The Benefits of Being in Prison
(Philippians 1:12-14)
Mike Johnson
(12) But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, (13) so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; (14) and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Many think that Paul wrote the book of Philippians during his imprisonment in Rome (Acts 28) when he was subject to house arrest. He was in chains and guarded by a Roman soldier (16, 20). Despite this adverse situation, Paul’s letter to the Philippians is full of joy. The words “joy” or “rejoice” occur seventeen times in this short book. The book’s theme is considered to be in 4:17, where he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” With this outlook, it is not surprising to see Paul focusing on the positive and even being able to see some benefits of being in prison. Verses 12-14 show how people can do the work of God even though circumstances might be harsh. Consider some lessons.
Bad Can Be Good
In verse 12, Paul said his imprisonment furthered the gospel (“advanced” NIV). How is this possible? It seems the opposite would have happened: preaching the gospel would have been hindered. Being in Rome, however, gave Paul the chance to preach the gospel there. In verse 13, he points out that it became evident to the “whole palace guard” that he was not a criminal but was being punished for his religious beliefs. They saw that Paul was not a typical prisoner.
In 1 Peter 4:14-16, the writer points out the shame of being imprisoned for being an evildoer, a murderer, or a thief. However, there is no shame in suffering for doing what is right. Verse 16 of 1 Peter 4 says, “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.” Paul was suffering as a Christian. The “whole palace guard” noticed this, which may indicate some conversions from their ranks. In closing this letter, he said, “All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household” (4:22). Some from Caesar’s household were converted.
Courage Can Be Contagious
A second positive from his imprisonment is in verse 14. Paul’s situation caused many saints to become bolder and speak God’s Word without fear. Again, one would think the opposite would have occurred. Seeing Paul in prison might have caused people to stop preaching God’s Word, but it did not.
Christians need to have courage. Besides being how God wants us to be, doing so encourages other Christians to be bold and do the right thing. One courageous act can inspire others. In a group situation, one person standing up for what is right is often all it takes to get others to do the same thing. 1 Corinthians 16:13 says, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”
Paul obviously would have preferred not being in prison. But in all adversity, there are things for which to be thankful for and for which we can rejoice (1 Thess. 5:16, 18). Today, we must learn to make the best out of adversity. We must use adversity for whatever good that we can. The problem may be sickness, persecution, or loss of loved ones. Whatever the adversity may be, we can always gain from it. Also, like Paul, we should take advantage of all kinds of situations and teach others. Who would have thought that Paul could have turned his difficult situation into an opportunity for good?
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Do Miracles Occur Every Day?
Leon Mauldin
What does the Bible teach regarding miracles? Is it true, as some claim, that miracles are happening every day?
In reality, even during Bible times, miracles did not occur “every day.” Miraculous activities for the most part were confined to certain periods of Biblical history. These included the miracles of the creation week. Then when Israel was in Egyptian bondage, God sent the ten plagues, caused Israel to cross the Red Sea on dry land, fed them with manna, and on occasion also miraculously gave them water. Later, the ministries of the prophets Elijah and Elisha were characterized by numerous miracles.
The next “cluster” of miracles was during the ministry of Christ, and finally, during the establishment and spread of the church (Acts). Obviously then, miracles were not “evenly distributed” over the centuries of Biblical history, but rather were used by God only at certain times, to meet unique needs, and to accomplish specific purposes.
Among the many miracles Jesus performed we read of His healing the man with an amputated ear be simply touching him (Luke 22:50-51). Honestly, do you see that every day, or any day? When there was a great tempest in the sea of Galilee, Jesus “rebuked the waves and the sea and there was a great calm” (Matthew 8:23-26). On another occasion, on that same sea, Jesus came unto His disciples walking on the water (Matthew 14:26). Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 men plus women and children with five loaves and two fish (Matthew 15:32-39. There are three recorded occasions where Jesus raised the dead. These include the only son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17). Jarius’ daughter (Matthew 9:18-26) and Lazarus (John 11).
These are but a few, a very few of the miracles Jesus did. The purpose of Jesus’ miracles is stated in John 2:30-31: “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” That purpose has been accomplished.
Further, Mark gives us insight into the purpose of the miraculous when he writes, “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs” (Mark 16:20). References is made to the salvation which began to be spoken by the Lord, “and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His will” (Hebrews 2:3,4).
The purpose of the miraculous then was to reveal and to confirm the word of God. There was a time limitation on the miraculous. Gifts such as tongues, prophecy, and knowledge (miraculous) would cease (1 Corinthians 13:8-10) with the completion of the revelation. God’s power has not ceased. His presence and glory are evident all around us. We are abundantly blessed by Him (Acts 14:17; James 1:17). He hears and answers prayer (James 5:16). When the revelation of truth was completed, and had been fully confirmed, the miraculous ceased, having accomplished its purpose.
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To You Who Bring Small
Children to Church
Bob Waldron
There you are, sitting in worship or Bible study. Your child, or toddler, is restless. Perhaps they’re even a little boisterous. You try to silence them, and nothing. You try to pacify them with food or toys, and nothing. Eventually, you resort to the last thing you want to do — you pick them up. And before a watching audience, you make the march out of the auditorium. All the while, you’re a little embarrassed. Maybe you’re a little frustrated too. You might even think to yourself, “There’s no point in coming to church. I get nothing out of it because I have to constantly care for my child.”
I want you — you mothers and/or fathers — to know just how encouraging you are to so many. The little elderly woman who often feels alone beams with a smile at the sight of you wrestling with your little one has been there before. She knows how hard it can be, but she smiles because to hear that brings back precious memories. To see young parents and their small children brightens her day, and she may have just received bad news this week about her health, but seeing the vitality of young ones removes — if but for a moment — her fears.
The older man, who always seems to be grouchy, notices you too. He’s always talking about how children nowadays have no respect or sense of good. But, he sees you — a young family — in church, and you don’t miss any gathering. Like clockwork, he can depend on the sight of you and your young family. You give him hope that maybe the church isn’t doomed after all because there are still young parents who love God enough to bring their restless children to worship.
Then there’s everybody else. Some people will honestly become frustrated by noisy children in church. They have this warped idea that reverence includes absolute silence. It doesn’t. When parents brought their children to Jesus, the disciples rebuked them (Matthew 19:13-15), but Jesus rebuked His disciples. He said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” The Greek term translated as “children” in Matthew and Mark is “paidon.” The root of the word “pedagogue” is from this word. It defined children of either an infant state, or more particularly, it was with reference to those who were half-grown and could be either males or females.
When Luke wrote his account of this narrative, he used the word “brephos;” which means “infants.” Luke didn’t contradict Matthew and Mark’s account because Luke wrote that they brought the infants “also” (Luke 18.15-17). They would have squirmed, maybe even cried. This was likely why the disciples rebuked the parents; they might have thought that the children were too young to understand the blessing Christ pronounced over them.
Bring your children to church. There is an old saying that has a lot of truth in it: “If you don’t hear crying, the church is dying!” As hard as it might be for you as a discouraged parent, keep doing what you’re doing. You are an encouragement, and you’re starting off your children’s lives as you should. (Edited)
Author Unknown
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Mules, Grudges, and Bitterness
Glen Young
A farmer leaned on the fence, which separated his farm from his neighbor’s adjoining field. He watched while his neighbor plowed his old mule with sullen difficulty.
The farmer stood there watching his neighbor’s misery until he could take it no longer. “I don’t like to tell a fella his business, but if you would speak to that there mule it would make your job much easier,” spoke the farmer. “Seems to me that pulling on the reins like you do only confuses the mule and makes you mad. Just tell him ‘gee’ and ‘haw’ and see if he don’t do a lot better.”
The neighbor took the reins from around his shoulders, pulled a big square red handkerchief from his hip pocket, and wiped the inside of his straw hat. He then looked kinda squint-eyed and said, “Reckon you’re right neighbor, but this here animal kicked me five years ago, and I ain’t spoke a word to him since.”
How we relate to people is an important element in our Christian lives. Christians cannot claim Christ-like character if they bear grudges. Can you imagine Peter becoming so upset with our Lord because He called him Satan (Matthew 16:23) that he refused to ever speak to Him again?
Holding a grudge has become a life-long project for some. They can remember every unkind word that was spoken to them. They dwell upon the way they were mistreated and make a pact with themselves never to forgive. Their attitude is one that says, now you’ve hurt me and you must pay. The grudge bearer fails to understand that grudges don’t hurt others nearly as much as they hurt him.
A way in which one hurts themselves is that bearing a grudge produces bitterness, which in turn clouds the judgement. When this happens, the grudge bearer will always be ‘against’ the one to whom they are bitter. They will put the worst interpretation possible upon the words or actions of their foe and will at every opportunity, engage in pettifoggery.
In dealing with God’s acceptance of the Gentiles and that the Jewish Christian should do the same, Paul wrote, “Wherefore receive ye one another, even as Christ also received you, to the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).
Another way is the time and energy it takes to maintain a grudge. Time that could and should be used to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. Instead, the grudge holder occupies their thought processes with the real or imagined, the intentional or unintentional hurts of their foe. The Christian is to direct his thoughts on things which edify (Philippians 4:8).
“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).
In speaking of bitterness, Walter N. Henderson wrote, “Bitterness will cause one to lie; (Rom. 3:13,14); it will even cause one to lie against the truth according to Jas. 3:14. Why? Because the one possessed with bitterness cannot see the truth in all of its beauty, for he looks at it through jaundiced eyes.
Many great men, preachers of power, and faithful saints of God have been destroyed because they let Satan fill their hearts with bitterness, and they refused to put it away as the Scripture instructed them to do. Asa, a great king, let bitterness mar an almost perfect life. (2 Chron. 16:12). Don’t let this happen to you; I must guard against it too.”
The plowing of his field was made difficult because the neighbor held a grudge and was bitter. The Christian’s life is made unfulfilling, and his soul is lost when he holds a grudge that in turn harbors bitterness. Isn’t it time to speak to the mule in your life?
via Road Creek Bulletin
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The Cornbread Habit
A.G. Hobbs Jr.
“There is a man who has the ‘cornbread habit! He just had to have a piece of cornbread every twenty or thirty minutes. Every morning as soon as he awakens, the first thing he thinks about is his cornbread. He eats a piece before he dresses, and sometimes he even wakes up in the night craving cornbread. After breakfast he eats another piece and goes off to work with his pockets full of cornbread, which he eats every few minutes all day.
“On the way home, he stops at the store for more cornbread for fear his wife has forgotten, to get any, Once she did forget and he got so ill-tempered that he had to drive five miles before bedtime in order to get some. Otherwise he was so irritable that he just yelled at her and the children.
“This man attends worship, but the last thing he does before he enters the church building is to stand on the curb and eat another hunk of cornbread. Then he throws the crust and the sack on the sidewalk and goes in. Between class and worship he rushes outside and eats another piece of cornbread. After the ‘amen’ he joins the other cornbread eaters on the sidewalk and the crumbs fly!
“Poor man! He is really a SLAVE to cornbread!”
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How to Establish Bible Authority
Bob Owen
(3-21-94)
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Editor: Mike Johnson