Dad, when I meet you in Heaven, you must tell me about it!

Dad, I want to know so bad how you encounter with Jesus was! What did He say to you, how did He receive you, what did He do? Did you recognize Him at first glance, or did you know it was Him because He ran to you, or perhaps you recognized Him because you felt an overwhelming love, the one we told to you so much, and perhaps you thought: "He, for sure, got to be Jesus!" When I meet you in Heaven, you must tell me about it!

I want to know, dad, how Jesus wiped away your tears. Did He do it with His hands, did he have a handkerchief, or maybe He dried them off with His clothes while He hugged you? What were you thinking at that moment? "Oh, I'm getting Jesus' clothes dirty with my tears and mucus. What a shame!" Or perhaps that kind of shame He also took away on the cross! Perhaps there is not even snots in Heaven! Maybe there are snots in Heaven, but Jesus didn't care about it because for Him, even though you were almost 94 years old, you are still His baby! When I meet you in Heaven, you must tell me about it!

I want know why you were crying! I don't ask if you cried or not when you met Jesus because I'm sure of that. Was His overwhelming presence full of love which here on earth makes us cry, and you have felt it there for the first time? Was it because you felt how every drop of condemnation left your being? Maybe you don't know why and you didn't even mind asking because you just wanted to enjoy that moment. I've never seen you cried (my mom has), and much less crying as a child. What a moving scene! Imagining it makes me cry! I hope somebody recorded it! =) When I meet you in Heaven, you must tell me about it!

How does feel to feel NOTHING bad? How does it feel to feel no more condemnation or guilt of any kind? What does it feel like to have no regrets about anything whatsoever? How does it feel to have NO sadness, NO anger, NO anguish, No worry? How does it feel to not have any physical pain at all? What did you feel when all of that left your being? Was it gradual or instantaneous? And, were you being filled at the same time with that fullness of joy that exists in His presence, which here on earth we can enjoy in part, but there in Heaven we can only imagine what it will be like! When I meet you in Heaven, you must tell me about it!

Dad, do you miss? Do you miss me? Do you miss mom, my siblings, friends, loved ones? Do you miss the house? Do you miss work? Do you miss the park? Is there such a feeling over there in Heaven, or even the feeling of missing someone cannot dwell next His presence? When I meet you in Heaven, you must tell me about it!

How does it feel to be reunited with with your loved ones that here on earth you said good bye to? What did you feel when you saw my meemaw Delia, your dad, the uncles, aunts, relatives and friends who got there before you? The Bible says that we'll have new bodies, so I wonder, did you recognize them, did they recognize you, did Jesus help you with that, or were there angels commissioned for that job? When I meet you in Heaven, you must tell me about it!

When I meet you in Heaven, will you recognize me? Will you be waiting for me at the side of Jesus?

I love you dad.

A Plan for my Juan Pablo

When my Juan Pablo was 4 (I think so), he had a vision. We were at home and his mom was taking him to the bathroom holding his hand when we noted that his eyes were fixed to a specific spot above the mirror. I thought he saw a spider or something, but since I couldn't see anything, I asked him: "what are you looking at?" He pointed with his little finger and answered: "I see the Father sitting with Jesus." His mom and I looked to each other amazed. We were astonished not only because for what we just heard, but also for his way to refer to God and also for knowing that Jesus is seated to His side.

We asked him: "and, what does the Father tell you?" Juan Pablo said: "He tells me that His hand is upon my dad and mom."

We were just happy, but we didn't know what to conclude, so we received the word spoken in the vision and followed Jesus's mother example Mary: we treasure up all this in our hearts (Luke 2:19).

A while later, Juan Pablo started suffering of nightmares. Frequently Juan Pablo cried in the middle of the night for having a bad dream. Sometimes for many nights in a row! We prayed so he may be freed from those nightmares declaring over him the Word that says that our dreams will be sweet (Proverb 3:24). Nowadays, very rarely he has nightmares, but we are still praying until it's finished completely.

Two days ago my Juan Pablo came to me to tell me that he had a dream. "What did you dream of?", I asked him. He told me that he was crossing a street and, all of a sudden, a car hit him but that he was ok.

"Oh, that was so good!", I just told him, and then he left. Then I sensed that Jesus told me the meaning of that dream, so I rapidly called him back and told him that Jesus just told me the meaning of his dream. "It doesn't matter the things that can happened to you, I am with you, and that's why you are going to be Ok." Juan Pablo smiled and left.

I stayed thinking and finally tied up loose ends. "A vision, nightmare attacks, a dream", I thought. "My Juan Pablo definitely has a spiritual gift and the devil wants to destroyed him".

I thanked my heavenly Father for reminding me that He has a plan for my Juan Pablo and asked Him for wisdom to know how to rightly prepare him for that plan. We don't know exactly what he will be in the future but we do know that the gifts that Jesus gave him equip him for a ministerial area.

Don't do your own plans for your kids's lives. Remember that they were in their real heavenly Father's heart before the foundation of the earth, and He chose you so you may guide them and prepare them to live the life He has prepared for them. And that life is MUUUUCH better than what we can ever plan for them! Each and every gifts and talents they have will be the tools to live that life to the fullest. Don't quit praying asking for wisdom and direction to prepare them to live that plan.

I hope this may help you!

------------------

For more teachings and tips for parents, take a look to the following link: Enseñanzas para Padres (Teaching for Parents). The teachings are in English and Spanish.

Some of the titles you'll find are:

• Do not Turn Off your Kids Imagination: When my kids play, they leave a mess, and I learnt that more important than just telling them to put everything back in its place is to get interested in what was in their imagination.
• A Way to Curse your Children: Without realizing I was bounding my kids with my words. Do not make the same mistake.
• The Power that Jesus gave to my Son: A testimony on how my Juan Esteban was set free from nightmares.
• The Honor to Be a Parent: Learn that accepting the honor of being a parent brings more personal fulfillment that achieving all your goal and dreams.

Rebuke the Wind and the Sea will Appease

The account of Jesus calming the storm is told mentioning a detail in particular in the Gospel of Mark: that Jesus didn't rebuke the sea, but the wind (Mark 4:39). This is because the wind was what provoked the big waves that covered the boat. In other words, Jesus dealt with the cause of the problem and not just with the problem itself.

The disciples weren't afraid of the furious wind but of the waves, because the waves swamped the boat (Mark 4:37) and they could sink and drown. The disciples looked at the raising waves and how they fell on the boat and their hearts filled with fear. They didn't looked at the invisible force behind the raising of the sea waves, but their focus was on the sea. Jesus didn't only deal with the problem (the waves), but also with the cause of it (the wind).

Check what Mark 4:37 says in the New King James Version, "And a great windstorm arose." Jesus knew what the real essence of the storm was: the wind. The disciples didn't. They thought that their only problem was the sea waves. They didn't realize that if Jesus didn't rebuke the wind and just said to the wind to be calmed, it was just matter of time for the waves to raise up again. That's why He rebuked the wind first, and then calmed the sea.

Have you recognize what is the real essence of the storm you go through? Maybe you're only watching "the waves that fall on your boat" which fill you up with fear, but don't see what provoke those waves. Maybe you say:
- My problem is my son's nightmares, but you don't focus on what causes those nightmares.
- My problem is my debts, but you don't focus on the bad habits that cause those debts.
- My problem is the estrangement with my spouse, but you don't focus on what causes that estrangement.
- My problem is that I'm sickly, but you don't focus on your eating habits and lack of exercises that cause those sicknesses.
- Etc., etc., etc.

Proverbs 26:2 states that causeless curse doesn't come. Rather than bury yourself in the symptoms, deal with the cause of them. Stop wasting time and energy solving the same problem again and again, and rather use that time and energy to deal with the causes of that problem.

Maybe you've been dealing for long time only with the problem, but not with the cause of it. That's why it constantly appears! If you want to get rid of that problem once and for all, ask for help to your heavenly Father so that He may help you to recognize what you are doing or maybe what you are expose to, which provokes the problem, and of course, ask wisdom to finally get rid of it.

Hope this may helped you!

------------------------------

I'm sure that these following links about more faith and grace teachings will help you:

• Believe that You'll TAKE it, and it'll Come: Learn how to receive what you are asking God for.
• Rest from Yourself: Learn that we should stop trying to win our good Heavenly Father's favor, and just rest.
• Focus on what your Heavenly Father Does: Sometimes we think that God is solving the problems that the devil makes, but it's actually the opposite way: the devil is trying to ruin the blessings that God has created for you.

Prayer I: The Arrow Prayer

We tend to get discourage when we see so much pain nowadays because we think: "What can I do? What can I do to help so many people damaged for the natural disasters, the ones running away with their families from wars and violence, sicknesses, human trafficking, etc., etc., etc.?!"

There is something you can do. YOU CAN PRAY!

We despise the power of prayer when we think: "The only thing I can do about it is to pray."

Don't pay attention to those that say: "I agree, we can pray, but if we are going to pray, let's do it right!" They mean that we have to pray in certain ways in order for the prayer to be effective. They're wrong. It's not necessary to pray a very long prayer at the top of your lungs, fasting and on our knees in order for the prayer to be effective. Jesus already did effective our prayer! Jesus made our prayers to avail much because He made you just! (James 5:16, Romans 5:1)

Sister Esthercita Lu, one member of Camino de Vida's intercessors team, taught me what she called the Arrow Prayer, based on the account of Nehemiah chapter one and two.

Nehemiah was the king's cupbearer on that time. It happened that, while he was serving wine to the king, the king noted that Nehemiah was sad, so he asked him if everything was ok. Nehemiah told him that his people was suffering, and then the king said to him: "What do you request?" The Bible says that "Nehemiah prayed to the God of heaven and answered" (Nehemiah 2:1-5).

Now, I want you to realize that Nehemiah didn't go aside to get on his knees and pray "properly", neither he told to the king that he'd answer him after a three days of fasting and whipping. Nehemiah was serving wine to the king, and that very moment, he prayed.

How would've Nehemiah prayed?! How do you imagined it? Well, it definitely wasn't more than a whisper. I am sure that it was a very silent and almost inaudible "God, help me!", "God, put words in my mouth!" But the Bible has it registered as to Nehemiah prayed.

Do not despise when you pray in the street, on the bus, walking, in the shower, or any other moment that you remember something and for which you say a: "Father, do something for it", "God, bless them", etc. My wife Cecilia, every time she hears an ambulance's or firefighter's siren, she prays for them for a few seconds. Don't think that because you don't do it with the "right gestures and positions" following the right liturgy, your prayer isn't effective. Remember that you don't make effective your prayer with your method you pray. Jesus made your prayer effective with his sacrifice!

So, pray more for what is going on in the world today. Prayer in every moment! Jesus said that we should ask the Father for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). Pray with the confidence that the ears of the Father are attentive to your prayer (Psalms 34:!5), and with the confidence that EVERY WORD you say is heard and received!

Hope it helps!

The Honor to be a Parent

Something we can highlight in the chapter 5 of Genesis is that, for God, the most important and transcendent thing in the life of every man mentioned there is the children they had. Realize that their achievements, victories and feats are not mentioned, only the fact that they had children.

Dr Edwin Loius Cole taught that this modern society honor, recognize and value achievements and titles: "the great and award-winning doctor in medicine with Phd in such prestigious university", "the recognized scientist with 5 different specialities discoverer of this radioactive substance", "this sport record breaker 8 times world winner", etc., but it doesn't honor, recognize nor value a good father.

Sadly, we invest a lot of time and energy to build a great name so we can be recognized and remembered for generations, but we don't give the due importance to the great privilege we have to be fathers or mothers.

How many of us remember our great great grandfather's name? I think just a few of us. How about our great great great great great grandfather's name? I think none of us. Why do we think, then, that we will be remembered? Why that stubbornness of magnifying our name when the only ones we should be great for is our sons and daughters?

The only name we should magnify is Jesus. If we do that, He will make our name great (Genesis 12:1-3), but even in that, do not get too excited, because it won't be forever. Besides, when Jesus magnifies your name isn't for the sake to make you known and that you may be gloried, but for making Him known and that He may be glorified.

Don't work for being recognized by society, but by your kids. Do not work to be great for society, but only for your kids.

To be great for your kids isn't hard: Spend time with them, listen to them, play with them, get interested in what they are interested in, know them. The only difficult part of this is that we have to put our selfishness aside, that desire to be highlighted over others, but its reward goes much beyond of that ephemeral satisfaction of receiving praises from others, because what you'll feel is the filling with the sense of permanent satisfaction, that sense for having accomplished your most important task entrusted by your heavenly Father Himself: to be His reflection before His son or daughter, because, after all, they never were ours, they just passed by us.

Don't you know how to be a good father or mother? Your heavenly Father does. He is more interested in helping you than yourself, because He loves your children more than you ever will, He know them before you do and better than you. Let yourself to be loved by Him, let yourself to be filled with His love, His words and His embrace, because remember, more than being father or mother, you're His child. That will be the best way to learn to be a good father or mother.

Hope this may helped you!

-----------------------------

For more good teachings for parents take a look to this link: Enseñanzas para Padres (Teaching for Parents). The teachings are in English and Spanish ;-)

Just for two hours!

The first stop that our airplane had when we traveled to USA was at the gigantic Atlanta's airport. We just had two hours to get to our next plane, but we had to go through the migration process first and then all the way to the opposite furthest part of the airport. We would've lost our connection if the next plane hadn't delayed.

The next time I have to stop in that airport, I know what I'll do. I'll have clothe to change, I'll go to a hotel nearby to take a shower, I'll have ready in what restaurant I'll eat, I'll drink many coffees 'cause I don't want to miss my next flight, I'll rent a car, I'll buy new clothe, I'll have more coffee just in case, I'll have ready tickets for a movie theater and an amusement park nearby, I'll take 4 or 5 book to not get bored, and I'll make sure to have my cellphone with the batteries full and two or three portable batteries full charged to call all my friends and family.

Quite excessive, isn't it?

"Why so much stuff for just two hour of waiting?", surely you're wondering. Besides, Atlanta's airport isn't my destiny, but I'll be there just for a LITTLE WHILE. All that preparation will be understandable for the destiny, and not for the stop.

MANY OF US DO EXACTLY THE SAME WITH THIS LIFE, WHICH IS NOT MORE THAN A STOP, NOT OUR FINAL DESTINY.

Think about it, EVERY SINGLE of your worries are about this life! We over worry for things of this life and not for the ones that belong to eternity. We set our minds on things on the earth (Colossians 3:2), which are like vapor (James 4:14), they don't last long, they are in one moment, but in the next moment they are no more, instead of setting our minds on things above.

If we learn to live with the perspective that we are here just passing by, we'll learn to live worry-free and with confidence. We'll quit over-worrying and stressing out for food, clothe, house, fashion, work, for what others say, if we travel or not, etc., because we'll realize that ALL of that is about this life. EVERY SINGLE thing of that is for those "two hours" that we will be here! All of that is for this little while!

In the other hand, if we set our mind on Heaven, we will start to give the due importance to the eternal thing: forgiving, loving, unity, helping others, saying how important is that person to you, worshiping, His Word, family time. It's right there when peace and joy will govern our thoughts all the time!

Hope it helps!

"Are you crying just for that?!" - An advice for parents

How many of us, parents, have ever told our kids: "You cry just for that!"? Big mistake! Do you know what we're actually telling them? We're telling them: "The reason you're crying for is nonsense", and worse: "what is important to you isn't to me".

If you've been telling that to your kids, this is what you have to do:
- Tell them you are sorry for doing that. Tell them: "Son/daughter, forgive me because so many times I looked down on what is important to you".
- Promise them that you'll try to change. Tell them: "I promise you to consider as much important the things you tell me as they are to you".
- Ask for help to your heavenly Father to change that as soon as possible.

As parents of little children, we are in danger that if we don't change, they will grow with the idea that their problems aren't important, that they shouldn't bother us with their nonsense, that they aren't as much important as us, and consequently, they'll unconsciously seek to feel important in other places and ways, and many times it'll be with people that will demand from them something in return.

How does our good and loving heavenly Father treat us? Have you ever read in His Word something that says or suggest that what is important to us isn't important for Him? Have you ever felt looked down by Him? Have you ever felt when you cried out to Him for help that He says to you: "Are you crying just for that! Seriously?"?

On the contrary, He cries when we cry, He gets happy when we get happy, He is familiar with our pain, and in His Word says that He has even numbered the hair of our head (Matthew 10:30), and if He pays attention to that, something that isn't important, how much more attention will He pay to something that it is actually important to us, to what makes us cry, to what keep us awake at night! So, when we go to Him burdened by something, He will NEVER tell us: ""Are you crying for that! Seriously?", but He'll hug us, comfort us and guide us by the hand to the answer that He'd already prepared.

If there is somebody authorized to despised any of our issues, that'd be God, because for Him there is nothing impossible. But our Father, far from doing that, understands us perfectly.

So then, if you've been despising your children's problems, run to your heavenly Father, because He won't condemn you for doing that, but hug you, comfort you and guide you by the hand to the solution that He'd already prepared.

Hope it helps!

Focus on what your Heavenly Father does

Your heavenly Father isn't trying to catch up the devil; it's the other way around. It's the devil that is trying to catch up your Father! There is no contest between them. Jesus already won!

What do I mean? We usually think that when we have problems, our heavenly Father has to do something to solve the situation, that's to say, that the devil attacked first and then your Father comes to solve the problem, but I think it's the other way around. It's your heavenly Father the one that is already doing something to bless you and the devil is trying that you don't receive it, and that's why he attacks!

Those problems just are the devil's attempts for you to not receive what your heavenly Father is doing for you.

Your Father isn't with arms crossed seeing how you go through trials and waiting for you to ask Him for help so He just start doing something about it. Not so! He has started doing something even before the foundation of the earth and has finished all with Jesus, and it is the devil the one trying to lie to you so you don't take the blessings that belongs to you.

So that, when you go through many trials, take them as a sign of the devil's desperation that tries to do something so you don't receive what your Father has already sent. Don't be discourage looking only the problems, because that's exactly what the devil wants. Many times we focus more on what the devil does than on what our Father does, and that's why we get discourage and don't take our blessings.

When Jesus was born, the devil tried to do something to kill him (Matthew 2:16-18). The same happened when Moses was born (Exodus 1:22). For the people back then, that time was the darkest, and because of their discouragement, they didn't see the blessing that'd been born, and that already was among them.

I encourage you to open your eyes and see what your heavenly Father is doing. All those trials, many of them inexplicable, are just the devil's attempts to get you discourage, to get you think that your Father hasn't done anything, that He's forgotten you, so that you decide not to take what's yours.

When the Bible says that the earth is filled with His glory (Isaiah 6:3), or that He loads us with blessings that each day (Psalms 68:19), or that you're already blessed in Jesus (Ephesians 1:3), isn't a lie so you may feel better, nor a motivational trick so you may see the glass half full instead half empty. It is the truth!

Be strong and courageous and dare to look only at what your heavenly Father is doing, and you'll see that you'll get encourage, you'll start to see what He's doing and you'll note the opportunities and blessings where you hasn't seen them before!

Hope this may blessed you! 😀

Divine Healing V - If God wants to heal me, why then I'm not healed?

Many people believe that God wants to heal, but they stumble with the question: Why am I not healed if God wants to heal me? I think that the question gets difficult to them because of:
- Assuming that if God wants something, then it definitely has to happen.
- Assuming that if God wants something, then He has to do it.

If God wants something, is it going to happen in any case?
Unfortunately, the answer is No. How good it'd be that always the will of our Father be done!, but it's not so. I know that many times you heard things like: "Don't worry, stop fighting, because if God wants, it'll happen", but remember this always: Just because everybody say it, it doesn't mean that's true.

There are many things that happen even though our Father doesn't want them to happen.
- The Bible says that it's not the will of God that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Does that happen? No, it doesn't. Sadly, many people perish without knowing God.
- If the will of God always happen, why then Jesus taught us to ask our Father so that His will may be on earth? (Matthew 6:10) Is it not supposed that His will is already happening?
- ALL the bad things that happen in the world or that it happened to you didn't happen because our Father wanted (I'll be speaking about the reasons of why those bad things happened in other post 😀). I know that many times good things "came out" from bad things, but that is not a reason to conclude that God sent those bad things in order that those good things "came out" from them. Your Father doesn't send you something bad in order that something good may come out from it. That's not biblical. What we do find in the Bible is that you Heavenly Father can, if you allow Him, turn that bad thing into something good for you.

If God wants something, does He have to do it?
Regarding to the blessings we want to receive from Him, it's up to us to take them (read my post "Believe that you'll take it, and it'll come"). Our Heavenly Father has already done all that He had to do to bless us, now we have to take what He has already given us. Divine healing, as one of His blessings, it's not the exception.
- If we want salvation, we must believe and follow the steps that He may give us to take it (in this case is receiving Jesus).
- If we want prosperity, we must believe and follow the steps that He may give us to take it.
- If we want victory in some area, we must believe and follow the steps that He may give us to take it.
- If we want to be heal, we must believe and follow the steps that He may give us to take it.
Normally those steps are found in His Word as promises and principles, and also He speaks to us specific things for specific situations (for instance, God may speak to you to call to someone, to look for a second medical opinion, to keep on praying, etc.). But as much as His promises, principles as His guidance, it's up to us to put them in practice.

Your Heavenly Father wants to heal you! Don't doubt it! He has provided the way for you to get that healing, and that way isn't painful nor full of sacrifices, but we can get it by believing and using the tools that He has given us: prayer, the confession of His Word, keeping yourself in His Presence and obeying His guidance.

Do I have to tell sinners their sins?

It's so common to hear that we HAVE to denounce people's sins, and the main reason they say is because Jesus did so. Well, let's see what Jesus did.

Jesus and adulteress woman (John 8:1-11)
- Did Jesus tell the woman "sinner" or "adulteress"? No, He didn't.
- What did Jesus tell her? "Then neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more".
- Who told her "sinner" or "adulteress"? The pharisees.

Jesus and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10)
Zacchaeus was a thief (he charged more taxes to people than he should).
- Did Jesus tell "sinner" or "thief" to Zacchaeus? No, He didn't.
- What did Jesus say? "Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide in your house." In other words, Jesus self-invited to sleep over Zacchaeus's.
- Who used to tell him "sinner" or "thief"? The Jews. In fact, they were surprised that Jesus wanted to sleep over Zacchaeus's house.

Jesus and Matthew (Matthew 9:9-13 and Luke 5:27-31)
Matthew (also known as Levi), was a thief (charged more taxes than he should).
- Did Jesus tell "sinner" or "thief" to Matthew? No, He didn't.
- What did Jesus do? He invited Matthew to follow Him, and he ended up being one of the 12 apostles (Matthew 10:1-4).

Jesus and the publicans and sinners (Matthew 9:9-13 and Luke 5:27-31)
Matthew had prepared a banquet for Jesus, in which many publican and sinners assisted as well (a publican was a tax collators, that's to say, a thief).
- Did Jesus tell "sinner" or "thief" to any of them? No, He didn't. Not even to one of them.
- The surprised pharisees asked Jesus's disciples why their Master eat with sinners.

Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4:1-42)
- Did Jesus tell the woman "sinner" or "adulteress"? No, He did not.
- Who told the woman "sinner" or "adulteress"? Most likely, most of the people did, because there was a reason for her to go to the well for water at midday (the hottest moment of the day), when normally everybody went to the well early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when the weather already cooled down. That's to say, the woman wanted to go to the well when she knew there was nobody there, so nobody bothers her.
- What Jesus did was bringing up the issue of her disordered life by asking for her husband, and if we have a look to the context, we can understand that Jesus did it, not to condemn her, but to show her the need in her that He wanted to meet when He was talking about the living water, but since she wasn't understanding Jesus, He was a little clearer asking her directly about her husband. If she had understood that the living water was just an illustration, He most surely hadn't asked her about her husband.

Jesus and the woman of the expensive perfume (Luke 7:36-50)

We don't know in what sin she was involved, but it's supposed that she was a prostitute.
- Did Jesus tell the woman "sinner"? No, He didn't.
- What did Jesus do? He accepted her offering and then forgave her sins.
- Who told her "sinner"? Simon the Pharisee.

Jesus and the paralyzed man (Mark 2:1-12)
- Did Jesus tell the paralyzed man "sinner"? No, He did not.
- What did Jesus do? He forgave his sins and then healed him.

Jesus and the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:24-34)
- Did Jesus tell the woman "unclean"? No, He didn't.
- What did He do? He healed her.

Jesus and Peter, James and John (Luke 5:1-12)
- Did Jesus tell them "sinners"? No, He didn't, but it seems that they expected Him to tell them so, surely because other others told them so.
- It's interesting to see how in this case and Matthew's, Jesus didn't make them to go first through a "purification" or "preparation" time in order to serve with Him. To the ones that supposedly were more qualified, Jesus didn't call.

And I still don't mention Bartimaeus the blind man, the leper man, Jairus the principal of the synagogue, the prodigal son and, in fact, EVERYBODY that went to Jesus, because we know that EVERYBODY were sinners. There is NO EVEN ONE RECORD that Jesus told someone "sinner". NOT EVEN ONE.

On the contrary, there was one occasion that Jesus did use strong words: with the hypocrite pharisees (Matthew 23). In other words, Jesus only condemns hypocrisy. All of us were sinners saved by grace. Don't think about you more than that.

So, do I have to tell sinners their sins?
- If you are going to do it just because it is bad and it must be said, then don't do it. As we saw, not even Jesus did it. Besides, if you're going to do it with that attitude, the only thing you'll get is to raise walls of separation.
- But if you are going to do it because you have a sincere desire of helping them because you know that if they continue in that way, they will suffer, besides, you know that person, go ahead and tell it to him/her.
- If you don't know that person, I don't recommend you to do it, unless you feel that God is guiding you to do it (in this case, I recommend you to ask for confirmation to other leaders of your church, specially if the issue is something very grave).

"For God did not send His Son to world to condemn the world,

but that the world through Him might be saved"

John 3:17

I really hope this helped you!

Thoughts about The Lord of Miracles in Lima - Perú

Every year in October there is a tradition in Peru: The Procession of the Lord of Miracles. I just wanted to leave some thoughts about this multitudinous celebration.

- From a historic, cultural and traditional point of view, I love it! Peru is a country filled with different customs which enrich us as a nation.

- There are many people that complain because the procession of the Lord of Miracles implies the shutting off many avenues and streets, which cause many people to delay to go where they want. You know something, we have to learn to be more tolerant because we live in a society in which we all don't think differently, and tolerance has to be manifested many times accepting a little of discomfort.

- It breaks my heart to see how many people approach to Jesus thinking that they have to do some kind of sacrifice in order to be heard by God and to obtain the miracle they want. I've seen how many people of different ages walk barefoot or with their knees, thinking that their suffering will convince Jesus. I'd like to be able to tell everyone that Jesus's sacrifice is more than enough, that He did it because He loves them, and that they don't have to beg for their Heavenly Father's favor, but go to take it because it is already theirs thanks to what Jesus did.

- I don't like the fact that many evangelic christians attack the people that go to the procession telling them that they shouldn't worship images. I just don't know what they are expecting to obtain with that attitude and way of telling them; are they expecting them, maybe, to decide to be no longer catholic and start to be evangelic? If that is so, what a disastrous way to preach!


- Just is case, the miracles that took place there were made by Jesus. You read it right, by Jesus! They weren't made by the devil, if you thought so. The fact that they are mistaken in the way they approach to God does not imply that they approach to the devil. What it does implies is that they won't receive in the way God wanted them to receive. There are many times that surely you has received a blessing from you Heavenly Father not in the way He wanted you to receive it, and that was because you approached to Him in a wrong way. The people that assist to the procession are approaching God by the Law instead of by the Grace of Jesus, and by His Grace it'll always be easier!

- If you don't agree with their way to approach God and you don't love them in your heart, please do not try to convince them that what they're doing is against the Bible because you'll just end up creating barriers because of the bad way and attitude with which you will end up saying things. Remember, an indispensable ingredient to be heard by others is LOVE. If you don't have love for them, you are not qualified to teach them.

- If you are not agree with what they're doing, pray for them! In prayer, your Heavenly Father will give you, if it's His will, not only the right attitude to approach to them but also right way to do it.

I hope you've been blessed by it.

If so, don't forget to share! =)

---------------------------------

• Halloween (ENGLISH version): Here I answer some argument on why we shouldn't hold a activity parallel to Halloween.
• "I am Corrupt, but not so much": Many complain about our authorities's corruption without realizing that that corruption started in ourselves.

Believe that you'll take it, and it'll come

Mark 11:24 says that all we ask in prayer, if we believe that we'll receive it, it will come to us. But the word that it's been translated "receive", in greek means "take". Then, Mark 11:24 should say: "Therefore, I tell you that everything you ask in prayer, believe that you will take it, and it will come."

What Jesus was teaching is when you pray, you must believe that you can take what you're asking for, and it will come to you, that's to say, you will have it.

1. "Everything you ask in prayer". In other words, you must pray! When you pray, when you are in the presence of your heavenly Father, your faith is lifted up. Your faith will not be lifted up if you just complain, worry, or think all the time about how impossible is to have that what you wish. Your faith will grow in the presence of your Father and feeding yourself with His Word!

2. "Believe." You decide to believe in God. Of course, it is easier if your faith just naturally grows because you are filling yourself with His Word and practicing His Presence all the time, but there will be times when you just have to BELIEVE NOW. In Mark 5, Jesus said to the principal of the synagogue when he received the bad news of his daughter's dead: "Fear not, just believe." His natural reaction was fearing, but Jesus told him, in other words: "Decide to believe".

3. "That you will take it." Does this imply a little of work from you? Yes, it does! But this work is not for you to be worthy of what you are asking for, but for taking what you already receive by faith when you prayed. Big difference!
The former is through the Law, the latter through faith.
The former would be thanks to your merits, the latter is thanks Jesus's merits.
With the former you'll be worried and stressed, with the latter you'll be in peace, because even though you will go to take what it's yours, you'll know that it is yours thanks to Jesus.
With the former you'll find yourself struggling for your victory, with the latter you'd fight from Jesus's victory.

Once I heard by the radio that a person won a car. The presenter called the winner, who lived outside Lima, to tell him to come the capital to receive his prize. The winner had to go to take what's his. He didn't come to fight for his prize, but just come to take it. His journey to Lima wasn't stressful and full of uncertainty, but full of expectation, excitement and peace. That's the way it should be when we take what we ask for believing we have already received it!

If you are asking for something in prayer to you heavenly Father who loves you, believe that He's already given it to you thanks to Jesus's sacrifice, and you'll see how that confidence of going and taking what's yours will increase inside of you, knowing, besides, that your Father is with you!

Do problems strengthen you?

I personally think that problems don't strengthen you, and in this post I want to explain why.

If problems strengthened people, all of us that go through problems would be strengthened because of them. But, as you already may know, it doesn't happen that all the time. In fact, in most cases it happens exactly the opposite: people end up stressed, worried, depressed, etc.

"But I know this guy that came out strengthened out a big problem", you might think. It is a mistake to make general rules from particular cases, even if there are many cases of the same point. I could also say: "But I know this guy that came out completely devastated out a big problem", and we can fall into an endless argumentation to know who is right, when the error resides in miss-focussing the reasoning.

"The problem by itself does not destroy you nor lift you up, it just reveals what is inside of you" (Dr Edwin Louis Cole). Your decisions are based on what is inside of you.
- If you've been filling yourself up with negativism, laziness, lack of preparation, bad examples, etc., it is almost for sure that when you go through a trial you will get discouraged, frustrated, full of fear, or something similar.
- But if you've been filling yourself up with positivism, discipline, preparation, good examples, etc., it's almost for sure that when you go through a problem you will not quit, you will look for good advices, you will feel challenged, or something similar.

The problem just REVEALED what there was inside of you.

You allow what enter inside of you.

As christian, I am not agree to those that say things like: "God made me go through this problem in order for me to learn this." They think that it was God the one that made them go through a problem so that they may learn something from it or they may be strengthened by it. Biblically speaking, God does not send problems to anybody. They are already there: sometimes other people cause them, sometimes we ourselves cause them and sometimes they are there because we just allowed them to be there. What your heavenly Father does, instead, is to help you to prevent them or to get you out of them.

"Ok., God didn't send me that problem neither made me go through it, but He did use it so that His Word may be applied." Not true either. God doesn't use problems so that you may apply His Word. On the contrary, He has prepared you before hand with His Word and His presence. These two, His Word and His presence, are the only two ways in the Bible that our Father uses to teach us something.

You can be taught by your Heavenly Father directly or indirectly. It is directly when you yourself are studying the Bible, reading books, listening to teachings, and also seeking His Presence, and it's indirectly when you're being influenced by other source: a friend, a relative, a testimony, etc., which it is just the Word of God made flesh in other person, the Word in action, the Word working, but it's still the Word of God.

"He trains my hands for battle" (Psalm 18:34). Your heavenly Father is the one that gets you ready for battle, He is not the one that prepares the battle. Many battles in the Old Testament were already there; fighting them was inevitable to take to promise land. That's to say, if you want to take your promise land, battles will be inevitable, they weren't send by you heavenly Father; they were already there. But your Father will help you to overcome them!

Other people say: "If you ask God for patience, He sends you a problem so that you may obtain patience." Do problems produce patience? No, they don't! Problems do not produce anything at all, neither good things nor bad things. That patience inside of you came by other good things you were filling yourself up with in the past.

It is because of this reasoning that many people thank God for problems, others aren't determined to get out of their problems because they believe they're fulfilling a God's purpose, others are waiting for God's time to get themselves out of them, etc. A wrong believe produces a wrong behavior.

"God didn't send me problems, but He did allowed them for some reason. We must trust Him!" In order for you to trust your heavenly Father, you have to base on what His Word says. Do you find Biblical base that supports that? I'm not talking about two or three verses, but supported teaching from the beginning to the end of the Bible. You know what, you won't find it. Therefore, I recommend you to not believe it. It's not enough that you have heard it from your favorite preachers. You have to see it yourself that is supported by the Bible.

It is different to say that God turns something bad that happen to you into something good from saying that He sent that bad thing and then He turned into something good.

If you decide to believe that your heavenly Father didn't send you the problem you are going through, but He did allow it for some reason which you can't understand now, but you will later, then you will be accepting that problem in your life instead of fighting it. Remember this: God does not give you weapons so that you fight the enemies He sends you nor the ones He allows. Someone may think: Wouldn't be much better that He just doesn't send any problem in the first place!

If you're going to a problem, you have to know that your heavenly Father did not send it; instead, He will strengthen you, help you and guide you to come through victoriously from it. Do not say again: "If it hasn't been for this problem, I wouldn't obtained that blessing." Rather you say: "If it hasn't been that my Heavenly Father helped me in the middle of that problem, I wouldn't obtained that blessing."

I hope it helped you!