Prison Break

Hebrews 13:3 (NET) - Remember those in prison as if you were in prison with them, and those ill-treated as if you too felt their torment.

I can never read this verse without thinking of someone.

Some years ago, I accompanied my boss on a business trip where we were worked with a gentleman who took over his company after his father retired.

Some of the questions we had regarded matters from when the father ran the firm.

The gentleman called his father who agreed to come down and answer our questions.

He arrived and was most cooperative with us.

After some time went by, we all agreed that we should break for lunch.

At the restaurant, I sat directly across the table from this older gentleman.

He asked me about my faith which pleasantly surprised me.

I gladly shared my faith with him and he, in turn, shared his with me.

That is when he told me how Hebrews 13:3 changed his life.

After he retired, this man wasn’t sure what to do with the extra time he had on his hands.

The answer came to him as he read his Bible one evening.

When he read this verse, he felt moved to start a prison ministry.

He wasn’t sure how or even where to begin.

He prayed about this and as a result, he contacted some retired friends of his and told them about his desire to start a prison ministry.

Some were interested.

As a team, they now go into prisons and minister to those incarcerated.

As I stated before, I cannot read this verse without thinking of this fine Christian man and how he felt moved to live according to it.

I also remind myself that prisons are not always buildings with high walls, iron bars and  guard towers.

People cam be prisoners in other ways.

They can be prisoners languishing in a cell of self doubt.

They can be imprisoned by the harsh words others have told them in the past.

They  can be held captive by memories of abuse.

We should remember these prisoners as well.

We should feel their pain.

We should do everything within our power to help them.

But how?

Paul, a prisoner, gives us the answer.

2 Timothy 2:8-9 (NET) - Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David, such is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship to the point of imprisonment as a criminal, but God’s message is not imprisoned!

Paul was imprisoned by powers that tried to silence his ministry.

Yet the Word of God can neither be silenced nor imprisoned.

That is how we can best help free these captives from their prisons.

We must be willing to share the Word of God with them.

The Word of God can break one out of their prison.

It can do so because it also has the power to break into it.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/

Prisoners of the Lord

Among the most remarkable and revealing aspects of Holy Scripture is that followers of the Lord are often referred to, or refer to themselves, as "prisoners."  Today this word usually reminds us of someone who is burdened with guilt and shame, confined, despairing, without freedom or hope--a most undesirable way to be.  But speaking through the prophet Zechariah, God tells his people to "[t]urn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope," and that they will then be given victory over their enemies (Zechariah 9:12).  In the New Testament the Apostle Paul repeatedly, and unashamedly, calls himself "a prisoner of Jesus Christ" or "the prisoner of the Lord" (Ephesians 3:1, 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:8; Philemon 1:1). These great servants of God seem to regard "prisonerhood" with the same joy we normally associate with freedom!  How can that be?

To begin with, we are God's "prisoners" in the sense that we are His creation, made in His image, and placed in the midst of His universe to learn of Him and live as His children. We are never out of His sight and cannot escape His presence or His love, even if we want to (Psalm 139:2-10):

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. . . .
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

Moreover, as Paul pointed out in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "ye are not your own . . . For ye are bought with a price . . ."  Jesus Christ "bought" our souls with His own blood, so we are His possession by the price paid to redeem us from our sins.

Yet, our "prison" is like none we know in this world. With acknowledging and accepting our dependency on God comes everything we need for our safety and happiness: His Word, His Holy Spirit, and the peace and joy of knowing that we have eternal life with Him, come what may in this world. But we are still free to decline these benefits and try to make our way through this world in the darkness, alone. If we thus deprive ourselves of God's guidance and comfort, and choose instead Satan's world of shadows and despair, are we somehow less than "prisoners"?  Are we somehow more "free"?  Sadly, many think so and choose that path. The believer knows better, and is truly liberated, for he knows the truth, and "the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)  And "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John 8:36)

It is a joy almost beyond expression to be the Lord's "prisoner of hope"--to be bought out of slavery and led into the light of truth and life! We know who we are, where we are going, and how to get there, and that we having an infinitely loving Creator and Lord to hold our hand and direct our feet every step of the way. If renouncing ourselves and taking His yoke upon us is to be "imprisoned," we are happy and blessed to do it--"for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:30)

Tom Fleming

Songs of Praises