ROUND 2-Fight!

After a great victory...the fire came down and the prophets of Baal had just been killed, he had just prayed for the rain and a small cloud was appearing;  when he thought all was over he can now move freely without hiding in caves, he can now relax....He became shocked when ROUND 2 was announced:

1 Kings 19:1-3

And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying," So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. NKJV

There are two sides to a coin. Victory can either make you relaxed thinking you’ve achieved much or you’ve done a lot already whilst on the other hand it can be a stimulant for you to carry on fighting. Round 1 was over and that served as an assurance that God was with Elijah but since he was not expecting the second round to be announced by the enemy, he lost it! 

How many have achieved great things yesterday only to lose today or tomorrow? The lesson here is that no matter how much one can achieve he can never think it’s over or relax in his faith. As long as we still have breath in us the war with the devil is never over, there is no day of rest or “ take things easy you’ve done too much already” lest we fall in the enemies trap like King David did.

Embrace yourself to fight. Put on your gloves- ROUND 2 Fight!

New Year, New Life? Part 1

This is what everyone hopes for, even believers in Jesus. But can hope alone give you a new life in the New Year?

All we have to do to answer this question is look back in time. People in the past had the same expectations at this time of year. The same hopes. And what happened? Nothing.

For many, it got worse. Why is that? Because a new life doesn’t depend on emotions, it depends on an active faith. In what way? Let’s go back to biblical times.

God called Abraham to rise up a nation that would be separate from all the other pagan nations. While in Egypt, Abraham’s grandson, Israel, multiplied and became a great nation. The Lord then delivered them from the slavery of Egypt and helped them build a strong and powerful nation.

But because of their rebellion, Israel returned to the spiritual state of Jacob. They went back to being slaves in a foreign land.

History repeats itself. When people are spiritually healthy, there is peace, health and prosperity, but when they are far from God, the devil takes charge of their lives.

Bishop Edir Macedo

Hands on Healing

You can be healed with only your faith and your hands.

How? For that to happen, you need to believe in the promises of God. For example: "...they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." Mark 16:18. You could say, "If that's true, why aren't I healed yet? I've already gone to many doctors, healers, priests and pastors." The thing is, it's not that easy. There is a secret to healing.

It's not about receiving any touch, you need the touch of hands that are blessed and filled with the energy of God.

Hands on Healing needs to be done by someone with clean, blessed hands or the healing power will not be transmitted.

Water has a cleansing effect... Jesus said I am the Living Water... and so with this in mind we are challenging people to come on January the 29th to wash their hands in water that we have blessed, place them over their disease and be healed.

Through faith all things are possible. You'll see the reality of this fact with the testimonies in this newspaper. But we want you to be one more person with a story of healing.

If you are terminally ill or haven't found the cure for your sickness in doctors... The Hands on Healing event is for you!

Do you have faith to do this? If so, be there!

The Shield of Faith

Why do so many people fall away from the faith? They’ve failed to use their shield of faith. The soldier’s shield was designed to offer protection against the enemy’s arrows and swords.

Spiritually speaking, we know that the wicked one shoots his fiery darts at sincere Christians. That is, the devil and his demons are continuously firing darts of doubt to neutralize our faith.

The shield is an instrument of defence that’s used to guard faith.

What good is having an active, living, effective faith, if you’re not going to protect it from doubt?

The shield of faith can quench all the fiery darts of hell.

Whenever you have doubts about something, you must immediately grab your protective shield of faith. As a result, your faith remains pure and effective against evil.

When tempted, Jesus used His shield of faith – the Word of God. He used the shield of faith to protect Himself against doubt.

Those who want to keep their faith intact should never forget their protection.

Doubts will always come, but each one of us must fend them off for ourselves.

“Above all, take the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” Ephesians 6:16

Bishop Edir Macedo

One Voice Among Many

Very interesting video to watch...take a LOOK


By Bishop Renato

 

Did you know that every 60 minutes there are about 6,530 thousand people dying?

Policemen, firefighters, soldiers, all have the courage to rescue and save lives, even at the risk of their own. It's through dedication and love for what they do that they are able to take such drastic measures just to help those in need.

But human effort can only go so far when it comes to rescuing others from their problems. No amount of brute strength can heal a broken and depressed spirit, or drive out a curse of addiction. But God's power is limitless and His desire to rescue the hopeless is only held back by those who He can use to do His work: us. We are called to be His rescue team, to use our faith and allow Him to go into the darkest of lives to bring them into His Kingdom.  Are you courageous enough for the challenge?

Saturday, January 21st will be Soul Winning Day, a day dedicated to reach those who are in need of help. On this day we will go out to reach Reach friends, family, neighbors, even people you come across on the streets or in your neighborhoods, a friend from The Universal Church who stopped coming and is still in need of help. Rescuing those who are lost doesn't require that you do much more than to encourage them with faith, and bring them to God's house and He will take care of the rest.

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise. " Proverbs 11:30

The 60 minute challenge to reach out to as many souls will be on SATURDAY, JANUARY 21ST AT 9AM

Let's beat the death clock together!

Have you Refilled?

2 Cor 13:5
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you are disqualified.
NKJV

11th Day- Valley of Dry Bones

Click here to Listen

10th Day-when the 'Saints' get along

Click Here to watch

The devil’s fart

What’s the stinkiest, smelliest fart you’ve ever smelt? Does just remembering it make your nostrils burn and your face grimace? (I hope that wasn’t one of your own, under the sheets…) 

Now multiply that stink by a million, and what do you have? You have the devil’s fart. 

So, if you were in a room with the devil and he farted (what were you doing in a room with the devil, anyway?), what would you do? 

You would run out of the room, of course. You would do anything —anything — to avoid that stink. 

Very well. Here’s what I’d like you to do from now on: you’ll think of doubt as the devil’s fart. 

Every time that a doubt comes to your mind, you’ll react like you would if you were in a room with the devil and he farted. You will get out of there — of that state of doubt — as fast as you can. 

Doubt is a major reason why people fail. It’s what stinks your plans and gives your decisions (if you can manage to make any) a terrible after-smell. 

Please remember that: doubt = devil’s fart 

I’m telling you, it’s not funny.

Day 9-Love,love,love....

In ancient Greek, the word love had three meanings: éros – which was used to describe sensual desire, philía – used for friendship or affection, and agápe – used to describe the love of God.

But in Hebrew, the word love, ahava, has nothing to do with emotion. In the original texts of the Old Testament, the word love had to do with an attitude of faith. It was used to describe the permanent, unconditional surrender of a person’s life to the one they love, without the right to divorce. Difficult? It’s only difficult when love involves emotions of the heart.

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength…and…You shall love your neighbour as yourself. Mark 12.30-31

The love mentioned in the first two commandments of God’s Law has nothing to do with the kind of love mentioned in ancient Greek writings. The original texts of the New Testament were written in Greek, but the love they refer to preserves the same spirit of the original Hebrew texts of the Old Testament.

If we treat love as a feeling of the heart, as suggested by ancient Greek texts, it would be impossible to love an Invisible Being, since the heart needs to see in order to feel. Does that make sense?

The ahava that was required by the law of God has to do with absolute conviction. That is, faith.

 Like the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, practical faith leads a person to surrender to an Invisible and Unknown Being. This offering transcends the emotions of the heart, no matter how profound they may be, because it has to do with reason.

Abraham believed in God, and his belief in that Voice was enough to make him act on it. Because of this, he was considered righteous and sinless before God, to the degree that he was called the friend of God. James 2.23

This is the love that the Creator expects from those He created.

Day 8-Fruit of the Spirit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”Galatians 5.22

This may seem like a misprint. Paul lists nine virtues and calls them fruit. Fruit, in the singular, refers to the heart. Not the heart of Adam—rebellious and made of stone, but the new heart of flesh—transplanted by the Holy Spirit. 

This verse could be read like this: But the heart of the Spirit is love, joy...  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.Ezekiel 36.26

Essentially, those who are born of the Spirit have a new heart and a new spirit. A new Spirit signifies a new mind, the mind of God. I Corinthians 2.16

As a result, this new heart comes with nine virtues that identify the character of God. As a virtue of this new heart, love has nothing to do with the possessive, selfish and fleshly emotion that is so loved, admired and practiced in this world. Quite the contrary!

This kind of love, as well as the other virtues of the new heart, is like the Eternal One. 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.John 3.16

This kind of love has nothing to do with the love of this world. Without the transformation that comes along with the new birth, it is impossible to understand this.

The love of God was, and has always been sacrificial. It has nothing to do with emotion. Those who love with the heart of the Spirit of God sacrifice for their loved ones and vice versa. Like faith, love requires sacrifice. Those who love another person do not get married to make themselves happy, they get married so that their loved one will be happy. Anyone who loves the Lord Jesus Christ wants to please Him by having this sacrificial nature.

Day 7-Judas' Kiss

“And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.’”Matthew 26.47-48

Let me explain the bigger picture of what happened in this passage. Judas represents those who say they are of God, when in fact they do not have anything to do with Him. Instead, they are used as instruments of the devil to get involved with a young man or woman (an assistant or member), who sincerely wants to hold on to their salvation.

They come with a mob of demons, armed to the teeth, to destroy these precious souls that belong to the Lord Jesus by making them anxious about their love life.

A large number of people in the church have recently been the target of Judas’ kiss—especially women, who are more sensitive to emotion, and even assistants. This happens for the simple reason that their spiritual eyes are heavy with sleep, like Peter, James and John,Matthew 26.43.

"Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand."Matthew 26.46

Jesus was "watching and praying”. In other words, He was not arming himself against a satanic attack from Zacchaeus, an unbeliever and a thief, nor from the woman caught in adultery and much less from the sinners He ate with, but from someone who lived with him, who appeared to have faith, but who, deep down, was of the devil.

 "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" John 6.70

And isn’t this what we’ve seen lately? False assistants, false church members, false Christians that dress up in Christian clothing and exploit the emotional needs of their victims. 

They approach them in a sneaky, deceitful way, with demons close by just waiting for a sign: "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him."

They approach you with sweet, beautiful words, just like Judas did to Jesus: "Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 

The Lord Jesus was watchful and was in spirit. But what about you, Assistants? And you, single men and women that want to be happy in your love life, who want to get married and have a family? 

There is nothing wrong with wanting these things, however, let me warn you: be careful about getting anxious, 

"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Matthew 26.41

Spirit: reason, intelligence
Flesh: heart, emotions

The devil continues to search for precious souls (assistants, etc...) to whom he can give “Judas’ kiss”.

Bishop Sergio Correa

Day 6-Yes Sir, Heart!

The Holy Scriptures were written by forty people, some of whom were kings, princes, poets, philosophers, prophets, statesmen, a doctor, a tax collector and a lawyer.

They were all from different social classes, and while some had received the best education of that time, others were uneducated fishermen.

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, with a few passages in Aramaic. The New Testament was originally written in Greek, which was the common language of that age.

The Bible had various authors from different social classes with different levels of education who lived at different times in history—the entire Bible was written over a period of approximately 1600 years, between 1500 BC and 100 AD—and yet it does not contradict itself at any time. This is because it has only One Author, One Mind and One Spirit of God, who inspired His authors and servants.

The Bible is God speaking to the human mind, speaking through man, as a man and in favor of man. However it is always God speaking.

And because He has a great concern for the human race, He says:
"Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding." Jeremiah 3.15

It is extremely important to note, in our meditation of the Bible, that the Holy Spirit urges us to constantly keep pure faith in mind.

A faith that is exempt from emotion,exempt from illusion, exempt from fanaticism, that is, exempt from the five human senses. But it is not exempt from trials, because they are what make us grow, mature and develop in our faith.

Like a sixth sense, supernatural faith is given to those who are born of the Spirit, enabling them to overcome the world and hold on to the eternal salvation of their souls.

"...For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcomes the world: our faith." I John 5.4

In the same way that our physical ears are proof of words being spoken and our taste buds are proof of what we are eating, our spiritual ears are proof of the good Word of God that nourishes the supernatural faith that overcomes all doubt.

Spiritual ears are sensitive to the voice of God, and resistant to the voice of the heart.

Unfortunately, virtually all who call themselves Christian have been taken prisoner by the emotions of their hearts.
But this is no surprise, they only want Jesus to be their Savior—their hearts are already their Lord.