Doctor Milton Soldani Afonso

               I am so privilege to know Doctor Milton Soldani Afonso, he is an inspiration in my life and has been like a father and model to me. God has used his life in an extraordinary way to be a blessing to so many people. God gave him an amazing ability to manage business and a great love and passion to help people. He is the most generous person I have ever met. He is a successful business owner, the founder of the Golden Cross and an attorney. And the secret of his life is that the more he gave the more he received. I believe God blesses him so much because He made Jesus his very best friend and he wanted others to know about Jesus and His soon coming. Jesus is the first is his life and business. Because the transforming love of Jesus changed his life he wants to share  to others so they could experience the amazing grace and love of Jesus in their lives and be a new person. 

               From a poor little boy he became one of the richest man in Brasil because he wanted to  be rich to help people from poverty and misery to have dignity and education. He wanted to provide heath care for kids, seniors and all people. He wanted to take kids from the streets and give them a home with love and care. And that’s what he did, helping millions of kids to have an Christian education and a future. He believes in the Adventist Education. He invested his fortune in buying hospitals, universities, TV and radio channels to share God’s Word, building churches and schools and sponsoring millions of students. He made many children’s dreams to become true. Including my dream to graduate in law school and MBA. He sponsored my studies and also he sponsored my sisters from our elementary school to college. But most importantly he gave us the privilege to study in an Adventist school that we had the opportunity to learn about Jesus and share with others. We studied in the best schools and met so many amazing people. Through the Adventist education we learned like doctor Milton did that God is amazing, He is our Heavenly Father and loves us with everlasting love. And Jesus is coming soon to take us home. We thank God for Dr. Milton's life, he is 98 years old in good health and following God's leading. His dear wife just passed away on January 5th, 2020. She is waiting for the resurrection morning when Jesus will raise her to eternal life with all of those who love Him. They were married for 73 years.

               Jesus can do exceedingly more that we can ever ask or imagine. That’s the God we serve! I treasure doctor Milton’s life because he is a great example of what God can do when we put God first and want to be a blessing to others. Doctor Milton helped many people to come in contact with the true in Jesus and many people will be in heaven because of him. He is kind and compassionate. Doctor Milton doesn’t keep record of any mistake people did towards him but has a forgiving heart. Jesus has transformed his life and made him a great man of God. 

               God gave each one of us special abilities and He will complete the work he started in us. Every day is a new day of growing with and in Jesus. He will show us His plans for us if we put Him first. I am so happy for all the great blessings God gave to me and I want to share the amazing transforming love of Jesus with others too. I am thankful for my dear family and friends. I love my family and daughters and I want to spend eternity with Jesus, them, and all of my friends and family. May we choose Jesus in our hearts today and everyday of our lives until we go home with Him.

   

Jesus is our Very Best Friend

When I see someone suffering having problems that seems out of control, I know the only one that truly can help them. Jesus is our very best friend. If we have Jesus in our hearts and in our lives, we have everything. The Bible says see it first the kingdom of God and all things shall be added to you. With Jesus we will overcome because he is our prince of peace, he is the winner, he is powerful, loving, kind. He is our Creator, Redeemer, Protector and everything. I want to see our very best friend JESUS coming again to take us home to live eternal life with us. And that’s m motivation to Live with Him everyday. The Heaven starts here if He is with us because all we need is Him. He gives us an abundant life. He forgives us and change our lives. He gives us His Holy Spirit to guide us in all true. His Holy Spirit gives us power and convence us from our mistakes. Jesus fill our hearts with love and hope. Only Him can still make people whole, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Make JESUS your very best friend today!
He is our Heavenly Father!
Have a wonderful blessed day!
Simone Buttler

Consecrate Self, Then Search for Perishing Souls

Daily Devotional

April 14, 2018

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Consecrate Self, Then Search for Perishing Souls

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God." Isaiah 40:3, NKJV.

Do you feel the sanctifying power of sacred truth in heart and life and character? Have you the assurance that God, for the sake of His dear Son, has forgiven your sins? Are you striving to live with a conscience void of offense toward God and humanity? Do you often plead with God in behalf of your friends and neighbors? If you have made your peace with God, and have placed all upon the altar, you may engage with profit in soul-winning service.

In following any plan that may be set in operation for carrying to others a knowledge of present truth and of the marvelous providences connected with the advancing cause, let us first consecrate ourselves fully to Him whose name we wish to exalt. Let us also pray earnestly in behalf of those whom we expect to visit, by living faith bringing them, one by one, into the presence of God.

The Lord knows our thoughts and purposes, and how easily can He melt us! How His Spirit, like a fire, can subdue the flinty heart! How He can fill the soul with love and tenderness! How He can give us the graces of His Spirit, and fit us to go in and out, in laboring for souls!

The power of overcoming grace should be felt throughout the church today; and it may be felt, if we take heed to the counsels of Christ to His followers. As we learn to adorn the doctrine of Christ our Savior, we shall surely see of the salvation of God.

To all who are about to take up special missionary work ... I would say: Be diligent in your efforts; live under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Add daily to your Christian experience. Let those who have special aptitude work for unbelievers in the high places as well as in the low places of life. Search diligently for perishing souls. Oh, think of the yearning desire Christ has to bring to His fold again those who have gone astray!

Watch for souls as they that must give an account. In your church and neighborhood missionary work, let your light shine forth in such clear, steady rays that no one can stand up in the judgment and say, "Why did you not tell me about this truth? Why did you not care for my soul?" - The Church Officers' Gazette, September 1914.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 286.

Truth Is to Be Lived

Daily Devotional

April 2, 2018

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Truth Is to Be Lived, Not Merely Spoken

Say among the nations, "The Lord reigns; the world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously." Psalm 96:10, NKJV.

Men and women are not to be spiritually dwarfed by a connection with the church, but strengthened, elevated, ennobled, prepared for the most sacred work ever committed to mortals. It is the Lord's purpose to have a well-trained army, ready to be called into action at a moment's notice. This army will be made up of well-disciplined men and women who have placed themselves under influences that have prepared them for service.

God's workers are to watch for souls as they that must give an account, and they need the abiding presence of Christ in their hearts, in order that they may win sinners to Him. They must themselves have surrendered all to God, that they may tell those for whom they labor the need and meaning of unreserved surrender. They must remember that they are laborers together with God, and must guard against dilatory, uncertain movements. Satan watches untiringly for opportunities to gain control of those whom they are seeking to win to Christ. Only through ceaseless vigilance can the workers for Jesus beat back the enemy. Only in the strength of the Redeemer can they lead the tempted one to the cross. It is not learning nor eloquence that will accomplish this, but the presentation of the truth of God, spoken in simplicity and with the power of the Spirit.

There is only one power that can turn the sinner from sin to holiness - the power of Christ. Our Redeemer is the only one who can take away sin. He alone can forgive sin. He alone can make men and women steadfast, and keep them so.

The truth is not merely to be spoken by those who work for Christ; it is to be lived. People are watching and weighing those who claim to believe the special truths for this time. They are watching to see wherein their life represents Christ. By humbly and earnestly engaging in the work of doing good to all, God's people will exert an influence that will tell on all with whom they are brought in contact. If those who know the truth will take hold of this work as opportunities are presented, day by day doing deeds of love and kindness in the neighborhood where they live, Christ will be revealed in their lives. - The Review and Herald, June 2, 1903.

From Devotional: To Be Like Jesus, p. 276.

From the devotional Ye Shall Receive Power

Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1.

In coming to Christ there must be an exercise of faith. We need to bring Him into our everyday life; then we shall have peace and joy, and we shall know by experience the meaning of His word, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10). Our faith must claim the promise, that we may abide in the love of Jesus. Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (verse 11).

Faith works by love and purifies the soul. Through faith the Holy Spirit finds access to the heart, and creates holiness therein. Man cannot become an agent to work the works of Christ unless he is in communion with God through the Holy Spirit. We can be fitted for heaven only through a transformation of character; we must have Christ’s righteousness as our credentials, if we would find access to the Father. We must be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We must daily be transformed by the influence of the Holy Spirit; for it is the work of the Holy Spirit to elevate the taste, to sanctify the heart, to ennoble the whole man, by presenting to the soul the matchless charms of Jesus.

We are to behold Christ, and by beholding to become changed. We must come to Him, as to an open, inexhaustible fountain, from which we may drink again and again, and ever find a fresh supply. We are to respond to the drawing of His love, to feed on the Bread of Life which came down from heaven, to drink of the Water of Life which flows from the throne of God. We are to keep looking up, that faith may bind us to the throne of God. Do not look down, as though you were bound to the earth. Do not keep up an examination of your faith, pulling it up, as though it were a flower, to see if it has any root. Faith grows imperceptibly.—The Bible Echo, February 15, 1893. 

Hope

Certainty in an Uncertain World

By Mark A. Finley

If you could choose a single word to describe the mindset of this generation, what would it be? I would choose the word uncertainty. More people seem uncertain about the future than ever before. They are uncertain whether some senseless terrorist attack or hostile nation will suddenly snuff out their lives. They are uncertain about whether we will suddenly be wiped off the face of the earth by nuclear war, or whether global warming will destroy us first.

For millions this sense of uncertainty is extremely personal. They are uncertain where their next meal is coming from or where they will sleep tonight. People are uncertain about their health, their marriages, and their future. Deep within the fabric of their beings, down inside where it really counts, they feel troubled about what might happen next. They have a sense of unease about what is coming on this world. They are seriously concerned about what kind of world their children will grow up in and where society is headed.

Moral principles once taken for granted are being seriously questioned today. The moral foundation of society appears to be crumbling. Very little is certain. Many have lost hope in a bright tomorrow and a positive future. Someone has said, “You can live days without food, hours without water, minutes without air, but no time at all without hope.”

Desperate People Do Desperate Things

The general unrest in our society, this inner sense that something is not right and little seems certain, this fear about the future, has created a sense of hopelessness. This hopelessness has led millions to experience major depression, which affects 20 percent of the world’s population at some point in their lives. The World Health Organization predicts that by 2020, depression will rival heart disease as the health disorder with the highest disease burden in the world. One person dies by suicide approximately every 40 seconds somewhere in the world, and global suicide rates have increased 60% in the past 45 years.

Antidepressants produce around $6 billion in worldwide sales annually. In the United States alone, medical professionals fill over 270 million prescriptions for these medications each year. In desperation, many people turn to alcohol, and according to the World Health Organization, about 140 million people throughout the world suffer from alcohol-related disorders.  

Hope Makes a Difference

When we lose hope, dark clouds of despair hang over our heads. The future appears gloomy and uncertain. But hope leads us from what is to what can be. Hope paints tomorrow in bright colors. It lifts our spirits from the mud below to the heavens above. William Shakespeare wrote, “The miserable have no other medicine, but only hope.” 

Hope is not some vague longing for a better future. Hope is not baseless desire lacking real certainty or assurance. The ancient scriptures present hope as a strong, confident expectation based on the unchangeable promises of God. The apostle Paul, writing in the Bible book of Romans, states that “whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

The promises of God reveal hope for today, tomorrow, and forever. They speak with certainty in an uncertain world. They speak hope to our troubled minds and peace to our anxious spirits.  

The Bible reveals that God created each one of us in His image, and He longs for us to live joyful, abundant lives (Genesis 1:27; John 10:10). We are His special possession. He promises to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5, 6).

Although we face challenges and life might not go as we planned or desired, the promises of God are sure. The ancient prophet Isaiah gives us this assurance: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). The prophet continues with these words of encouragement: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). 

Our happiness is not based on the illusionary idea that nothing bad will ever happen to us, or the mythical dream that each day is brighter than the day before. In reality bad things do often happen to good people.

We live in a broken world. Sickness, suffering, poverty, and disease afflict both the righteous and the unrighteous. But here is the difference: those who put their faith in God are filled with hope. We anchor our hope in a God who will never let us down (Hebrews 6:18). Hope is rooted in a God who suffers with us in our trials and difficulties (Isaiah 63:9). It has as its foundation a Christ who once lived in human flesh, who understands us and strengthens us in all our trials (Hebrews 4:15). He identifies with us in our tears. He came to provide us with the hope of a better tomorrow. Through Christ the gift of eternal life is ours (John 3:16). He is our hope (1 Timothy 1:1). By faith, as we grasp the gift of eternal life that He so freely offers, we look beyond the problems of this life to the eternal fellowship and everlasting joy that He graciously offers us.

Hope’s Two Great Events

The entire Bible focuses on two great events—the first and second coming of Christ. He came once to redeem us from the guilt, condemnation, and consequences of sin. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). He will come again to deliver us from the presence of sin. One day Jesus will return in glory to take us home. He declared, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

Today let your heart be filled with hope. One day soon Jesus will come and end the heartaches and trials. The challenges and difficulties of life will be over, and we will live with Him forever. In an uncertain world, His promises are sure. Why not right now bow your head and thank Him for His wonderful promises, praying this simple prayer? 

Dear Jesus,

Just now I open my heart to You. Fill me with a sense of certainty that Your promises are true. Help me grasp them personally and live in the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ and the assurance that You are with me daily to strengthen and encourage me. By faith I believe I can live with a heart filled with hope, confident that one day soon You are coming to take me home to joyfully live with You forever. 

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Power

Feeling Our Spiritual Need

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. Luke 18:13.

We should be often in prayer. The outpouring of the Spirit of God came in answer to earnest prayer. But mark this fact concerning the disciples. The record says, “They were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:1-4).

They were not assembled to relate tidbits of scandal. They were not seeking to expose every stain they could find on a brother’s character. They felt their spiritual need, and cried to the Lord for the holy unction to help them in overcoming their own infirmities, and to fit them for the work of saving others. They prayed with intense earnestness that the love of Christ might be shed abroad in their hearts.

This is our great need today in every church in our land. For “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). That which was objectionable in the character is purified from the soul by the love of Jesus. All selfishness is expelled, all envy, all evil-speaking, is rooted out, and a radical transformation is wrought in the heart. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22, 23). “The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (James 3:18).

Paul says that “as touching the law”—as far as outward acts were concerned—he was “blameless,” but when the spiritual character of the law was discerned, when he looked into the holy mirror, he saw himself a sinner. Judged by a human standard, he had abstained from sin, but when he looked into the depths of God’s law, and saw himself as God saw him, he bowed in humiliation, and confessed his guilt.—The Review and Herald, July 22, 1890.