A PRISONER OF JESUS CHRIST

Dear Believer,

Paul the apostle addressed some of his letters in a strange way.

Philemon 1:1
I, Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer…

This is the way Paul began some of his letters to the churches and individuals he wrote to in those days. He frequently called himself ‘a prisoner of Jesus Christ.’

He was a prisoner. He wrote from the prison. The government of Rome held him bound.

However, he didn’t see himself as a prisoner of the Romans. He called himself a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

No, he wasn’t blaming Jesus for keeping him in prison. He knew, though, that he wouldn’t be in that prison if not for His faith in Jesus. He was in prison voluntarily since he could have avoided that trial by simply denying Jesus.

Dear Believer, do not buy into the sissy gospel that teaches that a man of faith won’t have a hard time no matter what.

A minister once told me that the apostle Paul didn’t have enough faith and ‘revelation,’ and that was why he ended up in prison.

“If he knew what some of ‘us’ know today,” he said, “he wouldn’t have ended up the way the he did!”

That’s was said from a combination of ignorance and arrogance!

Jesus told His disciples that they would have tribulations. (John 16:33). He said we should be of good cheer as He had already taken care of the world. The sting has been neutralized!

Philipians 1:29 KJV
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.

Paul desired to have a deep relationship with Christ. He left much of who he was behind….

Philippians 3:10 KJV
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.

Sometimes a Believer finds himself in a hard place because he made a choice to please Jesus rather than the devil or his flesh, (or himself or some other human being.) That makes him a sufferer. But he must have the correct perspective.

If you made a choice to follow Jesus and things then get hard because of that choice, do not give the devil the satisfaction of calling him your oppressor.

Paul could have called himself a prisoner of Satan, but he didn’t; that would have ‘glorified’ the devil. He placed himself entirely in the hands of Jesus and gloried in his restrictions. “I’m here because of Jesus, so Satan has nothing to be glad about!”

See how he turned what Satan saw as a victory to defeat!

How disappointed Satan must have been. As the man of God stayed bound in that Roman dungeon, he made the best of his time. Most Pauline Epistles were written in that prison and the revelation they contain has steered us in the right direction as far as the Christian faith is concerned.

Are you where you are today because you refused to dance to the devil’s discordant tunes?

Are you unmarried today because you refused to commit fornication?

Are you experiencing financial challenges today because you refused to join sinners to embezzle funds?

Is your ministry ‘struggling’ because you refused to preach lies and make people feel good while they are in sin?

Are you hard pressed now because you have refused to go back to that life of sin where everything was much easier?

Are you still without a child because you have refused to cheat on your spouse who has some challenges about reproduction?

It won’t end here, my friend. Eternity has surprises, and all that trouble won’t matter there.

You aren’t a victim of the devil, Believer; you are a prisoner of Jesus Christ. And here’s what God is telling you:

2Corinthians 4:17 NET
For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.

I say again, it won’t end here! There’s reward for your faithfulness. Those who have cut corners in their ‘faith’ are receiving their own reward now.

Your discomfort for the sake of Christ is producing “an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” while the ones who left Christ and indulged their sinful flesh will experience an eternal weight of regret and ignominy beyond all comparison.

I’d rather be a prisoner of Jesus Christ than a prince in the devil’s palace?

What of you?

Now talk to your Father:
Heavenly Father, I express my love for Jesus and receive strength to stand up to the devil anytime I have to make a choice between his evil will and Your will. I know there is eternal reward for walking in Your will, and I receive help to do so always, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

May your day be blessed!

Your friend,
Deon.