As armadilhas do diabo (Series): véspera

As armadilhas do diabo (Series): véspera

As armadilhas do diabo: EVE
Uma série tirada do Dr.. Carlos Stanley

“véspera”

Genesis 2:21
And the senhor God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.

Genesis 3:1–9
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

Have you ever wanted something you knew you should not have or participated in something you knew you shouldn’t? Have you ever been tempted to sin?

The enemy tries to take our attention off of God and focus on the one thing we don’t have. For Eve, it is the fruit she cannot eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent has been observing Eve for a while. He cannot read her mind, but he watches for her reactions and her behavior patterns. He sees her approaching the tree and looking at the beautiful fruit. She is thinking, I wonder why God is keeping this from me. God is holding back something good from me. It’s because He doesn’t really love and care about me. If He did, He would let me have this fruit.

For those of us who have had children or have spent any time with children, we understand that children do not know what is best for them. They would eat junk food all day and watch TV all night. As adults, we know that is not a healthy way to live. We love them. então, we teach them and put up boundaries so they learn to make healthy choices. We do this because we care about their well-being and their future. God loves us too and wanted to protect Adam, Eve and the whole world from the destructive effects of sin. That’s why He told them not to eat of the fruit.

We see in Scripture that Eve has a conversation with Satan the serpent. That was her first mistake. Do not have a dialogue with the enemy. Do not even entertain his thoughts because he is more cunning then you know. We cannot reason or trust the enemy to lead us to do anything that would benefit us in any way. His ways always lead to death and destruction. That’s why knowing the Word of God is so important. When the enemy lies to you, you will know the truth and you will not fall into temptation or sin.

The second thing we see is Satan causing Eve to doubt God’s Word. He said, “You shall not eat it: for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) Satan said, “You shall not surely die, For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Becoming like “god” was all Eve needed to hear. Pride will destroy a godly person faster than anything else. I can be my own “god”. I can do whatever I want. I am in charge of my life. I don’t need God. I took that approach when I had my abortion because I thought I knew better. I wanted to be in control of my life. I am my own “god”. Look what that did for me and my dear son. He died as a result of my decision. Consequently, I was plunged headlong into deep despair, depressão, self-loathing and suicidal thoughts. Don’t listen to Satan. He will destroy you. Only God’s way leads to life, paz, joy and true freedom.

então, where was Adam when this was all happening? When Eve took of the fruit and ate it, Adam should have said, “What are you doing? God told us not to eat it.” But the scriptures say that Eve gave it to her husband, and he ate. Then their eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked. Then, they sewed fig leaves together to cover up their nakedness and their sin. I, too, have done that in my life. I rushed to hide my sin never thinking about the consequences. Those decisions have never led to good outcomes for me. The fear of being unmasked is a powerful motivator. My false persona of being the good quiet one was in danger of exposure. Como resultado, I rushed my decision to have an abortion. In my mind, there were no other alternatives. Hurry up and take care of it, or do this before someone finds out that the good quiet one in the family is a phony. My whole life had become a lie.

God calls out to Adam, “Where are you?” God knew where Adam and Eve were. He wanted to give them a chance to come out of hiding and confess their sin. Contudo, they didn’t. We hide from God too. We isolate ourselves as Christians. We stop going to church or stop being accountable to people when we sin because it’s easier. Then we wake up one morning and say, “How did I get here?” It happens very quickly, my friends. It’s important to confess sin daily to God and to stay in a close Christian community like this group where there is accountability. Each one of us is just one step away from falling into grievous sin. Stay close to God, read His Word, memorize Scripture and stay in community with other believers. If you do this, you will be protected from the lies and the fiery darts of the enemy.

Keep your focus on God alone, and you will be safe.

Please share how you took matters into your own hands like Eve did? What was the outcome?

What have you learned from that experience?

Você é amado,
Toni

 

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Como Deus usou sua dor?

Como Deus usou sua dor?

(2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

Quando eu vim a Cristo com a idade de 34, Eu estava sofrendo de depressão severa, dor física nas articulações e fadiga. Procurei respostas de vários médicos, mas eles não puderam encontrar nada. Meus resultados de teste, Tomografias, Ressonâncias magnéticas e exames de sangue voltaram ao normal. Eu estava perplexo. O que há de errado comigo? Agora eu percebo que meu, lutas emocionais e de saúde eram a maneira de Deus chamar minha atenção. Por causa de como eu me sentia mal, Eu não podia participar de minhas atividades regulares. Foi nessa época de sofrimento que Deus começou a me atrair para si.

Como Deus usou o sofrimento em sua vida para chamar sua atenção? No meu caso, Deus usou minha dor, fraqueza, fadiga e depressão. Deus sabe exatamente como chegar a todos nós para que nos voltemos e nos concentremos Nele. Deus sempre usou meus problemas de saúde física para me lembrar de me apoiar nele. Ele usa o sofrimento para que primeiro, vamos perceber o quanto precisamos Dele em nossa vida e em segundo lugar, que tipo de mudanças precisamos fazer.

Quando eu tive a coragem de confiar em Deus e finalmente quis mais do que mera sobrevivência, Deus me encontrou bem onde eu estava. Deus usou minha angústia para me trazer a ele. Mesmo durante meu período de dor, Deus me usou para ajudar os outros. Quando eu segui Sua liderança, alcançando os necessitados, Eu recebi ainda mais cura para mim. Dentro 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, A Palavra de Deus diz, “Bendito seja o Deus e Pai de nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo, o Pai da misericórdia e o Deus de todo conforto, que nos conforta em todas as nossas aflições, para que possamos confortar aqueles que estão em qualquer aflição, com o conforto com que nós mesmos somos consolados por Deus. Pois como compartilhamos abundantemente nos sofrimentos de Cristo, então, por meio de Cristo, também compartilhamos abundantemente no conforto. (ESV) Deus nunca desperdiça nosso sofrimento. É tudo para um propósito específico. Alguns de vocês, queridos, têm sofrido por muito tempo, e meu coração está com você. Pode parecer muito solitário às vezes, mas Deus te vê. Ele te ama e tem um propósito para a sua dor.

Cristo sofreu uma morte horrível na cruz por nós. Ele também suportou tortura tendo sido açoitado, espancado, esbofeteado, atingido com varas e perfurado em seu crânio com uma coroa de espinhos. Se alguém conhece angústia e dor, é jesus. Venha para Jesus assim como você é, e ele vai te dar conforto. Só Ele pode carregá-lo quando você não pode dar mais um passo. Ele é o único que nunca vai te deixar. Ele não vai abusar de você ou tirar vantagem de você. O amor dele é puro, sagrado, justo e afirmador da vida. Seus caminhos levam à verdadeira liberdade e cura.

Como Deus usou o sofrimento em sua vida?

O que Deus está mostrando a você?

Um dia, Amado, estaremos na glória em um lugar chamado céu onde não há mais dor, tristeza ou choro - um lugar onde seremos abraçados pela paz e amor de Jesus.

Você é amado,
Toni

 

 

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Tempo de Oração e Arrependimento

Tempo de Oração e Arrependimento

Tempo de Oração e Arrependimento
por Toni Weisz / Spiritual Disciplines

2 Kings 24:14, Salmo 139:23-24, e 2 Corinthians 7:10

Recently, my pastor preached about the prophet Jeremiah and the reasons why God punished His own people during that time. God allowed Nebuchadnezzar, a powerful and ruthless Babylonian king, to overtake Jerusalem. He plundered the temple and the royal palace, and carried away the King of Judah, his mighty men, e 10,000 captives including all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except for the ‘poorest people of the land’ (2 Kings 24:14). But why would God allow this to happen? Much like us, the children of Israel struggled greatly with idolatry, specifically child sacrifice. The Bible describes this act as passing children through the fire (2 Kings 21:6). In ancient times, many Israelites sacrificed their children to the false gods of Baal and Molech. Nebuchadnezzar’s successful plundering and capturing of Jerusalem’s royalty and workforce was part of God’s divine punishment for these sins

In a similar way, we have followed in the footsteps of the Israelites by terminating the lives of our children. We may not physically hand over our newborn babies to be sacrificed like our ancient Jewish counterparts, but we end the lives of our children while still in our wombs. As a nation, we have murdered over 63 million children, passing them through the fire in sacrifice to our own false god: nós mesmos. My heart breaks when I think of the multitude of families that are missing a child, a grandchild, a great grandchild, a brother, or a sister. Entire generations of our families are missing. We have played “god” (little “g” god) by deciding whether our children live or die. então, today I dedicate a special prayer to each woman in this ministry and for our nation to repent of its sins of abortion and self-idolatry. My hope is that God will save future generations from this death and destruction.

Forgive us, senhor, for putting ourselves on the throne of our hearts instead of You. Only You can give life and take life. Forgive us for our sin of abortion. We are so sorry that we robbed You of the precious lives that You gave us. Forgive us for having sex outside of marriage thinking we knew best. You only wanted to protect us from the harm it would cause us and our children. Forgive us for our sin of lust and fornication.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in Your way everlasting.” (Salmo 139: 23-24) Heavenly Father, in the powerful name of Jesus I pray. Come Holy Spirit and search each heart now, remove any blindness, help us to trust You and to surrender every part of our being to You. Bring into the light our evil thoughts and actions that have hurt You, others, and ourselves. senhor, forgive us for our selfish ways and our impure thoughts. Cleanse us from all our iniquity and cleanse us from our sins. We need You to renew our minds and purify our minds with the powerful Word of God. Bring down any unhealthy thinking or critical and unkind thoughts. Help us to be humble and teachable. Remove our sin of pride far from us. We want to walk in Your ways, senhor. We want to relinquish control to You, senhor. We want You to be first in our lives, senhor. We want You to be glorified through our lives, senhor. Be magnified in us today.

“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10) senhor, we are totally broken over our sins. When we sin, let us think back to the Old Testament and picture the gruesome sacrifice of animals for a covering over our sins. In the New Testament, Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, came and atoned for our sins and removed them from us. He was our substitute. He paid our sin-debt so we could be righteous before You. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. You are Holy, senhor. Help us to be pure and holy. Help us to be separated from the world. We are foreigners here. This is not our home. Let us not be like Lot’s wife, who turned back to see the destruction of the world she came to love more than You, senhor. Como resultado, God judged her, and she was turned into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). Let me love Your ways, senhor, more than anything this world can offer me.

How long, senhor, will you hold back your hand of judgment upon America? Is the turmoil we are experiencing today a result of your church not standing up against all the evil in our world? How long will You tolerate our sins of pride, idolatry, and murder without bringing judgment upon us? Have mercy upon us, O Lord, and hold back Your hand of judgment upon us. Help us to acknowledge that our time is short. Help us to be about Your business in this world. Give us a new, fresh outpouring of your Holy Spirit to be bolder, more courageous, and more effective in the things we do in this ministry, in our churches, in our families, and in our workplaces. Set our hearts on fire with the power of Your Word. In the powerful name of Jesus, I pray. Amém.

Let’s take time now to allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts. Obrigada, Lord for what You are doing in our lives.

Perguntas

  1. What has God put on your heart to pray about today?
  2. Is there anything you want to confess?
  3. Is there a person in your family that you are especially praying for?

Please feel free to reach out for prayer, toni@myashestobeauty.com. God bless you.

Você é amado,
Toni

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Toda criança merece ser amada

Toda criança merece ser amada

Romanos 12:9b and Psalm 147:3

What happens to us as we get older and we mature and change our minds regarding abortion? Growing up I never imagined I would have an abortion. At a young age, I always loved children and took care of them because I was the oldest granddaughter on my mom’s side of the family. She is one of 10 siblings. My relatives would say, “Toni, go take the kids and play.” I even dreamed of becoming a teacher someday. That’s how much I loved children. então, I ask myself the question, why did I terminate the life of my first baby? Why did I allow the enemy to lie to me? Why didn’t I have the courage to admit to my parents that I had made a mistake and ask them for help? Why? These questions continue to plague me. The only response I can give right now is that I am trying to put all the pieces together to figure out the answers. I must revisit my childhood to identify the key moments in my life that led me astray. When did I start making decisions for myself—very bad ones—that would have long-lasting repercussions to endure for a lifetime?

My granddaughter, who is 8 anos, asked her mother about a huge billboard sign she saw on her way to school. The billboard read “Vote Pro-Life 2020” and showed a picture of a baby. My daughter briefly explained the issue of abortion and how the procedure leads to the death of the baby. My granddaughter was horrified. She could not believe a mother would kill her child. She wanted to know how the baby dies, but my daughter responded, “You don’t need to know that right now.” My granddaughter could not understand why a mother would take the life of her own child? They hugged one another and wept bitterly. After crying for a while, my granddaughter became angry and said, “How can our country allow this to happen?” She’s only 8. Yet, she knows that this is wrong. It breaks my heart. My granddaughter and I are extremely close. então, it saddens me to know that one day I will have to tell her that I had an abortion.

We have murdered over 60 million children in this country through abortion procedures. Do we need to mourn the loss of those children? Shouldn’t we all cry like my granddaughter cried when we hear such tragedy? How did each of us become so cold and disconnected from our very own child?

Where did the lie begin? When did abortion become an acceptable option? How did we transform from life-affirming children into post-abortion women? What a long and broken road we’ve walked. Let us unpack the truth and expose the reasons why we chose abortion?

I truly believe that if we had an encounter with the One True God, the Creator of the universe, engaged in a personal relationship with Him as children, teens and young adults, we would have chosen to give life to our babies in most instances. I would like to go one step further by highlighting the reality that many Christians have abortions as well. If we could only believe the truth that God loves and cherishes us and that He has a beautiful plan for our lives, we would make better decisions in this life. We were all raised in homes with some degree of dysfunction. Some were abused in their homes while others were neglected, or both. Every child deserves a safe home in which to experience love and be nurtured. Anything less is an injustice, which breaks my heart and God’s as well.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, “The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread. The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved.” I believe our need for love has made us vulnerable to many kinds of evil and forms of abuse, especially you precious ones who were abused as children. When I see such evil being committed by those who have rejected Christ and remain unrepentant, the one thing that gives me peace is to know that God will bring them to justice. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romanos 12: 19b)

Fear of rejection stems from another lie we have believed about God. The Lord, in His Word, reminds us numerous times, “I will not leave you.” Perhaps He knew this would be one of our greatest areas of pain and loneliness. He knew the enemy would use this lie against us as he has already done in the lives of so many others. The fear of man, fear of rejection, fear of abandonment and the fear of being judged harshly cause us to doubt God’s promises and His goodness. By fearing God more than fearing man, perhaps we would have had the courage to choose life.

It’s important to return to the memories of our past so that we can move forward. That doesn’t mean we camp out there and remain stuck in our pain. We just need to visit long enough to get understanding. In order to be healed, we must come to Jesus in our present condition and humble ourselves before Him. We can then trust Him to walk with us in the hidden places of our minds and hearts. It is only then that we can be healed and truly set free.

então, tell me your story. When did you think abortion was your only option?

What were the lies you believed that caused you to choose abortion in the first place?

Did someone force you to abort your baby?

God is with you dear one. He is close to the brokenhearted, and He heals your wounds. (Salmo 147:3)

Will you trust Him today to exchange your ashes, your abuse, your abortion, your sins for His love, forgiveness, peace and true joy?

 

Bênçãos,

Toni

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