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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 issue's Word Study was written by Shawn Winkler, an
inmate at Arrowhead Correctional Facility, Cañon City,
Colorado.
Matthew 6:19-21(KJV) - Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon
earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break
through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do
not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also.
I have often heard my brothers remark that when they "get
out", they will start these heavenly accounts as suggested
in Matthew's gospel. I know the importance of setting a goal,
and having something to work toward. I also know, the Lord equips
us with all we need to do service for the Kingdom of God as soon
as we give him control.
There are seven gifts He promises to believers (References are
from the King James Version).
1) Rest:
Matthew 11:28 - Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest.
2) Keys to the kingdom:
Matthew 16:19 - And I will give unto thee the keys of the
kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall
be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven.
3) Power over evil spirits:
Luke 10:19 - Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents
and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing
shall by any means hurt you.
4) Living Water:
John 4:14 - But whosoever drinketh of the water that I
shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall
give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
life.
5) Bread of heaven:
John 6:51 - I am the living bread which came down from heaven:
if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the
bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the
life of the world.
6) Eternal Life:
John 10:28 - And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall
never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
7) A Legacy of peace:
John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto
you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart
be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
With this spiritual arsenal in place, there is no excuse for the
believer not to start down the road of victory every day instead
of some day. As with most learning, we wait for someone to show
us how first. This is most admirable in assuring we will do it
right, and the very reason we have the Word of God.
What better teacher than the Master Himself? We can learn the
same lesson from all the men of God, however, the life of Christ
shows us daily the way of submission to God's will. Simply put,
it is to help others in the name of Jesus.
Read Matthew 7:28 through 11:1. Jesus had just finished
preaching and teaching the multitudes what are called the beatitudes.
Coming down from the mountain he was on His way to somewhere.
We are not told of where that might be, yet, the action itself
suggests the Master was traveling to someplace.
He eventually arrives at Peter's house so this may have been the
destination all along. The truth we can see is in the journey
itself. With multitudes following him, after a full day of preaching,
we read in Matthew 8:2, "Behold, there came a leper."
He did not send this man away telling him to come back at a more
convenient time. He took care of his need on the spot. Yet, just
a little further, Matthew 8:5, a Centurion met him. Jesus' response
to this man was, "I'll come right away with you." Of
course the Centurion showed his faith in Jesus by explaining he
knew all the Lord needed to do was simply speak the command.
Finally arriving at the house he finds Peter's wife's mother sick
with a fever. Again, the needs of another comes first, and by
the time she is well enough to minister unto the Lord, crowds
have gathered to have him heal. No wonder he was able to sleep
in the storm tossed boat. Jesus' words to his disciples would
fit most of us here, Chapter 8, verse 26, "Why are you fearful,
O ye of little faith?"
The Master has ministered unto the needs of others to the point
of such exhaustion he can sleep anywhere. For most believers,
just getting to church is their claim of accomplishment. Not to
mention they too can sleep anywhere, and not because of the work
they have done. The sad part is all the opportunities missed.
Lives we come into contact with every day and needs which can
be met, even by us.
We read in the Bible passages, that when they reached the other
shore, the Master once again began his work (Matthew 8: 28-29).
Even though he was asked to leave their region (Matthew 8:34)
he did not let the rejection dampen his spirit. Immediately after
reaching the other shore, again, they brought a man sick of the
palsy, Matthew 9:2.
Like Jesus, everywhere we turn, there is the harvest the Lord
was speaking of. The point most often missed is that we may be
called into action during dinner, on our way to the yard, while
making other plans, or just seeking time and space for ourselves.
If we use the Master's walk as a guide to pattern our lives after,
we should be ready and willing to respond to the needs of others,
as the spirit prompts us into action. That is the simplicity of
the Word. The surrendered life. The will of God.
II Corinthians 5:15 (NIV) - And he died for all, that
those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him
who died for them and was raised again.
He shared this message of the surrendered life with the twelve,
before he sent them into the world.
Matthew 10:42 (NIV) - And if anyone gives
even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he
is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose
his reward.
Go forth fellow Laborers! Shalom, Shawn Winkler
"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.." II Corinthians 5:20-21
======================
From: Alan and Sharon Griffee,
Christian Ambassadors, USA
Dear Brothers and Sisters (both inside and outside of the prison),
Alan and I deeply appreciate your response to the ministry of
Jesus Christ, through your continued support of Christian Ambassadors,
a ministry that God called into existence for the purpose of bringing
reconciliation and spiritual growth ministry to prison inmates.
Your loving obedience to God's call brings warmth to our hearts.
Hebrews 13:3 (NIV) - Remember those in prison as if
you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated
as if you yourselves were suffering.
We extend our heart felt thanks to all our CA volunteers, not
only here in the US, but to our sister organization in Nigeria.
Brother Onokala is doing a wonderful job and is to be commended
for his compassion and untiring dedication in reaching out to
prison inmates, in a country where the conditions inside the prisons
are extremely poor. Despite the hardships the inmates are experiencing
the love of Jesus with each and every visit.
Even though inmates have numerous distractions in the prison environment,
many have taken the time to write and to share their personal
testimonies, articles and poetry so fellow inmates may be blessed
in the name of Jesus, through their efforts.
It is with joy that we lift up our voices with one accord to praise,
worship, and give thanks to our Heavenly Father for sending us
the precious gift of His Son Jesus, as the Savior of the world.
In addition, we are forever grateful for the gift of the Holy
Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth.
======================
From: Terra Lane,
DWCF, Denver, Colorado
Dear Sharon, In your Spiritual Growth Lesson, "Testing Your
Faith - Part Two", Question #4 (How can we obtain life and
peace while living in this world?) was very good for me to study.
I am so tired of being imprisoned by bondage. I want nothing more
than to live for Christ our Savior. Each day I make it a goal
to reach out to 5 people and give them a taste of what the Spirit
of God can do for a person. I look forward to the next lesson.
Sharon, this is my testimony. I have been searching for years
for some thing or someone to fill the void I have inside. The
feeling of loneliness, emptiness and no sense of direction. This
may sound silly, but I believe the Lord God put me in prison for
a reason. We all know He is the final judge in any situation.
Since I have been in prison I no longer feel alone or empty. I
have a sense of direction and when I need an answer He gives it
to me. I believe the Lord God almighty put me in prison so I could
develop a personal relationship with Him and this I am doing.
I love the Lord God almighty today, for he has all my answers.
======================
From: James Rebector,
Ramsey 2 Unit, Rosharon, Texas
Dear Christian Ambassadors Ministry, I send you all greetings
in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thanks again
for the many blessings that your ministry has blessed me and the
other Christian brothers here at the Ramsey 2 unit in Texas, and
also to my brothers and sisters all over the world who are incarcerated.
I am deeply blessed with the strong testimonies of other prisoners,
as well as testimonies from you sister Sharon and brother Alan
of your family, most of all the strength and courage that Jesus
has blessed your ministry to bless others, praise God! I am blessed
to know that Jesus has blessed both your mothers to enter into
Jesus' rest and it is encouraging to me, because my mother passed
away too and has gone to His glory.
======================
From: Ronald Galey,
BCF, Tell City, Indiana
Dear Alan and Sharon, My uncle Earl Miller gave you my address.
I am writing to thank you for the Christian literature you have
sent me. My Brother's Keeper is a great publication. I have shared
articles from the last two issues with my Monday night Bible study
group here. Thank you. Please keep up the good work. May God Bless
you and your ministry.
======================
From: Okechukwu Onokala,
Christian Ambassadors, Nigeria
Dear Brother Alan, It is my pleasure to write to you after a few
weeks of silence. I am happy for Sharon because of her inspiring
articles for spiritual growth lessons. I personally appreciate
her good works and I know the inmates reading her newsletters,
lessons and letters in Nigeria do also. Besides, brother Alan,
I also appreciate your administrative capabilities and your productions.
My prayer is that the Lord God would continue blessing us and
blessing the CA Ministries anywhere in the world. Extend my hearty
greetings to everyone around you. May God bless you, your family
and the ministry.
======================
From: Theodore Lien,
AVCF, Crowley, Colorado
Dear Sharon, I want to thank you for My Brother's Keeper, and
the lessons and letters you send out to all of us to read. As
a person in Christ I share a lot with others in God's Word. As
I study, more and more people test my faith each and every day.
My relationship with God is real and personal. I feel He accomplishes
His work through me as I write about Him and work with others
to come to know God. In a short time they are growing in Christ.
It feels wonderful to have Christ within me and the tests people
put me through makes me more Christ-centered and a stronger Christian
for it. I only wish others would receive their calling in or outside
the prison. May the Lord hear our shouts of joy and praises in
his name for God is our help and hope for today and for the future
as Christians. May our last breath from our mouths be words of
His, our Lord. Psalm 33. Amen.
======================
From: Vicki Perry,
Northern Regional Jail, Moundsville, West Virginia
Dear Sharon and Alan, Please accept my sincere condolences about
the loss of both of your mothers. Sharon's article was truly great
and ministered to me and I'm sure it has to others also. In your
weakness, the Lord was made strong to minister to us in a beautiful
way. In the short time I've been associated with this ministry,
I have truly been blessed by it. Sharon's letters, My Brother's
Keeper, the lessons, and sister Karla. All have ministered to
me in ways no other ministry has. I believe the Lord put you in
my life to help me, in a deep way, to grow more in Jesus. Thank
you so very much.
======================
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Your letters of inquiry about our ministry
are welcome and appreciated. If you or a loved one is incarcerated
in a jail or prison facility, anywhere in the US or abroad, please
write for more information:
Please note our new CA address!
Al and Sharon Griffee
Christian Ambassadors, Inc.
PO Box 260812
Littleton, CO 80163-0812 USA
Your family and friends may also check our website at:
www.christian-ambassadors.org
Matthew 24:42-44 (NIV) - Therefore
keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will
come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known
at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept
watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you
also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour
when you do not expect him.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, America, was suddenly caught
off guard. As men and women, boys and girls were going about their
normal, routine day, Satan, the real spiritual leader behind the
terrorist attacks, sent his undercover troops of despicable evil
into New York City and Washington, to steal, kill, and destroy
human lives (John 10:10). If the citizens of America had only
known beforehand at what hour the terrorists (thieves) were coming,
she would have kept watch, she would have been ready, and she
would not have let such horrendous evil fall upon the nation.
With eyes frozen to their TV sets, people all over the world watched
in sickening horror as planes crashed into the majestic towers
of the World Trade Center. Within minutes after America's hijacked
planes had crashed into the steel and glass, both towers of the
World Trade Center plummeted to the ground, imploding upon themselves.
Thousands of lives were cut short that day by the surprise attack
of the adversary. The plans and dreams of many had been shattered
and were no more. Yet, in the midst of the smoke and burning rubble,
through tear stained eyes, pain and sorrow, America began to rally.
Yes, America had been awakened, in much the same way it had been
awakened many years before, after the Japanese made a surprise
attack at Pearl Harbor in 1941, wiping out the US Naval fleet.
Admiral Yamamoto, architect of the attack, was attributed to have
said, "I fear what we have accomplished is to awaken a sleeping
giant."
As we hung suspended in shock after the terrorist attack, in his
most critical hour as President of the United States, President
Bush stepped up to take his place as a strong military and spiritual
leader, calling the country to come together as one nation under
God. All airports in the US were immediately shut down, suspending
all incoming and outgoing airline flights. With heightened security,
there was hope of stopping any further terrorist attacks.
With a sense of urgency, President Bush called Friday, September
14, 2001 as a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance. With deep
concern for the victims, their family and friends, a special service
was planned and conducted at the National Cathedral in Washington.
Church leaders everywhere opened the doors to their churches,
as prayer meetings and memorials were held, not only in this nation,
but in nations all over the world. All eyes were on America. It
was during this time of crisis that Alan and I began receiving
email messages from our Christian brothers around the world.
From: Onokala Okechukwu in Nigeria, "Greetings. With a deep
sense of regret, I and my family, including the members of CA
Nigeria, hereby wish to express our profound grief about the recent
crash on the people of America. It is our prayers that by the
grace of God, the perpetrators of this nefarious act shall be
brought to book. We are really sorry for that great destruction
of lives and properties in the United States, as a result of terrorism.
And also it is our desire to pass this message to your congress
men through you."
From: S.V. David in India, "Our heart felt condolences to
the people who lost their loved ones in this barbaric act of cowardliness
by some terrorists. Let me assure in the name of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ that we Indians, especially believers, I and
my family are in head and shoulders with you and the people of
America in the darkest hour of agony and pain. Only God can heal
this wound. Let God give wisdom to President Bush and his cabinet
colleagues to do what God wants him to do."
Indeed, God, by His grace, is the only one who can heal this wound.
We as Christians turn to God in our time of national crisis, because
we know how much we need him, and are depending upon him to lead
and guide us through this horrible event. We have faith that God
in his love is reaching out to us, through the words of His Son
Jesus, reminding us of the critical hour we are in. Reminding
us to remain spiritually connected to Him.
John 15:4-5 - Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am
the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in
him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
If we want God to be on our side, as individuals and as a nation,
we must first get on His side. If we want our lives to
count for something, to bear fruit in this day of reckoning, we
cannot afford to go back to normal, or to live like we lived before
this tragedy occurred. Our lives will never be the same, and they
shouldn't be. Brothers and sisters, we have had our wake up call!
Just as suddenly as the terrorists (thieves) attacked America,
that is how suddenly Jesus is going to return. As scripture reveals,
Jesus is going to return at a time when we least expect it. We
don't want to be caught off guard. We don't want to be spiritually
asleep. We must keep watch and be ready, not with fear and dreading,
as when the terrorists attacked, but with eagerness and joyful
expectation for the coming of the Lord in all His glory.
Romans 13:11-12 (KJV) - "...Knowing the time, that
now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation
nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day
is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and
let us put on the armor of light." (see also, Ephesians
6:11-17)
It is high time Christians all over the world cast off all works
of darkness and put on the armour of light (the Armor of God).
My prayer in closing is that we may live each day to the fullest,
living honestly and honorably in the light, in joyful preparation
for the coming of our Lord Jesus, for no one knows with certainty
if tomorrow will come.
Daniel the man of vision was a prisoner
of war, captured by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon when Jerusalem fell.
His name means "God is my Judge". Three things about
Daniel: he was a man of great wisdom, great integrity, and a man
of prayer.
Like the psalmist, "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion. How can we sing the songs of the Lord,
while in a foreign land?"
Psalm 137:1-4 (NIV) - By the rivers of Babylon we sat
and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung
our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors
demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs
of Zion!" How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in
a foreign land?
Daniel demonstrated that God is still God even in prison. Many
prison inmates across the globe view their situation like that
of the Jews taken to captivity in Babylon. Many are demoralized,
and it seems that God has abandoned them and the hope of freedom
lost.
Daniel was a man of prayer. As a result he had a good relationship
with God. And God revealed unto Daniel in a night vision what
was the Kings dream and its interpretation. This development saved
Daniel from being slain by the King's guard. Besides Daniel was
made a man of power. Later an idolatrous decree was enacted -
Daniel was accused and was cast into the Lion's Den. Daniel was
saved, and his enemies devoured.
Nigerian prisons are like the "Lion's Den" where evil
and all sorts of social viles are the order of the day. Prison
inmates could only survive such situations, only if they have
the fear of God in their lives and believe God for a new birth
in Spirit.
The mystery behind Daniel's greatness and power was his recognition
of God upon his life. God always with his people, sharing his
plans with them, and sharing their experiences. Let me tell you
prison inmates wherever, God has indeed seen your miseries, heard
your wailing cries, and has concern about your sufferings. So
he has come down to rescue you, only if you can make friends or
become a friend with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Daniel reminds us that although God may sometimes allow us to
suffer, he is always at hand, always able to free us.
Other people who arose from prison to power, from disgrace to
honor like Daniel were: Joseph who was sold to Egypt by his brothers,
Nelson Mandela of South Africa, and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria,
to mention but a few.
Therefore I ask, "Do you at times think of what might become
of you as soon as you are released from prison?" As such,
you need Jesus Christ in your life for a good future; for then
obviously your freedom is rest assured.
I am coming to you now, but I say
these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have
the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your
word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world
any more than I am of the world.
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that
you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world,
even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word
is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into
the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly
sanctified.
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who
will believe in me through their message, that all of them may
be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they
also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent
me.
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be
one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought
to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have
loved them even as you have loved me.