{"id":641,"date":"2014-10-06T20:08:23","date_gmt":"2014-10-06T20:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/?p=641"},"modified":"2014-10-06T20:08:23","modified_gmt":"2014-10-06T20:08:23","slug":"overcomer-a-story-of-freedom-by-faf-champion-jonathan-bryan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2014\/10\/06\/overcomer-a-story-of-freedom-by-faf-champion-jonathan-bryan\/","title":{"rendered":"Overcomer- a story of freedom by FAF Champion Jonathan Bryan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"jonathan<\/a><\/p>\n

Jonathan is a National winner of the IPHC Fine Arts Festival competition in 8.1 Creative Writing Non Fiction, Omega. This is his winning piece.<\/p>\n

To read all of the Creative Writing winning pieces, click here <\/a><\/p>\n

Immediately I knew that something was wrong. I could hear the sniffles and I could only imagine the tears. It was a normal, winter Saturday at Emmanuel College. It was a day of battling between doing homework, and hanging out with friends. Through the broken words, I heard the news that my girlfriend\u2019s uncle had passed away. How had this happened? He was healthy and was just starting to do things differently in his life. That day was supposed to be just a normal Saturday but things had changed.<\/p>\n

His name was Ricky Bradley. He fought through tough times in life. Ricky was taught about the Lord from a young age. He was raised by a Christian mother and stepfather. As he got older, Ricky got curious about the world and began to do drugs as a teenager. These drugs began to drag him down a dangerous and dark road. As he got older, the necessity for drugs began to cause him to do things he would not normally do. He stole from people close to him and lied to get what he needed. These actions caused Ricky to be in and out of jail for the majority of his adult life. In between being in and out of jail, he tried to get serious about the Lord but kept falling back into sin. He had no way of overcoming his addictions and the guilt of his sins. He was lost, broken, and bound in chains. Something had to change.<\/p>\n

Ricky had been put back in jail in his forties, and his hope seemed to be slipping. He tried to do the right things but he could not stay on his feet long before falling again. One day, a man in jail with Ricky gave him a Bible. As Ricky began to read the Bible, he began to draw closer to the Lord. His family came and visited him and encouraged him to put God first in his life. As Ricky\u2019s jail sentence came closer to an end, he decided it was time to make a few changes.<\/p>\n

Ricky had an announcement to make. He was released from jail on March 1, 2013. He invited his family and his mother\u2019s pastor to his mother\u2019s house to share something. I was invited to hear whatever this special announcement might be. Ricky went into the yard to talk to the pastor one on one. When they came inside, everyone and everything got quiet as Ricky cleared his throat. He began to apologize for his actions and told everyone he wanted to start over a new man. He had said the Sinner\u2019s Prayer while standing in the yard with the pastor, and told us how much he meant what he said to the Lord that night. He wanted to start his relationship with God over, but also with his family. Things began to change.<\/p>\n

Ricky was baptized shortly after that night. He began to attend church every time the doors were open. He built his own woodshop and was a carpenter for a living. He began to serve the people in his church and the community around him. He painted fences, chopped firewood, and lent a helping hand in any project the church took on. When Ricky passed away, he was riding with a friend to help deliver firewood to a woman connected to his church. Ricky went from stealing to get what he wanted to giving away his time to serve others. Things had really changed.<\/p>\n

I only knew Ricky for a short amount of time, but he changed my life forever. The last time I saw him was December 23, 2013 at a family celebration. It was two days before Christmas and you could feel the excitement in the air. As soon as you opened the door to the house, the smell of food was intoxicating. After all the hugs and hellos, it was time to share a Christmas meal together. This was not just any Christmas meal though. This was Ricky\u2019s first Christmas meal with his family in many years. When everyone finished their meal, it was time for everyone\u2019s favorite part of the night. It was time for gifts! After everyone had opened all their gifts, there was one more gift to give out. Ricky\u2019s mother went to the next room and grabbed the most priceless gift I\u2019ve ever received. Ricky had made me a beautiful, wooden cross. It stands two feet tall and one and a half feet wide. This was the last carpentry work that Ricky ever did.<\/p>\n

When I look at that cross today, I think of two things. I think of Jesus\u2019 wonderful sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world. I also think of the fact that Ricky came to realize the truth, and because of that, his life was completely changed. Ricky was able to overcome every addiction, bondage, and lack of freedom he ever experienced. Through the cross of Christ, he became an overcomer.<\/p>\n

\"jonathan\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jonathan is the son of Dr. Jimmy and Mrs. Carlene Bryan of Elberton ,Georgia. He is a Junior at Emmanuel College where he is majoring in Pastoral Ministries in the School of Christian Ministries. Jonathan is presently serving as an intern with E.L.I. (Emmanuel Leadership Initiative), is involved with Emmanuel Singers and serves as a school chaplain. Jonathan has competed many times on the national level in the National Fine Arts competition. His future plans are to be a pastor.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","slim_seo":{"title":"Overcomer- a story of freedom by FAF Champion Jonathan Bryan - IPHC Discipleship Ministries","description":"Jonathan is a National winner of the IPHC Fine Arts Festival competition in 8.1 Creative Writing Non Fiction, Omega. This is his winning piece. 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The event kicked off on Thursday, July 21st with a full afternoon of Fine Arts at the Hilton, Daytona Beach Hotel. The evening service opened with a live performance from the YouthQuest Creative Team that included\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discipleship Ministries"","block_context":{"text":"Discipleship Ministries","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/category\/discipleship-ministries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/08\/YQ2016Recap1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/08\/YQ2016Recap1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/08\/YQ2016Recap1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/08\/YQ2016Recap1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1527,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2015\/07\/14\/after-party-at-yq2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":641,"position":1},"title":"After Party at #YQ2015!","author":"Kaleigh","date":"July 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 by Skye Hakes Liles This year we are partnering with our awesome IPHC colleges to throw you the best after parties EVER! Together with Holmes, Emmanuel, and Southwestern we will be hanging around outside the Hilton after the evening services on Friday and Saturday. All students and leaders are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discipleship Ministries"","block_context":{"text":"Discipleship Ministries","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/category\/discipleship-ministries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"after party low res","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/after-party-low-res-e1435069472876-1024x977.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/after-party-low-res-e1435069472876-1024x977.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/after-party-low-res-e1435069472876-1024x977.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/after-party-low-res-e1435069472876-1024x977.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1529,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2015\/07\/16\/forums-focus-groups-and-fun-oh-my\/","url_meta":{"origin":641,"position":2},"title":"Forums, Focus Groups, and Fun! Oh my!","author":"Kaleigh","date":"July 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Skye Hakes Liles Last year, some of our most popular activities at Youth Quest were our forums. We presented on practical topics that church members, leaders, and everyone in between could learn from. So we are bring them back this year. Not only are forums returning, but we are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discipleship Ministries"","block_context":{"text":"Discipleship Ministries","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/category\/discipleship-ministries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"forums low res","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/forums-low-res-e1435069917581-1024x411.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/forums-low-res-e1435069917581-1024x411.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/forums-low-res-e1435069917581-1024x411.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/forums-low-res-e1435069917581-1024x411.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2203,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2016\/02\/16\/youthquest2016-announces-core-value-influenced-theme\/","url_meta":{"origin":641,"position":3},"title":"#YouthQuest2016 Announces Core Value Influenced Theme","author":"Kaleigh","date":"February 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"*graphics and images c\/o Kaleigh Hamilton The road to creating the theme for YouthQuest 2016 was a long and winding one, with a diverse group of people contributing to the concept. The theme \u201cLuminaries\u201d is a direct reference to the 2016 Core Value Emphasis \u201cWe Prayerfully Value Holiness\u201d and may\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discipleship Ministries"","block_context":{"text":"Discipleship Ministries","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/category\/discipleship-ministries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/02\/stumin-web-banner.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/02\/stumin-web-banner.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/02\/stumin-web-banner.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/02\/stumin-web-banner.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1512,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2015\/06\/23\/countdown-to-yq2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":641,"position":4},"title":"Countdown to #YQ2015","author":"Kaleigh","date":"June 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Skye Hakes Liles We are so excited that Youth Quest is only one month away! In just a few short weeks we get to meet and greet hundreds of students that will have made there way to Daytona Beach! Together we will kick off our annual Fine Arts Festival.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discipleship Ministries"","block_context":{"text":"Discipleship Ministries","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/category\/discipleship-ministries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/GROW.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1521,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2015\/07\/02\/yq2015-will-light-up-the-night\/","url_meta":{"origin":641,"position":5},"title":"#YQ2015 will Light Up the Night","author":"Kaleigh","date":"July 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Do you like black lights? Glow-in-the-dark swag? T-shirts? Foam parties? THE BEACH? If you like ANY of those things then you are going to LOVE our Light Up the Night Rally on Thursday July 23rd! Hosted by Student Ministries, this glow and foam party will start at 8 pm\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discipleship Ministries"","block_context":{"text":"Discipleship Ministries","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/category\/discipleship-ministries\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"light up the night rally yq banner","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/light-up-the-night-rally-yq-banner-1024x255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/light-up-the-night-rally-yq-banner-1024x255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/light-up-the-night-rally-yq-banner-1024x255.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/06\/light-up-the-night-rally-yq-banner-1024x255.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}