The Least of These

Today I was interviewed by phone in order to receive Food Stamps. This is the first time I have ever applied for them. The application is on-line and then they interview you by phone, usually. I applied for myself, my husband, and the young woman living with us. However, my husband was denied benefits due to having a previous drug conviction. That got me thinking: how long will my husband be denied benefits due to a long past conviction and is there any help at all for ex-convicts? 

So I went on-line to see if there are any organizations in Texas that help ex-felons and the results were quite dismal. I found an article titled, "Texas Churches Assume Responsibility for Re-Entry of Ex-Offenders" at http://voices.yahoo.com/texas-churches-assume-responsibility-re-entry-520919.html?cat=48. Basically, the article is about the fact that Texas does not offer very much help, if any at all, for ex-offenders re-entering society. Therefore, churches in Texas have found themselves in the position of filling this rather large gap. The article perseverated on the great possibility of being manipulated by the ex-offenders, which upset me. Of course, manipulation is always possible when dealing with people of any background not just ex-offenders though the risk could be higher, I admit. It did make a plea to churches in Texas to consider reaching out to ex-offenders otherwise they may turn to crime to supply their basic daily needs like shelter, food, and transportation. The article was written in 2007 so it is possible that State benefits may have increased although I doubt it. Should the state of Texas increase help to ex-offenders or this an opportunity from God for believers to impart the kingdom of heaven into the lives of this particular population? 

This subject does hit a tender spot for me for I had an uncle who was released from prison many years ago. He became a Christian while in prison and endeavored to remain faithful to God and His precepts. I remember the desperation in his voice when he talked of hoping to stay faithful. However, he died under suspicious circumstances as he evidently succumbed to a life of crime. Could life had been different if there was more help for him? I sit here sobbing, not for the loss of a relative, but for the loss of a fellow believer. I feel the loss that the body of Christ has suffered in losing him. Have we, the church, failed him and will we be held accountable?

Looking to the Bible for answers I found much to stir my spirit. First, Genesis 39-41 recounts the life of Joseph who was sold as a slave to slave traders from Egypt. While in Egypt, he spent in prison due to a false accusation. However, it was the relationships that he formed in prison that led him to become the second most powerful leader of Egypt. But he needed help from another ex-offender who served the pharaoh of Egypt. Can we refer a potential "Joseph" to our employers? Then I found the passage below:

“I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness,

I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,

And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,

As a light to the nations,

To open blind eyes,

To bring out prisoners from the dungeon

And those who dwell in darkness from the prison. –Isaiah 42:6, 7 NASB

This passage was addressed to Jesus, however, Jesus, Himself, has given all believers this charge:

"Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son." -John 14:11-13 NASB

So if God gave Jesus the charge "to bring out prisoners from the dungeon", then we have the same charge. I don't think God meant spiritual dungeons only. AND if God gave us the same charge "to bring out prisoners" that He did Jesus, don't think for a minute that He had not given us the same anointing that He gave to Jesus to accomplish this.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

Because the Lord has anointed me

To bring good news to the afflicted;

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to captives

And freedom to prisoners;

² To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

³ To grant those who mourn in Zion,

Giving them a garland instead of ashes,

The oil of gladness instead of mourning,

The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.

So they will be called oaks of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. -Isaiah 62:1-3 NASB

There are consequences for not fulfilling this charge:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For 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, ‘Lord, 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.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” -Matthew 25:31-46 ESV

The passage above makes an excellent case for helping ex-offenders re-enter our society. The above mentioned article states that if the churches in Texas do not help this population, they may turn to crime to fill their most basic needs of food, shelter and clothing. However, the scriptures above require much more from us. When we look at verse thirty-six, we see "I was a stranger and you welcomed me"  The Greek word "welcomed" is "sunagō", which means to lead together, collect or convene, specifically to entertain, hospitably. This is gives the sense of coming into union which is further confirmed by one of its root words, "sun" that means union, with or together, that is, by association, companionship, process, resemblance, possession, instrumentality, addition, etc. This verse absolutely applies to the ex-offender, for surely, the state of Texas has treated this population as "the least of these".

What about the risk of manipulation? First of all, I doubt God will take this excuse in place of obedience to his commands. I give you this as food for thought, how about employing reliable ex-offenders to help in this area? My husband is an ex-offender and I have seen him "check" other ex-offenders coming into our church. I have overheard him talk frankly to ex-offenders as he held them accountable in this area. I have seen this to be very effective in lowering the risk of manipulation and assisting ex-offenders in walking in the ways of God. We, the body of Christ, need to ask God how we can help ex-offenders; for surely, it is as we are doing or not doing it to Jesus.

Laugh, Kookaburra, Laugh

Whoa! I have not blogged in over a year. I forgot why. I think I let myself get discouraged because no one has commented on my entries. Well, I was going to create a completely new one for I thought this one had been shut down. But I like the design of it so much that I will keep it and endeavor to not let discouragement stop me from blogging.

The reason that I want to blog today is that the song "Kookaburra Sits on the Old Gum Tree" kept running through my mind, annoying me to no end. Usually, that's one of the ways that God speaks to me. So I decided to do some research on kookaburras so that perhaps the song will stop playing in my head. 

The first thing that I found out about that song is that it was written by Marion Sinclair in 1932. She received inspiration for the song during church and dashed home to write it down. Wow! God gave her that song! But why would God give her a song about a dumb bird? Was the song prophetic? Then I found out that she entered the song in a competition and it won! Then she sold the rights to the song and used the money to help purchase a camping ground that later became Britannia Park in Australia. So is God telling me to enter one of my songs in a competition? 

Nothing spectacular about the park other than it's a camping ground. I do feel led to purchase land to be used as God dictates. Perhaps God is encouraging me that this desire to own land is from Him.

The song did become an instant hit and well loved all over the world. Is God telling me that one of my songs will meet with equal success?

Let's look at the lyrics:

Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,

Merry merry king of the bush is he.

Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra,

Gay your life must be!

Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,

Eating all the gum drops he can see.

Stop, Kookaburra, stop, Kookaburra,

Save some there for me!

Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,

Counting all the monkeys he can see.

Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra,

That's not a monkey, that's me!

OK, the kookaburra is a kingfisher that lives in Australia and New Guinea. The reference to "Laugh, Kookaburra" is due to the bird's song sounding like anywhere from hysterical, merry laughter as coming from the Laughing Kookaburra to maniacal laughter coming from the Blue-winged Kookaburra. They are carnivorous and at times may steal meat from unsupervised barbecue pits! How funny! They may like living in Texas. Kookaburras are territorial and mark their territory by singing in groups. Huh, interesting. Perhaps God is trying to give me a revelation about marking spiritual territory with singing. The words that mainly plague me are "Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh". Perhaps God IS telling me to mark spiritual territory by singing. One of my childhood nicknames was "songster" for I sang all of the time, irritating my siblings. God once told me that nicknames were largely prophetic even if they were meant to demean. Another nickname given to me by my darling siblings was "bald eagle", which was definitely meant to demean me. It was given to me for I gave myself bald spots due to the hair plucking symptom of the trichotillomania that I have. However, the eagle is used symbolically to refer to a prophet, which I just happen to be. Is God CALLING me a kookaburra? 

If God is telling me that I am a "kookaburra", am I the Rufous-bellied Kookaburra? The Rufous-bellied Kookaburra is unusual for a kookaburra for it likes the shelter of the rain forests and not open country like the other kookaburras. It also lives in pairs whereas the other kookaburras live in family groups. Are my husband and I a pair of Rufous-bellied Kookaburras? Or am I the mysterious Spangled Kookaburra with it's strikingly black and white spotted head and vividly electric blue wings and tail? The colors black and white are often used to describe prophets. Perhaps I am the small Blue-winged Kookaburra who was at first overlooked and confused with the Laughing Kookaburra. I am often overlooked and others do become confused about me. Interesting, they have been known to wait for and snatch insects being flushed out by bushfires and live in groups of up to twelve. Twelve means divine power. Or I may be the Laughing Kookaburra who had previously been named as the Laughing Jackass or the Giant Kingfisher. Laughing Kookaburras mark their territories by singing a few at time. If a rival group answers them then the whole family will fill the air with their singing which has been known to be quite startling. They also may eat venomous snakes by grabbing them by the head and dropping them from a great height. What an interesting bird! 

The "old gum tree" refers to the Eucalyptus Tree, which produces an oil that is used as a natural insecticide. They have been called water-suckers and used to drain swamps of their water.