What are you afraid of losing?

“So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.” John 12:10-11

We come across these verses with a very scary conspiracy from the chief priests. Men who served God, led the people and had knowledge about the Holy Scriptures were planning to kill two men: the Lord Jesus and Lazarus. Those who “defended” the law given by God to Moses, now intended to break it without any remorse. Or doesn’t the Law say “Thou shalt not kill?”

We see that the feast of Passover was near and many of the people were already coming to Jerusalem to purify themselves (John 11:55). But while the people sanctified themselves, the priests who were to set the example, were planning something terrible.

The fear of losing their religious power was so much that they were willing to commit a terrible act against whom they considered a threat to their purposes. It is very sad when the person thinks that he is spiritual being totally of the flesh.

And how many people when they feel threatened to lose a responsibility, a title or a position, begin to speak lies, become jealous, have evil eyes, malice and even slander those who they think are occupying the place that should be theirs.

They begin to plot evil against someone committing the same error as those priests. At that moment what they have always condemned because it’s against the Word of God, now in a difficult moment of their life, they do it! It is easy to live the faith when all is well, but what are your reactions in the deserts of life? Do you remain faithful to the Word or act in the flesh by forgetting the Law of God?

Many people think that they will achieve spiritual things using fleshy means and that is IMPOSSIBLE. Do not think that by harming someone and being unfair you will get something from God. We must live what we believe and teach, and that is true for good and bad times of our lives.

God bless you all!

A shepherd or a hired hand?

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. But he who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.” John 10: 11-12

The Lord Jesus compares himself to the good shepherd who gives His life to rescue his sheep. He guards them, feeds them, guides and protects them against predators.

On the other hand, if there are good pastors it is because there are also the bad ones. These are the wage earners, who work only for money but not for the love of souls.

The servants who don’t have true love for souls don’t care about the stage of their sheep. Those who perform the work of God to receive a salary, or thinking of their own life and well-being for sure are not willing to make any sacrifice for the people who need their help and direction.

These are those who don’t pray for the people, are not interested in knowing the suffering of the people; they will not wake up in the middle of the night to pray for the afflicted, much less sacrifice their day off if needed. They just meet their schedules and live their lives normally without even thinking about those who are spiritually dependent on them. And when the “wolf” comes, they are the first to flee and leave behind the herd that is unprotected and exposed to all dangers.

As the Word of God describes them, these are the hired hand who are not shepherds.

There is a difference between working for a profit and to working for love. He who truly loves souls gives himself for them, in prayer, fasting, vigils, counseling, visits, and all that he can do for the afflicted. This is the good shepherd, who cares about the well-being of his sheep; and even when he is not near them, his thoughts and prayers go along them, because he is aware that the sheep depends on his shepherd.

Meditate on how your service has been in the work of God!

Example of Servant - He was meek and peaceful

^“When the centurion who stood facing Him saw that He cried out and gave up the spirit, he said, “Truly, this Man was the Son of God.” Mark 15:39

Our example of Servant had good testimony even in the most difficult and agonizing hour of his earthly existence. The centurion, who was the leader of the Roman military service, watched the suffering of the Lord Jesus until His death. He was impressed with how the Messiah endured all the pain and suffering. Through His meek and peaceful conduct, the Lord Jesus won souls even at the hour of death. Even the centurion being a pagan man, acknowledged that He was truly the Son of God.

 This teaches us that just as the centurion confessed that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God because of His behavior before all that He had suffered, the people around us must witnesses our good behavior so that, although they do not manifest faith in God, they will acknowledge Him in our lives. It is easy to be gentle, loving, patient and polite when things are going well; there is no difficulty in that. 

However, many are those who embarrass the Lord when things do not favor them: when the situation is difficult or simply when they are contradicted. At such times, they become aggressive, coarse, slanderous and nervous, demonstrating an opposite behavior to what they have professed. They are gentle and peaceful if all is the way it pleases them, when they do not suffer injustice or feel offended. Otherwise that meekness disappears instantly.

Now think of your reaction when someone pisses you off, hits your nerve, is unfair and mean to you, disagrees with you, and so on. Let us look at our reactions to each situation we live in, for they show us what is really within us. Being meek when everything is to our liking is very easy, it is difficult to remain calm in the face of the tribulations and injustices of life. 

This is what Jesus did, that is why He is admirable!

I don’t bow down my head to anyone!

As incredibly as it may seem, these words came out of the mouth of a girl who says she wants to do the work of God on the Altar. After receiving guidance on a particular activity that was to be held, and seeing that it would go against her plans that day, she simply said that she would not do it because she does not bow down her head to anyone.

So I decided to write this post. If there is someone else out there that has this kind of thought, let me tell you that you are not prepared to serve God on the altar, not even in the atrium. A servant of God is aware that the will of God and His direction must be followed; and we can never place our will in front of His.

The Lord Jesus Himself made this very clear in His Word: “For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 6:38

If for any reason you think that you will not have to submit to anyone, that your desire will prevail, and you will not respect the authorities established by God; know that you will not succeed in God's work or anywhere. As we all know we are not absolute, life does not revolve around ourselves. Since children we have to subject ourselves to our parents, teachers, security officers, etc.

If we are not willing to do so we show that we are rebels, we do not respect anyone, and the only thing that matters is to accomplish our will. This reveals a lack of fear, and when there is not fear there is not new birth.

I have written several times about this: the work on the Altar demands total renounce, we do not choose where to live, with whom to live, we cannot make plans and if we do we must be aware that they can change because of the work of God. We have people above us, responsible for us, and we owe them respect.

Whoever thinks that she/he can do what they want and decide their own life has not yet understood what it is to serve God and submit to Him.

If you want to do your will and are not willing to bow down your head to anyone, know that you will face many problems along the way, because in this life we ​​need to be humble to move on and create a relationship with other people.

Think about it my friends, so that you do not suffer later!

Example of a Servant – He was submissive

“He went a little farther and fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” Mark 14: 35, 36

The moment was agonizing; the Lord Jesus was going to be crucified. By thinking that in receiving the sins of the world, the Father would have to turn away from Him; it was an hour of agony. But our example of Servant did not come to this world to fulfill His own will; and He didn’t because He came with the purpose of fulfilling the will of the Father in favor of the humanity. And things were not easy for Him. On the opposite, he was despised by many, humiliated, treated as a false prophet and condemned to death on the cross; determined to the worst transgressors of the law. The Lord Jesus went through all of this without complaining, without hitting the foot, without giving up and most important without displeasing God, ever.

But many servants have not been like their Lord. They do the work of God according to their own will. They always question the orders of God and want to do their own will. They perform the work not wanting to please the Lord of the work, but looking at them. They complain about the responsibilities, where they are sent, and the direction they receive; in other words, they forget that they are servants and must submit to the Lord. So they contradict what He tells them by doing the opposite or asking for favors from others.

The Lord Jesus overcame because He never allowed Himself to do what He wanted, but fulfill the mission He had received. Being God, he was subjected to live in this rotten and unjust world to execute the plan of salvation.

Have you been doing the work of God according to your will or God’s will?

“For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John 6:38

Example of a Servant – The Work of God was above Him

“Those who saw it told them how it befell him who had been possessed with the demons and also concerning the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart out of their region. When He entered the boat, he who had been possessed with the demons prayed Him that he might be with Him. Jesus did not let him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how He has had compassion on you.” So he departed and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed.” Mark 5:16-20 (if you’d like to read it all, you can read in your bible from verse 1)

The Lord Jesus was visiting a city, and as soon as He arrived He met a man who had been possessed with demons. He was known by everyone for his deplorable condition. He lived in the cemetery, he hurt himself with stones and was often caught with chains, yet no one could calm him down.

The Lord Jesus set him free and when he was seen in perfect judgment by the people of the city, they were terribly frightened and did not want Jesus to remain there. He was prevented from continuing in the city, people were afraid of Him, for having set free the gadarene man from the demons. On the other hand the man was so grateful that he wanted to follow Jesus. But Jesus asked him to stay in the city, so that through his transformation of life other people could be reached and believe. And so it happened.

You see that the Lord Jesus did not think about himself, not even to satisfy the desire of that man, but he thought of the people of that place who could be saved through the testimony of the man who was set free.

In the work of God our will cannot prevail. The priority must always be the work of God and not our desires. The question is:

- Would you let go of people you like to have by your side, for the good of the work of God?

- How many times have you renounced something for something greater?

- Do you see the work of God with spiritual eyes or the eyes of the flesh?

- Can you understand the purposes of God for your life and for His work?

- Do you do the work of God thinking about yourself or the Kingdom of God?

From your answers depends your future on the work of God. All those who do the work of God thinking about themselves, one day will no longer be with us. The work of God is not about our own life; and in practice it demands total renounce of our will. And giving up hurts, but not everyone is willing to feel this pain. Meditate on your intentions regarding the work of God. Just like the name says, the work is His and not ours. Think about it!

Example of a Servant - Always warning others

“He warned them, “Take heed. Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” Mark 8:15

Our example of a servant, the Lord Jesus, always warned his disciples about the danger of bad influences, so that they would not be contaminated by the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

Yeast represents evil and corruption because it has the power to alter the dough, just as sin alters genuine faith.

In the same way Jesus warns us to watch, to flee from bad conversations, and from people who can contaminate our faith with our words and actions.

How many people have already given up the path of faith? Simply by joining others who were spiritually bad and subtly injecting poison into their innocent hearts. When that person realized it he/she had already bad eyes, bad feelings, bad thoughts and full of malice.

Watch out! Sometimes the wolves come dressed in sheep just to destroy you.

As it is very clear in the above verse, we must guard ourselves. It is we who decide with whom we come together and who we listen to. It is not God who will keep us from these people, it’s us! From the moment we do not join them, we do not listen to them, and we do not follow them.

Do not forget what I always teach here on the blog. If it's not good for your faith, and it's not good for you, so run away!

I would like you to leave your comment bellow. Who has already given up on faith because h/she allowed himself/herself to be contaminated by someone who was spiritually evil?

The four certainties for those who desire the work in the Altar

Hello darlings!

Today we are going to talk about the four certainties that those who wish to serve God on the Altar should have. Check each one carefully!

1 – Be sure of the new birth - The encounter with God is primordial. How can someone do a work as spiritual as to win souls, if she/he is carnal and has not experienced the new birth? It is impossible. Whoever is not born of God does not have the spiritual structure to carry out His work, nor to endure the struggles and challenges that lie along the way.

2 – Be sure of the Altar - It is essential to be sure of your calling. The work of God is not an emotion. If you are not sure that God chose you for the Altar, you should not take this step. You should not go to the Altar by an emotion, because it will not sustain you in difficult times, on the opposite, it will make you fall.

3 – Be sure of the person with whom you are going to get married - we always teach that people should observe the person with whom they think about getting married. Many ignore the wrong attitudes they see in their partner such as lack of character, lack of fear of God, and even rudeness and aggressiveness. Later they suffer the consequences of having followed their own heart. If you have doubts do not marry.

4 – Be sure that your intention is pure and right - when there is another intention other than serving the souls, giving yourself without expecting to receive anything in return; then God will not be pleased with you and you will not succeed in the work of God.

Some examples:

·      You want to serve God on the altar because you look at the pastor’s wives, you admire them, and think they have a perfect life

·      Because you think you will have a lifetime of facilities

·      You didn’t have the opportunity to study and see in the church the possibility of being financially well or at least having a stable life

·      You like the auxiliary pastor and want to marry him but not because you want the Altar. You like him and now you want the Altar, when it should be the other way round: you were first called to the Altar and so chose him to marry

·      You like the idea of ​​traveling around the world and getting to know different places

·      You do it to please your parents who dream about it 

Analyze and see: Do you have all these assurances? Or when reading the message did you notice that some points are not well defined in your life? I'd like read your comment.

God bless you all!

Example of a Servant - He was accessible, never rejected anyone

“At once, Jesus knew within Himself that power had gone out of Him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

And He looked around to see her who had done it. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the entire truth. 

He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” Mark 5: 30-34

The hemorrhagic woman was afraid to explain about the miracle she received, since in the Jewish law she could not be there in the crowd. She was considered unclean because of the flow of blood that she was suffering.

Jesus did not judge her, on the other hand He admired and praised her faith.

Our example of Servant was always focused on helping the afflicted. He always put people's lives above anything else.

How do you face unusual situations? Are you usually merciful, understanding or you judge people?

Or are you partial? To those who you like and admire, you act with patience, compassion, and understanding, but to those who you don’t like so much, you are harsh and unforgiving.

Have you ever wondered if you cause fear in people? Are you are accessible to those who approach you and ask you for help? Or do you keep people away from you with your way of being and acting?

Perhaps people feel rejected just by the way you look at them or treat them.

The hemorrhagic woman was afraid to be violating a law, not afraid of Jesus.

We should always think how our behavior is in every situation, because God tests us in each one of them.

I cannot think that God is pleased when I am righteous with certain people, if at the same time I am unfair to others.

Our character has to reflect the character of God to everyone. There’s no way that the bad misbehavior of people can influence my own, to the point of acting like them.

Think and see if you have been the same for all, or you have rejected somebody who needs your help, attention, patience and understanding.

If you have done so with someone, approach that person and do like Jesus, do your best to her.

The Lord Jesus was attentive to that woman, He understood and helped her solve that problem.

 

Tânia Rubim 

Translated by: Márcia Sebastião

Example of a Servant – The Work Consumed Him

“Then they entered a house, and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat bread.” Mark 3:20

The amount of afflicted people was such that Jesus and His disciples didn’t even have time to feed themselves. His concern toward the needy was endless.

The pleasure of the servant is to serve; if anyone doesn’t like to serve, than he/she is not a servant.

Many like to serve the way they like or are comfortable with, without leaving their comfort zone, without being contradicted, or in something that doesn’t demand too much from them.

The true servant is willing to be used by the Lord according to His own will, even if what He asks goes against his/her will and desire.

To only do what we like, is very easy and pleasant; and almost never God asks you to do something that brings you too much comfort. Instead He asks what He believes is necessary for His work, and at the same time for your life, and to make you a better servant.

When the servant wants to choose, it shows that he doesn’t have the Spirit of a servant. Imagine if all the servants wanted to serve in the church hall? Who would take care of the kids?

Jesus did not choose to come to this world, be humiliated, mistreated, despised, and die for all of us sinners; but He fulfilled the mission that the Father trusted Him with.

Are you ready to fulfil the mission God gave you?

-       In the church you attended (be it evangelizing, cleaning, in the CBC, YPG, counseling)

-       At home with you family

-       Serving the spiritual authorities (normally there’s no difficulty in doing this one)

-       Serving your subordinates (in here we find a little resistance)

-       Serving the people of the church

The servant of God serves everyone equally and with the same dedication. The servants of themselves only serve those who can give them something.

How has your dedication to the Wok of God been? Do you have pleasure to serve, or you do everything like it is an obligation?

Tânia Rubim

 Translated by: Márcia Sebastião

Example of a Servant - He did not justify Himself

“Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him. Then the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Do You answer nothing? What is it which these men testify against You?” But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” The high priest tore his robes, saying, “What need do we have of any further witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned Him as guilty unto death.” Mark 14:57, 60-64

Even tough Jesus was being false and wrongly accused, He did not open His mouth to justify Himself against those injuries. He was not worried about proving nothing to nobody, because He trusted that God was who justified Him. However, when asked who He was, He answered with the truth. Now imagine what it would be, if before the high priest Jesus became altered, and started to defend Himself: “I didn’t do it; I only help people; they are all liars; they don’t like me that’s why they make up all these things; they’re demonized; let fire come down from heaven and kill them all.” You cannot image something like that happening, can you? Well, but isn’t it how you’ve been reacting to likely situations?

In the Work of God for sure, you will face injustices, misunderstandings, or even false accusations. In these moments many become rebellious, they want to defend themselves, they want to make justice with their own hands, and they even curse whoever raised such falsity. They become despaired, in anguish, and even bewildered, after all to be accused of something you didn’t do hurts the soul. Jesus went through this and stayed silent. When someone wants to justify herself, is the same as putting God aside and take control of the situation. It is the opposite when she trusts all of that in the hands of God and let Him justify her.

Of course that when she is asked, she will answer the truth, just like Jesus did, otherwise she needs to know to wait in God. Even if during the waiting time you suffer, go through shame, feel humiliated, people judge or reject you; you need to be strong to face it all. If during this time you feel angry, frustrated, you get tired, think that God is slow and nothing happens; once again you show that you do not trust. The reality is that you do not let God take control of the situation, you want to drive yourself and crash.

How do you react to accusations and injustices? Who is in control, is it you or Him?

Leave your comments and be sincere in your answer, this will be the first step to acknowledge, call things by their name, and give the control of your life to God once and for all.