"Visit The Prisoners"

^"For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."  Matthew 25:35,36

This verse admonishes us to minister to people in their time of need-- in hunger, in thirst, in sickness, in prison, to the stranger.  I want us to look at the part about visiting those who are in prison.  I have had a jail ministry in the past, and I have gone to the prison on a few occasions and preached.  I've had friends who are actively involved in prison ministry-- that is their particular calling.  Not all of us are able to go to the jailhouse or prison and minister to the inmates.  But we all are able to go to those who are in "prison".

There's more than one kind of prison.  Not all prisons are made of brick, mortar or steel.  There are people who are being held prisoner who are out walking around freely, and not behind bars. They are all around us.  They are in our families, among our friends, our fellow employees, our school mates and even our neighbors.

The ones I am talking about are being held as a prisoner to sin.  They are prisoners of addictions such as alcohol, drugs and pornography.  They are being held a prisoner by fear, condemnation, remorse, depression, anxiety, grief and guilt.  These are the ones we can go to.

We need to be going to these prisoners.  We need to be proclaiming liberty to these captives.  Jesus came to set the captive free.  He came to open the prison doors to those who were bound.  He breaks every chain. He destroys yokes.  He destroyed the internal prisons.  He defeated the power of sin so that it has no hold on us any longer.  He pulls down strongholds.  He has the keys to open any and all prison doors that we may be locked up behind-- whether it is in our minds, our emotions or some besetting sin. 

No, you may not be able to go to prisoners at the local jail or state prison, but you can go and preach deliverance to those who are being held as prisoners behind bars we cannot see.

Have a great day.  I was in prison and you visited me.  Jesus sets captives free.  Are you letting the prisoners know this?

"Whether I Live Or Die"

"For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's".  Romans 14:8

This scripture has been on my heart for quite some time.  I have decided to make it my new "life scripture"-- or my "motto".  It sums up the whole of our Christian life-- those who have received Christ and made Him Lord of their lives.  We are the Lord's.  If we have been born again, we belong to Him.  Our life is no longer our own.  If I am alive-- I belong to Him.  If I die-- I belong to Him.

When we realize that we truly belong to the Lord, in life and in death, then let come what may, we don't have to be shaken, destroyed or defeated by it.  I don't have to worry; He has my life-- it belongs to Him.  If storms rage against me, if sickness touches my body, if pain comes upon me, if enemies rise against me, if the mountain is looming over me, if the waters try to consume me, if failure is taunting me, if death is waging war for me, if confusion tries to oppress me, if a bad report tries to shake me, if the ungodly attack me, if a weapon is formed against me, etc., I can still say, "It is well", because I am the Lord's. I have surrendered my "here and now", as well as my "eternity" to Him, so He has my life and every moment in His hands.    

I belong to Him so He will either deliver me, heal me, protect me, provide for me, make a way for me, or take me home.  Whatever happens I am in a win, win situation because if I live, I am His and if I die, I am His.  Whatever comes your way, don't be fearful or anxious about it.  Whatever happens-- good, bad or otherwise-- you belong to Him so it will be all right.

Have a great day.  Whatever happens to you in life, even if it brings death, you belong to the Lord, so it is well.   

"As Much Now"

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"  Romans 8:31,32

These are some of those verses that you need to read and reread, listen to what it is saying, meditate on it, renew your mind with it and absorb its meaning.  The Lord God did not spare even His Only Beloved and Begotten Son for you.  He sent Him to die so that you could live.  He sent Him to give His life as a ransom to pay for your sins.  Since eternity past, the Father and Son had never been separated.  The Son is the Greatest Love of the Father.  Yet, He gave Him up to come to earth and be crucified for you.  You who was a sinner.  You who was an enemy of God.  You who was living in rebellion against God.  You who was a blasphemer of God.  He gave Him for you who was self-centered, self-seeking, not God-seeking, a rejecter of God, an opposer of God and a hater of God.

If God did this for us before we received Him, loved Him, followed Him and surrendered to Him, in order to have us as His children, then why do we think that He would do less for us now that we are in His family?  Why do we think that He won't bless us, meet our need, take care of us and give us all that He has promised after we have come to Him? 

Does He love us more before or after our acceptance of His Son?  Does He love us more before we surrendered our lives to His Lordship than He does after?  Does He love us more as rebels against Him or as faithful loving children?  We act like He loved and was willing to do more for us before our salvation than after.  We act like now that He "has us", He has abandoned us and stopped caring about us.  This simply is not true.  He loved us so much then as to give up His Son for us, and He loves us so much now as to give us all things freely through His Son.

Have a great day.  God didn't love you more when you were living away from.  He loves you just as much now that you are His.     

"The Storm's In The Book"

"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen".  John 21:25

There were so many things that Jesus did while He was on earth that if they were all written down there are not enough books to contain them.  The Bible says of itself that it was written by holy men of God as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit.  That means that the Lord made sure that the things we really needed to know where written down for us in the Bible-- since it was too much to write everything. 

One account that He made sure that was in there was the account of the disciples in a boat on the sea when the storm came up and threatened to destroy them.  You know the story I am talking about.  Jesus was in the back of the ship asleep, and they woke Him up to save them from drowning. 

I, for one, am so thankful that the Lord placed that account in the Bible because it gives me hope, comfort, peace, faith and reassurance when I am going through a personal "storm".  We all face storms of some sort, no matter who we are.  Some storms are physical, financial, emotional, mental, in our relationships, and so on.  This story lets me know that when I face storms, I am not alone.  Jesus is with me.  It lets me know that He can take care of the storms.  It lets me know that He has power and authority over the storms that rage.  It lets me know that He can speak peace to my storm and it has to cease.  It lets me know He cares about me and will take care of me.  This is why I said I was thankful-- thankful it was written in the Bible so that I could be encouraged by it.   

Have a great day.  Whatever storm you are going through, God made sure we would know that He is greater and in control of the storm you are facing.
Scripture references:  Mark 4; 2 Timothy 3:16

"The Best Choice"

"And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar".  Genesis 13:10

Abraham and Lot traveled together.  One day there arose strife between their herdsmen because there was not enough room in the land for both of their flocks-- there were so many.  In order to keep down the strife they decided to part ways.  Abraham gave Lot the first choice of the land where he would like to go.  Our verse said he beheld the plain of Jordan.  So that is where he went.

Lot decided to go there because the land was well watered everywhere.  It was like the garden of the Lord.  It was luscious and green like the fertile land of Egypt.  Lot chose it because it looked perfect.

Human nature tends to make choices based on our senses.  We like to choose the most beautiful, the most handsome, the biggest, the most talented, the most expensive, the richest, the most popular, the finest, the best there is, the most comfortable, the easiest, etc.  But that doesn't always mean it is what is best for us.  It looked perfect to Lot, but it almost destroyed him.  What was appealing to his eyes took him closer and closer to Sodom and finally into Sodom.  Had it not been for the mercy, grace and goodness of God to deliver him, he would have been destroyed with the rest of the inhabitants.  But in the meantime, before he was delivered, he was vexed in soul daily there.

How do you make your decisions and choices?  Are they based on appearance?  Are they based on what looks good, seems good or feels good?  Not everything that glitters is gold, and not everything that looks good actually is.  Not everything that appears to be crystal is, sometimes it is plastic.  The safest and best choices are the ones we allow the Lord to make for us.  There is a way that seems right unto a man, but it ends in death.  This is why we are to acknowledge the Lord in all our ways and let Him direct our paths.  When He directs us, we can rest assured that it is truly the best for us, whether it looks like it is or not.

Have a great day.  Just because it looks like the best choice doesn't mean it is.   
Scripture references:  Proverbs 14:12; 16:25; 3:5,6; 2 Peter 2:7,8