Many do not get results from their faith because of one of these two common mistakes:

1. He thinks he is not worthy because he’s so bad a sinner. He believes he does not deserve God’s blessings because he’s done so much wrong, he thinks his faith is too small, and so on. He puts himself DOWN before God.

2. He thinks he is so holy, so righteous, full of merit for being hardworking, honest, dedicated, kind, etc — that he thinks he will be blessed because he’s earned it. He thinks a lot of himself before God.

The problem is that God does not operate on either of these terms. He’s been known to bless prostitutes, murderers, and thieves. He’s also seemed indifferent to the suffering of many righteous, pious people.

Why?

The only thing that matters to God on the issue of blessing someone is if that person has acted his faith. If he believed and acted upon that belief, he gets blessed. If he did not believe, all he can do is suck his thumb.

“Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him alone, and blessed him and increased him.” (Isaiah 51:2)

Why does God ask us to look to Abraham? What does He want to show us? If there was nothing important to be seen, why should we look to him?

What God wants to show us is where Abraham’s obedience took him: He gave something to God that no one would ever give because of its value and importance. Something that was irreplaceable.

God is showing us a man at the limit of his faith, and God pushed to the point of swearing an oath, offering Himself as a guarantee (Genesis 22:16).

In other words, if I look at what he did and do the same, God will do to me what he did in the life of Abraham. The greatness of Abraham’s faith is his obedience.

There are people who believe and people who don’t believe. To whom do you look? Those who believe look to Abraham!

Do you believe that God can change the terrible situation you are facing in your family, love life, health or finances? So take your Isaac – whatever that may be – and place it before God. And on the altar, you can say, “God, You now owe me because I have also reached the limit of my faith!” And, because God cannot be indebted to anyone… WE WILL SET THE WORLD ON FIRE!

God bless you abundantly!

Bishop Romualdo Panceiro

A story goes that in the US state of Florida, an atheist opened a discrimination case against the Easter and Pesach (Jewish Passover) holidays. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and the observance of their holy days.

The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognised day. The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation of the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, “Case dismissed!”

The lawyer immediately objected to the ruling, saying: “Your Honour, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter & others. The Jews have Pesach, Yom Kippur* and Hanukkah**. Yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays.”
The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, “But you do. Your client, counsel, is sadly ignorant.” The lawyer said:” Your Honour, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists.”

The judge said, “The calendar says April 1st is April Fool’s Day.” Psalm 14:1 states, “The fool says in his heart, there is no God.” Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned!

You have to love a judge who knows the Holy Scriptures.

* Yom Kippur (Jewish New Year)
** Hanukkah (Jewish Feast, Festival of Lights)

Text is from an unknown source

“Who has believed our report?” is the question the Holy Spirit asks through Prophet Isaiah. The truth is that the power of God is revealed to those who believe (Isaiah 53.1).

Those who obey are the ones who truly believe, and only those who believe are ready to obey. Abraham was not a man of much praying and fasting, but he was a man who obeyed. When a person does not obey, it’s because he does not believe.

Therein lies the difference between those who believe and those who do not believe!

I came to church on June 12, 2004, which in Brazil, is Valentine’s Day. I was feeling completely rejected and humiliated. My boyfriend at the time had just broken up with me that same day.

I believe that for most people Valentine’s Day is a day of dreams, expectations, declarations of love, etc, and it would have meant the same for me if it hadn’t marked the end of my relationship. I cursed the fact that that day ever happened.

I was so stunned and hurt that I swore that I would never associate this day with happiness. From that point on, Valentine’s Day would represent sadness and humiliation because I would always remember this huge breakup.

That year, June 12th fell on a Saturday. I decided to attend the Therapy of Love meeting at the Universal Church. Even though I was feeling extremely miserable, I gathered enough strength and went. I knew I would be able to find an answer for everything that was happening to me there.

When the service started the pastor asked all those who were going through problems in their love lives to come to the front of the altar. I went without hesitation. During the prayer, I felt so strongly that God was holding and comforting me. At that moment, I told God that I would never have another serious relationship with anyone who wasn’t born of Him.

The following Saturday, we began the Campaign of Israel. Gradually, I began understanding what the campaign was all about. Even though I had been replaced and rejected, I was still hopeful that my ex-boyfriend would come back to me, even if he wasn’t the right person for me.

I gave my sacrifice and sent my request. Several days passed and I had no answer. But instead of being sad or resentful towards God, I thanked Him for not giving me what I had asked for. Only He knew what the future held for me, whether it was good or bad.

I continued persevering. I reached a point that I no longer had feelings for my ex. I was persistent in my chains of prayer; I evangelised, and remained in faith. And again, it was time for another campaign.

This time I was more spiritually mature, and I decided to leave my love life in God’s hands. I remembered what Mrs. Ester once said during one of her services at the Cathedral in Rio de Janeiro, a message which was also published in the Folha Universal, a Brazilian UCKG newspaper, that year. She said that we shouldn’t be concerned about the physical appearance of our future loved one, but instead we should ask God to prepare the right person for us. And not only would they want to make us happy, but that person would also be our perfect match.

That was the answer to my prayers. On the day of my sacrifice, I asked God for exactly what I had read. I sacrificed and waited, certain that I would be answered sooner or later.

Take a look at what happened: the Campaign of Israel took place in January 2005. In February, I started to get to know a young man that always sat next to me in church, but I had never noticed him before (and vice versa). We started dating a few months later, and on June 12, 2005, exactly 1 year after I had come to the church feeling broken and destroyed, God lifted me up. God honoured me so much and was so good to me that He transformed the saddest day of my life into the greatest day filled with happiness. A year later, I was married and today I’m truly happy. I don’t think there could a better match for me in the world other than my husband.

I believe that when we sacrifice and truly sacrifice our all for God, He honours us. It doesn’t matter how long it takes because for the Owner of the Universe, time is the least of His concerns. Honestly, I didn’t imagine receiving an answer in my love life the very month after the campaign.

Maybe that’s why I was blessed so quickly: I wasn’t expecting it. What I mean is, there was no room inside my heart for anxiety. I was absolutely certain that my blessing would come and that made me happy. I knew that He wouldn’t leave me helpless in any way.

That’s how God works: when we’re not desperately looking for a blessing, even though we desire it very much, God answers quickly. I think it’s because he doesn’t want anything to take His place in our hearts.

In faith,

Jaqueline Corrêa

The meeting had to begin a little before 10am because the place was already full. Not even the screen was enough for those who were in the rooms and corridors next to the church. It was 1,200 people in a church that fits only 700. For me, it’s always a pleasure to lead a meeting in places like these, with people who are not in search of luxuries or rituals.

The Mexican people of Houston are humble and hard-working, but also suffer a lot in their family and finances. Young girls get pregnant, young boys join gangs, husbands become addicted to alcohol, and the wives, aside from living in misery at home, also carry all the family problems on their backs.

For this, I get happy in seeing so many restored families in the church. The youth group sat in the first row and there I saw future men and women of God. This transformation in the lives of many brings many people daily to the Universal Church. Just this past Sunday, we had hundreds of them.

It’s very good seeing the fruits of our work, of our faith. All the sacrifice, all the humiliation and the persecution is worth it!

God created human beings to be free. Free to live the way they want—to love, to hate, and even to accept or reject God as their Lord.

He also gave them the power to have children, and feel what He feels towards us. If parents suffer when their children become rebellious and disobedient, imagine the Creator!

But freedom is a two-edged sword: it can help you choose eternal life or eternal death. It’s up to each one of us.

How do we make choices according to God’s will and have eternal abundant life? How do we react to daily challenges? How do we overcome difficulties with God’s help? How do we know that we’re heading in the right direction?

That’s where the law of supernatural faith comes in. It’s God’s voice speaking within His faithful followers. This voice doesn’t let doubts imprison our freedom of choice or block us from the joy of living life to the fullest.

How many people have been deprived of the joy of living an abundant life because of man-made doctrines which are imposed in the “name of God”, or because of a misinterpretation of the Bible? How many are there, who consider mere traditions to be biblical doctrines?

The voice of God—faith—casts out fear and points us to the right choice in line with God’s will, which is why it is written that the righteous shall live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4). And from that springs forth a life of quality.

The voice of faith is the voice of God. Follow it and don’t be led by other people’s faith.

There are only two kinds of people: those who believe and those who don’t believe in God. But in the universe of “believers”, not everyone truly believes, which is why the number of unbelievers is always on the rise.

To believe in God is to believe in His Word. To believe in the Word is to believe in its Author. This belief involves the unconditional surrender of one’s own life. And, in exchange for that, the person receives God’s revelations.

But, who believes in the Bible? Obviously, not everyone. So what? Does it lose its power because of that? Can the opinion of sceptics and unbelieving people nullify the eternal Word? The Word is the same yesterday, today and forever. It’s independent of whether we accept the speculations and contradictions of science by the intellectuals who have lived—or will live—in this world.

However, the power of the Almighty is revealed to those of us who are fortunate enough to believe. Answers, life, deliverance, transformation and salvation are all here, now and for eternity.

It’s not what people say or think that matters, but what we believe in. This is what really counts.

God bless all of you abundantly.