Choco De Jesús

Don't fight the culture. Transform it. When Pastor "Choco" De Jes s was twelve years old, his Chicago neighborhood erupted in gang violence for three terrible days. On the third day, the mayor called in the National Guard to restore order. When the smoke cleared, only burned-out cars, broken store windows, and hatred remained. Choco felt vulnerable and helpless, and soon he turned to the only source of security, life, and purpose--the love of Jesus. Pastor Choco leads out of this deep well of experience. He knows what it's like to wonder if you'll live through the day, and he knows how it feels when someone cares enough to step in and provide care and hope. His church is known for showing compassion to people who are often overlooked--or worse, despised--in our culture: prostitutes, gangbangers, the homeless, and others who feel abandoned. And Pastor Choco's bold love for people has opened doors and allowed him into the highest offices in the land, including at the White House. Love is contagious. It breaks through defenses and destroys walls that divide us. Love is costly. It requires time, focus, and intention. Love is uncomfortable. It pushes you beyond your preconceived limitations and understanding. Love is hard. It's not convenient, and it's not always safe. But love is beautiful. Love is transformative. Love is the answer. So love them anyway. The message of this book will tap into your deepest desires, expose your hesitations, connect you more deeply with God's love, stimulate your creativity, and help you take bold steps to love the people around you--and your love will change lives. Love Them Anyway is designed for individual study, small-group interactions, and church-wide applications that reach every corner of a church's local community. This book will help you confront your prejudices, remove fences, and get the gospel to the marginalized.

Abundant life. Does that describe the life you’re living now? Or do words like busy, overwhelming, disappointing, or exhausting come to mind instead? Today, more than ever, we long for satisfaction in our lives and fulfillment in our faith but come up empty. We are lacking, and that hole can’t be filled by money, prestige, or stuff.Pastor Choco, author of Move into More, knows what it feels like to want more from life. Raised by a single mother after his alcoholic father left, he grew up as a poor Puerto Rican kid in Humboldt Park, one of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods. He grew up never having enough. However, God had so much more for him. Pastor Choco rose to become senior pastor of New Life Covenant Church (one of Chicago’s fastest-growing churches) and one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World.In Move into More, with conviction and earnestness, Pastor Choco explains that God has promised a life of more—joyful contentment that comes from living passionately with a purpose—to anyone who follows him in obedience. It’s not who you are, he says, it’s what Jesus can do if you will let him. Choco breaks down popular-yet-untrue thinking that God’s “more” is about wealth or material possessions, fame or power, and shows readers that God’s more is far better than anyone could ever imagine.If you’re willing to Move into More, your eyes will be opened to the all-powerful, all-loving God who wants more for you than you can imagine in your wildest dreams. When you follow Him faithfully and obediently, you will find peace in your problems, rest in your weariness, order in circumstantial chaos, and joy in trials.Don’t settle for less than God has for you—it’s time to Move into More!

En el mundo actual la gente est cansada y llena de temores, viven temporadas dif ciles en sus vidas. La firme seguridad de que Dios nos ha llamado para una vida abundante nos da la fortaleza, el aliento y la perspectiva necesarios para los tiempos dif ciles. Y de la misma manera, esa seguridad nos infunde humildad con cada bendici n que recibimos.La gente est cansada, viven temporadas dif ciles en sus vidas. Tal vez est n batallando con un c nyuge que ha roto las promesas y les ha traicionado, viven bajo un presupuesto muy ajustado o est n criando a sus hijos en un hogar sin uno de los padres. Otros est n cuidando a un padre enfermo o angustiados ante la p rdida de uno de ellos.Este libro exhorta a los lectores a recordar que hay algo m s, que Dios nos ha prometido y planeado una vida m s abundante que la que vivimos en estos momentos. Su «m s es infinito; no tiene l mite. Su Palabra promete que podemos aprender a vivir en su plenitud. Relatando su historia personal en cuanto a experimentar ese «m s , el autor comparte con los lectores que ellos tambi n han sido escogidos por Dios; destinados a vivir en Su plenitud.El autor analiza tambi n ciertos impedimentos espec ficos que nos impiden llevar una vida abundante, como el temor, las m ltiples ocupaciones, las heridas que nos hacemos a nosotros mismos y el ego smo. Cuando llenamos nuestra vida con lo que nosotros queremos, no le abrimos espacio a ese «m s de Dios, el cual exige tambi n menos de nosotros mismos. Desafiando la mentalidad estadounidense de que «m s se refiere al dinero y a las riquezas, el autor aclara que no se trata de una recompensa («Si yo hago esto, consigo aquello ). Sino que nos da aliento con la verdad b blica de que Dios, desde el principio, ha planeado que vivamos en su «m s , la vida abundante que nace al dar un paso tras otro en obediencia y fidelidad.Cuando aprendas a vivir en el «m s de Dios, sabr s: - Experimentar la plenitud de Dios- Caminar paso a paso, dedicado completamente al presente- Adquirir fortaleza y gozo en medio de las pruebas- Descubrir orden en el caos- Encontrar descanso en medio de las ocupaciones