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My Brother's Keeper
Volume 8, Number
3, July-September, 2003
Growing on the WORD
A scripture study
The
Word of God is the source of light, truth, and power, for those who seek it’s meaning
and apply it to their life. Jesus Christ is the word made flesh, and we seek to
follow him.
John 8:12 (NIV) - "I am the light of
the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the
light of life."
Each issue of “My Brother’s Keeper” features a WORD
study. Vicki Perry, an inmate at
Pruntytown Correctional, Grafton, West Virginia, wrote this issue’s word study.
The Peace of God
by Vicki Perry
Many times in my life, I’ve seen people who looked and
acted so peaceful. I would wonder how they obtained that peace? Christians
would talk to me about the peace of God and how wonderful it was to have this
peace of God. When I restored my relationship with the Lord, that peace was
given to me. After awhile it was gone, because of all the turmoil that was in
my life at the time. Even then I would wonder, where did my peace go? How
could I get it back? I would question the Lord and ask him if there was a walk in the Lord where you could have
peace all the time?
After I was sentenced, I was sent to a Regional Jail
to await transport to prison. When I first got there, I began to sincerely seek
the Lord for that peace I had lost. It took me a year of seeking the Lord and
eating the Word before I began to find my answers. In that year the Lord and I
worked on and built our relationship, which is a key to finding this peace. In
searching for this peace, I came across Philippians 4:7 (1) , “And
the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I liked that verse! So I started to pray this
verse, “Lord, I pray that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.”
Sometime later in my search for peace, I came across
Colossians 3:15 which reads, “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, since
as members of one body you were called to peace...” I grew even more excited as
this scripture began to take place in my heart. I began to pray, “Lord, allow
the peace of God to rule in my heart, because I am called to peace. Allow,
Lord, for that peace to manifest in my life.” This verse affirms there can be
a walk of peace in our lives. If it rules then it is there, within us,
all the time. It will be a constant source in our lives.
The Holy Spirit taught me to “...seek peace and
pursue it” (I Peter 3:11b). I began to see as I sought the Lord and pursued to
have peace in my life, that it was a promise from God in that I was called to
have peace, “For he himself is our peace...”
(Ephesians 2:14).
I then asked the Lord, how can I have peace rule in
my life? And how can it be a constant presence in my walk with you Lord? The
Holy Spirit led me back to Philippians 4:6-9 and he spoke these words to me,
“Apply these scriptures to your life. Do them and do not allow anything else to
dominate your mind.” The Holy Spirit led me through each verse as follows:
(verse 6) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to
God.” I noted Paul’s usual straight-to-the-point wording, “Do not be anxious
about anything...” That means nothing! How
many times do we play a tape in our minds, agonizing about situations and circumstances
in our lives? Many times it’s over things we can’t do anything about anyway.
Every day being locked-up is enough, but there are other things we as inmates
feel so helpless about - so powerless! Like what the counselors and officers do
or don’t do! In our minds they don’t work in our time frame. Or, our family
relationships are not going well. STOP!!!
This verse says, don’t be anxious - don’t fret -
about anything! We can’t do anything
about any of the above situations, except do what the rest of this verse says
to do, “...but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.” Pray about everything. Don’t agonize
about it - let it go and wait upon the Lord. Worship Him. Praise Him. For He
does a far better job than we do anyway.
If we apply verse 6, we have a promise from God in
verse 7, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Peace will come! So now, when
things want to frustrate me, I stop right then and say a prayer. I ask the Lord
to take care of what is frustrating me. Then I give it to him to take care of.
Anytime I take it back - I repent and give it back to him to keep. His peace
will come and flood my very soul.
The next step we need to take to have a constant
source of peace in our lives is in verse 8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is
true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -
think about such things.” Our thought life can be a garbage dump. Clean it up
and when you begin to think on things, run it through the checklist above, and
if it doesn’t line up - clean up your thoughts!
If you will notice, all of the above scriptures
focus on positive things. Train your thought life to be positive and train it
to align with verse 8. When we do, Paul gives us another promise from God in
verse 9, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in
me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
How can we learn or receive or hear from Paul, the writer of the Book of Philippians? Through the Holy Spirit, who is the author of the Bible, we can learn, receive, and hear from the Apostle Paul (2 Timothy 3:16). Paul was responsible for writing 13 out of the 27 books of the New Testament. Therefore, if we obey and apply the Word of God, we have the promise of peace in our lives. It will be with us.
One more scripture that will help tie all these
thoughts together. In Isaiah 26:3 we read, “You will keep in perfect peace him
whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” This is another promise
from God, that peace will be given to us if we keep our Lord first and foremost
in our minds and hearts. He will keep us in peace.
As
we wrap this up let’s review:
1. We are called to have
peace and to let it rule our lives.
2.
He is our peace.
3.
Seek and pursue peace.
4. Pray, don’t be anxious
about anything.
5. Think about Positive things.
If you keep these things a constant in your spirit, peace will rule your heart and mind every day. Check it out!
(1) All scriptures in this article are
taken
from the NIV Bible.
The Blessing
of Forgiveness
by David Todeschini
Forgiveness does not come easily; and this is
especially true when someone we know and love offends us:
“A brother offended is
harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of
a castle.” Proverbs 18:19 (KJV)
However difficult we may find it to be, the Lord
Jesus Christ commands us to forgive those who offend or hurt us:
“Take heed to yourselves: If
thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day
turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” Luke 17:3-4 (KJV)
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin
against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say
not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22 (KJV)
There is great wisdom in those words. No matter what the offense has been, holding
a grudge against someone is a form of insanity; it holds us to the past which
cannot be changed. The person who will
not forgive is trapped in a cage of his or her own making, unable to move on
with life, and often separated from those he loves for the most stupid or petty
reasons. Such a person can become
neurotic or even psychotic, and the stress of holding on to the offense can bring
upon him a wide range of physical illnesses such as ulcers and heart
problems. The Bible tells us:
“Be ye angry, and sin not:
let not the sun go down upon your wrath:” Ephesisans
4:26 KJV)
You will note - we can be angry, anger itself is
not a sin; but if we allow anger to drive us to retaliation or revenge, that
is the sin, and we will no doubt end up regretting what we’ve done in the
spirit of anger.
Everyone has been offended and has also committed
sins against others. Human beings are
far from perfect, and when we recognize the faults in ourselves, it perhaps
makes it easier to forgive others for their faults. A broken heart healed by compassion and forgiveness, grows
stronger, and gains the capacity to love (and be hurt) even more. Life is an endless series of opportunities
to develop in ourselves the love of Christ; what has been called “the Christ
heart”, and forgiveness is a major part of that process.
On the other hand, when we offend, the conscience is
quick to convict us. If we withhold our
repentance, our hearts become hardened, and reconciliation with those we
offend becomes impossible. How many
families are broken, how many are kept apart in loneliness by holding on to a
spirit of un-forgiveness?
It is a very serious error to allow such a situation
to continue. Withholding our
forgiveness of others and refusing to acknowledge our sins against others, is
not only a sin, but it is unhealthy - spiritually, mentally, and
physically.
If you have offended or hurt someone, don’t seek
forgiveness so that you can feel better, or so you can be comfortable
with your conscience. Instead, seek to
‘own’ your responsibility and make peace:
“Agree with thine adversary
quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him;” Matthew 5:25a (KJV)
“For if ye forgive men their
trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Matthew
6:14 (KJV)
Do not expect to be forgiven by man. As we know from
our own attitude towards those who have offended us, this is not the “natural”
thing to do. Wisdom, however, is quite
often the exact opposite of what emotion or even “logic” dictates:
“But the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto
him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” I Corinthians 2:14 (KJV)
We can choose to cause crimes or miracles. The miracle unleashed by engaging in the
“foolishness” of forgiveness and repentance, is healing. If an offender repents in his heart, he
heals the offended party by giving him or her the opportunity to “un-bosom” the
pain; he pays a spiritual debt, and in cases where the sin was hidden, he no
longer has to concern himself with the fear of being discovered:
“But if ye will not do so,
behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you
out”. Numbers 32:23 (KJV)
Forgiveness and showing kindness to one’s enemies
might not seem natural, but it is precisely the mark of a true Christian:
“If a man say, I love God,
and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom
he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” I John 4:20 (KJV)
Forgiveness and kindness are the fruit of trust in
the Lord, and it relieves us from the burden of punishing the offender, and
opens the door for the Lord’s blessings:
“If thine enemy be hungry,
give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou
shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.” Proverbs 25:21-22 (KJV)
Forgiveness must be done with the proper attitude,
and the right motive. Don’t forgive out
of frustration of not being able to get revenge. Don’t forgive in order to humiliate, or to create a feeling of
indebtedness. Leave your pain at the
foot of the cross and say, “I forgive you”.
Confession of our transgressions removes the
tendency to withdraw from those who are offended. For the price of a bit of embarrassment or shame which quickly
passes, we regain that precious “connectedness” that was lost in the wake of
the offense. We no longer have to fear
being discovered.
True forgiveness releases negative emotions, and
ends the ‘tit for tat’ cycle of offenses.
Such a cycle never ends except in heartbreaking tragedy.
One must approach forgiveness and repentance in the
spirit of love. Agapé (a Greek word used in the Bible’s original
texts) is the word for “undeserved love”.
Agapé is simply an act of conscious will. It is unconditional. It is the gift of God that children possess
naturally, a gift that becomes
tainted by “the world” as we grow into adults.
Forgiveness gives us back that gift.
It comes with the Lord’s blessings when we exchange it for our burden of
grudges.
When we choose to repent or forgive for selfish
reasons, it is not true “Metanoia” (another Greek word that means “a
change of heart and mind”), but remorse, which is empty and meaningless grief
over the consequences of our actions, or holding on to a “thin string” of hatred
for an offender.
When we forgive, we should seek to heal the
offender. When we seek forgiveness
from those we’ve offended, we should seek to relieve their pain and made
amends. In either case, both are
reconciled to God and to each other. Both can then expect to be forgiven by God.
“Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to
help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
(KJV)
“So that we may boldly say, The
Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”Hebrews 13:6 (KJV)
One of the most healing symbolic acts a person can
do, is to write down all the offenses committed against him, along with the
names of the persons who committed those offenses, then take the paper (s) and
burning them up in a prayerful commitment to forgive those who have wronged
us. This releases us from the bondage
that holding our wrath against someone causes. It is an old Navajo Indian ceremony that is incorporated into the
Kairos Prison Ministry. (1)
Done with a pure heart and a promise to God (with or without the fire),
the power of forgiveness and the spiritual blessings that come with it, is
simply beyond words.
======
(1)
Kairos is a Greek word meaning “The Lord’s good time”
© Copyright 2003, David Todeschini - All rights
reserved from: “Our True Colors - the nature of man and the grace of God” - A
“work-in-progress”.
Christ-Like
by
Edward J. Alford
Throughout my life, I’ve learned many things that
just can’t be taught in a book. The
places I’ve been and people I’ve known and met have all had one thing in
common...they were genuine.
They were real things, created by a real God. Of all the people I’ve ever met, all of whom
had an impact on my life in one form or another - there has only been One, who
has managed to re-create me into the creature I am today. The amazing thing about the person I’m
speaking of, is the fact that I’ve never seen Him face to face, nor spoken to Him
in the sense that you and I might speak.
Still, He has been the greatest influence in my life to date. His name is Jesus!
As a teenager, I became a huge fan of Elvis Presley
after hearing one of his songs. I
started listening to his music and watching his movies for hours on end. I became so obsessed, that I actually
began to form my own personality into his.
I tried to walk like him, talk like him, and according to everyone
else, even made a decent attempt at singing like him. By my early 20’s I had out-grown the “Elvis Thing” as everyone I
knew called it. I was glad that stage
of my life had ended because it wasn’t genuine.
When as a teenager I set my goals to be like someone
else, I succeeded fairly well. Now, as
a grown man, I’ve set my goals to be more like someone else again. This time, my goals aren’t to be more like
any mortal man, but to be more like Christ; goals don’t get any higher than
that.
Today, I want to walk the way that Jesus walked, to
talk the way that Jesus talked, to sing the praises of our Heavenly Father as
He did. Essentially, I want to act
the way that Jesus acted. In order to
do this, I must become one with Him.
I’ve learned that in order to do this, I must die spiritually and be
reborn in Him. No Bible verse has a
greater impact on me than Galatians 2:20 (NIV) which says: “I am
crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me...”;
effectually this verse tells me that when I die in Christ and am born again, I
no longer represent me, but Christ, therefore my actions should always be
Christ-like. Everything I say or do,
the way I act, should be a direct resemblance of what Jesus himself would
do. This is definitely a more
fulfilling thing to do than imitating Elvis.
When I think of Jesus, I visualize perfection. As a human, I can only make an effort at
living a life based on perfection, but I can succeed at living my life based
on Godly ideals that leave only the rough edges of my own humanity.
If
all human kind worked toward being more Christ-like, there’s little room for
doubt that the world in which we live, would be a much better place. I want to thank God for allowing me to be
the person I am today; for the ever flowing well of His mercy and
forgiveness. In His likeness, we can
all truly be sons and daughters of the living God.
------------------------------------------
Edward Alford is an inmate at Bibb Co. Correctional,
Brent, Alabama.
The Savior’s Voice
by
Thomas Wirth, Utah State Prison, Draper, Utah
I heard the Savior’s voice
today,
I heard it loud and clear,
And what he had to say to me,
Made me shed a tear.
Although you’ve sinned and hurt
My heart, time and time again,
I’ve always been here by your
side,
I’ve always been your friend.
I’ve watched you struggle, I’ve
watched
You hurt, I’ve watched you
stumble and fall,
Although you felt so all alone,
I’ve been with you through it
all.
You’ve lived your life on your
Own terms, I never interfered,
Through all your pain and
misery,
I’ve shed so many tears.
This life is but a test you
take,
And you can always pass,
Just open up your heart to me,
And save yourself at last.
I watch the world day after
day,
Filled with bitterness and
hate.
It breaks my heart to see so
many,
Choose this awful fate.
For I love you all, each and
every one,
More than you’ll ever know,
I gave my life up on the cross,
So I could save your soul.
As Jesus finished these words
to me,
I felt His loving embrace,
His life, His love, His
everything,
It felt so right in place.
I cried to Him, “Lord Jesus,
Please don’t ever let me go”.
He smiled and said, I’m always
with you,
Just look within your soul.
-----------------------------------------
This poem was inspired by Him!
God Changed My Life!
by David Duncan, Austin,
Texas
I am writing this testimony, because Christian
Ambassadors ministers to prisoners and I think that maybe God’s work in my life
will inspire someone else to have the same relationship with HIM that I do.
I used to live my life for drugs. I didn’t have anything else to fill the hole
I felt inside of me. Sure, my parents
told me about Jesus and salvation, but I figured I didn’t need any quick fix
God in my life. Well, I started doing
all kinds of things. I hurt people,
lied for the heck of it, robbed people, slept with whatever girl would have me,
went from job to job, and generally did not care. I didn’t like myself much, but I survived.
I started going to jail... a lot. I still didn’t want God. I got on probation, failed, and went back to jail. This last time I went back to jail, I decided enough was enough. There has to be more to life than survival. I started reading the Bible that I borrowed from the guy next door. I got almost all the way through it and he started complaining that I was using it too much. So I decided to try to get one of my own. I asked the chaplain for a Bible, but he said they were out. This is when I decided to pray. The next day a new trustee showed up. The guy on the other side of me asked him for a Bible, so the trustee left and came back with about 4-5 of them and I asked for one. It didn’t immediately occur to me that my prayer had been answered. When I figured it out I started reading even more than what I had. I prayed for understanding. It didn’t get easier all of a sudden, but gradually I started to understand what I was reading.
I learned about sin. God showed me that anything we do that is not according to or
aligned with His will is sin. I was
also shown that all gifts come from heaven, and that God uses everything (even
our mistakes) to glorify His name. I
then learned about salvation. I learned
that Jesus was the only one who never sinned, because everything He did was for
God, and that He was God’s only begotten Son who was with God from the very
beginning. I learned that He came to
earth to show us who God is and how we should live. I learned that He bore the wrath of God by dying on the cross,
even though He was completely sinless, so we would not have to pay the price
for our own sin.
I learned that God loved us, and still loves us, and
that that love will never change no matter what we do. I also learned that all we have to do is
accept the gift of salvation (the act of Christ who was sent from God for this
purpose) and we could live with God for all eternity. I learned that God is not a quick fix God, but one who loves us
very dearly.
So I decided to pray again. This time I asked God to take away all of my
sin, to forgive me for all the evil, selfish things I had done, and to give me
a new spirit and a pure heart like He promises. I told Him how sorry I was for everything I had done to Him and
everyone else. I told Him that I
believed in His Son Jesus; that I believed Jesus came to earth to pay the price
for all that I had done.
After I got done praying, I felt all that hate and
misery fall away and a peace greater than I had ever known. I couldn’t stop from crying (picture a man
in prison crying like a little kid).
Anyway, I kept reading my Bible!
I started telling others about God and salvation. A lot of people started coming to me for
help. I told them everything God had
showed me.
That went on for a while, then one day I was called
into the nurse’s office on sick call.
The nurse told me that the results of the blood test I had taken when I
first got there came back. The results showed that I had hepatitis C, which
cannot be cured. I was shocked at
first, then I became really depressed, but eventually I figured God had a plan.
Well, after a good while, and a lot of work helping
others come to God, I finally got released.
I made it all the way back home, and I decided to go to the doctor to
see about getting treatment for the Hepatic C.
I took another blood test and a few weeks later, he called me back and
said that the pen must have been mistaken.
I could barely even speak. I
hung up and praised God, because I knew He had healed me!
As I write this, I still face a lot of things, but now I have a friend in JESUS to help me through my hardships. I hope and pray you will find the peace and love of God that has made my life complete.
My Father and I
by Eddy Kovacevich
Summit County Jail, Breckenridge, Colorado
If I seem to be
acting funny, please excuse my odd behavior.
I’m only walking in
the glory of my Father’s unmerited favor.
If you see me
acting strange, trust that I’ve not lost my mind.
I’m only looking to
the sky and waiting for trumpets, as I see signs of the time.
If I seem to be
doing things that are vaguely unfamiliar, don’t worry about me,
I’m one of God’s
Sons, which means I’m peculiar.
When I happen to
say something which you think is disjointed,
Take no thought to
how you feel, I’m truly anointed.
You may call me
crazy cause I see heavenly host.
That’s all part of
being born of the Holy Ghost.
My situation may
seem bad, but look at my face.
All you’ll see is
joy that comes when you receive my Father’s Grace.
Some say I’m sold
out, but that’s okay too, I’m ready for the day of redemption.
The question is,
are you?
This prison I’m in
is only for a time,
So I can feed on My
Father’s Word and renew my mind.
I offer myself up
holy, acceptable, approved,
As I build on the
unshakable rock, a foundation unmoved.
Every chance I get,
I’m praising the Lord.
And when the devil
comes along, I’m drawing my sword.
I’m planted in good
ground, I have a deep root. So, I’ll
tie the devil down,
shroud myself with
peace and kindly give him the boot.
So, if you catch me
talking to myself, please don’t be surprised.
It’s only half the
conversation between my Father and I.