Memories from the past can be a blessing, but they can also be a curse. It all depends on how we handle them.

A few days ago I watched a rerun of an episode of the TV show House M.D. In that episode, the patient was a woman who had an unusual abnormality: she had a perfect memory.

She could recall anything that happened in her life, every word spoken, details about the objects and people around her, what she felt, everything about every single day. She worked as a waitress, and she could remember everything each person ordered, not only in a specific day, but ever!

At first, I thought she was blessed. Can you imagine having such a “gift”? It sounded awesome.

Have you ever been to a beautiful place and felt like you didn’t belong there, that you were disrupting nature somehow?

I’ve just returned from a trip to Campos do Jordão, a beautiful city in the mountains of the state of São Paulo, about 3 hours from São Paulo city. It is a peaceful and quiet place surrounded by nature.

One day I went up a small hill that has a beautiful view (check out the photo above). While I was there, taking pictures and admiring God’s amazing work, I got upset because of the insects flying around. There weren’t many of them, but every now and then one of them flew near me, which completely disrupted my contemplation.

Whenever you have a goal to reach, you develop a strategy to get there. You gather data, analyze it and plan your actions.

If someone talk to you about their strategy, you might be able to understand and see how they got it, even though you might not agree with it.

However, when we look at God’s strategies, they usually don’t make much sense to us at first.

For example, let’s look at the conquest of Jericho (Joshua chapter 6).

Jericho was the first city the israelites needed to conquest upon entering the promised land. However, they knew that the people who lived there were very tall and strong, powerful warriors, and the city itself was a fortress, it was virtually impossible to just break in.

Have you ever made a resolution to do something, then after a while you gave up on it? Or maybe you didn’t even started… We’ve all been there.

One of the most common resolutions among Christians is to read the entire Bible through. Not all people I know were able to finish it.

Years ago, when I (truly) got converted, I decided to read the entire Bible. I figured that if I say that I believe the Bible is the one and only true revelation of God, His Word, and my reference for living my life, I should know what it says, right?

A few days ago, I read a tweet from a pastor about a public person that had recently died. He suggested that that person, who was not a Christian, was now in the presence of the devil. It seems that he intended it to be a smart joke, but it bothered me profoundly.

I have to be honest. I know that it is clear in the Bible what determines every person’s eternal destination: whether they have accepted Jesus as their Savior or not. But it bothers me when a Christian, who is called to love everyone, suggests that a person went to hell.

So I responded to the pastor’s tweet, but he insisted that he had made no judgement, he had just affirmed that the person had a meeting with the devil but he didn’t say what the outcome was. Based on the Bible, there is no such thing as a meeting with the devil after someone dies.

Most of you are familiar with the episode when Peter and John (Jesus’ disciples) heal a lame beggar at one of the gates of the temple (Acts 3).

The Bible says that the man was lame from birth (Acts 3:2), so he depended upon people’s charity to live. He even depended upon them to carry him to the temple gate, he couldn’t do it himself.

That was probably one of the best spots in town for a beggar. Lots of people coming and going to the temple, and religious people were probably more inclined to help a beggar.

It started as just another regular day. When the beggar saw Peter and John passing by, he did what he was so used to do, he asked them for money. He never thought that his life would never be the same again.

Peter, full of boldness from the Holy Spirit, looked at him and said:

“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6).

Moses answered them, “Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you.” (Numbers 9:8)
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)

Life is about making choices. Throughout one single day, we make dozens of choices. From simple ones, like choosing our clothes in the morning or what to have for breakfast, to more significant ones, like choosing which job to apply for or which proposal to accept.

There are choices that change the course of our lives. When it comes to making an important decision, timing is also very important.

We might think we need to take action now, we can’t wait. But sometimes, waiting is a valid option that you must seriously consider.

I’ve been gone for a while enjoying my vacation. I was very tired and stressed out, I was eager to be able to enjoy some time out to get some rest and recharge.

Years ago, I’ve learned one (or should I say another) interesting lesson about my relationship with God: He also loves to be a part of my time out, my moment of relaxation, my vacations, from planning to execution.

So what I learned to do is to allow God to tell me what should I do, if I should travel, where should I travel to, when, how, etc. I also ask for His guidance on choosing the flight, hotels, etc.

You’re probably thinking that I turned God into my travel agent, but it’s not like that. It’s like two friends planning a trip together. The difference is that I know that His suggestions are always better than mine.