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.

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!

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!

If you love your spouse, do not demand

If we read: "Love doesn't demand. Love gives. If someone demands you to prove your love, that person doesn't love you", immediately we think of that guy that manipulates his girlfriend to have sex if she really loves him. (Mental note: shame to him!)

Here I give you some other ways to manipulate which go unnoticed because they're not the most common case, but they are also ways to manipulate your spouse:
- If you love me, have dinner ready for me when I get home.
- If you love me, keep the house clean.
- If you love me, let's go out together at least once a week.
- If you love me, buy me what I want.
- If you love me, be more romantic.
- If you love me, dress as I want.
- If you love me, let's go to church.
- If you love me, read more your Bible.
- If you love me, etc.
Why don't you share other way to demand love that you've seen!

SOMETIMES WE UNCONSCIOUSLY DEMAND TO PROVE THEIR LOVE, and we do that not with our words but with our attitudes: we get moody, offended, we practice the ice law, we become rough, rude, etc. All of this happen if they fail to prove their love we expect.

As you may realized, the things that are demanded aren't bad, but this very fact is what make us think that we're right on demanding them. But this is a mistake. The fact that those things are right, don't make that demanding them to be right.

You can demand obedience to your children up to certain age. But once they grow and want to know the reason before to obey, you'd better know that reason!

Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 in all the versions you want, and I promise that you won't find this: "Love demands". On the contrary, verse 5 says: "Love doesn't seek its own".

So, what can we do to make them change? Well, what would you say to that guy that demands his girlfriend to have sex to prove her love? (Besides that to stay away from her!) "If you really love that woman, learn to wait". In other words, deny yourself for other person.

Renouncing to that desire for love for your spouse giving it to your Heavenly Father is the best way for you to get free of that constant inner dissatisfaction in which you live for not seeing your desire coming true. When you understand that your happiness has to be based on the fact that God is with you and not on that your desires come true, you'll start living in freedom

That desire of demanding your spouse, if you give it to your Heavenly Father, He can calm it down, appease it, and even take it away from you. And not only that, but He can help you to really love because He is love!

Of course that you can apply this principle with your friends, relatives, etc.

Why don't you share this to someone, but not so that that person may change, but to tell him/her: "Look, this made me reflect. I will ask for help to my Heavenly Father so that I may change" 😉

I hope this helped you! =)

Rest from yourself

When you live in the Law, you are heavy laden, stressful and worried, and this happens because in the Law you depend on your own strength and merits for your success. But when you live in the Grace of Jesus, you live rested all the time because you don't depend on what you can get by your own, but you trust that what Jesus won is yours too. Grace is better!

Jacob was trusting on his own strength to fix his life, to escape from his past and from the consequences of his actions. In spite of being Abraham's grandson and Isaac's son, God's men in that time, he felt unworthy that God was with him because of the things he's done. But God was with him, the problem was that he didn't know that and he didn't feel worthy of it!, and we know this because we see that when Jacob decided to take a rest when he was running from his brother, he took a rock as pillow, lay down, and had a dream: open heaven above him with a ladder wherein angels were going up and down, and then God, besides of confirming to Jacob the same covenant made to his father and grandfather, He speaks to his heart saying: "I am with you" (Genesis 28:15).

I think that it was there when Jacob's heart healing started. I imagine him crying saying: "But God, how can you love me if I hurt people, I deceive them, I seek my own benefit, I'm known as an usurper, I lied to my own family. Lord, I'm not worthy that you are with me." And I believe that those words kept ministering Jacob: "In spite of your bad behavior, I love you, I am with you." Wow!

Now, in what moment did Jacob receive that revelation? When he decided to rest! That's the secret: you have to rest from yourself, from trying by your own to win God's and people's approval, from trying to be worthy to be called His son. REST!

If you labor and are heavy laden, come to Jesus and rest. In Him you'll find the rest that your soul needs (Matthew 11:28-29). Jesus didn't come to give a to-do list to win His favor, but He wants to teach you that He already won it for you. Your attitude won't be anymore: I have to win the blessings of God, but it will be: I will go to take what Jesus gave away.

Jacob thought he was running from his problems, but he wasn't running from his true problem: himself, the innate trying to win things. Besides, most assuredly he thought he was running from God too, but God never abandoned him, but Jacob didn't realize that. Jacob just closed his eyes, and behold, God was there.

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! =)

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• 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!