Glory of man vs Glory of God

Oh what wouldn't people do to be famous. Many people desire to be famous. Although people desire to be rich and famous most people rather just desire to be famous, why? Primarily I believe the desire to be famous is founded on one fundamental truth. People want to be accepted. Fame gives off a perception of acceptance and popularity. Not only does this mean that people like you but they enjoy being around you. Popularity is such a gravitating social force. Popularity starts to be a factor in Middle school but is a bigger factor in High school. Athletes and those who have a good sense of humor tend to be the most popular students. Popular individuals are admired. This has large implications for people's self esteem and their identity. At the most elementary level everybody just wants to be accepted, acknowledged, heard and understood. Societal norms that dictate whether we are popular can infiltrate our psyche and influence our decisions. In addition we internalize images from the media that cause us to act a certain way. The media sensationalizes fame, it deceives people into thinking that fame leads to fulfillment and happiness. Fame gives off the illusion that you are accepted but ultimately leaves you feeling alone. First it may give you feelings of euphoria but long term it makes you feel empty. Take it from me I always wanted to be popular and when I did it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. At first I felt happy accepted and admired. Those temporary feelings wore off within a couple of years and I became empty. Moreso I became dependent on other's acceptance and if people didnt give me complements my self esteem would drop. This is very precarious and can lead to a state of depression. This is why some celebrities end up committing suicide. They have developed an identity that is false and is dependent upon others' praise. Your identity is a virtual reality and is very unstable when your self worth is dependent upon your fan base! Society loves to worship those who are famous, usually not because of who they are but because they are famous. There is a fundamental flaw in fame. It gives the illusion that you are accepted but it is a superficial form of approval. Egos usually flare up when somebody is famous. Fame is alluring, desirable and seductive. Although it is highly desirable and seems fulfilling it actually leaves you empty. This is the glory of man. All things we are supposed to do for the glory of God and not for the glory of man. Colossians 3:17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." Our desire is to make Him famous not ourselves. We must give glory to God in everything we do! This will only lead to more destruction and flesh. After man has perished there is no fruit remaining except somebody's accomplishments. When you live for God you work is eternal because we have everlasting life. 1 Peter1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The Lord Jesus wants the glory for everything I do. Praise God for his faithfulness! Man will fade away but God and His Word endureth forever! Let us not focus on fame or glory that brings attention to ourselves and gives us a false sense of acceptance, identity and love but let us put the attention on God and give glory to him! He is the one who we bring glory to and point people towards! Praise God and may His name be exalted and known to all the nations! Isaiah 66:18 For I know their works and their thoughts: It shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues.

Power in Surrender

What does it mean to surrender? When you first hear the word surrender you may think of an army on a field raising a white flag. This is the typical perception of surrender in our modern day world. Generally speaking, surrender has a negative connotation. However, in the kingdom of God surrender is not only a positive term but one of the most crucial principles in our faith! Lets examine the word surrender and how it relates to humans. The textbook definition of surrender is to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress. The reason why it has a such a negative meaning in the world is because you are giving somebody else or another entity the power which would insinuate that you are weak. However the question shouldn't be did you surrender, it should be what are you surrendered to? If you are submitted to something that is weaker than you then your power will be minimal. However when you submit to something more powerful than you, you are operating under the same authority and power once that entity or person possesses you. Surrendering to the Almighty God will grant you the highest level of power available because you are under The creator of Heaven and earth's authority. The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is in control of your life and who better to be the CEO of your life than the one who created you! The closest words I found in the Bible to surrender is worship and submit. John 4:23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him". The word "worship" in the Greek means to prostrate oneself in homage. God can accomplish His Will when we surrender to Him. Even Jesus surrendered to God in order to operate in the power of God! John 6:38 "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." This gave him the ability and strength to obey the will of God and go to the cross for all of humanity while operating in the power of the Holy Spirit. Luke 4:1-13 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Yielding to God's authority enabled Jesus to overcome sin, death, and evil! Whenever you are under someone's authority you will naturally inherit their characteristics. A common example is when Britain takes over a country they adopt the same currency, customs, and political system as well. This means that when we surrender to God his love mercy grace and joy that we inherit from his presence will remain with us as long as we remain surrendered. We can also oppose the realm of darkness through surrender. James 4:7 " Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." So far we have seen two verses in the Bible that identify surrender in relation to contradicting Satan. The only way we can overcome the devil is by surrendering to the Lord Jesus Christ! When we accept Jesus into our heart and become born again through regeneration by the Holy Spirit we have actually surrendered to the will of the Father which is for everyone not to perish. The only way you don't perish in the afterlife is through giving your life or heart to the Lord! Even these two catch phrases that are representative of salvation describe surrender. When you give your heart to something you are surrendering because out of the heart come the issues of life! When you give something or somebody your heart you are surrendering your life to that person which means that you have direct access to this person (God's power!) In addition when you surrender to something it has power over you and can influence you easily. For instance peer pressure can have power over you and make you submit to it. Once it has power over you it can control your thoughts and actions. This can be very detrimental to your growth and start affecting others around you. In a book I was reading "The Scorpion within" it speaks about the kings of Israel and when they were righteous (surrendered to God) the country flourished and became prosperous. Going back to worship, when you worship (prostrate yourself before God) it is one of the most crucial forms of surrender because you're surrendering all your problems frustrations, burdens, and strongholds to Jesus! Psalms 95:6 "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker." Worshiping gives us the ability to raise our hands and exalt him but also surrender our personal desires and letting Him take control of our trials, career goals, finances, family situation, future wife etc. If we don't surrender we cant live for him! IN order to do His will for our lives we must first surrender which leads to obeying Him and this results in glorifying HIM! Surrendering to the Almighty god can only lead to one outcome, victory! Once we inherit the power of God that comes through surrender you are now operating in the anointing. Just how the Son of God came with power we too have power in us because Jesus lives in us. When we walk in obedience to His Word is where we surrender to His Will! The Kingdom of God will advance once we all surrender and come together in unity to seek His face! Once we get to the point of surrender we will prosper spiritually and bring glory to His name! Hallelluljah! Today and forevermore may we surrender so that souls can be saved and Christ may be exalted!

Revival Generation II

On the brink of revival we need to have discernment. There are many people we will encounter that say they have our best interests at heart and may be deceivers. We need to know who to trust as some may pose as a wolf in sheep's clothing. In addition having this gift will help us grow in the kingdom, identify struggles, combat the darts of the enemy, and sense demons in order to cast them out. Discernment leads us to be aware of the devices of the enemy and how to battle them. Another powerful weapon to be armed with is wisdom. Wisdom is necessary for the labor of the kingdom as well as everyday things such as household work or job duties at the workplace. This will lead to a fruitful life in Christ. Wisdom will help us make some great decisions and help us avoid many headaches. The Bible says to desire spiritual gifts. As we desire these gifts we should be focused on how we can use it to edify the body. These gifts will also benefit the world and draw people to Christ. Faith is crucial for our walk and it allows us to live in the power of God! Without faith its impossible to please God Hebrews12. Matt 17:20 says if you have faith the size of a mustard seed and tell that mountain to move from hear to there it will move. Signifying is what triggers our worship and propels our action. This holds true not only in the kingdom but in the daily affairs of life. Mark 11:23 says " So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says." As another verse says we walk by faith and not by sight. This Christian journey is not dictated by emotion. The most critical component to the Christian walk is faith since we cant have salvation unless we believe it in our hearts that Jesus died on the cross for us, our walk is pointless if we don't believe. Even scientists and secular humanists have faith (believe) in their theories which confirms that faith is held in high esteem by the world. We have to believe, for everything in this Christian walk is based on faith! I believe that I have the victory, that I have overcome and that the Lord Jesus is coming back for His Bride (his church-Christians). When you ask somebody about their goals and if they believe in their capabilities, when they answer yes I believe, the probability to accomplish it will rise exponentially. We must believe in order to proceed. Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God which means we receive any given measure of faith from the scriptures. This is one of the reasons I read the Bible (to gain faith). I believe in the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost! I declare that we are going to have a revival starting with the youth in NYC in Jesus Name! Let us never underestimate the power of faith! After faith, love is the most important thing as faith works by love and Jesus died because He loved us! Conversely in the Bible it says if you love God you will obey his commandments. When you love somebody else you would do anything for them. Jesus loved us so much that He was mocked spit at, beaten, bruised, and crucified in order to take away our sins! Nobody will ever know the pain he had to endure to set us free from the bondage of sin. He died for us because He loved us! Also we love God because he first loved us. The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor. In our society love is a word that is used casually which has which has diminished the value. On any given day you can see two "friends" that hate each other say they love each other. The love in the Bible endures all things and is patient. It does not matter If a friend backstabs you, if your son lights a match that accidentally causes a fire in the house when nobody's home, if a person smacks you across your face, if somebody made you lose your job and planned on it intentionally, even if your wife cheats on you, you must still love that person! In all of these situations it would be impossible to love without the Spirit of God! 1 Cor 13:4-7 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. This is God's definition of love and its purest form of love that we will ever see. When we embody Christlike love we will speak in a gentle manner and uplift somebody rather than saying something demeaning! Out of faith hope and love the greatest is love! As a born again Christian our fulltime job is to reflect Jesus in our lives and to love people to Christ! Love is very important. When we love people despite what damage they have done to us is a true testimony of God's glory and can only be the love that Christ can offer. Through Christ many people will change, people who weren't capable of loving will have the capability of loving. Somebody who did not love and had a hardened heart will love now. Individuals that may have been abandoned by their parents and felt rejected will feel accepted now. Love can touch people in the deepest part of their souls and will drive people to believe that God has a purpose for their lives (which he does) Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Once you have a supernatural encounter with Jesus and experience the Love of God you will not go back to the world! John 3:16 Forgiveness is one of the most revered principles in the Bible and one of the least popular. When you dont forgive it becomes very difficult to progress in your walk with God.The Bible says if you do not forgive yoyr brotehr your father in heaven will not forgiev you. Isaiah says that iniquities block us from God. This means if we harbor unforgiveness it will be difficult to communicate and nearly impossible to grow in your relationship with the Lord! When we dont forgive others our hearts develop a callousness and we develop bitterness with have negative implications for the psyche and the spirit. The power of forgiveness is often underestimated. When we fail to forgive we are not exhibiting God's love. forgiveness leads to healing from past wounds and can restore areas of our hearts that are hardened because of previous hurt. When we forgive somebody who wronged us we are not only showing love but we are moving beyond a previous injury to our soul. From what I hear forgiveness becomes easier as we mature spiritually. Unforgiveness can prohibit the empowerment by the Holy Spirit and prevent us from inheriting the promises of God. Furthermore forgiveness sets us free from that grudge and hate in our heart, it also removes guilt from the person that may have offended you. Forgiveness not only serves a key function in our walk with the Lord and increases the unity and power in the Body of Christ, the kingdom will experience even more amazing growth when we start to forgive. Let us choose to forgive in Jesus Name! Obedience may be the single most important principle next to faith and love. Without obedience we would not follow Christ and bear fruit while living a Godly life! Obedience allows us to do God's will when we obey while strongholds are broken, lives are saved, suicide is prevented, sin is overcome, men's hearts are brought to salvation. Obeying God will only lead to to a prosperous, fulfilled, joyful, fruitful and inspiring life. God is good and only great things will come from obedience even if we experience some pain initially. This is one of the most important aspects of Christian living. Obedience demonstrates our devotion to God. The Word of God says if we love God we will obey his commandments. Which means our love for the Lord is expressed through obedience. It is so critical that it is the highest demonstration of our love for the Creator. Obedience will fastforward our walk and the Lord will begin to increase our responsibilities in the Kingdom. Obedience will save people from teh fire and deliver people even form suicide. If we dont obey God will find somebody who will. Thank you Lord for the power to will and to do! Revival is contingent upon the Holy Spirit coming down and meeting us and being obedient! The more we are obedient the more God's glory will be revealed upon the earth! Lord I just want to bless your name and thank you for the many blessings you have bestowed upon us! God you are amazing and have shocked us with your mercy and garce towards us! Lord please increase a desire for your kingdom and a fire inside our hearts for revival God! Use this generation to restore your throne upon the earth! Use us for your glory and to touch lives God! Help us to be faith filled, obedient and loving so that people will give their lives to you! We love you Lord and worship you! All dominion, glory, honour and poweer be unto your Holy Name. In Jesus Mighty Name Amen!

Revival in this Generation

This generation is going to experience a revival with the young people of this nation and more particularly new York City! Our society that was once prosperous has found itself in financial ruins. Concurrently, preachers across America echo a cry coming directly from God's heart. People who were once lukewarm and backslidden will come to the house of the Lord. I have a strong feeling the revival is going to erupt in the prisons for the youth. Its hard to describe why this sentiment has risen in my heart but I think its because the population is especially broken and is highly aware that they need Jesus! Jesus came not for the righteous but to bring sinners to repentance. Young people are desperate for something real and life changing. Once they find the solution to all their problems (Jesus) they will surrender or veer off and ultimately come back to HIM! Jesus is looking for vessels that are ready to be used. Unfortunately, the youth in the prisons have been in certain circumstances that have caused them to make wrong decisions which landed them in prison. There is still hope for these adolescents. Naturally speaking most people believe that they are defined by their past. However in Christ there is an opportunity for a new beginning.. Most people will be in utter disbelief when they discover that an ex-con or somebody who was formally incarcerated has abandoned the lifestyle and has been transformed into a new creature! This will spark others' interest in the affairs of God. Once young people are set free from the spiritual prison (sin), hopefully they will go on to be liberated from the physical prison. although being liberated from the spiritual chains are more important. As this revival moves beyond the four walls of the prison I believe its going to trigger synergy when it coalesces with the youth revival taking place outside of the prisons. The Lord is seeking the pariahs, rejects, suicidal teen, highschool dropouts, gangbangers, the party boys, and every other misfit in our generation so that only God will get the glory. This will befuddle the natural man since they expect people who have failed at some point in life to remain defeated! People will know this is an act of God because only a miracle can change a junkyard into a masterpiece (this is in no sense derogatory if you fall into any one of the above categories but a metaphor to illustrate how God transforms people. Once the fire spreads and people start getting saved there is no stopping the revival! The youth is called to tarry in the prayer closet, become students of the Word, and to offer ourselves as living sacrifices unto God. Once we begin to growing wisdom and knowledge then the Lord can elevate us to the next level. The next level of faith entails being steadfast, sober, and built up in knowledge through understanding. After we begin to dedicated to what he has called us to do and remain consistent He will raise us up. God is calling us to a deeper place of Worship and study time in the WORD. Furthermore He is urging us to come to Him with hearts abandoned and to reach a place of complete surrender! He is calling us not to compromise! Once we are faithful in these things He will empower us with the Holy Ghost. Obviously these are not conditions for becoming empowered by the Holy Spirit but after you have done everything mentioned above you should definitely be able to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit! He is calling us to be strong and courageous, why not loving and merciful, or peaceful and patient. Well its very important to analyze the context where the scripture speaks about Joshua and how he was commanded to be strong and courageous. He does not give Joshua an option which means he had no choice but to be obedient. Before this verse The Lord speaks to Joshua and tells him to meditate on His Word day and night. This means that we wouldn't be strong in our own strength but God will provide it as in our weakness He is made strong! According to the sequence of the scripture the precursor to becoming strong and courageous is reading the Bible. We gain our strength from the Word of God because the Living God is found in the Bible. Also the reason why God chose the courage is becuase it is an antidote to fear! Conquering any fear is an amazing feat.Does anybody struggle with fear. Fear is one of the most effective and powerful tools of the enemy! Fear terrorizes, paralyzes, steals, and destroys. Fear of failure fear of man, Fear of th3 future, Fear of success are all valid fears! When our generation becomes bold and courageous we will be able to walk in the Light and oppose the forces of darkness by taking a stand and proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ! We will not care what the people say and declare his name unashamed. We will live for Jesus with a passion that will draw men near!

Comparison

Have you ever compared yourself with other people! Did you grow up being compared to another sibling who was academically superior? Were you ever compared to someone on you team that was better than you? I am sure that most of us have undergone some form of comparison at one time or other. Join me as I explore this theme!

A comparison can lead to many things. Often times its a standard that we use to measure our worth. For example if I see a guy walk in the room I may compare myself to him by observing how cool he is or if he's intelligent or not. Or I may compare myself to my siblings by asking myself if my Mom loves me just as much as she loves my brothers and sisters. Before I was saved I was a breakdancer who participated in competitions. During the competitions which were called (BBboy Jams) I would compare myself to other breakdancers (bboys). It was very restrictive and suppressed my ability to fully express myself and prevented me from maximizing my potential because I would be discouraged by people that had better moves or were more talented! I learned through personal experience that comparison can be very self-destructive. Also when I was younger (7th and 8th grade) I was teased about my looks, I was called a monkey and the girls I liked never reciprocated the feelings. I grew up with this complex and although I matured into a handsome young man and girls found me attractive I didn't think like what I saw in the mirror and would always compare myself. I still struggle with my self image to a certain extent but the Lord has healed me tremendously in this area of my life. Comparison also impinges upon us heavy blows to our self esteem. I believe that the root of comparison in instances where we say someone is better than us at something is believing that we are not good enough.

Other times we autonomously draw comparisons between two entities because we are not content with what we have. A simple illustration of this point is when we go buy a new coat we compare different coats because we are not sure that a certain coat will meet our needs. The comparisons that people make between us are more detrimental to our psyche and our self image. For example when a Mom says "John you should be more like Bobby because He gets good grades and obeys everything I say." Or when a teacher tells one of her students "Devon you should be more like Matt because he was elected president". In saying this you are indirectly saying that the person you are comparing to is not good enough and that you are not satisfied with them. Its usually worse for women who are more sensitive and generally more insecure than men. The common comparison for women would be saying that one female is prettier than the other (whether it be a sister or a friend) which can actually lower their self esteem.

The comparisons that others make about us seem to result in deeper conflicts that mar souls. They may lead to an inferiority complex and cause us to seek validation in places that will only hurt us more or leave us empty. Comparisons can leave scars in our hearts that torment us for the rest of our lives until Christ changes us and redeems us from that oppression. Furthermore the lies of the enemy can lead us to make internal comparisons such as a fatherless girl. Her comparisons will be rooted in rejections and her thoughts will be similar to "I guess he was better without me or his new kids are better than me". Her mom's thoughts will be he found a better wife than me because I couldn't offer what he was looking for.

Comparisons can ultimately lead us to look for validation in vanity such as attention from man, drugs, alcohol, sex .... Comparison can propagate jealousy. In looking at others that display better skills than you, or are perceived as more attractive or have more money, or a higher position in the workplace, or have been accepted in the school you desire to attend, or pursue a profession you like, or date a person you like, or drive a car you want to buy, the list goes on and on and on! Jealousy is responsible for murder, maliciousness, fights, divorce, break ups, betrayal, and so much more. It is culpable of destroying families and causing bitterness in relationships and can destroy the fabric of any team or group. These are some of the main reasons comparison is not good and the Bible warns us of this peril! 2 Cor 10:12 "but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." It is not wise to compare each other with one another!

On the other hand we can't just advise people not to compare we must provide an alternative. The alternative is the most complex idea in the world " be yourself" and be content with everything God gave you! The Lord made us unique for a reason because he knew us when we were in our mother's womb. Even if we have our flaws we must accept them and let the Lord change them. Everybody in the Body of Christ has a job or function so we shouldn't compare it with In addition we are unique because He chose us and created us for His glory! That enough, should lead us not to compare but to be honored that the God who created the Universe has called us Friend. 1 Cor 12:22-23 22 "No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty." Everybody is unique and can contribute to diversity in the body. As an individual Christian, our strengths will help the Body of Christ function more efficiently!

Visualizing the way God made us and had mercy on us will help us to understand that I'm an individual. Once we understand that our identity is found in God and we belong to the Lord it will eradicate comparison, although comparison can spur healthy competitions more often than not it can lead to bad thoughts and jealousy. If we were all the same then the world and the body of Christ would be boring and mundane. Thank God for each one of us having special characteristics and being unique! Through God creating us different we can add something special to the world, even with our imperfections. The body needs an ear and an arm to function properly (Body of Christ). Diversity is a fundamental key to success in any area of life. Let us embrace our identities and the way the Lord made us! Let us be satisfied with the way God made us and stop measuring ourselves with others'standards. There is freedom in accepting the way the Lord created us!

Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Jeremiah 1:5 " Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations."

God I ask in Jesus name that people will not be bound by comparison! I rebuke any spirit of comparison that may be lead to jealousy or be rooted in rejection or low self esteem! God has accepted us as we are, He is satisfied by watching us be who we are! My prayer tonight is that everybody will embrace who God created them to be and more importantly who they are in Christ!

Lord,

I declare and decree that people will be confident because God loves them the way they are.

I declare and decree that they will embrace how God created them

I declare and decree that they will see themselves as unique and precious

I declare and decree that we will be open to our own flaws and imperfections as well as each other's

I declare and decree that we will stop comparing and begin to see ourselves and each other the way God sees us (his children, blameless, with love and compassion)

God to you be the glory, honour, praise and dominion! WE ask this in Jesus Mighty Name, Amen!!!!!

Freedom

Freedom is a word that is often used. It is also something that is highly desired. But do we even know what it means? The standard dictionary for freedom is " exemption from external control, interference, regulation the power to determine action without restraint." In order to understand freedom we must fully understand slavery, imprisonment, and bondage. The textbook definition for imprisonment is " to be confined in prison" or a synonym is captivity. Knowing the two definitions we can now comprehend what it means to be in bondage or free.

From a biblical perspective, in the book of Romans 6:18-20 it speaks about being a slave to sin and slaves to righteousness. In addition it gives us solutions on how to be free from imprisonment. In John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." It gives us the opportunity to be liberated by the truth! In other parts of the Gospels they describe Jesus as the truth and the Word of God as the truth as well which is Jesus also. In the book of Corinthians it mentions "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. This means that the truth(Jesus)and the Holy Spirit are the only biblical entities that can set us free.

When we think of imprisonment, we normally think of physical chains. However, the mental and emotional chains are actually the strongest and have the most powerful effect on us. The reason for this is that they are invisible and are more difficult to wrap our heads around and target. Controlling somebody's psyche, mood, and their emotions can trigger their next move and restrict their mobility! Being in bondage spiritually not only burdens you and prevents you from entering God's presence and obtaining his blessings but weighs people down around you!

Nothing is too hard for God, with God nothing shall be impossible! We all know these truths and we know " He who the Son sets free is free indeed". Through the blood of Christ that was shed on Calvary we are free from everything! We are free from Suicidal thoughts, violent thoughts, and thoughts of envy. We are set free from people pleasing, condemnation, others' expectations, other people's opinions about us, fear, sickness, sexual immorality, low self esteem sexual, mental, emotional, or physical abuse! I personally was set free from suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and depression. Overall we are set free from sin which is the most important aspect of a freedom! Moreover we have the freedom to worship God and to read the Bible in public. I thank the Lord for the Freedom that is found in Him! Bless God for what He is about to do on Friday (prison outreach)! Even regarding incarceration the young and older people alike may think that there is no hope and that the physical bars are impossible to overcome. There is a decent population of Prison ex-convicts who come to know the Lord while in Jail. Once we have obtained the truth, let it dig deeply into our soul and reside in our spirits!

Praise God for His faithfulness! Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. Thank you Lord for setting me Free in Jesus name. I ask that you set everybody whos in bondage FREE in Jesus Name. Whether it be Fear, Lust Pride or thoughts of worthlessness and having no sense of purpose. Thank God for His mercy we are free in Jesus Name! God Bless you!

Jesus 2

Righteousness is how Jesus transforms us. When we become righteous there is a transformation that occurs from the inside out. Your heart melts, especially when you see unbelievers and people who are lost. The symptoms are clear to others and are beneficial to those around you. One of the very first symptoms is very simple but powerful: being different. People will notice there is something different about you and you will begin to manifest a certain glow. Another sign which the world actually heavily desires is confidence: true confidence. Knowing that the Almighty is on your side comes with a true measure of confidence and boldness. Unlike the world a believer's confidence is in God and not ourselves (the flesh). The confidence in the Lord is the only confidence that shouldn't belittle people. Along with confidence should come humility which signifies that we are beneath God and nothing without Him. Another symptom of being Saved is having clarity in your life. I knew when I wasn't saved it may have seemed like I knew where I was going but I was lost. I had no direction and couldn't see past the nebulous future and dark clouds. Another sign is putting other people before yourself. When you deny yourself and submit to God's will it will become very obvious in terms of how selfless your behavior is: tutoring people who need it, staying up late to help a friend study for a test, and helping people move. All these things were sacrificial where I had to give up my comfort to do what God has called me to do!

The ability to change your character has to be Jesus (it is so powerful). I don't understand how it happens but it is supernatural: you begin to do things you never did before: feeding the homeless, speaking to drug addicts, giving your last dollar to the poor, and tutoring people for free etc. You have a burden for the Lost and broken. Your heart begins to cry out for the outcasts, the ones nobody wants to interact with. Then a supernatural peace sets in. Also your lifestyle changes. The trails and things that affected you, don't affect you right now. Also your lifestyle changes: the things you viewed as significant and valuable are no longer valuable. The things of this world are no longer valuable, they don't matter as much. The emptiness in your heart is no longer fulfilled by the new girlfriend, or alcohol/drug abuse or poker addiction. As a person that is saved there is a strong desire to worship and seek the Lord at all costs.

You display an earnest cry to the Lord and ask Him to use you for His glory and Kingdom. The Lord gives you the ability to stand before Him with boldness and present every petition and cast down every burden at his feet. In addition we will have power and supernatural ability to conquer sin. Before we weren't able to give up premarital sex but now we are fully capable: because the Holy Spirit which is promised . Furthermore the Lord is able to deliver you out of any dangerous situation, whether it be a train wreck, gang fight, or being surrounded by wild animals. He will answer prayers that weren't answered before. Hurdles that once seemed insurmountable they are now able to overcome. The ability to focus on the Lord and not get distracted is another sign. One of the most amazing things about being saved is the power to forgive. Many people walk around with bitterness and strife from previous wounds because of the deep level of unforgiveness that has taken root in their hearts. The ability to do this is done through the power of the Holy Ghost. Allellulia. Patience, gentleness, faith, goodness, joy, peace, longsuffering, meekness, and temperance are all other signs of righteousness and also fruit of the Spirit. Jesus says you will know the by their fruit (disciples).He was saying that a Christian has fruit of the Spirit.

Love is the most important fruit. He also said by this will ye know that ye are my disciples, by their love. Not only the love that we have in the Body of Christ but for nonbelievers and others we don't know. John 8:32 Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. We are new creatures in Christ and because Jesus died was buried and rose again, our sins are forgiven and we can have a relationship with God, enter the Holies of Holies, and worship and meet God in a powerful way. Also we have eternal life so after our physical death we can live in heaven for eternity and worship around the clock. Apart from all this we have the very special opportunity to impact the world around us, touch lives, transform souls, restore dead dreams, inspire, heal emotional scars and wounds on people's hearts through Jesus and finally change our generation and win it for Christ.