God’s greatest desire is that we reveal the image of His Son Jesus; He wants us to exude Christ’s fragrance.

“For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” (2 Corinthians 2.15)

He wants us to show the world that we are true children and citizens of His Kingdom, His Own special people, a holy nation, pure and unblemished; capable of showing the devil and all demons that we are valuable and that we have a Father who gives us an abundant life!

When your child does well in school, and your friends and neighbours praise him for that, you feel honoured, happy, satisfied—confident that all the efforts and sacrifices you made for him were worthwhile.

On the other hand, what is your reaction when your child does not do well in school, when he doesn’t learn anything, gets home with his uniform dirty and his face hurt because he is constantly beaten by his school mates, or when he is always ill or unhappy?

Obviously, you feel angry and upset, because you can’t stand to see him suffer. That is exactly how the Lord our Father feels. He does not want us to see us ill, in misery, or defeated.

God’s Name has always been a mystery to many people. Even the most devoted and fervent heroes of faith of the past did not have access to it. They called Him Lord, Lord God, Eternal, Just God, Most High, the Creator, etc. However, it was not until the coming of Jesus that His eternal and powerful Name was revealed.

And the first mortal to know it was not a prominent member of society, but a common man who happened to be Abraham’s descendant.

This is how the revelation happened:

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins’” (Matthew 1:18-21).

God’s Name cannot be regarded as the name of a human being because it conveys a sense of eternity, power and authority that goes far beyond human understanding.

Although the Name of Jesus has been made common and vulgar, even among Christians, it has not lost its immutable power over evil and its works against humankind. That’s why the apostle Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, says:

“God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

It’s obvious that only those who believe are able to enjoy the benefits of the authority and power of the Name of Jesus.

Hello Bishop Macedo and everyone else who reads this letter. I don’t know if this is the best way to tell my story but it is very important that everyone knows what the devil can do in the life of a person who doesn’t want a commitment with God. My aunt became the victim to very strong witchcraft a couple of years ago and began to lose her sanity. She would have terrible attacks of uncontrollable behaviour and have to be hospitalised. After many of these attacks and going through so much suffering, she found the UCKG.

She was freed by participating in the meetings for deliverance. From then on, she stopped taking medications, which were many, and she never had any more attacks. She began working, her life greatly improved and she was really looking after herself. But some time ago, she separated from her husband who had gone after another woman, and the devil put a man in her path. He obviously wasn’t from God, and she began living in sin with this man.

About one month ago, she commented to my mother that she wanted to fix her life with God. Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough time. She suddenly started having those attacks again and ended up killing her grandson with 5 stab wounds. Of course, she was arrested. Yesterday, we received the news that she had committed suicide. Though she was separated from the other prisoners there is a possibility someone might have killed her because of her mental illness.

Through this I see how it’s love lives that the devil targets the most to attack those who are of God…

Julia
Assistant in Spain

A Brazilian love song translated, describing the love we preach and live at the UCKG.

Mrs Cristiane,

I am 19 years old and it’s been three years since I left the church. You know, Mrs Cristiane, I had been attending the UCKG with my mother since I was a child, and so I decided to leave in order to know the world for myself. After three months, I found a boyfriend—my first boyfriend. My life changed since that day: I began to drink, smoke, sleep with him, and as if having sex with him wasn’t enough, he’d ask me to masturbate in front of him. That’s how bad my life became.

Our relationship—if I could call it a relationship—quickly wore out because the only thing he wanted was sex. After three months, we broke up.

I was devastated and I started drinking more than what was considered “normal”. I started smoking and sleeping with every man that I met. I don’t know what happened to me, but I’d go out with a guy for the first time and we’d end up having sex.

But now I want to go back to the things I used to do, to evangelize, pray, fast, and just do the things of GOD. But I can’t! I don’t have the strength to make myself do all of that. I feel dirty.

I try to attend the church on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays but it seems that there’s something blocking me. I don’t know what it is… Actually, I do. I know it’s evil, but I don’t have strength to fight against it.

For God’s sake, help me; tell me what to do. Help me in prayer, give me a kind word. I don’t know what to do. I’ve been thinking about taking my life…

I want to do what I used to, but I can’t. I want it so badly, I really do. I am willing to give my life for this to happen.

I am sorry for bothering you, but even without knowing you, I felt in my heart that I could count on you.

Thank you for your attention!

D.M.

The Holy Spirit is responsible for giving to us the same mind that He gave to Jesus—so that He can do through us what He did through Him. In fact, the only way we can know God and His plan of salvation is through the work of the Holy Spirit in us. However, it is impossible for Him to use us without using our minds. It is vital that He fill our minds with His thoughts so we can acknowledge His perfect will.

For this reason, the Spirit of God inspired holy men to write the Bible so that, through them, He could lead all of mankind to the way of life. Without the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the Bible is just a history book. For it to serve God’s purposes, it must be read under the guidance of the Spirit of God.

“For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3.6)

God’s Word would not be able to be interpreted without the Holy Spirit. The Author Himself must explain exactly what He wants to say—when people start interpreting the Bible on their own, it causes confusion. But how can we know what the true interpretation is? Man-made interpretations of the Bible lead to false prophets, false pastors, false churches and countless false religions. False leaders have interpreted the Bible their own way for their own advantage and have led billions of people to hell because they were inspired by deceiving spirits.

So how can we discern the correct interpretation of Scripture? Through the Holy Spirit. He was sent to us to guide us into all truth. As Jesus promised,

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16.12,13)