From Prison to Praise †Theology Essay

From Prison to Praise – Theology Essay Free Online Research Papers From Prison to Praise Theology Essay It’s not popular to be a true follower of Jesus Christ. Throughout the centuries of church history, believers have been persecuted and imprisoned for their faith. Even today multitudes of Christians throughout the world are imprisoned for sharing their faith in Christ. Even in Canada preachers are being thrown in jail for preaching the Word of God and taking a stand for righteousness and morality. Perhaps you are not in a physical prison with iron bars and razor wire, but you know you are bound, chained, and imprisoned by a much crueler captor. Multitudes are locked up in a prison of fear, depression, despair, destructive habits, deception, and sin and death. â€Å"For the devil prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.† We are admonished to stand firm in the faith. No one is exempt from the enemy’s attack. (I Peter 5:8-9) But Jesus came to set captives free and bless them abundantly. (Isaiah 61:1; John 10:10) When the devil or circumstances and trials of life seek to imprison us, there is a way of escape. (I Corinthians 10:13) Paul and Silas are examples of how God will bring release from prison when we apply the principles of His Word. (Acts 16) Paul discovered that religion could not bring this release but a vital personal relationship with the living Christ, the Lord of Lords did indeed. (John 8:36) Paul and Silas were thrown in prison but God supernaturally set them free. Take note and put into practice the principles that brought them release from prison. First – PRAYER to Almighty God brings release. Even though Paul and Silas were severely beaten and thrown in prison, notice what they did. â€Å"Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the other prisoners were listening to them† (Acts 16:25). In your midnight hour, pray to the God who hears and answers prayer. â€Å"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you† (I Peter 5:7). I believe Paul and Silas were also praying for their enemies. Jesus taught, â€Å"Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!† (Matthew 5:44) When Job prayed for his accusers, God turned around his captivity. (Job 42:10) There is power in prayer. (James 5:13-16) Second – PRAISE to God brings God’s presence and power into your life. In the early 1970’s a military chaplain, Merlin Carothers, who became a pastor, wrote Prison to Praise. His premise was that praise and thanksgiving to God brings release from any prison of circumstances. Paul admonishes us to not only keep on praying, but to â€Å"Give thanks in all things for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you† (I Thessalonians 5:18). Paul and Silas were singing to the Lord at midnight. Anyone can sing and give thanks to God when things are going good. But Paul and Silas sang and praised God in their darkest hour. The Word of God calls this the sacrifice of praise. (Psalm 116:17) In your darkest night give thanksgiving and praise to God and find release. Notice that the other prisoners were listening to them. How you face life’s trials will be a great testimony to others. Third – The POWER and glory of God has brought deliverance to multitudes. In answer to their prayer and praise God sent a mighty earthquake. Paul and Silas’ chains fell off and the prison doors swung open. God delights in displaying His glory and power. Whenever God shows up there will be a mighty earthquake of His glory and power. The power of the gospel changes lives. The power of the Holy will shake your whole house and surroundings. The Lord can do in 10 minutes what we could not do in 10 years or a life time. If only we will trust and stand up for Him. Fourth – PARDON through God’s grace and mercy brought salvation to the jailor and his whole household! (Acts 16:29-33) The jailor fearing for his life, was about to commit suicide. Paul assured him that none of the prisoners had escaped. The jailor asked, â€Å"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?† The jailor was imprisoned by sin, hopelessness, and condemnation. They replied, â€Å"Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved with your entire household† (Acts 16:31). Salvation through faith in Christ’s work on the cross will bring release and salvation. Pardon from sin through the blood of Jesus has brought redemption and freedom to countless multitudes. Believe and receive Him today. Fifth – Paul gave a PROMISE to the jailor that if he only believed; his whole household would be saved. If we would claim the many promises of God by faith, we would see miraculous release. (Hebrews 4) â€Å"For all the promises God in Him (Christ) are yea and amen† (II Corinthians 1:20). Sixth – PLUKINESS will bring release from fear and intimidation. When the city officials found out Paul was a Roman citizen, they pleaded with him to leave. Paul told them to come and release him themselves. Paul wasn’t being cocky but bold. We too often allow the enemy to intimidate us. Paul had pluck. What is pluck? â€Å"To take hold of something, having or showing determined courage in the face of difficulties.† Don’t be imprisoned by fear or intimidation. Have pluck. Know who you are in Christ. Apply the principles of God’s Word and be released from your prison. â€Å"He that the Son sets free, is free indeed† (John 8:36). Research Papers on From Prison to Praise - Theology EssayBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XQuebec and CanadaMind TravelCapital PunishmentComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoThe Spring and AutumnArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Bringing Democracy to AfricaHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionThe Masque of the Red Death Room meanings

Understanding Legacy Status for College Admissions

Understanding Legacy Status for College Admissions A college applicant is said to have legacy status at a college if a member of the applicants immediate family attends or attended the college. In other words, if your parents or a sibling attend or attended a college, you would be a legacy applicant for that college. Why Do Colleges Care About Legacy Status? The use of legacy status in college admissions is a controversial practice, but it is also widespread. Colleges have a couple reasons for giving preference to legacy applicants, both having to do with loyalty to the school: Future Donors. When a family includes more than one person who attended a college, its likely that the family has greater-than-average loyalty to the school. These positive feelings often turn into alumni donations down the road. This financial side of legacy status shouldnt be underestimated. University relations offices fundraise millions of dollars a year, and their task is easiest when alumni families are highly committed to the schoolYield. When a college extends an offer of admission, it wants the student to accept that offer. The rate at which this happens is called the yield. A high yield means a college is getting the students that it wants, and that will help the school meet its enrollment goals. A legacy applicant is coming from a family that is already familiar with the college, and that family familiarity and loyalty typically leads to a better yield than the general applicant pool.   Do Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts, or Cousins Make Me a Legacy? In general, colleges and universities are most interested in seeing if your immediate family members attended. For example, if you are using The Common Application, the Family section of the application will ask you about the education level of your parents and siblings. If you indicate that your parents or siblings attended college, youll be asked to identify the schools. This is the information that colleges will use to identify your legacy status. The Common Application and most other college applications do not have a space for indicating if more distant family members attended, although some will ask a rather open question such as Have any of your family members attended our college? With a question such as this, it wont hurt to list a cousin or aunt, but dont get carried away. If you start listing third cousins twice removed, youre going to look both silly and desperate. And the reality is that in most cases cousins and uncles really arent going to play a role in an admissions decision (with the possible exception of a relative who is a million dollar donor, although you wont find colleges admitting the crass financial reality of some admission decisions). Some Common Mistakes Related to Legacy Status Assuming your legacy status will make up for a mediocre academic record. Highly selective colleges and universities are not going to admit students, legacy or not, who are unlikely to succeed. Legacy status tends to come into play when the admissions officers are comparing two equally qualified applicants. In such cases, the legacy applicant will often have a slight advantage. At the same time, this doesnt mean that colleges wont lower the admissions bar slightly for legacy applicants from prominent and/or extremely wealthy families (but youll rarely hear colleges admit this fact).Using the Additional Information section of The Common Application to draw attention to a distant connection to the college. You should use the additional information section of The Common Application to share important information not reflected in your application. You could use this section to explain extenuating circumstances that may have affected your grades, or you might use it to present interesting information about yourself that doesnt fit elsewhere on the application. This type of information can enrich your application. The fact that your great-great-grandfather attended Prestigious University is rather trivial and is an ineffective use of your opportunity to provide additional information. Making monetary threats. For good or bad, a colleges interest in your legacy status is often related to money. Family loyalty to an institution often leads to alumni donations. That said, it will reflect badly upon you if you suggest that your parents donations to the college might end if you arent admitted. The college already considers such possibilities when making admissions decisions, and raising the issue yourself will seem crass.Placing too much emphasis on your legacy status.  Aside from listing family members who attended the college or university, you dont need to draw more attention to your legacy status. The focus of your application needs to be you and your merits, not those of a parent or sibling. If you try to overplay your hand, you may look either desperate or obnoxious.   These Factors Matter More Than Your Legacy Status College applicants are often frustrated by the advantage that legacy applicants have. This is for good reason. An applicant has no control over legacy status, and legacy status says nothing about the quality of the applicant. But be sure to keep legacy status in perspective. Some colleges dont consider legacy status at all, and for those that do consider it, legacy status is just a small factor in admissions decisions, Colleges know that being a legacy is a rather dubious distinction. When a college has holistic admissions, several pieces of the application will almost always carry more weight than legacy status. First of all, you will need to have a strong academic record. Without it, you are unlikely to be admitted whether youre a legacy or not. Along similar lines, SAT scores and ACT scores are going to be important unless a school is test-optional. Selective colleges will also be looking for meaningful extracurricular involvement, positive letters of recommendation, and a winning application essay. Legacy status wont compensate for weaknesses in any of these areas.