The gate clanged shut as he adjusted his eyes to the dark. It wasn't the first time for Paul. Paul spent years in various prisons on the way to his trial in Rome, but he never saw himself as a prisoner of the Romans but a prisoner of the Lord. (Eph 3.1)   In the Bible God’s people were put in prisons, because they served God, not because they committed a crime. People like Jeremiah, John the Baptist, and Daniel. Paul never saw himself in any place apart from in the hand of God.

Perhaps you seem to be in prison yourself at present. Maybe you are emotionally stifled as you face constant put-downs and manipulation. Perhaps you are stuck financially or work for a boss that is unkind or arrogant. Prisoners don’t have any say about who’s in their life. When we are a prisoner of the Lord, we don’t have much say, either. If we did, we would remove all the people from our “prison world” that we didn’t like. We would remove all the difficult parts of our job and lives and change all the challenging circumstances that are helping us to grow up.

Paul knew that the devil was against him, but God was sovereign. Therefore, no circumstance could stop Paul from fulfilling his assignment. They may be uninvited, and some certainly don’t feel good but will be turned for good by God. Joseph's troubles were all necessary steps toward him fulfilling God's purpose and bringing blessing to so many others. In the prison, God was working for his promotion. Paul said, “I know that I shall be delivered eventually through your prayer and the Holy Ghost” and he was.

Friend, through your prayer and the Holy Ghost, your prison will have an ending. If you are in the “prison of the Lord” for a limited time and for a specific purpose, thank God, He’s helping you succeed in your calling and destiny as He did for Paul. Talk to the “Prison Keeper” about the next assignment He has for you while you are in His prison.

The woman was bowed over. She was a faithful woman who walked to the house of God on the sabbath for decades. Perseverance wasn’t her problem. She never stopped going even though she had more challenges in her life than most. She had courage and commitment. Everyone looked at her. Some pitied her and some secretly thought she must be less holy than she looked. The ancient Jews believed the righteous earned good things but the unrighteous deserved only bad. (This was a generalization based on Proverbs, but the rest of the Bible shows that bad things do happen to good people.)

She stood through the service and then Jesus stood up in the synagogue, angry that a woman could be 18 years in the house of God and still bent over by an evil spirit. He was angry that a devil seemingly enjoyed the powerless meetings. “Ought not this daughter of Abraham be loosed on the Sabbath day (Luke 13.11) Ought not  this women be whole in the house of God. He commands demons to go and her back straightens.

How did a faithful women get bent over in the house of God?  The troubles of life touch us all, but it is never what happens to us in life that bends us out of shape, rather it is always the lies that Satan attaches to those events. Perhaps it began when someone close to her, was one of the people killed when the tower of Siloam fell. Perhaps the women had been lied to by the enemy and she had believed it. “God doesn’t care for you; you must have been a bad person; your life is a waste of time, you’ll never be well, God doesn’t think you are worthy.” The lies turned her gaze downward. It became permanent.

What lies has the enemy told you? “God can’t forgive you that many times, or you can’t hear from God, you have wasted your life” and as we believe his lies, we start bending over, loosing faith, looking down instead of looking up.

Friend, the truth is, Jesus loves you and your house is the house of God. He has come to your house and He wants you free from every lie of Satan. Hear Him speak and let His word touch you and straighten you as a pillar in His house. Look up! Be loosed from the infirmity of your thoughts.

During WW2, the allies sent battle plans across the continent, in code so if the note was intercepted, the message couldn't be understood. When the enemy heard the coded message, they couldn't understand it. They needed a code breaker, which when applied to the message, would give it sense.

Jesus the head of the church also send signals and impulses to His body but often they seem to be in a code that we find hard to understand. We need a codebreaker and that code breaker is the cross. When Jesus the Message was made flesh, the language he spoke was not just Aramaic but the language of humility. He came without reputation in the form of a servant. He humbled himself further and was obedient even to the death on a cross.

Even though He has been exalted, His messages still come to us coded in the language of humility, serving, giving and dying. Many times, we miss hearing because we have not embraced the “decoder”. His leading will still be in the form of a cross. Speak to that one, give to that one, prayer for that one, and ask forgiveness of that one. None may be easy to do.

In a war, everyday could be your last. They know that when the order is given, they must step out and face a hail of enemy lead. Some may be cut down but when the captain orders, they don’t have to weigh it up, all that has been done. They embrace death well before they face the moment. They are already dead; they just stand and fight.

Friend, Peter said that we should also count ourselves as sheep for slaughter, then we would be more fearless to obey whenever the One who loved us so much, asks from us any lessor act of humility and sacrifice.

During the Viet Nam war the phrase “The Eye of the Tiger” was coined, referring to the fierce gaze of a once wounded soldier who recovers to fight again. They were different and stronger somehow. Perhaps you have been wounded in the battle. 

Although we have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness, the devil still tries to intimidate us and bring his darkness around our heart and mind. The reason Paul says that we wrestle against our enemies (Ephesians 6) and not box , is that in wrestling, you never lose physical contact with the adversary. And it is the only one that strengthens you as you fight. Have you seen the All-Black rugby team do this in training?  While you are holding on wrestling, you are getting stronger.  When Satan attacks you, he is unwittingly developing your fierceness and strength in God.  Satan may think he has your measure now, but he doesn’t reckon on who you are going to be in the future. 

 Perhaps the greatest threat to Christianity is not attacks from the enemy but a time of ease - when everything is quiet and there is no need for weapons or strength. The Philistines closed all the blacksmith shops in Israel to weaken them and stop them making weapons. A blacksmith shop may seem a dark place; there may be the sound of hammers hitting and striking; it may even look like hell. But Someone is stoking the flames and forming weapons in the fires of adversity. If you take away the “blacksmith” trial experiences, from the church, there will be no weapons.  If we have never been attacked, we cannot gain the “eye of a tiger.”  We develop “the eye” when we go and grow through his attacks. 

Friend, the enemy has tried to intimidate you. Wrestle through the heat of the battle and you will soon find that you have a new strength and weapons that can now intimidate him.

Jesus never came to earth to prove He was greater than the devil – He’s always been that! He came here to defeat him as a human being on our behalf.  The devil was a strong man who could only keep his goods until a stronger one came upon him. That stronger one is Jesus and His Church!  The enemy is still our foe and in the presence of the enemy, Jesus provides victory.

King David said “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil;” (Psalm 23:5) There are some things God only puts on the table for us in the presence of our enemies. In other words, most of the times we receive something fresh from God are in the midst of a battle.  In an environment where we need nothing, we receive little. The Christian life is a life of being in need. We should get used to it! We need Jesus every day to live as a Christian. We can’t heal the sick or forgive constantly without Jesus; we can’t cast out devils or defeat our enemies each day, except through Him.

Jesus said to one of the churches in Revelation, “…you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. (Revelation 3:17) They had everything they wanted but nothing they truly needed. If we know our true need, God will be our garment, our life, and the anointing we need to see clearly. Sometimes our greatest challenge is to know what we truly need. Like this ancient church group, sometimes we need an enemy to fight!

To increase in our experience of His authority there has to be an increase in the challenges we face. God works on the basis that His provision for us is not just sufficient but is more than sufficient for our need and the things we face. If our enemies are a two on the scale, then His grace can be a four. If our troubles are a five, then the strength and more than sufficient anointing that He gives us, will be a seven plus!

Friend, like young David, you can run to the battle because He planned for you to win!

 Job sat angry and disheveled in his misery. He was sick and tired of being sick and misunderstood.  His friends had brought no gift or comfort, only accusations.  Job ponders his life and his personal weakness and questions, “Who can bring something clean out of that which is unclean? Job 14:4.

Job never knew about Christmas but he did ask questions to which God gave answers, at the birth of Jesus.

Matthew wrote the genealogies in his gospel to establish for the Jewish readers, the fact that Jesus was the Messiah. The list stretching right back to Adam is unusual and a little disturbing.  Every one of the first four women has a shady reputation.  Tamar got pregnant by pretending to be a prostitute. Rahab was a prostitute living the town of Jericho.  Ruth was an unclean Moabite and Bathsheba committed adultery with David.

Now if we had these people in our family tree we wouldn’t shout it from the rooftops and we probably wouldn’t put it in a book if we knew it would be the best seller of all time. But it does answer that question that Job asked some 1200 years before  "Who can bring something clean out of that which is unclean?"

At the birth of Christ, God shows that He can bring something clean out the unclean.  For out of these sinful men and women, God can and did bring forth a sinless child at Christmas time.  Jesus Christ was born sinless (clean) out of an ordinary human girl Mary (the unclean). God did the same thing again when he authored the Bible through men of old. God's Word, the Bible is a perfect Word yet delivered through imperfect vessels.

The great news of Christmas, is that through Jesus, God can now bring something fresh and clean and hopeful out of the lives of unclean and hopeless people. This is good news for the world. When no one else can, God can.  Politicians have legislated to make us a better society and we still devolve. Education taught us tolerance of deviant practices and now the result is a nation with  massive family dysfunctional. World governments are trying to keep us healthy and millions are getting sicker.

Who can bring a clean thing out and unclean thing?  Only God!  2 Corinthians 5.17 wonderfully declares that whoever belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new and a clean life has begun!

Friends, thank God that Jesus is God’s gift to the world. He is the savior from sin and when we receive Him, He becomes the New man, in us. He is the Clean man in us, who can walk with God again. When we turn back to God, we discover the answer to Jobs question, Who? - God. And the how? - Jesus.

 Moses got up each morning and looked at the tents of the people stretching out for miles into the distance. He was amazed that millions of people followed him through the desert.  It was exceptional. Moses was an exceptional leader. I mean who else has done that? Joseph was an exceptional prime minister. Not many prisoners become the ruler of their nation in a day.  Job had exceptional suffering and then was exceptionally blessed. David was an exceptional sinner and worshipper. 

All these and others like the apostle Paul were exceptional, but we lose sight of the fact that they were also unique too, just like you. There will never be another you and there will never be another Paul, and if we think that our life will follow some exceptional path, like Moses’ we may be disappointed.  Your wealth may not double after you have had a time of real hardship, just because Jobs did.  You probably won’t have an opportunity to become the prime minster just because Joseph did.

 I think God must be looking for some of His people to be “ordinary.”  To live ordinary supernatural lives as chemists, mothers and fridge repairers!  We have heard numbers of prophesies over young people “You are called to change your nation-to affect generations -to raise up Gods army-to be a great leader or minister, so take up the sword for you will proclaim the truth and preach the word to thousands”.

I've never heard a prophecy yet “You will not be noticed - you will be a servant in the background all your life, you’ll take up the towel and give your life away in service of others and never be heard by thousands. You may even have trouble in your life or your marriage, but I will use that to grow your character and you will share my love and my gospel with those I bring to you.”   Yes, God will have some exceptional leaders for a nation, but he also needs great leaders of tens and hundreds and great leaders humbly serving their families and friends.

Friend, you are unique, and God does have plans for you and your future. You are not called to be anyone that you’re not, but you are called to rise up to become everything He knows you can be.

Elijah rested his head on the cloak he had rolled up for a pillow. It was cool and quiet in the cave. Caves were often used as shelter, but the forefathers Abraham and Isaac had buried their dead there and David had hid in caves from pressures and distress. Elijah’s cave reminded him of his troubles, dead dreams, and failed expectations. While Elijah was thinking back over his life , he heard a voice he knew, could only be the Lords. “What are you doing here Elijah?"

Did God mean what was Elijah doing in the cave or what was Elijah doing in that state of mind? Was God was asking Elijah “Do you want commiseration in your pain or a new commission in your purpose? God was moving Elijah on because there is no future in the past and no future in the cave. God was encouraging Elijah, if you are ready for a new commission, come out of the cave, and forget the past for the past can affect the way you hear, what you can hear and even what you expect to hear.

Sadly, it seems that Elijah never really left his cave. We can leave our cave physically, yet remain there mentally or spiritually. Elijah may not have been in his cave, but the cave was still in him.

Friend, self-pity or past failures will rob you of your usefulness and your future. The past can imprint us more powerfully than our future. Come out of the cave with your hands up and get ready to hear from God. Our ability to be useful to God is limited to our boldness before the throne and before the world. Stand on the mountain before the Lord with your back to past pain, the dead things, the persecution and the failed expectations. It is time to break agreement with fear, low expectations and self rejection. If you can turn your back on all the things that are in your cave and stand before Him, you will hear His new commission!