by LA
Acts 1:1-11
The Book of Acts begins with Messiah teaching his Apostles for forty days after his resurrection and commanding them not to leave Jerusalem until the promised Holy Spirit is sent to them. He then ascends up to heaven from the Mr. of Olives. Two men in white, who we are lead to believe are actually angels, tell the Apostles that the Messiah will come back to Earth in the same manner they saw him go up to heaven.
by LA
Revelation 21:10-22; 22:1-5
There I was at the Commissary window, a friend of mine, an inmate worker who is himself a self-proclaimed Christian was there helping the cashier by bringing everything I had ordered to the register to be rung up. I noticed that instead of my usual order of 24 spicy vegetable ramen noodles he had brought me 24 of the new Cajun shrimp. A substitution that he made of his own initiative. I politely objected to this change in my order. I asked my friend to please replace these shrimp ramen with any other flavor. I did this because I observe the dietary laws of Scripture. My friend does not.
by Kwame
John 14:23-29
This reading from the Gospel of John deals with many interesting points, the first one being “we will… make our home with him” signifying that all of us who put our love in Jesus and obey his words will experience the immediate presence and love of the Father and the Son. And lastly, that when we give into anxiety or worry that shows a lack of faith in God’s fatherly care and love.
by AMN
Fifth Sunday of Easter C
Revelation 21:1-6
“The Endgame”
Before the foundation of the Earth was formed, our Heavenly Father already had the “happily ever after” all figured out. The life that exists today and everything in it is temporary.
by AMN
Fourth Sunday of Easter: Year C
John 10:22-30
When I was younger, I had a distorted view on how to worship God. Many times I would say, “I’m not ready yet.” I thought that before I can enter in his presence, I had to be perfect. That’s crazy, right? It was not until I heard his voice, that I realized I had it all wrong.
by AMN
Acts 9:1-20
“For His Name’s Sake”
How dramatic was the conversion of Paul? Well, it’s kind of like one of those instances that we should have been there. If you read it carefully along with prayer, you see that it’s an action-packed screenplay, just dying for the director Steven Spielberg to put on film.
by AMN
Acts 5:27-32
“We Are His Witnesses”
We are entering an age where the commandments of men are being transformed to totally disregard and disobey God’s sovereign rule. what are we to do?
by LA
Luke 19:28-40
You can’t really plan the time, method or place the Lord chooses to use you, as this reading from Luke 19 correctly illustrates. I’m sure that the owners of the that donkey never expected in a million years that it would be called into service that way on that day. After all, that same donkey had never in its life carried anyone before. 
So how could anyone expect that it would be asked to carry the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? And on the Shabbat no less! A day that according to Jewish custom no work is to be done by human or beast.
Sometimes you can be just as surprised as the owners of that donkey when the Lord calls on you. You could be in the bull pen waiting to go “up top” for a visit and feel the calling to share a word or two of the gospel with the prisoner locked in there with you. Or you could be walking in the chow line when you are called to say a kind word to the man ahead of you.
When these “callings” come don’t worry about how awkward this encounter is gonna be or that this might make you look like a lame. Instead, remember what the owners of that donkey did when they found that the reason the disciples were untying their colt was that “the Lord hath need of it.” Did they argue? Did they protest the Shabbat or make excuses? No. They obeyed and the Lord rode that donkey into Jerusalem in triumph.
Some of the Lord’s greatest triumphs are on the backs of the most unexpected callings of a believer to obey.
by LA
Psalm 126
Psalm 126 bring me great joy every time I read it. 
I am reminded that even though I am in bondage now that not mean that there will not come a time when I am an old man sitting in a comfortable highbacked chair near a fire nice and warm, remembering the “bad old days” when I was a lousy prisoner and everything was hard and horrid. How back then it seemed I would never make it here and back to the love of my family.
I’m sure I would sigh at the memory and with my loved ones surrounding me in love and luxury I would entertain them with the tall tales of my prison days. Relaxing in quiet freedom and thanking the Lord for all he has done to carry me through those terrible times and restoring me to these real fortunes and riches.
I know that the above vision is an accurate portrait of my future and I have a hard time containing my excitement for its fulfillment, like a small child anxiously awaiting his parents to awake on Christmas morning. That anticipation of a better future helps me survive a horrible present.
Too often in times of trouble we forget that trouble passes and what is hard now is harvest later.
by LA
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
In 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Paul is writing to early Christians of a first-century Greek church but he might as well be writing to contemporary believers on my own prison gallery today. It is of the utmost importance that we understand that once we know Christ spiritually and claim him as our Lord our lives are no longer our own, but his. Bought with a price. Too many of my fellow inmates who claim to be followers of Christ never really follow him anyway or in anything consistently.
In verse 20, Paul states that we are “Ambassadors of Christ.” We need to act as such. Our old self is dead. 
We are New Creatures in the Lord. It does us no good to be claiming Christ and still be doing the same old things and acting the same old ways as before we accepted him. This is an important concept for all believers the world over, but it is even more vital in a prison environment where everyone watches everyone else, at all times.
Anyone can talk the talk but people in here want to see if you walk the walk. Our Christian walk is one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. I personally must always be mindful that the eyes of those who would do the will of our infernal adversary are always on me. Watching and waiting with baited breath for my stumble and their chance to advertise it as an argument against the veracity of the Gospels.
In a place of abounding darkness such as this the Christian prisoner must be the light in dark places. Only by our good example will others be drawn to ask us about our Lord. As believers in Christ, the whole world holds us up to a much higher standard and rightly so, for if gold rusts what should iron do?
Prison Lectionary 