To those who need immediate change

If Jesus, in flesh and blood, came to your house, sat down with you to listen and give you advice, do you believe your problems would be solved?

Pause for a second. Picture this: Jesus, in person, sitting down on the couch in front of you, listening, talking to you, and ready to help in whatever you need.

You may think: “I wish…” but would He solve your problems and change your life? Let’s look at a situation where this exact scenario took place, and its two very different outcomes.

You may read about this story in the Gospel of Luke 7:36-50

Simon, the owner of the house, who offered a dinner to Jesus and His disciples, had this opportunity, but received nothing from Him. On top of that, he saw a prostitute, who hadn’t even been invited to be there, being blessed by Jesus right under his nose.

The truth is that many who saw Jesus face-to-face, spoke with Him, touched Him, did not receive anything from Him. The story of Simon reveals that if you do not show your faith, then even being in the physical presence of Jesus won’t help.

• The woman entered as a prostitute, but left holy; she came in lost, but left saved.
• Simon ended up worse off than before — he did not believe, doubted that Jesus was a prophet and, to make matters worse, learned he was filled with prejudice.

What happened there?

The sinner gave all of herself: the body she used to lie down with men, she laid at Jesus’ feet. The tears she’d cried all her life, she shed on His feet. She used her pretty hair as a towel. The mouth she used to seduce her clients, kissed His feet. And she poured out the most precious perfume till the last drop upon Him. All she had went to Jesus.

The result was immediate! No words were exchanged, but there was action.

Do you want immediate change? Do you want to stop being a certain way and become a new person?

• From being jealous to being secure
• From being an adulterer to being faithful
• From being aggressive to being calm
• From having low self-esteem to being self-assured
• From being lonely to being chosen
• From being rejected to being accepted
• From being shy to being brave
• From being separated to reconciling
• From being divorced to being married
• From being used to being valued
• From being an addict to being clean
• From being anxious to being confident

Then put your faith in action! Pour out all of you at the feet of Jesus. Detach yourself from wrong ideas, thoughts and bad habits — everything that ties you to your old life. The change will be IMMEDIATE!

6 reasons why sex before marriage affects a relationship 

We are sexual beings and that is why sex has always been, is and will be a matter of great importance, especially because it is a common desire in everyone. Sex is also one of the greatest tools of intimacy between the couple and that is why it has a great influence in the mood between the two. Unfortunately, sex has been seen as something bad, impure, tiring, selfish and even fleshly for many couples who stop having sex after marriage.

What many don’t know is that behind this bad reputation about sex is linked to the fact of having sex before marriage. When the couple does not wait for the wedding night to have sex, usually the following happens:

1. Sex gives the couple intimacy at the wrong time. In the minds of many, they don’t have to win over the other person and now that they slept with their partner, they no longer need to make any effort to conquer him/her – he/she already gave everything they had to give. That’s why many begin to be possessive, jealous and even controlling. They live as if they belonged to each other without wanting to commit to marriage.
2. For women sex usually means a complete surrender to the guy and she creates expectations that he will surrender to her too, but no. She starts to behave as if she is won over but also feels undervalued in the relationship. He doesn’t give her as much attention as she gives him. He doesn’t commit to her as she does to him. Many never get married, for what? They already have everything!
3. The sexual act between two people who are not married is usually to satisfy themselves and not their partner, it ends up not being enjoyable as it should be. That is why many women after getting married don’t have the desire for sex, they associate sex as something selfish. Fatigue or stress is a reason to deny intimacy to her husband for several days, weeks and even months — and when she does, it’s by obligation.
4. Not everyone who has sex before marriage gets married, this means it’s possible that you are giving some of your most intimate moments to a person who will not be with you for the rest of your life, and this boyfriend or fiance can be part of your sexual baggage. I was impressed to read about a survey done in the United States, where it was discovered that the women carry a bit of the DNA from each sexual partner, and this DNA is part of the children she may have…
5. Another possibility is the undesired or “desired” pregnancy. Those who get pregnant unintentionally, completely change direction and become a mother at the wrong time. Without being ready, she is scared of possibly having to raise a child alone and may even get married with the first guy who is interested. The one that willingly gets pregnant without their partner knowing puts him against the wall, and he ends up marrying her just because she is pregnant. They will always have this between them… “he only married me because I was pregnant”, “I was not ready to get married, I will live life as a single even if I have the title of husband”. Not to mention that they both never had a life together before they began a life of three… no time to adapt, no preparation, the relationship is always in conflict.
6. And the sexually transmitted diseases… no one speaks about the subject but there is a lot of people carrying incurable diseases out there!

The man who respects you enough to wait for the wedding night shows that he values you above his physical needs. He has the profile of a husband that you want and need.

The wedding night doesn’t need to be one more night, it can be THE NIGHT. You can both surrender completely, without holding back, without doubt, fear or afraid of the next morning. The first time that he touches you will be because he valued you first and not because he had a simple attraction for you. It will be the beginning of a life together, only you two!

Friends who are still virgins:

A dear friend of Renato and I likes to say, you don’t need to lose your virginity, simply give it to your husband — that way, you will always know where she is. 

Friends who are no longer virgins:

Don’t continue to do what’s wrong. It’s never too late to stop doing what’s wrong and start doing what is right.

Depend on who?

This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb. 1 Samuel 1.3-5

Can a person be before God for a long period of time and remain sterile, not having a before and after to tell? Of course they can!

Notice that Ana went up every year to present a holocaust, which was double the portion her “adversary” Peninnah offered.

However, she would return angry, crying, and not eating. Do you know why?

First: She did not know how to identify her true adversary, who was not Penina, but her infertility, which was mainly why Elkanah had another wife.

Second: Hannah insisted on using her emotions, and God never changed someone’s life by the size of their pain, because pain has a size and dimension for man but not for Him, Who heals and delivers from any situation with the same ability. What makes a difference is the size of a person’s revolt.

Third: Her holocaust was twice as much as Penina’s, but it was given to her by her husband and not formed by her own faith; this is, she spent a long time hidden behind Elkanah’s faith, when she was the one that was sterile and, therefore, Hannah should have been the one to form her own sacrifice.

Friend, you can share a pain, but you can not share a responsibility, and you are responsible for changing the situation you are in, like what happened with Hannah, who only turned the tables when she decided to be independent and act with her own Faith.

So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.” 

And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!” But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. “Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.” 

Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. 1 Samuel 1.9-18

The same woman that could not have one child, had six. It only depends on your faith, so stop being sterile!

God bless you greatly!

The assembly
 

1 Samuel 17:47
Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.” NKJV
Who can contend with the power of the Lord?

QUOTE OF FAITH
The LORD does not save with sword and spear.

How dependent are you?

 

One of the most common desires of a human being is to be independent. Independent of parents, relationships, children and even favors. It’s really frustrating to have to rely on others to get what you want, but we don’t always have the pleasure of being so independent… that’s when irritation kicks in. The thought of having to wait on others and feel like you are in their hands. This is what Renato and I see the most during our counseling at the Love Therapy. People who depend on others who don’t give them anything, they cheat, abuse and ignore them.
But there are many people who depend on others and don’t know it, out of everyone, I think these are the most unhappy. When you don’t know that you depend on others, you don’t do anything to be independent and it makes you stop in time as well as a vulnerable person.
Some examples of dependent people:

• You never see your mistakes and you need others to call your attention.
• You can’t stay away from social networks and you always need to know what’s happening there.
• You depend on other people’s attention to feel good.
• You check who liked and who didn’t like your posts.
• You don’t like to be alone and always find an excuse to have someone with you, whether it is to go somewhere or to stay at home.
• You need to be in a relationship to feel happy.
• You need compliments to feel good about yourself.
• You don’t like to take initiatives and are always waiting for someone to take them for you.
• You are always asking for prayer and advice. Between you and God, there is always someone to intercede for you.
• You need someone to point which direction to take. You are not firm on your own.
• You don’t seek to learn new things and depend on others to teach you only when it really becomes a necessity.
• You don’t read and don’t keep yourself aware of things and so you depend on others who do it for you.
• You are addicted, whether it is a drug, food, social networks, television, pornography…
• You depend on friends to exercise or to do a diet.
• You depend on feeling motivated to do do everything. If things are not in order, you don’t do anything.
• You depend on the weather outside to feel good. If it is raining, you feel grumpy.
• You depend on the mood of others to be in a good mood.
• You only treat well those who treat you well.
• You depend on being in church to be in spirit.
• You rely on a pet.

As long as you depend on others, you will never feel good about yourself and will always be with that feeling that you are not the person you should be.
In order to stop being dependent on others, you need to learn to depend on God, only He can give us the ability to do so.

 A couple’s false sense of well-being – pay attention to these 8 signs

  

The old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” only applies until something breaks. No sports coach with the minimum level of competence will believe this quote. They know that waiting until their team starts losing to start making changes is a recipe for disaster.

The truth is that this saying is for the lazy. When a person doesn’t want to go to a lot of trouble to care of something, they use this popular quote to justify their apathy.
I’ve seen this happen to many couples. They’re doing well (or so it seems), till one day a bomb goes off. However, a closer look to what really happened reveals that the problem already existed way before the blast. The small signs were there, such as:

1. The couple’s tedious routine.
2. A lack of meaningful conversation.
3. Minor irritations that became constant ones.
4. Fights that never dealt with the root cause.
5. Intimacy was slower than a limping snail (or pleasant only for the man).
6. They couldn’t agree on important issues.
7. A lot of tension between the couple.
8. Schedules that pushed them farther away from each other.

Despite all these signs, the couple keeps thinking that “everything’s fine.” Typical of every couple, isn’t it? But then again, no. These signs don’t indicate a normal marriage, let alone a healthy one.
The problem with such couples is what I call “a false sense of well-being”. They think they’re fine. She thinks that it’s just the way he is. (To be honest, men are usually the ones incurring in this mistake. Men are known for waiting till the last minutes of extra time to deal with their marital problems, and only towards the very end, when all is practically lost, they try to win the game.)
Pay attention to this point:

For a team to keep winning, it is necessary to pay close attention to its performance and make the preventive adjustments every time it’s needed.

 Our great responsibility

 

For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for the battle?
I Corinthians 14.8
The trumpet is an instrument of war placed in the hands of the Watchman so that he can warn people about the danger of the sword.
But it’s not enough to be a Watchman and have a trumpet, you must blow it in a way that can be understood, preparing the people for battle. In our case, the battle is for our Salvation.
How many souls are in hell, and how many are still going to go (we are talking about millions of souls), just because they are not prepared, they did not understand the sound of the trumpet?
It is true that many did not want to surrender to the Lord Jesus, but we cannot forget those that were lost because of the Watchman’s negligence.
The devil knows the importance of the Watchman and knows that he is appointed by God Himself. But, once distracted, the sound of his trumpet will not be understood.
This is why the devil tries to distract him with other thoughts to divert his focus, which should only be on saving souls.
An uncertain sound is when:
Emotional faith takes the place of intelligent faith;
The focus is on the gold and not the Altar that sanctifies the gold;
Religious traditions replace the Commandments.
When the right sound is given, those who hear it are left with no doubts.
And so the people are able to get prepared for battle.
The trumpet is already in our hands, but we cannot be distracted, because this would cost lives.