Service or Knowledge: What's your priority?

From the beginning and throughout the Bible we see that Service (sacrifice) without Knowledge is worthless. The first example is Cain and Abel. Abel knew God, he knew God's will, and therefore he offered a perfect lamb, foreshadowing Jesus Christ's sacrifice. Cain, on the other hand, because he didn't know God's will, he worked hard to have something to offer to God, but his effort was worthless. Another example is Saul and David, God even said to Saul: 1 Samuel 15:22. Because Saul didn't Know God, he thought offerings and sacrifices were more important than obedience. David, on the other hand, had an intimate relationship with God to the point that God called him "man after His own heart". This truth is also found in Hosea 6:6. Another example is Martha and Mary. Luke 10:38-42. We can see how KNOWING GOD is priority over SERVING GOD. I'm not saying that we shouldn't serve God and serve Others, but as Jesus said, KNOWING GOD comes first. If we really KNOW God we will SERVE Him and our neighbor, SERVICE will be the RESULT (consequence) of KNOWING GOD. Nobody has ever SERVED God and Others more than Jesus Christ, but He did it because He knew that was God's will for Him. Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23. This is Jesus' assurance that is possible to SERVE Him without KNOWING Him. Worst of all, those are not only good deeds, like helping the poor, those are Gifts. Think about it: Have you ever Prophesied? Have you ever Healed someone? Have you done Many Wonders in Jesus' Name?
Conclusion: God is calling us to a deeper relationship, to a stronger commitment, to a life of love and service.

Personal Testimony: Rebellion or Disagreement?

Well, when this happened, I was really involved in the church, I was there at least five days a week, playing in the worship team, leading one day of prayer. We were seeing God's move in the prayer time, we're really seeking God. One prayer meeting, there was a newcomer, at least in the prayer meetings; he was coming in the church for a little while. The meeting was going ok, then he asked to speak, he started saying that I was in rebellion against the Pastor, among other things, it was awful. Then, he asked to speak to me privately, I agreed to do that. He said other things and he also said that God was telling me that He would make me a meek person, this last thing God told me before. So, I got so discouraged, confused, sad, that I started questioning everything, even if I was a born-again Christian, I even questioned God's love for me. The man's words almost killed me (spiritually speaking). I was sure I had disagreements with the Pastor, but everything the Pastor told me to do, I did. I didn't make much sense, worst of all; I didn't know the difference between Rebellion and Disagreement. Well, after a couple weeks, one morning I was praying and God spoke to me about that gentleman, then at night, in the prayer meeting, a lady came to speak to me, she was desperate, she was terrified. She said: "God told me to come and speak to you, because you know what's going on". That was it, she didn't say anything else. She was shocked. Then I said: "Did that gentleman laid hands on you to anoint you?" Her answer was: "How do you know that?" I replied: "God told me this morning what's going on". She felt on the chair, then I called the pastor and another leader. The lady told us: "This morning, when my husband was leaving to take our daughter to school, I hugged her and seemed that it was the last time I was seeing her and my husband alive, it was a terrible feeling. When they left, I started praying, crying before God, and asking why I was feeling like that, I stood like that for hours. In the afternoon, when my husband returned with our daughter, he said that morning they almost got involved in a car crash, he said if they crashed, they would die for sure. That's why God called me to pray so fervently that morning." Then I said to the Pastor that God spoke to me that morning about the gentleman. Well, the Pastor allowed this gentleman to lead one group of people, and he was teaching them about gifts and anointing. The Pastor called this gentleman, me and the other leader, and we had a private meeting. There, this man started talking about his life. Before, he was a Pastor in Mexico, but had to come to United States to work, he needed money because his daughter needed a surgery or something like that. Then, he told something really strange, he said that one day an angel appeared to him and told him to write something, the angel told him to write in spanish, portuguese and in an indian dialect that he had no clue what tribe it came from, he had no clue what he was writing. The angel told him to transcribe many times, and as he was doing that, he said he felt power coming into him (creeeeepy). Well, then my Pastor gave me the opportunity to speak, I started saying to the man that he was lying when he said that I was in rebellion against the Pastor, that we had some disagreements, but didn't mean that I was in rebellion. Well, that was a huge lesson. When the Bible says in 1 John 4:1, it literally means that we MUST test the spirits, otherwise they will deceive us. Well, Rebellion means Disobedience, Disagreement means Discordance. We clearly see that difference in Matthew 21:28-31. Of course Jesus prayed to the Father that we'd became ONE as He and the Father are ONE. As Jesus commanded us, we should pursue that UNITY.

Pride vs. Humbleness.

PRIDE: A higher ordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.
If we consider the First Sin ever, it wasn't the Adam's one, but lucifer's. In Isaiah 14:13-14 (read the whole chapter), we see how Pride grew in lucifer's heart. What was lucifer's sin? PRIDE! He thought he was more important or superior then he really was, and it grew to the point that he thought he could BE LIKE THE MOST HIGH. Of course he couldn't. Because of that he was cast down and from lucifer (angel of light) became satan (adversary). Now let's see the human's sin: Genesis 3:5 (read the whole chapter. Well, they thought they were more important or superior then they really were, and ate the fruit. Do you see how crafty satan was? First he put doubt in the woman's mind, then he contradicts God, then he touches the woman's heart: "you will be like God". So, IS PRIDE SIN? OF COURSE IT IS! Nowadays, the world we live in is driven by Pride. Did you ever say something like: "I'm proud of my child or I'm proud of myself". If you did, was it because you thought your child was more important than the others or yourself were superior then the others? It's very subtle, usually we don't even think about what we are saying. I don't mean that we can't be happy with our children's or with our own accomplishments, see what God the Father spoke about Jesus Christ in Matthew 3:17, but if they lead us to think that in some ways we are better than the others, that's a sinful thought. James 4:6.
HUMBLENESS: Not proud or arrogant, modest, meek, unpretentious, inferior, low.
Paul wrote: Philippians 2:5-8. We can see clearly the difference between Jesus Christ and satan: satan exalted himself, Jesus Christ humbled himself, satan thought he could be superior than he was, Jesus Christ being God made himself inferior (lower) than he really was. Did you understand what Paul said? Let this mind (attitude) be in you! How tough is that? Today it's not cool to be humble; we're bombarded with suggestion that we have to be the best, to conquer, to excel, to win. Unfortunately, there are a lot of false teachings that lead us to think that what was true for Jesus Christ is not true for us, by that I mean, Jesus had to be humble but we don't have to be, after all, we are gods. Does it sound strange? Does it really? Don't you think you are god? Well, if it sounds strange to you, check out what Joyce Meyer preaches, well, pray before watching, because she's is very subtle.



In her theory she says: If a cattle have another cattle they call it cattle kind, if a human have another human they call it human kind, If we are created in God's image then we are gods, think about this: Adam was created in God's image. Was Adam god? Wasn't "to be like God" Adam's Sin? Mrs. Meyer even says that she "feels good about this". She uses John 10:34-35. Pay attention to Jesus' emphasis on "to whom the word of God came", what all those who the word of God came had in common? All of them had the Holy Spirit! Look that Jesus is God, He could say that. So, when God, through Asaph in Psalms 82 say they are gods, He is not talking about human's Divinity at all. To me, that's just another human theory, like the evolution one. But even using the human logic it doesn't work, because Paul, in Romans 8 an Romans 9, Galatians 4:5 and Ephesians 1:5 (probably Mrs. Meyer never read that) shows how it works: WE ARE CHILDREN BY ADOPTION, OUR SONSHIP IS NOT LIKE JESUS'. Think for a second: Let's say you have a child, after a while you decide to ADOPT another child. After you finish the process, legally, your ADOPTED child will have the same rights (heritage) as your own child. Can you say that your ADOPTED child have your DNA? Of course not! We are children of God by ADOPTION, but we are NOT gods. God, The Holy Spirit lives in us. Colossians 1:27. We have to have Jesus Christ's CHARACTER, not His DIVINITY. If you're not convinced yet, read Exodus 20:3. Why God said that, if according to Mrs. Meyer, every time someone is saved, God is creating another god? Read 1 John 4:1. I'm not here advocating against Mrs. Meyer, she has a lot of good teachings, but, like I heard once: The problem is not the 95% correct, but the 5% heretic. It's like drinking a glass of milk with 95% milk and 5% poison. Test every spirit before God, including myself; I'm a spiritual being just like you.
Conclusion: Luke 14:11. 1 Peter 5:6.

Personal Testimony: The Glory of God

As I said before, I was a newspaper deliverer. That time, early morning, used to be my time with God, time when God taught me many times about many things, one of them, was about His Glory. One Sunday morning, I was praying, suddenly the Holy Spirit spoke to me, He said: "Today, at the worship time, you will see My Glory". I got very excited, expecting to see great things (the earth shaking, everyone falling down, etc.). The worship started, I was leading, looking all over, checking everyone out and expecting to see huge things happening. The music was terribly horrible, it sound like everyone was playing a different song, and playing it bad, I mean, awfully bad. The worship time ended, I was so disappointed with God, with me, with the worship team, because nothing happened, and the music was awful. After the Service, the sound guy came and gave me a tape with the worship, I told him: "Man, this was the worst music I ever heard, we never played worse than that. I don't want it. Then, after a while, he came and tried to give me the tape again, I said the same thing. Then, he came again, and said: "I don't know why but I have to give you this tape". I got it. I knew he would come back again, and again... Well, the other day, early morning, I was literally crying and asking God why I made a huge mistake like that (I thought so), asking why God said I would see His Glory and I didn't see anything. After a while, I heard God saying: "Listen to the tape". I heard that three times (I even said loudly: "Why listen to such a horrific music"), but then I gave up and started listening. It was worse then I thought. But at certain point, I heard someone crying, and then I put the volume higher, sure enough, someone was crying, like we cry when we loose a loved one. Then the Holy Spirit said: "I was showing My Glory to you, but you didn't see, because you had wrong expectations". Then God remembered me about Elijah, when he fled from jezebel, 1 Kings 19, God said I was expecting to see a great and strong wind, an earthquake, but He was in the still small voice (the person crying in the background). What a lesson. Next Sunday morning, God told me again: "Today, at the worship time, you will see My Glory". Well, at this time, I was ok, my expectations were very low, like, whatever happens, I'm ok with that. Then, I was leading worship again, then the Holy Spirit touched me, I felt so weak that I almost felt down, it was amazing, then I heard and saw a lady crying right in front of me, then she started shaking, then she felt in the aisle and was shaking really bad, then God said: "You are seeing My Glory". That was truly amazing; unfortunately, two men came and took her and put her back in the seat. In the follow week, Monday was wonderful, Tuesday morning even better, and then I got home from delivering newspapers, usually about 6am, but, about 9am, my sister called from Brazil, I answer the phone and she said: "run and turn the tv on". That was the exact time when the second plane hit the south tower. I was speechless, I felt to the sofa, and those were the only words that came out of my mouth: "Jesus Christ is coming back". At that time, I was crying, It was horrible, I couldn't understand what was going on, then, a Godly Joy, I never experienced that before, filled my heart, I had such peace and joy, indescribable. Then at night, in the church, at the prayer time (we had prayer seven days a week), we were there, praying, then at 8:00pm a lot of people entered the room, from our church and another church the pastor invited. Everybody was really sad, praying, trying to understand what was happening, then, at 10:00pm sharp, everybody left, in the room was just me, pastor's wife, her mother, another sister and Mrs. Mary, the lady I talked about in the beginning, the one God touched. We kept praying, and then the Holy Spirit said to me: "Go and pray for Mrs. Mary, I want to finish what I started last Sunday". I did, then God put the same joy I had on Mrs. Mary, she started laughing, then she felt to the floor, the pastor's wife, her mother and Ileana (other sister) also felt to the floor and couldn't stop laughing. I've never seeing something like that, we're all laughing, I was standing, the ladies were on the floor, such a joy that I can't explain. After a while we stopped, but it was amazing. I literally saw the Glory of God. God also taught me about what the Bible calls unity. We were at the church praying almost everyday, we're in the Same Spirit, with the same desire: To Know God Intimately. So, if you are skeptical, like I used to be, the only thing I can say to you is: Unless you give yourself entirely to God, trust Him with all your heart and get rid of your pride, you'll never experience what God has for you.

To be or not to be. That is the question.

Paraphrasing William Shakespeare: To be a Christian or not to be a Christian. That should be the first question we, Christians, should be able to answer! Jesus talks about the cost of the Christian life in Luke 14:28-33. Before even considering what ministry or service we would have, we should consider if we're able or willing to forsake everything to follow Jesus. That's the starting point. The number one issue we have to resolve. That's the foundation of Jesus' Gospel.  Luke 9:23. Dying to self is not popular, not nice, not even good (humanly speaking), but, our life is not compatible with God's life. We either live ours or God's, we gain ours or God's, as Jesus said in Matthew 16:25. We can see this truth in John the Baptist's words: John 3:30. John decreased so much that he died; he literally lost his life for Jesus' sake. Not just John, but many others lost their lives because they refused to compromise, they refused to deny God's Truth (Jesus Christ), they endured to the end, just as Jesus said in Matthew 10:22. Being a True disciple of Jesus Christ requires to give up what we love the most, as Jesus said to the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-22.
Conclusion: Jesus’ growth in us is directly proportional to our decrease (emptying). We can only be filled with the Holy Spirit if we become emptied of ourselves. Ephesians 5:18.

Personal Testimony: Self-Righteousness

I had a serious issue before Christ saved me. I was self-righteous. I used to judge people without giving them a chance to defend themselves. It happened because I used to compare them to the best people I found in the Bible, like Jesus, the Apostles, Prophets, etc., of course that was the way I used to judge others, not myself, so I was always blameless in my own judgment. Even knowing what Jesus said in Matthew 7:5, I still refused to acknowledge my own sins and failures. But one day, God started working within me to resolve that issue. I remember God taught me a lesson through the Prophet Jonah's life. As I said before, in the beginning of my Christian life, I was desperately seeking God, giving everything up to know God and His will for my life. I was praying, fasting, reading the Bible every time I could. As I was part of the worship team, I wanted that for everyone, I thought everyone had to be at the same pace I was, as committed as I was, "on fire" like I was. So, because the others were not, to me, it was unacceptable, to me, they had to forsake everything, even their families to be at the church praying everyday, or at least, five days a week. The pastor (a man of God), put me in the leadership. Well, that was not a good choice. I tried to convince everyone they should be as committed to God as I was. To me, practicing before playing wasn't important. Anointing was all that matter. Things didn't go well, I was having a hard time, I couldn't bear anymore. Then I started praying a lot to know why it wasn't working the way I thought it should. After a couple days, it was clear to me that I didn't have authority over the team (thank God). Then I said to the pastor: "If you don't give me full authority I'm not the leader anymore, and I'll be out for a while". Thank God the pastor was wise enough to show me the bench. Well, my first sunday off, at the worship time, I was having a wonderful time, it look like I was in heaven, standing before Jesus Christ, worshiping Him. I honestly don't remember much about the music, if the quality was good or bad, if was loud or not (everybody said it was awful, there was an oppression, as if the enemy was there). Then, suddenly I started praying like this: "God, if there's anyone there that shouldn't be there, tie his (her) hands". Then I heard one instrument sounding really horrible (the player is really talented), then the guy spoke to the pastor (the pastor was leading the worship) and the pastor said: "Let's pray for our brother, because he fells like he has his hands tied". When I heard that, I felt down in my seat, my strength was gone, my body was shaking, I was terrified. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to me, He said I was like Jonah, praying to see God's wrath being poured over the people, the same people God loved. After that day, God started working with that issue in my life. I, like most people, still have, once in a while, Jonah's attitude, but I’m far better right now. It's very hard to discern between judging the people or their motivations, works or teachings. In John 4:1 God tells us to "test the spirits", because there's a lot of people using the Bible as a means of personal gain, saying God said things He never said, using the Text as a pretext to annul the context, only to validate their own doctrine, point of view or fable. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:15.
Conclusion: We need wisdom to discern between true and false teachings. We need strength to test the spirits. We need mercy to show love instead judgment and we need humbleness to have a servant heart like Jesus had. Micah 6:8; James 2:13.

To Obey or To Sacrifice

Many times we try to please God by deeds, by making promises we never fulfill or making useless sacrifices. The only thing that really pleases God is Faith followed by Obedience. That's probably the hardest thing in the whole Christian life. It's easy to say we believe, but if we don't do what we say, it's worthless, that's hypocrisy. And, if we consider Jesus' life, his toughest battle was against religious hypocrisy. He didn't have any problem with the ones called "sinners", actually, he was always reaching the "sinners", always ministering to the them. There are many examples of obedience and disobedience in the bible. Abraham, for example, he was called the "father of faith" because his faith was followed by obedience. Moses was another wonderful example; we see that he first tried to free God's people by his own strength. It didn't work, he ended up killing someone. God says in Zachariah 4:6. Then Moses fled to the desert where God made him the meekest person ever, according to Numbers 12:3. Then God calls him to deliver His people. Moses saw God's glory, he experienced God's power, he obtained God's favor. But, then came a time when he failed. In Exodus 17 says that the people had no water, God told Moses to "strike the rock", he did, and the water came out. After a while, we see in numbers 20, they had no water again, at this time God tell Moses to "speak to the rock", instead, Moses struck the rock, and the water came out. It's very interesting, because despite of Moses disobedience, the miracle happened, the water came out. That shows us that it's possible to see God's miracles even when we are in disobedience, but, as we see in Moses story, it will cost us something. To Moses, the cost was huge, he wasn't allowed to lead God's people into the promises land. That also show us the truth about what Jesus says in Mathew 7:22-23. Many people today think, because they can see "results" when they use their Gifts, they're right before God, and again, like Moses, we can see the results (water coming out) and yet be disobeying God. Another very good example we find in the Bible is King Saul, because his disobedience, he was rejected by God. See I Samuel 15:22-23. After that, Saul continued to be king for a long time, but, before God, he was no more. He lost the anointing of a king. This is very interesting, because David, even having the anointing of a king, he understood that was God who had to take Saul from the throne, as it is written in Romans 11: 29. It means that once we received a gift or a calling, we will die with them, and yet, if we didn't  know Jesus Christ, like Saul, we will be eternally separated from Him, in hell.
Conclusion: At the end, when we stand before Jesus Christ, it doesn't matter how much we worked, what we became, what we accomplished, if we didn't do what God planned for us to do, we will be among the ones who practiced lawlessness, like the ones who reject Jesus, like the ones never knew Him.

Personal Testimony: My Son.

From the beginning, God worked with me in an unconventional ways, I had two ways to go: Was everything or nothing! In fact, that was my very first prayer to God, after he saved me. I prayed: "Lord, if You're not willing to give everything you have for me, I don't want anything". It sounds a little radical, but after a while, I realized that it was just what God was expecting from me (He expects that from all of us). Like Jesus wrote to the church of church of the Laodiceans in Revelation 3:15-16. The problem with that "hot or cold" way of living, is that you have to be aware of the consequences, because God will start to speak to you, through other people, directly, through circumstances, etc., and that's really tough, because a lot of times it doesn't make any sense, and you'll find yourself thinking: "Am I crazy or what?". Of course, people will also tell you: "You're crazy". But, just think about all of the men and women of God in the Bible, were they crazy or they just chose to believe and obey God? Today it's not different. Everyday we have to make choices, like: what to say, drink, eat, dress, etc. It's not different with the faith issue, we have to choose to believe or not. And "hot or cold" means: You believe or you don't! Of course if you say you believe and don't practice, your faith is dead, meaning, you don't really believe. Another example I can give is my son. Four months after I got married, I got home from work, and was checking emails and downloading some songs, the program is called "Napster". Suddenly, a window opened up and a guy started talking to me. This is the actual conversation, originally in spanish:
Prophet: Dios te bendiga (God bless you)
Julio: hola (Hi)
Prophet: Dios me lo puso en mi corazon que te diga eso. Cuantos anos tienes? 32? (God put in my heart to tell you this. How old are you? 32?)
Julio: si. Qual es tu nombre? (Yes. What’s your name?)
Prophet: Cristian. Dios me lo revelo (Cristian. God revealed to me)
Julio: mucho gusto (Nice to meet you)
Prophet: pero tengo palabra de dios para ti, me esta hablando de ti, dice Dios que esta muy contento contigo (i have a word from God to you, He is talking about you, God says He is happy with you)
Julio: que bueno, donde vives? (Good, where do you live?)
Prophet: has pasado por muchos problemas y muchas tentaciones y por un tiempo estuviste perdido pero el senor dice Yo te amo (You had a lot of problems and temptations and for a time you were lost, but God says to you: I love you)
Prophet: hay mas (there’s more)
Prophet: dice el Senor que tu hijo sera una gran bendicion para tu y toda tu familia. Dios dice que lo va a usar mucho a el pero que lo cuides mucho y que lo levantes en los caminos del Senor. (God is saying that your Son will be a great blessing to you and your whole family. God says He will use him (son) a lot, but you have to take care of him and teach him in the Lord’s ways.
Prophet: eso es todo que me ha dicho el senor (That’s what God told me)
Julio: hijo? me casei hace 4 meses (A Son? I got married 4 months ago)
Prophet: vas a tener un hijo (You will have a son)
Julio: donde estas usted? (Where are you now?)
Prophet: yo vivo en washington state, en los estados unidos (I live in Washington State, USA)
Prophet: mira que yo no te conozco a usted y yo sabia que tenias 32 anos (Look, I don’t know you and I knew you were 32 years old)
Julio: yo vivo en el suburbio de chicago (I live in chicago suburbs)
Prophet: lo que has leido no son palabras mias, si no de dios (What you read are not my words, but God’s)
Julio: yo lo creo (I believe)
Prophet: si necesitas horacion, por favor mandame un email (If you need prayer, send me an email)
Prophet: dios te bendiga (God Bless you)
Prophet: eres bautisado en agua? (Are you baptized in waters?)
Julio: no
Prophet: lo necesitas hacer (You have to do it)
Julio: ok
Julio: voy a una iglesia mexicana aqui (I go to a mexican church here)
Prophet: dios me dijo que tu no eres bautisado en agua. el quiere que lo hagas (God told me you’re not baptized in waters, He wants you to do it)
Julio: yo soy brasileno (I’m brazilian)
Prophet: lea san marcos 16:16 (Read Marc 16:16)
Prophet: yo soy argentino (I’m argentinian)
Prophet: pero mandame un email si necesitas horacion (send me an email if you need prayer)
Prophet: dios te bendiga (God bless you)
Julio: ok
Julio: a ti tambien (you too)

So, next day at church, in the prayer meeting, I asked the pastor if I could be baptized in waters (i was baptized when I was about 15 years old, in the Presbyterian church, so I didn't even believed that I have to be baptized again, worst of all, in the waters? No way. My tradition didn't allow me to do that), the pastor said: "Man, what a coincidence. I'm about to start a class of baptism. of course you can be baptized". I was baptized in waters. After a while, we started trying to have a child, of course we couldn't. Then, the Holy Spirit reminded me about His Promise. After that I was in peace. About 5 years later, my wife got pregnant, wonderful, God's promise being fulfilled. Interestingly enough, a lot of people start saying a girl was coming, even my sister dreamed about a baby girl. She said she was sure about it. Well, I kept saying it was a boy, because God said to me it was a boy. Then we had the first ultrasound. The technician said: "I'm 100% sure it's a girl" (she even wrote: It's a girl). Then came the doctor and said: "I'm not 100%, but at least 80% sure it's a girl". After that, everybody was saying I was either crazy or at least stubborn. I was still standing for what I believed, until one day, a friend of mine asked me: "Are you sure God was specific or generic when He spoke about the child?" That struck me like a lightening, my faith up to that point, was firm like a house built in a rock, after that, was more like a house built in the quicksand. Then I started praying like never before, asking God if I was right or wrong, if I had faith or was just because I wanted a baby boy. Then, after couple days, I heard (when I say I heard the Holy Spirit, I don't mean a voice like ours, but the assurance in my heart just like someone speaking to me) the Holy Spirit saying : " What I said, I said". That was all. God gave me so much peace, that I decided to believe like I did before. Then, my wife had the second ultrasound. With confidence, the doctor said: "It's a boy!" At the hospital, in the delivery room (my wife had a C-section), the doctor called me to explain what was going on (the reason why my wife took so long to get pregnant). My wife had 2 fibroids and Endometriosis. The second one, according to the doctor, was in a stage that makes the pregnancy impossible to happen. The doctor said: "This baby is a miracle". Of course we knew that. It was all a Test; God's plan from the beginning was to grow my faith. So, I can tell you one thing, if you're going through trials and difficulties: "Don't give up! Keep believing." As Jesus said to Martha in John 11:40. Besides David, God gave us a baby girl (just as in my sister's dream), her name is Camilla.

 

 

 

 

Personal Testimony: New Life.

Well, I’ll try to be as concise as possible. I grew up in a Christian home, first catholic, then, when I was about 8 years old, my parents became evangelicals. I always tried to be a "good person" by my own efforts, but, like Jesus said in Matthew 23:25. I was like that, a hypocrite, looking good outside, but inside I was rotten. Many sins and problems, like depression, unforgiveness, hate, among others. I had one foot in the church, another in hell. A couple times I thought about committing suicide, I couldn't find anything worth living for. In my mid twenties, I started seeking God with all my heart. Then the enemy (the devil), offered me stuff, friendships, pleasures, then I drifted away from God. For many years I was running from God. It's incredible how many times God spoke to me, even trough my unbelieving friends. I remember couple times when I was saying or doing foolish things, a friend used to say: You need Jesus in your heart! That was the most horrific thing someone could say to me, it was like a sword piercing my heart. But, nothing ever changed. Until one day I decided to come to America to spend a year, it was a crazy thing, my friends called me crazy, I was leaving everything behind, girlfriend, business, friends, etc., but I didn't care. One month latter I arrived in U.S., first month, nice, after that things started getting terribly bad, I had to get a job, so I started delivering newspapers in the morning (Illinois is really cold in the winter). As I didn't have anything better to do, I started going to a church, playing in the worship team, time went fast, was already time to go back like I had planned. One night at church, in a prayer meeting (that day I was so depressed, like never before), I was crying before God, asking Him why my life was so horrible, nothing was changing, even if I was seeking Him everyday, but then, a lady stood up and said: "Julio, God is saying if you stay here He will change your life". Man, I felt so much peace and joy at that moment, things that I never had before (I couldn't believe few minutes before I was disgusted with my life, so depressed), it should be God. It was God. So, I decided to believe and stayed here. Couple months after that I got married (part of the change). Then I started seeking God in my mornings, praying, worshiping. It was like I was getting closer and closer to God. One day, I took the newspapers and was going to deliver them. I was driving, then, suddenly I started seeing a vision: I saw myself in an big auditorium, there was a man leading worship (it was a strange thing for a rational, conservative guy), I was driving and at the same time I was seeing and hearing like I was there. Then the worship leader said: If you want to be free, have your life changed, come and I’ll pray for you. Then I went there, he started praying for me, then God said to me: "I will free you, break your bondages, give you a new life and I will anoint you, because I have a calling for you, I'll send you to the nations to preach the gospel". Then, as the vision came, it disappeared. For weeks, I kept thinking about it, it was the strangest thing ever. A few months later (6 at least), a worship leader was came to Chicago, his name is Marco Barrientos (check his website: http://www.aliento.com), some friends from church were going, I decided to go. We're there, Marco started leading worship, he was speaking and singing, I started thinking: I saw this before, I’m sure. Then the Holy Spirit remembered me: THE VISION! Then Marco asked: "If you want to be free, have your life changed, come and I’ll pray for you". I jumped from my chair, run to the platform, then he started praying, to prophecy, at the end, he said the same things God spoke to me in the vision: "God is setting you free, breaking your bondages, giving you a new life and anointing you, because He has a calling for you, He will send you to the nations to preach the gospel". After that day, God used me with different gifts and started a process in my life called Sanctification. It's amazing how accurate and truthful the Bible is, like when Jesus says in John 8:36. It's been over 9 years since God freed me, life is still hard, but God is still good, like it says in Hebrews 13:8. Despite our weakness and sins, He loves us like He always did, even when we don't feel like being loved. There are other things I didn't write, it would take a lot longer, but I can tell you one thing, if we sometimes doubt that God loves us , it's because we don't know Him enough. Read the life of Job, after going through all that pain and suffering, he says in Job 42:1-5.

How to discern between Faith and Positive Thinking.

First: We need wisdom from God to discern it. James 1:5.
Second: We have to check our motivation. Why do we want it. Is it what God has for us? Did God really promise us? Will it bring glory to God? Do we really need it?
Third: Is it the right purpose, the right time and the right way? Ecclesiastes 8:6.
Fourth: If all the above is correct, we need to persevere. Matthew 7:7-8; Luke 18:1-8. There are many people (the prosperity gospel preachers and alike) saying today, that everything that is written in the Bible (the good things of course), are for you, just “Name It and Claim It,” but in fact, that is far from the truth! Why? Because if you cannot apply that "health and wealth" and "name it and claim it" mentality to every God's servant in the Bible, how can you know if you're among the "privileged people", or the "blessed ones", who will always be "healthy and wealthy" and if there's any need, whatever it is, can just "name it, claim it and receive it"?
If God planned for every one of His children, to be wealthy, why do we find so many people in the Bible that were poor? Like in Revelation 2:8-9? What about 2 Corinthians 8:1-2? What about Luke 21:1-4? We must test the spirits: Angels, demons, people, to know if they're speaking the truth (of course a demon will never speak the truth), as is written in 1 John 4:1.
Conclusion: If you study hard, work hard, live in a prosperous country and being rich is your goal in life, you may end up being very rich, but, you may get a lot of money and yet be a beggar, or, you can be very poor and yet be wealthy in God's sight. The God's concept of riches is different from the men's concept. Of course, if God promised to make you wealthy, He will do it. Like Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:20. At the end we will all stand before Jesus Christ and only thing that will really matter is: Did we know Jesus Christ and did we do God's Will? As in Matthew 7:21-23. My advice to you is: Make knowing Jesus Christ and knowing God's will for your life as necessary as the food you eat and the water you drink!!!

What is Faith?

Here is the Biblical definition of faith: Hebrews 11:1. If we consider the entire biblical context, from Abel to John the Apostle, we cannot separate faith from the Will of God. In Hebrews 11 we see examples of faith, like Abel. Just by reading Genesis 4, we may think that Abel just did what was convenient, because he was a shepherd he offered a lamb, it doesn't look like Abel act by faith at all, but in Hebrews we see that the sacrifice he made, he did by faith, because from the beginning God was announcing that The Perfect Lamb, Jesus Christ, one day would be sacrificed for our sins, and because of that, Abel's sacrifice was accepted. What about Abraham? We see from the beginning of his walk with God, that his faith was conformed to the Will of God. Genesis 12:1. Because he obeyed, he saw God's faithfulness. Along the way, God tested his faith, and his faith increased to the point that he was called Father of Faith. How much faith John the Baptist needed to fulfill such a tough calling? What about Jesus' disciples? There are many wonderful examples of men and women of faith in the Bible that should be enough to lead us to believe in the Word of God.
Conclusion: Real Faith is always according to the Will of God, and if faith doesn't lead to works, it is dead, James 2:26.