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I don't know how you came across this site, maybe you or someone you know is having a difficult day, maybe not but you can still relate to other times in your life when you or others did. Maybe everything is just beginning to feel too overwhelming, and you are afraid you might quit your job or school, go crazy on someone, or give up on your dreams. First off, I want you to know that I get it. I was told I would never make it out of prison. I was sentenced to longer than I'd been alive. Sometimes, life can get pretty hard. I also know that it is best to just take a deep breath in at times, recalibrate- then get back to it, take it one day at a time. Sometimes even just one breath at a time. While you are taking your deep breath, maybe you can find a blog post title or devotional that resonates with you and your situation, read it, and be encouraged? Remember: You got this! You're stronger than you think, I promise you that. :) 

          THE POWER OF LOVE

By Brandon Bridges 8/21/2023

There is power in love. Perfect love, that is. Not selfish or jealous or controlling or lustful or greedy love. Perfect love. Love that sets you and others free and brings lasting peace. This is why Jesus says those that find him find freedom, they are free indeed. For "God is love" (1 John 4:8, 16). Perfect love. The Scriptures contain no equivalent statements with respect to other qualities of the divine nature. Love is the highest characteristic of God, the one attribute in which all others harmoniously blend. This love is far more than mere kindness, benevolence or affection.

WHAT IS PERFECT LOVE & WHY IS IT POWERFUL?

In Scripture there are four Greek words for our English word "love." C.S. Lewis describes them in detail between the covers of his book titled The Four Loves.

1. AGAPE—unmerited, self-giving love.

2. PHILOS—a love that is warm and merited, friend love if you will.

3. STORGE—has the idea of family love or affection.

4. EROS—expresses a possessive love and used mainly of physical love.

Our English melds all of these facets into one simple word: love. But all are NOT created equal. All do not free and give peace.

To follow Jesus is to follow the way of perfect AGAPE love. We love people without reason. Whether they are poor or in prison, liked or lonely, rich or reeking of poverty. This love is seen in the way God loved the world: that he gave his only son to die on a cross for a world full of sinners (Jn 3:16) 

...For a people who rejected Him, spit in His face, beat Him essentially to death, mocked Him, put a crown of thorns on Him and betrayed Him in every way imaginable. 

And Jesus was NO victim. By far He was the most powerful being to ever walk this planet. He said he freely laid his life down for us. While all of us were still full fledged criminals in His eyes. Enemies.

What can you do with that kind of love? How can you hurt a person who loves you enough to LET you take their life? Let's you come in and tear their world to pieces just for the mere chance that their love may make your life better.

Scripture says we love God because he first loved us. This love changes us. When fully embraced, it turns us into people who pray for our enemies good. 

Walking the way of perfect love: one finds freedom. 

Freedom from unforgiveness, bitterness, and envy. Freedom from the need for someone to love you back the way you love them. Freedom from shame that has the ability to haunt you. Freedom from hate and anger and depression and loneliness. 

True love is able to let someone go if they need to go. And it will be waiting for them if they ever come back. Although a person who loves like this may find themselves alone, they are never lonely. Because this love comes from God, from Jesus and having a right relationship with him. We love others like this because we understand the grace and mercy and sacrifice involved in Him loving us this way when He died for us on a cross. 

This is the clearest picture of agape love and the effect it can have on humanity. One drop of pure agape, unmerited, self-giving love has the power to change the world. Just look at how The Way, how Jesus and His love has changed this world for good. From hospitals to educational institutions to millions upon billions being cared for from out of this sense of love. 

It hasn't always been so clear what true love is. It isn't philos, storge or eros. It is Agape. 

For someone who loves in this way there is nothing at all to be afraid of. 

"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgement, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect [agape] love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:16-19, ESV, brackets mine).

To say, "God is love" implies that all His activity is loving activity. If He creates, He creates in love; if He rules, He rules in love; if He judges, He judges in love. This is The Way. 

And we are told: "let all that [we] do be done in love" (1 Corinthians 16:14. It is the Way we walk. For better or worse. For lose or win. We give love and people everything we got, with all we've got and without expectation of full return.  

There can be no fear or pain or sense of punishment. Not with perfect self-giving, unmerited agape love. 

Where there is true love there is power and self-control (2 Timothy 2:7). It isn't by accident. And it isn't selfish.

"...Christ has set us free...for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love" (Galatians 5:1,6).

If we can but get to this point where THIS love controls us (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) and permeates our thoughts and feelings and actions we can feel and find freedom and perfect peace.

"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32).

You might be wondering why I have included this as an encouraging blog post? I believe that no matter what you may be facing if you can learn to live and love without thought of self or loss then you can find peace. This love only comes through Jesus and the example of agape love he shows us, and allows us to experience of Him on the cross. It isn't found anywhere else. 

Grace and Agape are two words that set Christianity apart from all other faiths in the world.

In this world people will talk your ear off and make you all kinds of promises. For whatever reason, most of these promises get broken. And it can hurt. Really bad. But it will hurt a lot less if we can develop this lens through which we see the world through the purely loving eyes of Jesus. 

Be Encouraged,

B

      Believe and Be a Victor

Positivity is important. Faith in something greater than what is seen. I've found it is imperative to any real and lasting change(s). Believe in yourself. Believe in a new you. Even if you can't presently see it clearly in the mirror. Yet. BELIEVE you can see it. For the athlete: is your shot getting a little better? Are you getting stronger? My arms, do they look bigger to you bro?

We have to envision who we want to be, what we want to look like, how we want to feel, what we want to do—and then live our lives (taking action) into that image... as if it were already true. 

Below is what was once known as the Optimists' Club Creed. Before you read, understand this: We have two ways of looking at life—as a Victim, or, a Victor- an agent of positive change, growth, and transformation. We can either be a burden to people, or we can help carry and lighten someone else's burden- because we've been there. We can look at life as the glass half-empty or half-full. Negativity leads to weakness. Positivity leads to power. Negativity looks at disabilities and obstacles, leading to a life of little worth, little real feelings of intrinsic value and self-worth. Positivity looks at strengths, abilities and opportunities, leading to a life of true value and impact. The choice is truly yours.

Here's the truth for you: If you can't believe it, you WON'T achieve it. Who else will believe in you if you don't even believe in yourself? Thoughts are things, like seeds. And what you think about grows. So try and keep your mind on what you want, and off of what you don't.

AFFIRM TO YOURSELF:

I am so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.

I talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.

I make all my friends feel that there is something of value in them.

I look at the sunny side of everything and MAKE my optimism come true.

I think only the best, work only for the best, and I expect only the best.

I am just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.

I FORGET the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

I wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature I meet a smile.

I give so much time to the improvement of myself that I have no time to criticize others.

I am too large for worry, to noble for anger, to strong for fear, and too happy to permit presence of trouble. How about it? Do you want to achieve your aspirations? Or are you going to give up? If all you can see is losing...you will. 

My own life has turned out real different than I thought. It hasn't turned out how I hoped... nor dreamt. But I'm not the only man (or woman) to get screwed by life. Lots are worse off than me. That's life. You take the bad with the good. Rise up through it. Live in the midst of it. It's the bad that let's you know how good the good really is. Don't let the "bad" leave you thinking there isn't any good. There is, and lots of it, too.

If you care to, remember these verses below. They have certainly helped me along the way:

"We know that all things work together for GOOD to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28, KJV)

[Joseph told his brothers who sold him into Egyptian slavery:] "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for GOOD to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Genesis 50:20, NIV)

Be Encouraged,

Brandon J. Bridges

How to Flip the Switch and Pull Power from Your Pain

Adversity and pain are just as much a part of life as prosperity and happiness. No one is exempt from facing their own difficult circumstances, intense challenges, setbacks, obstacles, and the pain that comes from past failures. Experiencing pain and the hardship that comes from life is simply unavoidable at times. What makes the difference is how you handle and respond to it.

What if I told you that you can use your pain as fuel? What if I told you that those of you who have experienced large amounts of difficulty and failure have more of an advantage than those who haven't?

It is said that the greatest virtue we can acquire and develop is love. The second greatest, I believe, is resilience. If my objective in writing is to encourage you, it poses the question: to what end?

To the end that you develop the virtue of resilience.

According to Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition, resilience is defined as: "the ability to bounce or spring back into shape, position, etc.; the ability to recover strength, spirits, good humor, etc. quickly."

There are two major ways to handle difficulty. First, you can let it crush you, pressing you into the shape and bitter characteristics of a victim. This is the usual response to traumatic or painful situations. Second, you can use it to fuel you, empower you and push you into something better and stronger. The latter will help you to consciously choose to Flip the Switch. At some point they become aware of the fact that they can use the pain of failure, disappointment, rejection, poverty—and even imprisonment—as the fuel that propels them forward towards a better life, future, position, or contribution.

Becoming aware of this Switch gives you the ability to "flip it" and change the lens through which you see reality (from Victim to Victor). You learn to use the pain of your past failures as the energy you need to succeed.

You can't change the fact that you made a mistake, that your daughter died, that you became addicted and lost all your life's savings. But you can use these hurts as fuel to make a serious comeback.

Allow me to share my own experience with this: I made a series of bad mistakes. Really bad. And the pain associated with these mistakes was overwhelming. 

A friend and I ended up in a police chase when we were both just 18 years old. During that chase, there were gunshots fired out the window. By the grace of God, no one was injured and in all honesty in was really dark, we weren't aiming for humans or in the mindset of actually trying to harm anyone, nonetheless I now know there are other ways we could and should have handled this situation. Yet, among other charges, such as Assault with a Deadly Weapon, we were charged with Attempted First-Degree Murder five times, or more.

First degree implies that we "maliciously" lied in wait for the chance and premeditated/planned the murders of the men chasing us. As a result of these trumped-up charges, I was facing 227 years. We couldn't find a lawyer that was even willing to take either of our cases due to the political nature of them. Consequently, as an ignorant and terrified 18-year-old, I was urged, mentally coerced, and successfully persuaded into taking a plea for 20-29 years.  And it wasn't that hard. I was told "at least you will make it out one day if you do this," by my public defender, who was appointed by the State in which the officers were employed. (Seeing as no one in that area would take my case.) By agreeing to this, I escaped life in prison.

In return, I was forever wrongfully labeled as one who deliberately PLANNED the murders of serval great people—merely failing to do so. That is what that small term "first degree" means.

Life was made extremely hard for me once inside. On June 25, 2015, I was 21 years old. I'd been in prison for nearly 3 years. I got into a fight and was facing six months in solitary confinement (they later turned this into nearly 2 years). Father's Day had just passed. My father passed away when I was 14. I had only met him a couple times. The time I was sentenced to serve was longer than I had been alive. It seemed almost reasonable to circumvent the punishment and just end it then. I told God I couldn't do it anymore. I lost nearly a gallon of blood and woke up in GRACE Memorial Hospital.

That was the moment I became aware of a Switch. I didn't know what it would look like to do the best I could with what I had and, hopefully, make it out somehow a better man. But I Flipped the Switch. I decided I was going to make the most of it, with God's daily help. Shortly after leaving solitary, with my families help, I gained an Associates degree in Theology.

Today, I am still pulling from the pain of my failures and mistakes, nearly 12 years into my sentence. I pull from the pain that I caused the people I put in harm’s way 11/01/2012. I pull from the pain of my grandfather's death. I pulled from my cousin Ryan's suicide when he was 18 years old in Bangkok. I pull from the pain that my family has experienced without me there. I pull from the fact that I've had to push people that I love away to keep them from having to deal with loving someone in prison.

I pull from being born into poverty and difficulty, and the instability and pain of traveling through more homes than my age when I came to prison at 18—and I use it to Flip the Switch, to declare to myself that I will NOT be a victim, nor will I fit into the box that some wish I would. I will NOT settle for mediocrity and a life of crime and barely existing. I will NOT wallow in the mistakes of my past, the person I once was, the label that has been placed on me, or my other disabilities. I will make the most of what God HAS given me: the time I have, the relationships God has graciously sent my way, the resources I have access to, my talents, skills, education.

In Flipping the Switch, I will continuously ask myself: how can I use this situation, challenge, or emotional pain to better my life, my community, my sense of empathy for others, my current circumstances? How can I prevent others from experiencing this pain, these mistakes, or looking at life through the harmful lenses from which I used to see reality? How can I maximize this moment for the betterment of others? How can I make pain pay? Where can I add value? How can I do more?

IF you become skilled at Flipping the Switch—at empowering yourself by channeling your pain—I can assure you that you will have more energy, more commitment, more resolve, and an even greater advantage than the average Ivy League, Harvard grad student with 800's on his SAT's.

In your exercises, your marriage, your career, even in your ministry...you can maximize your returns if you learn this skill. Don't waste time with excuses. God is FOR you.

Like Moses, Joseph, David, Paul, and many others you may know your self—you too can FLIP THE SWITCH.

Be Resilient,

Brandon

IT'S ALL GOOD—IT'S IN PROCESS

3/23/24

It is said that if the world stops spinning everything would end very quickly. The tide would quit going in and out. The seasons would disappear. The sun would either never rise or fall again, according to where exactly the world stopped, and where you are in it. There is a process to these things, you might say.

Someone I really admire in my family, my late grandfather, used to have a saying. When it came to taking his medicine for the day, getting his clothes ready for church, getting in the firewood we used to chop and haul together, or just putting on his boots—and it seemed to be taking some time to get it done—he would say: "It's in process." Everything was in process. And I had little patience at times. 

Romans 8:28 reminds us that ALL things work together for the good, for those that love God. Not some things. All things. If we can't see it as good yet, it merely means that it's in process. 

Good Friday wasn't always good. Considering what happened on that day—the crucifixion of Jesus—you might say it was Terrible Friday. Depressed Friday. Tragic Friday. It wasn't good to Mary, watching her son die. So why do we call it good? We only call it good today because, looking back, we now know how much that "bad" accomplished. But it took some time to process that. Through the death of Jesus, those that believe in Him have an everlasting life. But it didn't seem to be a "good" Friday at that moment. Yet, that didn't take away from the goodness in it.

Joseph told his brothers, after 13 long years in prison, that it was all good. He wasn't mad at them, in spite of what they'd done. They meant it for bad, but God meant it for Good. Yet, I guarantee you, while serving that time, Joseph didn't ALWAYS see it that way.

We need to understand that God has some things in store for our futures that we simply can't handle yet. It may seem bad at the moment.  But there will come a time when you see for yourself the goodness that is your destiny.

We have to get rid of this victim mentality and start having a victor mentality. When we have this attitude, that it's ALL good, even when you can't see it—because you trust God's Word!—we won't be walking around with a sour face and a chip on our shoulder. You know that you are centered in the palm of God's hand. You have a smile on your face and a spring in your step, because you KNOW that its merely a matter of time before He brings it ALL together.

You may weep for a night, but I'm here to tell you today that Joy is coming in the morning. It's on the way!

It's in process. It's working itself out. Our God said it. We believe it. And that settles it.

So it's ALL good. It's all GOOD, friend. 

Consider who is telling you that. Not just a prisoner serving 29 years. But God Almighty says it. He's bringing it around for you. After whipping those ingredients together, and adding heat, it's coming out GOOD!  

Our lack of vision, our inability to see doesn't alter God's reality.

Don't waste time living in defeat. That doesn't do anyone any good. Believe for better. Believe that although it may seem that you have lost a battle, the war is already one. Lift your head my brother, my sister, and be the best you can be where you are while you're there. 

Don't count yourself out by letting others, your circumstances, or your own negative thoughts stop you. Our time is our life and our life is our time. Don't waste it! Cultivate a Growth and Victory mind. Weed out those thoughts that would choke your productivity.

It's ALL Good...What can you do with a mind like that?

Make the MOST of this/that process.

Be Encouraged,

Brandon