February 2009

Today I was given permission by my Chaplain to share an approximately ten minute exhortation with the church. So I read the passage from Luke's gospel account on Jesus' parable about the two men who built their houses (Luke 6:46-49). One built his house on the earth, which turned out to be a weak foundation, while the second man erected his home upon a rock. Then, when a powerful storm arrived and beat upon each house with wind and rain, the one that was built upon soil collapsed, while the house built upon the rock remained standing and undamaged.

I went on to explain to the men that his rock is a person. It is Jesus Christ. He is the Rock of our salvation. And the Christian is to rest his faith and hope upon Him, I said.

Next I told the church that each of us is a spiritual house. As "born again" children of God we become the temple and dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. And I went on to say that storms will come against us. Our faith will be tested. There will be discouragement, opposition and hindrances from many sources. However, I added, those who have their faith established in Christ, who know Him as Lord, and love Him with all their heart, will withstand the storms of life. And those who know the Word of God and are rooted and grounded in it will be victorious. For these are the houses which are built upon the Rock, and this spiritual Rock is Christ himself.

As I scanned the faces of the congregation they appeared to listen with interest. I was thankful for this.

D.B.

I do not want to sound pessimistic, but could it be that America may be on the cusp of riding a false hope that will ultimately lead us to ruin, rather than to prosperity? For in many different passages the Bible predicts that one day the nations will work together to form a World Government. That such an organization will begin to benevolently and out of seemingly urgent necessity. But at some point it will show its true colors as a technologically controlled Orwellian nightmare in which every person on earth will not be permitted to buy or sell or make any kind of financial transaction unless he has the required "mark," in his right hand or in his forehead. Everyone is going to be electronically tracked and monitored. And so tyrannical will this international body be that those who refuse to go along with it will be put to death.

Yes, as unfathomable as such a thing seems, the Scriptures sound many warnings about this. In addition, the Bible says that multitudes will be deceived into accepting this tightly controlled system because of the endless promises of peace and safety that its charismatic leader will be making. A spiritually blind populace will obediently and reverently pay their homage to the one whom the Bible refers to as "The Beast" and the "Antichrist."

How tragic! Yet this shall be the outcome for those who continue to reject Jesus as Lord, and who lack love for God; they scorn His words. Therefore, they will each make the choice to worship and serve the one who is going to be a false Christ and an evil despot. Promising hope, he shall ultimately cause the nations to gather for battle against Israel in what the Bible calls the (yet future) battle of Armageddon. Hating the Truth, there will be no recourse but to embrace a lie.

D.B.

Note: For additional insight about this, please read Revelation 13
and II Thessalonians 2.

This morning I did my work in the kitchen. But in the afternoon I was able to attend a small prayer gathering in the chapel. However, before we began to pray I was able to sit down and have a private conversation with my chaplain. I shared what was in my heart while he listened intently. I asked that I be relieved of my duties as the worship leader on Sunday mornings. Also, that I be allowed to take a back seat from being behind the pulpit. Thankfully, my chaplain understood my needs and granted my request. I was given a six month "sabbatical."

Actually it's not a sabbatical, but this term will suffice. Now the associate pastor, Felipe, will take on the role of inmate pastor, for which he is well qualified. Meanwhile, I will remain very involved in the church. I shall help with setting up our sound equipment, and I'll be an usher. This will also allow me to function in what I believe is my primary gift: being an encourager.

Such a change is obviously a major one. Yet it'll take some pressure off me. I will return to greeting the men as each one enters the chapel. And I'll still be available to go before the congregation to share a message from the Scriptures or to give an exhortation, if needed. Best of all, such a change will allow me to have more time to write. This was an answer to prayer.

D.B.

Yesterday the Lord provided me with two opportunities to share my faith. In the morning, while I was taking a ten minute break while working in the kitchen, a young Muslim man approached me to ask why many Christians choose to eat pork. While in the Old Testament, he said, God told the Israelites not to eat swine. It was a reasonable question. And I know that Muslims place a lot of emphasis on their diet, and on what they can and cannot eat.

We then had a sensible discussion about the matter. I tried to explain the difference between being under the strict requirements of the Mosaic law as opposed to being under what Christians call "grace." Under the new covenant of grace, I told him, I am no longer required to live under the old law. That Christ, through His sacrificial death on the cross, fulfilled the requirements of the Mosaic law and did away with it.

Later, while I was in my housing area, I spent about 25 minutes talking with a man who grew up on the island of Jamaica where, he said, he was "forced" to attend religious instruction in Catholic school. He told me he hated it, while I listened sympathetically.

And as I stood next to him while he washed his clothes, I told my Jamaican friend that God is not interested in religion. He desires to have an intimate relationship with us, I said. I then attempted to explain the difference between one who merely practices a religion as opposed to a man who has a personal relationship with his Creator. It was a spiritually fruitful day!

D.B.

The United States of America is awash with an array of economic problems. The list includes: home foreclosures, the loss of jobs by the hundreds of thousands, companies closing their doors and going out of business, bank failures, bad investments, and local, state and even the federal government being forced into making big cuts in aid and spending due to a lack of available money. In addition, many people are unable to make their credit card payments or pay their bills. The 'Sword of Greed' has cut through the land, and millions of families have been devastated, and they're afraid. But the politicians are keeping their fingers crossed and they're hoping for the best.

America has been gutted by greed, and by the sin of covetousness. Wall Street, the big bankers, Hedge fund scam artists, and lying, cheating, stealing and swindling are commonplace in all levels of society, while the life savings of many of America's citizens have been plundered.

So, may I humbly state that, just as the individual who loves money and thereby devotes his life to pursuing it, while rejecting God and His laws, will ultimately bring pain and ruin upon himself. The collective greed and dishonesty of large numbers of Americans has caused our country to be pierced with much grief and loss. This is sad, and it is frightful. But I believe it to be true.

Therefore, we need to pray, and we need to repent. For if we refuse to seek the Lord and amend our ways, surely the Sword of Greed will continue to slice back and forth across the land until our prosperity is gone, and all hope is lost.

D.B.

I've been looking at the story of the paralyzed men which can be found in the 2nd chapter of Mark's gospel. In the story, four of this man's friends, in the act of concern and desperation, took it upon themselves to carry him to Jesus so that, hopefully, he could be healed. And in their eagerness to get help for their crippled friend, these men climbed onto the roof of the house Jesus was staying at, and they ripped it open. Here they made a hole large enough to lower the man down into the crowded house in order to reach the Savior. Talk about teamwork!

And shouldn't we who are Christians have the same attitude today? We should want to do whatever it takes to get people to the Lord. We cannot always expect them to come to Christ on their own. After all, they may not know how to pray or what to pray for. They may not know how to seek the Lord's help. Or perhaps they're too afraid to approach Jesus because they think, as I once did, that the Lord will reject them for committing too many sins.

Therefore, as Christians, we must take the initiative to bring the lost and hurting to Christ. And, in this story, not only did the paralyzed men get healed, physically, but his sins were forgiven as well.

Of course the Lord's pronouncement that this man's sins were forgiven angered the religious rulers who'd been observing everything. They hated Jesus from the outset and were always looking for reasons to accuse Him of blasphemy. And when people get healed and forgiven today there are oftentimes self-righteous folks who'd get angry about it, too. For whatever reasons they cannot stand to see Jesus perform a miracle. They get ticked off when a sinner gets a divine pardon, as well.

Nevertheless, as the Lord's servants, let us do our part to gather the spiritually needy and the helpless, and bring them to Jesus. Let's be as determined as this man's friends were to get them to God.

D.B.

Working 4 1/2 hours per day in the prison's kitchen has been a big help in my walk with the Lord. Within the past six or seven months I've learned how to better submit to authorities, to work hard, and to live honestly by doing my job without complaining, and I don't steal anything. In such an environment where there's food around stealing is always a big problem. Men are hungry, and they're greedy. Thus prison kitchens are known for thievery, and items left unguarded, even for a few minutes, may quickly disappear. It's a way of life here. So when the staff finds someone who's trustworthy, it's a big plus. For me it is simply being a good example of what a Christian should be, and it's a good witness for the Lord.

For the past few days, however, I've had to work several hours of overtime. This is because eight men are out with the flu, which has hit the facility very hard, and one man is on medical leave because of a sprained hand. The kitchen has been short staffed, and my boss asked if I'd work the night shift, too. I volunteered, but I'm feeling it in my body. It's like having three jobs. I do my morning shift. Then I go to work in E-North in the afternoon. Next, at four o'clock, I'm back in the hot kitchen until 7:15.

I am managing because God is giving me the strength, and I try to nap when I can. But I'm learning more self-discipline from this, which is a good thing.

D.B.

The apostle Paul told his young student and spiritual son, Timothy, whom he was instructing on how to be a good pastor, to "preach the Word" of God. Timothy was to do this whether his audience wanted to hear it or not. In addition, the Lord Jesus Himself commanded His disciples to "go into all the world" to explain the gospel to those who are lost. This was to be the church's main mission. That those who have already received Christ as Savior would tell others of their need to repent from sin and to place their faith in Jesus for salvation. But to a large extent the church seems to have forgotten her mandate.

I'm stating this now because of a letter I received from a friend who lives in a small southern city. He told me that a "spirit of suicide" appears to be taking hold of his community. He asked me to pray about it, too. Surely an increase in the number of suicides, and an increase in the number of those who are battling depression is to be expected, I think. With a worsening economy and both the government and media constantly presenting messages of gloom to the public, it should be of no surprise that many are frightened, sad, and even suicidal.

Yet the Bible lets us know that Jesus is the Light of the world. He is our hope. Furthermore, Christ has promised never to reject any one who comes to Him. As it says in the Scriptures, "All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out (John 6:37 NKJV)."

So now is the time, I believe, for the church to refocus upon her primary calling. This being to preach the gospel to those who have yet to call on the name of Jesus Christ, and who have yet to become His disciples.

Likewise, Jesus is a helper to the depressed and suicidal. I know this to be true. For when I was in such a state of mind to where I, too, was thinking of taking my life, Christ reached out to me. He sent another prisoner to tell me that he cared for my soul. And this made all the difference.

D.B.