Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Is it true that the church is full of hypocrites?
Is it true that the church is full of hypocrites?
As I sat reading the newsletter from Living Praise (if you have not read it yourself, check it out at www.livingpraise.org), I felt conviction just overwhelm me. There were so many areas that I could find fault in my own life that I thought, am I one?
I told Joy "you have just got to read this". Why? Because I want us to be in one accord as we battle all of these areas.
Now I find myself writing this so we may all be in agreement as we do battle against the principalities and powers, against the spiritual wickedness that surrounds us as outlined in Ephesians 6:12.
I have been seeing (and complaining) how those who don't want to hear about Jesus as savior don't want to come to Him because of, as they say; The hypocrites.
Well, after doing a bit of self checking, I have found many areas where I have been just that! The world we live in today is watching us and seeing us talk, but not acting like who we say we are.
Jesus said in Luke 6:41 Why do you see the speck in your brothers eye and yet you don't notice the log in your own eye? He talked a lot about hypocrites, look at Matthew 6:5, 6:16, and even 23:16 to name just a couple. And by the way, the New Testament is full of references concerning hypocrisy.
I have been looking at (in others) the want to bask in riches over serving Jesus, the money hungry christians, the unethical business practices, the seeker friendly churches, the way we talk about each other, gossip, tale telling, etc..
BUT then I realized through both prayer, and Living Praise's newsletter just how big a part "I" play in the area of hypocritical Christianity.
How many times have I lied to keep from hurting someone's feelings?
How I justified the lies by feelings, because of not wanting to be confrontational, because of making others angry, sad, or even sometimes for fear of losing friends and/or family members.
I seem to have forgotten that Jesus said in Matthew 19:29 everyone who has forsaken houses, or brothers or sisters, father, mother, brothers and sisters, even our lands will receive a hundredfold and shall inherit eternal life.
I feel Hypocritical through things people have either said to me, or about me that hurt me to the core, offended me, caused me to try to, although most times not really intentional, (at least I was at the time unaware) try to repay evil for evil, to hurt back, to tell God to "get them for what they did".
To give up what God had given me, to run like Elijah did after God did great and mighty things through him.
There have been three or four who have done this to me throughout the years, some things were justified, most were out of context. Nonetheless, my job is to forgive, even seven times seventy in a day. I have no right to allow the flesh to act like my enemy the devil.
If you are reading this and you know you are one of these people, please know You Are Forgiven, by me, and by Jesus, what I am saying here is a testimony of who "I" need to be no matter the circumstances.
I do not want you to be offended, I do want you to be my friend and hope our friendship lasts. But people need to know that I am human, I make mistakes, but more than anything else, I want Jesus to be seen in me and unfortunately that has not been the case often enough.
My friend Don says (and it is truth) that we are no longer the men we used to be, that the old man has died and is just trying to resurrect himself. Dead men can't be hurt, can't be offended, can't because we are new men in Christ. Here is what the world around us needs to see, "Jesus in us".
There have been other hypocritical things like trying to be careful to not bring offense to family members or friends who don't want to hear about Jesus. People who curse His name and curse you and I for mentioning His name and most of the time they can't tell us why they curse us or Him. When actually they are just going by what others have said to them about Christians, or what Christians have done to them.
If I really love them, I need to be truthful with them even if they reject me (Him). They usually say things like I know God! I don't need you to tell me anything!
James 2:19 says; you believe that there is one God, you do well: the devils also believe, and they tremble. They may know who He is but they will never see heaven and God's glory Forever and Ever.
Here is why I want them to know Jesus, because He changed my life and because of the salvation He offers they do not have to go away to ETERNAL damnation. I need to love them enough to let them hate me for telling them who this man Jesus really is.
I have heard things said about family and myself that came through the rumor mill. After circulation, things change A LOT. There have even those who have judged me because of what they see, but it is not always what it might look like. Just because someone says something about me or family, does not mean it is always true when it gets back around. But what do I do? I push them away from me, put up roadblocks, avoid them and even get angry. Truth is the word of God says I can be angry, but I can not allow it to cause me to sin. The Word of God tells us in this same scripture (Ephesians 4:8) to "not let the sun go down on our wrath".
To show people the love of God, I have to learn to control my anger and show others how to walk in love.
Maybe I should confront them, but I should hear their side before moving on it. Sometimes things just come across wrong and the anger is for nothing.
And then there is the racial issue, don't get me wrong, I do love others and try really hard to walk in love to others but how many times have I seen someone walk down the road with their pants down around their ankles, with multiple tattoo's, multiple piercings and thought; be careful...... This is wrong, they should be judged by the standard of "Jesus loves them", black, white, Latino, Jew or gentile. His love for them is so beyond our love for them. Here again, this should not be.
I seem to be stuck in first, second, and third John in my reading and devotionals and I am realizing how who I say I am and who I present myself to be are not always the same.
I get angry when our volunteers don't want to work with each other because of what I read there in John, I get hurt when friends and family seem to be so far away from us and don't seem to want our fellowship, I don't seem to understand when these same people put up walls and don't let us in even though we care so much about them but now, now I am seeing things in a little different light. I am starting to see where I have put up walls in relationships, where I have been distant concerning family and friends, even where I did not want to work with others who I don't completely agree with.
If I am going to love as Christ loves me, then again, I have to die to these things.
I do get mad, sometimes really mad at my children, for lots of things, but in the end, I love them unconditionally! Unconditionally, whether or not they hear my side, listen to what is best for them, get angry at me, or me with them. People know they are my children because of the love I have for them in good times and in bad, right or wrong. Others have over the years said they wished that we were their parents, why? Because of the love we have for our own.
Is this not what we should be showing those around us?
But the problem here is this; the world we live in, the people who do not know Christ intimately as we say we do, are seeing this hypocritical spirit manifesting in all of us and it does not draw to Christ, it says to them that there is no need to accept this Jesus we serve because they already have what we have.
I was laughing the other day about someone who I loaned $80.00 dollars to several years back and how they avoided me for many years because of it. I even had someone tell me recently that they avoided me because of owing me $150.00 until they could pay me. Did I ever ask? No and probably would not, so as to keep our relationship secure, but here lies the problem in this;
One, I should not have laughed about that person, not around a brother or sister, not around a lost person. We are supposed to, according to the Word of God, lend as if we may never receive it back. This goes for $1.00 or $100,000.00. There are reasons why He tells us to do things the way He says to, and those reasons are for the lost to see something different in us, and because what He tells us, is for our own good! For our good, so we will be able to live peaceably among men and so we can show others who this Jesus we serve really is.
There are also things that I have not addressed so as to try to keep relationships alive but what I have done is actually allowed walls to be put up between us. This brings a greater division between us. Unfortunately, others see this and truthfully, it is not Christlike.
Even the lost can sense when something is not right between family members.
Should not the family of God walk in unity so as to show The Love of Christ?
Why am I putting all of this out there for all to read? Why air my so called dirty spiritual laundry?
Because I see (not just here but about everywhere I go) the family of God talking about each other, not talking to each other. I see the same people of God telling rumors, hiding from each other, hurting each other, fighting each other, using each other, and so on, but I have to examine myself before I can say anything about anyone else.
I need to remember that I am not The Judge, but I will be judged.
I am putting this out there so we can all look at ourselves first.
I recently found out that because I was hard headed (and hard hearted) several years ago, that I caused repercussions for me and several others that will follow me the rest of the days of my life. Why? Because I just had to be right. Because "I just knew what God had to say about that", because of that I hurt self, and I hurt others beyond repair.
It is only because of God's unbelievable love for me and others that those hurt in the process, were forgiving towards me.
I hope and pray that if you do see something here that might involve you, that you will forgive me, that you will understand, yes I am human, yes I make mistakes. No excuses. My hearts desire here is not to offend, not to cause even more division and or separation. My hope and prayer is that we move forward from here, to give our enemy no more opportunity to bring confusion and division to the body of Christ. To hopefully help us to start really fulfilling the call of Christ to win the lost.
Des talked a lot about being peace makers, well peace makers are not peace keepers.
Peace keepers really don't change anything to make things better, they don't confront wrong, they try to explain everything away, peace keepers tend to just try to smooth things over without finding and dealing with the underlying problem but, nothing hardly ever changes for the better.
Peace makers seek to make change, they confront the things that need to be changed, the things that are out of whack so to speak, they try to bring things to an order that works, even if it costs them. Peace makers will step up to the plate and sometimes become unpopular so as to bring to light the things that will bring about LASTING peace.
We have not been getting along. Yes the body of Christ is out of whack, we are not confronting evil, we are not taking authority over the mess we made. We are not talking to each other, we are hacking ourselves to pieces (bringing division), we are hurting ourselves (after all, we are supposed to be a body), and letting the world around us go to hell.
I am convicted, to the core! I am truly convicted. I want to be a peace keeper so I am now, and will be confronting with love and respect, as God leads me. To straighten out wrong relationships in my life from as far back as He leads.
All of the recent or current problems that would bring even a hint of division to us as friends, family, and as a body of believers. Everything that Father God shows me that separates us, that brings division, and everything that our enemy uses in my life to make me a hypocrite.
Dear Jesus, Please make me a peace maker, not a hypocrite, but a peacemaker, make me one who shines Your Light to others.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Please respond by prayer, contact senators, and sign petittion.
I have been asking for prayer covering for 24 hours a day for the past few weeks yet there were only a few who responded to my request. Where are the prayer warriors?
We have needed the prayer covering all along, but now we need it more than ever. We need covering as we go, we need the finances, but we also need the covering because we battle against principalities, and powers, rulers of darkness, against spiritual wickedness in high places. See Ephesians 6:12
Here, is what is going on in the state level, and why we (and others involved in prison ministry) need the covering.
The NC legislature has already passed a bill that still needs to be voted on in the immediate future (within the next few days). This bill will fire all 54 of the NC chaplains and try to replace them with volunteer chaplains.
They also will close the smaller work release units and build bigger medium/max units at enormous costs to the tax payer.
This will definitely cause some of the local prison staff (officers, programmers, kitchen staff, etc.) to lose their jobs or relocate far away from their homes.
You would also be surprised at how many local businesses’s use work release inmate labor, which helps to prepare them to go back into society. It helps them to have a few dollars in their account for when they are released, to help support their families, (which are the burden of the tax payer if the inmate cannot provide for them), and so they have some money when they go home. Think about it: no money when released, no job, sometimes no home to go to? What do you think happens next? They will most likely reoffend!
The volunteer chaplaincy might work if there were enough volunteer chaplains to go around, but there are not enough, for several reasons.
The state requires an enormous amount of education, they are legally required to have a four-year degree, an advanced theology degree, and one year of pastoral care training, or two years in a pastorate, which to put it bluntly, is overkill for a volunteer.
Men and women who have this much education will for the most part go into the secular field to work, not volunteer. The secular field will pay them and therefore give them a return on their educational investment.
The prisons are willing to give them (volunteers) a job for which to be quite honest, is more of a calling than a job, the big problem with that is that we, for the most part cannot supply them with our services when the requirements are so high and because we do have to make living somehow.
Most of the chaplains I have had the pleasure of knowing, are called. They give council, they minister to the needs of the population, they give out death notices, and they minister to staff, officers, and family members of the inmates. They have an enormous amount of paperwork, are required to have knowledge of prison policies and procedures and almost always, barely get noticed, or thanked, for what they do.
As a good friend put it, they use us Christians because they know we will do it for free but they obviously will not call for volunteers to be correctional officers, programs staff, kitchen staff, superintendents, and so on. But because we love the inmates and believe that Jesus died for them as well as for us, we will step up to the plate and do what is necessary (as we are able to).
One option is to have community (church) supported chaplains. We have some close personal friends who used to be volunteer chaplains at a prison, when they stepped into the role of chaplains, their support base dropped by 50%, many of those who stopped giving, were long time supporters of their ministry.
The chaplaincy at that prison is still done by volunteers, but it has taken 8 years for the local churches to come together to fund these volunteer chaplains, and I feel pretty confident in saying that they surely are not completely funded as of this date.
If this goes through, we will lose good chaplains, we will overcrowd the local jails, more of the offenders will be walking the streets than before, and we can bet there will be an increase in crime because most offenders feel like they already get a “get out of jail free” card.
They will have to hire more probation and parole officers, buy them cars and so on. Most of these officers only get to see the offenders about 15 minutes per month as it is.
Some will say (and I have heard it personally): they are right where they belong, they need to serve their time, they are all in country club prisons, they don’t need us to provide them anything more than what they already get, etc, etc...
Those who say this first of all do not know what Jesus can do in their lives; they also most likely have never stepped inside of a prison. They do not know what the average inmate goes through, how they can be treated, etc.. some of these are really good people who just made one bad mistake too many and are now paying the consequences for what they have done. Others, have led a life of crime, but are still paying the consequences as well. They ALL need Jesus, and the chaplains, can provide them the opportunity to find that relationship with Him.
(By the way: We as volunteers could loose the privilege of ministering in these prisons, if the chaplains loose their jobs.)
These people have a TV or movie mentality and think everyone is evil incarnate, or are laid back and getting anything, and everything their hearts desire. This is most definitely NOT true.
If most of us could look into our neighbor's home and see some of the things they do, or even if we could be completely honest, look at our own life, we should be there as well.Tell me we have never stolen anything, lied about someone, cheated on taxes, overcharged, and the list goes on, and on.
How often do we see church goers, little league coaches, mothers, leaders in local law enforcement, community leaders, and others, in the paper for some crime, we never could have imagined they would be capable of doing?
In 1982, I was personally facing 15 years in prison, but God made a change in me that has lasted 29 years and I have no intention in turning back. I am a testimony of what God wants to do in the lives of, not just inmates, but everyone.
The prisoners, for the most part are not there for the violent crimes we see on TV, there are the few, but that is not the majority.
Here is the real issue, Jesus thought the murderer at His side on the cross, was worthy to come into His presence in Heaven, he told us to go into the prisons, he told us not to judge, but to let Him do that, and His love is unconditional, not just to us, but to everyone who would come to Him.
And last, these people are getting out one day, they will live somewhere, they will be somebody's neighbor. Do we want them living next door to us as new creatures, or the way they were before they went in? See 2 Corinthians 5:17
We need these chaplains, we for the most part have great chaplains, who love the inmates, and are willing to do whatever they have to for the Kingdom. They serve as inmate pastors who do what our pastors do for us, but with many more issues to deal with.
We need the smaller prisons, the jobs they provide, the overcrowding of the local jails that they relieve, and the added security they provide for those who really do need to be there.
Please read the articles in the links below, call your senators, sign the petition, and PRAY.
Please PRAY.
In Him, Jim
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/05/1105611/budget-cuts-may-slice-public-safety.html
http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-story-jail-overcrowding-110404,0,323228.story
sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/keep-funding-for-nc-prison-chaplains
We have needed the prayer covering all along, but now we need it more than ever. We need covering as we go, we need the finances, but we also need the covering because we battle against principalities, and powers, rulers of darkness, against spiritual wickedness in high places. See Ephesians 6:12
Here, is what is going on in the state level, and why we (and others involved in prison ministry) need the covering.
The NC legislature has already passed a bill that still needs to be voted on in the immediate future (within the next few days). This bill will fire all 54 of the NC chaplains and try to replace them with volunteer chaplains.
They also will close the smaller work release units and build bigger medium/max units at enormous costs to the tax payer.
This will definitely cause some of the local prison staff (officers, programmers, kitchen staff, etc.) to lose their jobs or relocate far away from their homes.
You would also be surprised at how many local businesses’s use work release inmate labor, which helps to prepare them to go back into society. It helps them to have a few dollars in their account for when they are released, to help support their families, (which are the burden of the tax payer if the inmate cannot provide for them), and so they have some money when they go home. Think about it: no money when released, no job, sometimes no home to go to? What do you think happens next? They will most likely reoffend!
The volunteer chaplaincy might work if there were enough volunteer chaplains to go around, but there are not enough, for several reasons.
The state requires an enormous amount of education, they are legally required to have a four-year degree, an advanced theology degree, and one year of pastoral care training, or two years in a pastorate, which to put it bluntly, is overkill for a volunteer.
Men and women who have this much education will for the most part go into the secular field to work, not volunteer. The secular field will pay them and therefore give them a return on their educational investment.
The prisons are willing to give them (volunteers) a job for which to be quite honest, is more of a calling than a job, the big problem with that is that we, for the most part cannot supply them with our services when the requirements are so high and because we do have to make living somehow.
Most of the chaplains I have had the pleasure of knowing, are called. They give council, they minister to the needs of the population, they give out death notices, and they minister to staff, officers, and family members of the inmates. They have an enormous amount of paperwork, are required to have knowledge of prison policies and procedures and almost always, barely get noticed, or thanked, for what they do.
As a good friend put it, they use us Christians because they know we will do it for free but they obviously will not call for volunteers to be correctional officers, programs staff, kitchen staff, superintendents, and so on. But because we love the inmates and believe that Jesus died for them as well as for us, we will step up to the plate and do what is necessary (as we are able to).
One option is to have community (church) supported chaplains. We have some close personal friends who used to be volunteer chaplains at a prison, when they stepped into the role of chaplains, their support base dropped by 50%, many of those who stopped giving, were long time supporters of their ministry.
The chaplaincy at that prison is still done by volunteers, but it has taken 8 years for the local churches to come together to fund these volunteer chaplains, and I feel pretty confident in saying that they surely are not completely funded as of this date.
If this goes through, we will lose good chaplains, we will overcrowd the local jails, more of the offenders will be walking the streets than before, and we can bet there will be an increase in crime because most offenders feel like they already get a “get out of jail free” card.
They will have to hire more probation and parole officers, buy them cars and so on. Most of these officers only get to see the offenders about 15 minutes per month as it is.
Some will say (and I have heard it personally): they are right where they belong, they need to serve their time, they are all in country club prisons, they don’t need us to provide them anything more than what they already get, etc, etc...
Those who say this first of all do not know what Jesus can do in their lives; they also most likely have never stepped inside of a prison. They do not know what the average inmate goes through, how they can be treated, etc.. some of these are really good people who just made one bad mistake too many and are now paying the consequences for what they have done. Others, have led a life of crime, but are still paying the consequences as well. They ALL need Jesus, and the chaplains, can provide them the opportunity to find that relationship with Him.
(By the way: We as volunteers could loose the privilege of ministering in these prisons, if the chaplains loose their jobs.)
These people have a TV or movie mentality and think everyone is evil incarnate, or are laid back and getting anything, and everything their hearts desire. This is most definitely NOT true.
If most of us could look into our neighbor's home and see some of the things they do, or even if we could be completely honest, look at our own life, we should be there as well.Tell me we have never stolen anything, lied about someone, cheated on taxes, overcharged, and the list goes on, and on.
How often do we see church goers, little league coaches, mothers, leaders in local law enforcement, community leaders, and others, in the paper for some crime, we never could have imagined they would be capable of doing?
In 1982, I was personally facing 15 years in prison, but God made a change in me that has lasted 29 years and I have no intention in turning back. I am a testimony of what God wants to do in the lives of, not just inmates, but everyone.
The prisoners, for the most part are not there for the violent crimes we see on TV, there are the few, but that is not the majority.
Here is the real issue, Jesus thought the murderer at His side on the cross, was worthy to come into His presence in Heaven, he told us to go into the prisons, he told us not to judge, but to let Him do that, and His love is unconditional, not just to us, but to everyone who would come to Him.
And last, these people are getting out one day, they will live somewhere, they will be somebody's neighbor. Do we want them living next door to us as new creatures, or the way they were before they went in? See 2 Corinthians 5:17
We need these chaplains, we for the most part have great chaplains, who love the inmates, and are willing to do whatever they have to for the Kingdom. They serve as inmate pastors who do what our pastors do for us, but with many more issues to deal with.
We need the smaller prisons, the jobs they provide, the overcrowding of the local jails that they relieve, and the added security they provide for those who really do need to be there.
Please read the articles in the links below, call your senators, sign the petition, and PRAY.
Please PRAY.
In Him, Jim
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/05/1105611/budget-cuts-may-slice-public-safety.html
http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-story-jail-overcrowding-110404,0,323228.story
sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/keep-funding-for-nc-prison-chaplains
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Intercessors PLEASE read
I have been asking for prayer covering for 24 hours a day for the past few weeks yet there were only a few who responded to my request. Are we really prayer warriors?
We have needed the prayer covering all along, but now we need it more than ever. We need covering as we go, we need the finances, but we also need the covering because we battle against principalities, and powers, rulers of darkness, against spiritual wickedness in high places. See Ephesians 6:12
Here, is what is going on in the state level, and why we need the covering.
The NC legislature has already passed a bill that still needs to be voted on in the immediate future (within the next few days). This bill will fire all 54 of the NC chaplains and try to replace them with volunteer chaplains.
They also will close the smaller work release units and build bigger medium/max units at enormous costs to the tax payer.
This will definitely cause some of the local prison staff (officers, programmers, kitchen staff, etc.) to lose their jobs or relocate far away from their homes.
You would also be surprised at how many local businesses’s use work release inmate labor, which helps to prepare them to go back into society. It helps them to have a few dollars in their account for when they are released, to help support their families, (which are the burden of the tax payer if the inmate cannot provide for them), and so they have some money when they go home. Think about it: no money when released, no job, sometimes no home to go to? What do you think happens next? They will most likely reoffend!
The volunteer chaplaincy might work if there were enough volunteer chaplains to go around, but there are not enough, for several reasons.
The state requires an enormous amount of education, they are legally required to have a four-year degree, an advanced theology degree, and one year of pastoral care training, or two years in a pastorate, which to put it bluntly, is overkill for a volunteer.
Men and women who have this much education will for the most part go into the secular field to work, not volunteer. The secular field will pay them and therefore give them a return on their educational investment.
The prisons are willing to give them (volunteers) a job for which to be quite honest, is more of a calling than a job, the big problem with that is that we, for the most part cannot supply them with our services when the requirements are so high and because we do have to make living somehow.
Most of the chaplains I have had the pleasure of knowing, are called. They give council, they minister to the needs of the population, they give out death notices, and they minister to staff, officers, and family members of the inmates. They have an enormous amount of paperwork, are required to have knowledge of prison policies and procedures and almost always, barely get noticed, or thanked, for what they do.
As a good friend put it, they use us Christians because they know we will do it for free but they obviously will not call for volunteers to be correctional officers, programs staff, kitchen staff, superintendents, and so on. But because we love the inmates and believe that Jesus died for them as well as for us, we will step up to the plate and do what is necessary (as we are able to).
One option is to have community (church) supported chaplains. We have some close personal friends who used to be volunteer chaplains at a prison, when they stepped into the role of chaplains, their support base dropped by 50%, many of those who stopped giving, were long time supporters of their ministry.
The chaplaincy at that prison is still done by volunteers, but it has taken 8 years for the local churches to come together to fund these volunteer chaplains, and I feel pretty confident in saying that they surely are not completely funded as of this date.
If this goes through, we will lose good chaplains, we will overcrowd the local jails, more of the offenders will be walking the streets than before, and we can bet there will be an increase in crime because most offenders feel like they already get a “get out of jail free” card.
They will have to hire more probation and parole officers, buy them cars and so on. Most of these officers only get to see the offenders about 15 minutes per month as it is.
Some will say (and I have heard it personally): they are right where they belong, they need to serve their time, they are all in country club prisons, they don’t need us to provide them anything more than what they already get, etc, etc...
Those who say this first of all do not know what Jesus can do in their lives; they also most likely have never stepped inside of a prison. They do not know what the average inmate goes through, how they can be treated, etc.. some of these are really good people who just made one bad mistake too many and are now paying the consequences for what they have done. Others, have led a life of crime, but are still paying the consequences as well. They ALL need Jesus, and the chaplains, can provide them the opportunity to find that relationship with Him.
(By the way: We as volunteers could loose the privilege of ministering in these prisons, if the chaplains loose their jobs.)
These people have a TV or movie mentality and think everyone is evil incarnate, or are laid back and getting anything, and everything their hearts desire. This is most definitely NOT true.
If most of us could look into our neighbor's home and see some of the things they do, or even if we could be completely honest, look at our own life, we should be there as well.Tell me we have never stolen anything, lied about someone, cheated on taxes, overcharged, and the list goes on, and on.
How often do we see church goers, little league coaches, mothers, leaders in local law enforcement, community leaders, and others, in the paper for some crime, we never could have imagined they would be capable of doing?
In 1982, I was personally facing 15 years in prison, but God made a change in me that has lasted 29 years and I have no intention in turning back. I am a testimony of what God wants to do in the lives of, not just inmates, but everyone.
The prisoners, for the most part are not there for the violent crimes we see on TV, there are the few, but that is not the majority.
Here is the real issue, Jesus thought the murderer at His side on the cross, was worthy to come into His presence in Heaven, he told us to go into the prisons, he told us not to judge, but to let Him do that, and His love is unconditional, not just to us, but to everyone who would come to Him.
And last, these people are getting out one day, they will live somewhere, they will be somebody's neighbor. Do we want them living next door to us as new creatures, or the way they were before they went in? See 2 Corinthians 5:17
We need these chaplains, we for the most part have great chaplains, who love the inmates, and are willing to do whatever they have to for the Kingdom. They serve as inmate pastors who do what our pastors do for us, but with many more issues to deal with.
We need the smaller prisons, the jobs they provide, the overcrowding of the local jails that they relieve, and the added security they provide for those who really do need to be there.
Please read the articles in the links below, call your senators, sign the petition, and PRAY.
Please PRAY.
In Him, Jim
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/05/1105611/budget-cuts-may-slice-public-safety.html
http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-story-jail-overcrowding-110404,0,323228.story
sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/keep-funding-for-nc-prison-chaplains
We have needed the prayer covering all along, but now we need it more than ever. We need covering as we go, we need the finances, but we also need the covering because we battle against principalities, and powers, rulers of darkness, against spiritual wickedness in high places. See Ephesians 6:12
Here, is what is going on in the state level, and why we need the covering.
The NC legislature has already passed a bill that still needs to be voted on in the immediate future (within the next few days). This bill will fire all 54 of the NC chaplains and try to replace them with volunteer chaplains.
They also will close the smaller work release units and build bigger medium/max units at enormous costs to the tax payer.
This will definitely cause some of the local prison staff (officers, programmers, kitchen staff, etc.) to lose their jobs or relocate far away from their homes.
You would also be surprised at how many local businesses’s use work release inmate labor, which helps to prepare them to go back into society. It helps them to have a few dollars in their account for when they are released, to help support their families, (which are the burden of the tax payer if the inmate cannot provide for them), and so they have some money when they go home. Think about it: no money when released, no job, sometimes no home to go to? What do you think happens next? They will most likely reoffend!
The volunteer chaplaincy might work if there were enough volunteer chaplains to go around, but there are not enough, for several reasons.
The state requires an enormous amount of education, they are legally required to have a four-year degree, an advanced theology degree, and one year of pastoral care training, or two years in a pastorate, which to put it bluntly, is overkill for a volunteer.
Men and women who have this much education will for the most part go into the secular field to work, not volunteer. The secular field will pay them and therefore give them a return on their educational investment.
The prisons are willing to give them (volunteers) a job for which to be quite honest, is more of a calling than a job, the big problem with that is that we, for the most part cannot supply them with our services when the requirements are so high and because we do have to make living somehow.
Most of the chaplains I have had the pleasure of knowing, are called. They give council, they minister to the needs of the population, they give out death notices, and they minister to staff, officers, and family members of the inmates. They have an enormous amount of paperwork, are required to have knowledge of prison policies and procedures and almost always, barely get noticed, or thanked, for what they do.
As a good friend put it, they use us Christians because they know we will do it for free but they obviously will not call for volunteers to be correctional officers, programs staff, kitchen staff, superintendents, and so on. But because we love the inmates and believe that Jesus died for them as well as for us, we will step up to the plate and do what is necessary (as we are able to).
One option is to have community (church) supported chaplains. We have some close personal friends who used to be volunteer chaplains at a prison, when they stepped into the role of chaplains, their support base dropped by 50%, many of those who stopped giving, were long time supporters of their ministry.
The chaplaincy at that prison is still done by volunteers, but it has taken 8 years for the local churches to come together to fund these volunteer chaplains, and I feel pretty confident in saying that they surely are not completely funded as of this date.
If this goes through, we will lose good chaplains, we will overcrowd the local jails, more of the offenders will be walking the streets than before, and we can bet there will be an increase in crime because most offenders feel like they already get a “get out of jail free” card.
They will have to hire more probation and parole officers, buy them cars and so on. Most of these officers only get to see the offenders about 15 minutes per month as it is.
Some will say (and I have heard it personally): they are right where they belong, they need to serve their time, they are all in country club prisons, they don’t need us to provide them anything more than what they already get, etc, etc...
Those who say this first of all do not know what Jesus can do in their lives; they also most likely have never stepped inside of a prison. They do not know what the average inmate goes through, how they can be treated, etc.. some of these are really good people who just made one bad mistake too many and are now paying the consequences for what they have done. Others, have led a life of crime, but are still paying the consequences as well. They ALL need Jesus, and the chaplains, can provide them the opportunity to find that relationship with Him.
(By the way: We as volunteers could loose the privilege of ministering in these prisons, if the chaplains loose their jobs.)
These people have a TV or movie mentality and think everyone is evil incarnate, or are laid back and getting anything, and everything their hearts desire. This is most definitely NOT true.
If most of us could look into our neighbor's home and see some of the things they do, or even if we could be completely honest, look at our own life, we should be there as well.Tell me we have never stolen anything, lied about someone, cheated on taxes, overcharged, and the list goes on, and on.
How often do we see church goers, little league coaches, mothers, leaders in local law enforcement, community leaders, and others, in the paper for some crime, we never could have imagined they would be capable of doing?
In 1982, I was personally facing 15 years in prison, but God made a change in me that has lasted 29 years and I have no intention in turning back. I am a testimony of what God wants to do in the lives of, not just inmates, but everyone.
The prisoners, for the most part are not there for the violent crimes we see on TV, there are the few, but that is not the majority.
Here is the real issue, Jesus thought the murderer at His side on the cross, was worthy to come into His presence in Heaven, he told us to go into the prisons, he told us not to judge, but to let Him do that, and His love is unconditional, not just to us, but to everyone who would come to Him.
And last, these people are getting out one day, they will live somewhere, they will be somebody's neighbor. Do we want them living next door to us as new creatures, or the way they were before they went in? See 2 Corinthians 5:17
We need these chaplains, we for the most part have great chaplains, who love the inmates, and are willing to do whatever they have to for the Kingdom. They serve as inmate pastors who do what our pastors do for us, but with many more issues to deal with.
We need the smaller prisons, the jobs they provide, the overcrowding of the local jails that they relieve, and the added security they provide for those who really do need to be there.
Please read the articles in the links below, call your senators, sign the petition, and PRAY.
Please PRAY.
In Him, Jim
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/05/1105611/budget-cuts-may-slice-public-safety.html
http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-story-jail-overcrowding-110404,0,323228.story
sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/keep-funding-for-nc-prison-chaplains
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Update on London Mission Trip
The opportunity to minister on radio and/or tv fell through because the individual who would have made that possible had to go out of town but, we are experiencing real ministry; to the homeless, to the people in their homes in that we have watched demons (believe or not, this stuff is real!) come out, and people receive healing, we have been encouraging people house to house, as well as prayer for them.
We have met at the medical clinic with patients and we have prayed with them. We met the administrator, and are about to meet with the doctors for lunch with a time to share about God's sustaining and healing power.
Update: We just had lunch with the medical staff and Doctors and I had the opportunity to share about the peace of Christ and the role that Jesus and the doctors played in my recovery as I walked out my battle with cancer. I was also able to thank them for the work they do on behalf of the patients they work with every day. Theirs is a thankless job in socialized medicine here in the UK.
We will be praying with a man with cancer and much, much, more before we come home.
Wow, and some people think we are on vacation.
We shared in home group, we have ministered individually as needed.
We are willing, we are able, and we are going!
As The Lord leads, as He provides, we will go, to the least of these, to those who have it all, here we are Lord, send us!
Btw: we never met the budget for this trip and had to take money from other places to come. If you can help? It would be appreciated.
We have experienced the biggest loss of finances we have ever faced and it is really tough at this time, please, please keep us in prayer and also pray about giving into this ministry, we are experiencing new, or I should say added direction for The Father's Heart but we do not get government funding, grants or any other large source.
We receive mostly $5.00, $10:00, $20.00 gifts and those have dwindled down to almost nothing. No gift is too small!
EVERY dime sent to us is appreciated, prayed over, and used to further the out reaches for the Kingdom of God.
They say we are over the recession? I think I may have to question that.
We have met at the medical clinic with patients and we have prayed with them. We met the administrator, and are about to meet with the doctors for lunch with a time to share about God's sustaining and healing power.
Update: We just had lunch with the medical staff and Doctors and I had the opportunity to share about the peace of Christ and the role that Jesus and the doctors played in my recovery as I walked out my battle with cancer. I was also able to thank them for the work they do on behalf of the patients they work with every day. Theirs is a thankless job in socialized medicine here in the UK.
We will be praying with a man with cancer and much, much, more before we come home.
Wow, and some people think we are on vacation.
We shared in home group, we have ministered individually as needed.
We are willing, we are able, and we are going!
As The Lord leads, as He provides, we will go, to the least of these, to those who have it all, here we are Lord, send us!
Btw: we never met the budget for this trip and had to take money from other places to come. If you can help? It would be appreciated.
We have experienced the biggest loss of finances we have ever faced and it is really tough at this time, please, please keep us in prayer and also pray about giving into this ministry, we are experiencing new, or I should say added direction for The Father's Heart but we do not get government funding, grants or any other large source.
We receive mostly $5.00, $10:00, $20.00 gifts and those have dwindled down to almost nothing. No gift is too small!
EVERY dime sent to us is appreciated, prayed over, and used to further the out reaches for the Kingdom of God.
They say we are over the recession? I think I may have to question that.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Real Life "Unconditional Love"
From Jim:
I met a man on the streets the other day, his name is Dean, he is 21 years old He has been on the streets since he was 16 and has a sister that he has not been able to find. He lives on the streets of London England, where he is accepted by a very choice few friends, also homeless.
The politically correct name for his problem is "Developmentally Disabled" Others would call him "Retarded" "Slow" and many other names. He is scared of people (most likely because of abuse on the streets), lonely, has few friends he can trust. And he is homeless.
I met him and wanted to pray for him but he said no because he was afraid and only after much coaxing by Pastor Kurt was I able to minister to him.
When I saw him, the very first thing he said to us was; "I am special needs, I am Not stupid".
My own brother is a special needs person and all I could see, was my brother in Dean while ministering to him. But without the family and friend support my brother has.
Most people are afraid of people like him (along with the other homeless) because they don't know how to talk to them or respond to their differences.They think they are dirty, smelly, and can't even dress right. They think they are useless, don't want to work, but just want hand outs. We would as well if we were in their shoes.
Some of these people are sick, but others are just like you and me but have fallen on hard times. Lost jobs, women abandoned by husbands or evicted because of being unable to pay their bills, Young people who have run away and don't feel like they can go home. There are those who have lost everything because of medical issues and others who just want to live on the streets because they want to be left alone and don't trust anyone anymore.
We met a Greyhound dog trainer, a woman who plays the violin and sings beautifully. One person speaks four languages, and still another has more education than most of us could hope for, but all have fallen on bad times and are shunned, cursed at, kicked, and generally made fun of. Some have had trouble holding jobs because of addictions that are killing them. These could be any one of us or our own family members.
We need to give them hope in Jesus, not just here but at home as well.
Then there are people like Pastor Kurt who love them (20 years faithfully showing up each week (Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc), feeding, clothing, and ministering to them, taking them to church, and even into his home while ministering to their flu symptoms) , and can teach us how to love them as Christ Jesus Himself loves them.
Maybe you would like to consider coming and spending 6 months here in London learning how to BE Jesus to the Dean's, Jullian's, Paul's, Kathryn's, and others like them. Everywhere we go, there are needs like these.
I will be home next week, give me a call if you would like to enter into a very strong, mightily used by God, mission outreach (who needs your help and can train you to be used right where you are as well),
Think about it, Jim
I met a man on the streets the other day, his name is Dean, he is 21 years old He has been on the streets since he was 16 and has a sister that he has not been able to find. He lives on the streets of London England, where he is accepted by a very choice few friends, also homeless.
The politically correct name for his problem is "Developmentally Disabled" Others would call him "Retarded" "Slow" and many other names. He is scared of people (most likely because of abuse on the streets), lonely, has few friends he can trust. And he is homeless.
I met him and wanted to pray for him but he said no because he was afraid and only after much coaxing by Pastor Kurt was I able to minister to him.
When I saw him, the very first thing he said to us was; "I am special needs, I am Not stupid".
My own brother is a special needs person and all I could see, was my brother in Dean while ministering to him. But without the family and friend support my brother has.
Most people are afraid of people like him (along with the other homeless) because they don't know how to talk to them or respond to their differences.They think they are dirty, smelly, and can't even dress right. They think they are useless, don't want to work, but just want hand outs. We would as well if we were in their shoes.
Some of these people are sick, but others are just like you and me but have fallen on hard times. Lost jobs, women abandoned by husbands or evicted because of being unable to pay their bills, Young people who have run away and don't feel like they can go home. There are those who have lost everything because of medical issues and others who just want to live on the streets because they want to be left alone and don't trust anyone anymore.
We met a Greyhound dog trainer, a woman who plays the violin and sings beautifully. One person speaks four languages, and still another has more education than most of us could hope for, but all have fallen on bad times and are shunned, cursed at, kicked, and generally made fun of. Some have had trouble holding jobs because of addictions that are killing them. These could be any one of us or our own family members.
We need to give them hope in Jesus, not just here but at home as well.
Then there are people like Pastor Kurt who love them (20 years faithfully showing up each week (Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc), feeding, clothing, and ministering to them, taking them to church, and even into his home while ministering to their flu symptoms) , and can teach us how to love them as Christ Jesus Himself loves them.
Maybe you would like to consider coming and spending 6 months here in London learning how to BE Jesus to the Dean's, Jullian's, Paul's, Kathryn's, and others like them. Everywhere we go, there are needs like these.
I will be home next week, give me a call if you would like to enter into a very strong, mightily used by God, mission outreach (who needs your help and can train you to be used right where you are as well),
Think about it, Jim
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Guatemala September 2010
From Jim:
Where can I start, this trip was such a whirlwind.
Friday was basically just a travel day without much in the way of issues but it was a long day non the less. We are two hours ahead (time wise) of Guatemala which made for the rather long,tiring day. We were up at 6:00 am and arrived around 7:00 pm our time.
Saturday was just a time of fellowship with Pastor's Josue and Raul, we needed time to talk with pastor Raul who is the pastor of the Father's Heart Church in Guatemala City. It has been two years since I had been there (because of the cancer I was battling), and there were a lot of things that needed to be talked about along with some encouragement that was badly needed. The people of the church were very concerned because of not hearing from me in such a long time. Pastor Josue took us into the city and blessed us with a couple of really nice meals and some relaxed atmosphere for our talks which seemed to ease the time we spent together.
Sunday morning brought us the privilege of ministering at the Castillo Fuerte Church where we spent an awesome time of worship led by the pastor's wife Lesly, David was able to minister with their worship team and then allowed to lead worship for a time as well.
After David led for a short time I was given the pulpit to speak about totally surrendering to God in every area of our life Pastor Josue told me (as well as others) after the service that they had someone else the week before who ministered almost exactly the same thing, he also told me that he had ministered another part of the message on Wednesday evening during their regular service.
During the alter call many repented and sought Jesus for healing as well, there were many who received their healing along with a little girl (she had heard me testify about how God had healed my torn rotor cuff during a time of worship) who received her healing with child like faith. I prayed for her the first time after which she told me she still has some pain so we prayed again, then she held her arm up and said "It's Done!" What a awesome thing to watch.
Sunday evening we went to The Father's Heart church and ministered much the same way (with a different message) and watched the people repent at the alter and then they lined up for prayer for healing. Many received their healing including a man who had been carried in by two men in a plastic lawn chair. He didn't even have a wheel chair! This man could not talk either. I laid hands on him with the help of the other pastors in the church (more on this later) and we lifted him out of his chair, helped him take a few steps, and watched as he tried to leap and dance. Not only did he walk but he started talking as well. What an awesome night.
Here is the later part: When David and I walked in, there were five other pastors there who are from many outlying ares of Guatemala (one from the Honduran Border) who are also under the covering of The Father's Heart Ministries as well. These all came to welcome me back, to say I was touched is an extreme understatement!
Monday was a little different as we had no definite plans for Monday evening but did have a really good meeting with six pastors and some of their families for breakfast. We were able to video them with a short discourse of who they are, where they pastor, and what their vision is for their church. We have some who are building new churches in Aldea's (small villages), those who are working with broken families, some who are doing evangelism (buses, parks, even in the stores), all with a hunger for working for the kingdom of God, not to build their selves up or their personal ministries.
After lunch we were asked what we wanted to do for Monday evening, David and I prayed for divine appointments and were later picked up by another pastor and his brother who (after another meeting) asked us to come to their cell group meeting. They were very apologetic because they only had ten people coming to the meeting and wanted to have us minister to more. But God!!!!! had another plan, when the cell group found out we were coming, they called one another and the church was full! David led worship and I spoke to them. The service was awesome, after the word I was able to lay hands on most all of the church and on those who were sick, to received their healing. This was one of the most powerful services I have ever been in.
God has been so good to us to let us be a part of the work going on there and we can't wait to get back there.
Please be in prayer for our next trip which we are planning for early April.
Want to go? Give us a call, Jim
Where can I start, this trip was such a whirlwind.
Friday was basically just a travel day without much in the way of issues but it was a long day non the less. We are two hours ahead (time wise) of Guatemala which made for the rather long,tiring day. We were up at 6:00 am and arrived around 7:00 pm our time.
Saturday was just a time of fellowship with Pastor's Josue and Raul, we needed time to talk with pastor Raul who is the pastor of the Father's Heart Church in Guatemala City. It has been two years since I had been there (because of the cancer I was battling), and there were a lot of things that needed to be talked about along with some encouragement that was badly needed. The people of the church were very concerned because of not hearing from me in such a long time. Pastor Josue took us into the city and blessed us with a couple of really nice meals and some relaxed atmosphere for our talks which seemed to ease the time we spent together.
Sunday morning brought us the privilege of ministering at the Castillo Fuerte Church where we spent an awesome time of worship led by the pastor's wife Lesly, David was able to minister with their worship team and then allowed to lead worship for a time as well.
After David led for a short time I was given the pulpit to speak about totally surrendering to God in every area of our life Pastor Josue told me (as well as others) after the service that they had someone else the week before who ministered almost exactly the same thing, he also told me that he had ministered another part of the message on Wednesday evening during their regular service.
During the alter call many repented and sought Jesus for healing as well, there were many who received their healing along with a little girl (she had heard me testify about how God had healed my torn rotor cuff during a time of worship) who received her healing with child like faith. I prayed for her the first time after which she told me she still has some pain so we prayed again, then she held her arm up and said "It's Done!" What a awesome thing to watch.
Sunday evening we went to The Father's Heart church and ministered much the same way (with a different message) and watched the people repent at the alter and then they lined up for prayer for healing. Many received their healing including a man who had been carried in by two men in a plastic lawn chair. He didn't even have a wheel chair! This man could not talk either. I laid hands on him with the help of the other pastors in the church (more on this later) and we lifted him out of his chair, helped him take a few steps, and watched as he tried to leap and dance. Not only did he walk but he started talking as well. What an awesome night.
Here is the later part: When David and I walked in, there were five other pastors there who are from many outlying ares of Guatemala (one from the Honduran Border) who are also under the covering of The Father's Heart Ministries as well. These all came to welcome me back, to say I was touched is an extreme understatement!
Monday was a little different as we had no definite plans for Monday evening but did have a really good meeting with six pastors and some of their families for breakfast. We were able to video them with a short discourse of who they are, where they pastor, and what their vision is for their church. We have some who are building new churches in Aldea's (small villages), those who are working with broken families, some who are doing evangelism (buses, parks, even in the stores), all with a hunger for working for the kingdom of God, not to build their selves up or their personal ministries.
After lunch we were asked what we wanted to do for Monday evening, David and I prayed for divine appointments and were later picked up by another pastor and his brother who (after another meeting) asked us to come to their cell group meeting. They were very apologetic because they only had ten people coming to the meeting and wanted to have us minister to more. But God!!!!! had another plan, when the cell group found out we were coming, they called one another and the church was full! David led worship and I spoke to them. The service was awesome, after the word I was able to lay hands on most all of the church and on those who were sick, to received their healing. This was one of the most powerful services I have ever been in.
God has been so good to us to let us be a part of the work going on there and we can't wait to get back there.
Please be in prayer for our next trip which we are planning for early April.
Want to go? Give us a call, Jim
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The Fathers Heart Ministries Volunteer Picnic
From Jim:
We will be having a picnic on Saturday the 31st of July for our volunteers and their families at Frank Lisk Park in Concord, NC.
The Father's Heart will be providing the hamburgers, and hot dogs, along with the buns for the day. We will also provide the ice, paper plates and drink cups for your use.
Please come and bring your families, we have 2 shelters reserved for the day. There are tennis courts, volleyball courts, horse shoe courts, etc. available for our use for the day as well.
Please come, bring a side dish and/or a desert and your favorite drink to share.
This will be an opportunity to get to know and fellowship with the other volunteers as well as those you minister with on a regular basis. You will also be able to meet other ministry leaders who would love to meet you as well. We are also planning on inviting the Chaplains from the area to come and fellowship with us.
The shelters we have reserved are Wildlife and Vulcan and they are near the tennis courts. We have them for the whole day and we will start cooking around 11:00 so as to be ready to eat around 12:00.
Please come and be a part of something that will bless you and us as we break bread together and share in fun and games for all.
Please call us at the office for directions, details, and to confirm at 704-786-4511
We will be having a picnic on Saturday the 31st of July for our volunteers and their families at Frank Lisk Park in Concord, NC.
The Father's Heart will be providing the hamburgers, and hot dogs, along with the buns for the day. We will also provide the ice, paper plates and drink cups for your use.
Please come and bring your families, we have 2 shelters reserved for the day. There are tennis courts, volleyball courts, horse shoe courts, etc. available for our use for the day as well.
Please come, bring a side dish and/or a desert and your favorite drink to share.
This will be an opportunity to get to know and fellowship with the other volunteers as well as those you minister with on a regular basis. You will also be able to meet other ministry leaders who would love to meet you as well. We are also planning on inviting the Chaplains from the area to come and fellowship with us.
The shelters we have reserved are Wildlife and Vulcan and they are near the tennis courts. We have them for the whole day and we will start cooking around 11:00 so as to be ready to eat around 12:00.
Please come and be a part of something that will bless you and us as we break bread together and share in fun and games for all.
Please call us at the office for directions, details, and to confirm at 704-786-4511
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