My Brother's Keeper

Volume 5, Number 4, October-December, 2000

Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV) - For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

These two verses of scripture from the ninth chapter of Isaiah, provide one of the most revealing prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the coming of Jesus, the Messiah (the long expected deliverer and King of the Jews). Verses six and seven describe both the first and the second coming of Jesus.

In His first coming, 2000 years ago, Jesus came to prepare the hearts of the Jewish people to receive their righteous King. Acceptance of His Lordship would involve repentance of their sins and entrance into a Kingdom which Jesus said was "at hand" but was not of this world.

Luke 17:20-21 (NIV) - Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, `Here it is,' or `There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

Jesus was not the King the Jews had pictured. It was difficult for them to get excited about a Kingdom they couldn't observe in a physical form. They expected the Kingdom of God to come with great fanfare and ruled over by a visible and powerful King.

The Jews of first-century Palestine missed Christ's message of deliverance, because they, like many today, were conditioned to look for their deliverance in political solutions. More then anything else, these Zealots wanted to be set free from Roman rule. They longed for a military messiah who would take up arms to crush their hated oppressors. Lacking faith in His divine mission, they didn't want to wait for Jesus, they wanted to take matters into their own hands. At one point, they even tried to make Jesus a king by force, because He was not establishing the visible kingdom they so desired.

John 6:14-15 (KJV) - Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

Jesus retreated to a mountain because He did not want people to seek Him for the physical powers He exhibited. Jesus did not come to teach the people how to use physical power to get what they wanted. Neither is that what His message is to us today. The power Jesus wants us to have is a far greater power, the power to give up the things for which the world seeks. Things, which in the long run lead only to defeat and heartache. The power God wants us to have is the power to turn loose of those things that get control of us and make our lives downcast and miserable. The power Jesus lived by is the power of the Spirit. When we have this power it opens our lives to do the work of God.

What would have been the far reaching consequence if Jesus had taken up physical arms with the Jewish Zealots of His day? He would have limited the Kingdom of God to Israel, and would have sacrificed the greater calling and destiny of His life -- facing the cross to save all of mankind from the ravages of sin.

The greatest need of the Jewish people, was not freedom from Rome, but release from the chains of sin. The key to the Kingdom of God is repentance, not revolution! Yet, right up to the end of the earthly ministry of Jesus, the disciples longed for an earthly kingdom. But, the Kingdom of God was not to be set up at this time in visible form. Jesus made this clear to Pilate upon His arrest:

John 18:36 (KJV)) - Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence [this world].

After Jesus was questioned, Pilate went out again to the Jews and said,

John 18:38-40 (NIV) - "...I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release `the king of the Jews'?" They shouted back, "No, not him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

So, Jesus, the King of Kings was rejected by His own people.

John 1:11-12 (NIV) - He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV) - "For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given..."

The "us" in this scripture passage refers not only to the Hebrew nation, but to all believers from all nations!

John 3:16 (NIV) - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV) - "...And the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

David, the first great king of the Jews, assembled a visible kingdom for the people of God, but it was to be only a representation of the ultimate rule of Jesus, their true King. As the prophets promised, Jesus was the final king in David's royal line. But, Jesus was not just a king for Israel, he was king for all people! When Jesus comes to the earth for His second coming, the government will finally be upon His shoulders in visible form. What a great day that will be, when all earthly kingdoms will be ruled by Jesus. Only then will the world truly know what righteous government is all about.

As it stands today, while we wait for our Lord's return, there is no government in existence that can bring total peace, because there is no government in existence that is equipped to fix the broken human heart [spirit]. While there is daily discord among people in all nations, our prisons are continually over-crowded with inmates full of unrest. The truth still remains, there is no government legislation [law] that can keep one prison inmate from stomping another prison inmate to death! Or keep a former prison inmate from taking a gun to his head, because he couldn't deal with life once he was back on the streets.

In a town close to where I live, a husband murdered his wife and then turned the gun on himself, committing suicide. While the couple lay dying in the street in front of the house, their 4 children (all under 8 years of age), watched the horror from a bedroom window.

How different are we from the Zealots of Jesus day, if we try to force change on the "outside" when the real change needs to take place on the "inside" in our heart [spirit]? What do we say at the vantage of two millenniums? Are we, too, missing Christ's message of deliverance?

When Jesus commanded his followers to seek first the Kingdom of God, he was in effect urging them to seek first to be ruled by God. Before Jesus can assert his "outward" Lordship, he first has to rule the "inner" fortress of a man's heart.

John 8:36 (KJV) - If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Freedom has always been man's ideal and still is the longing of many today. Some take up the cause of the suppressed or those who have been incarcerated or are living under political pressure. Many have succeeded in attaining the liberty they so desired. But did they really become free or "free indeed," as today's verse says?

Many young people want to break free from the shackles of authority and the restrictions imposed on them by their parents. They leave home to move about in a very dubious form of freedom. Others want to be freed from the moral code of conduct of the society they live in, so as to do as they please.

Slaves to alcohol and drugs, on the other hand, would like to break with the addiction they yielded to, under the impression that they were acting freely, but they lack the strength of character necessary for such a step. There are enough recipes for getting rid of one habit or the other. Unfortunately not many of them prove successful, while none of them can guarantee that liberation from one bad habit will keep a person from falling into another.

From the scriptural standpoint everyone is a trapped slave. All are held in Satan's snare and are slaves of sin.

II Timothy 2:26 (KJV) - And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Romans 6:20 (KJV) -For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

The only means of breaking free from such bondage is through the Lord Jesus Christ who conquered the devil. He can alleviate the "sighing of the prisoners."

Psalm 79:11 (KJV) - Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die.

Bring out those who are "bound with chains".

Psalm 68:6 (KJV) - God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

Out of my bondage, sorrow, and fright, Jesus I come! Jesus I come into thy freedom, gladness, and light. Jesus, I come to thee!

II Corinthians 5:20-21 - "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.."

From: Shawn Parker, an inmate at BVCF, Buena Vista, Colorado

Dear Miss Sharon, I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your [August] lesson on "Righteous Judgment". Now that you have said it out in the open, with such authority, you have taken one of the main excuses Christians have been using to "not get involved". If you truly care, involved is what you should be.

You did a most amazing job on that spiritual growth lesson, Miss Sharon!" Your writing is always outstanding, but this one was your best yet!!

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From: Patrick Okafor, an inmate in the Nigerian Prison System, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria.

Dear Rev Onokala, CA Nigeria, I'm happy the way the Lord has been using you to bring spiritual growth ministry to us here in the prisons. Indeed, here is another world we live. Each minute that comes and goes, we feel depressed and engulfed with sor rows and thoughts; wondering the possibilities of regaining our freedom, because our deep concern has been for physical freedom.

But little did I know that spiritual freedom was paramount -- not until I read "My Brother's Keeper" April-June 2000, issue. In this issue was an article titled "Forsake Darkness, Live in the Light of Truth" by Sharon K. Griffee. After reading through this article my whole concern about physical freedom changed to a right direction on spiritual matters. From that moment I experienced peace in my heart and happiness, irrespective of the fact that I am confined in a world I cannot imagine the sufferings.

The secret of my peace and happiness is my personal relationship with Jesus; i.e. I'm no longer in the darkness of sin. Jesus is now my Lord and Savior. Had it been that I regained my physical freedom before I realized that Jesus is the Lord of my life; honestly I could have returned to the prisons because the spirit of my old life was still in me.

I have to confess that all the prison inmates in this cell appreciates your good gestures and your gifts. I wish to be like you, before leaving this hell. Thank you for the work you are doing for God and humanity. I pray for the continued progress of Christian Ambassador's Ministry.

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From: Anthony Saldana, former inmate, Denver, Colorado

Dear Sharon, I just can't tell you enough how much I truly love receiving Christian Ambassadors newsletters, and also the letters by inmates. Both have ministered to me greatly during some difficult times. I suspect you hear this very often, but sometimes the messages are exactly what I needed to help me that day or even for that hour. Moreover, it wasn't only me who was blessed, but the people around me with whom I've shared the newsletters.

Again, thank you. I was reminded how clear and simple God's instructions are. It also helped me understand more fully God's love and the trials I had encountered. This guidance is something to always count on. Continue to bless other people's lives, like what you have done to me. May the loving arms of our Lord, embrace you now and forever.

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From: Larry Thompson, an inmate at CCF, Cañon City, Colorado.

Dear Sharon, I want to thank you for the love and warmth that you've freely given to me and my family. There are no words which can fully express my gratitude.

I was informed that Aunt Barbara passed on to glory on July 28th. I'm sure you can understand the depths of my sorrow, just as I can somewhat understand how much her absence means to you. I know that there was a great mutual respect between the both of you. She loved you like one of the family, because you have loved us unconditionally and in the spirit of true love, which is the love of Christ Jesus. I thank you, Sharon, for enriching her golden years with your love.

I'll close with this verse from Colossians, speaking for both Aunt Barbara and myself.

Colossians 2:5 (KJV) - For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.

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From: George Wright, an inmate at ICC, Boise, Idaho

NOTE - During the month of July, Brother George Wright was settling into a new prison that had just opened in Boise, when he suffered a stroke. All the things that happen during a stroke, happened! George experienced an explosive headache, loss of sight, dizziness, slurred speech, loss of grip!

"Glory Hallelujah! I'm alive! Ready, willing, and able! All glory and honor and praise goes up to God, with a fine thank you to all those medical people, family, and friends. Mighty prayer warriors, all! It's so nice when we are "fatigued" that God restores! Like the "gas tank" of a Harley Davidson! Prayer Power!" J

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From: Steven Apodaca, an inmate at CSP, Cañon City, Colorado.

Dear Sharon, I received your August 25th letter and testimony in reference to your mother, as well as the spiritual growth lesson. I am very happy to hear that your mother recovered from her heart attacks and eating issue. I do give praise and thanks to God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. I also hope and pray that your mother's health will improve, and that she may be around for several more years for you to enjoy her even more than you do now.

I truly thank you, Sharon, for keeping me in your prayers. Your letters really touch my heart, not only spiritually, but because of your compassion for others.

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From: Teresa Trowbridge, an inmate at PMC, Pueblo, CO

Dear Sharon,

I was very blessed to read a copy of "My Brother's Keeper" and I wanted to write and tell you that I totally enjoyed this newsletter. I know that God wanted me to write to you, because I could feel it in my heart.

Thank you so very much for taking the time to further my spiritual desires.

I truly pray that one day I will know his Word as He knows my heart and desires to follow him.

Thank you also, Sharon, for caring. No one has ever taken my relationship with our Lord, God Almighty seriously (not in my family, nor x-friends at least). Thank you from the depths of my soul, Sharon. I will keep all of you at Christian Ambassadors in my prayers.

Alan and I want to thank you, our dear friends in prison, for all your prayers, cards, and letters of concern during my mother's illness. Happily, thanks to your prayers and the blessings God has bestowed, she is back in her home and is improving daily.

Our Heavenly Father is aware of each one of you who made a special effort to reach out to me and my family in our time of need. I appreciate your faithfulness. While some stood out in the prison yard and prayed for mom, others offered private, as well as group prayers. Still others sent beautiful cards, expressing your personal love and caring. Anytime we join together in "active" faith, God gives us more then we can ask or think! J Thank you very much for being there! We love all of you.

The Word of God, is the source of light, truth, and power, for those who seek its 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. This month's study was prepared by Alan Griffee, a co-founder of Christian Ambassadors.

John 3:16-17 (NIV) - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

This passage of scripture tells us why Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, came into the world; so we might have eternal life. In another passage, from John, Christ tells us even more:

John 10:9-11 (KJV) - "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Christ came into this world to offer us not only eternal life, after this life is over, but to offer us an abundant life, here on earth, now. If you are sitting in a prison cell, it may be hard to accept the idea that God wants you to have an abundant life. But that is the promise Jesus Christ offers to us, an abundant, joyful life, filled with His peace.

I can state with absolute certainty that God does not want you, or any of your brothers or sisters, to be in prison. He does not want any person in the world to be sick, or to die prematurely. He loves you and me and wants the best things of life to be ours. God's will for you and me is that we have an abundant life! He even sent His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, into the world to pave the way for us to have that abundant life.

So why are some sitting in prison cells, while others are sick in hospitals, and others die needlessly in auto accidents? The an swer to that question is not because it is God's will, but because of SIN. Sin, in capital letters, is the cause of almost all misery and incarceration in the world today. So, am I saying you are a sinner, that is why you are imprisoned, or sick, or you lost a child to death? Not necessarily because you are a sinner, though we all sin to one degree or another, but because some one, some where, has failed to live as God would have us all live.

Sin occurs because people choose to follow paths other than the one God would have them follow. If you are innocent, but imprisoned, perhaps it is because someone gave false witness, or because someone failed to see the truth, or because someone was selfishly seeking to get ahead or make a name for themselves. If you are sick, but tried to do all you could to eat and exercise and take care of your health, perhaps it is because the air we breath or the water we drink has been polluted by others. If you lost a child in an auto accident, but did all you could to drive safely, perhaps it is because someone was high on drugs and drove illegally. But then again, maybe any or all of these events could have been caused by sins that we ourselves committed.

We all make choices in life, and God wants us to choose righteously. He gave us dominion over the earth. He wants us to be good stewards over His creation.

Genesis 1:28 - And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

God even gives us the right to choose whether or not we will believe in and follow Him.

Joshua 24:14-15 - "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

We (all of us here on earth) don't always make good choices. Some times, even when we are trying the hardest to do what we think is right, we make poor choices and our good intentions turn into a disaster. These poor choices, or failures of our good intentions, can be the direct result of our not listening to God's counsel. God wants us to be one with him, and any effort we make on our own, without considering God's will, is a sinful attempt to set ourselves at the center of our universe.

John 17:20-23 - Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

In all things, we should seek the Lord's counsel and blessing. It is through his spiritual counsel and discernment that we are able to be in tune with His will and receive His blessings upon our good works.

Colossians 1:9-10 - For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.

To summarize some of the thoughts expressed so far, it is God's will that: 1) we have the promise of eternal life, 2) we have an abundant life here on earth, 3) we become one with Him in spirit and purpose, and 4) we apply the truth and knowledge He reveals to us in making good choices.

This may all sound well and good for someone who has a good life, with abundant resources to help others. But, what does this mean if you are sitting in a prison cell, facing a long sentence? First and foremost, recognize and accept the fact that God did not put you there, nor was it His will that you be there. God has however, given man (men and women) the authority to establish laws to govern (have dominion over) the land (see Genesis 1:28 above). Christ told the people to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and render unto God that which is God's, meaning that we should obey the laws of both (our society and our God). We also find this instruction in Romans:

Romans 13:1-3 (NIV) - Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend [promote] you .

Does God want us to humbly sit back and accept anything and everything that happens to us. No, He doesn't. But, He also does not want us to take violent or illegal action to fight injustice. If a law or judgment of society is unjust, and God's people are suffering because of it, God will work through His spirit to influence and encourage His people to initiate righteous change.

If we are in a situation we cannot change (or which should not be changed because it was a righteous judgment), He wants us to make the best of it and shine as an example of how His spirit can bring us peace in any situation. If we are in a situation that should be changed, He wants us to work righteously within the system to initiate that change. But, most of all, He wants us to live with our neighbors (all people) in kindness and compassion. We can never do that if we are angry or bitter over our situation.

Ephesians 4:31-32 - Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

I recommend for your additional consideration, Ephesians, chapters four and five.

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