Prison Ministries

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Read 1 John 2, Psalm 144
Spiritual Malnutrition

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,” 1 Corinthians 10:4,5a NLT

I don’t know where this illustration originated, but I believe that it sums up our daily battle against sin as well as anything I have ever heard. The idea is that our flesh and our spirit are like two dogs fighting, with the best fed dog winning.

Along with secular humanism, children are fed condoms, birth control, and abortion options in our schools instead of Bibles, prayer, and the moral absolutes of the Ten Commandments.

Our spiritual growth is stunted and our lights go dim as we spend by far the biggest part of our time slopping with the pigs in the vast wasteland of TV, pornography, and selling out to the world’s standards instead of God’s.

When we think that we can maintain our spiritual health by going to church on Sunday and receiving spiritual nourishment one hour a week, we are thinking exactly the way satan would have us think.

When we constantly drink of the polluted water of sin instead of the living water of the Savior, we are going to find that we are going to lose the battle raging within us.

When we stand before Christ at the resurrection of the just and give an account of how we spent our time that we were given on this earth, are we going to have anything left after the wood, hay, and stubble of our lives has been burned?

Father, Let me feast daily and richly on the riches of your love, your grace, and your salvation as I abide in Your Word and grow strong in You.. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Read 1 Corinthians 6, Psalm 116
Was I Worth It?

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8 NIV

“Saving Private Ryan” was one of the most brutal movies ever made before “The Passion of Christ” came to the screen. Read the rest of this entry »

Read Luke 8:3-18, Malachi 3:9-18
The Sting of Stinginess

“The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.” Proverbs 11:24 MSG

God’s economy makes it very unwise and unprofitable to be stingy in any area of our lives. In the area of money, God calls us robbers or cheaters when we fail to be generous with our tithes to Him and even pronounces a curse on those who are stingy with Him financially.

Although we seldom think of it in the sense of being stingy, when we fail to serve the Lord with all our hearts, our minds, and our strength, God says that we are speaking against Him.

When we think of all of the blessings we receive from God, and how we continually need to go to His throne of grace to ask for more, it is inconceivable that we would risk being stingy with God with our treasures, talents, time, or our praise and adoration.

Jesus makes it very clear through His parables that there is a cause and effect relationship between forgiving and not forgiving, giving and not giving, and loving and not loving.

The effects of stinginess in any of these areas are consequences that we can avoid by being generous in giving these things in abundance to all those in need when the opportunity comes.

Stinginess goes with self-centeredness. When we put our wants, needs, and agendas first, we are relegating God to playing second fiddle, which is a position He will not tolerate. May the power of the Holy Spirit grant us all the grace to rid ourselves of self-centeredness and stinginess.

Father, help me the experience to joys and blessings of generosity. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Read Philippians 4:4-8, Psalm 4
The Grace of Graciousness

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16

There seems to be a growing shortage of kindness and courtesy in every area of life. Tactfulness, charm, and generosity of spirit have become rare qualities seldom seen. Read the rest of this entry »