May 25th

By Kevin

May 18th

THE "I AM" FACTORS

Pr. Joseph 

"Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me 

from generation to generation." Exodus 3:13-15

"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” " MAtthew 16:13-15

Moses needed an identification; something to identify who had sent him to the Israelites. And God said to him: "Tell them the "I AM" has sent you.

Jesus asked the disciples about His own "identification".

John 6.48 - Jesus said about Himself: "I am the Bread of Life".

John 8.12 - "I am the Light of the World"."When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life".”

John 10.11 - "I am the Good Shepherd".“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

Revelation 1.17,18; 22.13 - "I am the First and the Last... I am the Living One... I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

" When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said:“Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! 

And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

THERE IS POWER IN OUR WORDS. 

WHEN WE SAY, CONFESS, DECLARE WITH OUR MOUTH, THINGS HAPPEN.

1. Confession - Pv. 18.20-21= "From the fruit of their mouth a person´s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." We need to confess with our tongue. Whatever we declare, confess, will be established (declaration). 

"But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim" Romans 10.8

2. Prophecy - Gn. 20.7 = "Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”Declaration of your destiny. We need to prophesy, declare.

Joel 3.10 - Sometimes it seems that we're lying. But the Word says: "Let the poor say 'I am rich', the weak 'I am strong'. Declare: "I am healed", "I am prosperous"... Prophesy!

When you do that, you attract the things you are declaring. Don't say negative things to your life. We can reverse the situation just by prophesying, declaring, good things into our life.

By faith, call into existence what does not exist yet. Still single, pray for your marriage, the children that God will give you, for your grandchildren ... If you are unemployed, pray for your future boss, the company in which you will work, and so on.

"As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not." Romans 4:17

May 11th

 Pr. Silvana Neto

May 4th

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” 3 John 1:2

“Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you,” Exodus 23:25

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—  who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,”  Psalm 103:2-3

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.

His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” John 9:1-3

Leviticus 11:47

“You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.”

Can you imagine clean and unclean food today?

Read John 4:4-10

Jesus as a human being suffered fatigue and thirst. He stopped at a well to rest and a woman came to draw water. Jesus offered her the opportunity to serve the noblest man in the world history. He simply asked her a little water. Jesus teaches us to drink water asking for it. But at the same time He calls Himself Living Water. Not by chance. Water seems something so simple. When fresh and clear it has no calories, no taste, no smell, no color ... Generally we consider it something so common that we do not consume it the way we should. But when we do not have access to it, we  do not stop to think about how to get a huge glass of water. Our body is composed of 70% water. We can survive up to 80 days without food, but without water we cannot resist more than 3 days. That's why Jesus is called Living Water. Water is essential to our lives. So every time you take water enjoy this act to remind yourself of the Living Water and how would your life would  be barren without Him.

The main lesson from the Bible about physical cleanliness appears in Leviticus 11-15. Laws about leprosy, mold, sexual contact between men and women, childbirth, postpartum, menses... Some of the rules may seem strange and hard for us. However, our current knowledge of how many diseases are transmitted shows  that these rules are very sensible.The need for isolation and washing is often emphasized in relation to clothing.  Imagine: if men and women lived exchanging their garments among themselves, imagine the transmission of diseases? Or do you think they had water and a sink to wash clothes walking in the desert?

Think about:

• What responsibility do we have to ensure that everyone has adequate sanitation today? Physical cleanliness is linked to moral holiness.

• How do our  sanitation practices and personal hygiene show that we care about our health and the health of our families?

• How does the way we live make others suffer illness because of the lack of hygiene in and around our homes? (Dengue)

• What is the impact we have on the lives of others by the way we live and by our hygiene practices?

• How can we ensure that we take into account the interests of others, in terms of hygiene and cultural practices in the first place?

• Are we putting others at risk because of our own lack of hygiene? 

Philippians 2:4: "not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

In 1 Timothy 4:8 : “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

 In biblical times physical activity was very present in daily life through planting, harvesting, grazing animals, fishing, hunting, training soldiers, the great hiking and so on. It was a very different environment from today, where in large urban centers dominate activities that require little exercises of our bodies. A life without regular physical activity can promote serious health problems.

 Since it is not overdone, and the health care and the spiritual activities are not neglected, physical activity will be a blessing for the Christian life. The health care of the body is part of Christian stewardship.

 1 Corinthians 10:31: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

•       Faith helped prevent heart disease.

•       The practice of prayer reduces by 40% the risk of a person developing hypertension

•       People praying have an improvement in all their cardiovascular parameters.

•       According to experts,  faith also brings benefit to the treatment of other types of disease, to the most serious, such as AIDS.

1 Thessalonians 5:17: "Pray continually"

•     Constant practice of fasting generates new brain cells  - more resistant to stress, protecting the brain from diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and stroke.

•     The high levels of insulin, in turn, are associated with a decreased brain function and increased risk of diabetes.

•     Other benefits include improving fasting glucose regulation, which protects the body against diabetes, and lower blood pressure.

•     Other benefit would be an increased resistance against asthma.

Read Daniel 1:12-17

•     Exodus 20:8-10: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.”

•     Psalm 127:2: “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants  sleep to those he loves.”

•   Does my attitude affect my health? Proverbs 17:22: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

•   Do not let the stress of external circumstances cause internal stress. Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Let us ask the Lord for helping us to make the right choices also in the care of our health!

Ana.