graciaylibertad

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The Kingdom of God: Where Is It?

“The kingdom of God is wherever God reigns, and since He reigns everywhere, the kingdom of God is everywhere.” — R.C. Sproul Introduction The declaration from John the Baptist and Jesus himself about the nearness of God’s kingdom can be staggering and quite confusing at the same time: the kingdom of God has come near you (Matthew 3:2; Mark 1:15). Yet, we must need to understand what they meant…

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The Kingdom of God: What Is It?

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” – Matthew 3:2 Introduction A few weeks ago I started a blog series that would be devoted to the subject of the kingdom of God. And, I basically gave an introductory overview of what I want to expound on for the following posts. Here’s the link to that first entry. I pray and hope you find it helpful. I practically presented five basic questions…

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Growing In Grace

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”‭2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬ Introduction Growing in grace is crucial for every believer in Christ who desires to be spiritually healthy. It is also commanded by God that we grow in grace – there are no exceptions. This growth, however, does not happen by…

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Costly Discipleship

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”” — Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Introduction God…

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The Kingdom of God, A Brief Overview

“The kingdom of heaven is worth infinitely more than the cost of discipleship, and those who know where the treasure lies joyfully abandon everything else to secure it.” – D. A. Carson Introduction The public ministry of John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus Christ began by the announcement of a near kingdom; God’s Kingdom. And these were good news. But, they were also – in one sense – bad news…

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Perseverance: The Art of Joyfully Contemplating the End Result in Spite of Difficult Processes

“I failed my way to success.” – Thomas Edison Introduction Art is something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings. I truly believe that our Creator God gave us the gift of imagination with the ultimate purpose of us using it for our good and his glory. It’s perhaps quite a simple statement, but it is, nevertheless,…

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Hiding: A Brief Theology of Shame

“We try to clothe our invisible, nonexistent self in an attempt to make our invisible self more objectively real. We wrap achievements, novel experiences, pleasures, and material possessions around ourselves like bandages, believing that these coverings will make our invisible selves more visible.” – Thomas Merton Introduction Christian writer and psychiatrist, Curt Thompson, argues…

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Who I Am In Christ

I renounce the lie that I am rejected, unloved, or shameful. In Christ I am accepted. God says: I am God’s child (see John 1:12) I am Christ’s friend (see John 15:15) I have been justified (see Romans 5:1) I am united with the Lord, and I am one spirit with Him (see 1 Corinthians 6:17) I have been bought with a price: I belong to God. (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) I am a member of Christ’s…

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Learning To Suffer Well

‭“For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 1:5 NIV‬ Introduction I will never forget that peculiar Sunday morning at my local home church. The whole congregation could sense a heavy, bitter-sweet spirit. Our lead pastor had asked one our dear elderly sisters and her husband to make their way to the front where he…

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What Lies Beneath

“People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” — 1 Samuel 16:7 Introduction You might be wondering why in the world I put a picture of an iceberg in relation to this post. Trust me. By the end, you will be able to make the connection between the title, the picture and the portion of Scripture I chose for this blog’s entry. A Scary Illustration If you’re old enough,…

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Loneliness Has Been My Faithful Friend | Desiring God

The next time loneliness shows up, thank God that your loneliness powerfully reminds you of the glory of what lies ahead for you with him. — Read on www.desiringgod.org/articles/loneliness-has-been-my-faithful-friend

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From Death To Life

Introduction As New Creations in Christ, we have been created and called by God our Father to live in newness of life, liberated by the power of his Spirit from the bondage of sin, for the purpose of serving God and others joyfully and lovingly, for his glory and our own good. The apostle Paul sums it up well when encouraging the Corinthians in his second epistle, in the latter part of chapter…

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What does freedom mean to you? Freedom to me means being able to be my unique true self and being able to do what I love and desire most — which is helping others discover who they truly were created to be; and guide them in their unique journey process.

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Empty Shells

“Loose yourself to find yourself.” — Jesus Intro One of the painful and horrible consequences of Sin is that we grow up alienated from who we truly are – our unique true selves. We think we know who we really but it’s just illusion. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they also sinned against their own soul. That is, not only where they separated from God spiritually, but they also separated…

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Señor, ¿Por Qué Yo?

“El Dolor Nos Cambia.” — Luis Ramos Introducción Una de las realidades más antiguas de la historia de la humanidad es el misterio del sufrimiento. Le llamo realidad porque es un padecer genuino dentro de la esfera existencial del ser humano – es decir, no es un invento o mera fantasía. Todo lo contrario, el dolor nos hace poner muy bien los pies en la tierra; nos humaniza. Del mismo modo,…

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The Cross For Self

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬ Introduction I have copied most everything written in this post exactly as you will read it from a devotional named None But The Hungry Heart by Miles J. Stanford. I…

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¿Identidad?

Introducción Una crisis de identidad puede ser algo devastador – también fatal! “La crisis de identidad se conoce como un período en el cual una persona experimenta una serie de dudas profundas sobre sí misma. Estas dudas se caracterizan por el cuestionamiento del sentido de la existencia, y son acompañadas por sentimientos de vacío y soledad.” En ocasiones, también conocida como crisis…