I came across these little stories and they put a smile on my face! Have a great Saturday!

The Cop – While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, “Are you a cop?” “Yes,” I answered and continued writing the report.
“My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right?” “Yes, that’s right,” I told her. “Well, then,” she said as she extended her foot toward me, “would you please tie my shoe?”

Looking through the Bible -A little boy opened the big family bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages. “Mama, look what I found,” the boy called out. “What have you got there, dear?” With astonishment in the young boy’s voice, he answered, “I think it’s Adam’s underwear !

Stolen pencils –

Teacher: “Jimmy, why aren’t you writing?”
Jimmy: “I don’t has a pencil.”
Teacher: “Jimmy, that’s not a correct sentence. The correct way is: I don’t have a pencil; he doesn’t have a pencil; we don’t have a pencil.”
Jimmy: “Who stole all the pencils then?”

Where is God?  – A couple had two little boys, ages 8 and 10, who were excessively mischievous. The two were always getting into trouble and their parents could be assured that if any mischief occurred in their town their two young sons were in some way involved.

The parents were at their wits end as to what to do about their sons’ behavior. The mother had heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children in the past, so she asked her husband if he thought they should send the boys to speak with the clergyman.

The husband said, ‘We might as well. We need to do something before I really lose my temper!’ The clergyman agreed to speak with the boys, but asked to see them individually. The 8 year old went to meet with him first. The clergyman sat the boy down and asked him sternly,’Where is God?’

The boy made no response, so the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, ‘Where is God?’ Again the boy made no attempt to answer. So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy’s face, ‘WHERE IS GOD?’

At that the boy bolted from the room and ran directly home, slamming himself in the closet. His older brother followed him into the closet and asked what had happened. The younger brother replied, ‘We are in BIG trouble this time. God is missing and they think we did it.’

The wisdom of children – You can’t fool the kids in Sunday school, they are way too smart…

‘If I sold my house and my car,had a big garage sale,and gave all my money to the church,would I get into heaven?’I asked the children in my Sunday school class.

‘NO!’ all the children answered.

‘If I cleaned the church every day,mowed the yard,and kept everything neat and tidy,would I get into heaven?’

Again the answer was,’NO!’

‘Well,’I continued,’then how can I get to heaven?’

A five-year-old boy shouted,’You gotta be dead!’

Have you ever stopped to think about the difference between true faith and religiosity? I watched a little video recently about it and I was very challenged by it. I praise God for the opportunities He gives me every day to learn more about what it means to truly follow Him.

What is the difference you might be asking? There are two important things we need to consider in order to understand it: teaching and learning. True faith is present in a person’s life when he/she hears the teaching and learns, ie, practices it in his/her life. Religiosity is when someone hears the teaching and learns nothing from it, ie. only goes through the motions and does not practice it. This is a matter of the heart. People can hear God’s word and give their hearts to Him, in obedience, and follow HIm, or people can hear God’s word and go to church all their lives, sing hymns to Him, pray to Him and not give their hearts to Him.

Lets see what an example of that in the Bible.

“⁷ And the Israelites served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived him—those who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. ⁸ Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. ⁹ They buried him in the land he had been allocated, at Timnath-serah^[b] in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. ¹⁰ After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.” Judges 2:7-10 (NLT)

The Israelites, God’s people, served the Lord while Joshua and the leaders were alive. Joshua and the leaders were teaching them and encouraging them to live for God. This is why it is so important that Christian men, teach God’s word faithfully in our churches, so that the people of God is encouraged to live by their example.

Notice verse 10 says that after all the leaders, and Joshua, had died, the people didn’t know the Lord or remember the mighty things He had done.  The people were not following God anymore. Their hearts were somewhere else.

Let me give you another example: we teach our children about God. We tell them to pray to Him. We take them to church every Sunday. We tell them to listen to the preacher and to their Sunday school teacher. We encourage them to sing and take part in things at church. All of these are wonderful things if we are helping them and encouraging them to learn about Jesus and apply what they learn in their lives. They are good if they are centred in God’s word, and if they are helping their hearts be transformed. As I said before, if there isn’t any learning, transforming of the heart, it is mere religiosity.

We must pray to God to help us have true faith, so that those people around us will not call us religious people, but will start seeing that we follow Christ.

I have come across an interesting question many times: How does God speak to His people? When we read the Bible, God’s word, His manual of how to live our lives to please Him alone, we see that many times in the Old Testament, God spoke to his people through  visions or dreams, or through angels or prophets – God’s messengers. But how does He speak to us today? If He speaks to us at all?

The Bible also tells us in Hebrews that God speaks to us through His Son – Jesus.

“1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.”  Hebrews 1:1-4

If we want to know God better and really listen to Him, we need to know Jesus. How do we do that? How does one get to know the Son of God? Through the Bible – God’s word. That why it is so important that our churches are centred on the Bible and preach/teach it faithfully. That is why it is so encouraging to go to church on a Sunday and hear God’s word being explained and know that by knowing Jesus better we are knowing God better.

Jesus also commanded His disciples – the original ones and all those that follow Him today – to teach people to obey His commands.

“¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

How were they to teach people to obey Jesus’s commands? They were to bear witness and we need to do it through the Bible. This was Jesus himself telling His disciples what to do. They were to share the good news of the Gospel and teach them.

Listening to Jesus and getting to know Him is how we are going to learn how to live lives that are pleasing to Him.

So, how does God speak to his people? Through Jesus – through the Bible. Praise Him for those churches where the preaching of God’s word is the center of their worship, because this is God’s will for his children: that we get to know Him better and that we obey Him.

God bless!

In a meeting we had at our church tonight we were reminded of the tri-dimensional life that each Christian should have and indeed each church.

We need to look up! Look up to the God who gives us everything. The God who sent His own Son to rescue us by dying on the cross. The God who holds the Universe in His hands. The God who has a perfect plan for each one of His children. We need to let God rule over our lives and we need to get to know Him better!

We need to look around! Look to our fellow Christians and encourage one another to live lives that will be pleasing to God. We need to show more love to one another and build each other up. Be stronger in the Unity that comes from Christ.

We need to look out! We would not be following God’s hearts if we kept to ourselves as Christians. We need to reach out to people who do not know the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I thank God for simple, but very powerful reminder of how we should live for God’s glory.

When I was a teenager in Brazil, I used to attend a Baptist church with very good Biblical teaching. I remember being encouraged to read the Bible and also good Christian books. I always liked reading and made the most of my free time to devour lots of books. One of the books I read was called “Through Gates of Splendor” by Elisabeth Elliot. The books tell the story of her husband Jim Elliot and four other missionaries who had gone to show Jesus to the unreached people of Ecuador called the Waodani.

I remember reading the book and being amazed these men would go to a place where they knew they could possibly die because o Jesus. In their hearts the desire to see those people saved burned more than the desire for their own life.

I read many other things about Jim Elliot and one of his most famous quotes has always made me think: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” I have come across it many times and still amazes me. We cannot keep our lives and if we give it up because of Jesus we are no fools. And what we gain is Eternal life and that we will never lose. It is guaranteed in Jesus himself. Paid with His own blood.

In Jim’s case he literally lost his life when he was killed in Ecuador, but in our case, loosing it might simply mean giving God full control of it – letting Him lead us where He wants us to be and do what He wants us to. it might also mean standing firm on Him and going against the flow of our society. It could also mean something costly to us – for example: being abandoned by a friend because of Jesus or sent away from home because of Jesus.

The Christian life is costly. Sooner or later every Christian faces opposition or discrimination and we should not be surprised when that happens. What we need to keep in mind is what is secured for us. Eternal life with Jesus and that we will always have. Jesus tells us in the Bible that in this world we will have trouble, but He overcame the world.

John 16:33 “‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’”

I pray that God will help each Christian understand more and more that the cost of following Him is not foolishness. May He help us keep our eyes on Him always.

God bless.

This morning I watched the funeral service of Baroness Thatcher. It was certainly a grand occasion and the attention to all the details from those hundreds of people involved was amazing. I am not going to comment on her life or her political career, or the policies of her government. I remember hearing about her when I was growing up in Brazil.

There is something about funerals that makes people think about the future or maybe even their lives. Perhaps some people might even think about the things they believe. The fact is that funerals happen when someone dies and death is the only certain thing that will happen to all human beings.

During the service the Prime Minister David Cameron read a passage from John 14:1-7

14 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. ² There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.^[a] If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?^{[b] 3} When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.” ⁵ “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.^[c] From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

Jesus tells his disciples: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (verse 6) Although this was not the text used in the sermon it is the most important truth about Jesus. He IS the way to the Father. Only through him can people go to heaven.

It does not matter if someone has lived a brilliant life, has accomplished lots, has done charity or not. It does not matter if someone has lived a pretty horrible life and done nothing, or made the worst possible choices one can make. The thing that matters is Jesus. Believing and trusting in Him is the most important thing in life. That is what is going to guarantee eternal life, with God, in heaven.

As I watched the service and saw so many faces, I couldn’t help but wonder if they understood this truth. I wondered if they would go home and think about Jesus and heaven and trusting in God with their lives.

I pray that God would use this occasion to make people think about Him and how they should be giving their lives to Him for eternity.

We went to a friend’s birthday a couple of weekends ago and when we were leaving the party late at night, we looked up and saw the amazing sky! They live in an area with very little light polution and what we saw was truly beautiful!

So many stars and so bright! I don’t know if I would ever be tired to look up into such sky! When we got home on Sunday and I was checking some emails and Facebook updates, I saw that my dearest friend in Brazil posted a verse from Psalm that I absolutely love:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1

It made me smile as I remembered those beautiful stars I had seen the night before! How is it possible that there are so many people in the world still refusing to see that all creation is proclaming God’s glory? The skies, the meadows, the mountains, the deepest oceans all exalting the Creator!

I still have that unforgetable image of that Saturday in my mind! Have you ever tried counting the stars? I have tried many times and sure enough, every single time I failed. Got lost in the counting even before I got to 20! Well, our Saviour has put each one of them in place and knows their names! Isn’t that amazing? He sustains the whole universe in His hands! He is sovereign over all things!

May our great GOD gives strength and courage to always proclaim His glory as the skies do!