The IF Factor: IF You change the Formula THEN You Change the Result.

This Phrase is attributed to Albert Einstein: Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I confess that before i was insane (even if i didn't look like), because i did, as Einstein said, the same things over and over again expecting different results. For example: I was addicted to pornography but i honestly believed and hoped that God would deliver me from it even if i continued to deal with pornographic materials (movies, magazines, etc.). In the Bible, we can see that every promise that God made (even if it is not explicit), is conditioned to obedience. For example: 2 Chronicles 7:14. It is sad to hear many people talking about "revival" here in America and seeing different formulas being applied to get the result (healing) that can only be achieved if we apply God's formula, which is 2 Chronicles 7:14. Our nation will never be healed by "moral correctness" or "social justice", it will only be healed IF we apply God's formula for Healing. If you consider Jesus' Parable of the Sower, OUR HEART is the land and if we aplly that formula in our lives we WILL BE HEALED. I can testify before God that His formula works because when i applied His formula (with His help) i was completely healed (read the Post: Personal Testimony: New Life). Are you a slave of sin right now? Have you been trying to leave the sinful lifestyle without success? Do you really think that there is no hope for you anymore? Are you feeling like you are in a desert? Deuteronomy 8:2. All start with HUMBLENESS: Matthew 23:12. If you are not willing to HUMBLE YOURSELF God will not be willing to take you out of the desert! That's the FIRST STEP. The SECOND STEP is to PRAY and SEEK GOD'S FACE: Proverbs 8:17; Jeremiah 29:13. If you don't seek God with ALL your heart you will never find Him. The THIRD STEP is TURNING FROM YOUR WICKED WAYS (SINS): Hebrews 12:4. There will be a battle to abandon your sin, because even when we are been set free, we still are used to do those things (sin in this case) and we must fight against it, that's what they call the "habitual sin". Just like Joshua and the Israelites had to fight to possess the land, you will have to fight to possess your new life (promise land), but the same promise God made to Joshua is yours: Joshua 1:9.

A Divided House Will Not Stand!

I'd like to start this post with a few questions: 1) Are you a house (temple) of God? 1 Corinthians 6:19. 2) Are you divided between God and anything or anyone else (yourself included)? Matthew 12:25. 3) How much do you love the LORD your God? Deuteronomy 6:5. 4) Do you show favoritism? Deuteronomy 10:17; Acts 10:34. Do you remember the Parable of the Sower, when Jesus talks about the seeds that fell among thorns? Luke 8:7; Luke 8:14. If you are the house of God, how can you be a divided house? In Luke 8:7 you see that the seed fell on the ground and sprang up, but in Luke 8:14 you see that it never produced "mature fruit" because there were "thorns" that grew along with it (in this parable the seed is the word of God and the ground is the heart). Let's talk about one of the things spoken by Jesus that will not allow you, the believer, to produce the Fruit of the Holy Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23: Riches. Jesus says this in Luke 16:13. So, who was mammon? Mammon is the name of an ancient deity worshiped by the Sumerians. He is the god of wealth and his name translates as "property". Mammon was an Aramaic loan word in Hebrew meaning wealth although it may also have meant 'that in which one trusts'. Why do we have printed in our dollar bills "in God we trust"? To what God is it referring to? The LORD God (Father of Jesus Christ) or mammon (god of wealth, that in which one trusts)? According to Jesus, whenever a person is driven to get rich, that person already chose mammon as a master. Of course there are those who are rich because God made them rich, like Abraham and Job for example. So, if your heart is divided between serving God and pursuing anything that is not God's will for your life, you already chose another master other then Jesus Christ and one day, when you stand before Jesus Christ for judgement you will regret it. Today you have the chance to choose Jesus Christ as your Master (Lord) and savior, you have the chance to choose eternal life: Hebrews 3:7-8; Deuteronomy 30:19. Ask the LORD to search your heart and show you if there's anything that is  dividing you heart:  Psalm 139:23-24.

You Get What You Pay For!

Once upon a time (it feels like it) i was in a hardware store looking for a drill, i found two of them that i liked and to me, the only difference (huge) between them was the price. I asked a lady worker for help, considering that the store's motto is "the helpful place", i had no doubt that she would help me, but when i asked her why the price was so different, she replied: "You get what you pay for!" Then she turned around and left and i was shocked by her attitude. Of course she meant: "If you pay for the best drill, you will get the best drill". It didn't take much longer to realize that she was right, despite her lack of politeness, she spoke the truth. Applying this "truth" to our context (christianity), we'll see that Jesus spoke just like that (parable), for example: Matthew 13:45-46. Do you remember what Jesus told the rich young ruler? Mark 10:21. How about Luke 14:26. Is Jesus being "literal" when He says that His disciple must HATE his family? Of course not, Jesus is talking about "priority" or "importance", He is not teaching us to literally HATE our neighbor or else He would be contradicting Himself: Matthew 22:36-40. There's something called "extreme or hyperbolic language" in the Bible and that's the case. Another case is found in Genesis 29:30-31. Do you understand what it means to follow Jesus as His disciple? It means that you will LOVE Him MORE than you love anyone else, even yourself, to the point that you will be willing to lose your life for His sake. If the PAYMENT is your "life", then you will GET "eternal life": John 12:25; If the PAYMENT is "money" (prosperity gospel), then you will GET "money", etc. At the end, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! How much is the Kingdom of God worth for you? Are you willing to "sell" everything and follow Jesus Christ? Are you loving the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind?

Go and Sell no More. Are You a House of Prayer?

Isaiah 56:7; Matthew 21:13. What is prayer anyways? To me, prayer is not a monologue, reciting the catechism, quoting the Bible, etc. Prayer is a direct communication between God and us, a dialogue between God and His children. What is the house of God? Is the "physical" temple in Jerusalem or the building you call church? Acts 7:48-49. So, if God does not dwell in temples (buildings) made by human hands and He is asking what house we're building for Him, what is this house? 1 Corinthians 6:19. If you read all about the tabernacle of Moses and the temple of Solomon, you'll see that both had a place called Holy of Holies, where the glory of God was. In Ezekiel 10 we see that the glory of God departed from the temple. From the beginning we can see that the Holy Spirit dwelled in different people like, kings, prophets, priests, etc. In the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was made available to everyone who was born again. So, when Jesus said "My house" He was talking about every child of God, the ones who the Holy Spirit lives in them and He is saying that they will be people who pray, people who hear His voice: John 10:27. So, what type of house you are you building? Financial (selfish ambition); entertainment (all about fun); mausoleum (spiritually dead); NGO (humanism), etc. Are you always bargaining with God? Are you always taking advantage on everything? Are you willing to follow Jesus Christ (as a sheep follows its shepherd) wherever He leads you? Are you obeying your Lord unconditionally? Is your HEART a holy place or a den of thieves? Right now, Jesus is asking you: What house will you build for the Me?

Breakthrough: The Answer is Just 1,2,3... Prayers Away!

Luke 18:1-8. How many times you started praying for something and as the time passed you just gave up, because you "lost heart"? How many times you felt discouraged waiting for something impossible to happen? How many times you thought you were crazy believing in God's promise because it took "forever" to come true? If it happened to you, congratulations, you are a sinful human being and you need Jesus Christ. If it never happened to you, congratulations, you are a sinless human being, you ARE Jesus Christ! Of course, if you are not Jesus Christ, then you never prayed before! Bottom line: At one point in your prayer life you'll feel discouraged, but you should never "lose heart", you should never stop believing that God will fulfill His promise! I think (maybe you are different) that everyone of us will at some point deal with our weakness, that is, lack of faith, that's why we must keep going, keep praying, keep pressing on until we see the result, our prayer answered. I lived something like that when God promised my son David (read post  Personal Testimony: My Son), at one point i felt discouraged, it thought i was "nuts", but after 5 years believing in God's promise, i took David in my hands and saw God's promised fulfilled and i gave glory to God who kept His promise. In the text above, Jesus is assuring us that it will take HEART to receive what God has for us, it will take determination and courage to fight against our UNBELIEF and if we PERSEVERE we will receive it. Maybe you are waiting for a BREAKTHROUGH, for  an answer to your prayer and maybe right now you're feeling discouraged, my advice to you is: DON'T LOSE HEART! Maybe we prayed a thousand times for it, but maybe the answer will come when you pray next time, how do you know the time? ONLY GOD KNOWS IT! But you have to keep believing. The other "side of the coin" is: Are you 100% sure that what you are asking is God's will for you or the one you're praying for? Are you praying for your UNBELIEVING spouse? Considering that you know what FREE WILL means, do you believe that your spouse WILL BE SAVED? 1 Corinthians 7:16. Do you think that Paul is saying that YOUR HUSBAND OR WIFE WILL NOT BE SAVED? Pay attention to Paul's question: How do you know whether YOU will save your spouse? Do you really think YOU can save YOUR spouse? On the other hand, DO YOU BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST CAN SAVE YOUR SPOUSE? DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH FAITH TO BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST CAN SAVE YOUR SPOUSE? HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT IF BY TAKING "FOREVER" TO SAVE YOUR SPOUSE GOD IS NOT JUST TRYING TO "INCREASE" YOUR FAITH? HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU WILL BE SAVED? I hope you understand what i'm trying to accomplish here: TO TEST YOUR FAITH! I am NOT telling you to divorce your spouse, God hates divorce: Malachi 2:16. Of course there are exceptions, like adultery for example. Are willing to pay the price to receive what God has for you? Are you willing to cry the last tear until you receive the "blessing" (what you're praying for)? IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD? Remember Abraham? Genesis 18:14. Remember what God said to the Prophet Jeremiah? Jeremiah 32:27. Has God changed? Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8. Why our prayers ARE NOT answered? 1) Wrong motivation: James 4:3. 2) Will of God: 2 Corinthians 12:7-9. Time or Opposition: Daniel 10:12-13. We must know if it is the will of God and keep praying until we receive: Matthew 7:7-11: 1 Thessalonians 5:17. I wrote this because this morning i was "feeling down" (i'm going through a tough time), but i decided in my heart that i won't give up, i won't lose heart, i will fight to the end and i know that God will give me the victory! I hope you'll feel encouraged and will keep praying and believing until you receive the "blessing". AMEN.

Faith and the Mustard Seed: If You Don't Sow It, It Won't Grow!

Matthew 17:20. Was Jesus speaking about a literal "mountain"? Was He speaking about a non-literal "mustard seed"? I'm asking this because depending on your point of view, you'll have different results. E.g.: If the word "mountain" is figurative for "marital problems", then "move the mountain" can mean divorcing your spouse; if it's literal, then you'll have to believe this truth in Luke 1:37. Of course, between speaking to the mountain, "Move from here to there", and actually seeing the mountain move, it'll depend on the will of God and how big your faith is. Now, let's talk about the mustard seed: Matthew 13:31-32. Here Jesus is not only talking about the "size" of the mustard seed (least of all), but also the "life" that is in it, that if it is sowed it will become a tree. Pay attention to what Jesus says in Matthew 17:20 ...If you have faith AS a mustard seed. Think about this: How good is to have a mustard seed in your "pocket" and never sow it? Will it ever grow to become a tree in your pocket? Even if the mustard seed has the "potential" to become a tree, you still have to sow it, then it will develop to become a tree. James 2:26. When talking about faith, the process is the same as sowing, we must "work" our faith in order to grow it, STAGNANT FAITH BECOMES A DEAD FAITH! E.g.: If you say that you believe in Jesus Christ and His word (Bible) and you have unforgiveness in your heart, you are denying Jesus and your faith is dead. Why? Matthew 6:12,14-15. If you're feeling unforgiving right now, you probably have a "root" of unforgiveness in your heart and until you deal with it you won't feel forgiven, because if you don't forgive you won't be forgiven. Is your faith growing? Are you "walking" by faith (works)? Do you really want to please God? Hebrews 11:6.

Come and See: A Call for Intimacy.

John 1:45-46. If you're familiar with this passage, you'll remember that after encountering Jesus Christ, Nathanael realized that he found the Son of God, the King of Israel. How many times we've failed to hear Jesus' voice when He was knocking at the door of our hearts? How many times we heard his voice but refused to open the door? Revelation 3:20. Then one day we opened our hearts and Jesus entered and He ate with us. But as time went by, we lost our first love and our desire for intimacy with Him, our fellowship with Him that once was precious and constant, became casual. Revelation 2:4. Unfortunately for many people, Jesus from being their first love, became unwanted and was replaced with another "lover" (money, pleasure, religion, etc). More and more i can see that only those who are willing to take their cross and follow Jesus Christ are the ones who will have intimacy with Him, who will become His close friends. Proverbs 18:24. In order to become Jesus' friends, we must do whatever He tells us, otherwise we will never experience the fullness of His friendship. John 15:14. The best example of intimacy with Jesus was John the Apostle. They became so close that Jesus called John the son of Mary: John 19:25-27. John was the only disciple who stood by the cross, he wasn't afraid to die for the One he loved, because the One he loved was dying for him. Love was the reason why John was following Jesus, even facing death. 1 John 4:18.

Corruption: The Evidence of a Sinful Nature.

Few weeks ago, i took a client to the airport (i'm a cab driver), we were talking about politics and corruption and i told him that for me, lobbying is a "legal" corruption. Thankfully he agreed with me, because the first time i said that to another client, he never called me back. I knew that my statement was true, but i didn't have the "evidence" to prove it. My client told me about a man called Jack Abramoff, a famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) lobbyist that literally bought (with gifts and such) a few politicians here in America. I came home and watched his interview on CBS' 60 minutes (Jack Abramoff: Inside Capitol corruption). In this interview, Abramoff explains how he bribed politicians to "change laws" to benefit his clients, just by inserting a few words that opened the way to personal gain. Then, my client explained the difference between ethics and morals. It's very easy to condemn Abramoff, but in reality we are all alike, we are "corrupted to the bone". Why? Because we are born in sin: Psalm 51:5. We are all corrupted by the sinful nature that lives in us! Romans 3:23. Financial corruption is just a consequence of this sinful nature in action! Why do we see so much greed and unthankfulness nowadays? 2 Timothy 3:1-5. The sin is different but the root is the same: The sinful nature. By the way, what does corruption mean? Corruption: Dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery; the action of making someone or something morally depraved or the state of being so. Besides the financial aspect, corruption is changing the "state" of someone or something, e.g.: Sex trafficking. The perpetrator abducts a young girl and change her "state" of freedom into captivity, from being a morally correct person she becomes a morally depraved one (prostitution). The antidote for this deadly poison called sinful nature is holiness or Christlikeness. Hebrews 12:14. How can we grow in holiness? Psalm 119:9; Ephesians 5:26; John 15:3.

Impartation: You Can Only Give What You Have!

First of all, let see what the dictionary says about the word impart: The verb impart has 4 senses: 1. tell or deposit (information) knowledge; 2. bestow a quality on; 3. make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret; 4. make known; pass on, of information. Now let's see what Paul told the Romans about impartation: Romans 1:11. Here Paul is talking about his desire to see the roman brothers and sisters and PASS ON or SHARE some spiritual gifts he had. Impartation mostly happens through the "laying on of hands", as in Paul's case when he was filled with the Holy Spirit: Acts 9:17. As i always write: Spiritually speaking, you cannot give what you don't have. You can see that Paul could only "give" spiritual gifts to others because he received before, some through the hands of Ananias. Another example is Timothy: 1 Timothy 4:14. The same happened to me, God used His servant (Marco Barrientos) to deliver and anoint me, when Marco laid his hands on me i was filled with the Holy Spirit and received some gifts, like the gift of discernment of spirits. Jesus Christ says that His disciples would lay their hands on the sick person and the person would be healed: Mark 16:17-19. See that Jesus says that "those who believe" would heal the sick. The problem with us today is that we think Jesus is only saying "those who believe that He is God", but He is also saying those who believe that in His name they could heal the sick. It goes back to the beginning: Hebrews 11:6. Do you understand it? It's not enough just believe that He is, we must believe that He is a rewarder. So, SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE REWARDS to the ones who believe and diligently seek Him! Do you remember this passage? Mark 5:22-23. That's Impartation! Another aspect of impartation is to transfer authority: Deuteronomy 34:9. God chose Joshua to replace Moses, so Moses had to transfer his authority to Joshua. God chose Elisha to replace Elijah: 2 Kings 2:15. This is not "replacement theology". We also must be careful when laying hands on people: 1 Timothy 5:22.

Go Back to Your First Love!

Revelation 3:14-16. Sometimes Jesus sounds extremely harsh, He doesn't seem to care about peoples' feelings, He goes straight to the point. If He was invited to preach in our church today, the message would be the same, He wouldn't bargain or be afraid to speak the Truth "as is", no nice words, no emotional appealing, just the Truth, after all, He is the Truth! In the text above, Jesus is dealing with a church that grew proud of the riches and wealth they acquired, so much that they thought they didn't need anything else, instead of being filled with the Holy Spirit, as Paul commanded the believers, Ephesians 5:18, they became full of themselves. If you think about "vomit", you'll realize that most of the time when you vomited, the food that came out was partially digested, for one reason or another (infection, overeating, etc), your stomach couldn't fully complete the eating process. Now, if you apply this notion (halfway) to the text above, you'll see why Jesus was so UPSET (as your stomach when you vomit) with the Laodiceans, because His goal in discipleship is perfection or completeness: James 1:4. Unfortunately, we bought into that worldly mentality that "nobody is perfect", therefore we don't even bother seeking holiness, since perfection and completeness is impossible, we don't believe that God is able to perfect us and make us complete for His glory. How would Jesus deal with the "prosperity driven churches" today? The same way He dealt with the Laodicean church! So, is there a way to reverse the curse of lukewarmness? Yes there is! Jesus told the church of Ephesus how to do it: Revelation 2:4-5. It starts with repentance. Repentance (not remorse) is the first step to restoring the first love. This also applies to marriage. Unfortunately, along the way we became influenced by the culture, which says that once the flame (passion) is gone, the marriage is over. It happened because christian leaders failed to understand that love is not passion. Love produces emotions that may produce passion. Emotions do not produce love, they only produce passion! Paul gave us the perfect definition of love: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. So, what does it mean to be Hot? To me, hotness is: Unconditional obedience to Jesus Christ. Today, because the "cheap gospel" is all over, we think that everyone is Jesus' friend, since everybody is singing that song: "I am a friend of God, He calls me friend", in reality, just a few "believers" are Jesus’ friends: John 15:14. To be friends with Jesus Christ is necessary to be obedient to His words, to do whatever He tells us. I spent a couple weeks writing this post, at the end i struggled to find the title. This morning i was checking the "fakebook" and a friend of mine posted a link there, a preaching from a well known pastor from Brazil, his name is Caio Fabio, he says that when he fell was the time when God lifted him up, after being on top, he realized that everything he had done, was just a show, he had it all but lost his first love for Jesus Christ, that was the time when Christ brought him back and he says he despises people's recognition, applause, etc, or what i call, "the entertainment gospel". At the end he gave me the title: GO BACK TO YOUR FIRST LOVE! God has been so good to me, i'm speechless! I'm not saying i agree with everything this pastor preaches, absolutely not.

Perseverance: The Key For Character Development

Romans 5:3. Paul is full of crazy (humanly speaking) concepts, like this one: Tribulation produces perseverance. Even if this concept sounds crazy, if we think for a moment, we will reach the following conclusion: All the major inventions came after many trials and failures, but as the inventors persevered in building it, they got the final product working properly, and today we benefit from their perseverance. When talking about biblical perseverance, there are some people who stand above the others, e.g.: Noah (about 120 years building the arc in the desert); Abraham (100 years walking by faith); Job (satan struck him with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head), etc. The dictionary defines character as: The mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. I would redefine character adding another quality to it: The spiritual, mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. If we consider what Paul wrote in Galatians, when talking about the fruit of the Spirit, we'll realize that those "characteristics" are part of Jesus Christ's character: Galatians 5:22-23. If you read the Gospels, you'll find all of those characteristics being displayed in Jesus' life, E.g.: Peace: John 14:27. As i wrote before, spiritually speaking: You can only give what you have! E.g.: Peace: Luke 10:5-6. Here Jesus sent His disciples (seventy others He appointed besides the Apostles) to practice what He taught them. Jesus is clear that the disciples' peace would rest in that house if there was a son of peace there. Why? Because Jesus gave His peace to His disciples and His disciples should give their peace to others. I would call this: Sharing the blessings. I hope you don't mistaken it with "pay it forward", which some christian churches are doing. It goes far beyond this "to do something good for someone in response to a good deed done on your behalf" concept. I’m not saying that you shouldn't do good deeds, what I’m saying is that you should do something good for others even when others did something bad for you. The world’s concept is "pay it forward", but Jesus’ concept is this: Luke 6:27-36. I know Jesus’ concept is way too radical for the post-modern christianism we have today, that’s why we must go back to the beginning, learn with the Master Jesus Christ how to persevere in trials and tribulations and be inspired by godly people like Job, who persevered to the end: James 5:11.

The New Ecumenism: Rebuilding the Spiritual Babel.

If you never heard about the tower of babel, you can find the story in Genesis 11:1-9. The purpose in building the tower was to be one inseparable people and reach to the heavens, where God is. The first problem was that they were disobeying God's commandment given to Adam and Eve: Genesis 1:27-28. God's purpose for mankind wasn't just to fill the Garden of Eden, but the whole earth. The other problem was that no human being can reach God, that's the reason Jesus Christ, the Son of God became man in order to reach mankind. The word babel means "gate of god", it is also the hebrew name for Babylon. At that time, people believed that heavens were not far from the earth and they probably thought they could reach the place were God was, and hopefully becoming gods themselves. The idea of becoming god was not original, lucifer was the first one to try it, then Adam, then the babel builders, then Herod the king: Acts 12:21-23, etc. I think that the "new world religion" that is coming soon, where the high priest will be the false prophet, will be the new ecumenism. Why? Think about this: Do you really think that you can convince muslims, christians, buddhists, spiritists, etc, to abandon their religion and costumes and follow your own? I bet you don't. But what if this false prophet comes with a way to unite all religions, telling them that they have something in common, "god", it doesn't matter what his name is or how it (god) manifests himself, what matters is that their "gods" can coexist, their religions can intermix, their faith can be expanded to insert new beliefs, etc. The word ecumenism comes from a family of classical greek words: oikos, meaning a "house", "family", "people", or "nation"; oikoumenē, "the whole inhabited world"; and oikoumenikos, "open to or participating in the whole world". Again, as my writing is personal, i think (God knows for sure) that the false prophet will find a way to unite all religions, of course the only ones who won't participate of this new ecumenism, will be the ones who won't receive the mark of the beast, as described in Revelation 13:18. So, are you prepared to overcome the beast? Revelation 12:11.

David vs. Goliath: The Battle Between Faith and Pride.

Proverbs 16:18. When Solomon wrote this verse, he probably had in mind a story that he heard a thousand times before: The battle between his father David and Goliath. Maybe Solomon was the one who came up with this saying: "The bigger they are, the harder they fall". The one thing that is very subtle in this story (it is found in 1 Samuel 17), is the difference between Faith and Pride. See what David's brother told him: 1 Samuel 17:28. The first battle David had to win was against his brothers prejudice (do you remember  Joseph's story?), if David didn't continue to speak, he would never be taken to see the king. Than he had to convince Saul that the LORD would deliver the giant in his hands, as Paul wrote: Philippians 4:13, because Saul didn't believe it: 1 Samuel 17:33. Then Saul gave David his armor, but it didn't fit. My take on this is that David didn't need Saul's armor, because he already had the "whole armor of God" that Paul speaks in Ephesians 6:14-17. David knew that he wasn't fighting against "flesh and blood": Ephesians 6:12. David knew that Goliath's pride was as big as his stature and his haughty spirit didn't allow him to believe in the God of Israel, so, Goliath's fall was just a stone's throw away! So, when people see you acting in faith sometimes they will tell you that you are prideful and arrogant, but at the end if you stand, they will understand the difference between faith and pride. My advice to you is: If God tells you to do something, don't worry about what people will tell you, act in faith and God will give you the victory! Always remember: The giant's fall is just a stone's throw away. Choose your stones wisely!

Physician, Heal Yourself!

Luke 4:23. At this point, Jesus' fame already preceded Him, everyone knew what happened in Capernaum and were anxious to "see" the same signs and wonders, but, the problem for them was that they thought they "knew" who Jesus was and where he came from, that Jesus was the son of Joseph and Mary and He was a Nazarene (they didn't know He was born in Bethlehem), Matthew 2:23, therefore He could never be the Messiah (Anointed One) because the Messiah had to come from Bethlehem of Judea, Micah 5:2. When Jesus read Isaiah 61:1-2, and told them that this passage was fulfilled before their eyes, meaning that He was the Messiah Isaiah spoke about, they refused to believe Him. Then Jesus talks about Elijah and Elisha, that those prophets being rejected by their own people, were used by God to minister to foreigners. With this Jesus was telling them that even if He did miracles and wonders among them, they would not believe that He was the Messiah. Right after, they try to kill Him. The wonderful thing about Jesus is that He was never impressed by the amount of people following Him, He never allowed the crowd to dictate what He had to say and do, He only did what His Father told Him to do. Today, if we turn on our tv, we'll see preachers trying to convince the people by displaying the "power of god" through persuasive words and pseudo-miracles that attract multitudes of people. Unfortunately, if you just pay attention, they are preaching everything but "Jesus Christ Crucified". Paul rebuked the Galatians for turning away from the Truth, Galatians 3:1. Jesus is been preached in our churches today, no doubt about it, the question is: What Jesus? (Read the post: What Jesus: The Narrow Way or the Broadway?) If the multitudes, even after seeing miracles and wonders still rejected Jesus Christ because He preached "unconditional obedience to God", it wouldn't be different today, in fact, the multitudes, just like in Jesus' time, are only running after signs and wonders, they want to see miracles and wonders but they don't want to follow Jesus, they don't want to lose their lives to become His disciples. I'm not saying that signs, wonders, miracles, healings and all the gifts we see in the Bible are not for today, absolutely, they are as real today as they were in Jesus’ time, i'm saying that if they are done in the absence of Truth, they are meaningless. I have experienced rejection after speaking the Truth, even after people seeing how God used me with diferent gifts. Unfortunately it hurts, but God is faithful and none of the words that came from Him will fall to the ground, they can kill the messenger but will never destroy the Message: Isaiah 55:11.

What is SIN?

Sin is failing to do God's will, is disobedience towards God, is missing the mark which is holiness, is to break God's laws. 1 John 3:4. In the Bible we can find different kinds of sins, like the ones mentioned in Exodus 20, called the Ten Commandments: You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal, etc. There are others mentioned in the New Testament, what the Apostle Paul called "works of the flesh": Fornication, hatred, envy, jealousies, etc. Unfortunately, the culture inside the Christian church tends to classify sin, so it's bad "to kill" but it's not too bad "to lie", it's bad "to idolize" but it's not too bad "to envy", etc. There's this concept of "white lie" that has permeated Christianity and brought with it other "acceptable" sins, making the very "purpose" or "target" called holiness to be almost "extinct" in our modern Christianity, in other words, we lack the power and glory of God in our lives and our churches because we failed to be holy: Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:15-16. As you can see, the God in the Old Testament is the same God in the New Testament, He does not change: Malachi 3:6. There's no "acceptable" sin, every sin is detestable and hateful before the Lord. We must learn to hate sin and to love holiness. If we say we love the Lord and don't love holiness we are deceiving ourselves. How can we love the Holy One (the Lord God) and don't love holiness? Isaiah 59:2. Unfortunately, along the years many false doctrines appeared in the church and harmed many people, like this one: "A Christian person does not sin". I heard this teaching over 20 years ago and i refuted such heresy when the pastor spoke it, but what broke my heart was not seeing any of the leaders (3 different churches in a youth retreat) standing against it. They did it later, but the damage was already done. We must hate sin, but at the same time acknowledge that we are sinners and sooner or latter we will sin, and when (not if) we sin we must repent and confess our sins to be forgiven. 1 John 1:8-10.

Seven Years of Plenty Preceding the Great Tribulation.

As they say: "History repeats itself". Or as Salomon the King wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:9. Couple days ago i was reading the story of Joseph (i read many times before) and the Holy Spirit spoke to me about the seven years. For many years i kept saying that there is a "GREAT HARVEST OF SOULS" coming soon but i couldn't fully understand it until now. This is what the Holy Spirit spoke to me: "Before the SEVEN YEARS OF SPIRITUAL FAMINE (great tribulation), there will be SEVEN YEARS OF A GREAT HARVEST OF SOULS", that's when the parable in Matthew 22:1-14 will be fully revealed, when those who have been invited to the wedding and are not willing to enter will be replaced by the ones who were not invited before. We can see already signs of it, just pay attention to what is going on around the world: Jesus Christ is revealing Himself to muslims and hindus, appearing to them in dreams and visions, being preached in places where they never heard about Him before. They are coming to the wedding because, as Jesus says in the parable, the ones who were invited were not willing to come. If we translate this parable to our context, the ones who were invited and were not willing to come to the wedding are the religious people who call themselves christians but are not willing to lose their lives for the sake of Jesus Christ. What Pharaoh dreamed and came to pass in the "physical realm" (the abundance and famine), will come to pass in the "spiritual realm" also. Before the anti-Christ starts ruling the world, we will see an outpouring of tremendous power and authority coming from God, the Holy Spirit will perform great signs and wonders and many will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, the unbelieving religious people will not take part of this, in fact, they will persecute the ones who God chose to display His Glory through their lives, just as it has been from the beginning and it was with Jesus Christ. The "spirit of anti-Christ" acts powerfully IN the churches through religiosity, "blindfolding" those who think that by works they can enter into the Kingdom of God, those who "transform" themselves into godly people (as satan transforms himself into and angel of light), but deny the power of godliness (no fruit), as Paul the Apostle said: 2 Timothy 3:1-5. My advice to you is that you prepare yourself to what's coming, satan will be thrown to earth and he is coming with great wrath (Revelation 12:12), but at the same time, God's "warriors" will stand up and fight against the enemy. This is not a time for complacency, this is a time to FORSAKE EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST, to PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD and FIGHT AGAINST THE DEVIL: Ephesians 6:11. Even if you think that this sounds crazy, soon you will realize that Jesus Christ is returning because the world will be a chaos, and if you are not prepared for the wedding, you will be "left behind with the left behind". Matthew 22:1-14. Are you prepared for the wedding? Are you wearing the wedding garment (holiness)?

Along Came the devil...

I'm living the best time since God freed and anointed me. This week i came to understand things that for 10 years i prayed about and never understood: The work of the devil inside the church! Years ago, i was in a church were we started to pray and worship God, there was prayer everyday in the church, after a while we saw God's Glory being revealed among us, unfortunately, we were all "babies", including the pastor (leader), because we failed to identify satan there, he managed to break the "spiritual unity" we had, at that time i identified other demons but never got to identify the devil himself. One morning (i used to deliver newspapers early morning), God told me that i was the "watchman" in that church, i had no clue what God was talking about. When i got home and opened my Bible (i used to do that almost every day), the text was this one: Ezekiel 33:1-7. To be honest with you, after reading this passage i was scared to death, i was 100% sure that God was talking to me, but at the same time it was "crazy", too hard to believe! Well, after that, God gave me a gift called "discerning of spirits". Discerning a spirit means that you know what type of spirit is at work: The Holy Spirit, the spirit of men or demons. Unfortunately, as it is a spiritual gift, you don't see the spirit (obviously), but the Holy Spirit reveals to your spirit what's the source. Sometimes it's extremely hard to discern what spirit is it. E.g.: 2 Corinthians 11:14. Paul is saying here that satan will "disguise" himself as an angel of light, he used to be lucifer (angel of light), now he is an angel of darkness, he is the prince of darkness, he is saying that if we don't discern correctly, we will think that is an angel of God and not satan. This week i had an encounter with satan himself, first God told me that in the church there was a spirit opposing worship, meaning, he was trying to "divert" the worship that was going to God to himself. At first, i thought that was just another demon messing around like i "saw" many times, but when he was being expelled from the person (man), he said he was the "spirit of antichrist". Well, this is what John the apostle wrote about antichrists: 1 John 2:18-22. It's a long story, but satan was only expelled by the pastor (leader of the church), after the third time. Why it took so long? Well, i was there the second time, during that time, i talked to my brother in Georgia (i live in Illinois), and he said that we would be wasting our time if we didn't deal with the demon that was in control (the authority), so when the pastor dealt with satan the third time, he had to go. Now this man, a close friend and brother in Christ, is completely free, God has something big for him and his family. The reason i'm writing this, is to tell you that when we have TRUE WORSHIP in our church no demon can resist it, when the Light of Jesus Christ, the Glory of God shines in our midst, satan has to "show himself", he no longer can be hiding in the "closet"! The problem today in our churches is that we have EVERYTHING but TRUE WORSHIP! It's like this: We have to rebuild the ALTAR OF THE LORD, which is the place where the GLORY OF GOD WILL BE REVEALED. Its like the ALTAR ELIJAH REBUILT (repaired): 1 Kings 18:30. Only after REPAIRING THE ALTAR OF THE LORD, was that Elijah was able to OFFER SACRIFICE TO THE LORD. The sacrifice today is WORSHIP! If we want to see the Glory of God in our midst, WE MUST RESTORE THE ALTAR OF THE LORD TO BE ABLE TO OFFER HIM A SACRIFICE OF WORSHIP! John 4:23. Unfortunately our "churches" became EVERYTHING BUT a place of TRUE WORSHIP TO THE LORD, even when the Altar started to be restored in some places, after a while, people started worshiping the Altar instead of worshiping the LORD. This is a prophecy: There is a TRUE REVIVAL coming to LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS, but will only happened where there is TRUE WORSHIP. We started seeing it in our church, that's why satan was there working so hard to destroy our SPIRITUAL UNITY, before as a "watchman", i failed to identify him, THANKS TO THE LORD now i could identify him and i know if we REPAIR THE ALTAR OF WORSHIP TO THE LORD we will see THE GLORY OF THE LORD IN OUR MIDST and MANY PEOPLE WILL COME TO BE SET FREE, TO BE HEALED, TO BE SAVED. THERE WILL BE A "GREAT HARVEST" VERY SOON, MANY SOULS WILL BE SAVED, BUT AT THE SAME TIME THE WORLD WILL BE A CHAOS! JESUS CHRIST IS RETURNING SOON, ARE YOU PREPARED?

Peter and the Rooster: Nothing to Crow About!

When talking about self-reliance, Simon Peter is probably the best example in the Bible. He was a vigorous, impetuous and courageous leader, a man ready to fight and die for the cause. But, was he really ready to die for Jesus? Unfortunately for him, self-reliance was not compatible with God's standard for leadership, as Zechariah spoke to Zerubbabel: Zechariah 4:6. Peter was an amazing character, he was always "on top of the game", always there when Jesus needed him. Sometimes acting prideful, other times humbling himself, sometimes influenced by the Holy Spirit, other times by satan. All in all, Peter was the right candidate for the job, a leader among the leaders. One thing we can see in the Bible that is true for everyone who God called to be a leader: They were all called to "be led" by the Holy Spirit, some allowed the Holy Spirit to lead them, others didn't. In Peter's case, even if he resisted as much as he could the work of the Holy Spirit in his life, Jesus didn't give up on him and interceded for his life: Luke 22:31-32. The pivotal moment in Peter's life came when he heard the rooster crowing, after denying Jesus three times, he recognized that he wasn't the valiant leader he thought he was, he probably realized that he wasn't invincible, that he was no better than anyone of Jesus' followers. What probably broke him in peaces was the fact that up to that moment, he was the one who stood firm, like a rock (Cefas means rock), even in the garden when they came to arrest Jesus, Peter reacted by using his sword. Up to that moment, denying Jesus was out of question, even if Jesus told him that he would do that, his pride didn't allow him to see the reality in Jesus’ words, that Jesus had to die so he (Peter) could live. God will always provide a way for us to repent, unfortunately some will reject God's way. I believe that Peter loved Jesus Christ, but he had to learn one hard lesson: Jesus way (narrow) or the highway! By that i mean: The only way to gain eternal life is losing our own: Matthew 16:25. This is the proof that Peter loved Jesus: John 21:17. By the way, "nothing to crow about" is an expression that means "nothing to brag about". With this declaration of love, Peter recognized that by his own strength he could not do the work God was calling him to do. By submitting himself to God and being filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter is one of the best examples that with God, nothing is impossible: Luke 1:37 For with God nothing will be impossible. Peter is a good example of how God establishes His Kingdom: God restores the worker's life, enables (teaches) him to do the work and sends the worker to the workplace (the world). Matthew 28:19. The only way to make disciples for Jesus Christ is being a disciple of Jesus Christ (to be called, prepared and sent), otherwise we would be turning the "great commission" into a "great omission", lacking the power of God to do His work, therefore establishing our own kingdom: 1 Corinthians 4:20; Romans 10:14-15.

The Ant and the Sluggard: Idling like an Idol.

Proverbs 6:6-8. The good thing about going to church since early age, was meeting people who gave their lives for the others, who considered others better than themselves, like my parents did, that's very inspiring. On the other hand, the bad thing was seeing people "idling in the name of Jesus", using all kinds of excuses to avoid working, creeping up on people's houses or using them to sponsor their idleness. In this text, King Solomon is teaching us how to work, how to be wise and hardworking as an ant. This is the best example on how Christians should act in their workplace. We must be an example of honesty, integrity and faithfulness to others in the workplace, not only when our "boss" is around, but much more when he is away, that's the way we will "reveal" Christ to the people around us. Paul speaks about it and says that there's a reward when we do it: Colossians 3:23-24. Of course, it is very hard when your boss is a despot and treats you unfairly, but we must follow Jesus Christ's example, as Peter writes: 1 Peter 2:23. Believe me, it's been over 12 years since God started teaching me about it, just now i'm assimilating, i can fully understand but practicing it, it’s still tough, it's a battle against my "self", denying myself is the only way to follow Jesus: Luke 9:23. Paul uses a very strong language when dealing with the sluggard: 2 Thessalonians 3:7-11. About idling like an idol, this is what the psalmist wrote referring to idols: Psalm 115:3-8.

Coexistence or Communion?

Coexistence: Existing peacefully together.
Communion: The sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, esp. when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level.
If we go back on time, more precisely when christianity began (Jesus Christ's birth), we'll see that the very announcement of Jesus' birth to the shepherds by the Angel, was followed by a declaration of peace: Luke 2:13-14. After a while, christians were persecuted and centuries latter, the "institutionalized christianity" became the persecutor (inquisition), "christians" from being peacemakers became warlords! As they say: "history repeats itself", again, we're starting to see a movement towards the persecution of the church, christians all over the world are seeing the Book of Revelation unfolding before their eyes, unfortunately here in America, the vast majority of the people who call themselves christians don't see it, because of the state of "sleepiness" that the "church" finds itself, as Paul spoke to the Ephesians: Ephesians 5:13-14. Thankfully, everything is about to change, for good or bad. We as christians, are called by Jesus Christ to be peacemakers: Matthew 5:9. Paul also addressed the issue of peacemaking: Romans 12:18. Of course, there's a difference between Coexistence and Communion: We, as christians, are called to "coexist" with our neighbors, to live in peace with them, but at the same time we cannot participate in their sinful or unfruitful lifestyle, we are IN the world but we are NOT OF the world (John 15:19), because by doing that we would be partaking of the table of demons: 1 Corinthians 10:21. I believe that it is impossible to be one (communion) with someone that Jesus Christ is not his (her) Lord, with them there will be only coexistence! The Lordship of Jesus Christ is the "link" that unites every born again christian. Only in Christ we can be spiritually united, one body (church), the Body of Christ. 2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 5:8.