There is only one judge, one who can judge all flesh and it is not me!
If I judge someone, I am putting myself as a judge, I place myself in God's place, and I judge God even, because He made man.
I excuse myself because I know I mean to do good, even when I fall short. And even when I don't mean good, I find myself excuses as to why I didn't.
When I judge others, I don't know their motivations, but I pretend I do and I always find them guilty and me, inocent.
- thoughts that came while reading "The Shack"
sexta-feira, 5 de junho de 2009
Strength to the persecuted!
"We thank God for protection and encouragement in his work and for the heath that he has given us day after day. On Sunday, the 31st in the morning while we were in the service the Muslims came in the number of 30 men with the purpose to destroy us and mess up our service. By the power of the Holy Spirit they were able to do anything and they were outside from 8h30 to 11h when we finished. They didn't find anyone who wanted to discuss with them, so they were embarrassed and started telling us that we must not preach the name of Jesus in the market, but we told them right then that the market is not the Muslims' or the Christians' or the pagans', it belongs to the municipal council for all the people to use and we will continue preaching there until Jesus comes back. So they responded that every Sunday they will come make noise during our service, but we know we do not fight against flesh and blood, and we bind that in Jesus' name, remembering that Jesus has the victory and we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus."
This is a report we received from our evangelists in the field. We pray for God's strength to continue guiding them and giving them wisdom in how to react in each situation.
This is a report we received from our evangelists in the field. We pray for God's strength to continue guiding them and giving them wisdom in how to react in each situation.
sexta-feira, 8 de maio de 2009
APRIL NEWS
This month we opened the library, started the student cell meetings, and saw the Holy Spirit dealing with many students in their relationships with each other.
One of the subjects I taught this semester was fasting. I emphasized how we cannot exchange a sacrifice on our bodies for any blessings from God and that the only precious payment for our blessings is the blood of Jesus. But then, why fasting, if we are not in the old testament when sacrifices had to be made some asked? So I explained about putting our bodies under submission and how if we satisfy all the desires of our flesh it becomes demanding and soon the spirit is overpower by the flesh. But that God promises to reward our fasting, if we do it in the right attitude. Well, I did get a big reward for our first fasting as a student body.
I had been having a lot of stomach ache (like gastritis) since I arrived from Brazil. Two times it got worse and for almost a week I was feeling it every day. I prayed about it, and asked for prayer from the team. I knew I was healed but still felt pain every day. But our focus on the fast was intercession for lost people we knew, for salvation to come to the lost, and I asked God to help my stomach ache not to get worse because I wasn’t eating that day and didn’t worry about it anymore. So the whole day passed and I didn’t feel ANYTHING! Since then, it has been more than a week, I have been very, very well, with no pain at all! I am healed!
It was such a great healing, and made me remember once that I experienced an immediate healing while I had communion with the team at Inhaminga many years ago. Some people may think that we must do these things (take communion, fast, baptize) out of an obligation, as a religious ritual, but we know that Jesus wouldn’t tell us something that had no meaning. Everything he told us to do has meaning and spiritual power. I know that because I have experienced it over and over!
Some of the students also testified changes that happened during that fast. While we corrected the test we did on that subject, a student got up and out of the blue said: “It was my first fast ever, and I liked it so much! Can we do it again? I can see God doing wonderful things in my life since then!”
PÁSCOA
On the two years we’ve been in Nacala we’ve had Passover with the students (2007) and with the local churches (2008) but never with both together! This year it was a wonderful opportunity to have all of them in one spot in such a special time.
Preparations started way before the actual date. Just like it must have been in Israel many years ago, when people had to plan their trip to Jerusalem every year three times a year to celebrate God’s Feasts. We started by teaching churches and students about what is Passover. All three churches heard about the Israelites having their first sons protected by the blood of the lamb and the whole people leaving Egypt in the middle of the night, and what it means for us today. They also heard about the Lamb of God who takes away our sins, and that He also died during Passover time, to fulfill all the prophecies. The students had been learning about the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, so they also heard the whole story twice (once in the classroom and once in the churches they visited).
All the physical preparation was also made, with guys searching everywhere for a blameless lamb (ups, goat) for our feast, dramas being prepared and all the churches preparing to come and bring their contribution for our lunch together!
The weekend came!
On Friday night we had a special time as a family (team and students). We first heard and thought about the resemblances between the lamb that was killed during O.T. Passover and Jesus! Then we ate it in fellowship and joy! The team presented our drama which finished just before Jesus was being arrested and from that part on we watched from the Jesus film. And finally we had Communion together! How special to have Communion in such an appointed time!
On Saturday the churches came and we had a big celebration service. Kids were everywhere, a fan broke right in the middle of worship making a big noise, lots was happening outside of the classroom with the workers, but still praises continued to raise up to heaven! It is amazing the growth that has happened in the lives of the people who were here last time. It is a joy to see some families coming together (dad, mom and kids) to church! And those that hardly knew what worship was before can now enter in fully. Jorge brought a good word about the crucifixion and then the students presented their drama! They had planned it alone and we did not know what to expect, but it was VERY NICE! One of the best that I’ve seen so far! It was all in Makua so that the people could understand it well, and even without much resource they presented the story concisely and clearly! I was so proud of them! One of the men from Muzuane told me: “If anyone came without understanding the meaning of Passover, after this drama, they DID understand!”
At the end we had lots of fun distributing toys for the kids. A church in Brazil donated a lot of small toys and I brought it so this was the perfect opportunity to distribute them. It was precious to see all the smiles and the exclamations as they opened their gifts and children and adults curiously checked what everyone else got!
Sunday at sunrise, we had planned to worship together, but everyone was just a bit late, so Debs, Nicky and I arrived first at our meeting place. We were just like the women coming to Jesus tomb and finding it empty. We woke up all the students screaming HE IS ALIVE! They answered from their rooms even before they joined us for worship!
That morning Muzuane home group visited Nacoto with part of the students and the rest of the students went to Rassim! We all celebrated that HE IS ALIVE and what His resurrection means to us! He is the first fruit and we are the rest of the harvest!!!!!
One of the subjects I taught this semester was fasting. I emphasized how we cannot exchange a sacrifice on our bodies for any blessings from God and that the only precious payment for our blessings is the blood of Jesus. But then, why fasting, if we are not in the old testament when sacrifices had to be made some asked? So I explained about putting our bodies under submission and how if we satisfy all the desires of our flesh it becomes demanding and soon the spirit is overpower by the flesh. But that God promises to reward our fasting, if we do it in the right attitude. Well, I did get a big reward for our first fasting as a student body.
I had been having a lot of stomach ache (like gastritis) since I arrived from Brazil. Two times it got worse and for almost a week I was feeling it every day. I prayed about it, and asked for prayer from the team. I knew I was healed but still felt pain every day. But our focus on the fast was intercession for lost people we knew, for salvation to come to the lost, and I asked God to help my stomach ache not to get worse because I wasn’t eating that day and didn’t worry about it anymore. So the whole day passed and I didn’t feel ANYTHING! Since then, it has been more than a week, I have been very, very well, with no pain at all! I am healed!
It was such a great healing, and made me remember once that I experienced an immediate healing while I had communion with the team at Inhaminga many years ago. Some people may think that we must do these things (take communion, fast, baptize) out of an obligation, as a religious ritual, but we know that Jesus wouldn’t tell us something that had no meaning. Everything he told us to do has meaning and spiritual power. I know that because I have experienced it over and over!
Some of the students also testified changes that happened during that fast. While we corrected the test we did on that subject, a student got up and out of the blue said: “It was my first fast ever, and I liked it so much! Can we do it again? I can see God doing wonderful things in my life since then!”
PÁSCOA
On the two years we’ve been in Nacala we’ve had Passover with the students (2007) and with the local churches (2008) but never with both together! This year it was a wonderful opportunity to have all of them in one spot in such a special time.
Preparations started way before the actual date. Just like it must have been in Israel many years ago, when people had to plan their trip to Jerusalem every year three times a year to celebrate God’s Feasts. We started by teaching churches and students about what is Passover. All three churches heard about the Israelites having their first sons protected by the blood of the lamb and the whole people leaving Egypt in the middle of the night, and what it means for us today. They also heard about the Lamb of God who takes away our sins, and that He also died during Passover time, to fulfill all the prophecies. The students had been learning about the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, so they also heard the whole story twice (once in the classroom and once in the churches they visited).
All the physical preparation was also made, with guys searching everywhere for a blameless lamb (ups, goat) for our feast, dramas being prepared and all the churches preparing to come and bring their contribution for our lunch together!
The weekend came!
On Friday night we had a special time as a family (team and students). We first heard and thought about the resemblances between the lamb that was killed during O.T. Passover and Jesus! Then we ate it in fellowship and joy! The team presented our drama which finished just before Jesus was being arrested and from that part on we watched from the Jesus film. And finally we had Communion together! How special to have Communion in such an appointed time!
On Saturday the churches came and we had a big celebration service. Kids were everywhere, a fan broke right in the middle of worship making a big noise, lots was happening outside of the classroom with the workers, but still praises continued to raise up to heaven! It is amazing the growth that has happened in the lives of the people who were here last time. It is a joy to see some families coming together (dad, mom and kids) to church! And those that hardly knew what worship was before can now enter in fully. Jorge brought a good word about the crucifixion and then the students presented their drama! They had planned it alone and we did not know what to expect, but it was VERY NICE! One of the best that I’ve seen so far! It was all in Makua so that the people could understand it well, and even without much resource they presented the story concisely and clearly! I was so proud of them! One of the men from Muzuane told me: “If anyone came without understanding the meaning of Passover, after this drama, they DID understand!”
At the end we had lots of fun distributing toys for the kids. A church in Brazil donated a lot of small toys and I brought it so this was the perfect opportunity to distribute them. It was precious to see all the smiles and the exclamations as they opened their gifts and children and adults curiously checked what everyone else got!
Sunday at sunrise, we had planned to worship together, but everyone was just a bit late, so Debs, Nicky and I arrived first at our meeting place. We were just like the women coming to Jesus tomb and finding it empty. We woke up all the students screaming HE IS ALIVE! They answered from their rooms even before they joined us for worship!
That morning Muzuane home group visited Nacoto with part of the students and the rest of the students went to Rassim! We all celebrated that HE IS ALIVE and what His resurrection means to us! He is the first fruit and we are the rest of the harvest!!!!!
segunda-feira, 20 de abril de 2009
A leap of faith: GRACE
To trust grace
It is a leap of faith
It is loosing control
It is completely trusting
that God is speaking the whole truth
and what we have lived so far is a lie
it is the devil's deceiving lie
It is like jumping out of a cliff
with no garantee
but the Word He has spoken.
When will we truly take that jump?
It is a leap of faith
It is loosing control
It is completely trusting
that God is speaking the whole truth
and what we have lived so far is a lie
it is the devil's deceiving lie
It is like jumping out of a cliff
with no garantee
but the Word He has spoken.
When will we truly take that jump?
domingo, 5 de abril de 2009
what's up today
When the vision some times seem to fade away,
He comes with His Spirit,
Renewing our spirit, giving us a fresh breath for a new day!
That is how I feel here in Mozambique.
Some weeks pass flying by,
Some days are easy, some are hard.
Still He is faithful to sustain us in each of them.
We have 34 students at the Discipleship School currently and 14 at the Vocational School.
Next weekend we will celebrate Easter together here at the school, students and the members of the churches close by. Please pray for us.
He comes with His Spirit,
Renewing our spirit, giving us a fresh breath for a new day!
That is how I feel here in Mozambique.
Some weeks pass flying by,
Some days are easy, some are hard.
Still He is faithful to sustain us in each of them.
We have 34 students at the Discipleship School currently and 14 at the Vocational School.
Next weekend we will celebrate Easter together here at the school, students and the members of the churches close by. Please pray for us.
A Word about Mozambique!
It's a new time for Mozambique
A time for it to be raised to a new level!
from war,
from spiritual darkness.
What a privilege!
Nothing is greater than this!
To prophecy it and believe in it
To pray and bring it to existence
To see the little cloud forming afar
To then experience the rain!
A time for it to be raised to a new level!
From ashes God brings to life
something beautiful.
Up Mozambique!
Be raised!
Wake up from poverty,from war,
from spiritual darkness.
Yes, a nation can be changed!
Yes, a nation will be changed!
And I'm here to be a part of that! Yes, a nation will be changed!
What a privilege!
Nothing is greater than this!
I want to be a vessel, an instrument of change
To see it before physical eyes can seeTo prophecy it and believe in it
To pray and bring it to existence
To see the little cloud forming afar
To then experience the rain!
terça-feira, 31 de março de 2009
back to Nacala
I haven't been much present in this blog... but now I'm back to Mozambique after spending two months in Brazil, resting and ministering in different churches. So now I hope to post more often here.
About March...
The beginning of the month it was quite unusual for me. When I arrived at Nacala, the students had already arrived and classes had already started. Though I felt part of what was going on, it was very weird to not have been involved in all the little details of the preparation. It took me a few days to start flowing with what was going on, but I could see that ultimately it was very good that I delayed. Because I wasn’t here, the teachers were pushed to do everything they had learned before. Of course everyone else in the team had to help, but I feel the teachers were able to apply what they had been trained for last year. It gives me confidence that more and more I won’t have much to do here! Weird, hugh?!
Spiritual Formation week was awesome! Pastor Armando’s visit brought us new energy, excitement and moved each of us to move in a new anointing. Personally it has been the most rejoicing term we’ve had. After the first day of teaching, we came up to the classroom in the evening ready to pray and for each one to leave certain that they are saved by Jesus’ blood and their faith in Him. We prayed for the students and as they repeated a prayer with me, I opened my eyes and could see a visible change in their faces. As they spoke those words of faith, their countenance was lifted and big smiles came up! Wow, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ! As we finished praying JOY came into the classroom, and songs of praised were shouted. We sang and danced for a long time! No one felt exhausted, because the body couldn’t even say anything with such a release in our spirits. It is funny, as they are set free, and faith comes into them, I feel the same renewing in my spirit, though I’ve had that experience many years ago. Can you believe it has been more than 14 years!
Each night after that, almost the same thing happened over and over. They brought their burdens and doubts, the Word released faith into them, JOY sprang up and we all rejoiced praising God.
The Holy Spirit night was very special! After ministering to some students, I just stopped in one side of the classroom and just allowed myself to be a bit selfish for Him… to desire Him to touch me in a new way again! And He did… it was very precious to be filled again, even as many of them were being filled for the first time.
From then, classes have been establishing the Word in the students’ minds, so that they may continue living the life Jesus gave them already.
As most of you know, Marcelino have left the teacher training program to go back and study. It was a surprise, and I felt a bit sad, but I bless his life and pray he will continue in His ways. Valentim has been a blessing to us. He knows the Word and teaches it with clarity and without mistakes. He is developing in teaching skills and for sure will continue growing as he uses the gifts God has already given him. We are looking for more graduates with gift in teaching and calling to work with AWY. Leonardo is in Nampula serving the AWY church with pastor Armando and under his supervision. If everything goes right he will start being trained as a teacher next year.
Spiritually I’ve been feeling more strong, confident and with continuity than ever in my life. What it means is that I’ve been more dependent on His strength than mine, and because of that, I’m not going to run dry.
At home we are very happy to have Cassale with us. She is a real blessing and brings extra joy to our days. We have a lot of fun together at the same time that we allow God to use us to help guide and train her for Him.
About March...
The beginning of the month it was quite unusual for me. When I arrived at Nacala, the students had already arrived and classes had already started. Though I felt part of what was going on, it was very weird to not have been involved in all the little details of the preparation. It took me a few days to start flowing with what was going on, but I could see that ultimately it was very good that I delayed. Because I wasn’t here, the teachers were pushed to do everything they had learned before. Of course everyone else in the team had to help, but I feel the teachers were able to apply what they had been trained for last year. It gives me confidence that more and more I won’t have much to do here! Weird, hugh?!
Spiritual Formation week was awesome! Pastor Armando’s visit brought us new energy, excitement and moved each of us to move in a new anointing. Personally it has been the most rejoicing term we’ve had. After the first day of teaching, we came up to the classroom in the evening ready to pray and for each one to leave certain that they are saved by Jesus’ blood and their faith in Him. We prayed for the students and as they repeated a prayer with me, I opened my eyes and could see a visible change in their faces. As they spoke those words of faith, their countenance was lifted and big smiles came up! Wow, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ! As we finished praying JOY came into the classroom, and songs of praised were shouted. We sang and danced for a long time! No one felt exhausted, because the body couldn’t even say anything with such a release in our spirits. It is funny, as they are set free, and faith comes into them, I feel the same renewing in my spirit, though I’ve had that experience many years ago. Can you believe it has been more than 14 years!
Each night after that, almost the same thing happened over and over. They brought their burdens and doubts, the Word released faith into them, JOY sprang up and we all rejoiced praising God.
The Holy Spirit night was very special! After ministering to some students, I just stopped in one side of the classroom and just allowed myself to be a bit selfish for Him… to desire Him to touch me in a new way again! And He did… it was very precious to be filled again, even as many of them were being filled for the first time.
From then, classes have been establishing the Word in the students’ minds, so that they may continue living the life Jesus gave them already.
As most of you know, Marcelino have left the teacher training program to go back and study. It was a surprise, and I felt a bit sad, but I bless his life and pray he will continue in His ways. Valentim has been a blessing to us. He knows the Word and teaches it with clarity and without mistakes. He is developing in teaching skills and for sure will continue growing as he uses the gifts God has already given him. We are looking for more graduates with gift in teaching and calling to work with AWY. Leonardo is in Nampula serving the AWY church with pastor Armando and under his supervision. If everything goes right he will start being trained as a teacher next year.
Spiritually I’ve been feeling more strong, confident and with continuity than ever in my life. What it means is that I’ve been more dependent on His strength than mine, and because of that, I’m not going to run dry.
At home we are very happy to have Cassale with us. She is a real blessing and brings extra joy to our days. We have a lot of fun together at the same time that we allow God to use us to help guide and train her for Him.
sexta-feira, 20 de março de 2009
Freedom of Obeying
Freedom comes when we love God above everything else. Have you ever disobeyed the Holy Spirit? It is terrible the feeling that comes when you do that.
When you have felt that, because you love God and when you are separated from Him you suffer, you never want to feel that again.
That's a vaccine. No matter how much it may hurt to give up, to obey God, it is nothing compared to the horrible feeling of disobeying Him.
We need to learn to differenciate this from religiosity. And when we know the difference to be radically obedient. THis is how we can be guided by the Spirit.
When we are guided by Him, we know Him more.
When you have felt that, because you love God and when you are separated from Him you suffer, you never want to feel that again.
That's a vaccine. No matter how much it may hurt to give up, to obey God, it is nothing compared to the horrible feeling of disobeying Him.
We need to learn to differenciate this from religiosity. And when we know the difference to be radically obedient. THis is how we can be guided by the Spirit.
When we are guided by Him, we know Him more.
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