Robbing Believers

For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. ‘Return to Me, and I will return to you,’ says the Lord of hosts. But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’

The key word here is: 'Return to Me.'
Israel is not remembered for its obedience to the Lord.
On the contrary, throughout their relationship with God, Israel spent more time in rebellion than in obedience.
They were the firstfruits of God among all the nations, Jeremiah 2.3.
The firstborn of the Almighty.
Yet, they turned their backs on the care that God had shown for them.
Because of their rebelliousness, the Lord considered them robbers.
Robbers of God.
Just like the majority of believers today.

It was not their enemies, nor their neighbors who called Israel robbers. It was God Himself.
Being labeled a robber is extremely upsetting for an honorable person.
Those who hate Jesus also call me a robber.
However, when the righteous Judge is the One defending me, who shall bring a charge against me? Romans 8.33.
But when it is the Judge Himself accusing Israel of being a robber, who will defend them?
If they had not known the Lord or His Laws, Israel would not have been considered a robber.

The same is true with disobedient believers.
They are worse than wicked unbelievers.
They are considered robbers by God the Father, they are considered robbers by God the Son and they are considered robbers by God the Holy Spirit.
This is why most of these people are so unsuccessful.
They can quote many promises, like The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want... But that is not how they live their lives.
Rather, they are servants of the wicked and the unbelievers.

They eat poorly, sleep badly and live miserably; in short, they have horrible lives...
Why is that?
Because they know the Word of God, yet obey the devil.
The devil came to steal, kill and destroy, John 10.10.
They do not kill or destroy, in a literal sense.
But they steal from God.
They do the same thing as the devil.

If the Lord called His chosen people robbers, won’t He also call these Christians robbers?
Will the Lord Jesus defend them just because they say that they believe in Him?
Or just because they are evangelical church-goers?
Or because they carry a Bible and dress in a Christian-like manner?
Or because they do not smoke or drink?
No! A thousand times no!

Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.

This evil curse is upon these robbers.
What robber can escape judgement?
They may even remain free for a time...
but never, ever for very long.
Sooner or later they will be seated before the Righteous Judge.

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house...

Before a person can restore his partnership with the Holy Spirit it is a requirement for him to obey His Law, which is His Word.
The dedication shown by giving the firstfruits of your income (tithes) and freewill offerings to the house of the Lord is a person’s way of practicing the first works.
It is an exercise in faithfulness, and above all, a demonstration of love for God.
This is what is known as an act of pure faith, because a person is taking his first 10% and placing it on the altar of One who is Invisible.

And try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

You will only receive honor from the Lord God after you have honored Him.
A faithful tither has the right to demand the Promises of God.
By doing so, they will confirm their truthfulness.

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground;
The devourer loses his right to consume the fruit of your work when you remain faithful to your covenant with God.
How many people work hard and do not see the fruit of their work?
How many people earn lots of money, but do not enjoy any of its benefits?
Instead, they spend a lifetime working and saving money, but in the end, spend it all on doctors and medicine.
Wouldn’t this be a direct attack from the devourer?
How many struggle from a generational curse?

‘Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,’ says the Lord of hosts.
When there is a partnership with the Creator, nothing fails to bear fruit.

On the contrary, there will be great success with every new endeavor.

And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 3.6-12

Thinking about quitting?

I am going to show you how many lose their salvation:

She is a diamond that only the violent are able to reach,
because they put all of their strength into it and fight
until the end.

Many give up without knowing how close they actually
are to achieving their salvation.

Collaboration: Bishop Ubirajara Fonseca - New York

From Ex-prostitute to V-Woman

Good morning, Mrs. Cris!

How are you?
My name is Luiza, I am 25 years old and I am grateful for the direction that the Holy Spirit gave you to write the book, The V Woman. Through this book, you have reached thousands - or even millions - of women throughout the world.

Before I had an encounter with God, I thought that I needed to walk around “half naked” in order to be noticed by men. I wore low-cut shirts and short bottoms all the time.
I loved when men turned their heads to look at me - I thought I was so cool.

I would stay with one guy one day, then another guy on the next day and that is how I lived my life. I never had a serious relationship. I would just date them and then leave them. Most of the time, I would dress appropriately, but when I went out to the nightclubs, I would go all out with my outfits.

Over time, I began seeing that this lifestyle was not taking me anywhere. I have endured a lot, Mrs. Cris. During four months, I worked as a call girl and God’s mercy is the only reason that I did not die. It's a world filled with great filth. But God rescued me out of that hell hole and brought me into the light.

When I first came to the UCKG, I had left that rotten lifestyle about a year before, but my life was still tied up. I thank your father, Bishop Macedo, because it was through him that I met God and learned what He could do for me.

I arrived at the UCKG in September 2011, for the Nation of the 318 meeting. I was unemployed and heard so many testimonies of people who had their financial life transformed, so I wanted to see what that meeting was all about. During that time in my life, my only concern was my financial life, nothing else. Around October or November, your father began talking about the Fast of Daniel, for those who wanted to receive the Holy Spirit, on his radio program. I had no idea what this purpose was about, but I was sure that it was a good thing, because I heard testimonies of people who had been baptized and had their lives transformed.

So, I would listen to the UCKG’s radio program and to Bishop Macedo’s messages every day. So I began preparing myself for the Fast of Daniel because I wanted my life to be transformed and to be born of GOD. About 10 days before the purpose started, I stopped watching TV, listening to music and reading newspapers and magazines. Radio and Internet? Only if it was one of the UCKG’s programs, your blog or the Bishop’s blog. I told myself that I was going to be baptized, even if it were on the last day because I was DETERMINED.

The day before the Fast, I listened to the radio all day long and the Bishop’s message came on at midnight. At one point, your father said: "Those of you who want to be baptized with the Holy Spirit right now, let’s pray together." What happened next was unforgettable. I was sitting on my bed, alone in my room and I knelt down on the bed and began to pray. During the first few minutes of that new day I was blessed and baptized with the Holy Spirit. I thought that I would only be baptized at the end of the Fast, but I was "awarded" on the very first day of the Fast. It was something marvelous. Only God has the power to turn an ex-prostitute into a new person.

I remember waking up early that day (Sunday) and going to Church. Because I didn’t have enough money to pay the bus fare, I had to walk for over an hour and a half. Only God could give me the strength to walk all the way there. At the end of the meeting, an "angel" offered to pay my bus ride back home – Phew! – thankfully, because it was already dark outside. Even though I had been baptized on the first day, I remained firm until the end to strengthen myself. Unlike many, I was baptized with the Holy Spirit first and then I was baptized in water, on 12/25/11. That day, Bishop Macedo was here at the Cathedral in Rio de Janeiro and that is when I "buried" the old Luiza and began giving rise to a new woman.

Since then, I’ve never turned away from the UCKG or GOD. The devil has risen up against me, but he always falls right back down because I am a "Princess of GOD" and I know I will prevail.

A couple of months later, your book, V Woman, was released. It took me a while to buy it, but after I did and began reading it - wow! I truly began understanding what being a woman of God meant and that I don’t need to show off my body to be admired by men. If I don’t value myself, who will? I have learned that instead of wanting someone to change, I can and must change first. This is what it means to be a wise woman. I learned that "When everyone around you says ‘no’, you must find a way out."

Every once in a while I read the book again and as soon as I’m able to, I’m going to buy more books to give as gifts to my friends.
In the past, I "loved" the attention I got from men. Today, I only love God.
I've learned and continue learning from your blogs. When you and your husband came here to the Cathedral, for the Therapy of Love meeting, I was sitting in the front and loved the meeting and the advice you gave us. Even though I'm single, the advice you gave us was great.

That is about it, Mrs. Cris. I thank Bishop Macedo, the UCKG, you and especially God, because I would not be writing this e-mail if not for his mercy and love.

May GOD continue to bless you all!

Luiza Rangel Castro

The holy doubt of God

There cannot be more than one person that fits another.

Eve was not just anyone.

She was made, only for Adam.

They got on well together.

One trusted the other…

so much so that he accepted her suggestion and rejected God’s.

His rebelliousness cost him his life.

But we cannot deny that his mistake was due to the bond between them.

What can we learn from this?

My faith tells me that there is only one woman for every man.

A man can marry any woman.

They can even put up with each other throughout their lives...

but they will not be happy if they were not made for each other.

Getting married is simple and quick.

The difficult part is finding the right person.

But...

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD," Proverbs 18.22.

God created Eve as the perfect fit for Adam.

Before finding my Esther, I tried getting along with many others.

Not all of them had the looks I was looking for.

Some were very intriguing...

but they did not have the same faith I had.

It hurt to leave them...

But deep down inside there was a small warning sign…

a sign of doubt.

She is not the right person.

Meanwhile, Esther was searching for me but didn’t even know me.

I was searching for her but didn’t even know her.

How would we find each other?

Only One Person could help us find each other…

the Spirit of God.

When we met, it was as if we had been searching for each other our entire lives.

From that moment on, God’s doubt disappeared and I was free to go ahead.

That's right.

The holy doubt of God.

When it comes, it comes to warn us of imminent death.

The Authority of Supernatural Faith

Just as faith has the authority of God to deliver those who believe, doubts also have the authority of evil to enslave those who do not believe.

Therefore, there will only be fullness of life while faith is exercised.

Supernatural faith.

A life based on faith bars any type of spiritual problem.

Insomnia, fear, nervousness, depression, addictions, anxiety, constant headaches, suicidal thoughts, trauma, failed relationships and insecurities are symptoms of negative spiritual forces.

Spirits of doubt.

How many promising businesses have gone down the drain because of doubts?

How many marriages have been destroyed because of empty suspicions?

How many tragedies occur because of decisions made during a state of doubt?

Only faith that is practiced has the power to neutralize the deadly doubts of everyday life.

It has nothing to do with the practice of religion.

Faith is the authority of God to be used against any and all evil.

With faith there is no uncertainty, fear, trauma or weakness.

There is an absolute assurance of where you want to go.

But ...

Those who live in doubt hope for luck.

And while they wait, misfortune occupies its place.

Luck and chance have the same origins, life passes and their victims have no future.

Doubt is the wife of evil, and the mother of failure.

It is a negative faith.

Its goal is to spread terror, destruction and death.

On the other hand, faith transforms the present and projects the future.

It is the authority of God to overcome evil.

But we must practice it.