If you cannot make them, you will not be able to sleep well!

In life you will be called to make difficult decisions. I have made many up to this date. These decisions are not easy since it will cause you to be persecuted, harassed, ridiculed, abused and tormented. At times, I have thought to myself why it has to be done this way. At other times I have questioned my own sanity. But at the end of the week, I begin to rest and receive assurances from the Holy Spirit that only the strong can make lifetime decisions and most of all, only those who have a call greater then their ego.

I remember one of those decisions I had to make in Brazil at our mission. A man looked for a job. He passed the interview with flying colors. We hired him and made him our Administrator. The next day, we were looking for a financial secretary and the administrator’s wife came to be interviewed. No one would hire a husband and wife to work under the same company. We hired him and her and it has been the best decision as to staff I have ever made. Another decision in which I was tested was to hired a  homosexual. I hired him and Jesus healed him completely. He eventually married one of our employees and now has a beautiful family.

Paul made one of these decisions based on his call. He appeal to Caesar!  Festus which replaced Felix as governor of Judea went to Jerusalem and spend several days hearing the accusations from the Jewish leaders against the Apostle Paul.  Festus would not condemn Paul and told his accusers to come to Caesarea to be heard.

Herod Agrippa II, the young king to be, came to Caesarea to welcome Festus to his new job and asked about Paul.  King Agrippa asked to hear Paul. If you read verse 23 of chapter 25 it says: “The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with high ranking officers and the leading men of the city, just to hear Paul.”

You see, to appeal to Caesar was his best decision, even though his testimony to Festus and King Agrippa could have saved him from going to Rome.

THE DECISIONS OF A LIFETIME HAVE TO BE GREATER THEN YOUR EGO AND EQUAL TO YOUR CALL!!

Never decide to agree with the opposition. Never allow others to compliment you when you know you are right. Never look or consider when accused or harassed or change your mind. Agabus, the prophet was right. Paul had to go to Rome to testify of Jesus.

Are you pleasing someone in order to look good or to get something from them? Are you politically correct to allow others to see how good you are?

Make the decision that God inspires you to make. Stick to it and live your life before the Lord. YOU HAVE TO PLEASE HIM ONLY!!!

Rick Bonfim

Resistance from the devil is a sign of your anointing or your weakness. That is why you cannot blame Satan for everything that happens to you.

Paul went to Jerusalem after being told by the prophet Agabus that he would be put in chains. When the crowd saw him at the temple praying, they would have killed him if  not the intervention from the Roman army. This was Paul’s sign of strength. Being persecuted is a sign of weakness or strength. In this case the testimony of Paul was so powerful that Jesus says to him after he had been confronted by the Jewish authorities: ” TAKE COURAGE, AS YOU HAVE TESTIFIED ABOUT ME IN JERUSALEM, SO YOU MUST ALSO TESTIFY IN ROME”-  Acts 23:11.

When the favor of the Lord is with you, even your sister’s son will hear the plot to kill you and bring word to you about it. When the favor of the Lord is upon you, 470 soldiers will take you to Caesarea and protect you from a bloody, thirsty mob. Favor is a mark of commitment! Favor is a mark of grace! Favor is a mark of boldness!

I needed 4 desks for the new office. I spent the day in all  the cheap stores basically looking for a bargain. All I saw was old, used and dilapidated furniture I would not accept. Finally, I went to Chastain Furniture in downtown Athens, and the manager Chris sold me two brand new desks worth $800 each for $500 and gave me 3 other desks as a gift to the ministry as well as 5 chairs. Favor is the relentless goodness  of God in the midst of  a storm.

During the same week I experienced persecution and pressure – but in the end, the favor of the Lord over my life won over.  Satan tried to get me down, but he lost.  Our God will always provide favor to His servants who are sold out 100% to Him.  Trials and harassment will come, but we can never outgive God in His generosity and His ability to bring favor at just the moment when we need it the most.

Are you experiencing  the favor of the Lord in your life? Have you blamed Satan for something  when really it is God testing your faith in Him to bring you through and do even more for you? I have. Lately, I have come to understand the difference. How about you?

Rick Bonfim

“Thou shall love thy neighbour and hate your enemy, but I say unto you. Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Matt. 5:43-44

This is easier said than done. When someone abuses you and causes you injury, physical or otherwise, what you  really want to do is to return to them a full measure of hate and injury. This is what the flesh wants.

Many years ago, a young man wanted to go to seminary. In my heart, I heard the Lord nudging me to put him through seminary. He served us well and I began to make payments. Some months I had to do without  in order to pay his seminary.

He served our local church as the pastor and did well for two years. After two years he began to leave the church and attendance came down substantially. Knowing that he had a call to ministry, I had to let him go and serve in another church in order to strengthen his call and allow him to learn from someone else.

We made all the arrangements for his departure. When he left, he took many of the books that belonged to my father, and he spread hate all over the area. Many families left our ministry due to his bad testimony about us.  My choice was to continue to pay his salary for 7 months and ignore what he was saying in the area.  Later I found out that many of the months I paid him to go to seminary, he stayed home and kept the money for himself.

I chose to love him in spite of all he did to hurt us and harm the ministry – a very difficult decision.

A local leader, because of his connection with this young man, began to spread negative rumors about our ministry. He did a great job that even the mayor of the town heard the news and looked for me to explain. I really wanted to go to this leader and bring him to accountability for what he was saying about me.  After several months of prayer, I decided to ignore this local leader and forget about him.

I can honestly say that these two decisions were the hardest decisions I have ever made. Praying for them was difficult.  To turn them to God was not easy. You see, in the period of 4 years, I paid over $26,000  in seminary education that was not used as intended.  In the other case, the local leader harmed our ministry that had stood for 40 years in this community without blemish.

Now, after years past, both the young man and the local leader are in difficult situations. The young man is going through tests that will make him or break him. Much unrest waits for him. The local leader has fallen from grace from the community and will need much grace to overcome.

I did the right thing in these two cases. Loving your enemies and blessing the one who curses you is not easy.

Rick Bonfim