Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio. This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
Well, have you ever wanted to reinvent yourself? You know, you could think about all the ways that that's what January is for, right? January. You know, when I was in high school, I wanted to reinvent myself. And I went to I was a high school volleyball player, went to a volleyball camp, a summer volleyball camp. So it was only going to be maybe 3 to 5 days max. And so I decided that I wanted to try out a new name. Oh, you. You've got me hooked now.
So why is this new name? Although most people call me Allie. My full name is Alexandra, which is actually beautiful. Well. Thank you. I love that name. So I thought, I don't really want to be known as Allie this week. I think that I'd like to be known as Alex. Cute. Yeah, because I thought Alex was such a cooler, edgier nickname. So I go to this volleyball camp and I introduce myself as Alex. I'm feeling kind of cool. Yeah. Alex over here playing volleyball. Not a big deal. Move along.
Just I got this. And so here was the problem. There came a point really early on, by the way, where one of the coaches or somebody was trying to tell me something. And they're going, Alex, Alex, I'm just looking around. I wonder why Alex is not answering. And then I went, oh, oh. Oh, wait.
Are you kidding me?
That's me. Remember, you're not Ali this week as you've been for the last. At that point, 17 years of your life, you're Alex. Or at least you tried to be Alex this week. Very, very short lived was my stint as an Alex. I went back to Ali pretty quickly. Trying to change yourself doesn't really work. You can try out a new name, you can buy new clothes, you can get a new career. You can move to a brand new place where nobody knows you. But here's the problem. You follow you wherever you go, right?
Yes you do.
And so we're stuck with this frustrating reality that I can't change me. I can't be different than who I am. Not in a very deep, meaningful way because I can. I can try on Alex for a couple of days and maybe fool some people. But the deep change that we seek seems very elusive. and ask anybody who's tried multiple times, countless attempts to make themselves different, to reinvent themselves, to be the quote unquote best version of themselves. Yeah,
you follow you wherever you go. So this morning on Freedom Friday, we are going to be really celebrating and holding out at the forefront the power of the gospel to give us a new identity.
Oh, Amen.
In the deepest, most profound, most important way. Not window dressing, not a before and after extreme makeover. It's not losing a bunch of weight, getting a new hairstyle, getting a new wardrobe. The inside out change that we're seeking is actually something much, much deeper. And I want you to
hear a testimony. This actually was from our live broadcast or our we're live every day, but our live studio audience broadcast that we had earlier this week from a pastor who explained how God gave him an absolutely new identity. He was no longer the same person that he was. His whole life wasn't a name change. It was something much deeper. You're going to hear the story from Pastor John coming up here on Freedom Friday mornings.
Walking closer to Jesus every day. You're listening to Carl and crew.
Well, sometimes people step into our studio and then we hit them cold.
Which, Carl, you do so well. So, are we getting cold?
I knew you were going to bust me on that one.
John Kelly standing in front of us here. He got a bio on this guy.
He is the lead pastor of Chicago West Church right here in Chicago. We hear that you have a testimony. You are pastoring. You are in the trenches. Tell us a little bit about what God's done in your life.
Yeah, yeah. I was born in Chicago but grew up in Philadelphia in a very, I would say very violent, Um, under resourced community with a high level of prostitution. So I wasn't exposed to maybe the best scenes, the best environments. Um, by the time I was 12, I was selling crack and crack houses. Really? The first time I ever got arrested, I was about 12 or 13. That's the first time I ever got convicted. I was in and out of
juvenile detention centers pretty much my whole juvenile years. I mean, just to give you a context, I mean, I felt the seventh grade went to four different high schools and my freshman year dropped out. So it was high every day. Always getting shot at, shooting at someone. Seen a lot of stuff that I probably shouldn't have seen by the time I was 14 or 15. Just following that path of foolishness by the time I was 19. Let me back up a little bit. Actually turned to Islam for
a little bit. So about six years was a professing Sunni Muslim, but still was in the streets doing dumb stuff. And then by the time I turned 19, went with a group of friends to rob a drug dealer in the neighborhood. And one of my friends shot and killed him. So we all got arrested and I was 19 years old, had just lost my son, who was still born at the time, was at the lowest point and was sitting in prison looking at the death penalty or life in
prison with co-defendants. I was in solitary confinement, just at a low point when a prison guard gave me a copy of God's Word. I needed something to read. This was 2002. Back then, you could get a newspaper. So I was like, man, give me whatever you can. And he was like, I'll get you a Bible. I was like, whatever, give it to me. And he gave me a copy of God's Word. And I began reading for the first time in High School Dropout. And I began from Matthew,
and I read nonstop. I probably would have been like 24 hours straight until I got to Hebrews chapter four, verse seven. It says, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. And I gave my life to the Lord right there in the prison cell. So when I came to faith in Christ, I didn't go to a church service, didn't hear a sermon. God's word was enough. And so, as a preacher of the gospel, I have so much confidence in God's Word that he uses us, but he doesn't need us.
To.
Speak to that because the Word of.
God, when given, we find here on air pastor, that when we feel like, Lord, where would you have us go? And we break open the word and read it?
Yeah.
There is something about the Word of God.
The power is in the gospel and the spirit working through the living Word of God to soften hardened hearts and redeem souls to Christ. Yeah. And we can get so caught up in the vessels. And it was interesting, because God can still redeem a lost soul through a weak vessel that's not on their A-game that day. Amen. And for me, in that cell, it was just vital for me because I'm in solitary confinement. So like, in, you know, in the streets, if you get in trouble,
you go to prison. In prison, if you get in trouble, you go to solitary confinement in the hole. You're in 23 and one, and you come out one hour a day handcuffed and shackled. You're allowed no human contact. I mean, I couldn't even get toilet paper and a blanket sometimes, but God got his word into the, you know, the hardest place and got it into my hand. And his word was enough.
How was that the grace of God that got you to that point? Some people, some people Pooh Pooh jailhouse faith.
My lawyer did. He was Jewish. I was like, you're supposed to get this thing, you know?
What's the matter with you? You're in the book here, man. It's to the Jews first.
And then.
The Gentiles.
To jail and finds God and you know.
But you said I really did.
And I would say it's extremely hard to be a devout Christian in a penitentiary. It's not an environment that's conducive for you to to truly live. You don't turn the other cheek there.
Yeah.
And so my faith was really tested in the fire. So God was gracious. Here's a funny thing. It's not funny, but it's just what you do. About 2 or 3 months went by and I really was feeling convicted that I'm pleading not guilty of a crime that I'm guilty of. And I felt convicted that I was going in front of the Lord.
Holy Spirit.
And not a judge. And so I told my lawyer some months later, hey, I'm a Christian now. I'm a Christ follower. I know you think this jailhouse religion, but I can't say I've repented of something that I'm pleading not guilty to. Whoa. And so you can go to the judge and tell them that I just want to ask for forgiveness and whatever they want to do to me, they could do to me. He was like, well, you know, this is foolish. You got an opportunity, I think, to
beat this thing. It's not about beating it. I'm going in front of God's presence and I'm guilty paying you to get me off. And so I went in front of the judge. I went in front of the young man's family, looked his mother in the eye and told her my testimony and said, I'm a Christ follower now, and you know your son lost his life, but he was created in God's image. And if I could trade places, I would. And whatever you want to do, it's right. The Bible says, an eye for an eye, a tooth
for a tooth. And when it was her time to speak. You know what she said? Nothing. She showed me mercy and grace.
Oh my goodness.
And so I ended up with 6 to 20 years for third degree murder. And I went on to the state penitentiary, and it's there. I got my GED.
How much time did you do?
I was supposed to do about 18. You know, you do like, you know, 85%. I did six years and came home on parole and a couple of years later ended up at Moody.
Coming up, you've got a special guest here going, who is this John Kelly with us right now, lead pastor, Chicago West Church, right here in the city of Chicago. Coming up, we're going to find out how he went from the penitentiary to becoming a pastor. More coming up.
Your shot of hope to help you through the day. This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
Ali, this is an amazing story from John Kelly.
Pastor here in Chicago. His name is John Kelly. He just shared his story. I spent six years of a much longer sentence. He was convicted of third degree murder that he confessed to after he found Jesus in solitary confinement. Reading the Bible got to Hebrews. What was your verse?
Hebrews four seven which says, what? Hear his voice. Do not harden your heart.
So you you get out. After six years, you're a brand new man than the man who went in. How did God call you to now, pastor?
Well, I felt called when I first came to faith in Christ. I just wanted to preach the gospel. Make disciples. I didn't know what that meant. We were starting, you know, we were trying to plant churches on every cell block. We had prayer groups in every cell block.
Planting churches on cell blocks. Now there's a church planting effort right there.
We did that by God's grace. When I came home, I just submitted to the church. I was going to Christian Stronghold Church. Pastor Willie Richardson, and he used to do the pastor's conference here. We had quite a few pastors that had went to Moody, and so I had felt called to ministry. He recommended Moody. He supported that and moved out here in 2011 with my wife to walk in that call into the church and to get trained in the gospel.
You know, I got to tell you something. Your bride sitting here maybe shooting some video right now. She loves her, man. I do. Yeah, you could hear that from a distant mic. How in the world did you meet this fine bride of yours?
It's a long story, but I met her at church. We both served in youth ministries. A very large youth ministry was not for the faint of heart at all with those youth. And one of the men that was discipling me was like, you know, her dad's not in her life. If you're going to approach her, you need to go ask her mom for permission to talk to her. That's what I did. So I went to her mom after a Bible study. I was like, man, I've been praying. Your daughter seems like a sweet woman. If you say no,
I'll walk away. I won't ask her permission. She gave me her blessing.
Honorable man. You know what her mom saw what we see and hear right now. A broken, humble, dependent man on the grace of God. There's 20 plus percent. Who knows? Maybe upwards of 30% of people listening right now all across the globe who hear your story. And they're like, Could God? Is his arm too short for me? Could he reach me? Pour out your heart, man. What's the good news?
Man, the good news of the gospel is that God not only loves us so much, but he's willing to go down the pit and get us himself that Christ died. When we say Christ died, it's not a cool slogan. It's not something we just say on Easter Sunday. It's a reality that God loved us so much that he sent His Son to come get us. And for me, when I'm in solitary confinement. What brought me to tears was that my Savior loved me so much that he was willing to become a convicted felon, that I might
become free. And like the thief on the cross, he says, today you will be with me in Paradise. So I don't care how far you've gone, how much you've messed up. You're talking to a guy that's had abortions, a guy that's stolen from his family, been strung out, living in his car, and took the life of a young man who didn't deserve it. And Christ says, my love is there for him, and I will change him and make
him whole and new. And I would just say, no matter where you are, no matter what suicide, thoughts of suicide is doing, depression, alcohol, giving up, you want to harm yourself. Christ came that you might have new life in him if you would just turn to him wherever you are right now. Yeah. Your prayers don't have to be all nice and clean. They have to be sincere with a broken heart. And he won't forsake a broken heart. Yeah, man. Ever.
You know, I just the thing that hit me is that there's a lot of people in solitary confinement, but they aren't in a prison. They're in the prison of their own life.
I learned that when I came out.
That there's a whole world of solitary confinement. Speak to that person right now who feels all alone and out of reach of God.
Yeah, well, I would just say is, you know what? You might truly feel like the people around you don't get you. And there might be some valid points of that because of what you're going through. But God understands you. We do not have a high priest. We do not have a Savior who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. He was tempted as we were, yet without sin. He knows the struggle. He knows what it's like to be rejected. He knows what it's like for people to turn away
from him. He knows what it's like to be homeless. The Son of Man has no place to lay his head. He knows like to endure pain. Yeah, he knows what it's like to lose a stepfather, to lose someone you love. And so I would just say, um, don't allow Satan to bring the lie into your mind that God can't relate to your pain. If anything, he enters into it and he fully understands it.
So let's do this together. You and me, brother. Pastor to pastor here. Uh, there were some troubled hearts one day when Jesus was telling some men that he was going away, and he said, don't let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. He said, I'm going to prepare a place for you. That's unbelievable. Then he said, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. What does it mean to come off the broad path and go God's way? There's repentance involved there, isn't there?
Yeah. It means you have to acknowledge, right? I always say you can. You can't get healed from something you won't acknowledge. You got to acknowledge and say, man, you know what? Looking at my life, I'm pretty broken. I'm not perfect. I don't have it all together. I don't know one person. Yeah. And human history on this planet right now that will say I am perfect. I have it all together.
But those that admit it.
That admitted that God's like man. I can work with that. Come here and I will make you whole.
I am the way he said. That means we got to turn around off the broad path. Just turn around and he'll do the rest. We're just turning toward him. I am the truth. Meaning we can no longer fly by the seat of our pants and our truth. It's God's truth. We're sinners, separated from God. What seemed impossible? Jesus bridged that gap and he saved us. While we were yet sinners. Christ died for us and he rose again. Pastor, pour out your heart. He wants to give resurrection power to everyone right now.
Yeah. I mean, you know, we can go to therapists, we can go to counselors, we can listen to podcasts. But when we say that he is the truth, we're saying you are the primary voice in my life right now. I've tried every other way. I'm listening to your voice and your voice alone. I need you to direct me. And you are the life. I've been around a lot
of death. I've been around a lot of suffering. But, Jesus, I'm turning to you right now to take these broken pieces of my life and build a beautiful mosaic that's a reflection of your image. And there's so much hope in that, because it not only means that God can change where we are right now, but it means we have an expectant future that's full of joy, that's going somewhere.
We're going to see like man, like if we were to like, leave this planet in the next 24 hours, man, we could we could leave knowing that where we're going as far greater and far better than everything that's behind us. And so it's instant joy and it's guaranteed. It's not a wish. It's not something I hope for. It's practical and it's real. It's real as you are hearing my voice, I believe that right now God is pricking someone's heart. He's speaking to you right now. You know he is.
And all he wants you to do is just surrender.
You can take him out of Alaska, but you can't take Alaska out of him. Carl is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
You just heard an incredible testimony from Pastor John Kelly, who's a pastor right here in Chicago, Chicago West Bible Church. And, you know, we talked about this verse, John 14 six. Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. That is the spiritual reality, that there is no path to peace with God apart from the work of Jesus Christ. So if today, if today, you hear his voice, don't harden your heart. If you know that today is the
day that you need to surrender to Jesus Christ. I want you to listen to these words. I want you to confess that you are a sinner, that you have missed the mark. You've not lived a perfect life. I want you to confess that you need a Savior, and that it's not just anyone who can save you. It's not trying to be a better person, that it's Jesus. Want you to say Jesus, today is the day I surrender my life to you. I'm a sinner and I
know that only you can save me. And so today I turn, I repent, which just means make that 180 degree turn. I turn from being the Lord of my own life to making you my Savior and my Lord. Today is the day I follow you. And if that's you, you have that honest conversation with God. There's no special set of words that like, seals the deal. You don't have to be in a church. You don't have to be with a pastor. There's no magic formula to this.
This is an honest cry of the heart between you and God, where you acknowledge Him as Savior, where you confess, you repent, and today you believe. If that's you, I want to pray for you. Lord, for this person in this moment, who by the power of your spirit is becoming a new creation, I pray that you would give them such great joy in that Lord, that you would bring them to a place where they can meet other believers,
where they can flourish in you. God, I thank you that you loved us so much that you sent your son to die on a cross for our sin, that you rose him again on the third day so that we could have new life in Christ. Today, that new life. Someone's taking a hold of it, Lord. And you know their name. You've numbered the hairs on their head. God, you've always known them. And today they're right with you. And they know you. And they're called your child. So
I thank you for that. I thank you, Lord Jesus, for what you're doing. In Jesus name, Amen. So if that's you, I want you to do something when you can safely do so, just text the word new just so we can follow up with you. Get some materials into your and into your hand really onto your phone. You can print them out if you like, but just text the word new to 800 555 7898. Text new new to 800 555 7898. Today you are new in Christ. You've been rescued.
He was sharing the gospel on the radio and then he got saved. Young thunders in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
So. Well, coming up, we've got a special guest. We are going to be talking about ministry to the currently and formerly incarcerated. Now, lest you think that that's a narrow category, a narrow topic. It touches way more people than you even realize. We'll go there. Coming up.
She was trying to earn her way to God, but God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
Well, how is this for a statistic? Maybe a bit surprising. 1 in 3 people in this country have a criminal record. 2 million people currently incarcerated in a staggering 79 plus million more. Live with that criminal record. And all of the stigma that can sometimes go with that surprising to you that those numbers are so high.
Pretty surprising. I mean, that's a lot of people. I know the country is big, but still, that's a lot of people.
And maybe this is not a topic that you think about often. If prison has not hit home close to you, either through maybe your own experience or a loved one, but the challenge is to reentry into society. The barriers to employment, the stigma can be almost overwhelming. Heather Rice joining us right now, president and CEO of Prison Fellowship, the nation's largest Christian nonprofit serving prisoners and their families. It can be challenging for people who have served their
time and are now trying to reenter society. Why is there still so much of a stigma around having served time in prison?
Yes. You know, I think that for a lot of people, there's some fear that comes with someone who has a criminal record. But as you said, 1 in 3 Americans do have one. And the reality is there are neighbors
and they're hopefully sitting in our pews. And so, April, we celebrate a Second Chance Month to raise awareness about these barriers and to invite people to extend a second chance to these neighbors, and to also realize the contributions that people with a criminal record are making to our communities and churches.
95% of prisoners are released. Sometimes I think people think about prison in very black and white, like somebody goes away and they're there for life, but for 95% of people they will reenter society. So this definitely is something that concerns all of us. Give us a little bit of the kind of the high level view of what Prison Fellowship does.
Yes, I would love to. So we've been around for nearly 50 years, and we're the nation's largest Christian nonprofit, reaching people impacted by incarceration. That includes people living in prison. We provide faith based programming, really helping people step into a second chance, starting when they're behind bars. We work with wardens through our Warden Exchange program, helping them to think about transformational leadership skills, how to promote a positive
prison culture. And we also realize that it's not just the individual behind bars who does time, their family is doing time with them. And so our program, Angel tree, helps keep kids with incarcerated mom or dad connected to them starting at Christmas time with providing a gift on behalf of their mom or dad to them through our amazing church partners. Um, but really opens the door to year long outreach to those families. And then finally, we also realize, you know, we can't just tell someone you
can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Um, but when you get out, as you mentioned, you hit those barriers to housing, to jobs. And that's why, um, for decades, Prison Fellowship has also been involved in advocating for justice reforms at the federal level and in several states.
When you think about the hope of the gospel and that we've all been given a second chance as Christians, we are better positioned than anyone else to show the kind of mercy and compassion that's needed when it comes to helping prisoners reenter into society. Why is this sometimes still challenging for the church?
You know, I think sometimes we accept that second chance from Christ and and we just, you know, don't think about the practical ways we can extend that second chance to others, extend that sense of belonging that we all get to feel as Christians. And so one of the things we're doing to help churches along on this path is encouraging them to host a Second Chance Sunday, where
we preach on the message of redemption. We hear testimonies of people who have transformed their lives, and we give people an opportunity to volunteer through various opportunities at Prison Fellowship. And so I've been really encouraged to see churches take hold of this concept and have been able to attend some second chance Sundays across the country. And it is a powerful thing to see.
And we are all about celebrating changed lives. Give us a story that has encouraged your own heart as you've done this work in this ministry through prison fellowship.
Well, the one that comes to mind for me is, uh. Q pastor Q Marshall. But Q as we call him, and pastor Q um, was once in prison in Iowa and actually went through our academy program. The Prison Fellowship Academy, while he was there. And he had made a commitment to Christ but didn't know how to walk it out. And it was the volunteers coming in from a local church who showed him what it looked like to live as a man of God, and as he was experiencing
this mentorship on the inside. That same church was also reaching out to his family through prison fellowship, angel tree, his then young daughter and girlfriend. He ended up getting married while he was in prison to to her, and when he got out, he couldn't imagine going to any church but the one that had come alongside his family during his time behind bars and also shared, you know, the Christmas gift through Angel tree and invited his wife
and daughter to their church. And so they joined that church, and many years later, pastor Q actually had a church plant, and that church supported him. And so they planted Hope City Church in Iowa. It's a thriving congregation. They actually just opened another campus in prison and they do prison fellowship. Angel tree for children of the incarcerated now in Waterloo. And I'm so thrilled that pastor Q has joined the
Prison Fellowship Board. It is such an honor for me to be under his leadership and to see his story really come full circle.
How has this work affected your own faith? What is your why for this?
Well, you know, I've received a second chance through Christ. And one of the things that amazes me about what our founder, the late Chuck Colson, called the church inside. Those brothers and sisters who are following Jesus behind bars is just their intensity of spiritual disciplines, their prayer lives, Scripture, memory, their worship. Um, just this last Friday, I was behind bars in a Virginia prison, worshiping with some brothers there.
And there's just something powerful about that I come home recharged every time I get to experience a Hope event, or visit one of our academy, or grow programs and hear what those inside are learning, and they're sharing with me about the people that are coming to know Christ behind bars. And some of the best prison ministry evangelism
that happens is actually because of the incarcerated. They can't help but talk about Jesus because they've experienced his grace in a raw and real way, and they don't take it for granted. And so that's what gets me up every morning. I love what I get to do. I love the team I get to do it with. And I'm so grateful for the volunteers and churches that we get to partner with as well.
Final thought on what are some practical ways for our listener to get involved. You mentioned the Angel Tree Ministry, which some are familiar with. What are some some ways that people can get involved if they're hearing this and they're stirred?
Well, I would love for anyone who's thinking about how they can step into taking part in the mission of encountering Jesus with those impacted by incarceration. There are some volunteer opportunities. One of them might be getting your church to sign up for Prison Fellowship Angel Tree program, which begins at Christmas. But this is the time to go ahead and sign up, because we will assign out those kids in the fall that are local to you, and you can decide with your church if you want to
deliver gifts or host a Christmas party. You can volunteer behind bars at one of our local programs and Academy or grow. You can also advocate for justice. We train everyday Christians on how to go. Speak to your lawmakers about why you care about reforms from a biblical worldview. So, so many ways that you can get involved, even if it's signing up for our newsletter to hear more. And then my final plug is we have a conference, an
annual conference, our Restore conference. It's taking place at Rock City Church this year in Columbus, Ohio, September 9th and 10th. You can come to our website to register for that as well.
We've got a keyword for you to make it a little bit easier, just text prison to Five, 7898. If you want to explore the opportunities, get partnered up with this ministry. Just text prison to 800 555 7898.
She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her. Super die is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
There are plenty of things that people try to reinvent themselves. On January 1st of every year, all of us have some thing that we're going to try this year that's going to make us different. New years resolutions, anyone?
That's the big one. Yeah. How's that going?
And we all know how that goes, right? It usually fails, and we just can't seem to make ourselves different than we are. And it's the kind of the struggle of the human condition is that we're trying to be better, but we just can't. Only in Christ do we actually get to reinvent ourselves. But it's not us reinventing ourselves. It's being given a new nature, a renewed nature, a new heart, a new way of thinking, a new power source. I want to read to you a verse. This comes
out of Second Corinthians. Second Corinthians five verse 17. It says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. So then all of a sudden, when you are new in Christ, it's not about you trying to reinvent yourself. When you have the power of the Holy Spirit, you actually find yourself becoming different than what you once were, and you're not even trying. It's not you deciding I
am going to be this or this. Now you have the power of the Holy Spirit and he's changing you. So on this Freedom Friday, I want to open the phone lines. And I want to ask you this question. When you became new in Christ, what's one thing you noticed change in yourself? Could have been obvious to everybody else, or maybe only obvious to you, but when you became new in Christ, I want you to tell me the thing that was most noticeable to you about yourself that changed.
800 555 7898 I'm excited to hear your answers on this because I think literally, it runs the full gamut. There's so many different ways you can go with this.
And it's so cool because it's so personal, right? I mean, so that's what makes it so interesting to hear and what God can do.
All right. We're ready for you. When you became new in Christ, what's the biggest change you noticed in yourself? 805 55 7898 let's hear from you. 805 5578, 98.
You're listening to Curl and Crew on Moody Radio.
Well, when you are in Christ, you are a new creation. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. That second Corinthians five, verse 17. I read some commentary notes on this, and I want to read this as a quote out of one of the commentaries. It says, the concept of being a new creation is rooted in the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. This transformation is not merely a moral or ethical change, but a fundamental
renewal of one's nature, fundamental renewal of one's nature. So I'm asking you this question on this Freedom Friday when you became new in Christ, what's the biggest change you noticed in yourself? 800 555 7898 let's go to Jamie calling in this morning from Illinois. Tell me, what's the biggest thing you noticed that changed?
Well, there's a few things that changed quite a bit. One thing I noticed in my nature that the Holy Spirit changed. That I was capable of compassion to other people and have mercy and forgiveness for other people.
Wow.
That was calmer and calmer. Like I can respond to things more calmly. And, uh, there's like revelation of the grace of God, the forgiveness and the grace of God.
Yeah. Jamie.
And, uh.
Oh. Go ahead.
Uh, as you know, I mean, the the mercy and the the mainly the. I don't know how to describe it. This the.
I think I think I get where you're going, that mercy and grace, all of a sudden you receive the mercy and grace from him. And it shifts even how you view other people. Jamie, thank you so much for your call this morning. Let's go to Cathy in Illinois. Here. Cathy, what's the biggest thing you notice change in yourself when you become new in Christ?
Well, when before I accepted Christ as my Savior for real, I was always in church. I was raised in church as pew baby, as it were. But when I sincerely accepted Christ for myself, I was no longer petty. When people would do things to me. You go low, I would go lower. We're going to go to Hades. But when Jesus came into my life and the Holy Spirit, he's like, uh uh, even now, as a grown person, many years after I accepted Christ in 1989, my cousin
led me to Christ, my cousin Sylvia. So thankful to her for that. And she was 14. I was 11, and now I, I go ahead I he said erase that Facebook post and I erased it because the Holy Spirit is faithful.
Oh, Cathy from Chicago. You know what I appreciate about you, Cathy? You are honest, and we all have been there. We're all of a sudden that text you want to send, that post you want to put up that conversation, you want to have the power of the Holy Spirit because we have a renewed nature. All of a sudden there's a check to that, and you have the ability to walk it back, to not say it, to delete it before you put it out there. I love that.