Poverty: A sad story...

What is important in life? To have a big nice house, and a brand new car?

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." (James 1:27)

Have you ever felt like giving up, or that you are to weak?

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil 4:13)

The Gospel According to You

There's a sweet old story translated for men,
But writ in the long, long ago
The Gospel according to Mark, Luke, and John
Of Christ and His mission below.

You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day,
By deeds that you do, by words that you say.
Men read what you write, whether faithless or true.
Say, what is the gospel according to you?

Men read and admire the gospel of Christ,
With its love so unfailing and true;
But what do they say, and what do they think
Of the gospel according to you?

'Tis a wonderful story, that gospel of love,
As it shines in the Christ-life divine,
And oh, that its truth might be told again
In the story of your life and mine!

Unselfish mirrors in every scene,
Love blossoms on every sod,
And back from its vision the heart comes to tell
The wonderful goodness of God.

You are writing each day a letter to men;
Take care that the writing is true.
'Til the only gospel some men will read,
That gospel according to you.

Author Unknown

Be Still for the Presence of the Lord

Take a break and be still, talk to God, and listen to His voice.

Always

Romans 8:28 "...all things work together for good to them that love God..."





You are good always
And in all ways
You are working all things
Together for our good
You are good always
In big and small ways
I know I can trust You
In everything You do

With the hard winds of life
Blowing out of control
It can feel like I'm all on my own
But You've given me Your word
And I know You'll never leave
And I've never faced a single storm alone

I can't say it's always
Been a smooth open road
Or turned out the way I'd prefer
But one thing I'm sure of
You've been faithful to me
And I live to give You all that You deserve

Seek, memorize, and act

"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments." (Ezra 7:10)

We should do like Ezra.

1. Seek and study the bible - in prayer.
2. Relate it to the practical life - Do what the bible teaches.
3. Teach others what you have learned. Not necessarily by giving a speech, but by telling them what the Bible says.

A good way to teach others, and get the full understanding of what the Bible says is by memorizing it. Because when we memorizes the word, the Holy Spirit will remind us, whenever we need it - for ourselves our other around us.
The Bible commands us to memorize the scripture, many times, not as a burden, but for our best.

"My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. " (Proverbs 7:1-3)

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates." (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. " (Psalms 119:9-15)

Immanuel

Our God is with us

Lifestyle TV

I just want to share that you can watch free television about physical, mental and spiritual health at www.lifestyletv.se

Something delicious in grocery store

I went to a grocery store (Kiwi) and found this:

"Ready to eat" - Yes!

Every good impulse comes from God

I am so happy that God reminds me, daily, of these words:

“We are required to take upon our necks the yoke of Christ, because every good impulse comes from the Spirit of God, and we are quickened to earnest effort for a higher life.” {ST, July 20, 1888 par. 10}

So, next time you get an impulse to do good, either it is to say something, or do something to somebody, use your mind and act.

Role model - Andressa Duarte (must see!)

This is an amazing story about a girl, that truly was a role model to all of us. If you don't understand Portuguese, like me, click on "choose language" in the movie window, or click here, and choose english.



Praise the Lord for people like her! The movie speaks for itself.
Remember: "If we don't do our part now, If we want to do it tomorrow, maybe there will be no time."

Here is also a translation from the movie:

Life is a countdown... Hope, framed in the smile, the mission, engraved in the heart, forever.

Sunday - Public Evangelism
And on Sundays, the radio, I start with the devotional. There's some time for the children, where I tell them some stories, then later, there are prizes, and this is the schedule for every Sunday.

Monday - Witnessing
[Andressa Duarte Barragana - 14 years old] Monday, I study in the morning... and in the afternoon we do a lot of missionary work.

Tuesday - Humanitarian Help and Bible Class
Tuesday, I visit the nursing home. There we sing, pray, we play...There are some people, that are so lonely, you know? They really open their hearts to us.

Wednesday - Social Work
Wednesday we get together at my house, to work with the community co-op. We do decoupage, roofing tile decoration, We do... glass work, picture-framing, we decorate refrigerator magnets, lots of arts and crafts, 'cause the families that work at the co-op are very poor families.

Friday - Intercessory Prayer
Friday, I started a group for intercessory prayer. So each kid gets these prayer requests, that comes from several churches, and pray for the name they get on that little piece of paper. The intercessory prayer, it's very interesting, because many requests were already answered through our prayers, you know? Because there is power in prayer.

Sabbath - Personal Evangelism
On Sabbath I wake up a little earlier and invite some kids to go to church. So, that's what my week is like.

Her ministry
On that Sabbath, the same week, I was baptized, then next Thursday I started the small group. The first person that I went to was Robert. I told him, Robert, you're going to be very important for this small Group, Robert. One would take the roll call, the other was a deacon, the other a receptionist, the other a deaconess, the other would distribute the handouts, but, every one that had a position there, they had to bring 2 friends. So, the number of children was increasing. From 10 to 20, then 25... today there are about 45 kids there. The interesting thing is that through my small group it was possible to do all these missionary work.

I'm a normal kid, because I study, I play, when I have time. I enjoy my parents, hang out with my sisters...

Jesus give us 24 hours. If we take 1 hour to do missionary work, distribute a pamphlet, a bible study course, ...because... Jesus is coming, He is showing the signs, the prophecies. All that is being fulfilled.

If we don't do our part now, If we want to do it tomorrow, maybe there will be no time.

...And there was no more time. March 22th, 2008. 7:15 am, Sabbath - Pelotas/RS/Brazil. Last day of Easter Week. While Andressa was on her way to preach at her church, her car crashed into a truck. At that automobile tragedy, 4 women passed away. Including Andressa, 14 years old. In the little time she lived, she did much. More than 100 people were baptized, and innumerable others were influenced by her example.

She did all she could, while she could. How about you?

"If we don't do our part now, If we want to do it tomorrow, maybe there will be no time." Andressa Barragana (1994 - 2008)
I live for Jesus

Series of meetings in Bergen summer 2008

Here is a clip in Norwegian, that shows some of the things we did, when a youth group had series of meetings in Bergen last summer.



The group outside church

Osvald preaching
In church
Playing and singing
In the bus

Massage
At the stand

I got a new friend :)


Passing out free stuff :)
A lot of people came



If you want to join us, going to Finnmark (north of Norway) next summer, check out this site:
http://www.adventistinfo.no/adventistinfo/timen_er_kommet/timen_er_kommet_prosjekt_2009_vil_du_bli_med

Movie clips from when I went to Tyrifjord Academy

Playing outside.. oh what happend :O

School choir: Holy, Holy, Holy (Norwegian)

Christmas 2008

Here are some pictures from Christmas. I am at home with my family.

Family


Siblings

God wants to gather His sheep

I really like the verses in Romans 10:9-17. It starts like this:

9 That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

This is clear and simple, isn't it? The statement is at least clear, but it's easy to fail. We must confess by the words we speak, the sentences we say, and how we act like humans; that Lord Jesus is the one that we believe in. But we can't confess if we do not believe in our hearts, that God has raised Him from the dead. Then it says "you will be saved". Unbelievable!

But it doesn't end here…

10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

The last sentence makes it even clearer. We have to call on the name of the Lord from where we have our belief. Then he will hear us. But if we want to hear Him, we have to renew our minds and not hold on to things, but hold on to God alone.

Romans 12:2 says: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

God warns us to not be conformed to this world. Why? Because it is not in harmony with His will. We have to renew our minds and prove what is good and search for Gods will.

"15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." (1 Joh 15-17)

We do not find Gods will by searching for it in the world. We have to turn our eyes up to heaven and look upon Jesus, what He did hear on earth. He is the great example how the human beings should live.

We should beware of the things in the world. To find out of Gods will, we have to let Him talk to us. That will be easy for God to do, but difficult for us to hear, because of all noise that comes from this world, into our mind. We make choices all the time what we want to put into our mind. We can't hear God clearly in the midst of all noise. We have to live a Godly life daily by studying His word, praying and doing everything to Gods glory.

14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

God tells us to believe in Him first, and then we can call on Him. But we can not believe in Him if we not have heard Him.

15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
" How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!"
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "LORD, who has believed our report?" 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

God is ready to send us out to tell others what we know and what God wants with our lives. But first we have to get ourselves faith by hearing the word of God, and obey it.

Jesus Himself said:

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

(Matthew 28:19-20)