Prison Break

The pages of the web site  Voice of Martyrs are filled with men and women who are imprisoned for their faith.  I am sure that this is of no surprise to you the reader. For generations, Christians have been imprisoned and martyred for their faith.  Acts 12 tells us how King Herod had James brother of John killed and when he realized that this pleased the Jews, he imprisoned several other Christians, including Peter.  The church’s response was prayer.

 

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12:5 

And the result of prayer was:

Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place. Acts 12:17

Prayer works today as well. A few months back, one of our church members traveled to his home country where Christians are imprisoned for their faith.   He had been working underground with the local church and  was on his way back to us when his Christian activities were revealed and he was thrown into prison.  As Christians throughout the ages have done, we prayed for his release and God provided him release from prison.

Prisons are sometimes not made of physical bars but of our own emotional problems, addictions and fears.  These type of prison bars are equally confining to those made of steel.  They can keep us from fulfilling our destiny in Christ. 

I don’t think that the parallels between these two types of prisons stop there. I think that just as prayer can grant us freedom from physical prisons, so can prayer release us from the emotional and spiritual prisons.

Lord help us to break free from anything that might stand in our way of serving you and fulfilling our destiny in you.

Leaving A Legacy

Earlier this week, I went to the funeral of a good friend’s mother. I’d never met her mother and count it as a great loss. One of the items that was on display that represented her life was her Bible, from which she read and studied. The margins of her Bible were filled with her personal notes she’d written as she read the verses and made them a part of her life.
The minister read the 23rd Psalm from her Bible and included her personal notes outlining the special promises each verse held for her.









Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

These verses hold promises of guidance protection and comfort. They also demonstrate a personal relationship between the created and the creator.’ I’m not sure my friend’s mother knew that she was leaving a legacy to her children that provided a picture of her personal relationship with her God and savior. Likely they were reminders of his promise to her, meant to be of comfort as she faced life’s trials, such as losing her husband, someone she dearly loved.
It also encourages all of us to not just read the Bible, but to read its verses and make the promises it holds our own. May you find comfort in God’s promises listed through out the Bible.