Identity

June 20, 2023·Rapha Abreu

I AM

God reveals who He is to us through various passages of the Bible. Until the moment when He sums it all up in the famous phrase “I Am who I Am”. Being “God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.” Exodus 3:14 In the book of John God is presented to us as the Light of the World (8:12), the bBead of Life (6:35), the Good Shepherd (10:14), the Door (10:9 )… Throughout the biblical text, from the first book, we see God presenting himself to the people in different ways. In each moment He revealed himself in a different way. But he never ceased to exist in the other forms he had already revealed or would reveal himself in the future. Sometimes God needs to remind us of something specific in His character. In moments of pain, He shows himself as Comforter. In the hour of uncertainty, He is the Promise. In times of confusion, He is the Way (14:6). But in all these situations, even if an attribute of the Father is in greater evidence, He simply remains Being. God’s character […]

fatherhood god identity light-of-the-world

May 16, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Action or reaction?

When we know God, He reveals to us our identity, His ways and His dreams. That way, it becomes much easier for us to surrender control into His hands. He is our origin “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them. Male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 When we want to know more about a fish, we need to dive into the sea and understand more about how the sea works. Just studying the fish won’t tell us much. It’s like that in our lives too. If we want to know more about ourselves, we need to delve into God first and in Him we will find answers. For if we dive within ourselves to find ourselves, we will lose ourselves more and more. We don’t have the answers inside us, they come from our Creator. Our paths and the steps we take should not be based on our own experiences, but on our origin. That origin is God. It was in Him that we were born even before we came into the world and it is in Him that we exist. Nothing stops Him “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in […]

bible calling courage-of-the-lord creation

March 09, 2023·Rapha Abreu

The strength does not come from you

We are in women’s month, which is celebrated on March 8th. In today’s times, much is heard about the strength of women. This subject is in great evidence and there are millions of people fighting for this force to be recognized. I think it’s important that we talk about it. Identity in Him “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting. But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” Proverbs 31:30 I want to start by saying it’s not through your strength, woman. I don’t know about you, but a lot of issues about women being empowered sometimes overwhelm me. I feel as if I need to produce, do and create at all times, because that way I don’t express my vulnerability, something that every human being has. I understand that people’s struggle has many points and arguments. This is not what I want to discuss or judge, because I understand that this role is not up to me. But I want to remind you that you don’t need to burden yourself with an identity that God has already given you. Graced by Him “And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All […]

courage-of-the-lord grace identity strong

February 22, 2023·Rapha Abreu

Sin does not stop the miracle

The Bible often has that part that we almost always skip when reading: the long and neglected genealogy. I understand why we skip. There are many names and that gives that feeling of wasting time in our devotional. But today I want to show you something very special. Everything has a reason “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness“. 2 Timothy 3:16 Everything in the Bible has meaning and importance. God doesn’t do anything for nothing, without purpose and that doesn’t carry a special message. Understanding where we came from and the path we took to a certain place teaches us to be grateful for where we are in the present and also to be hopeful about where we will go. Even if the walk was not made with 100% beautiful steps and only correct choices. An imperfect lineage “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope“. Romans 15:4 The genealogy of Jesus is presented in two ways: by Matthew, beginning with Abraham, and by Luke, who tells it from Adam. Regardless […]

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December 08, 2022·Rapha Abreu

Don’t sell your anointing

These days I heard this phrase from the title of a friend and it was kept in my heart. So I decided to look more closely at God for what that really meant, as I felt it was Him speaking to me through this friend, that it was Him reminding me of my worth and what I was anointed for in the Spirit. Anointing “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come”. 2 Corinthians 1:21,22 This word means to anoint, to apply consecrated oil to a person. In the religious sense, anointing is practiced with the intention of exerting spiritual influence, sometimes with the purpose of blessing or even healing. An anointed person is under divine protection and the anointing can heal any physical or spiritual illness, bringing transformation through its calling. To sell that would be to give it up for something else. Something non-negotiable is that which we would not exchange or sell for anything, as that is the maximum value for us and nothing would be big enough to […]

biblical-study blessings choices essential

August 23, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

To Be vs. To Do

In our minds it is common to always think in a meritocratic way: “do it to deserve it”. We end up having that same mindset when it comes to God and the way He loves us. We believe that certain sins, considered more serious, such as corruption, murder, adultery, among others, can alter God’s love. There’s an excerpt from one of Max Lucado’s books that says: “God’s love never ceases. Never. Though we spurn him. Ignore him. Reject him. Despise him. Disobey him. He will not change. Our evil cannot diminish his love. Our goodness cannot increase it. Our faith does not earn it any more than our stupidity jeopardizes it. God doesn’t love us less if we fail or more if we succeed. God’s love never ceases.” Unconditional love When we realize that God’s love does not increase or decrease, regardless of whether we have fallen back into sin or not, it is in the least shocking. We get so used to loves that move according to what we do or how we act, that we forget that God is not a man. He doesn’t love in the limited way that we do. He doesn’t change either, he doesn’t […]

bible devotional heart identity

July 28, 2022·Rapha Abreu

[Series: Identity] Shaped by Purpose

This will be the last text on “Identity” and, to close this series, I want to bring another point that shapes our identity: Eternity. Something that says a lot about us is our goals and purposes in life. Where we want to go shapes who we are today, because the future starts now. The Eternal lives in us “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart. Yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end“ Ecclesiastes 3:11 The Son became man so that men could become sons. When we are called “children” we are also called to eternity with the Father. We were created for this eternity, because the Eternal lives in our heart, life goes far beyond what we know because there is something much greater prepared for us. It is this eternity that we carry that has given us the authority to do everything as He did, moving towards that goal. Christ is the greatest example of someone who had his identity sustained in the relationship with God and lived fully everything that was delivered to Him, because no matter what happened here on earth, He had […]

eternity gods-glory-2 identity purpose

July 21, 2022·Rapha Abreu

[Series: Identity] Do I have a calling?

Another point in our life, which makes up our identity, is our calling. But after all, what is this? How do I find my calling? Am I already doing something in the area of my calling? These are questions I’ve asked myself several times, out of curiosity or fear of making mistakes. But I want to talk more about this subject with you today, in our penultimate text in this series. We all have a calling We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith. If it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach. If it is to encourage, then give encouragement. If it is giving, then give generously. If it is to lead, do it diligently. If it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Romans 12:6-8 God has a plan for us since before we were born. He left a specific mission for each person in this world and invites us to act in a certain area. Our greatest and most important calling will always be to worship him above all else, but there is a vocational path that we can choose […]

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July 14, 2022·Rapha Abreu

[Series: Identity] Our Heavenly Family

Still in our series on identity, I want to talk about another part of shaping who we are. This time I want to emphasize that, in addition to the biological family, we are invited to be part of God’s family! From origin to stoning The dictionary brings as one of the meanings of “Identity” a close similarity, although also a person in the individual. That is to say, having an identity in God makes us like Him too. We are admirable works created by His hands. “For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your works are wonderful, I know that full well“ Psalm 139:13-14 Through Jesus, the Father also wants to give us the identity of children and gives us our calling and purpose. As it says in Galatians 3:26-27, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ“ Just as Christ the Son had the call and purpose to become flesh and come into the world to save us, so God has given you a purpose and an essence. We spoke of the origin […]

bible family identity kingdom-of-god

July 07, 2022·Rapha Abreu

[Series: Identity] What is your origin?

In the next 4 weeks I want to talk to you about “Identity”. When we are asked about our “origin”, we immediately think about our surname, our family, our country, our city, among other aspects linked to our birth. And we really get a lot of influence from the family that we have as “Guardians” in this world. Our father, mother, grandparents, uncles are people who teach us, accompany us and who we have as a reference in many areas of our lives. They are those from which we also receive a genetic inheritance and that have influenced how we are physically. From the DNA The dictionary brings as the meaning of “Identity” a set of characteristics that distinguish a person or thing and through which it is possible to individualize it. We carry a lot of our earthly family with us. Our first experiences in relationships are at home, with these people. The family identity is formed by different identities. What each person is individually makes up a part of what the others will also be. However, even though we have inherited many things from our family, each of us was designed by the hand of God. “For you […]

family identity