Remembering Those in Prison ...

"Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill treated, since you yourselves are also in the body." Hebrews 13:3

I read this verse today in my time with the Lord. How appropriate, for there are a countless number of brothers and sisters behind bars because they name the name of Jesus. Just how can I remember them?

Looking up the word "remember" in the Blue Letter Bible (blueletterbible.org) it is from the Greek word #3415 mimnēskomai, and here are the meanings:
to remind
to be recalled or to return to one's mind, to remind one's self of, to remember
to be recalled to mind, to be remembered, had in remembrance
to remember a thing
be mindful of

http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3403&t=NASB

Thinking about those who are in prison for their faith is not a pleasant thing to think about, at least from my worldly standpoint. Who wants to consider that there are those who are enduring beatings and torture for the name of Jesus? But Jesus had another viewpoint about those who suffer, totally different than the worldly way I naturally see it.

In the Beatitudes recorded in Matthew's gospel, Jesus says: “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5: 10-12)

Now that is not the natural way of looking at persecution. If you go to the Voice of the Martyrs website, (persecution.com) you can read about increasing amounts of persecution growing around the world as the love of men grows cold. It is not something that is comfortable to do, but it is reality for thousands and thousands of people across this planet.

One of the most simple ways to "remember the prisoners" is to lift them up in prayer to the Lord. I spoke with a representative from Voice of the Martyrs, and she told me that this is their number one request. Prayer is our one offensive weapon to use against the kingdom of darkness. We can pray not only that the prisoners will have food to eat but that the Holy Spirit would recall to their minds spiritual food as well. We can ask for God to surround them with His peace, even for His angels to minister to them. There are so many ways we can pray for the prisoners. I think one of the best ways is to find appropriate Scriptures and pray them to God, because He ultimately honors His Word.

John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

We may not be able to physically go to their prisons to visit them that are in bonds, but we can visit them by communing with God in prayer for them. These are members of our very own Body!

Romans 12:5: "so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." and also I Cor. 12:12 "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ."

It is hard to understand why this amount of suffering is going on, and why so many are being martyred at this time. But we must trust that the Lord is in control of all things, and know that if we pray for the persecuted, it is as we are doing it unto the Lord.

Matthew 25: 34-40
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

Be Content My Soul

As the season of "gimme" approaches, I need to remind myself that the Lord is all I really need. I am so tempted to want so many things for myself, but the Scripture reminds me " Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5) I look around me and anticipate others getting fancy things and am tempted to be jealous.
When I truly think about it, I have been given so much already. I have a pastor who pours his soul out in teaching the Word of God, I have wonderful Bibles in abundance, I have wonderful doctrinal books, beautiful Christian music, many wonderful Christian friends. Most of all though, I have the Lord Jesus who died for me on Calvary, who has promised to supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19)
There are others in this world who have so little and yet are grateful. I think of the pastors in Vietnam who are literally on the run, yet so zealous to share their faith, the refugees in Darfur who just would be grateful for clean water to drink, the children who will be delighted with a shoebox from Operation Christmas Child, the list goes on....
Father, work in me the desire not to receive for myself this season but to pour my life out for others. I encourage any who reads this to find a charity to share with this season. There are so many worthy ones: Voice of the Martyrs, Gospel for Asia, Operation Christmas Child, Persecution Project are some of my favorites.
Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:42: "And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."

Giving thanks changes everything!

In the seventies I had a Phil Keaggy record that had a song called Disappointment His Appointment. In the lyrics it said, "Disappointment, His appointment, change one letter then I see, that the thwarting of my purpose is God's better choice for me."I have found that instead of grumbling, it is so much more mentally healthy to give thanks, even when my plans don't work out the way I want them to.
Today, I had a small disappointment. I had an online class that I very much wanted to take. But my husband said no, that I had too many commitments right now. I was tempted to get discouraged and even argue with him. But the verse "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."(I Thess. 5:18) came to mind. I decided to thank God that He used my husband to perhaps prevent me from not fulfilling His will, but mine. After all, my way will only lead to futility. God, in His wisdom, has a plan for my life, that is so much better than what I could concoct.
I heard the beautiful testimony of the late Sabina Wurmbrand,co-founder of Voice of the Martyrs about giving thanks. This humble servant told of how the hell she suffered in Romanian prison was transformed when she and the other believers greeted each other in the morning with "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good,For His mercy endureth forever." Psalm 107:1 She said that transformed their outlook. She was forced to go in a dress only to throw large rocks into the freezing Danube, which would subsequently cause her dress to get wet and freeze, and yet she and countless others not only survived, but thrived by following the Biblical principle to give thanks in everything.If anyone wants to read about her amazing life, get the book "The Pastor's Wife" which she wrote. You will be glad you did.
May I give thanks to you Lord this week in all things.

Undergoing sufferings for the cause of Christ

I recently had a fellowship meeting for the Voice of the Martyrs and had a wonderful speaker come and share with us. Believers in other countries are giving all for the name of Christ. They have so little, while we here in America have so much. Yet I wonder if the reverse is really true instead. Maybe they are the ones who are rich, and we are the poor ones.
Doesn't it say to the church at Laodecia,"Because you say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing-and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked..." (Rev. 3:17)
I need to examine myself! Do I think I can rest on my laurels, that I know enough already? I was reading from one of their books, The Trimphant Church, where their founder encourages us to prepare NOW for possible persecution. He said we need to rehearse in our minds what our answer will be when persecution comes knocking at our door.
Tnis is not a pleasant subject. Most prefer not to think about it. But Jesus did promise us that "in this world you will have tribulation" (John 16:33) and "For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but to suffer for His sake."(Phil. 1:29)
Lord give me courage to stand for you in that day.