Category: Prison Epistles

The Inhumanity of Humanity pt 2

60 Days and Nights

“I was in prison and you came to Me.” Matthew 25:36

In a span of 60 days . . .

There was a place called bologna row, where i spent four days. It is called bologna row because for breakfast (yes breakfast) and dinner, that is the main course, bologna sandwiches.

i had a conversation with a gang member from Pomona, California. Since i lived in the area we were able to talk about places of familiarity. There was a place in Covina, called “El Loco Taco,” we were in agreement, it was the best restaurant around.

i got to know a guy who lived the movie Fast & Furious as a character in his own life story. Upon returning, after he was gone for a spell, he brought with him two books. “31 Days of Prayer” for me and “Highway to Hell” for himself. He said, “Here I brought you a piece of heaven, and for me a piece of hell.”

What a mess you leave that could easily be cleaned

Now that you’re here do your best to see

i met men named, Black Eagle, Little Bird, and Melvin. There was a man in a wheel chair, another who walked stooped over. There was a yeller, i don’t know what he was yelling, i don’t think anyone did. There was a gang, i referred to them as the blue shoe gang, mainly, because they all wore blue shoes. One guy who had a cast was caught with a shank. Then their was the broken hearted fool, well a few of those. The saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” was a thought i had many times.

Every evening at roughly 7:40 mountain time the call came, “Prayer circle, prayer circle!” This was followed by The Adon’s Prayer, “Our Father . . .”

i read The Hobbit in three days, and played a million games of chess, give or take. Shaving was a challenge, it took some practice to not look like i was slitting my throat. There was a day with no hot water which was better than the day without any water. In a room built for one, i slept on the floor. Well, i had a two inch thick mat that was roughly three feet wide and six feet long. There was a leak through the wall from the shower, which was just next door. Every night at 3am the nurse came through administering medication to those who had need.

“But the righteousness of belief speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who shall ascend into the heavens?’ — that is, to bring Messiah down; or, ‘Who shall descend into the abyss?’ — that is, to bring Messiah up from the dead. But what does it say? ‘The Word is near you, in you mouth and in your heart’ — that is, the Word of belief which we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth the Adon Yahoshua and believe in your heart that YHWH has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. . . . For ‘everyone who calls on the Name of YHWH shall be saved.’” Romans 10:6-9,13

Humanity truly is inhumane. Sadly, speaking from experience, i sat with individuals in jail who hadn’t even been convicted, hadn’t had their day in court, being treated exactly the same, worse in some cases, than others who were serving out their sentences.

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Adon Yahoshua Messiah, from whom all family in the heaven and earth is named, in order that He might give you according to the riches of His glory by power, to be strengthened in the inner man, through His Spirit, That Messiah might dwell in your hearts through faith — having become rooted and grounded in love, in order that you might be strengthened to firmly grasp, with all the saints, what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Messiah which surpasses knowledge, in order that you might be filled to all the completeness of Elohim. And to Him who is able to do exceedingly above what we ask or think, according to the power that is working in us, to Him be glory in the assembly by Messiah Yahoshua unto all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21

The goodness of the good news is this, that those who call on the name of YHWH, who believe in the Son Yahoshua Messiah, these are new creations, the old is gone. There is no distinction in the eyes of YHWH for He see’s His Son, Messiah Yahoshua, our filthiness washed in His righteousness. If only we had eyes like Yahoshua, if only we had hearts like Yahoshua, if only . . . “Put on then, as Elohim’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Adon has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. . . . And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Adon Yahoshua, giving thanks to YHWH the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:12-14,17

May we filter our vision through the lens of Messiah Yahoshua.

You are loved,
cj

The Inhumanity of Humanity pt 1

When i was a young teenager, i don’t recall my exact age maybe 14, we put our family dog, Shawnee down. Shawnee was a beautiful, intelligent, protective, friend. A full bread German-Shepherd who had been with us since i was just two years old. As with many German-Shepherd’s Shawnee suffered from debilitating hip dysplasia. i remember the day the decision was made, i carried her to the car and put her in the back seat in tears. She looked grateful, of course i don’t really know what she was thinking but it was almost as if she knew and was thinking, “thank you, you have been good to me, it is my time, I love you;” Spoken with her eyes and the gentle nudge of her nose to my cheek.

Later, i would have a similar experience with Nanook a coyote/terrier mix. Think of a coyote’s long pointy snout and slim build, covered in the shag of a terrier’s fur. She was incredibly loyal, protective, and loving. As i held her in the veterinary office and watched them inject her, the relief in her eyes as the pain faded away, i again sensed the thoughts of gratitude. “Thank you for all you have done, I am ready to go but know this, I have and always will love you.”

While serving as pastor, i sat with many a family as they said goodbye to a loved one being taken off life support. The words of affection spoken to mostly lifeless bodies by those remaining behind always tore at my heart. Being a comfort in a time like that is never easy and no matter how many times i had experienced it, it never got easier. Death is uncomfortable, even when expected.

In 2020 i said goodbye to my mom. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in April and she died in August. While on hospice she was home so we got to spend that time with her as opposed to how hospitals were treating families due to Covid, inhumanely. However, watching my mom fade away each day was ten times worse than being in the room with members of my congregation as they said goodbye to a family member i really didn’t know.

We strive to live forever in a fallen world rather than celebrate into our forever, eternity with Yahoshua. Of course families who do not have that hope or are saying goodbye to someone who doesn’t have that hope will rightly grieve more difficultly. Not withstanding this notion of the lost-loved-one, for what do we preserve life that we sacrifice our loved ones to pain and torment? We treat our pets with more dignity.

i was talking with Melvin, a friend of mine, one evening. He recently lost his mom. As we talked about grief and loss, we also discussed the impact such an event has on the family dynamics. Through our conversation that evening i was once again struck with the inhumanity of humanity. Don’t get me wrong life is precious. We only get one shot on earth really, but i think we need to seriously consider our end of life options. No i am not talking about letting people suicide themselves because life is hard or uncomfortable or even when suffering some incurable disease, at least not in the beginning. That’s really a side note, just me thinking out loud with my fingers. The point that i want to make here was made in that very famous Pete Seeger song, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” Also, you can find it in the pages of Scripture . . . Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
YHWH’s Given Task
What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that Elohim has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”

Written into the pages of Elohim’s sacred book we see that time is ordained. There is a time for every purpose and that He, YHWH, El Shaddai, has made. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what Elohim has done from the beginning to the end.

i don’t necessarily have the answer to this one. When i began writing, i simply wanted to express the idea, that we treat our pets with greater compassion than we do our human loved ones. And as i read the words in Ecclesiastes and sing the song in my head i can’t help but wonder, how might we treat end of life situations with a bit more compassion and humanity? And, more importantly, how do we steal time, or redeem time, or spend time in a way that expresses the Creators beauty of life?

You are loved,
cj

By Faith Abraham

Perfect religion is action, not emblems, idols or merely attendance.

By grace Abraham was chosen. Through faith Abraham believed.

Hebrews 11:8-10, 17-
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is Elohim. . . . By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ He considered that Elohim was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.”

The inconvenient truth of Scripture, “Faith without works is dead.” James 2:14-17 says: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Prior to this James says: “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. . . . For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (2:8, 13)

The overwhelming number of examples in Scripture point to the inconvenient truth of working out our salvation and that even with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). No, i am not saying we are saved by those works but as Abraham shows it is by our faith we are driven to action. Faith is not stagnant. We must live it.

In so doing we will, do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.
We will love our neighbor as ourselves.
We will esteem others higher than ourselves.
We will become servants of all.
We will live by faith.
For by faith we say to this mountain move . . . Live as if Messiah is returning today.
Tell others.
Love.

Knowledge is not sufficient. This next point will be a controversial statement and although wholly true, there is a yeah but . . . However, within the context of living our faith, belief itself is not sufficient; For even the demons believe and tremble. James 2:18-19 “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that Elohim is one; you do well. Even the demons believe and tremble.”

When life becomes difficult whether by ones own actions or through events outside of ones control, how an individual responds will reveal their faith and whether they believe what the Word teaches. May we all live not by sight but by Faith in Yahoshua, the author and perfecter of our faith.

You are loved,
cj

From the back, the church lady clapped

“And when He (Yahoshua) drew near and saw the city, (Jerusalem) He wept over it, saying, ‘Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.’” Luke 19:41-42

Yahoshua, knowing the future fate of Jerusalem, wept for He knew what was to come of not only the city but those who dwelt within its walls. As we look out at humanity and those living without the knowledge or hope of the Savior we too should weep. Our hearts should break also for the faithful who have made poor decisions, struggled or stumbled. (Good Intentions) Yet, unfortunately the church is the first to pick up stones, to cast judgment, and to condemn. This should not be so.

The writer to the Romans points out in the twelfth chapter (16-21), “Live in harmony with with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of Elohim, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says YHWH.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Taking joy in another’s misery is not at all how Yahoshua lived. He wept over Jerusalem and their apathy. He knew their hearts. Elohim knows the heart; there is nothing hid from Him. We need to trust His judgment whether we see it or not and not weary ourselves. What we should be worried about is Matthew 25:31-46. The final judgment of Elohim where Yahoshua will separate the sheep and the goats, not the worlds definition of these two terms but Elohim’s. The world has inverted these two, they say it is bad to be a sheep and good to be a goat yet we are told here in Matthew the opposite. To the sheep He will say, “‘I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was 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, saying, ‘Adonai, when did we see you hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to Me.’” The goats will ask the same question but the answer they are given is that they did none of these to the least.

We must have the heart of Yahoshua, not the heart of Jonah. We must live from a place of forgiveness and compassion. The key to forgiveness is forgiving. We are instructed in Adon’s prayer, “and forgive us our sins, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” He expounds on this just a few verses later (Matthew 6:12, 14-15), “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” It is from a heart of forgiveness that i try to live. It certainly isn’t easy, and i require constant reminders and patience in prayer to do so but it is my hearts desire to live in a place of forgiveness. It is foundational. And it is i believe wrapped up in the final statement of Yahoshua during His sermon on the mount.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rains fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:24-27

Storms are nothing new to me, mostly of my own doing, even if stirred by others looking for lightning to strike me dead. If we do what was taught, then on the day when the trials or testing come, we can be confident our response will show a foundation built on the rock of Yahoshua. The other option, the sand of self-will and worldly wisdom, only leads to a total collapse. Our hearts are revealed in this matter as well when we look at the plight of others, even if the plight is self inflicted. The sting of the cheers is hurtful and heartbreaking. May our hearts align with Yahoshua, may we weep, and may we pray, and may we build upon the ROCK.

From the back, the church lady clapped.

You are loved,
cj