The Necessary Detour

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Proverbs 3:11-12

André had a plan. A perfect plan, meticulously designed in his mind and on his spreadsheets. He would graduate with honors in architecture, secure a position at the renowned firm “Souza & Pires,” marry his girlfriend, Júlia, and, by the age of thirty, have his own firm and a comfortable life. It was a good plan. And, as a dedicated Christian, he presented it to God in his prayers, not as a request, but almost as a statement.

The first “correction” came in the form of an email. The position at Souza & Pires, his dream job, for which he was the most qualified candidate, was given to someone else. André was shocked, then furious.

“Lord, this makes no sense!” he prayed, his frustration overflowing. “I did everything right!” He rejected the closed door, seeing it not as a redirection, but as a divine mistake.

Disheartened, he accepted a position at a small, without prestigious firm that worked mainly on renovation projects for low-income communities. He felt like a failure; a talent wasted on “minor” projects.

The second “rebuke” was even more painful. After their engagement, Júlia began to distance herself. Conversations about the future became tense. She loved him, she said, but she did not share his faith.

“André, I can’t be the woman who leads a couples’ group at your church,” she finally confessed. “I don’t see myself in your future.” The breakup left him devastated. He felt abandoned, by her and by God.

His plan was in ruins. The life he had so carefully designed had been demolished. He was filled with bitterness, feeling like a son treated unjustly by a Father who would not listen to him.

It was his own father, a man of few words and much wisdom, who gave him a new perspective.

“Son,” he said one Sunday afternoon, “sometimes we ask God to guide us, but we only accept the guidance if it leads us to the destination we have already chosen. A father’s love is not about giving his son everything he wants. Sometimes, the greatest act of love is to say ‘no’ to protect him from a path he cannot see is dangerous.”

The words took root in André’s wounded heart. He began to look at his frustrations not as rejections, but perhaps as… discipline.

In his “minor” job, he discovered a passion he did not know he had. Designing functional and dignified spaces for people who could never afford an architect brought him a sense of purpose that no glass skyscraper ever could. He learned to listen to people, to understand their real needs. He was becoming a better architect and a better man.

Months later, at his church, he met Patrícia. She was a volunteer on the same community project he was working on. The connection was instant, built on a foundation of shared faith and a genuine love for serving. With Patrícia, he did not have to explain his faith; he lived it alongside her.

One evening, years later, André was at home, helping his son assemble a puzzle. He owned a socially conscious architecture firm, was married to Patrícia, and was happier than he had ever imagined possible.

That day, he learned that Souza & Pires had filed for bankruptcy, embroiled in a major corruption scandal. He also learned that Júlia had married, but that her marriage was going through serious difficulties.

He looked at his life. It was not the perfect plan he had designed. It was something infinitely better. Every closed door, every painful “no,” every unexpected detour had been, in fact, the hand of a loving Father correcting him, rebuking him, protecting him.

He finally understood. The discipline of the Lord was not a punishment; it was a rescue. And he, as a son whom God delighted in, was loved enough to have his path radically altered, to be guided not to the life he wanted, but to the life he needed.

(Made with AI)

This story is part of my book Everyday Wisdom

https://books2read.com/u/3knogL

Abomination in Israel

Some of Israel’s kings led the nation to sin,

Their abominable idols, they were adoring.

They did not remember Israel’s God,

They did not remember the true Heavenly God.

 

Everyone sacrificed and burned incense,

Idolatry was a consensus in that land.

It began since from the house of the king,

The king was the first one to do bad things.

 

That was a time of big tribulation,

All the people around invaded the nation.

Many ancient treasures were stolen,

The holy places were profaned.

 

All this evil was allowed by the Lord,

Against his people rose the wrath of God.

Each one walked in his own way,

Each one sought to adore his idol.

 

The people sent by God were discredited,

Sinful people tried to kill every new prophet.

Virtually nobody wanted to come back to the Lord,

Everyone preferred those loveless gods.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume IV.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/bpMr16

Opportunity for Forgiveness

The Lord always gives an opportunity for salvation,

When they sin, his envoy will call their attention.

God’s envoys warn about transgression,

God wants repentance and a change of heart’s intention.

 

The Lord wants to forgive those who sincerely repent,

God wants to receive those who seek the path of truth.

The Lord desires that many participate in salvation,

God is ready to forget the sins of any nation.

 

God has no partiality to any person,

He forgives both the bad one and the good one.

Before God, even the most perfect is pure wickedness,

By actions, no one could obtain God’s forgiveness.

 

God is most merciful to forgive his beloved children,

Even though they are not worthy, the Lord forgets them.

He brings new life where death and perdition reigned,

God grants his children the greatest grace of forgiveness.

 

After forgiving, the Lord wants his children to sin no more,

He gives them a new life to act differently from before.

The Lord hopes to have a great friendship with His children,

Being best friends, so that they can live together in eternity.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume VI.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/4EBjBl

The Storehouses of the Heart

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. Proverbs 3:9-10

Sérgio looked at his banking app and felt the familiar knot in his stomach. His salary had just been deposited, but the feeling was not one of relief, but of anxiety. His mind was already in defense mode, calculating every cent, dreading every unexpected expense. To him, money was synonymous with security, and security was something he never had enough of.

He and his wife, Beatriz, were Christians, but their views on finances were from different planets. Beatriz firmly believed in tithing and offering, in giving the “first part” with a cheerful heart. To Sérgio, this was mathematically illogical.

“Bia, we can’t!” he argued that morning, showing her his phone screen. “Look at the rent, the car payment, the kids’ school. After we pay for everything, there’s barely anything left. Giving ten percent right off the top is irresponsible. It’s taking from our family.”

“But the promise, Sérgio…” she replied in a gentle voice. “It’s about honoring God first. It is an act of trust, not of accounting.”

“Trust doesn’t pay the bills,” he retorted, ending the discussion.

Sérgio operated on the logic of fear. He gave God the leftovers, what remained after all his anxieties were appeased. And, invariably, there was never anything left. His financial life was a perpetually near-empty storehouse. He guarded every grain with desperation, and because of that, there was never abundance, only the constant feeling of scarcity.

That same month, the small church they attended announced a special project: to renovate the house of Mrs. Íris, an elderly widow in the community whose roof had collapsed after a heavy rain. Beatriz came home with her eyes shining.

“Sérgio, I felt it in my heart that we need to help. I thought we could donate the money we were saving to replace the television.”

Sérgio felt a wave of panic.

“The television? Bia, we have been saving for six months! It is our money, our comfort! Mrs. Íris has children, she has the city…”

“She has no one, Sérgio. And we are the church,” she said, the firmness in her voice cutting through the air. “Honoring God is not just about the tithe. It is with what we have. With our substance.”

The argument was long and painful. In the end, exhausted, Sérgio gave in, but with a heavy heart, feeling like a fool. He saw the money leaving his account not as an offering, but as a loss.

Over the weekend, he reluctantly went with Beatriz and other church members to help with the work. While he was fixing the plumbing, he saw the joy on the faces of volunteers who had much less than he did. He saw Mrs. Íris crying with gratitude as she received a basket of groceries. And he saw his wife, Beatriz, her face smudged with dust, laughing as she painted a wall, more beautiful than he had seen her in years.

Something inside him began to change. That joy, that community, that sense of purpose… that was a kind of wealth his bank statement did not show.

On Monday, he arrived at work and his boss called him in. “Sérgio, I know things are tight for everyone, but the board has approved a performance bonus for your team for last semester’s project. It’s not much, but it’s a recognition.”

The bonus amount was almost exactly the same as what he and Beatriz had donated for the renovation.

Sérgio stood frozen in front of his desk. The skeptic inside him screamed “coincidence.” But his heart, for the first time, whispered “providence.” It was not a payment, but a wink from God. An affirmation.

That night, he came home, opened his banking app, and did something he had never done before. Before paying any bills, he transferred the tithe. He gave the first part.

There was no instant financial miracle. But the knot in his stomach had disappeared. For the first time, he looked at the remaining balance and felt not fear, but peace.

In the months that followed, Sérgio and Beatriz continued to practice generosity. And different things began to happen. An unexpected promotion for him. A part-time job that fell into her lap. Expenses that seemed to decrease. The money, which was once a source of stress, seemed to stretch in ways his logic could not explain.

Their material storehouses were never overflowing like a millionaire’s. But his inner storehouse, that of his heart, was full. And their home, once tense with the anxiety of scarcity, began to overflow. Not with wine, but with something far more precious: a deep joy and peace, born from the trust of one who honors the Owner of everything, first.

(Made with AI)

This story is part of my book Everyday Wisdom

https://books2read.com/u/3knogL

Jesus Calls You

Jesus calls you to the Christian life,

You will have a great new time.

In the cross, Jesus has provided the salvation,

This is a reason for an amazing celebration.

 

We are going in the streets to proclaim,

After two thousand years, the Lord does not change.

Jesus is the Lord and Savior is his name

The eternal truth, the Christians will proclaim.

 

The truth is that Jesus is the only way to eternal life,

Jesus is the husband, and Christians are his wife.

One wife prepared for a time of transformation,

A time in which God makes innovation.

 

God is preparing a new place to reside,

In this place, all souls have only one desire.

All time in paradise is dedicated to adore,

The people saved living in perpetual glory.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume VI.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/4EBjBl

Confidence

On which is it supported your confidence?

Is it supported in a lottery ticket,

Or in your savings account balance?

Is it your confidence in what you can see,

Or is it supported by what you can do?

 

Do you trust more in what someone says,

Or do you trust in what the Lord says?

Do you trust more in everything material,

Or do you trust in the mysteries of the spiritual?

 

Ask yourself what you really trust!

Ask yourself if you really have faith in the Lord’s word.

Ask yourself if you trust in the Lord,

Ask yourself if you accepted him as Savior.

 

If you believe in God, you must be sure,

Your faith must be like a fortress,

So, nothing will shake you,

And nothing in the world can contaminate you.

 

All contamination can discourage us,

From our faith in God, the world wants to separate us.

To distract us, it will be shown a million things,

Promising that with money, we will get everything.

Human resources can do only such things,

In your life, some areas will be improving,

But on the other hand, your mind will be betrayed,

From the Lord’s path, they will put you away.

 

Get out from what put you away from the Lord,

Focus your life on our Savior.

Your soul, God wants to save,

For it, in him, you need to have faith.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume III.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/3nG5R5

The Algorithm of the Soul

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:7-8

Tiago lived in a world of data, metrics, and optimization. At twenty-six, he was the CEO of a successful startup that created productivity apps. His motto, printed on t-shirts and mugs in the office, was “If it cannot be measured, it cannot be improved.” He was, in his own eyes, the personification of modern wisdom.

He applied this logic to everything. His diet was calculated for maximum performance. His sleep routine was monitored by sensors. His relationships were evaluated based on “value exchanges” and “synergy of objectives.” He had even created a personal algorithm to make decisions, weighing pros and cons with mathematical precision. To him, evil was not a moral category; it was simply “inefficiency.” And the fear of God was an irrational variable he had eliminated from his life equation long ago.

His body, however, began to send signals that something was fundamentally wrong. He suffered from chronic migraines, a constant tension in his shoulders, and an insomnia that no meditation app could cure. He felt a deep weariness, a fatigue that was not physical but seemed to come from his bones.

His doctor, Dr. Elias, an older and more perceptive man, was direct after a battery of tests.

“Tiago, your test results are perfect. Physically, you are a machine. But you are sick. Your illness is called arrogance.”

Tiago laughed, uncomfortable.

“That’s not a medical diagnosis, Doctor.”

“It might be the most accurate one you have ever received,” the doctor replied. “You treat your life like a code to be debugged. But life is not a code. And your body is paying the price for the stress of trying to control everything. You consider yourself too wise, and that pride is consuming you from the inside out.”

Tiago dismissed the advice as nonsense. But the seed of doubt was planted.

The breaking point came through his grandfather, Mr. Ramiro, a retired carpenter whom Tiago visited out of a mixture of obligation and affection. One Saturday afternoon, he found his grandfather in the workshop out back, sanding a piece of wood with infinite patience. The air smelled of cedar and peace.

“I’m exhausted, Grandpa,” Tiago confessed, something he would never admit to his team. “I feel like my bones are tired.”

Mr. Ramiro stopped sanding. He wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and looked at his grandson.

“Bone-tiredness is soul-tiredness, my son. It happens when we try to carry the world on our shoulders. The world is too heavy.”

“But I have to carry it,” Tiago insisted. “If I don’t, everything falls apart.”

“That’s where you’re mistaken,” his grandfather said with a gentle smile. “Do you know which wood is the strongest? It is not the most rigid. It is the one that knows how to bend with the wind, the one that respects a force greater than its own. You are intelligent, Tiago. But do not confuse intelligence with wisdom. Being wise in your own eyes is the easiest tree to break.”

He picked up his old Bible from the workbench.

“Your problem is not a lack of rest. It is a lack of fear. Not the fear that paralyzes, but the respect that puts us in our proper place. When you fear the Lord, you understand that you do not need to have all the answers. You turn away from the evil of trying to be God in your own life. And do you know what happens? Your body relaxes. Your bones find refreshment.”

His grandfather’s words, so simple and analog, penetrated Tiago’s armor of data in a way that no medical diagnosis could. He looked at his own hands, always typing, controlling, optimizing. And he looked at his grandfather’s hands, calloused yet serene.

That week, Tiago did something radically inefficient. He took an afternoon off. Not for a “strategic recharge,” but just to walk aimlessly in a park. He turned off his phone notifications. He sat on a bench and watched the trees, the children, the clouds.

He tried to pray. It was clumsy. He did not ask for anything. He just acknowledged, for the first time, that he was not the center of the universe. That there was a wisdom far greater than his, a Designer behind the entire system. It was an act of humility, a turning away from the evil of his own arrogance.

The migraine did not disappear overnight. But at the end of that afternoon, he felt something he had not felt in years. A lightness in his shoulders. A silence in his mind. A subtle but real refreshment that seemed to reach his bones. He was just beginning to learn that true health did not come from an algorithm, but from a surrender.

(Made with AI)

This story is part of my book Everyday Wisdom

https://books2read.com/u/3knogL

The Christian and Creation: Caring for Nature Is an Act of Worship

I have been thinking about various aspects of modern Christian life lately, and I have been surprised by some of my conclusions. Amidst this sea of thoughts, I found myself navigating a sea almost unexplored by most of us Christians: the importance of environmental preservation.

I reflected for a moment and searched my memory for any sermon or conversation I have ever had with someone on the topic, and to my surprise, I found nothing. I asked my wife, who has been a Christian longer than I have, and her search also came up empty.

Stop for a moment and search your own memory for something on the theme…

I suppose your conclusion is the same. In the Christian world, we do not talk about nature, the environment, ecosystems, environmental preservation, or other related subjects.

Genesis 2:15

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

In truth, we only remember them in a few specific situations:

• Calamity or environmental tragedy
• Climate crises
• Prolonged droughts
• Heavy rains and floods

When one of these things happens, we remember that God controls this aspect of our world. But aside from that, it seems we live in a kind of "environmental apathy." It is as if we do not care about deforestation, air and water pollution, animal extinction, environmental crimes, and so on. Everything seems to be permitted and a part of existence. There is no concern, at least not a visible one, with everything that is happening.

Considering the most recurrent themes in the sermons of major churches, it is possible to understand one of the reasons for this apathy. Many pastors and preachers are focused on the achievements and economic growth of the faithful. Prosperity and dominion over the world are at their peak. However, they are overshadowing other, much more important aspects of the Christian life, such as the focus on Salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ (a discussion for another time) and also the importance of preserving everything that God has created.

We act like teenagers who throw a party and wreck the house when their parents are away. Even knowing who the owner of everything is—God—we despise Him and think only of the immediate benefit: to destroy and consume.

Psalm 24:1

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

It may seem like an exaggeration, but let us look at some simple examples. Churches use disposable cups to serve Holy Communion. In all of them, there are disposable cups at the water fountains for regular members and visitors. The error already begins with the production of waste that could be reduced or even avoided.

Completing the disregard for environmental issues, we have the matter of the political positioning of the churches. Most of them (I speak for Brazil) are practically kneeling before the ideals of the right and far-right, and environmentalism has become a left-wing issue (some “Christians” call them satanists) and something against the progress of society. In short, defending the environment is not a mission for “Christians.”

The saddest part of all this is seeing the reflections of the neglect of God's people daily. Everything is being systematically destroyed, and no one does anything. The children of the Creator God (Elohim) think they are the only creation and forget that everything was made by Him.

Romans 8:19-22

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

We urgently need to change our way of thinking and acting when it comes to nature and our planet.

Revelation 11:18

The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small—and for destroying those who destroy the earth.

We must humbly acknowledge our past mistakes and begin to build a new future for the environment. I believe that this is also an act of praise and worship to God: to recognize His marvelous creation and to do our best to preserve it.

We eagerly await the return of Christ and a new and perfect world, but while that does not happen, let us do our best to care for this imperfect one.

2 Peter 3:13-14

But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

True Christianity

Christianity is more than teaching,

Christianity is not only a religion.

Christianity is in Jesus Christ to be believing,

And to believe that in each heart He is living.

To follow Christ is not to follow a philosophy,

Follow him is to let the Holy Spirit act.

His actions will change your whole life.

Things you could not do, now, you will get.

To be Christian is to serve the incarnate God,

That one who two thousand years ago was crucified.

In front of all, he was placed in a grave after has died,

After three days in a tomb,

He has been resurrected and was seen and glorified.

Jesus rose to heaven and left the Counselor,

To the true Christian, he is the Helper,

The Holy Spirit, sent by the Lord.

He will teach all things about God,

He will remind us about the wonders of God.

The true Christian believes in living God,

In Jesus Christ was manifested the Lord,

God was described to the men through a book.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume III.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/3nG5R5

The Greatest Sacrifice

Oh Lord, how can I please you?

For you to approve me, what can I do?

Some financial sacrifices, I can do,

But what can I give for who is God and has everything?

 

There is a thing very valuable that I can give,

My heart, I can give to Thee,

Obeying your laws and decrees.

Keeping my heart sincere and pure.

 

In my life, forever, the Lord will reign,

Your word will lead me every day.

Then, Lord’s favor, I can reach.

And the Lord will bless me.

 

God! Your grace is marvelous!

With the Lord, my life is glorious.

Your blessings are always with me.

Thank you, Lord, for your mercy.

Thank you for being my best friend.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume I.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/mg5w0z

The Scalpel and the Guide

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Dr. Heitor’s hands were legendary at Saint Lucia Hospital. Steady, precise, almost artistic. As a cardiac surgeon, he was the best, a maestro in a symphony of scalpels, monitors, and hearts that needed mending. His understanding of human anatomy was profound, his confidence in his own skill, absolute. To Heitor, God was an unnecessary hypothesis, a variable that complicated the elegant equation of science.

He trusted in his own understanding. It was his mantra. It was what guided him through twelve-hour procedures, what made him make life-or-death decisions in seconds. And, until then, his understanding had never failed him.

The problem was that his understanding was not limited to the operating room. He applied it to everything. He analyzed his teenage daughter Laura’s relationships with the same cold logic with which he diagnosed a blocked artery. He planned his family’s future with the same precision with which he sutured a valve. He acknowledged his own intellect in all his ways and firmly believed that he was the one who made his paths straight.

His wife, Elisa, a woman of serene faith, was the only one who dared to challenge him.

“Heitor, there are things your hands can’t fix,” she would say gently. He would respond with a condescending smile.

The test came in the form of a diagnosis. Not for a patient, but for Laura. A rare neurological condition that the best specialists in the country could not fully decipher. The symptoms progressed, unpredictable and cruel.

For the first time in his life, Dr. Heitor was disarmed. His vast medical knowledge was useless. He read every article, consulted every colleague, spent sleepless nights studying MRI scans that looked like riddles. His own understanding, his pillar, his god, was a dead end.

One afternoon, he found Elisa in the small hospital garden. She was not crying. Her eyes were closed, her lips moving in a silent prayer.

“What are you doing?” he asked, the frustration overflowing in his voice. “Do you think that’s going to change anything?”

Elisa opened her eyes. There was no accusation in them, only a deep compassion.

“I’m doing the only thing I have left, Heitor. I am acknowledging that I am not in control. I am trusting God, in all our paths. Even in this one.”

“Blind faith!” he retorted. “I need a plan, a solution!”

“Maybe the plan,” she replied, “is to admit we don’t have one.”

That night, Heitor was in his office, surrounded by books and scans that only magnified his sense of powerlessness. He looked at the photo of Laura on his desk, smiling, before all of this began. And he broke. The great surgeon, the man who leaned on his own mind, crumbled into sobs. He no longer had a path to follow. He was lost in a dark, dense forest.

And at the pit of his despair, he remembered Elisa’s words. “I am trusting God, in all our paths.”

Without knowing exactly why, he knelt. Kneeling was an act his body did not know, a posture of surrender his mind had always rejected.

“God,” he began, the word strange in his mouth. “If You are there… I don’t know what to do. My knowledge has run out. My strength is gone. I trusted myself my whole life and now… I’m lost. Guide me. Please, guide my path, because I can no longer see it.”

A peace that he could not explain, a peace that defied the logic of his situation, began to settle in his heart.

The next day, a colleague from a small town, with whom Heitor had barely spoken at a conference years ago, called.

“Heitor, I know it’s a shot in the dark, but I read an article about a research group in Germany studying cases similar to your daughter’s. I thought I would let you know.”

It was not a spectacular miracle. It was a phone call. A lead. A lit path opening in the darkness.

Heitor followed the lead with a new posture. No longer that of the master who knows everything, but that of a pilgrim learning to trust his Guide. Laura’s journey would be long and uncertain, but something fundamental had changed. Dr. Heitor, the man who trusted only in his scalpel, was finally learning to trust the hand that guided his own. He had stopped leaning on his own understanding, and for the first time, he felt the solid ground of a path that was being made straight for him.

(Made with AI)

This story is part of my book Everyday Wisdom

https://books2read.com/u/3knogL