God respects your choice
Bishop, unfortunately my story is very similar to Lucy’s. I went through the same process she did.
At the age of 19, my biggest dream was to have the opportunity to serve God, and I was pretty close to being blessed. But, I dropped everything for a man. I even handed him my innocence, thinking that he would stay with me. But, the day I finally gave him what he wanted, while we were still at the hotel, after he finished, he just said: “Finally, I got what I wanted so badly”. His words hit me like a bomb. I was looking at the devil himself talking to me.
I left devastated, wanting to die – not because of him, but because I had just thrown everything down the drain. The Holy Spirit had warned me about what was coming.
A few days before, the bishop preached about the traps of the devil, referring to the man or woman of our dreams, who is beautiful on the outside, but inside they are the devil in disguise, and they only have one mission: to tarnish our image before God.
The next few days were filled with suffering. I no longer wanted to go out with my friends and I stopped answering his phone calls. I felt embarrassed before God. I couldn’t even pray, all I did was cry. At work, I only spoke when it was necessary. All I could think about was that yesterday I had Spirit of God, and now I had seven spirits that were worse than the first one. I did everything wrong.
I can truly say that, I took part of EVERYTHING that the world has to offer. Parties, drinks, boyfriends, dances, fun… Everything was great – for that moment -, because when I got home, I cried a lot. I knew that wasn’t where I was supposed to be, and that I was not born for that lifestyle. Not to mention that I had no peace. I began hearing voices and could not sleep.
It was very difficult at the time. I lived by myself and that made the pain seem worse. One day, I decided to go back and ask for forgiveness. Today, I am married, I have a job, I go to school, but most importantly, I serve God with all of my heart. Today, I can say I am truly HAPPY!!
Diana Santos
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Bishop,
I felt the intense, immense pain of living apart from the Lord Jesus in my soul. Oh, how it hurt! But, the fact that I loved my life and the momentary pleasures of sin, kept me apart from God.
While I was sinning, I would remember God and say, “My God, I didn’t do this before, and now I do…” It’s like a conscious addiction. During the various times that I was about to kill myself, I thought about everything I had experienced at Home, in the Work of God. Then, I calmed down. But I knew this wouldn’t save me.
You know Bishop, I could have died a long time ago, but inside, I kept asking for help. My petition was sincere, and God spared me.
Do you believe that I would separate my tithe, save it, but after a few weeks, I would spend it? What good would that money be to God? However, I never made the right decision to solve my separation from God. Until one day, I found myself at the doors of hell, my life was unfortunately lost, with several invitations guaranteeing a free pass into hell.
I decided to run into the turn the arms of my Father. Today, I am embarrassed of having exchanged Him, but He loved me and continues to love me. Because He accepted me, cleaned me, healed me and led me to be His child.
I know very well what it feels like to be separated from the love and presence of my Savior, Lord and beloved Eternal Father.
Thank you Bishop, for allowing the Lord God of Israel to use your mouth to speak to us.
Assistant Marcia, from the headquarters of Jandira-SP
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Lately, the comments have been very strong. I can identify a lot with the first testimony.
I am also a former assistant. I fell away from the faith. Then came the passions of this world. Over time, I got pregnant. I caused my family embarrassment, because all of my brothers were married, and I was a single mother living at home with my parents.
I was in a relationship with another person and got pregnant a second time. He quickly tried to get out of his new responsibilities. Because I did not want to be a single mother again, so I tried to commit suicide. I felt nothing. My days and nights were filled with bitterness.
I would remember when I was an assistant and I would cry a lot. I let my only treasure, the Holy Spirit, slip right through my fingers. I would always say: “I WAS HAPPY AND DID NOT KNOW IT. I DID NOT APPRECIATE THE ONLY ONE THAT TRULY LOVED ME.”
And so, 16 years have passed. I dreamt about Judgment Day. They were nightmares, because I was never taken in my dream.
And my mother always kept fighting for me to return. I went to live with my second child’s father, and that is when I hit the bottom of the pit. I was tortured, humiliated. I experienced every kind of abuse while living under his roof. We had two children together.
We ended up separating and I went back to my parents’ house. A neighbor, who is an assistant, invited me to be a witness for her consecration. It was all pretty exciting, but I didn’t have the strength to remain firm in the Church.
One Sunday morning, my mother came home and said that the pastor wanted to talk to me. “What has she gone and told him? What does he want to say to me? I know, I’m going to drink all day long and tell her that I can’t go because I’m drunk.” That day, I drank but I couldn’t get drunk. When I got home, my mother reminded me of the appointment: “Okay, I’LL GO. BUT I’M ONLY GOING TO ATTEND THE SERVICE. I’M NOT GOING TO TALK TO HIM!”
But, when God commands, even the devil obeys, lol… At the end of the service, my mother took me to the pastor. And what he said was essential for me to come back. I am seeking the Holy Spirit. My ministry, I know, is growing. My spiritual leaders are helping me a lot.
Anyway, I know I have a lot to change, but I can say that I’m happy again. My neighbors have come up to me and said how my change has been incredible. And look, like I said before, I still have a lot to change.
Lucinha
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