ODB: Freedom At Alcatraz
January 15, 2011
To be under Christ’s control is to have true freedom.
READ: Philemon 1:4-16
I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains. —Philemon 1:10
A tour of the federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay left me with some unforgettable images. As our tour boat pulled into the dock, I could see why this now-closed maximum-security federal prison was once known as “The Rock.”
Later, inside the legendary Big House, I stared at shafts of light coming through heavily barred windows. Then I saw row after row of cagelike cells that housed well-known inmates such as Al Capone and Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz.”
But another image made a deeper impression. Stepping into an empty cell, I saw the name “Jesus” scrawled on a wall. In another, a Bible lay on a shelf. Together they quietly spoke of the greatest of all freedoms.
Paul knew such liberty while waiting to be executed. Regarding himself as a “prisoner of Christ,” he used his incarceration to help other inmates discover what it means to be an eternally forgiven, dearly loved member of God’s family (Philem. 1:10).
Barred windows and doors represent one kind of confinement. Physical paralysis, inescapable poverty, and prolonged unemployment are others. Perhaps you endure another. None are to be desired—yet who would trade “imprisonment” with Christ for life “on the outside” without Him?
— Mart De Haan
Source: Our Daily Bread
Tweet This
Share on Facebook
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it
RSS FeedRelated
ODJ: questioning God
March 12, 2011 I will take care of you, Jeremiah. Your enemies will ask you to plead on their behalf in times of trouble and distress. (v.11). READ: Jeremiah 15:10-21 Although I’ve been walking with God for decades, I admit that I sometimes still question Him. While I’ve learned not to blame Him [...]
The Supernatural Peace Jesus Walked In
By Alvin Mak, 21, Singapore “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” —John 14:27 Jesus walked in an unearthly peace. No one was busier than Jesus, but no one possesses [...]
ODJ: forgetting faces
December 23, 2010 Remember the Lord your God. He is the One who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant He confirmed to your ancestors with an oath (v.18). READ: Deuteronomy 8:11-18 In 2004, a woman named Claire contracted viral encephalitis. After treatment for her illness at a local hospital, she [...]
ODJ: Syndie & Me
April 9, 2012 Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (v.9). READ: Joshua 1:1-9 Last year I went through a bone marrow transplant (BMT). By God’s grace I didn’t go it alone. Family and friends walked with me through the procedure [...]
Christian Courses
Day Of Discovery
Discover The Word
Discovery Series
Help For My Life
My Utmost For His Highest
Our Daily Bread
Our Daily Journey
RBC Ministries
WarungSateKaMu
Manasociety
雅米
We usually find God in the most unlikely places and situations.
This is true God is instilled within any person who Loves Him(God).