Jim Wolf (not his real name) spent more than seven years behind bars. But he spent more years than that in the bondage of sin.
As a youth, Jim spent much of his time on the street selling drugs, breaking into people’s houses, stealing, lying, cheating. Those years brought a harvest of trouble. Fights. The law. Jail.
Jim’s last crime landed him a sentence of over 50 years in a state prison. By this time he was going by an alias, but in prison he was merely a number. A human failure. Socially, morally, and spiritually bankrupt.
In prison Jim finally hit bottom, and finally at the bottom, he met God. He genuinely repented of his sinful past, and through the help of the prison chaplain, he received Christ as his Lord and Saviour. With joy and peace flooding his heart, he knew he had found true riches in Christ. For the first time in his life, he experienced freedom. Real freedom! Freedom from the bondage of sin; freedom from the fear of death. This was a freedom he had never known while on the “outside” roaming the streets.
In the moral and spiritual poverty of the prison, Jim chose to live for God. Recognizing that he was personally responsible for his imprisonment, he purposed to submit to whatever discipline God had for him.
Slowly, Jim learned the real freedom of living in Christ. And he learned it behind bars. “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
The following words are Jim’s special message to you:
Dear Reader,
I have discovered the most important thing on earth—how people daily can have PEACE, JOY, and LOVE within. These things are found in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. How to experience life in Christ is explained in Romans 8:5-17.
Those who live as their fallen nature tells them will have their minds controlled by what that fallen nature wants. But those who live as the Spirit of God instructs them will have their minds controlled by the Holy Spirit.
To be controlled by the fallen nature results in death. But to be controlled by the Holy Spirit results in life and peace.
When a person is controlled by his fallen nature, he becomes the enemy of God. He does not obey God’s laws. In fact, he cannot obey them as long as he is so controlled.
So then, you have an obligation. It is not to live as your fallen nature wants, for that leads only to death—you have no obligation there.
God gives His Spirit to those who are born into His family. By the Holy Spirit, you can put to death the sinful responses of the fallen nature. By the Holy Spirit, you can live the new life in Christ. By the Holy Spirit, you can receive guidance. By the Holy Spirit, you can be delivered from the prison house of fear. By the Holy Spirit, all the blessings of sonship are yours, and when you cry, “Father! Father!” the Holy Spirit joins your spirit to confirm that you are God’s child.
Don’t you have an obligation to receive Christ as your Lord and Saviour? Don’t you owe it to the One who suffered for you? Don’t you owe it to your family and friends to become a new person through Christ and His indwelling Spirit? Don’t you owe it to yourself to leave the slavery of sin and become a free child of the heavenly Father?
God invites you to read from your Bible His provision for your salvation:
- Believe on Christ. Read John 3:36; John 8:24; and Hebrews 11:6.
- Repent of Your Sin. Read Acts 2:38;17:30.
- Confess Christ as your Lord. Read Romans 10:9, 10 and Matthew 10:32.
- Be baptized. Read Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; and 1 Peter 3:21.
- Join a faithful group of believers. Read Acts 2:42; 20:7.
- Remain Faithful to Jesus. Read 2 Timothy 4:7,8; Hebrews 3:12-14; Revelation 2:10; and Revelation 20:12.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Jesus, in His love and concern for you, longs to give you true FREEDOM.
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
Christian Light Publications, Harrisonburg, VA 22802 Phone (540) 434-0768.