Breaking Free February 1998

Breaking Free February 1998
Submitting To Authority

One of the worst words in the english language to a convict is the word authority. Ugh! I get choked up just saying it. However, It is not just the convict that gets choked up over it. It goes back to the very beginning. God told Adam & Eve that they were free to eat from any tree in the garden except the tree which was in the midst of the garden .

How about that? Just one was all they were forbidden to eat from.

Talk about temptation. I bet the fruit on that tree looked 10 times as luscious after they heard that it was forbidden. Did you ever observe a young lad after being told not to do a certain thing? He will try just as hard as he can to do it. Isn’t it a big part of our nature to feel rebellious when told not to do this or that by someone in a position of authority? Doesn’t it seem to stir up something deep inside of us? A desire to prove that we can do it better by doing it our way?

That’s what it was like for Eve in the garden. She was told that the fruit would make her wise and she would be like God knowing good and evil. Yes all of us have this deep deep inner desire to do things our own way. We have all inherited a spirit of disobedience handed down to us from our father Adam. When a man thinks in his own heart that he is able to control his own destiny he puts himself on the same level as every other man that is born of the seed of Adam. He thus has many opinions as do the rest of his peers. Life turns into a rat race while thinking he is wise he becomes stupid and confused. Paul spoke of this condition when He said to the Romans, "Professing to be wise they became fools," (Romans 1: 22).

Convicts suffer from this same affliction. Those in authority over them carry guns and exact a heavy toll for any form of rebellion. It is learned behavior. For the convict it is easy to develop a harsh attitude against any kind of authority. For him it becomes a snare. It is easy for the prisoner to compare all authority within our society as having that same kind of harshness. Brothers listen well! This kind of attitude plays right into the hands of the authorities and justifies their position. It is this attitude that holds you in bondage. Jesus said, "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you;" (Matt. 5:44 ).

Think about God’s authority structure down through your life. When you was a baby there was mom and dad. Afterwards you grew and went off to school and there were teachers. There was aunts and uncles and grandpa and grandma. As you grew the authority figures in your life multiplied. This is the way God establishes His loving management of our lives. He provides others along the way to nurture us and care for us.

Many of you in prison can remember when somewhere down the line you disobeyed a person that God had placed there to help you. As you continued to be in disobedience you was eventually confronted by a more harsh authority with a badge and a gun and you were forced to submit. This is the way God’s system works. The stronger you rebel the more fierce becomes your adversary. Many men come out of prison a lot worse than when they went in. The system is designed to defeat and demoralize if you fight against it . If you go towards God you will prosper . If you go away from God you allow the enemies of God to get at you. Your problems will be overcome by the mighty power of God once you submit yourself to Him, obey Him , and allow Him to change you . The grip of Jesus is stronger than their grip simply because He made them too. You must rid your self of all hatred and malice and forgive everyone who has hurt you. Love your enemies and give them a cold drink of water if they are thirsty. God who knows all things will observe your repentance and when He is ready He will restore you and no man will be able to resist Him. In closing I want to ask you to read and seriously consider the prayer that Soloman prayed for the children of Judah in 1 Kings 8:46--50. Now go forward in time 320 some years and observe the events of the 29^th chapter of Jeremiah and ask yourself , "Who allowed the children of Judah to be placed in captivity ?" Why did He allow it ? Has He changed since then? Will he not do the same thing for you.? He has not changed ! He is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13: 8) . He will do the same thing for you. God will forgive you and give you another chance just as He did for the children of Judah when , "...they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive..." (1 Kings 8: 48a). All of this simply put means... Now! In the place where you are! Submit to God and wait patiently upon Him.

The Grapevine

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ. The last couple of months have been very productive. First of all I went to visit my cancer doctor and he has scheduled another catscan for march 5th. He says the possibility exists that the tumor they found in December could actually be scar tissue. Therefore he wants to do another catscan to see if there has been any new growth since the catscan in December. Please remember to keep this in your prayers.

The Mailbox school that I established at Heritage Baptist Church has grown. We are now processing about 150 lessons each week. Carolyn Lang has taken the job as school co-ordinator and has 8-10 graders that meet at the church twice a week. The group is now more or less using the lessons as a base for individually discipling some of the more advanced students. I am amazed at the way God has brought it all to pass.

In addition I have met a young professional bicycle racer, named Mikki Douglas, from the Seattle area. Mikki contacted me after viewing my website at www.testimonies.com/donholt. Mikki’s story is featured in this newsletter. She has taken on the responsibility to help me write some prison related bible study curriculum for this ministry. Hopefully we can deal with some subjects such as "How to submit to authority and how to deal with Reverse Cultural Shock in a changing society." Many inmates get institutionalized after long periods of incarceration. They need to know that the same thing happens to missionaries that go oversees for years. There are steps a person can take that will help them adjust a lot faster

We have established a weekly bible study where we show the Transferable Concepts of Campus Crusade For Christ. Each Saturday night about 4 of us goes to the Carver Center a community treatment center in Oklahoma City. We meet with 4-6 inmates that are wanting to learn how to introduce other inmates to Christ. The Transferable Concepts video’s narrated by Dr Bright are excellent for helping them to become soulwinners for Jesus Christ. Robert Williams is JAILS Sponser.

The Bill Glass Weekend Of Champions will be in Southeast Oklahoma May 8-10. I went to Henryetta, Ok and met with two Bill Glass staff members in early February. We hosted a luncheon for correctional officials from 6 institutions at the Guesthouse Inn in the Henryetta area. The next day we went to each institution and checked out the compound to find the best place for the athletes to perform and testify. For all you inmates in the southeast region of OK we will be there from May the 8-10th,1998. For OSP, Jackie Brannon, Eddie Warrior, Jess Dunn, Holdenville & John Lilley. We had also asked Mack Allford to allow us to come there but no one from that Institution came to the luncheon. I believe the Bill Glass team would still come to Stringtown if they were asked.

I am looking for an inmate at Lexington to show the CCC video tapes that I mentioned earlier. Tim Chavez has done an excellent job as JAILS co-ordinator for the past year. He is now tackling college level courses and needs someone to step up to the plate and work The JAILS program at Lexington. Anyone at The Lexington Assessment and Reception Center who is interested should see Tim. The JAILS Sponser is asked to show the Transferable Concepts once a week.

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