Kindness

Written by A Prodigal January 16, 2007, from the prison cell.

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“But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness….”
Genesis 39:21a

Even in the darkest days, I’ve always been able to trace God’s hand in the situation, showing His kindness to me.  Joseph was a man of integrity doing what was right even when it was unpopular or met with disapproval from those around him.

And though his integrity landed him in prison, we know that this was all part of the Divine design – a stepping stone to the palace; a proving ground for young Joseph to be taught the lessons he would need later.

May I always be such a man of integrity.  Though my past is marred, my future can be marked by God’s presence and kindness.

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17:30

Count finally cleared at ten minutes to five and, while most of the men in the pod are running to the chow hall for the evening swill, I am making a bee line for the showers, thanking God with every step that this will be the very last time I will have to do this here.

For the uninitiated, a housing unit contains two separate and distinct pods.  Each pod is self contained and is composed of sixty-four 2-man cells, eight shower stalls – one of which is supposed to be reserved for the handicapped, 7 telephones, one ice machine, one microwave, and 128 men, most of whom apparently had no training at home on any subject.

The showers, the topic at hand for this hour’s segment, are each about thirty inches wide and five feet long.  At varying heights on a side wall, situated almost as far as you can get from the door, is a shower head.  The heads are not adjustable and have been wound down so tightly that you literally have to move around to get your entire body wet.  And, since the spray is so fine, if the water temperature is not approaching the scald point, by the time the droplets get to you they have cooled to the point of being frigid.  (There’s a way around that involving the top of a shampoo bottle with the neck adjusted to fit the head – this narrows the stream of water so you can actually get clean in there.)

Some stalls are better than others – lower heads and less mist – so the demand for those is huge.  Consequently, on this night – this last night here – I am skipping dinner (a usual practice) to snag one of the good stalls.  With shower shoes donned (I’m ready to lose those things for good), a well-engineered shower spray reducer and my shampoo and soap in hand, I make my way across the pod, through the stream of dinner-bound men, and suffer through the last one of these.

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A Simple Task

Written by A Prodigal on January 15, 2007.

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He answered, “Here I am.” Genesis 37:13b

Joseph would never have believed how that day would turn out.  How his agreement to perform that errand for his aging father would change his life.  How that paternal request fulfilled an eternal plan.

Joseph was an instrument of God’s but his edges were rough.  His dreams were gifts from above but the ability to harness them for God’s purposes would require many difficult miles, many lonely days and nights, many heart breaking setbacks and times of utter discouragement.  Little did he know, as he set out to find had brothers, that he was stepping into God’s crucible and fulfilling his divine destiny.

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Isn’t He Worthy?

Written by A Prodigal on January 14, 2007.

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So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes; then come, let us go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”  Genesis 35:2-3

What an entourage!  Jacob, two wives, two concubines, eleven sons, unnumbered servants, and herds….oh, what a sight that caravan must have been.

What an obstacle!  An estranged brother with four hundred men.  Jacob just knew all he had – all he had worked for for all those years was about to be slaughtered in the desert.  Seems to be somewhat prophetic – the future Israelite nation with Laban chasing them down from behind and Esau blocking their way.  Deliverance was surely needed.

What a brother!  The years had mellowed Esau and tempered his anger.  No slaughter – only forgiveness and acceptance – awaited Jacob there.

What a God!  Guiding, directing, providing, protecting.

Jacob’s response?  Obedience – “go to the city of Bethel and live there” – and worship.

His orders to his family ring true today:

·         Step away from anything you’ve put ahead of God.

·         Seek forgiveness – internal cleanliness – for any offence that lies between you and a Holy God.

·         Make yourselves presentable for God is to be honored above all others.

Isn’t He worthy?

Hasn’t He helped you during you times of trouble?

Hasn’t He been with you wherever you’ve gone?

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The Way Out

We all desire a way out – of our situations, of our heartaches, of the pain of life.  We search for ways to dull the pain, rectify the situations and mask the heartaches.  It’s only natural that we should do this.  Discomfort always brings on a desire for change.  It’s where the change is sought that is crucial.

I read this recently in an old Preachers’ Magazine of my dad’s.  It seemed appropriate and on point so I share it here:

“Philosophy says, ‘Think your way out.’ 

Pleasure says, ‘Drink your way out.’ 

Politics says, ‘Legislate your way out.’ 

Science says, ‘ Invent your way out.’ 

Militarism says, ‘Fight your way out.’ 

The Bible says, ‘Pray your way out,’ for Jesus says, ‘I AM the Way out.’”

Thank God He made a way of escape for us.  Praise His Dear Name.

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The Snooze Button

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With the daily newscasts screaming the reports of the unspeakable acts of violence – murder, suicide, child molestation, rape, kidnapping, etc. – on top of the reports of the anguish and distress among the nations of the world, eruption of civil wars, terrorists on the loose and threats of nuclear attack made weekly on neighboring countries as well as the United States and Israel, it is astounding to realize that the church is asleep!!  We have been lulled to sleep by the powerful influence of materialism, comfort and ease and idleness.

St. Paul wrote to the church at Rome (Romans 13:11-12): “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.  The night is far spent and the day is at hand.”

Paul is crying out to us, “Wake up!!”  The answer to the problems of this storm-ravaged world is Christ the Lord, but this message cannot be sounded by a church that sleeps!

Again, St. Paul blows the trumpet when he says, “Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”  Ephesians 5:14.

Don’t hit the “snooze button.”  See you in church.

Pastor Bill

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During my years in prison, my father wrote articles for his monthly church newsletter.  They each touched my heart, and those of the members of his church during that time; so much so that I want to share them with you.  May God continue to use the words of my father to minister through these pages and this medium.

With Us

Written by A Prodigal, January 13, 2007.

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I will be with you. -Genesis 31:3b

Sweeter words were never spoken.  To know that God will be with us through our days and trials and journeys – as He was with Jacob – is the ultimate assurance.

He went to bed as Jacob and awoke as Israel.  He retired with two healthy hips and arose with a limp.  As Paul’s thorn, Jacob’s hip served as a reminder – not only to him but to the nation down through history – that God is God and is in control of our lives.  Every time Jacob stood, for the rest of his life, he was reminded of that night – the night he met with God.  We all have those reminders, those “bad joints”, those thorns which serve to take us back to our encounter with the Creator of the Universe.

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Treasure

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matt 6:19-21.

We don’t think about it often – it’s an underlying assumption we tend to have here in America – but we tend to move through our lives in a bubble of perceived security. We are protected by law enforcement agencies, dead bolts and alarm companies. Doors and windows, gates and fences, bars and watchdogs give us a sense of security and safety and promote the existence of the bubble of belief that we, along with all our stuff, are safe and untouchable.

Recently, however, I joined the ranks of the owners of busted bubbles. A little over two weeks ago I returned home from work at the end of the day only to walk into a crime scene. A brick through a window and an involuntary transfer of possession of several thousand dollars worth of property had occurred and, like the window, my bubble of perceived security was shattered. Anger. Apprehension. Helplessness. Vulnerability. All these flooded my mind and heart as I surveyed the scene.

And a quandary – how could I restore my sense of security and protect my property?

Questions

Written by A Prodigal on September 4, 2006.

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We all have questions.  And questions are OK.

We ask why the baby had to be born with that defect.  Noah asked about the boat in the desert.

We ask about the death of a young husband and father.  David wondered how long he would have to live in the cave.

We ask about the pain the affair of a spouse caused.  Joseph questioned his prison sentence.

We ponder the tsunami waves that devastate whole nations.  The disciples were perplexed over the death of Jesus.

We question the tests we face and their length.  Jesus felt forsaken on the cross.

We all have questioned and nowhere in all of Scripture are questions condemned if asked in sincerity and earnest.

Habakkuk gives us an example.  He had questions.  He was appalled at the sad state of affairs in Judah.  Depravity, immorality, and idol worship ruled the day.  Habakkuk wanted to know what God was going to do about it.

And God answered.  The Babylonians were coming.

This answer only prompted another question – why use such a wicked, heathen people as the tool to judge Judah’s sin?