The man who needed money to get back to his hometown

How many of us, almost every day, are approached by those who need to return to their towns and ask us for money? I do not know about the brothers who do not live in Brazil, but here it is quite common, especially in larger cities, to be approached by people who came to try life in the big city and, after being unsuccessful in their attempt, do not have money to get back home.

Our society catalogs these people as "dangerous"; and doubt establishes a wall between us and them. Who knows if they tell the truth or not? Who knows whether or not they will buy "pinga" (popular alcohol beverage) instead of the bus ticket? In fact, the one dollar we give for that individual is not something that we will miss. However, we normally wasted an unique opportunity to present the life of Jesus to these people. We are "trained" not to listen, and expel those who are "disturbing" .

But ... is that true the counsel of the society is the counsel that should be followed? Just answer this to yourself: with all the so called "evolution" of social, scientific and so on., can we see many signs of improvement in the condition of people in general? Certainly not. Rather, it establishes a widening gap between rich and poor. The counsel of God, however, we read in Proverbs 21:13.

(NIV) Proverbs 21
13 Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.

The other day while we were about to start an important church meeting, a gentleman walked in the door of the church to seek for help. Joel is his name. Badly dressed, smelly, maybe a little altered by alcohol. We could dismiss him and go on with our "spiritual gathering" and return to our homes very satisfied at the end of everything.

However, we heard what Joel had to say, gave him financial aid (not much, but a help) and after that we could approach him by saying: "Now that we heard what you had to say, please listen to us for one minute ". He had said he had been a crook and a waste. And I told him that I am a waste as well. Following the expression of astonishment in his face, I explained that everyone is bad, really, and knowing that no man can be good, God established a righteous one that could pay our debt and restore our relationship with God, and this righteous one is Jesus Christ.

I asked him if he wanted Jesus, if he wanted to declare his faith in Him and if he wanted to be cleansed from sin. He said yes straightaway, and knelt; I knelt and prayed together with him. We were also able to pray for his deliverance from evil, we gave him as a gift a little book with the first steps of the Christian life, and we encouraged him to participate in a church, when back to his city. That man left the place saved, free and happy. His expression of anguish turned into peace.

Behold: all in less than 10 minutes. A soul was saved from hell and received the potential of having his life completely transformed. There was no need to expose a biblical treaty, it was not necessary to bathe the citizen in a way he could become worthy to hear our words. It was necessary to pay attention to him, it was necessary to preach Jesus, it was necessary to pray, embrace and help.

As I once read a footnote written by the ministry of the evangelist Ray Comfort, in a bible, "the stones in our hands cry out for our own blood." We are not better than anyone. Our social position, education and finance doesn't gives us the right to reject or condemn a human being.

May we surrender, these days, to the work of the Holy Spirit of God; surely you will be rejoice to see that with a little attitude of yours, the light of Jesus can shine greatly and do a complete difference in a life that needs.

Stay in the peace of Jesus Christ!
Saulo Oliveira Santos.

Try to be weak, while He is strong

Hello friends and brothers!

Today I inaugurate this blog with the objective of helping the christians to fulfill the calling of the Church of Jesus Christ, which is to preach the gospel, and make disciples.

This is an actual and urgent calling. While you read this blog, it is certain that there are people from  our relationship living in sadness, distress, without hope and salvation. It is time for us to preach the message of salvation.

In these days God is awakening the Church with a revival like no one has seen before. The glory of the Lord is being poured over the Earth like the waters cover the sea. I want to be part of it! I want to  be part of the movement of the Holy Spirit in these days, and I know that this is a longing that permeates the whole Church.

One of the major impediments somebody that one can have for the preaching of the gospel is to consider his/her own person as the limiter. We all know our strengths and weaknesses. We all know our limits and weaknesses. We could say, for example, that we could never speak in public. Or we could say that we don't have the profile of an evangelist. We could say that we could never learn an instrument, or a foreign language. You could maybe say that you may never forgive someone. And we get too conformed by being "this way".

Paul, the apostle, however, writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9 saying: "(...) Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses". The things we often say that makes us sad and stops us, Paul claimed to be the reason for his joy.

You can ask: How is that? How can I be joyful when I'm weak in something? However, this is the will of God. That you and I recognize that we are weak; that we finally admit it. Because if I move in the things that I know, who moves: me or God? Certainly I do. This way, all the fruits that I gather is of my own glory. And if I cease to move because I don't know something, who cease to move: me or God? Certainly I do too.

(NIV) John 3

6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

This way, if I move or cease to move based on what I know or what I don't know, I do it based on my own strengths and weaknesses. Look that the human strength is illusion. All strength of the man is weakness before God. So... to move or not to move based on me, will always be based in the weakness of man.

Reading again 2 Corinthians 12.

(NIV) 2 Corinthians 12

9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

How can I do? What must I do? I must recognize, every day, before God that I am weak and give up to be strong, so that He might be strong in me. Our joy is based on the fact the only way we may the power of God fully manifested is if we let Him live in us, if we let Him be the strength in us.

This is delivering, because we don't need pre-requisites to preach the gospel. None, but being in the presence of God. What we do need is to hold a relationship with the Holy Spirit. The only way we may have extraordinary results is to do extraordinary things, and this things are impossible for us to do! So, the only way we could live extraordinarily is living by the Spirit of God.

So my brothers, while considering witnessing about Jesus, make sure that your central concern is to depend on the Holy Spirit of God. Of course we must know God, and the Word of God, but the Holy Spirit of God is the center of evangelism. What His presence does, no man can do.

Stay in the peace of Christ Jesus!

Saulo Oliveira Santos.