Hiding Place

By Steve Hearts

In the tempestuous, stormy moments of our lives, we often focus so intently on finding a way of escape or rescue that we altogether forget about the most reliable and true source of shelter and refuge.

Last night sleep seemed to totally elude me. I had been facing a low moment of discouragement, doubt, and frustration. I was restless in both mind and body. It was all I could do to prevent my thoughts from going places they ought not to go.

It was raining fairly hard outside. Although in the physical, I was sheltered, warm, and dry inside the house, my spirit felt the exact opposite. The rain outside seemed to pour in unison with the ongoing trials and difficulties I’ve been facing for a while now. Inside, I felt exposed and unprotected from the cold winds, soaked to the bone and drenched by the rain that, it seemed, would never stop.

I was quickly losing my grip on hope and my faith was flickering low. I honestly told the Lord that I wanted with all my heart to hang on and be faithful to the end but that this would only be possible with His help. I asked Him to point out any important truth to which I may be currently blinded. Then I lay in silence for a moment.

The answer I received was rather unexpected. I was clearly told to listen to the song “Hiding Place ” by Steven Curtis Chapman.

I put on the song, not expecting much. After all, I knew it like the back of my hand. Yet, each word seemed to hit the spot like a cup of hot coffee on a cold, rainy day, or like the sensation one feels when coming in from the cold of winter to a warm place.

I’m not asking You to take away my troubles, Lord.
‘Cause it’s through the stormy weather I learn to trust You more.
But I thank You for the promise that I have come to know.
Your unfailing love surrounds me when I need it most.

You’re my hiding place,
Safe in Your embrace,
I’m protected from the storm that rages.
When the waters rise,
And we run to hide,
Lord, in You we find our hiding place.

As the song continued to play, the Lord spoke to me. “Are you taking shelter in My promises and My love for you? Or are you too busy looking and hoping for a way of escape from all this?”

I had clearly been doing the latter. I had been hoping and praying to be rescued from this situation, instead of using God’s Word and love for me as the shelter it was meant to be. No wonder I felt so exposed and vulnerable.

“It’s not that I can’t or won’t bring you out of this situation somehow,” He continued. “But meanwhile, let Me be the refuge and shelter I promised to be for you until the storm runs its course.”

With these words came flooding back a series of promises I had known for as long as I could remember:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.”1

“Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.”2

“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”3

None of these promises speak of “rescue” from trouble, although God can and does rescue us according to His will. More important, He is our “refuge” as we go through trials and difficulties. Just as running into a building during a storm does not cause the storm to cease; rather, it provides shelter until the storm runs its course.

With this renewed perspective on storms, I can now fully trust and rest in Jesus to be my refuge and shelter for as long as the storm lasts, while the final outcome rests in His hands. Meanwhile, my hands will be lifted up to Him in praise because He is my hiding place.


1 Psalm 46:1–3.

2 Psalm 57:1.

3 Deuteronomy 33:27.

Read More

Islam Muslims converting to Christianity, Nabeel's testmony

Read More

Encontrando a Força de Deus no Seu Amor

Palavras de Jesus
De eternidade a eternidade

Pois o Senhor é bom e o seu amor leal é eterno; a sua fidelidade permanece por todas as gerações.—Salmo 100:5 NVI

Lembro-me de quando o formei, antes da fundação do mundo. Com grande desvelo e atenção especial ministrei a você. Escolhi a dedo cada talento, cada dom, cada característica, cada fibra do seu ser, até a combinação ficar exatamente certa - cada especificação perfeitamente sincronizada para realizar a Minha vontade e o Meu propósito em sua vida e na de todas as pessoas com as quais teria contato na grande jornada da sua vida.

Lembro-me do momento quando soprei em você o fôlego da vida! Estava ciente das alegrias que você traria, não só para Mim, mas para aqueles que cruzariam o seu caminho na estrada da vida.

Lembro-me da alegria que senti na primeira vez que o vi! Tanta, tanta alegria que contei cada fio de cabelo e marquei você para Mim. Desde o princípio Eu o escolhi, o santifiquei na verdade e derramei sobre a sua cabeça a Minha santa unção. Você estava destinado desde o princípio dos tempos, ordenado pelo grande "Eu sou" para desempenhar o papel e cumprir o propósito que era unicamente para você. Eu o tenho usado e abençoado, e ainda o usarei de forma grandiosa, se permanecer perto de Mim, seguindo-Me a cada passo.

Eu sabia que levaria tempo, até mesmo anos, para atingir as metas estabelecidas para você. Mas isso também tem sido parte do Meu plano infinito para moldá-lo, formá-lo, criá-lo e transformar o seu coração em ouro puro.

Foi com grande amor e ternura que cuidei, reguei e encaminhei você todos estes anos. Até mesmo as provações, as purificações e ocasiões em que a sua fé foi posta à prova fizeram parte do Meu propósito para purificá-lo. Porque Eu o amo de eternidade a eternidade, e muito Me agrado de você. Você ficou firme nas dificuldades, nas provações, batalhas e purificações! Aguentou cada prova e continuou Me amando e amando a Minha Palavra. Isso muito Me agrada.


Aguente Firme

Não desista! Fique firme! Segure-se em Mim. Eu te amo tanto! Segure-se em Mim e nas Minhas Palavras que dão coragem, força, fé, esperança, vida e poder quando não há nada disso. Eu tenho muito mais ainda para lhe dar, revelar e diferentes maneiras de agir na sua vida. Existe muita para você mais adiante! Não abra mão de tudo o que lhe tenho reservado só porque ainda não consegue ver. Tem mais. Isso não é o fim; é apenas uma curva na estrada. Sei que o caminho parece escuro, frio e sombrio, mas ao virar a esquina se deparará com a maravilhosa luz do sol e muita felicidade e realização.

Coloque a sua mão na Minha, como uma criancinha que confia totalmente no seu pai amoroso, portanto está disposta a enfrentar a feroz tormenta, agarrando-se desesperadamente à mão do pai, mesmo que para ela a situação seja avassaladora e amedrontante. Embora ela tenha medo, sua confiança no pai é maior do que o seu medo. Segurando sua mão ela consegue enfrentar a noite escura e tempestuosa, e passo a passo, o medo é substituído pela fé, pois ela vê o pai a guiando em segurança, e ela sai ilesa da tempestade.

Estenda a mão, segure a Minha mão. Eu não a deixarei. Não só estenda a mão e segure a Minha, mas jogue os seus braços e Me aperte, agarre-se a Mim de todo o coração. Eu colocarei os Meus braços à sua volta e você passará pela tempestade juntinho do Meu seio. Nada de modo algum lhe fará mal.[1]

*

Como são gloriosas as coroas dos que passam por grandes dificuldades, enfrentando desespero, desalento e medo, e ainda assim seguem em frente. São como a viúva que deu a sua última moeda, e acham que não têm mais. [2] Mas não imaginam a grande e maravilhosa honra que vou lhes conceder por seu sacrifício, por estarem dispostos a ficar firmes e a confiar em Mim apesar das dificuldades.

E embora achem que Eu lhes falhei, ainda assim confiam em Mim. Que honra lhes concederei, pois grande é a sua fé! Eu conheço e sei da dor que essas viúvas sentem. Mas Eu lhes digo, grande é a sua recompensa no Céu! Grande é a honra que lhes concedo por seu amor por Mim, e grande é o Meu amor por elas.


Por que as Batalhas?

Essas provações são para mostrar que a fé que vocês têm é verdadeira. Pois até o ouro, que pode ser destruído, é provado pelo fogo. Da mesma maneira, a fé que vocês têm, que vale muito mais do que o ouro, precisa ser provada para que continue firme. E assim vocês receberão aprovação, glória e honra, no dia em que Jesus Cristo for revelado.—1 Pedro 1:7 NTLH

Você se pergunta qual a razão das batalhas e das provações? Fazer de você uma nova pessoa. Muitas coisas velhas já passaram e muitas se fizeram novas, porque você batalhou. Você batalhou pela vitória e agora está ficando mais forte. Batalhou e agora entende. Você chorou, e agora entende o que é chorar, sofrer, e sentir-se magoado.

Tenha fé no Meu amor. Tenha fé que essas provações serão para o seu bem.[3] Pois depois que tiverem cumprido o seu propósito você será como ouro fino, ouro puro. [4]Esteja agradecido por todas essas provas e tempos difíceis, porque o ajudam a dar valor à alegria e à beleza da salvação que Eu ofereço, à alegria e beleza do Meu Espírito. Agora você consegue dar valor e entender o que é ser feliz, o contraste entre tristeza e alegria, entre ódio e amor. Elas o ajudam a consolar outros com o consolo que encontrou em Mim.


Um refúgio

O nome do Senhor é uma torre forte; o justo corre para ela e está seguro.—Provérbios 18:10 RC

No temor do Senhor há firme confiança, e ele será um refúgio seguro para os Seus filhos. [5] Esse refúgio seguro é uma promessa para todos os Meus filhos, porém poucos se aventuram. Venha abrigar-se sob as Minhas asas, no lugar de refúgio junto a Mim, para que possa sentir o Meu amor, e a paz que excede todo o seu entendimento. [6]

Quando as tempestades caem ao seu redor e você é lançado, açoitado e carregado de uma para outra parte pelos ventos da tribulação, da adversidade e da dificuldade, Eu lhe digo que venha para o Meu refúgio até que passem essas calamidades. Descanse a cabeça no Meu ombro e veja que cuidarei de você.

Este é o refúgio que lhe prometi: consolo no Meu amor, paz que passa do Meu coração para o seu, que o preenche, envolve e transporta o seu espírito para o plano celestial onde você vê tudo com novos olhos. Você tem novos pensamentos e novos sentimentos que desconhecia.

Nesses momentos sossegados de comunhão Comigo, Eu posso mudar a sua perspectiva. Posso lhe dar novas ideias e novos pensamentos. Posso colocar pequenas sementes no seu coração e mente, os quais com o tempo e sendo bem regados com a Minha Palavra se tornarão árvores fortes que darão bastante fruto para ajudar a muitos, que serão uma fonte de consolo, de encorajamento e de restauração.

O pastor tem que primeiro se fortalecer para poder fortalecer o rebanho. Portanto, no seu tempo de comunhão Comigo, Eu o restaurarei. E quando voltar para a batalha verá que Eu agi e preparei o caminho para você, para você poder continuar trilhando esse caminho com consolo e paz de espírito, com a fé renovada.


À sombra das Suas asas

Como é precioso o teu amor, ó Deus! Os homens encontram refúgio à sombra das tuas asas. -- Salmo 36:7 NVI

Eu amo você do fundo do coração. E embora Eu saiba que enfrenta dor e sofrimento, dificuldades e angústia, pode encarar estas coisas com grande fé, confiando em Mim, na Minha Palavra e em tudo o que Eu permiti, pois não lhe falharei.

Confie em Mim para o futuro, ainda que tenha que passar pela angústia, dor, perda, mágoa e renúncia que todos enfrentam. Mas saiba que nunca o deixarei nem o desampararei. [7] Clame a Mim, busque a Mim e à Minha Palavra, e Me achará se Me buscar de todo o seu coração. [8] Se guardar o que tem, a coroa que coloquei sobre a sua cabeça, se suportar o seu peso, mesmo passando pelo Jordão, Eu o recompensarei com grande paz, grande amor, e grande compreensão. E lhe direi: "Bem está, servo bom e fiel. Entre no Meu gozo".[9]



Então quem pode nos separar do amor de Cristo? Serão os sofrimentos, as dificuldades, a perseguição, a fome, a pobreza, o perigo ou a morte? Como dizem as Escrituras Sagradas: “Por causa de ti estamos em perigo de morte o dia inteiro; somos tratados como ovelhas que vão para o matadouro.” Em todas essas situações temos a vitória completa por meio daquele que nos amou.

Pois eu tenho a certeza de que nada pode nos separar do amor de Deus: nem a morte, nem a vida; nem os anjos, nem outras autoridades ou poderes celestiais; nem o presente, nem o futuro; nem o mundo lá de cima, nem o mundo lá de baixo. Em todo o Universo não há nada que possa nos separar do amor de Deus, que é nosso por meio de Cristo Jesus, o nosso Senhor.—Romanos 8:35–39 NTLH

Publicado originalmente em 1997. Adaptado e republicado em maio de 2013.
Tradução Hebe Rondon Flandoli. Revisão Edson Campos.


[1] Lucas 10:19.

[2] Lucas 21:2–4.

[3] Romanos 8:28.

[4] 1 Pedro 1:7.

[5] Provérbios 14:26.

[6] Filipenses 4:7.

[7] Hebreus 13:5.

[8] Jeremias 29:13.

[9] Matthew 25:21.

Read More

Inner Peace

A compilation

Audio length: 9:16
Download Audio (8.4MB)

God, teach me to be patient;
Teach me to go slow.
Teach me how to wait on You
When my way I do not know.
Teach me sweet forbearance
When things do not go right,
So I remain unruffled
When others grow uptight.
Teach me how to quiet
My racing, rising heart,
So I may hear the answer
You are trying to impart.
Teach me to let go, dear God,
And pray undisturbed until
My heart is filled with inner peace
And I learn to know Your will!
—Helen Steiner Rice

*

Jesus promises us peace—another working of the Holy Spirit. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”1

Just as Jesus calmed the stormy sea when His disciples thought their ship was sinking and they were about to drown,2 He can calm the storms of life and give you inner peace that passes all understanding.3

He did it for Paul and Silas, when they were persecuted by being beaten and thrown into prison. Instead of despairing, they sang praises to God—and were suddenly and miraculously set free!4

He did it for the early Christian martyrs, who joyfully sang and praised God victoriously as they were burned at the stake and fed to the lions—and many onlookers so envied the supernatural peace that the Christians possessed that they, too, became believers.

As you learn to trust in the Lord with all your heart,5 you’ll find that He can give you perfect peace—no matter what is going on around you!—Rafael Holding

*

(Prayer:) I praise You, my Lord, for giving me Your inner peace, such calm as I stay nestled here in Your arms. I praise You for this peace I feel, even when all else seems stormy. I praise You, my King, as I bow before You now in humble surrender.

*

Trust doesn’t just happen. As children we learn to trust our parents because we feel their love and benefit from their care and mature understanding of life. We trust friends who have stuck with us through thick and thin. We trust businesspeople whom we find to be honest and reliable. We trust people, in short, because of our experience with them.

It’s the same with God. The more we open our hearts to Him, the more we feel His love and concern. The more we study the Bible and Bible-based materials, the better we understand life and the more we appreciate God’s wisdom and goodness. The more we put God’s promises to the test, the more faith we have in them. The more we take our problems to Him, the more we learn to depend on Him to work them out. The better we get to know Him, the more we trust Him; and the more we trust Him, the more inner peace we have.—Keith Philips

*

When the world goes to pieces, the best place to be is in the charmed circle of God’s protection. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.’ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.”6

Even if there’s turmoil and confusion all around, you can have inner peace through the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.7 He never fails those who trust Him.—David Brandt Berg

*

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.—Isaiah 26:38

*

Many things can happen in life that are just too much for us, but they aren’t too much for the Lord. Ask Him to give you the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding”9 that comes when you tell Him your problems. It may take time to work out certain situations, but He will take away the feeling of stress they cause. So don’t try to face everyday irritations alone. Ask the Lord to help, and the first help He’ll send your way is His inner peace.—Nana Williams

*

If we have not quiet in our minds, outward comfort will do no more for us than a golden slipper on a gouty foot.—John Bunyan

*

Peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God.—Author unknown

*

Dear restless heart, be still, for peace is God’s own smile,
His love can every wrong and sorrow reconcile;
Just love, and love, and love, and calmly wait awhile.
—Edith Willis Linn

*

Let My Spirit rest upon you and fill you with peace. Let My Spirit flow through your thoughts, mingle with your spirit, and give you strength.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

*

There are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer.—John Wooden

*

I am your Good Shepherd and will take care of each and every thing you need. I will be and am always with you. Never feel that I have left you alone, or that you battle this part of the race all by yourself. You are never alone, and never will be. I’m with you now and always.

Keep holding on to My promises, and know that these are what will bring you through victorious and with a faith that will shine more radiantly. Your faith in My care will give you an inner peace that will be a great stabilizing force. I will always be beside you and care for you in all the ways that I know you need Me to. I treasure you greatly, and you’ll know My love in even more fabulous ways than you’ve known till now. My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

*

When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.—Peace Pilgrim

Published on Anchor February 2014. Read by Bryan Clark.
Music by Michael Dooley.


1 John 14:27 NKJV.

2 See Mark 4:35–41.

3 Philippians 4:6–7 NIV.

4 Acts 16:22–26.

5 Proverbs 3:5.

6 Psalm 91:1–7 NKJV.

7 Isaiah 9:6.

8 NKJV.

9 Philippians 4:7 NKJV.

Read More

Bambus no Inverno - Film português

Read More

Em Seus Braços - Film protuguês

Read More

Not a blank slate after all

BreakPoint, February 21, 2014

In his 1689 “Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” the philosopher John Locke wrote that if “we will attentively consider new born children, we shall have little reason to think that they bring many ideas into the world with them.”

He proposed that we think of the newborn’s mind as a white piece of paper, “void of all characters, without any ideas.” Ideas, he posited, including the sense of right and wrong, are the product of the child’s experience.

This view, which came to be known as the “blank slate,” dominated the social sciences for the better part of three hundred years, despite accumulating evidence that it didn’t conform to, well, human experience.

Now a recent finding from Yale might just put the final nail in the blank slate’s coffin.

After a series of experiments over eight years, researchers at Yale’s Infant Cognition Center have concluded that “babies are in fact born with an innate sense of morality, and while parents and society can help develop a belief system in babies, they don’t create one.” Now that is amazing!

The most basic of these experiments involves showing a baby examples of good and bad behavior and observing which behavior the baby prefers. In the experiment, “a gray cat is seen trying to open a big plastic box. The cat tries repeatedly, but he just can’t open the lid all the way.”

Then, a “bunny in a green T-shirt comes along and helps open the box.” That is followed by a bunny in an orange shirt slamming the box before running away.

The baby is then presented with the two bunnies. Eighty percent of the time, the baby chooses the helpful bunny over the mean and unhelpful one. Among three-month-olds, the percentage rises to 87 percent.

Paul Bloom of Yale and the author of “Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil,” says the studies demonstrate that babies are born with a “rudimentary sense of justice” that allows them to judge the actions of others.

And even though he adds that this sense is “tragically limited,” the very fact that babies can grasp justice long before they can even speak says a lot about human nature. It also confirms a major claim of the Christian worldview. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans, the requirements of the law are “written on our hearts,” and when we violate them, our consciences accuse us, even if we have not been tutored in the law.

This aspect of human nature poses serious problems for other worldviews, especially secular materialism. If we’re nothing more than highly-evolved animals whose instincts were selected for survival value, how do we explain this impulse toward justice, especially when it places our survival in danger?

It turns out that this problem leads us back to one of the most vexing questions all worldviews seek to answer: Who is the human person? The secular, materialistic worldview might be able to explain us at our worst: We’re animals, and no one should be surprised when we act like it. But that view cannot explain why we innately disapprove of such behavior—even from our infancy.

Read More

How Ukraine’s economic decay fueled protests

By David McHugh, AP, Feb 21, 2014

The battle in Kiev is, in large part, a fight for the country’s economic future—for better jobs and prosperity.

Ukraine’s protesters want to pry their country away from Russian influence and move closer to the European Union. A look at neighboring Poland, which did just that, suggests why.

The two countries emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union two decades ago in roughly similar economic shape. But Poland joined the EU and focused on reforms and investment—and by one measure is now three times richer than Ukraine.

Ukraine, on the other hand, sank in a post-Soviet swamp of corruption, bad government and short-sighted reliance on cheap gas from Russia.

Per capita economic output is only around $7,300, even adjusted for the lower cost of living there, compared to $22,200 in Poland and around $51,700 in the United States. Ukraine ranks 137th worldwide, behind El Salvador, Namibia, and Guyana.

Protests broke out in November after President Viktor Yanukovich backed out of signing an agreement with the EU that would have brought the economy closer in line with European standards. After violent protests resulted in scores of deaths, the government and the opposition signed an agreement on Friday. But it is unclear whether it will succeed in providing a stable government that can heal the rifts and improve the economy.

It didn’t have to be this way, experts say. Ukraine has a large potential consumer market, with 46 million people, an educated workforce, and a rich potential export market next door in the EU. It has a significant industrial base and good natural resources, in particular rich farmland.

How did things go so wrong? Here are the main reasons.

OLD INDUSTRY: Ukraine did little to move away from Soviet-era industries producing commodities such as steel, metals and chemicals. Former communist state companies, often privatized to politically connected figures, relied on cheap gas from Russia and growing demand from the world economy for their raw materials.

That helped Ukraine’s economy grow rapidly from 2000 to 2008, but reduced pressure to modernize.

When the world economy fell into a crisis in 2008, demand for Ukraine’s materials plunged. Then in 2009, Russia significantly raised the price of its gas supplies, further pulling the rug from underneath the country’s export industries.

Pekka Sutela, an economist at Finland’s Lappeenranta University of Technology who has extensively studied post-Soviet economies, calls the gas-based export boom “the Ukrainian curse.”

“The economy was able to grow without making the necessary changes,” he said.

GAS FOLLIES: Ukraine’s state gas company, Naftogaz, charges customers only about 20 percent of what it pays for imported Russian gas. That means the government spends about 7.5 percent of the entire economy’s output each year on a massive home heating subsidy aimed at keeping voters happy. That results in large budget deficits that the government must borrow to cover.

The International Monetary Fund tried to help Ukraine through its post-crisis troubles, with loan packages in 2008 and 2010. Each time, the IMF turned off the money tap after Ukraine refused to follow policy requirements including raising gas prices or cutting back sufficiently on generous government salaries and pensions.

CORRUPTION: A recent World Bank study of the economy cited “pervasive” corruption as a major factor holding back the economy. At street level, businesses are subjected to arbitrary treatment by officials and demands for bribes. Higher up, there is widespread public skepticism over the fortunes amassed by the connected, known as oligarchs. In particular, attention has focused on the career of Yanukovych’s son Oleksandr, a dentist who according to Forbes Ukraine has amassed a $510 million fortune through various business enterprises.

Ukraine ranked 144 out of 175 countries in the 2013 corruption perception index compiled by Transparency International, an anti-corruption group, behind Papua New Guinea, Nigeria, and Iran.

RED TAPE: Business advocates say owners sometimes prefer paying bribes to obeying regulations and taxes that are so complicated and burdensome that they would be out of business if they complied. The country’s complex business tax laws require 390 hours a year to comply with and take 54.9 percent of profits. That put Ukraine 164th out of 189 countries in ease of paying taxes in a World Bank survey.

BROKEN FINANCES: Ukraine’s finances now are in such bad shape that it will have trouble paying its debts this year without outside help. With continuing deficits, it faces borrowing needs of between $7 billion and $10 billion this year. Its poor prospects mean it’s unlikely to be able to borrow more on bond markets.

On top of that, the central bank has been spending its dwindling foreign currency reserves, which were down to $17.8 billion at the end of January, to prop up the exchange rate of the hryvnia currency. One reason it is doing so is likely that many businesses and consumers owe money in dollars—a sharp drop in the hryvinia could trigger widespread bankruptcies.

Unfortunately, keeping the currency artificially strong hurts exports.

Russia had promised $15 billion in credit—an inducement to abandon closer ties with the EU and join a Russian-sponsored trade group. Even that money, however, seems to be on hold due to uncertainty about the fate of the Yanukovich government. Ratings agency Standard & Poors said Friday Ukraine would likely default without a significant improvement in the political crisis.

Sutela said that even Russian help would only be a stopgap and couldn’t paper over the need for fundamental change.

“Next autumn, they will go cap in hand and beg the Russians for money again,” he said.

Read More

A Fonte da Verdadeira Felicidade

Compilação

Deus é tão imensamente maravilhoso, total e plenamente encantador, que pode, por Si só, satisfazer abundantemente, até transbordar, as mais profundas necessidades da natureza humana.—Aiden Tozer[1]

*

O ser humano se encaixa exatamente no deleitoso lugar que Deus projeta para ele dentro do Seu grande esquema. Quando ele o alcança, sente-se satisfeito e feliz. É como o alívio depois da cura de uma fratura em um osso. Quando o nosso desejo é ser algo além do que Deus planejou para nós, na realidade estamos desejando algo que não nos fará felizes. As exigências divinas que, para a nossa natureza parecem mais comandos de um déspota do que o desígnio de alguém que nos ama na verdade vão nos levar aonde desejaríamos ir -- se soubéssemos o que desejamos.—C. S. Lewis[2]

*

Eu sei o que é preciso na vida de cada pessoa para levá-la à posição na qual pode ver claramente a sua insuficiência, perceber a futilidade da carne e do mundo, e quando a sua necessidade por Mim se torna um fato genuíno.

É então que se percebe as coisas no espírito, pela Minha perspectiva, que é a visão da realidade mais verdadeira e profunda. Nesse ponto você entende que Eu sou o centro, a razão, o sentido de tudo, e que sem Mim não há nada.

O resultado final de permitir que passe por dificuldades é levá-lo a esse estado no espírito, quando chega ao seu limite e Eu então assumo o controle. Nessa condição você não é nada e Eu sou tudo. A partir daí eu entro e o possuo completamente.—Jesus falando em profecia[3]

*

Jesus é o meu Deus.
Jesus é o meu Esposo(a).
Jesus é a minha Vida.
Jesus é o meu maior Amor.
Jesus é a minha Plenitude.
Jesus é Tudo para mim.—Madre Teresa

*

Arrependa-se e acredite no Evangelho, Jesus diz. Mude o seu modo de pensar e acredite que as boas novas de que somos amados são melhores do que poderíamos esperar, e que acreditar nas boas novas, viver com base nelas e as tendo por meta, estar apaixonado pelas boas novas, é a melhor coisa de todas as coisas boas no mundo.—Frederick Buechner

*

Sossegado pensando em Deus,
Que alegria!
Refletir nEle e inspirar Seu nome,
Incomparável sensação de harmonia. Pai de Jesus, recompensa do amor!
Será arrebatador esse dia,
Diante do Trono reverenciar
E contemplar Tua face querida! —Frederick Faber

*

Foi-nos dito como nós, seres humanos, podemos ser atraídos para junto de Cristo e nos tornarmos parte desse presente maravilhoso que o jovem Príncipe deseja oferecer ao Seu Pai -- Ele próprio e nós a Ele agregados. Fomos criados para esse único propósito; a Bíblia nos dá sinais estranhos e excitantes de que, ao sermos atraídos para junto de Cristo, muitas outras coisas naturalmente começarão a se acertar. O pesadelo vai terminar e vai raiar o dia.—C. S. Lewis[4]

*

Para ganhar esta intimidade Comigo, na qual as coisas deste mundo são menos sedutoras ou atraentes, precisa ter as coisas deste mundo por perda — se elas o afastarem de Mim. Você talvez se indague, “Como vou fazer isso?”. Precisa manter os olhos no Céu, na eternidade, sabendo que as coisas desta Terra são como a neblina, que logo se dissipa, elas existem por alguns poucos anos, mas as coisas do Meu Espírito duram para sempre. É a visão eterna. A carne e as coisas desta Terra que muitas vezes parecem tão importantes, logo não existirão mais.

Então, avance para as coisas que estão adiante, prosseguindo para o alvo pelo prêmio da sua soberana vocação.[5] Concentre sua mente nos lugares celestiais, pensando no que há de vir, em vez de nas coisas que existem, nas muitas coisas que o rodeiam.

Todas as coisas mudam ou passam um dia, só Eu permaneço. -- Jesus, falando em profecia[6]

*

Mas o que para mim era ganho reputei-o perda por Cristo.

E, na verdade, tenho também por perda todas as coisas, pela excelência do conhecimento de Cristo Jesus, meu Senhor; pelo qual sofri a perda de todas estas coisas, e as considero como escória, para que possa ganhar a Cristo, e seja achado nele, não tendo a minha justiça que vem da lei, mas a que vem pela fé em Cristo, a saber, a justiça que vem de Deus pela fé. Para conhecê-lo, e à virtude da sua ressurreição, e à comunicação de suas aflições, sendo feito conforme à sua morte.

Não que já a tenha alcançado, ou que seja perfeito; mas prossigo para alcançar aquilo para o que fui também preso por Cristo Jesus.

Irmãos, quanto a mim, não julgo que o haja alcançado; mas uma coisa faço, e é que, esquecendo-me das coisas que atrás ficam, e avançando para as que estão diante de mim, prossigo para o alvo, pelo prêmio da soberana vocação de Deus em Cristo Jesus.—Apóstolo Paulo, Filipenses 3:7–10, 12–14

*

Descobrir que Eu basto é uma experiência pela qual cada pessoa tem que passar sem ajuda externa. Ter o desejo ardente de descobrir isso é fruto de Me amar e valorizar a Minha Palavra, de passar tempo Comigo e passar por todas as experiências da vida junto Comigo. E então, como alguém que se apaixonou, você vai querer ter mais de Mim, vai querer saber o que Eu penso, como sinto, como gostaria que fizesse uma determinada coisa. Descobrirá então como sou sábio, cheio de ideias e maravilhoso. Eu passarei a ser tudo para você.—Jesus falando em profecia[7]

Publicado no Âncora em janeiro de 2013.
Tradução Hebe Rondon Flandoli. Revisão Tiago Santana.


[1] Em Busca de Deus.

[2] The Problem of Pain.

[3] Publicado originalmente em junho de 2006.

[4] Cristianismo Puro e Simples.

[5] Filipenses 3:13–14.

[6] Publicado originalmente em junho de 2006.

[7] Publicado originalmente em junho de 2006.

Read More

Christ in Us: Our Hope of Glory

By D. Brandt Berg
Audio length: 10:09
Download Audio (9.2MB)

You cannot hide a happy, useful, helpful, shining spirit; it radiates on everybody the same light, the same joy. People see it and say, “You have such a light on your face; you seem so happy, you just shine. You’re always smiling!” It just radiates.

Happiness is what you make it. It’s a law of God just like gravity that you don’t get happy by trying to make yourself happy or trying to get somebody else to make you happy, but you get happiness by trying to give it to other people. You don’t find happiness by chasing it. You go around trying to make others happy, then happiness will find you; it will chase you and catch up with you and make you happy.

There is a little saying that love isn’t love till you give it away. What does it mean? Love isn’t real love until you are spending your time trying to give love to others.—Not trying to get love. That’s not love; that’s selfishness and wanting selfish satisfaction.

When you’re down in the dumps and you’re tearful and you’re a sad sack, you want everybody to be miserable with you; you want everybody else to sympathize with you and be sad with you. “How dare they be happy when I’m so sad? How can you be cheerful when I’m down in the dumps? Come on down here in the dumps with me! Don’t you dare be happy when I’m sad!” It’s pitiful. It’s human nature. But it’s godly nature, it’s spiritual nature, it’s the nature of Jesus to try to lift others up and encourage them and cheer them up even when you don’t feel like it.

The trouble is, I've found many people blame all their troubles on somebody else. They go around all their lives looking for somebody to make them happy instead of trying to find somebody they can make happy. It’s a common reaction to try to blame your problem on everybody else. “Why me, Lord? I didn’t do it; they did it to me! It wasn’t my fault. It’s his fault, her fault! They’re the ones to blame! They’re the ones that made me feel like this.” Because you’re sad and you’re unhappy, you may not even realize it, but you’re trying to bring everybody down with you.

My, how we love sympathy when we’re down, when sometimes that’s the last thing in the world we need. Somebody needs to come along to wake us up out of our lethargy and our stupor of self-pity and self-sympathy so we can get our minds on the Lord and His work and others and forget our stinking self! You’ll never get the victory by looking at yourself. There’s nobody that drags me down worse than me and myself, my own foul spirit.

Different denominations have different doctrines about getting the victory. Some believe that everybody’s got a good self and a bad self, and the only way to get the victory is to get the good self on top of the bad self and hold him down. They call it the doctrine of suppression, that you’ll always have that good and bad self, and the only thing to do is to just hold the bad self down.

The Holiness people believe in the doctrine of eradication: “Yes, you’ve got a good and a bad self, and the only way to get the victory is to get rid of the bad self. Go through the process of entire sanctification. Have the bad self cut out and throw it away like a cancer so there’s nothing but good self left. This is the good me. This is my self, the real self, the good self. There’s no evil thing left in me now; I’m all good, just the good me.”

The true doctrine of the Holy Spirit is neither one. You don’t get the victory by holding down that bad self, that temptation, that weakness, by just trying to hold it down by your own strength and by your good self sitting on it. You’ll never get the victory that way. And you'll never get the victory by thinking that you can have God cut out the bad self and just leave the good self.

I want to tell you right now, there is no such thing as good self at all. Your self cannot be good, not any part of it! There’s no good thing in you. The apostle Paul said, “No good thing dwelleth in me.”1 The true victory is not yourself, but His Self, Himself, so that “it is not I that live, but Christ that liveth in me.”2 The doctrine of habitation, cohabiting with the Lord.

“There is none righteous, no, not one. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”3 You’re no better than me and I’m no better than you. There’s nobody any better than us except Jesus. He’s the only one who can be good, and without Him we’re nothing! We can’t be good without Jesus, we can’t be righteous; we can’t get the victory, we can’t overcome our weaknesses. Don’t try to chase out the darkness; let the light in. Let Jesus in and He’ll take care of the whole problem. Get your mind off self and let Jesus come in and let the life of Christ shine in you.

Let go and let God! Quit trying to be something you aren’t and can never be, and that’s righteous. Only Jesus can make you righteous. Just let Jesus in. As that old song says, “Lift your heart to heaven and His glory will come in. Let Jesus have possession, He’ll save you from your sin. Lift your heart to heaven and His glory will come in.”

“Let go and let God have His wonderful way, let go and let God have His way! He’ll fill with His Spirit and turn night to day, let go and let God have His way.”

None of us are good enough. Only Jesus is good enough, but He’s good enough for us all. So let the light in and the darkness will flee. What is the glory? It’s the Spirit of the Lord. It’s His Spirit, His glory, His Self.

In our school we used to have people complaining about evil spirits and demons and devils. “Oh, the Devil did this and the Devil did that, and he caused me this trouble, and he was the one that delayed me, and I have so much trouble with the Devil.” I’d say, “Your problem isn’t the Devil! It’s our own spirit that we have the most trouble with, not evil spirits.”

Don’t blame it on everybody else and evil spirits and even the Devil. You can be your own worst enemy! You may have conquered all the rest, but your own spirit is the most difficult to conquer, and the only way you’re ever going to conquer it is not to conquer it, but to let Jesus conquer it. He’s your best friend.

“Keep your eyes on Jesus, do not watch the waves. Keep your eyes on Jesus, 'tis faith in Him that saves. Keep your eyes on Jesus, His promises avail. Keep your eyes on Jesus, praise God, He cannot fail.”

So why not quit trying to succeed yourself. Quit trying to have the victory. Just let Jesus come in and let Him win it. Get your mind on the Lord. Get your mind on your job. Get your mind on helping others. Seek their happiness before your own. Have real, genuine, sacrificial, unselfish love. That’s love, not trying to make yourself happy or trying to get others to make you happy. Get your mind on Jesus. Ask Him to help you love Him so much you’ll love others so much you’ll forget yourself, and live for Him, live for others.

Why not get busy and work hard for Jesus, work hard for others, work hard to help other people? You’ll get so busy and so filled with His Spirit and so filled with His joy and His happiness that He gives you as a result of trying to make other people happy, that you’ll forget that self of yours and your own worst enemy and you’ll find that your best friend, Jesus, can do it all if you’ll just let Him.

“Christ in me, the hope of glory. So that the life which we now live in the flesh, we live by the grace of God. It is no longer I that live, but Christ that liveth in me.”4

Originally published June 1985. Adapted and republished February 2014.
Read by Bryan Clark.


1 Romans 7:18.

2 Galatians 2:20.

3 Romans 3:10,23.

4 Colossians 1:27; Galatians 2:20.

Read More