I'm not saying it's wrong to have these sorts of feelings, for I have been through such emotions. However it is when you allow such grievances to affect you... So what I'm suggesting is, that there is a way you will be able to forgive others for the things they have done to you, even the worst of atrocities affecting you and your family. That way is through having the lord Jesus Christ in your heart. I would never have thought it possible to be able to forgive, now so soon after so many fatal incidents. 1 never thought it possible to consider forgiving the people who committed the evil acts against my family and me. My whole life was built upon revenge. Revenge was a big part of the society I was brought up in. I came from Belfast, in an area called Ballysillan at the top end of the Shankill Road. So I know what it's like to want revenge against others. Not necessarily for things against me or my family personally, but for acts committed against my community and friends. Where I came from, this was just the way of life for many. I'm not saying I'm anything special or anyone great, especially before I met Jesus Christ, and asked Him into my life. But like many others I wasn't a very nice person, and even worse if I had anything against you. By the grace of God He delivered me from the gates of Hell. On many occasions I have escaped death. God has spared me for his glory, and it is for His glory that I write these few words. I take nothing from this. It's not about me, but about the greatness, the miracles, the mighty wonders of Him that I owe everything to. Because it's nothing short of a miracle He's done in my life. All praise and glory to the risen Lord. Hallelujah!

I once read a book on forgiveness, a couple of years back, when I was imprisoned in England. There was an old Chinese proverb that stuck in my mind, out of everything I read in the whole book. Now I can see God's reason behind it. It goes "Man seeking revenge should dig two graves instead of one." Just think about that for a moment. It is so fitting to the troubles over here in Northern Ireland. So very easily I could have turned back to my old ways of dealing with things. God has told me that this is not the way forward. I would just be one more, carrying out the vicious circle that has been going on for decades, so therefore how could it ever end. It would just be another pointless death. Just like the deaths I'm about to tell you about. "The wages of sin is death."

In 2005 my young sister died at the age of seventeen. She had been admitted to the hospital the week before with chest pains. She had been out the night before and had taken drugs. My sister, we found, had suffered a heart attack and stroke. We thought then that it was because of the drugs she'd taken. A week after being admitted to hospital, she had another massive stroke and subsequently died within a day. Later when we received the coroner's report, it was found that she had a rare heart disorder which meant she had the heart of an 80-year-old woman. There were small traces of drugs found in her blood, however not enough to have killed her. They say she would have died anyway. Nevertheless someone did give her drugs. Like lots of kids in our communities, they are being poisoned with drugs. The drug dealers are doing the work of the devil, and literally they are killing these children. Until recently my family and I blamed these dealers for killing my young sister, and held grievances in our hearts of unforgiveness and hate. However because of the Lord in my life I was able to forgive them. As I said before, never in my life would I have thought this a possible thing to do! Then came the biggest test of all. Almost nine months after my sister's death, and still under the impression that she died of drugs, my young brother was shot dead, aged 25 years old. This was while doing his day's work - a vulnerable lad innocently going about his daily work. He was what is known as an easy target. Now, the people involved in his death have tried to justify his killing. But at the end of the day, how can you justify killing? How can you justify the hurt and pain caused to his mother? This is how I looked at it. Those who had ordered such atrocity, had planned it and carried it out. How could I put their mother, brother, sister, wife, children, through the hurt, loss and pain my family and myself went through. At the end of the day it's not their family's fault, for what they did. But the most important thing is, I forgave those involved. I hold no animosity towards them whatsoever. In fact, God has helped me to pray for their salvation.Because they, like everyone else, needs to be saved (John 3 v.3 John 3 v.7). The wages of sin is death, and unless you ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins, you will be condemned for all eternity. I am not going to start justifying the real truth about who my brother really was, by defending the lies told of him. The most important thing is I'm able to forgive people for the atrocities committed against me and my family. It wasn't an easy thing to do. It is only for the fact I have Christ in my life. It was something I thought I would never be able to do.

Throughout the New Testament it tells of reasons why we need to forgive. Matthew 5 v.24 tells us that when presenting ourselves before God's altar, that if we have bad feelings towards a fellow brother, we are to stop what we are doing, and go and be reconciled to our brother. God will only forgive us, when we have forgiven others. So how can we even ask God for things, if we hold grudges towards another? What God asks of us is that we love our neighbour as ourselves. God knows our hearts. He knows our very thoughts. So not until we rid ourselves of all unforgiveness, and only then, will we receive the many blessings He wants to pour into our hearts. Again in Mark 11 v.25-26 it explains all this. Read also Colossians 3 v.12-14, where it explains in verse 13, "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you, etc." I want to encourage those who read this, that in man it is impossible, but through God all things are possible (Luke 1 v.37,
Mark 10 v.27 and Matthew 19 v.26). In my own strength I would never have been able to do what I'm doing in my forgiveness to others. It's by the grace of God. I don't care what anyone says when they think that God can do nothing for them -- they are wrong! I am proof that He can. It does not matter how far gone you think you are, our how evil you have had been, or still are, or what dark secrets you hold. Jesus will set you free from that bondage (if you ask Him to!). If he can change me from the person I was, then he can change you too. If you feel that Jesus is speaking to your heart, you want to accept Him as your personal Saviour, then ask Him to change your life forever: Pray this prayer.

"Dear lord Jesus, forgive me for all my past and present sins, I am sorry for all the bad I have done, and repent of it. Come into my life and set me free, I accept you as my personal Saviour, and that you died for me on the cross and rose again, that you take away all my sins on the cross. Wash me clean with your precious blood, shed for me. Amen"
If you have prayed that prayer (and meant it), you are now born again in Jesus Christ. - God bless.

Some time in September, 2005 Pastor Matthews visited our prisons and preached the word of God. When he was preaching I felt very bad for my bad actions, I pleaded to God that He should have mercy on me and give me a second chance, I repented of my sins because I realised that what I have been doing was very bad in the sight of God. I confessed all my sins and received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Personal Saviour. At the time Pastor Matthews visited our prisons I was sick with dysentery. I thank God that He healed me in that moment from dysentery. I will always praise God for his love and mercy.

My name is Billy Hill and I am from the Shankhill road, Belfast. I came to prison when I was nineteen years old. Sadly I was  remanded for murder and a string of other charges relating to paramilitaries. I had always believed in God and I believed that from the very start God had a plan for me. During my days before imprisonment I was up to my neck in drugs and criminal behaviour, joyriding and robberies. Many times I have escaped death while others were not so fortunate. Someone was watching over me. I walked away from every incident without a scratch. I have never broken a single bone in my body. Sadly because of my crimes I lost the chance to tell the person I loved the most that I loved her - my mother. She became ill with liver and kidney failure, so I went for bail just to see her for ten minutes whilst handcuffed to the police. I was turned down. The thing that hurt me the most, was that I had not seen her for a whole month. I would never get to see her again to tell her how much I loved her, and that I was sorry. My Mum passed away. I was denied to even go to the funeral. I was torn apart, broken hearted. I sat in my cell on that gloomy day in October with my head in my hands. This was the price I was paying for my sins. The scariest thing was that the day my Mum died (27th October) was the birth date of the person I had committed many criminal acts for - a sign I would later recognise as warning me to change my ways, a second chance. Until the death of my mother I was cold hearted and emotionless. Then I looked out of my cell window one day and saw an amazing sight - two beautiful magpies, one leading the other and following it everywhere it went. How come two little creatures could show so much love towards one another - two insignificant animals, yet human beings would hurt one another in an instant, while being far superior to those little birds. The love I felt that day was amazing, it changed my life. It made me turn to an old Bible that was gathering dust on my shelf. From there on I gave my life to Christ. I was up and down for two years until I found myself.

I am now twenty-two and a soldier for the Lord, helping those around me, prisoners who have problems or are depressed, letting them know that they are not alone. For God is everlasting. Cities may fall, waters may rise but the word of God will remain forever.

I am Victoria Zulu. I am in my late twenties. I am in prison because I killed my father. It so happened that when my mother and father came back from a drinking spree, they started fighting. In trying to save my mother who was overpowered by my father, I picked up a bottle nearby me and strongly hit my father on the head; he fell down and died instantly. When the death was reported to police, I was picked up and locked up in prison.

One Sunday in September, Pastor Kalaba visited Solwezi Central prison. He preached the word of God and I was very touched, I asked him what should I do. He told me to repent of my sins and ask for forgiveness from God, which I did. I also received Jesus Christ as my personal saviour. I now feel the heavy burden which I had lifted from me. I thank God for His mercy.

I was lying on my bed watching a movie called "Pearl Harbour" and the one line that has stuck in my mind, is, "When you go to fight make sure it is worth fighting for." When I heard this line I thought it was a line of powerful words. It was at that point God spoke to me saying "Alistair my son I fought a war for you and won." I replied "Father I know, and I thank you." You know the just did not fight for me, but He fought for us all. You ask why and how? So I want to look at why he fought for us so that we can be saved. The reason for fighting is to defend something we believe in, or for someone we love. Well God is the same, for He fought for us, because not only did He believe in us, to turn to him for salvation. He loved us. It is for this reason that he fought the devil for us and won. I want to look at how. He won the war for us through the death of Jesus our Lord on the cross. The reason that I say this is because the Scriptures say that when Jesus died on the cross, he broke every stronghold that the devil had, and when we turn to God, He breaks the strongholds that the devil has over us. I want to encourage everyone who reads this, saved or unsaved, both to focus on and stay focussed on God, for He has the power to save us. I am going to finish here in saying even though there is a battle going on, the war is won.

FORGIVING OTHERS -  Look Up These Verses in Your Bibles. 1) PROVERBS Ch.19 v.11 2) PROVERBS Ch.20 v.22 3) MATTHEW Ch.5 v.7-11 4) MATTHEW Ch.5 v.39-47 5) MATTHEW Ch.6 v.l4-15 6) MARK Ch.11 v.24-26 7) ROMANS Ch.12 v.14-21 8) EPHESIANS Ch.4 v.31,32 With You There Is Forgiveness ...Psalm 130 v.4

I want to close this issue of 'Set Free' with this thought: Grudges have no place in the Christian life. Just as we desperately need God's forgiveness of our failings, so we desperately need to forgive those who fail us.

If you want to accept Christ into your own life then pray this following prayer. God Bless.

"Dear Father, I know that I am a sinner and that I need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died for my sins. I am willing to turn away from my sin, and now I invite Jesus to come into my heart and life as my personal Saviour. I am willing by God's Grace to follow and obey Christ as Lord of my life.

If you have prayed this prayer and have accepted Christ into your heart and life, please let us know, so we can pray and help you in your new life in Christ.