Hebrews 13:3

-
     In the next blog post, I’ll be returning to the previous style of going through a book of the Bible and looking at each verse one post at a time. However, today, I am excited about Christmas coming up, I am delighted that my university is on winter break and I am grateful to be in this place of transition where there is so much on the horizon!

     During Thanksgiving break, I got an address for a guy whom I have never met, nor do I know. He is incarcerated and doesn’t believe in Jesus. I have written letters to others before and have even written anonymous cards of encouragement to people I felt led to encourage. However, this opportunity means something to me in a way that I can’t properly explain. After doing 13 years myself, I know what it is like to get mail, I also know that out here in the day to day bustle of life it is hard to keep up with appointments and the chores and everything else that we have going on, much less try to write and witness to people who are incarcerated. Yet, Hebrews 13:3 tells us to remember those who are in prison, as if we are in prison ourselves. That hits home for me because I know what it is like.

     I know what it is like to push a button that is set on a two-minute timer for showers. I know what it is like to be told what to eat, when to eat and how long one has to eat. I know what it is like to get jumped, sucker punched and bullied. I know what it is like to have my food trays taken. I know what it is like to be sexually assaulted. I know what it is like to sit in isolation for six months straight. I know what it is like to have a knife pulled on me and robbed. I know what it is like to have to make collect calls. I know what it is like to stand up front at mail call and not get anything. I know because in those thirteen years, while I had plenty of mail, made plenty of calls and did get several visits, I also experienced the flip side of it and know what it is like.

     In fact, a while back, I met with a local pastor about going into jails and prisons to talk to at-risk youth about Jesus. However, with a felony, that is not as easy as one might think. While I might be a great candidate to talk to at-risk youth in detention homes and in jails since I was 14 when I got locked up, it is almost impossible for me to willingly go back inside. The same thing that holds me back from getting a passport, keeps me from going into jails and prisons. However, God has allowed me to get my voting rights back so perhaps some day He will allow me to overcome this obstacle, too.

     Yet, while I cannot go back in just yet, I can write letters like Paul and the other Apostles did and remember those who are in prison and in the jails by encouraging them. So, this year I am also excited that God is providing me with the opportunity to write to a guy who does not know Jesus in prison; and that I may be able to encourage him through letters. Who knows where that could lead? Perhaps a prison-letter-writing ministry? Only God knows for sure!

     In what way has God equipped you for His Kingdom so that you may fulfill His plan for you? Are you pursuing His purpose? What obstacles do you face and how may they be overcome?

Until Next Time
God Bless

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Post-Prodigal

-
          One of my biggest struggles as a believer in Christ is who I have been, versus who Christ says I am as a believer in Him. I admit, I have allowed the self-critical voice in my head, or what others say and think marginalize the greatness of Who He Is in me and what He can do in me. In my past’s personal walk, I have had the tendency to be more of a Prodigal Son, than a steadfast believer. How many of us have had that: “Give me salvation, Father. All right, now, I got this…” sort of mentality?               I wonder, if we are being transparent with ourselves, how many of us have allowed our missteps, whatever it is—that abortion, that DUI, that undeleted browser history, that drug abuse or that affair—to label and imprison us? How many of us have succumbed to the smug, self-satisfied taunts of “She will never change! You know she aborted…” or “He is still just an addict. Give him enough rope, he’ll hang himself…” Or, “Once a cheater, always a cheater.” Have you allowe
Read more

Rotten Words=Foul Mouths

-
            “Let no unwholesome (literally: rotten ) word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”—Ephesians 4:29 NASB      Summer is hectic. Added to that, having a four-year-old that struggles with authority and is awaiting pediatrician referred testing for ADD and ODD, simple outings can turn into wars. As a parent, this can be very trying. I am not a doctor; I am not qualified to diagnose my son. However, I am intelligent enough to know that he has behavioral issues that have at times caused me to give pause and wonder if he is on the spectrum or possibly does have ADD or ODD. We’ll only know for sure when the testing ensues, and he is diagnosed by a licensed psychiatrist.      Yet, it makes for difficult times. For example, yesterday I went to get my car’s oil changed and tires rotated. My kid was good for a while but then he started to get bored, wouldn
Read more

Be of Kind-Mind!

-
“Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.” Romans 12:16 NASB      It’s easy to get caught up in how the world operates. Especially now with the way social media lets everyone have a voice. I am for having a voice. However, a lot of times, what we see is not helpful or even cordial toward one another. A positive post that is uplifting and edifying can be overlooked while a post that smears someone has a million views and thousands of hateful comments. As believers, we are called to be set apart from that and to be different with one another.      One thing God has made clear to me through the course of my life is everything except redemption and all that comes with receiving God’s gift of salvation is fleeting. If we are blessed to see old age, the super-smart must contend with losing memories just as those whom the culture labels as intellectually lacking. The well-to-do person who l
Read more