Does your faith need strengthening? Are you confused and wondering if Jesus Christ is really "The Way, the Truth, and the Life?" "Fight for Your Faith" is a blog filled with interesting and thought provoking articles to help you find the answers you are seeking. Jesus said, "Seek and ye shall find." In Jeremiah we read, "Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall seek for Me with all your heart." These articles and videos will help you in your search for the Truth.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Nightlight with Simon Peterson

Nightlight-Larry-and-Sally-living-their-faith-in-Uganda

When Larry and Sally Jelvic were almost 60 years old the Lord told them to sell their house in the U.S. and all of their possessions and come by faith to Uganda. It was their first time ever to come to a mission field out of the U.S.

You will hear on this show how the Lord has rewarded their faith as well as many other testimonies that will inspire, encourage and challenge you.

Our Enterprise

http://anchor.tfionline.com/post/our-enterprise/
By D. Brandt Berg


Audio length: 10:33
Download Audio (9.6MB)

The first Star Trek movie ever filmed was a sort of parable in which the good shipEnterprise and its good Captain Kirk and crew are sent on a mission to find out whether an alien spaceship that’s approaching earth is friendly or hostile, and to determine what to do about it. They discover that it’s a very powerful, sophisticated spaceship which was accidentally created by the Voyager 6 space probe sent out from earth to collect information. Then it became a sort of sentient being that was becoming curious as to why it had been created, what it was, and who created it, and it wanted to find its creator. So it was headed back to earth to find its creator.

The space probe created by NASA had gone out into space and learned so much that it was able to become this tremendous spaceship, which was now headed back to earth because it wanted to get acquainted with its creator. It wanted to find out why it had been created and get some answers. This is the general gist of the story.

The implied meaning to this movie is that man has been created, placed here on earth by his Creator. And he’s been formed with a natural inborn desire to find and know his Creator and to be joined to Him, which we know is God. And this is, of course, applicable to us; that’s why God made us. “He has also set eternity in the human heart.”1

The human body in a sense is like a machine, but we’re much more complicated than any machines. We are self-reproducing machines, and we not only have knowledge and logic and the ability to reason, but also emotions and feelings, the greatest of which is love, that lift us far above any machine, animal, or other created thing, although even animals can understand love. Science has found that even plants can understand love. It seems as if all living things are sensitive to love and human emotion. And of course God has put in man’s heart the eternal desire to find and know and love God, his Creator.

Man is always searching for God, and God is searching for man. But man has to find God through the ways God has provided or he’s not going to find Him. And the way that we find the Lord is through His Spirit, which is in a sense His communicator. God is available to man, and God wants man to find Him and know Him, but he has to be willing to turn on his receiver, and desire God and be hungry for God and be willing to listen to God’s communications; most of all, God’s Word. God’s primary way of communicating with man is through His Word. God’s principal means of communicating to man what He is like is Jesus.

God has made a way for man to know his Creator, and He has made that the only way—“the way, the truth, and the life”—and there’s no other mediator or communicator except the man Christ Jesus.2 God has ordained it that if you want to know God, you have to go through Jesus. You have to find Christ. His communication is Jesus, and you have to find God that way. There’s no other way to find God because there is no other God and no other representation or living Word of God except Jesus.

Anyone who truly wants to find the Lord will find Him; God has promised that. Jesus Himself said that He fills the hungry heart, and “If you seek Me, you’ll find Me.”3 If any person really seeks to find the Lord and communicate with Him, the Lord will see to it that he finds Him somehow. There are many salvation testimonies of people who were out trying to find God and trying to seek a reason for their existence, a meaning to their life. “What’s it all about? Who am I? What am I here for?” If they seek Him, they’ll find Him. “That they may know Me, whom to know is life eternal.”4

The Lord has told us to seek Him and we’ll find Him, because He wants to be found. He has sent His Word to communicate with us, Jesus, to reveal Himself to us in the form of His Son, to show us what He’s like.5 God is like Jesus, and the only way you can know what God is like and find Him is through Jesus. That’s His Word, His communication, His message, His answer. When people send out signals to try to find God, if they will listen, they’ll hear God’s answers. The Lord will speak to them. The Lord will lead them to somebody who knows Jesus and who can tell them about Him.

Mankind, the creation of God, is seeking his Creator. A lot of people don’t know it; they don’t realize it. They don’t know exactly what they’re looking for. They don’t know who or what they’re seeking; they just want to know who they are, what they’re here for, what’s their meaning, what’s their purpose in life. “Why are we here? Why were we created? Who created us?” We know the answers, isn’t that wonderful? We have the answers to what mankind is looking for, the reason for our existence, the meaning to this life, why we’re here, why we were created.

The whole story is right in the Bible, how the world was created and for what and by whom and how we were put here, leading right up to the story of Jesus, how God’s Son finally came to reveal God to us to show us what God is like. So Jesus, therefore, is His Word, His communication, His message. Jesus is saying, “I am.”6 He’s the Great I Am. In other words, “I am God. I’m God’s Son. I’m His communication. I’m here to show you what God is like. I’m His message.” Jesus is God’s Word, God’s message.

We would have never known what God was like, but through God sending Jesus, He made a picture of Himself, in a sense, to show us what He’s like. He has given us that story and He’s given us that message to spread throughout the whole world and tell man who God is, what He is, what He’s like, and that He loves us, and that He does want to be joined to us and with us, and He wants us to join Him.

This movie is a rather remarkable message that parallels the idea of man’s hunger for God and his Creator. It’s an illustration of man’s heartcry for his Creator, how man hungers for his Creator, the one who made him, and to find out why he was made and what he’s here for, what’s the purpose in his life. Jesus can tell us all of that, and He tells us all of that right in the Bible. Even the Old Testament says, “This is the whole duty of man, to glorify God and keep His commandments.”7 In other words, to thank God for creating him and to obey God. And we know that His commandments can be summed up in two commandments—love God and love your neighbor as yourself.8

As Christians, we have the answers that man is looking for. We are messengers, like theEnterprise in this movie, to go out and find these creations that want to find their Creator, and to tell them who He is and how to know Him and love Him and be joined to Him, like a bride to her husband. Isn’t that the way He compares us? We are called to find the searching souls, to love them, to lead them to the Lord, so that they may become one with Jesus.

That’s our mission; that’s our enterprise, to lead His creations to their Creator that they might be joined with Him and know who He is, what He is, and His love. We’re preparing citizens for the kingdom of God, in order that we might join Him in His great enterprise of the future to restore the whole world and man and set things right, and to make a new world, a heavenly world, the way God intended for it to be.

We are on an enterprise, a mission to explore the world that we might lead people to the Lord and help make a whole new world for God of new people, new children of God, a “new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”9

Originally published April 1988. Adapted and republished May 2015.
Read by Simon Peterson.

Footnotes:

1 Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV.
2 John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5.
3 Matthew 5:6, 7:7; Jeremiah 29:13.
4 John 17:3.
5 John 1:14.
6 John 8:58.
7 Ecclesiastes 12:13.
8 Matthew 22:37–40.
9 2 Peter 3:13.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Momentos de Meditação

http://anchor.tfionline.com/pt/post/momentos-de-meditacao/

Jesus falando em profecia

Mesmo que você tenha apenas um momentinho para relaxar e se revigorar, pode ser um momento de qualidade. Você é tão ocupado e talvez nunca tenha todo o tempo que acha necessário para uma completa renovação mental, física e espiritual. Mas Eu posso compensar no espírito; você precisa apenas aprender a se conectar a Mim e ao Meu poder. Extraia o poder do Céu.

Um bom tema para meditar quando quer aproveitar ao máximo os momentos de relaxamento, ficar tranquilo e se renovar é o céu. Pensar no Céu nos faz sentir em paz, felizes, alegres, consolados, renovados e leves no espírito. São sensações que não se adquire através de suportes e circunstâncias. Apesar de suportes e circunstâncias às vezes virem a calhar, são apenas auxiliares, ferramentas para ajudar você a relaxar, não são o objetivo.

Pode ser que não tenha condições de tirar duas semanas de férias a partir de amanhã e viajar para um lugar remoto onde a única atividade seja relaxar. Mas mesmo assim Eu posso ajudá-lo a relaxar no espírito. Quando isso acontece fica mais fácil a mente entrar nesse canal. E depois que a mente relaxar, o corpo não vai oferecer muita resistência.

Você talvez não tenha uma deliciosa e refrescante bebida nas mãos neste momento nem esteja contemplando uma visão panorâmica do mar, mas ainda assim pode relaxar aqui mesmo, neste momento. Talvez esteja em casa com as crianças, tenha pessoas conversando na sala ao lado, barulho de utensílios na cozinha e o caminhão de lixo buzinando na frente da casa. Ou pode estar no serviço, as pessoas passando na frente da sua mesa correndo, telefones tocando, computadores bipando... Eu continuo ali. Amo você.

Pense em Mim e no Meu amor, depois no Céu. Pense na paz e perfeição que existe lá. Pense na beleza do Céu e sorria. Depois abra os olhos e reconheça que, apesar de tudo o que está acontecendo ao seu redor, por mais confusas que sejam as cosias, você pode desfrutar do Céu, porque Eu estou ao seu lado.

Eu entendo que talvez tenha uma montanha de trabalho, mas tente ficar uns minutinhos sem trabalhar, respirando fundo e simplesmente relaxando. Lembre-se que uma maneira de demonstrar sua fé e confiança em Mim é parando de vez em quando para descansar um pouco Comigo, sabendo que enquanto isso estarei cuidando de tudo. Tenho o mundo todo nas Minhas mãos, inclusive você e a sua pequena parte do mundo.

Eu sei que é difícil deixar de pensar no trabalho e de repente relaxar ali no meio de toda a correria. Mas aprender a se desligar do trabalho, por um momento que seja, tirar umas rápidas férias Comigo, o ajudará a ficar mais em contato com o Meu Espírito, e é uma maneira de mostrar que depende de Mim, e também de fortalecer sua conexão Comigo.

*

Quando tem apenas alguns momentos para relaxar antes de voltar ao trabalho, pode ajudar se afastar por um instante da situação que está vivendo e refletir no quadro geral. Lembre-se que não passa de um peregrino e estrangeiro. Lembre-se que a vida na terra é apenas uma neblina. Lembre-se que existe a eternidade, que o presente com todas as questões que lhe parecem prementes não passa de uma gotinha em comparação ao m ar da eternidade.

Lembre-se que tem apenas uma chance de viver na terra. É só isso, então aproveite enquanto pode. Desfrute do serviço a Mim enquanto está aqui. Desfrute da companhia das pessoas com quem vive ou trabalha, ou com quem se relaciona, porque não vai durar para sempre. Desfrute da sua situação atual, porque é a única vez que estará aqui dessa forma, nesse lugar, com essas pessoas queridas. Aproveite o seu tempo! Curta o momento, porque daqui a pouco tudo isso passará.

Você está vivo! Foi-lhe dada a chance de viver por Mim na terra, algo que nem todos têm. Aproveite!

*

Quando a situação é intensa você talvez ache que vai ficar louco.

Se dispõe de apenas alguns minutos para relaxar e não sabe como aproveitar o tempo, muitas vezes é bom ter algo no qual pensar ou meditar, quer um conceito, quer uma passagem bíblica que se destacou para você, ou talvez uma das conclusões que tirou na sua vida como discípulo e que o ajudou a seguir adiante. Seguem-se algumas coisas que pode experimentar.
Pense na última vez que renovou a sua dedicação a Mim e da paz que sentiu naquele momento por saber que, não importava o que acontecesse, tudo iria contribuir para o seu bem, e como isso inspirou a sua confiança em Mim.
Recapitule um momento na sua relação Comigo, como, por exemplo, algo que lhe disse em profecia e que se resolveu como Eu havia dito; um grande milagre que fiz por você quando estava “na ponta de um galho pronto para serrá-lo”, ou uma das ocasiões quando leu algo que lhe inspirou e sabia que Eu tinha cronometrado exatamente aquele momento na sua vida.
Pense na última vez que conseguiu testemunhar de maneira profunda para alguém a Meu respeito e como a fome da pessoa pela Palavra o lembrou do privilégio que é ter essas verdades, e o fez lembrar da razão por que escolheu uma vida de fé: para levar a salvação a outros.
Reflita em algumas promessas de peso na Minha Palavra. Lembre-se de algumas declarações que fiz e que sempre o ajudam. – Citações simples que o fazem lembrar das maiores verdades que descobriu na Minha Palavra.
Ou então pense em Mim. Visualize-me e imagine-se deixando a correria do trabalho por alguns momentos para ficar sossegado em comunhão íntima Comigo, de coração. Deixe esses pensamentos inundarem sua mente e Eu encher o seu coração de paz.

Publicado originalmente em janeiro de 2008. Adaptado e republicado em julho de 2011. 

Want A Healthy Brain? Better Avoid These 7 Habits

By Carolyn Gregoire, The Huffington Post, April 30, 2015

Why are some people sharp as a tack at 95 years old, while others begin struggling with mental clarity in their 50s?

A lot of it has to do with genetics, but certain lifestyle factors also play an important role in how our brain ages. So while you can’t control your genes, you can avoid these seven big brain mistakes:

Mistake No. 1: Eating a standard American diet. Foods high in sugar, unhealthy fats and processed foods–i.e., the typical American diet–can wreak havoc on your brain over time. Studies have shown that excess sugar consumption can impair learning and memory, and increase your vulnerability to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Some scientists have even referred to Alzheimer’s as “Type 3 Diabetes,” suggesting that diet may have some role in an individual’s risk for developing the disease.

A Mediterranean-based diet, on the other hand, can help protect the brain from signs of aging and ward off cognitive decline. A recent study showed that following this type of diet–which is a good source of brain-healthy nutrients and includes a lot of fish, healthy fats, whole grains and vegetables–could slash Alzheimer’s risk by up to 50 percent.

Mistake No. 2: Living next to a highway. Living in a smoggy city might be bad news for your brain. According to research published this month in the journal Stroke, exposure to air pollution is linked with premature aging of the brain.

The researchers found that people who lived closer to a major highway had greater markers of pollution in their lungs and blood, which increased their risk for a form of brain damage known as “silent strokes,” or symptomless strokes. Increased pollution volume was also linked to decreased brain volume–a major sign of aging.

Mistake No. 3: Drinking a few evening cocktails. Don Draper’s daily cigarettes and two-martini lunches might seem glamorous on “Mad Men,” but research suggests that they’re a fast track to neurodegeneration.

It should come as no surprise that excessive drinking and cigarette smoking at any stage of life can have a negative effect on the brain, damaging brain tissue and leading to cognitive impairment. Alcoholism can cause or accelerate aging of the brain.

But just a couple of glasses of wine a night could pose a risk to brain health, even though there are some cardiovascular benefits. A 2012 Rutgers University study found that moderate to binge drinking–drinking relatively lightly during the week and then more on the weekends–can decrease adult brain cell production by 40 percent.

“In the short term there may not be any noticeable motor skills or overall functioning problems, but in the long term this type of behavior could have an adverse effect on learning and memory,” one of the study’s authors, Rutgers neuroscience graduate student Megan Anderson, said in a statement.

Mistake No. 4: Giving in to stress. Living a stressful lifestyle may be the worst thing you can do for your health as you age. Chronic stress is known to shorten the length of telomeres, the sequences at the end of DNA strands that help determine how fast (or slow) the cells in our body age. By shortening telomeres, stress can accelerate the onset of age-related health problems.

What about the brain? Well, some research has suggested that high levels of stress hormones can increase an individual’s risk for age-related brain damage.

“Over the course of a lifetime, the effects of chronic stress can accumulate and become a risk factor for cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease,” Howard Fillit, a clinical professor of geriatric medicine at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, wrote in Psychology Today. “Several studies have shown that stress, and particularly one’s individual way of reacting to stress (the propensity to become ‘dis-stressed’ often found in neurotic people for example), increases the risk for Alzheimer’s disease.”

If you’re feeling stressed out, try picking up a meditation practice. Research has shown that meditation is effective in lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisol and protecting the brain from aging.

Mistake No. 5: Getting by on less sleep than you need. There are a number of scary health effects associated with sleep deprivation, from a higher risk of stroke and diabetes to impaired cognitive functioning. Over the years, losing shut-eye can also accelerate brain aging. In a study conducted last year, researchers from Singapore found that the less that older adults slept, the faster their brains aged.

The study’s lead author explained in a statement that among older adults, “sleeping less will increase the rate their brain ages and speed up the decline in their cognitive functions.”

Mistake No. 6: Sitting all day. It’s a well-established fact that sitting for long periods is terrible for your health. A growing body of research has linked a sedentary lifestyle with health risks including heart disease, diabetes, cancer and early death, even among people who get the recommended daily amount of exercise.

And it turns out that sitting is also pretty bad for your brain. Research has linked physical inactivity with cognitive decline. Moreover, weight gain in older adults–which may result from too much sitting–has been linked with shrinkage in brain areas associated with memory.

So when in doubt, move around. Physical activity has been linked with a number of brain health benefits, including improved learning and memory.

Mistake No. 7: Zoning out. Use it or lose it! If you want to keep your brain sharp, keep it engaged. It doesn’t have to be a challenging intellectual task or a brain-training game, either–simply engaging in everyday activities like reading, cooking or having a conversation (as opposed to vegging out in front of the TV or computer) can make a difference.

The bottom line? Doing new and novel things promotes neurogenesis, the creation of new neurons in the brain. So get outside, learn, discover and try something new to keep your brain sharp through the decades.

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