Forgiven in Prison, Part 2

By Andrew McChesney

The next Sabbath, inmate Matías greeted Dante, a 36-year-old theology student from Sagunto Adventist College, with a flurry of happy conversation at the prison in Spain. After several minutes, however, Matías abruptly changed his tone and began to fidget nervously. He spoke about his childhood and adult life. He described a years-long struggle over sinful desires.

Image © Pacific Press

“I don’t feel like I’ve done anything wrong,” he said. “When I leave prison, I’ll repeat what I did.” He stared at Dante, waiting to see his reaction.

Dante understood that he was being tested. Matías wanted to see whether he would reflect a condemning or a loving God. Dante prayed silently, “Jesus, give me Your grace. You forgave me, and You can forgive him.”

Matías, seeing that his visitor sat calmly, spoke again.

“What would you do to me if you caught me?” he said.

Dante, still praying, answered slowly, “If God can give me grace and salvation, He can give you grace and salvation, too.”

Shock twisted Matías’ face. “Aren’t you going to condemn me?” he said.

Opening the Bible, Dante read, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (Romans 7:19-20; NJKV). “We often don’t understand our actions,” he said. “We don’t do what we want to do, and we end up doing what we don’t want to do. Could it be that you don’t feel bad about your actions because you can’t control them?”

Matías grabbed the Bible from Dante’s hands and read the passage.

Dante turned to Romans 8:1-2 and read, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

“God hasn’t condemned you,” Dante said. “He wants to help you, and He loves you all the time. You can live differently. You just have to let the Spirit of God live in you. He wants to help you just like He helped me.”

Deep sorrow filled Matías’ face. The scorn and contempt were gone. Dante understood that, for the first time, Matías was experiencing a deep sense of guilt.

Everything changed from that day. Matías stopped mocking God and the Bible.

“From that moment, I started to study the Bible with him,” Dante said in an interview. “From that moment, he wanted to change his life. He no longer wanted to continue in his old ways but to be on God’s side.”

Matías (not his real name) is among more than a dozen prisoners receiving Bible studies every Sabbath afternoon from Dante and nine other students from Sagunto Adventist College. Your Sabbath School mission offerings help Adventist educational institutions worldwide train students like Dante to share Jesus’ precious promise of grace and salvation to a sin-sick world.

“If God can change my heart, God can change anybody’s heart,” Dante said.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

Amen!(1)

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/inside-story-forgiven-in-prison-part-2/

Further Thought:

The repeated phrase “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:22, Genesis 5:24) means intimate and daily companionship with God.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

Enoch’s personal relationship with God was so special that “God took him” (Genesis 5:24). This last phrase is, however, unique in the genealogy of Adam and does not support the idea of an immediate afterlife in Paradise for those who “walk with God.” Note that Noah also walked with God (Genesis 6:9), and he died like all the other humans, including Adam and Methuselah. It is also interesting to note that no reason is given to justify this special grace. “Enoch became a preacher of righteousness, making known to the people what God had revealed to him. Those who feared the Lord sought out this holy man, to share his instruction and his prayers. He labored publicly also, bearing God’s messages to all who would hear the words of warning. His labors were not restricted to the Sethites. In the land where Cain had sought to flee from the divine Presence, the prophet of God made known the wonderful scenes that had passed before his vision. ‘Behold,’ he declared, ‘the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds.’ Jude 14-15.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 86.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

Amen!(0)

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I love writing blog posts. I have been blogging for Sabbath School Net for just over ten years now, and I have had my personal blog for 14 years. I have been preaching ever since I was 15. A friend was surprised the other day, when I told her I love writing blog posts every bit as much, if not more than preaching. I love learning and sharing what I have learned. I love connecting with the world, while sitting on my comfy sofa in my pajamas with my laptop. That must be why I love blogging more than preaching. I can’t preach in my pajamas. I also love hearing from people all over the world as they comment on my posts, and share their thoughts and what they have learned, from their personal Bible study time. 

I love studying my Bible near the bay or gulf in the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

And personal Bible study time is where I am going with this. Oh no! I just started a sentence with a conjunction. A big no no. My college composition

professor would be turning over in his grave if he could see this. But guess what? I’m not writing a blog post this week, so I don’t have to worry about my grammar. Back to the personal Bible study time. As much as I love writing and preaching, sometimes I don’t have anything new or relevant to share. As sermon and blog deadlines approach I start feeling pressured. I start studying my Bible for new ideas and get frustrated if I can’t find anything. I start relating more with Martha than with Mary. You know the story, when Jesus visited Martha and Mary, and Mary was just visiting with Jesus while Martha was busy doing all the work. 

But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:40-42 NKJV

Often when I am substitute teaching at school, I have to tell the kids to put away their distractions and get to work, but Martha was distracted by her work. Her work was the distraction. Martha was so busy preparing a meal she forgot Jesus was the main attraction and not the meal.

I love studying my Bible and preparing blog posts and sermons when the ideas and revelations just seem to flow. But I get frustrated when I feel pressured to come up with something new and can’t. That’s when I have to tell myself to stop trying to be like Martha and just be like Mary. I have to open my Bible and tell myself not to worry about preparing a spiritual meal for anyone. I don’t mean to be irreverent by saying this, but when I study God’s Word instead of it being about a sermon or blog post preparation, I just like to chill with God. I love and treasure the moments in His Word when He speaks to me as His own child and not just His spokesperson. I love it when He shows me something just between the two of us, that is not meant for the rest of the world to see or hear. I love reading my Bible without an agenda! No deadlines to meet, no thinking about how to fit this into a blog post or sermon. I remember those nights so long ago as a little child lying in bed at night, talking to Jesus like we were best friends having a slumber party. No sermons, no blog posts, just me and my best friend hanging out together because we loved each other. 

But this is really about you. What brought you here right now? Are you just chillaxing and studying right now, enjoying reading what others have to say? Then great! Are you preparing for Sabbath School class, maybe even preparing to teach, and everything is perfectly falling in place as you put your lesson together? Wonderful! However, if you are trying to put  your lesson together and nothing seems to be falling into place and here it is Friday already, don’t worry. Relax. Chill. Stop feeling like a Martha, thinking  you have to prepare all the time. God didn’t just create you to teach Sabbath School. He created you to be His child. He created you to be His best friend. Just borrow Michael Fracker’s lesson plan this week. It’s perfectly fine. Its not cheating. Pick up your Bible with no lesson plan, sermon preparation or agenda in mind, and just chill with your best Friend. Don’t let lesson plans and sermon preparations distract you from what your relationship with Jesus is really all about. After all, the Bible is not just a book to prepare you for eternity. The Bible takes us into God’s presence here and now. The Bible is not just a reference book to help you write sermons and prepare Sabbath School lesson plans. The Bible is God’s love story written to you. 

Like the title says, I am not writing a blog post this week. Jesus and I are having a slumber party again tonight. This is not a blog post. This is your invitation. You are invited. Let’s leave our preparation agendas behind and take our Bibles and just chill with Jesus tonight. It’s okay. You don’t have to be a Martha tonight. You can be a Mary, because there will be no pastors, Bible workers or Sabbath school teachers at the party. Only best friends of Jesus. 

Amen!(3)

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/im-not-writing-a-blog-post-this-week/