Author: Jacinta da Cruz Rodgers

I have been committed to teaching the truth of the Word of God beginning with Trans World Radio on Bonaire, N.A and Swaziland, Africa (1969-1980), then through churches in the United States in both English and Portuguese and then through ministry in Israel (2005-2006). This ministry continues through local Bible studies and outreach to the world via the internet. I have written a book about my life from that of an orphan in Brazil to missionary in 5 countries. You can find out more on the "Book" page of our blog site.

There Were Two… Then There Was One

At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left; two women will be grinding at the hand mill; one will be taken and one will be left (Matt. 24: 40-41).

When the disciples privately asked YAHSHUA important questions pertaining to the destruction of the temple, His return and the end of the age, YAHSHUA, before answering them, warned of several things that were going to take place previous to the end: false messiahs who will lead many astray, wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, all these will precede the end of the age. YAHSHUA also warned them of persecution, the rise of the false prophets, and lawlessness. To this He said that the love of many will grow cold. That is, the love for God and for righteousness. We are witnessing lawlessness everywhere we go in increasing measure in our time. We see in this the words of Paul, and Jude being fulfilled in reference to people’s behavior and attitude. Paul prophesied that in the last days there will be perilous times of great stress and trouble, for people will be lovers of self and utterly self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by and inordinate desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boaster. They will be abusive disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane, without natural affection, relentless; they will be slanderers, intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good, [they will be treacherous, rash inflated with self-conceit, lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lover of God. For [although] they hold a form of piety, they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it (II Tim. 3:1-5). And Jude confirmed the words of Paul by saying, they will be scoffers, following after their own ungodly passions, agitators setting up distinction and causing divisions – merely sensual, devoid of the [Holy] Spirit and destitute of any higher spiritual life (Jude 18-19).

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Ignorance- the Lack of Knowledge

(Hosea 4:6; Proverbs 19: 2)

“Father, grant me a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You, by having the eyes of my heart flooded with light, so that I can know and understand the hope to which You have called me.” (The prayer of Paul)

Knowledge is something acquired through life’s opportunities. The world is full of the knowledge of God. Everywhere we go, we see His handiwork pointing to Him. So knowledge is the awareness of facts acquired through experiences, through books of all kinds. Knowledge is the soul eye opener. Having knowledge with understanding is a must in life; it will guide in important decisions. When man accepts knowledge it will enter his heart and understanding will rule his emotions and will. Having knowledge without zeal is indifference. Many lives have been lost for not having been warned. But many lives have also been lost for rejecting knowledge. The Lord speaks through the Prophet Hosea concerning His people saying: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4: 6a). He blamed their priests in that they had rejected the knowledge of Him. Priests, in many ways, are responsible to impart spiritual knowledge to the people. They are held responsible before God for the spiritual wellbeing of the people. The Lord told Ezekiel that if he did not warn the wicked, and they died on their sin, their blood will be required from Ezekiel’s hand (Ezekiel 3: 18). Having knowledge is a privilege and a light in dark times. But unshared knowledge has personal consequences.

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The Matter of Taking Offenses

After John had been in prison a while, he sent a message in the form of a question: Are You the One Who is to come, or shall we [continue to] look for another (Luke 7: 20b) One to come-the Messiah. John seemed to have lost focus and seemed to have forgotten the experience he had at the time when he baptized YAHSHUA and God had revealed and confirmed to him by showing him the Spirit in the form of a dove out of heaven descending and resting on Him, as he had said, I did not know Him nor recognize Him, but He Who sent me to baptize in water said to me, Upon Him Whom you shall see the Spirit descend and remain, that One is He Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. I have seen and my testimony is that this is the Son of God! John looked at YAHSHUA and declared, Look! There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1: 29-36) But while in prison, things became obscure to John without outside reports from his disciples of what was happening. YAHSHUA, meanwhile, was healing many of sicknesses and destressing bodily plagues and evil spirits, and to many who were blind He gave sight (Luke 7:21). Seemly, John became offended in YAHSHUA when doubt entered his mind concerning YAHSHUA’S role as the Messiah. As a precursor of Christ, He needed to have evidences that demanded his beliefs that YAHSHUA was the One Who was to come. That was important to him as a prophet, who had introduced YAHSHUA as the One. YAHSHUA promptly sent John an answer that confirmed once again, Whom He was –the Son of God! He sent the message to John saying, Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the dead hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news; blessed is he who takes no offense in Me and who is not hurt or resentful or annoyed or repelled or made to stumble (Luke 7: 21-23).

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He Performs What He Planned for My Life

(Job 23:14)

The words of Job spoken thousands of years ago still resonate strongly in our ears today when we read them. He desired that his words were written; that they were inscribed in a book; that with an iron pen and lead they were graven in the rock forever (Job 19: 23-24). Yes, God heard the prayer of His righteous servant, Job and years later, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Job’s words were inscribed in a book that has lasted thousands of years. They have encouraged many in their valleys and strengthened their faith because they came from a man in his suffering and not in his days of prosperity. He said, He performs [that He has] planned for me, and of many such matters He is mindful (Job 23:14). Job could see beyond all God’s faithfulness in completing in him His purpose for what He created him. He knew that God was aware and mindful of all his sufferings. We are blessed to have these words written in order to know without a doubt that God is aware and mindful of everything that happens to us, too. When God created a life, He created with a purpose. The destiny of every one is written in His book. David said, Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them (Psalm 139:16). Every human life is precious to Him; He was involved in every detail of creating us. He formed our inward parts; He knit us together in our mother’s womb… (Psalm 139:14a). After all, He gave us life. Not one single life created – born or unborn is a waste.

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Facing the Giants

(Deut. 9:1-6; I Samuel 17: 45-50)

To take possession of the Promised Land, Israel had to destroy the giants of the land. The Lord warned them that they were great and tall, they were the sons of Anakim, of whom they had heard, Who can stand before the sons of Anak?(Deut. 9:2). When Moses sent spies from every tribe to spy the land they came with a frightening report: There we saw the Nephilim [or giants], the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight (Num. 13:33). In the days of Joshua, he cut off the Anakim from the hill country; from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and the hill country of Israel. Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities. None of the Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did some remain (Josh. 11:21-22).

In the days of David, the Philistines came to fight with Israel with their giant, Goliath of Gath. This giant stood almost ten feet tall. His heavy armor was even more impressive and intimidating. Israel’s army was dismayed and very afraid of him. Israel came to battle in their strength; all they saw was the giant before them. They forgot what God had done in the past, but there was someone who had the faith and the courage to face this giant. The mountain Israel perceived to be was just a mole hill to David. In fact all he needed was a stone and a sling and bam, the giant was done and gone!

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Counting the Blessings So That They May Know

(Psalm 78)

Israel experienced God’s presence in their journey through the desert in the form of a cloud and a pillar of fire. The cloud served as an umbrella against the heat of the sun; and the fire as light to show them the way in the dark of the night. God’s mercy, love and faithfulness to Abraham were fulfilled many years later in Abraham’s descendant. In His mercy, God was to Israel a shield of protection. One reason why God took Israel the long way to the Promised Land was to create in them a righteous nation, from whom He would send His only Son. They were to shine the light of the only true God to all nations through all the signs and wonders they had experienced. In that period of forty years, Israel experienced the presence of God in a supernatural way when He came down to Mount Sinai. It was wrapped in smoke, for the Lord descended upon it in fire; its smoke ascended like that of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked. There He spoke to them in an audible voice. They saw then the glory of His holiness, for which they trembled in fear. After they had lived four hundred years in a land of so many pagan gods, Israel had adopted them for themselves and their spiritual condition had deteriorated and in need for transformation. Only through the long way through the desert, they would not have gone back to Egypt and through the miracles God had performed in their midst Israel’s spiritual eyes were opened to believe in the existence of the true God.

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A Calm Mind and Heart

A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body.

(Prov. 14: 30)

Mind and heart are connected through multiple pathways according to Dr. Dominique Surel: neurologically (Autonomic Nervous System), biochemically (Hormones), biophysically (pressure and sounds waves) and energetically (electromagnetic interactions). “The heart is the coordinator of the body’s functions, binding and synchronizing the system as a whole” (Dr. Dominique Surel). The heart, as a coordinator of symphony of functions of the body, can be compared to the conductor of an orchestra in coordinating the instruments to harmonize with each other.

The three functions of the mind comprise of thinking, feeling and wanting. it is the body’s faculty where reasoning and thoughts lodge. It is invisible; the mind resides in the physical organ of the body- the brain, which is also associated with the consciousness. The heart, however, as a visible organ, is a pump with its main function to pump blood to the lungs saturating it with oxygen then pumps it out into the blood the cells with oxygen. It is a pump of the circulatory system providing a continuous flow of blood throughout the body. The heart is the sustainer of life. But the heart has the invisible side when it connects with the mind. It is regarded to be the source of love and emotions according to poets, prophets, and philosophers. The Bible has much to say about the heart’s invisible functions. even the Lord YAHSHUA Himself attributed the heart as the source of emotion and belief in John 14:1, which reads: “Let not your heart be troubled, believe in God, believe also in me.”

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Faith Regulates the Believer’s Walk

For we walk by faith not by sight (II Cor. 5:7). These words from the apostle Paul denote a strong demand on the way we live. Since faith is the assurance of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality (Heb. 11:1), we must stand firmly holding faith’s banner for all to see. It is easy to walk by faith when all seems to be going fine, when faith is not challenged. But that is not faith at all, since faith requires hope for the reality of some things we expect to happen. When faith regulates the believers’ life, circumstances cannot alter the way we feel in times of trials, for it elevates the believer upward where our Lord YAHSHUA is sitting at the right hand of God. Faith is much needed while we are in our temporary tent for our existence on earth. As Paul said, In this tent we groan and sigh. Our spirit groans to be clothed with the non-corrupted body, for it does not belong in this temporary tent, since it was made a true life in Christ and regulated by faith. It is a gift we all should desire to live a life pleasing to the Lord. Faith conquers our fears and anxiety; it stands stronger than the enemy’s strength. Confident courage is the result of active faith and in it there is victory; the enemy is subdued under the power of faith. Only by faith we can believe in God, in His promises and be established in Him. The Lord told Israel, If you will not believe, you surely will not last (Isaiah 7: 9b), because it is faith that will sustain and uphold us with victory.

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Soul Sleeping Doctrine

The doctrine of the soul in an unconscious state until the resurrection is confusing because it is not consistent with many experiences registered in the Bible. It focuses primarily on passages where the word sleeping instead of death is used. However, when we read in the Bible the term sleep in death, it refers to the physical body- the material part, not the immaterial as the spirit of man. When the psalmists said, In death there is no remembrance of You; in Sheol who will give You thanks? (Ps. 6:5), he is referring to the dead ceasing to exist here on earth. The body will be decayed, but not the spirit. Absent from the body, Paul said, present with the Lord. Present with the Lord conscientiously with the soul’s faculties working while the material is buried and decayed. Paul also said, But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake (Phil. 1:23). Notice what Paul said, “To depart and be with Christ.” He did not say, and be in the state of unconsciousness until the resurrection. Again, he said, We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord (II Cor. 5:8). So the reality of the matter stands that when the spirit of a believer leaves the body the destination is “The presence of the Lord,” and not left sleeping somewhere. But for the unbeliever, sadly, his destination will be hell, as it is stated in the parable concerning a rich and a poor men, told by YAHSHUA: In time both died. The rich man went to hell and Lazarus went to heaven, carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. And in hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have pity and mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame… (Luke 16:19-31). This parable clearly refutes the doctrine of soul sleeping in death for both men: one in hell and the other in heaven. The first was in anguish in the flame of hell, for His soul was awake, feeling pain and torment, while his body was in the grave. His soul was not taking a nap while waiting for judgment. He was feeling the pains of hell right then. Abraham, while listening to the rich man had this to say: Child, remember that you in your lifetime fully received comforts and delights, and Lazarus in like manner the discomforts and distresses; but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed in order that those who want to pass from this to you may not be able, and no one may pass from there to us … The dialogue continued. If their souls were sleeping, there would not have been a dialogue between them. There would not have been recognition of Abraham. Another example we find is when YAHSHUA went up on the mountain to pray; He took Peter, John and James with Him. And as He was praying, the appearance of His countenance became altered, and His raiment became dazzling white and behold, two men were conversing with Him- Moses and Elijah, who appeared in splendor and majesty and brightness and were speaking of is exit, which He was about to bring to realization at Jerusalem (Luke 9:28-31). If Moses’s soul were sleeping he would not have had that experience with YAHSHUA. It would have been impossible for a sleeping soul to be talking, and to be aware of YAHSHUA. Another example we find at Calvary when one of the repentant criminals asked YAHSHUA to remember him when He came into His kingdom. YAHSHUA right then affirmed him: Truly, I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise (Luke 3:43). He did not say, after the resurrection, you will be with in Paradise, but “Today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

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Let Your Gaze Be Straight Before You

(Prov. 4:25-27; Heb. 12: 1-2; Luke 9:62)

Let your eyes look right on and let your gaze be straight before you; consider well the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established and ordered aright; turn not aside to the right hand or to the left; remove your foot from evil (Prov. 4:25-27).

The eyes are light to the body. They open the soul to the wonder of the world and silently they perceive and come to understand many things with the help of the mind. It is an amazing part of the body created for purposes useful to make life wonderful and exciting in the presence of the beauty of creation God designed for us. Its anatomy and functions have many parts contributing to the working together with the purpose to produce vision. In addition to that, the eyes also provide depth perception and aid in the body’s balance. The eyes are the entrance to the soul; it is not only what we see, but how we perceive that will make a difference between godliness and ungodliness. As YAHSHUA said, the eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is sound, your entire body will be full of light, but if your eye is unsound, you whole body will be full of darkness, If then the very light in you is darkened, how dense is that darkness (Matt. 6:22-23)!

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