The wrong intention.

I remember when I first came to the church... more or less 9 years ago. A desire grew within me to serve God as an assistant, but that intention wasn't to save souls in reality, not even my soul was saved yet!

I observed all the assistants walking up and down the service room, counseling people and using a beautiful uniform. That was so attractive to me! I started getting involved in God's work, in the youth group, evangelizing, everything. My point was to get people's attention and be respected by them because when I was in the world  nobody respected me – I didn't receive any acknowledgment.

The intention of my heart was wrong... I only wanted to have a position in the church, not wanting to please God quite the contrary, I only wanted to please myself and satisfy my ego. 

I lived 4 years like this in the church with these selfish thoughts. Everyone was being blessed except me. Instead of going forwards I was going backwards. This really frustrated me. 

It was only until the penny dropped, and I was able to recognize how wrong I was. I needed to change. So then something happened, a change within me. My intensions, my goals were no longer turned towards pleasing me, but pleasing others, saving souls, it was then and there that a true desire was growing inside, not to please my self but to finally serve God...

After changing my intentions, 3 months passed and that was enough time to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and be raised up as an assistant. It was the happiest day of my life! I made a pact with God, to serve him with all my strength and with all my heart. It's been 5 years since this and I'm still in the same spirit, the same FAITH...

I remembered the verse in the bible that speaks of Hannah's story (1 Sam 1.11)

Hannah only received what she'd always wanted when she changed her heart's intentions. Before, she only wanted a son to get revenge on the person who kept provoking her... but, when she decided to have a son to glorify God, her answer came very quickly...

A secret to being victorious is in our intentions. We have to be sincere before God!

Hugs Mrs. Graciele,

Asst. Cristiane Silva

I'm crushed!!!

"I'm so sad, literally crushed!... I'm not the leader of the group I'm in any more, I feel so useless... I was in charge but got removed… I don't get it I was doing everything right, why did this happen?"

Hmm... Have you heard this already? Or said it yourself?

Let's see what God wants...

When we say we want to serve God as servants do we say, "I want to serve as leader of group A, B, or C, or I want to be this, this and that..." No way! What we mean to say is that we're willing to serve God wherever He sends us, isn't that right?

So then why do so many people get sad because they're not awarded with a certain position? Or why do they say they can't do more for God because they don't have a certain position? 

If you think this way, then your wasting your time.

A servant of God, doesn't have to be a leader, responsible for this or that. She serves God with joy in any position! She doesn't get sad when something is taken away, she keeps serving God. She doesn't care what she has to do, she'll make lemonade from lemons!

She shines when she does things for God, when she doesn't care about her image (Or what they'll think of her) she's the same person when she leads and when she follows and even when she's doing something that appears insignificant to the human eye... even in these things she has zeal in because they're for God. She bears fruit in all she does.

I've always heard the saying, "You want to know a person? Give her everything and then take it all away. There you'll know who she really is." (Isn't this true?)

Those who love serving God make the difference, even if they have to clean a toilet. They are serving the Lord Jesus, not themselves. Those who serve God don't care about their public image, what others say about them, she knows she's a blessing and wherever she goes she will make the difference. Everything she does is and will be for The Lord Jesus.

I'm going to send an email...

During the time I was an assistant, the internet didn't yet exist.

Our only spiritual food was the pastor on the altar and the messages of Bishop Macedo and the other pastors on the radio.

I remember trying to hear the services of Brás, Brazil through the São Paulo radio. During that time every one worked in the regional cathedral, on Wednesdays there were about seventy.

Some assistants in my church had already been removed from the Pastor of the Cathedral. He said, "Stop talking during the service"...

I don't know why, but we noticed that like when some receive an order, they disobey, and then they have difficulty to do the right thing...

The worst thing is that the Pastor, he seemed aggravated, still on the altar he could see... he could see the attempts to hide what we did wrong...

I was included in that situation, but in truth, I didn't even go to the cathedral on Wednesday because I studied.

But one day, that marked my life forever, I went...

And I saw all the assistants, my friends... friends that had forgotten to tell me the order the pastor had given... In other words, I had no idea what was happening...

An assistant stood by my side... laughed about something and left...

Like always, the pastor called all the assistants to talk to them. I didn't even see when he walked in, in that small room with all the regional assistants. Basically, we were so occupied on waiting for the pastor that we were laughing and talking...

But when he told me to give up my uniform I listened...

I didn't think he was talking to me but he was.

"I had already told you all that when you give up your uniform it's no use to cry." After I realized he was really talking to me (I was in shock for a few seconds), I could only think, "Why?"

Without a doubt the Pastor needed to receive an email from me...

How could he humiliate me? In front of all the region? I didn't even usually attend the services in the cathedral to be accused of something I didn't do.

But in that time, nobody thought this way... and after a few minutes... After an earful...

He blessed the assistants, and made a purpose to place his hands on our heads.

I thought... "He humiliated me and now he wants to bless me..."

I was the first one. My life changed after that very blessed day, blessed words... Blessed the hands that blessed me...

I married that Pastor. After two years in front of all the assistants in that regional cathedral.

A lot are witnesses of our story...

Many times people stop the blessing or blessing others because they start judging.

It doesn't matter who was wrong, but the will of God in every situation. If you think about that, we're going to know what God intends for us to do.

But if I had sent that email...

Graça Lourenço