For example, before I met Jesus and came to know Him as He truly is, my perception of the word “God” was very different from what it is today. Because of my upbringing, that word was portrayed in my mind as the picture of someone “out there” who was always checking on me with a rod in His hand, ready to hit me as soon as I misbehaved. Later on, as I went through life’s breakings and got desperate enough to cry out to Him, I was led to personally experience His love, which totally changed my perspective of the word “God”.

Today I know that “God is love” (I John 4:8), that “God is a Spirit” (John 4:23), and that, “as a father with the son in whom He delights” (Prov 3:12), “He delights in my way” (Psa. 37:23) and “cares for me” (1Pet. 5:7). What changed my perspective? My personal experience and new-found relationship with Him!

“Journaling” is a word and a practice that is widely used nowadays, both in secular and Christian circles, but different people give it a different application, according to their understanding of it… Since I have also been using it a lot, both in my writings and as a practice, I thought it would be good to give the word Journaling a clearer definition of what it really means for me.

In the secular world, there are many professionals nowadays who use journaling as a therapeutic practice to help you release stress and get rid of emotional upheaval, by writing down your thoughts and emotions in order to get rid of them, but also to slow down and draw on your “inner wisdom” to help you clarify what is right. One article that explains this practice is titled: “The Benefits of Journaling for Stress Management”, by Elizabeth Scott.

She says:  “Journaling allows people to clarify their thoughts and feelings, thereby gaining valuable self-knowledge. It’s a good problem-solving tool; oftentimes, one can hash out a problem and come up with solutions more easily on paper. Journaling about traumatic events helps one process them by fully exploring and releasing the emotions involved, and by engaging both hemispheres of the brain in the process, allowing the experience to become fully integrated in one’s mind.”

In the Christian world, there are also outstanding leaders today that use journaling as a means to teach their followers how to get the most out of their relationship with God, by writing down their thoughts and reflections on His Word and experience His wisdom in life. Among such leaders, one of the most famous is Rick Warren, from Saddleback Church in California, who wrote an article titled:  “Start the Spiritual Habit of Journaling”.

He says: “Writing down what God reveals to us is the spiritual habit of journaling. This is not the same as keeping a diary. A diary is, ‘This is what I did today.’ A journal is, ‘This is what I learned today.’ It’s not about what you did, it’s about what you are learning, what you are praying, and what God is saying to you.  If I want to hear God speak to me, I will say, ‘God, I want you to speak to me!’ Then I withdraw and get alone and get quiet: “Be still and know that I am God.” (Ps. 46:10) – Then I wait quietly, patiently, and expectantly on God. I ask a specific question, I look into his Word and then, when I see God’s answer, I write it down”.

There are many resources that one can find on the web to learn about Christian Journaling, but you can find some great articles at the following website: http://walkwiththeword.org

In the Life Coaching world, both secular and Christian, Journaling is also being greatly used these days! If you simply type “coaching and journaling” in any search engine, you will find scores of articles on the subject, but two Christian Coaches who have greatly helped me enhance my skills are Lynne Lee and Dr. Joseph R. Peck, both personal friends of mine.

In her article, titled  “Guide to Spiritual Journaling”, Lynne wrote: “Journaling is simply a way of recording your journey with God. It helps you to pay more attention to God and is a way of learning to hear and respond to Him. By keeping a record you can see what God’s been doing, how far you’ve come and where you’re going. Keeping a journal will help you to see how God is working in your life”.

Joseph has created a “Journaling For Breakthroughs Coaching Program”, where he has listed the benefits of Journaling. He says: Spiritual Journaling will transform your life!

• It helps you slow down to meditate on the word of God
• It allows God to be your Master Coach
• It’s one of the keys to hear God’s voice every day
• It builds you faith by remembering what God has done
• It helps keep your priorities in order
• It teaches you valuable life lessons
• It helps you be and stay organized

The simplest and clearest explanation of Journaling I ever found on the web is the one given by Dr. Mark Virkler, of the Christian Leadership University, who’s teaching the whole world the “Four Keys to Hearing God’s voice”. He lists Journaling as the Key #4, saying:

“Journaling, the writing out of our prayers and God’s answers, provides a great new freedom in hearing God’s voice. God told Habakkuk to record the vision and inscribe it on tablets (Hab. 2:2). If you search Scripture for this idea, you will find hundreds of chapters demonstrating it (Psalms, many prophets, Revelation).
I call this process “Journaling”, and I discovered it to be a fabulous facilitator to clearly discerning God’s inner, spontaneous flow, because as I journaled, I was able to write in faith for long periods of time, simply believing it was God. I did not have to test it as I was receiving it, because I knew that, when the flow was over I could go back and test and examine it carefully, making sure that it lined up with Scripture”.

This above explanation is what Journaling means for me. Every morning I try to sit down quietly and spend time with my favorite friend, Jesus, who is always there to love me, take me where I am, without judging me, and encourage me to move forward with my life! He is the best Master Life Coach that I have found, and I hope that you can connect with Him too. Journaling will greatly enhance your life for the better!

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If you want to learn How To Hear God’s Voice Through Spiritual Journaling, I will be happy to teach and coach you along the skills of it, until you become a real expert. Simply contact me at: email@renatoamato.com
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We all need “a help meet”! We all need someone who can make us feel loved, listened to and accepted just as we are, without having to wear a mask in order to be included in their midst! We all need a “family”, whether it be the one in which we were born, or one that we choose to live with those we love and wish to have with us for the rest of our life. No one is totally self-sufficient and capable of doing everything all alone! Even if we were, we would be miserable, because there wouldn’t be anyone to share the best of our life with!

The need for sharing with others is inborn within us! The first thing that a child does, after drawing something, is going to mom and dad to receive approval and be told: “BRAVO!” It’s spontaneous and natural! We all need to be told that we are doing the right thing… No point in pretending that we don’t, because it would be denying the obvious! Only pride prevents us from being like children and to accept ourselves as we are, as God created us!

Just as it is with our natural life, the one we have in common with all other human beings, it also applies to our spiritual life, the one we have in common with all other believers, those who like us are aware of the love that God has shown us through His Son Christ Jesus! We each need true loving friendship!

We shouldn’t think that we can be “independent Christians”! It would be as if one member of our body decided that he doesn’t need the rest of the body to survive! God’s Word says that “the body is not one member, but many”, and no one can tell others “I have no need of you “(1Cor 12:14-21)! This would be presumptuous and God warns us against this kind of pride, saying to each one of us “not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to; but to think soberly, according as He has dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another” (Romans 12:3-5).

We need each other! We need true Christian friendship! It’s not enough to once a week attend church and listen to a sermon that we often can’t even remember the next day! In order to grow spiritually healthy and be complete in our walk with Christ Jesus, we need a “spiritual family“, a body of believers made of “members who have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1Cor 12:25,26).

This is our vision of a church or “Christian family”: a community of hearts who truly care for each other, who can enjoy one another and be there for each other in time of need, walking and growing together in “the joy of the Lord, which is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10)!

Often, when Christians fail to find a community where they feel loved and accepted for who they are, but instead they feel judged and criticized because of their differences, the human reaction is to separate and choose to follow an “independent” path. This, however, does not help our spiritual growth, because “as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abides in the vine”, but “it withers ” (John 15:4-6), we also cannot spiritually survive on our own!

We need to stay in the vine, so that, following the “truth in love, we may grow up in all things into Him who is the head, even Christ; from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in the measure of every part, makes the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love” (Eph. 4:15,16).

It is not God’s will that we are alone! On the contrary, “God sets the solitary in families, and He brings out the prisoners into prosperity” (Psalm 68:6)!

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If you cannot find a local community in which to feel loved and accepted for who you are, get in touch with us by writing to our email@renatoamato.com, or by leaving a comment below… We will be happy to welcome you into our family of “Healing Broken Hearts“!
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The most important thing, however, is not so much to establish the exact day when Jesus died, but to understand the true meaning of His resurrection and what that implies for us human beings. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are at the heart of human history and of our destiny.

We were not created to die, but to live eternally and to fulfill the dreams God placed in our hearts. The resurrection of Jesus is the historical event that made this possible! The word of God, in fact, says that by His resurrection, “Jesus Christ has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10). “Christ is risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that are asleep. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15: 20-22).

God’s plan was for us to live and enjoy His creation forever, but an act of disobedience has brought death into human history, shattering our hopes and dreams for the future. Jesus, through His resurrection, settled the question forever and now turns to you, saying: “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in Me, though he was dead, yet shall he live: and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe it?” (John 11:25,26)

If you don’t, you have no hope for your future, because you know that one day your dreams will be shattered by your death, but if you know the Lord personally, then you also know that “God cannot lie” (Titus 1:2) and you can have a vision that will expand beyond eternity!

This made me think of a reflection I read some time ago.

The three trees

It’s the story of three trees in the forest that one day were discussing their hopes and dreams and what they wished to become.

The first tree said, ‘I hope to someday become a treasure chest. I will be filled with gold, silver and precious gems, and will be admired by all.’

The second tree said: ‘I hope to become a mighty ship and to bring kings to the far corners of the world. With the strength of my structure everyone will feel safe ‘.

The third tree said, ‘I want to become the tallest tree in the forest. Standing on top of the hill, people will look up and see the heavens through my branches. I will be the greatest tree of all time and will be remembered by all’.

A few years went by and each tree prayed that his wishes would come true.

One day some woodcutters come into the woods. One saw the first tree and said: ‘This seems very sturdy, I can certainly sell the wood to a carpenter’. And he began cutting. The tree was happy, knowing that the carpenter would make it into a treasure chest. Seeing the second tree, another woodsman said, ‘This one also looks strong, I will be able to sell it to a shipyard’. The second tree was also happy, knowing it was about to become a mighty ship. But, as the woodcutters came near to it, the third tree was scared, because if they would cut it down, his dreams would never come true. One of the woodsman said, ‘I’m not sure what I will do with this tree, but meanwhile I will cut it down’. And he did.

Delivered to the carpenter, the first tree was transformed into a crate for animal feed, it was placed in a barn and filled with hay. It certainly wasn’t what he had hoped for. The second tree was cut down and turned into a small fishing boat. His dreams of becoming a mighty ship and carrying kings were also shattered. The third tree was cut into beams and left in the dark. This meant the end of their dreams, and their hopes seemed dashed forever.

Years passed and they had forgotten their dreams, when one day a man and a woman took shelter in the cave where the crate for animal feed had been placed. The woman gave birth to a baby boy who was laid in the manger made from the first tree. This felt his importance and realized that it had received the greatest treasure of all time and that his dream had come true.

Years later, some men were crossing the sea on the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them had fallen asleep, when they were hit by a violent storm and the tree was not sturdy enough to protect the  passengers. The fishermen woke the sleeping man, who stood and said: ‘Peace’, commanding the storm to immediately calm down. It was then that the tree realized it was carrying the King of kings in its boat and that his dream was coming true.

Finally, someone took the beams obtained from third tree. While being transported along the roads, people mocked the man who carried it on his shoulders. At the top of a hill, he was nailed to the tree and raised up in the air before the crowd. At that time, the tree knew that his dream was about to come true, because the Son of God was crucified on his wood and, from that day, all mankind would remember him.

Saturday before Easter is in the gap between the death and resurrection, a transition that seems the end of all hopes and dreams, but the Lord promised: “I know the thoughts I have for you, they are plans of peace, not of evil, to give you hope for the future” (Jer. 29:11).

When things don’t seem to be going in the direction that you expected and your dreams are getting shattered, just know that God has wonderful plans for you and that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5 ).

If you trust in Him, you will experience the resurrection of your dreams!

Happy Easter and Resurrection!

The truth is that nobody is here by chance, no matter what were the circumstances that contributed to their mother’s pregnancy. We’re all part of a divine plan! Today there are more scientists who study the universe, or human body, and realize that every existing thing is so perfect that it could not have created itself! They now say that, behind creation, there’s an “Intelligent Design“, which means that there must be the hand of a Creator! The Bible says that “God created the heavens and stretched them out, spread out the earth and the things it produces; He gives breath to the people that are on it and spirit to those who walk on it” (Isaiah 42:5).

The question is: If there is a God who has created you and put you on this earth, what’s His purpose in this? Being in Athens, the historic cradle of human philosophy, the apostle Paul was once talking to “certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers” (Acts 17:18), who were eager to know what he thought about human existence.

Standing in the Areopagus (a theater of philosophical discussions), Paul made a speech which astonished all listeners. Among other things, he said: “God, who made the world and all things therein, does not live in temples made with hands, and is not served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since is He who gives to all life, breath and all things “(Acts 17:24,25).

In other words, the One who created us does not need our religions, for it is He who gives us life and the very breath that keeps us alive, and it’s us that need Him! Paul then added a truth which would be good to reflect upon: “He has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined the times before appointed, and the boundaries of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us: for in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:26-28)

What this is saying is that God determined from the beginning the time and place where you would be born, and He has given you the ability to “feel” or experience the realities of this world, in order to help you find in Him the true reason you’re here. The Word of God says that “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

In other words, long before you were born, God had prepared a plan for your life and there’s something good that only you can do in this world! Science has discovered that there are no two individuals exactly alike in the world. There may be those who physically resemble each other, but we know that even twins, who look identical in everything, actually have a different fingerprint. That’s why they still use a fingerprint to identify individuals, because there’s no one in the entire world who has it exactly like yours. There has never been, nor ever will be! This is because you are destined to leave your personal mark on this world, doing something good, unique and precious, that no one else will ever do in your place!

Just think, your life has a purpose! It’s not a monotonous waste of time that goes from the cradle to the grave without a reason to be. Instead, you were “created for good works, which God prepared beforehand” for you, even before you were born! Isaiah said: “The Lord called me from the womb; He pronounced my name since my mother’s womb” (Isaiah 49:1). He then went on to describe the qualities and skills that he had been equipped with to fulfill his destiny, God’s call for his life.

And you? What have you been equipped with? What are your gifts and talents? And what’s the reason God made you that way? Don’t despise yourself, but be aware that you are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14) for a specific purpose, God’s call for your life!

Your life is not meant to be mediocre and meaningless, but you are destined to make an important difference in this world! Your task now is not only to discover what God’s plan for your life is, but above all to fulfill it!

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P.S.:If you need a Biblical Life Coach to walk with you and help you discover the unique purpose and will of God for your life, don’t hesitate to contact me for it! Since I discovered the joy of living a life full of meaning, it’s  my passion to help others do the same.

Click on the link below and let me know if you need a personal life coach: http://www.biblicalcoachingonline.com/about-coaching
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Before he was born, that day I woke up early to pray for our daughter while she was in labor and had not delivered yet. This is what I received in my two-way conversation with God:

(Praise): Thank You, Lord, that You “do all things well” (Mk.7:37) and that “all things work together for the good of those who love You” (Rom. 8:28). Your word says: “Believe and you will be saved, both you and your family” (Acts 16:31). My family is under Your blessings and I pray that my daughter will be well and her childbirth will be natural and healthy for both mother and child! Thank You that we don’t have to carry our burdens, because we can trust them to You and You take care of them. Thank You Jesus! I give you praise, honor and glory, for all that You have done in our lives and You continue to do for us!

You are the eternal King of glory Who rules and reigns the universe for eternity! “We have not chosen You, but You have chosen us, and ordained us, that we should bring forth fruit” (John 15:16)! Thank You for the fruit of our womb! Thank You that, like Abraham with Isaac, this child has been blessed from his mother’s womb to receive Your anointing and Spirit, even before his birth, to fulfill his divine destiny and make a positive difference in this world. Thank you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I give you honor and glory, in the name of Jesus!

Please speak to me about this child and reveal Your wisdom and knowledge, amen.

(WFJ): Fear not, for I am with you and with all that you trust in My  care! I have promised to never leave you nor forsake you, and so it is also with this child of Mine that I have cared for, and continue to care for, ever since she was a little one! My Spirit is upon both mother and baby, because the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life!

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life” (Prov. 11:30)! Your daughter is the fruit of your wife’s womb of righteousness and she is a tree of life. What comes out of her womb is life! Luca will be a boy full of life, and he will give My life to others as a witness and a testimony! I proclaim that this child will be a “life bearer”, for he will be filled with My Spirit of life flowing through his being and touching others with My life!

Rest in Me, My son, and let Me finish what I started! I have started a good work in your life, and the lives of those who have come forth of your loins, and I will complete it until the end. My works are perfect and none of the things that you trust into My care will be forgotten, for they will all fulfill their purpose, the reason for which they were sent out into this world! Have faith and enter into your rest! I will take care of both mother and child! I love you!

Later on that morning, I received news that the baby was born and both mother and child were fine, so I went back to my prayer closet and had further intimate time with the Lord:

(Praise): “Lord, thank You for the news I just received that baby Luca is born a healthy baby and that both mother and child are fine, just as You promised! Thank you that You do all things well and that we can trust You to make all things work together for our good! I praise You and worship You and give You honor and glory. Please give me a word of blessing for this new born child, Luca. In Your precious Name I ask, amen.

(WFJ): Let it be written, and let it be proclaimed, that a mighty one has been born today, a man of valor that will speak life into the hearts of many! This is a child that will bear witness of the life that I have given him and he will be a “life bearer”, bearing My life into the lives of many! As the mantle of My anointing falls upon him, he will rise up to his divine destiny and will be “a tree of life”, bearing fruits of life like his grandparents!

How will he be a “life bearer”, you ask Me? By his testimony, and by the fruits of his lips! “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life” (Prov 15:4). He will speak My words of life into the hearts of many!

And how will he be “a tree of life”, you ask Me? By winning souls for My Kingdom! “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise” (Prov 11:30).

I’m gifting this one with the gift of wisdom and he will be wise in his speech and his tongue will be a tree of life, for he will win many souls for My Kingdom.

“Write the vision, and make it plain on tables, that he may run when he reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time” (Hab. 2:2-3). When that time comes, it will bring forth much fruit! Mark these words and write them down! Make them plain on tables, for they will empower him to run the race that is set before him, when he will read it!

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We want to thank all of you who have been praying for this birth! This is our 4th grandchild and, as with each one of them, we feel greatly blessed! Thank for your support.
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One of the biggest lessons I had to learn in the recent years of my life, it’s making sure that my dreams are bigger than my memories! No matter how beautiful or painful our memories might be, the past is past and we just cannot redo it! It’s only the future that we can build, by being confident that it will be much better and brighter than our past. God Himself has promised it: “I know the plans I have for you”, says the Lord, “they are plans of peace, and not to harm you, but to give you hope for the future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

The word of God does not say that our path ahead is like the setting of the sun, but rather that it’s “like the light of the dawn, which shines more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18)! In fact, it promises that God, “who has begun a good work in us, will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6)!

Your future is as bright as the promises of God! You can look forward to “greater works” (John 14:12).

Your past is most likely made of lights and shadows, successes and failures, things done well and also errors, wounds that were suffered as well as inflicted, things you would like to forget about, but that continue to surface every now and then, especially when you meet people and situations that are part of that past. Those memories will drain your energy and remind you how weak and fallible you are. They will try to scare you and tell you that “you cannot fool yourself thinking that you can be successful after your scores of the past!”

My friend, let me tell you something: your past does not have to write your future! It’s time to erase those painful memories of the past, because your future is bright as the promises of God! It’s time to reformat your hard disk and reprogram it with the Word of God, which tells us to “be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).

Five years ago, at the end of 2006, after a year marked by successes, but also by some failures and defeats, I was completely discouraged and at the end of myself, thinking that my best was behind me and that there was no longer a future for me. On the evening of New Year’s Eve 2007, I asked the Lord to give me direction and He answered me with a scripture: “Remember not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert”(Isaiah 43:18-19).

That year was a real turning point in my life, as I started to leave the past behind and look confidently towards the future, recognizing the new thing that was about to spring forth in our new ministry of “Healing Broken Hearts”.  I don’t have to list all the new and greater things the Lord has done in recent years, because most of you who have been following us, even from afar, know how good the Lord has been to us!

However, sometimes those memories will try to resurface and divert your attention from all the new things the Lord is doing in your life, especially when you meet people and situations that remind you of your past, and that’s why it’s important that we turn the page and move forward into our future! The Lord Himself said “Remember not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold the new thing that I will do for you” (Isaiah 43.18)!

Jesus also said: “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32), referring to what had happened a few thousands years earlier, when “Lot’s wife turned to look back and became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26), getting stuck there forever! What was her mistake? She turned to look back, instead of looking forward! Don’t let it happen to you, your future is ahead of you!

Your best is yet to come! Do not look back, but do like the apostle Paul who, after having done great things in his life, said: “This one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus “(Philippians 3:13-14)

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Would you like to make this year a turning point in your life, by leaving the past behind and advancing towards a brighter future? Why not consider the possibility of a new beginning starting even from right now? Before the end of this month of January we will begin a new session of our “Biblical Life Coach Training” that could change your life forever!

Check it out and sign up today! http://www.coursearea.com/europe
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It’s like crossing a bridge and leaving the past behind, as we move into our destiny! As the old year comes to a close, we can look back at where we have been, what we have done, etc. But then, as we move into the new year, it’s time to turn around and look forward at what’s ahead, at what life still has to offer. Our past has brought us where we are today, now it’s time to cross that bridge and move forward with faith! Life has so much more in store for us!

History is full of examples of people who crossed rivers to claim their promised land. Those who crossed it with faith, “being fully persuaded that, what God had promised, He was able to perform” (Rom. 4:21), received their inheritance! Those who doubted and looked back, got instead stuck in a desert for years. Don’t let that happen to you!

Cross that river with courage and claim what’s yours by faith! God is only waiting on you to take a step of faith in the direction He’s showed you to go, in order to meet you there and do great exploits for you. Look at what He did for the children of Israel, when they crossed the Jordan river with faith and saw the walls of Jericho coming down! He gave them the land that He had promised them and enlarged their borders to make them a great nation.

“Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). What He did for them in the past, He can do for you today, and He promised that “greater works than these shall ye do” (John 14:12). We know that’s true because “He’s not a man that He should lie” (Nu 23:19). His word is an incredible foundation to have, a solid rock upon which to build a house that is able to withstand the storms to come!

That’s what we did, as we moved into this New Year 2012! We crossed our bridge into our destiny, leaving the past 15 years of our lives behind and moving 600 km away from where we have lived, into a new area where we have never lived before, simply because God told us to do it, and now we are excitingly waiting to see the walls of Jericho come down for us!

We know that the Lord has led us here and we expect Him to do greater works than what we have seen before, because our God is awesome and He’s never failed us in the past! He’s always done something greater and more exciting for us, every time we stepped out in faith to do what He told us to do, and that’s because we know “Who” our God is!

“Know therefore that our Lord is the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations” (Deut. 7:9).

Do you know Who God is? Do you know that He loves you, and that He has great plans up ahead for your life? His word says: “I know the thoughts I think toward you, said the Lord, they are thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future” (Jer. 29:11)!

Your best is yet to come! No matter where you are presently in life, or what you might have experienced in the past, God is faithful and He has a better and greater future for you up ahead, you just need to step out in faith and claim what He has promised you!

The future is as bright as the promises of God!

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If you have been blessed by the words you have been reading while visiting this site, would you please consider clicking on the “donate” box (here on the right column) and sowing a seed of blessings in our Healing Broken Hearts ministry?

God’s word promises that “whoever sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6). We pray that He will bountifully bless you and help you reap “abundantly above all that you can ask or think” (Ephes. 3:20)! We love you.
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Just think, as we consider these last few days of 2011, we are not counting the years from the onset of a powerful nation or worldwide empire, or from man’s appearance on the earth, but from the birth of a “babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk. 2:12) in the town of Bethlehem, an event which marked the beginning of a new era for mankind!

The birth happened in a “Silent Night, a Holy Night …”, and was witnessed only by a few “shepherds abiding in the field and keeping watch over their flock by night” (Lk. 2:8)! Yet, in that silence of the night, “a multitude of the heavenly host was praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will toward men” (Lk. 2:13).

Are you personally partaking, here on earth, of that peace and good will toward you?

This is what God offers you at Christmas! If you knew the depth of what that means, you would not be wasting precious time in shopping malls, but you would stop by to see Jesus and receive your personal gifts of “peace and good will”!

Click here and listen to this song …

In the Bible, the word “peace” means much more than a simple state of mind. It often has a broader meaning, like what people in the Middle East wish each other, when they greet with either a “Shalom”, or “Salaam”, depending on their language or religion. Shalom Aleichem (“Well-being be upon you“) is the Hebrew expression used to greet others, and is similar to the Arabic greeting: Assalamu Alaikum. The appropriate response to such a greeting is “Upon you be well-being” (Aleichem shalom), actually wishing others not only peace, but wellness, wholeness and prosperity!

It sums up the best benediction you can desire from God:

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you shalom” (Numbers 6:24-26).

In other words, when the angels proclaimed “peace and good will toward men” that night, God’s favor and blessings were offered to man as a gift, through the birth of baby Jesus.

Jesus is God’s ultimate Christmas gift to us! It offers us the favor and blessings of God, starting with the restoration of our personal relationship Him and continuing with a blessed and “abundant life” (John 10:10), not only in the world to come, but even here on earth! As it was proclaimed: “On earth peace and good will toward men” (Lk. 2:13).

What a Christmas gift! And it’s ours, if we can receive it! As I wrote last year at this time, we just need to “Stop running and make room for Christ!”

As you move into this next week, preparing for your Christmas party, I want to encourage you to take time to meditate upon the meaning of the “peace and good will toward men” that was proclaimed by the angels on the hills of Bethlehem and is being offered to you. There might be much more in it for you, than all the Christmas shopping you can do!

The best Christmas gift you can ever receive is what Jesus is offering you here and now: peace and good will toward you! Just open you heart and receive it. Repeat after me:

Jesus, thank you for your Christmas gift. I open my heart to You and receive it by faith. Please forgive all my sins and fill my life with Your peace and good will. Amen.

Merry Christmas!

Renato and Patrizia Amato

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We want to thank all those of you who have been praying for us and supporting our ministry of Healing Broken Hearts! The Lord has answered your prayers and we have now found a beautiful house by Lake Garda, where we will be moving at the beginning of the upcoming New Year 2012. The house has extra room for visitors and for those of you who would like to visit us there. You are welcome! Please continue to pray for us, that we can now find there, as we have here, those open to receive God’s healing balm of love.

Remember that “God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which you have showed toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister” (Heb. 6:10) to us with your prayers and support. If you would like to send a Christmas gift to support our ministry of Healing Broken Hearts, please click the Donate button on the right column of this site, or write to us so we can let you know how. Anything you give will be a seed that will reap great rewards and will be greatly appreciated. God bless you!

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No one can boast of tomorrow, because “you know not what a day may bring” (Prov. 27:1). Overnight, the economic situation can collapse and those who have “built their house on the sand” (Matt. 7:26) can suddenly see it being swept away by floods and winds that are able to hit even places considered secure. It’s not enough to hide behind closed doors and “trust in uncertain riches” that can vanish away! How much better to build our life on solid grounds and “lay up in store a good foundation against the time to come” (1 Tim. 6:17-19).

How do you interpret life? The Bible exhorts us to “look not at the things which are temporal, but at those that are long lasting” (2Cor 4:18), in order to “inherit substance and be filled with treasures“ (Prov. 8:21) and “fullness of joy along the path of life” (Psalm 16:11).

There are few treasures that can be taken away, when moving beyond human existence, and one of these is friendship. There’s an Italian saying, translated as: “Whoever finds a friend, he finds a treasure”. That might not be in the Bible, but it’s an absolute truth! Since we moved in this area (near Rome, Italy), after returning from our last foreign mission field in 1996, our life has been enriched with friends that have added real value to our existence.

During the past 15 years, hundreds (and perhaps thousands) of people have experienced with us the joy of being filled with God’s love, through His Son Jesus, and have become our dear friends. We have seen broken hearts being healed and lives being transformed, which in turn dedicated themselves to bring healing to others. The seeds planted have grown and multiplied, and now there are open homes and worship meetings scattered throughout the whole land, simply because from the beginning of our ministry we decided to obey the Lord and open our doors to those who were hungry and thirsty for truth …

It was a chain reaction! Within a few weeks we had a house full of young people who were hungry and thirsty for God’s Word, just as it’s written in Amos’ prophecy: “Behold, the days come, said the Lord, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11).

As our living room, and then our garden, was filled with thirsty souls searching for an oasis in their desert, we became witnesses of miraculous changed lives! “They cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and He healed them, and delivered them from their destructions” (Psalm 107:19-20).

Among these, there were many who felt God’s call to follow our sample and dedicate their lives to share His love with others, so our place soon had no more space to house them all. It was then that we moved to a larger farm house, where a new community of hearts (the MELODY Mission) was birthed and today all those who ever lived there have become “light of the world” and “salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13-14), scattered abroad to give flavor and value wherever they are. “The Spirit was poured on us from on high, and the wilderness became a fruitful field, and the fruitful field was counted for a forest” (Isaiah 32:15).

Now that these groups are able to grow and multiply on their own, the Lord has shown us that it’s time for us to leave this area and move to the northern part of Italy (600 km away), in order to be closer to my wife’s parents, who are in need our physical presence. “Honor your father and mother is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth” (Ephes. 6:2).

The decision has been taken and at the beginning of the coming New Year we will move to the north of Italy! It’s not easy for us, because of the deep ties that we have built over the years, but we know that true friendship will last forever. The physical distance will not separate us from our friends, because our souls are knit, just like the souls of David and Jonathan in the Bible (1 Sam. 18:1).

“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it” (Song of Sal. 8:7).

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Please pray that we find the right house, with enough room to welcome those who need the love of the Lord, who “heals the brokenhearted” (Psalm 147:3) and “saves such as be of a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18). If you can also help us with a donation to start a new ministry of “Healing Broken Hearts” in that area, it will be a seed that will reap great rewards and will greatly be appreciated. Those wishing to help, please click the “Donate” button on the right column of this site, or write to us directly, so we can let you know how. God bless you!
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It all depends on what voice it’s paying attention to! Is it listening to selfish desires? Or is it listening to the voice of God’s wisdom, which is offered “to all man liberally” (James 1:5)? If your heart is filled with God’s Spirit and tuning to God’s voice, He will tell you what to do and where to go, and “you will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left” (Isa. 30:21).

Otherwise, the Bible reveals that: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9). In fact, it says that in since the very beginning “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, and it grieved him at his heart” (Gen. 6:5)!

That’s because in our heart is where we have our self-talk, where our inner conversation is constantly going on and where we debate in our selves the things that are happening to us each day and moment of our life! Things are always happening to us, whether good or bad, and we process all the emotions that these events cause in our heart by a personal debate within ourselves! If we are self-centered and think that the world owes us everything, we will often be disappointed by the events of life and will usually tend to nurture hate, resentment and bitterness in our heart, which can easily be transformed in horrible behavior and can really take us down a very troubled road in life!

Whereas, if our heart is turned towards God and we are truly seeking for His perspective and guidance in life, He is  able to speak to our inner being and tell us what to do or where to go, and we can certainly trust God’s voice in our heart! Not exactly the voice of our own heart, but the voice of the Holy Spirit who’s speaking to our inner being and “directing our path” (Prov.3:6) to fulfill our destiny!

Let’s be honest with ourselves! If we are only desirous of gratifying our own selves, can we really trust the thoughts and intents of our heart? What is our heart telling us? Is it telling us to love and forgive the person that has hurt us, or to pay him back in double measure? Is it telling us to prefer the other person and give them a chance to prosper and grow, or to take advantage of whatever opportunity we have to get ahead of them and to leave them behind?

It really depends on what are we sowing into our heart … seeds of love, or seeds of hate? Seeds of forgiveness, or of resentment?  Seeds of kindness, or seeds of covetousness? The Bible tells us that “whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7)!

What is the message that our heart is constantly hearing? What are we feeding it? Are we “hiding God’s Word in our heart, that we might not sin against Him” (Psalm 119:11)? Are we feeding on Gods’ Word and letting it be “the joy and rejoicing of our heart” (Jer. 16:16)? Or are we spending more time watching TV and letting whatever it broadcasts be sown into our heart? The competition is fierce as to what is getting our attention and what messages or seeds are landing into our heart! That’s why the Bibles exhorts us to “Keep our heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23)!

We must be careful about what is being sown and growing in the garden of our heart, because that’s the fruit that we are going to reap in our life! Jesus said: “Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good; or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit will be corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit … for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. (Matt. 12:33-35).

Can you really trust your heart? You can, if you’re having a regular intimate conversation with God in your heart and listening to what the Spirit is telling you! That’s why the Bible constantly reminds us: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying …”
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If you are not sure whether you are listening to the right voice in your heart, or whether you can really trust what your heart has been telling you, contact me and I will be happy to be your mentor and take you through a 4 steps program on: “How to hear the voice of God!”
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