JOSHUA: An example of an overcomer

Read about Joshua and see how he overcame obstacles, won battles and maintained himself loyal to God until the end...

note: the video clips were taken from the Bible miniseries that aired on History channel, we claim no rights to the clips.

the SPIRIT of an overcomer

There are many examples of people who had the tools and resources to succeed, but failed because of the negative character or “spirit” they possessed.  As one saying goes; “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there!”

When talking about a person’s “spirit”, we mean the type of character they possess.  For example; there are those of fearful character, unsure of themselves, conforming character etc.   on the other hand there are those who are brave, risk-takers and determined.

By this time, you should already know life is NOT easy, there’s adversity and roadblocks in the way of success.  A successful future is not achieved from one moment to the next (it’s important to note how many people are dependants of games of chance and luck for their success.  Such as lottery, casino and gambling) God himself put in us the spark to ignite a supernatural faith. Making us fighters, soldiers, never wanting to give up!  The devil knows this, that’s why he struggles to keep us away from God’s word and His promises.  Just as the king of Egypt kept the Israelites under harsh slavery, he knew that they were a mighty nation and great in numbers, so what did he do to keep them under his command? He broke their “spirit”.  The Israelites lived under physical and emotional oppression, as the Bible states:

“My spirit is broken, My days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me..”  Job 17:1

In order to have success and prosperity in life, you must have the right attitude.  That’s why it’s so important to seek the presence of God in our lives.  Only He can uplift us with His word and renew our strength with His Spirit.  The true overcomer is the person that receives the Holy Spirit.  That is how God can help a person have great vision, maintain a pact with Him and be brave to face and overcome whatever life throws at him.  Read the passage below and meditate on it closely:

 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith"  I John 5:4

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM?

If a dream can motivate someone to achieve the extraordinary, imagine what you can do with yours?

THE POWER OF DREAMS

Every building that you see, every car that you drove, every movie you saw or novel that you read, is a result of someone’s idea, someone’s dream.  To have a successful future, first you must dare to dream.  This is very important to your success, because any success that you end up enjoying has a starting point.  That starting point is not even the first class you take or the first lemonade you sell, it starts within you, it’s your imagination!

The power to Dream

 God gave you the power to dream, so then you would be inspired to work hard to make that dream a reality.  That is exactly what dreams are for, to make them come true.   Now we are not talking about fairytale dreams or that your life will be like in the movies (where everything gets resolved in 2 hours or less)

Your imagination is a gift that God gave you.  When you use your imagination to apply it to your life, you are also taking a step of faith.  For example, right now you can close your eyes and imagine yourself in a doctor’s suit about to operate or in a fancy outfit about to get into your plane to get a business deal done! Then you start taking steps to reach that dream and make it come true.  You are making something materialize in your life that started from nothing, simply what you envisioned inside yourself.  That is also how faith works! You believe in something you cannot see, but you are sure of what you see happening in your life, that you make every effort to make it true!

The devil also knows the effect your imagination has on you.  That is why he and his demons battle to draw your mind away from your dreams.  Take a look around you, how many youths do you see with broken dreams or even worse, they don’t have any dreams about their future…

It’s so sad when you see someone so young and with nothing to fight for.  If you want to make your dreams come true, then allow God to inspire you, keep strong in seeking him, pray to Him and don’t stop seeing yourself as an overcomer.

Those who (only) wait, achieve nothing

Those who (only) wait, achieve nothing

For the girls: HEREDERA

Sabias que eres heredera de un gran rey? 

Pero para conquistar esta promesa  que es recibir el Espíritu Santo.  Como dice la palabra de Dios.

“Mas buscad primeramente el reino de Dios y su justicia, y todas estas cosas os serán añadidas.” Mat 6:33

Talvez has estado reservando cosas para ti, que no le has entregado a Dios. Entrégale todo lo que te aprisiona el odio, soledad, envidia, miedo, tu vida sentimental, tus deudas y  pasado y presente. Esto que te distrae para concentrarte en lo más importante tu salvación.

En estos 21 días vacíate de ti misma y que aun depues del propósito, que sea algo parte de ti. Si quieres recibir la promesa más grande haz esto.

1. Abandona todo lo que desagrada a Dios y todo lo que va contra su palabra.

2. Olvida tu pasado, y no te condenes por los errores que ya cometiste, ni pienses que no eres merecedora.

3. Arrepiéntete y toma la decisión de bautizarte en las aguas, Para asi comenzar una nueva vida con Dios;

4. Apártate de amistades que perjudican tu fe, que  te influencian  de una manera negativa llevándote hacer o hablar algo que va contra la voluntad de Dios.

5. Convive lo máximo posible con las personas de la misma Fe. Que van ayudarte espiritualmente acercarte más a Dios.

6. Busca sin desistir; y muestra para Dios que el es el primero en tu vida y que tu quieres recibir el Espíritu Santo más que otra cosa.

7. Es necesario que te entregues completamente para Dios, Aunque eso signifique dejar todo lo que hace parte a este mundo, deseos propios, tradiciones, deseos carnales, en fin todo lo que pueda perjudicar tu comunión con Dios.

Evolution vs God

Hello YPG:

just sharing an intersting video, in case you haven't had a chance to see it....
what do you think?

LAUNCHING AND CRASHING

Take a look at the video below (a newsclip from cbsnews) about the reality of young adults today!
I am focusing on the fact that there are more and more cases of adult children living with parents, not to critize them, but to serve as a wake up call.  Distractions, personal problems, uncertainty, and following the crowd (or in our case, worldly desires) are a few examples of what keeps a youth from focusing on their future and achieving their dreams. 
There is a saying: "youth is wasted on the young", meaning that a young person has all the physical abilities to achieve greatness, but because they lack focus, discernment and wisdom, they end up wasting those years of their life.  Take a look at this video clip from cbs news and if you are interested in learning how to have a successful future, join us in our Real Talk meetings held in every YPG branch here in Texas.  Also, keep checking in to receive updates and important steps that we are talking about in our OVERCOMER sessions.

FAILING TO LAUNCH?

When you were five, you wanted to be astronaut, a policeman, a superstar athlete maybe even a superhero.  Now you're 16, 18, 21... and you don't know where you are heading with your future.  Many youths, whether they are teens or young adults have not made up their mind on what they want to become.  The future is not as clear as when you were a little child, even if you may think today that it was foolish of you to dare to say you were going to be someone important, as a child many at least dared to dream.  Today it's more worries than anything else.  You worry about your family, about your boyfriend or girlfriend, your looks etc.  If life is handing you problems then dreaming of having a succesful future is nearly impossible. 
But you were meant for greater things, you were meant to dream BIG, to be IMPORTANT, to have SUCCESS, to ENJOY your life!
The question then is; why have'nt you, what's keeping you down? Today there is a far greater number of young adults (from 20's to 30's) living with their parents and not being able to get a handle on life.  This is the reason why here at the YPG, we are dedicated to helping youths excel emotionally, financially and spiritually.  We are beginning an intense subject in our Real Talk class, where we will be by your side to instruct you and give you support so you can be overcoming your problems and achieving your dreams.  One of the saddest things to see is the youth of God (made in His image and likeness) giving up on their dreams and living with emptiness and failure...
when you can, read in the Bible the following promise: Jeremiah 29:11 - 13

AGE OF INNOCENCE lost

There was a time in your life - I'm talking to you "preteens, teens, young adults and older, remember when your life was simpler.  the choices and worries at the time ranged from who you wanted to play with, to what toy you wanted for your birthday.  you might refer to this time in your life as your childhood years, the time you were "just a kid", and what I like to call THE AGE OF INNOCENCE!

Why? because just as you grew older, there was a moment in time where this "innocence" was lost.  Where this happened, just as the age it happened, is different from person to person.  Maybe it happened to you at a friend's house, at school, at a party, watching a movie, on the phone or simply lying in your bed one night.  the point I want to make is this: there was a moment in your life, that the world you lived in changed completely. 


At this point in life, you discovered the ugly side of this world.  Filthy language became a normal thing (even if you didn't say one yourself) you heard it all around you.  you became aware of the "sins" of this world.  Lying, cheating, drinking, smoking, jealousy, pornography, violence, disrespect, sexual awareness etc.
maybe it happened slowly or it came to you like a whirlwind, the fact is that the look in your eyes changed, the way you saw yourself changed... YOU changed!
your innocence was ripped from you and you were slapped with the word GUILTY on your forehead.  just like Eve, when biting into the forbidden fruit and she lost her innocence, you to were now dragged into this worldy lifestyle. 
It is very important to realize that just as you were introduced to "sin" and even practiced it, God, who is the most interested in saving our soul, also gives you (and me) a way out.  This is were the sad part comes in, that many, many people reject the invitation that Jesus gives to be free of sin.  Instead they close their ears and harden their heart.  You hear things like, "I'm not ready yet", "church is for old people", "I don't want to miss enjoying my life", and other strange and unreasonable comments that people make.  They are unwilling to make the effort to change their ways.  It seems as if sin has more appeal than a life with Jesus!
well... I want you to take a moment and read the following words of Jesus carefully please:
"If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin" John 15:22
understand?  Jesus is stating that to God's word (to His way of living your life) you were innocent.  That maybe you lived in sin and did what displeased God because YOU DID NOT KNOW THE TRUTH!  But just like you are reading this post, I am sure that God has spoken to you about change, about surrendering yourself to Him, about realizing that your soul is in danger of being lost forever! 
Maybe it was a flyer inviting you to church, a TV or radio commercial talking about Jesus, a friend or family member inviting you to go to church (YPG meetings etc.) One way or another God has reached out to you, if you accepted or not, if you want to follow him or not, that's your choice.  The fact is that YOU and I are no longer innocent.  We know the evil in this world, we know that Jesus is the way out, but if you decide that it's not time yet or simply want to look the other way, Jesus is saying to you... you have no more excuses for your sins....
think about it and follow the Him, the Way, the Truth and the Life...

THE ONE, THE ONLY, THE ORIGINAL...

Are we talking about crispy chicken? no.  Maybe those cool sneakers? no.  I know it's your favorite artist! the one the only... nope. 
we are talking about the BIBLE, yes the Bible, the center of God's thoughts written into our language for us to understand who He is, what He is about and what He wants for us.  I write to let you know that being a christian (teens and adults alike) will find out that there is an overwhelming supply of different books, magazines, CD's, DVD's, authors etc. that are there to "guide" you on your spiritual path.  Yet none of these should take the place of the Holy Scriptures.  Make an effort the keep the Bible as the most important book in your life.  I leave you with this verse and a video below and encourage you to not only read the Bible, but discover it, meditate on it, live it... after all He left it for you....
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" I Timothy 3:16

For our Frontliners

Hello Frontliners:
below is a video that reflects on the importance of winning souls for Jesus, let's do this...

BE TRANSFORMED

This video is to help you understand what we mean by transformed...

She Hulk (YPG Girls)

Perhaps during these 21 days you’ve been a Hulk woman; fighting to not turn into the person you were before, seeking your transfiguration. It’s been difficult for you because the temptations come like:

-bad attitude

-talking back
-being double sided
-selfishness
-pride
-vanity
-gossip
-laziness
-judging and criticizing
-seeing the wrong in everything
-thinking you’re the only one correct
-feeling like you’re a perfect woman

You show no attitude to want to please God more,  with the way you dress even after knowing what displeases God. You still continue to use skin tight clothes that call attention, you use exaggerated make up, use piercings. You’re probably conscious that you have to change and leave all that. But until today you find yourself frustrated because you don’t have the strength to abandon sin.

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” Luke 9:24

To have a life with God we have to lose everything that is good to our eyes. I always remember this (do what I don’t like and don’t do what I do like) we have to displease our ego to please God.

You can change all that with a SINCERE prayer to GOD and to yourself that you have to change completely instead of fighting alone against yourself everyday in the sense of wanting to change because you won’t get anywhere like that. It’s clear that you have this struggle against yourself but you have to take the decision from your part to change completely and abandon everything wrong you were doing. Completely stop being a Hulk woman and convert into a true woman of God

IURD VIDEO

The following video is from our

Assistant's rescue vigils in Brazil...

the audio is in portuguese and subtitled in spanish, in any case what was said is shocking...

 

GOOD, BETTER and TRANSFORMED

Good, better and Transformed is a phrase that sounds interesting, but the 3 words stuck in my head when listening to Bishop's Macedo's message on why we are going to the altar (Mt. Hermon) were:

 

OLD - BETTER - TRANSFORMED

(all of these have to do with our life)

OLD (the type of life we live before coming to UCKG/IURD)
you hear about how bad a person's life was like; depressed, hated their own life, lonely, betrayed, bad luck, hurt, desperate, no reason to live and the list goes on...  to keep this short, one way to describe this type of life is being a puppet in the devil's claws.  All of the pain a person goes through before drawing near to God.

BETTER (the moment we discover that God can help us)
now here is where sadly many youths, young adults, men and women fall into...
there are youths, even in YPG, that conform to having their life be just a little better, instead of fighting for the complete transformation to happen.  Such youth is misled into thinking that because they stopped using drugs, stopped swearing, started to dress differently, go to church more often, stay out of trouble or things similiar to these. That God is with them and does NOT want anything bigger to become of their life!  So what happens, we end up with a youth (or adult) that never experiences a true encounter with Jesus, much less baptized in the Holy Spirit.  Then the few miracles that they do see in life has them satisfied and as the years pass by, they are known as christians, but with a mediocre life!
this is not mentioning that many of these same people eventually stop using their faith altogether and stop coming to the church.

TRANSFORMED (experiencing a complete change in life)
As Bishop Macedo spoke about Psalm 133:3
"for there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore".
summarizing that God does not want us to have ONLY salvation and lead an average life, nor to have miracles and blessings in this world but lose our soul.
God desires for His true believers to have everything! a blessed life in this world and our place by His side eternally.

As bishop put it, that is why we represent the 3 that go up with him to Mount Hermon, not to go back to the OLD, or to be content with the BETTER, but to up and be TRANSFORMED! 
let's go YPG and all who believe

7 Mistakes

take a look at our video From SILC in Houston TX....

 

Falling in love...

*Hello YPG,
the following is a blog taken from Mrs. Cristiane Cardoso
you can see more at cristianecardoso.com

It’s very common to have someone say: “I didn’t choose to fall in love with him, it just happened.” It’s with this argument that girls or women make themselves incapable of getting out of a bad relationship. They avoid looking at what’s right under their nose and end up feeling like the victim when it ends, and then she has to hear everyone say “I told you he was no good!”
I disagree with this theory that you had no choice. Since the time that I knew I was a woman and later worked with other women, I learned that one thing is for sure: a woman is much more perceptive and in tune with things than she thinks. We grow up with something similar to a sixth sense, I think God made us this way exactly so that we can help man, who is so rational, yet who’s missing some important details. Which to us it is a talent! We are detailed, and we should feel proud of this. We have an important role in society.
We know exactly what happens around us and we decide what to do with each detail, even if it’s a hidden one. That’s why I always say…

We’re not controlled by a passion, but we can let ourselves be taken by a passion.

 

When that guy got close to you, you knew that he would be bad for you, but still you let yourself fall in “love.” You liked the attention he gave you and you let yourself receive it. But you decided to ignore, all the signs which warned you that sooner or later you were going to get into an accident going at that speed.

Think about how many times you thought about and decided on things in regards to that relationship! Could you really consider yourself a victim here? Only if you mean a victim of yourself! This is what many people are not able to see…The one planning the big disappointment coming up is not that guy (who would do that to any woman,) but it’s actually your heart. Your heart leads you to this kind of blindness. Our heart is so deceptive we can’t even trust in ourselves!
That’s why I flee from evil, because if I know that inside of me I have a heart that wants my demise and will try in any way to deceive me. Imagine what would happen if I sit and listen to its suggestions? But that’s what many do when they accept that “innocent” friendship on Facebook… When they exchange numbers with guys they don’t even know very well… When they do anything to get close to these wolves at any cost, they are basically begging their heart to set them up for a huge disappointment.
Yes, I choose my friends. I choose everything – from the news I hear to the friends I add on Facebook. I like to be very picky with my time too, because I find it extremely valuable. And in this basic routine, I easily make the right decisions, because my corrupt heart is constantly locked up in the cage of my spirit.
I can already hear someone reading this say “But it’s easy to do that when you’re married, you’re not going through the need that I have to be loved!” Newsflash to you: I was already like this before I met my husband. That means if I could live without male attention once, to keep myself from evil, you can too. The only problem is…do you really want that?

Have you read your Bible?

the reaction of christians in other countries towards a Bible...

RESCUED Vigil

Recap of the vigil @ Westpark...