3. Born from Above – God’s Sacred Jailbreak. Because of Christ, we have been delivered from death to life, from hopeless captivity to expansive freedom. The remarkable, and anonymous, Psalm 107 offers several vignettes of what has been called “God’s Great Works of Deliverance.” We find people in all kinds of trouble in this psalm, …
2. Born from Above: A Heavenly Conversation. “As the Scriptures say, ‘A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one, becoming one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I am applying it to Christ and the Church.” (Ephesians 5:31-32). MYSTERY: Greek word, mysterion, used 28 …
Dwelling in God’s Heart – The Bosom of the Lord. “I am inside My Father, and you are inside Me, and I am inside you.” (John 14:20). During the Biblical era, the heart was seen as the center of the body, so the reasoning was that therefore the heart was the center, the core, of every …
Christian Prisoners Offer Words of Wisdom and Faith. “There was a fiddler who played so beautifully that everybody danced. A deaf man who could not hear music considered them all insane. Those who are with Jesus in suffering hear this music to which others are deaf. They dance and do not care if they are …
Grace and The Prison of Self-Sufficiency. The problem with self-sufficiency is that one is under the delusion that God is unnecessary, and thus simple pride is keeping him or her from the position of weakness, which is when God’s power and presence is most evident. Weakness is God’s gift to keep us from becoming self-sufficient. …
Grace and the Prison of Anger. “You have heard that it was said to those in ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult …
Grace and the Prison of Lust. “You have heard it said to those of old, “You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out …
Grace and the Prison of Perfectionism. “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48). And now we have come to the summary statement for this section of the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:17-47, Jesus has revealed the meaning behind the meaning of various commands of Torah. He has sought to …
Judas in His Prison of Guilt. “Then Jesus replied, ‘Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!’ He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray Him.’” (John 6:70-71). The Tragic Meal. Jesus had literally just finished washing the feet of all …
St. Peter – A Prisoner of the Gospel. “It is only right that I should keep on reminding you as long as I live. For our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I must soon leave this earthly life… You must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. …
St. Paul – A Prisoner in Christ. Does this sound like a man who is enjoying his freedom? Would you ever call this man free? Paul’s heart was captured by Christ, seemingly without a choice in the matter (Acts 9:1-9); The mind of Paul was apparently under the ownership of Jesus (1 Corinthians 2:16); Paul’s …
Grace and the Last Words of Early Church Prisoners. “The glorious company of apostles praise you. The noble fellowship of prophets praise you. The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.” (from the Te Deum, a poem of praise by Nicetus, 414 AD, modern day Serbia). 1st Century St. Stephen in Jerusalem – “Look! I see the heavens opened …