Freedom from Captivity of Body, Mind and Spirit

When Joel O'Steen the minister of the mega-church in Houston speaks of God's favor in his latest book BECOMING A BETTER YOU, I truly believe that there are people who do receive God's favor. However, in my own life, I had a lot of bad luck following me like a dark cloud ever since I was a little kid. Nevertheless, there was something in my spirit that wanted to survive and persevere, and I learned later that God's people, even in the worst of circumstances, will find a way to keep going and do the best they can.

The first movie I ever saw where a "good girl" went to jail was THE BALLAD OF JOSIE starring Doris Day and Peter Graves, back in the 1960s, and it was the only movie I ever saw where Doris Day went to jail. If she ever went to jail in any of her other Calamity Jane type movies, I do not recall. The moral of the story was that her character "Josie" also got OUT of jail, and that fit what I believed in.

This may be unfashionable, but the Bible clearly states in Isaiah 61:1: "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."

The fact is that 99% of the people in prison will get out. Very few of them will be there forever. They may be sent back, but they all get out sooner or later. Even the people on Death Row sometimes get out. This is the fallacy of the reasoning of the people who lock them up. Some people die in prison, some do become old in prison, but many will be released, and what is society going to do with them then? How to rehabilitate them while they are in the System and give them something to live for, to work for, to get them motivated in the morning, should be the goal. A life free of drugs and alcohol, and a productive life with a work that they really believe in should be the goal.

Many of the women in prison go to the chapel services on a regular basis. I was even baptized in prison (twice) due to the belief that my original baptism at the age of 9 in the Southern Baptist Church was not sufficient. I now realize that my original baptism at age 9 was enough. The thief on the cross was not baptized at all, and Christ still bestowed salvation upon him in the Kingdom of God.

When it comes to people who believe in their God, Daniel 11:32 states: "And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." This includes people for many generations, over thousands of years, who believed in God, and continued to do the best they could. Many prophets of old ended up in captivity of some kind, and were always able to find a way out. Sometimes that "way out" is just mentally putting your mind in a better place, even though one has to complete the prison sentence.

Jail can be a good place to get the body into good physical condition, while getting the mind into good spiritual condition. I have always believed in a way of escape in the form of keeping control of one's mind. In I Corinthians 10:13, the Bible states, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able: but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it." This is the answer, to free their minds and their spirits first, and give them something solid to believe in and work for, and then the release from prison will follow.

Life is difficult. It is a challenge. It is almost like going to war every day. It is necessary to put on the whole armor of God each day in order to face the world. In Ephesians 6:13-19, the Bible gives the valuable words of wisdom as follows:
"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."

If you hear that song, "When the Saints Coming Marching In," just remember, WE are the saints. Our ancestors have fought and died for the freedoms we have now, continually moving west all across the European countries and then across the ocean, continually moving west across Africa, and then across the ocean. We are the children of God, WE are the SAINTS, and it is time to behave like we are.