Flaming Arrows

Like I said in my last blog, I was moved into one of the Treatment units. This has taken a little adjusting on my part. One of the biggest things is the way I think. When you are living with the rest of the population you do not have to think about a lot of things. Now, though, I have to start thinking about everything that I say or do. A friend of mine said that it is all about risk versus reward. If a letter I write has a certain amount of risk involved with my treatment wi

As my last installment concerning the difference between obedience to the Old Covenant Law and New Covenant Grace I would like to relate a recent illustration that I think shows the difference perfectly. A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine who is part of the “Messianic” Believers group here in prison was asked to give a brief teaching on the bread and cup. Normally when men are asked to teach on The Supper, they immediately go to the Passover Meal. I understand the reason

A boy of about eight and a little girl of about three were sitting at the dinner table and the little girl was bawling her eyes out. The little boy asked the girl, “Did you have your nap today?” In between screams she said, “Noooo!!!” Children live under rules because there are adults that know what is best for them and their health. Once they grow up and move out on their own it is up to them to make sure they get enough rest to stay healthy and no longer the responsibility

So, this last week I talked to a friend of mine and we got to talking about representing Jesus in this lifetime. He had a view that we should be living as if we were going to take over the Garden of Eden again. He wanted a lifestyle that reflected that relationship with God. I disagreed. I think that we have a much higher and better calling than the Garden. We have way more privilege than that, in my opinion. Let me explain. First of all, Adam and Eve only had fellowship with

With our celebration of Independence Day on Friday I was thinking about the nation of Israel and their independence. I was thinking about how God chose them and displayed His power to protect them. That is when it hit me. Israel was blessed when they obeyed the commandments of God. I think that this is the biggest difference between the Old and New covenants. Throughout the Old Covenant Scriptures it says "If you obey my commandments" then it adds the blessing which is always

About a week ago when we were in a Bible study the comment was made that, "Only God knows the condition of the heart." I have been pondering this and how it relates to the new covenant. You see, if our heart condition cannot be seen then there is no difference between the old covenant and the new. If I go to church, tithe my income, eat the right things, and do not sleep around on my wife then I am just as good as the next guy. Right? The new covenant says “no” that is not th

The other day I was sitting with an older friend at dinner. A younger man who calls himself a 'Christian" walked by and there were some very foul things coming out of his mouth. The man looked at me and said: "How can fresh water and bitter water flow from the same spring?" (Quoting James 3:11) We talked for a little while about the possibility of the guy just needing growth or maybe there is no real life in him. Then we discussed the fact that we all make mistakes during the

I have been writing a LOT of letters lately. I wrote over 70 of them in the past couple of months. Why? I meet the parole Board in October. I want to parole to a community corrections facility so I wrote to a bunch of community corrections and a bunch of prospective employers. I wrote one type of letter to community corrections and another type of letter to various companies. Why? Each was a different audience. I was the same person but the audience needed different informati

The past couple of weeks I have been comparing the Old and New Covenants. Last week we saw that we were free from the stigma of guilt. This week I would like to discuss being free from sin. I have some good news. In Christ Jesus we are promised freedom from sin. I have a very vivid imagination. I can still see Mel Gibson in the movie Braveheart laying on the torturing table at the end of the movie. They were trying to get him to recant his errors but summoning his last breath

This week I want to develop a little bit about the compare and contrast between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Last week I gave a profound observation. Did you catch it? I said, the OId Covenant is not the New Covenant. Man, what revelation. The problem is for most of us, myself included, we do not live like it is. Let me say it another way. For a very long time I thought that if I gave up cigarettes I would be a better Christian and get closer to God. One day I final