that it is God himself who is speaking to me? *

* I know, because I know My Father's voice. * Simple as that.

Perhaps you were disappointed by the simplicity of the answer. But I have no other!

I know, because I know my Father's Voice.

When someone talks on the phone to his father, mother, wife, husband, he/she immediately recognizes the voice, because they know the person's voice! I dare to say that depending on the way said person speaks, you can even determine what the person's mood is at that moment!

This is only possible because over time, through continuous coexistence, the people have learned to recognize each other's voice without even realizing it.

It is the same with our FATHER ... We learn to discern His voice naturally when we speak with Him and vice versa. As this dialogue becomes a constant, we come to know His voice. For many times I even know His feelings regarding what He is saying to me!

* God speaks in many ways and through different means, however, the Father's voice is the same, that is, His essence does not change! To gain full conviction and insight into His voice, there is no other way but to build a daily relationship with the Father. *

#JSalum

#ASONE

Translated by: Filipe S.S.Gouvea