The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,a- Isiah 61:1
"To anoint means to choose by divine intervention"
"Anointing, as described in the Bible, can be defined as "God on flesh doing those things that flesh cannot do." It is God doing those things only He can do, and doing them through a flesh-and-blood, earthly vessel intervention." http://www.kcm.org/real-help/article/understanding-anointing
This week I will again be blessed to join a group of women from FBC Siloam and from around the state in spending time with the women of McPherson Unit- Arkansas Department of Corrections. I am truly excited. When I stumbled into a similar mission trip last fall, I was terrified and unsure, a feeling completely out of my comfort zone. I didn't know what to expect and I will confess that I am one who takes rejection hard, so the thought of stepping out and stepping up boldly terrified me. I also confess that I wasn't sure after the trip if I would do another prison mission. Its a hard place. Its dull and drab and sad....but every time I would think "well once was enough" The LORD would say "not hardly". I had to go on this trip, despite the fact that I felt my schedule was too full or it was not the best timing for me. God would not let me envision that bus pulling away without me.
On the last trip to McPherson I met a girl named Sara, a new christian, who wanted to talk to me about her friend Erin. Erin's brother had recently died and had been very vocal in his life about not needing God. Sara had been witnessing with the zeal of a new believer to Erin but Erin didn't want to accept Jesus because it was easier to believe that her brother was right than it was to think that he might be in hell and if he was in hell, why would she want to love a God who would send him there? Wow, I kept thinking "Why me LORD? Why not Carrie or Laura or Loretta?, I'm not sure I can do this." I told Sara the story of the Rich Man and Lazrus and told her that she had to really pray for guidance in witnessing to Erin, because her heart was broken. I told her that Erin had to come to understand that if her brother had rejected Jesus and found the bible to be true, he would not want Erin to follow him. She had to gently word her message and pray that Erin would see that God had provided a way of escape and eternal life for her brother but the choice was his, and the choice was hers. I want to go to prison this time and I am praying that I will get to see Sara again, and that I will get to talk with Erin. I am praying that Erin knows Jesus and if she doesn't I am praying she will.
Sunday morning when the church prayed over us, I was so blessed to hear Jason Kelly praying beside me and Carrie Hurley praying behind me. I heard Jason as he prayed for us to "draw deeply from the Holy Spirit" and my heart flipped a little. It was the perfect prayer. From the depths of The Holy Spirit comes the power and the boldness and the joy and the love we need for this mission. With the final amen, as I prepared to return to my seat, Carrie Hurley whispered to me "Isaiah 61:1 is my prayer for you, that you will proclaim freedom to the captives." I swear I was ready to get on the bus right then and go... completely covered in those prayers. How precious and comforting and encouraging and empowering are the prayers of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
He has gifted and anointed us individually and as a group for this mission to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, to bind up wounds and offer comfort to the brokenhearted, to help those bound in chains unseen to find freedom from darkness. Whatever the job Lord, whoever you bring to us, may we draw deeply from Your Holy Spirit and proclaim You.
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