Moving Toward Peace

Our humanness carries with it pride, fear, anger, doubt, worry, envy and control to name a few. We have a way out from the impact these have on us, but we can't quite trust our Lord all the time. We can whittle away at these day by day, piece by piece, but we'd rather put up with them than move toward the best method for their removal. Yes, it's difficult for us, but we must be willing to give up control and turn ourselves over to the Lord. That means turning ourselves in with a "Self-Arrest". The problem for us is that we don't want to surrender. A Presbyterian minister of the mid to late 1800's named Theodore Ledyard Cuyler http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/theodore_L,_cuyler/ once said, "Every step toward Christ kills a doubt. Every thought, word, and deed for Him carries you away from discouragement." And Jesus said, "For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." Matthew 16:25

The Uphill of Life's Journey in Christ

I was leading a Bible Study lesson at a Drug & Alcohol Rehab center. The lesson was based on 2Corinthians 5:16-21. St. Paul says in part, " So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" We talked about how when we accept Christ in our lives how we think differently and act differently. This new creation allows God to go deeper into our spirit, yes deeper than just our consciousness. We also talked about the challenge, not to let ourselves reach out or back to the old things and ways before we accepted Christ. One of the participants asked this question as we talked: "Does this turning to Christ and becoming something new happen in a short period of time?" My answer back to him was that our seeking God in our lives is a work in progress and is not attained easily without a huge commitment or our part. I said that we will never reach perfection in this. He seemed relieved.

I've converted an operations diagram to a spiritual one with the intent to show how challenging our journey in the Lord is. Even with constant study and spritual nourishment, it takes lots of effort and discipline to move up the slope of seeking God in our lives.

All His Children are Worth Loving and Forgiving

I have been involved in Kairos Prison Ministry Int'l, Inc. for many years. A significant part of this ministry has been 3-day retreats held inside a prison with 40 some inmates per retreat. Our team-cooks prepare and deliver six terrific meals and lots of homebaked cookies for the inmates and the team inside the prison over the 3-days. Our team bonds and trains in our specific retreat format beginning 2-months before the retreat with meetings (that include much prayer) totaling approximately 30-hours. The team recruits lots of outside prayer partners as we prepare and for support during the time we are with the inmates. The team brings it's love for God and for each other into the prison and directs that love to each of the 40-inmates. We never ask any inmate what he is serving time for. Many of them have never felt loved in their entire lives. They are shocked and blessed that our team members are willing to give up time with our families to come to prison and love them in the name of God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. By following Jesus' call in Matthew 25: 31-46 where He says, "I was in prison and you visited me..........Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me", our team provides a blessing and is blessed in doing so. Christian communities are building inside prisons all over our nation and the world. God knows no barriers when He seeks to love and be loved by His children. While many in the world want to take God out of everything, many inmate lives are changed and the recidivism rate for those who participate in the retreats drops significantly compared to the general prison population. Jesus' Great Commission to, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations", includes the least of His children.