Part of Gail’s backyard garden, one of seven she maintained.
Wednesday, January 5 God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. 1John 4
Our Post is Inspired by The Holy Spirit.
The above quote from the first letter of John could be very hard for many people.
Let me explain,
I was in the Cumberland County Jail and met a prisoner whose name was James. We, Holy Spirit and I, called him Jim, and he reacted quickly and very negatively back at me. He said, “My name is James, Jim is my father’s name, and I never want to be called by his name!”
James went on to tell me that he was in an abusive relationship with his father, and because of that relationship didn’t want to honor his father by taking the name, Jim.
We, the Holy Spirit through me, replied, “Your Father loves you, your dad abused you!”
James looked at me like I had two heads.
We repeated, “Your Father loves you, your dad abused you,” and I’m thinking, “Where are we going with this?”
Remember if you are new to our posts, I never went into the Cumberland County Jail with a preplanned program. The Holy Spirit got me into the jail ministry, and I would therefore rely on the Holy Spirit to give me the words to say.
We next paraphrase what Jesus said to His disciples, “Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven”. Matthew 23:9.
“James, by calling your dad, father, you’re reflecting on God the Father, the character of the abusive dad you had while growing up.
James, who would want you to call your dad your father?”
James thought for a moment, and said, “I have no idea!”
We answered, “satan!”
James looked at me like I was crazy.
“Consider James, God the Father sent your Brother, Jesus, to come down and climb up on a Cross so you might be justified. This is an act of Love by God your Father. Don’t cheapen that love by calling your dad anything but dad.”
At the end of the meeting, we prayed the Our Father, and as we always have, we asked the men to stop praying the Our Father, after the words, “As we forgive those who have trespassed against us.”
After we said trespassed against us, I said, “Stop! and now forgive everyone who has screwed you over.” In James’s case, I prayed silently he would start the process of forgiving and praying for his dad.
Three weeks have passed, James knows and can give me the “Nine Fruit of the Holy Spirit” when we ask him.
I pray you can do the same,
and James has told me he has seen a change in his life that he really enjoys, he’s experiencing Peace.
Go figure Peace in the Jail.
James also told me he is also telling satan, “To get behind him” every time a negative thought occurs in his mind.
Has James forgiven his dad, I don’t know but I do think he is progressing, and that’s what counts.
He’s at least in the fight!
Side note, this is what we mean about the Holy Spirit working in my life. As I drove home, after that first meeting, I marveled over all that took place that afternoon, and realized if we hadn’t called James, Jim, the conversation that took place would never have happened.
By now I am sure a few of you are asking what does this have to do with the quote at the top of the page?
Loving the people who love you, isn’t a real challenge, as I am sure you all know.
Loving the people who screwed you over that’s a challenge, and as I continued to go into the Cumberland County Jail, I encountered a lot of anger from the men I met.
I was also guilty of the same problem. If someone screwed me over, I could and was very angry with them.
Yes sadly, I did have a very bad temper!
Being eighty-one has a real advantage. I have seen it all and lived through many crises in my own life.
A number of years ago the Holy Spirit encouraged me to do two things to overcome my anger:
1. Pray for everyone who screwed me over, and forgive them in that prayer.
2. Look at everyone who comes into my life as someone who God wanted to be here on earth, AND God wanted that person to be a part of my life, no matter how brief that encounter was.
If God wants that person here on earth, and in my life, then I ought to try to find out why?
This is where our ministry in the jail is so important for me. I am working with men who are truly outcasts in our society, and when I first went into the jail, I thought of them also as being outcasts, actually worse than that, and I am sure we will talk about this in a future post.
As I got to know them, they became very human, and my whole attitude towards them changed,
I grew to love them.
They are wonderful people who made mistakes.
Come to think of it, I’ve made many mistakes, some of which could have landed me in jail. Who was I to be judgemental? I have realized my hypocrisy and I am truly sorry.
As the years went by and I continued trying to live the above two steps, my whole attitude has changed, from judgmental and vindictive, to just enjoying the people God brings into my life, and there‘s that word again,
JOY!
I also realized as I grew in Joy, I was living in the kingdom Jesus created through His Life, Death, and Resurrection, here on Earth.
Joy is the result of Love.
and,
as we quoted at the beginning of this post;
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. 1 John 4
We pray you will grow in the Love, Joy, and Peace of the Holy Spirit by growing in Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
Sidebar:
If you watch the T.V. news, I don’t, I turned it off two years ago, you see fear being reported every day.
Covid, climate change to mention two are constantly pushed down our throats.
Enough! I turned it off.
Anything that takes away my Joy and Peace I get rid of!
I read Psalm 91 Military Version, God’s Shield of Protection by Peggy Joyce Roth, which told the stories of military men, in combat, who were saved by God from death after they said Psalm 91.
Combat is key, because unlike our life here and now, these men and women are in a place where others are actively trying to kill them.
After I read the book, I started saying Psalm 91 every day for everyone I know, and that now includes the fellow authors and readers of A Catholic Moment.
Why?
I have now seen this powerful prayer at work in my life, and in the lives of others.
Knowing God has my back is very comforting!
I wouldn’t have it any other way, and why wouldn’t I want to include you?
One quick story; Our middle son David and his family were going to Canada to see her parents, and the car they had was a lemon. I prayed Psalm 91 and asked that they would make it up and back and the car wouldn’t break down. They made it to Canada, the car broke down in Dave’s in-laws’ driveway. The garage couldn’t get the American parts, so they patched the car up as best they could. Dave drove back, I said Psalm 91 again, actually I say it every day, and the car broke down again in Dave’s driveway.
Yes, the car broke down but not in the middle of nowhere, and that drive has a lot of nowhere.
One breakdown in a driveway, you might say, “That was lucky.”
Twice this happened and you at least have to consider that other forces were involved.
I thanked God the Father for their safe return.
I was also filled with Joy that I had learned about this powerful prayer and had said Psalm 91 before Dave left on his family trip.
Lastly, if you pray Psalm 91 you have to believe that God will protect you, that becomes much easier as you see God working actively in your life.
