Hebrews 13: 22 I beg you, my friends, to listen patiently to this message of encouragement; for this letter I have written you is not very long. 23 I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been let out of prison. If he comes soon enough, I will have him with me when I see you.
24 Give our greetings to all your leaders and to all God's people. The believers from Italy send you their greetings.
25 May God's grace be with you all.
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Hearing that the
guy down the street had been released from prison, I was scared to even ride my
bike in front of their house. In fact, I heaped my suspicions on him when my
child sized bike was stolen.
- I did not want to associate with someone who used to be a prisoner.
- I was scared of people who were released from prison.
- I thought that someone who went to prison was “worse” than me.
Paul, the assumed
writer, was no stranger to prison. In fact he spent his latter years, mostly under
guard. His boldness for CHRIST was anti-human-kingdom. In other words he spoke
boldly for CHRIST and was jailed. Timothy followed in his footsteps. He too, was
imprisoned for CHRIST.
My Observations:
- GOD sees today’s prisoners as people HE loves dearly.
- GOD wants me to see everyone as HE sees them.
- GOD loves when I am bold for HIM.
Being so bold for
JESUS that one is willing to go to jail for HIM seems strange. I mean, can’t we
safely whisper JESUS or just use examples and not mention HIM? No! GOD wants
HIS SON mentioned as much as possible.
It takes step-by-step
courage building to become bold enough to mention JESUS easily. This boldness opens eyes of the speaker and receiver. A
total change of heart towards others is needed when it comes to being bold for
JESUS. I am glad HE challenges me to see others as HE sees them.
Challenge
- How can the writer speak about being released from prison so easily?
- What is your perception of prisoners or newly released people?
- Will you have the same heart for prisoners and newly released people as you do with other people you hang around so he or she may praise GOD through CHRIST today?
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