Behind Prison Bars 在监狱里
Dexu Xia
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up. Isaiah 43:19
A star quarterback in American football stepped onto a stage that wasn’t a sports stadium. He spoke to three hundred inmates in the Everglades Correctional Facility in Miami, Florida, sharing with them words from Isaiah.
This moment, though, was not about the spectacle of a famous athlete but about a sea of souls broken and hurting. In this special time, God showed up behind bars. One observer tweeted that “the chapel began to erupt in worship and praise.” Men were weeping and praying together. In the end, some twenty-seven inmates gave their lives to Christ.
In a way, we are all in prisons of our own making, trapped behind bars of our greed, selfishness, and addiction. But amazingly, God shows up. In the prison that morning, the key verse was, “I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19). The passage encourages us to “forget the former things” and “do not dwell on the past” (v. 18) for God says, “I, even I, am he who . . . remembers your sins no more” (v. 25).
Yet God makes it clear: “Apart from me there is no savior” (v. 11). It is only by giving our lives to Christ that we’re made free. Some of us need to do that; some of us have done that but need to be reminded of who the Lord of our life truly is. We’re assured that, through Christ, God will indeed do “a new thing.” So let’s see what springs up!
By: Kenneth Petersen
In what way are you imprisoned by your own sin? What do you need to do to break free from your brokenness?
Heavenly Father, please free me from the prison bars of my sin.
看哪！我要作一件新的事；现在它要发生了。—以赛亚书43章19节
一位美式橄榄球明星四分卫踏上了一个不是体育场的舞台。他在美国佛州迈阿密市的大沼泽地惩教所，向三百名受刑人分享以赛亚书的信息。
不过，此时此刻并不是关乎一位著名运动员的精彩表演，而是关乎一群心灵受伤和破碎的人。在这特别的时刻，上帝显现在这个监狱里。一位观察员发布推文说：“监狱礼拜堂迸发出敬拜和赞美。”囚犯和志工们一同流泪祷告，最后，约有27名受刑人将自己的生命献给基督。
在某种程度上，我们都被关在自己建造的监狱里，被困在贪婪、自私和成瘾的牢笼里。但奇妙的是，上帝亲自显现了。那天早上，在那座监狱里，信息的金句是：“看哪！我要作一件新的事；现在它要发生了，难道你们还不知道吗？”（以赛亚书43章19节，新译本）这段经文鼓励我们“不要记念从前的事，也不要思想古时的事”（18节），因为上帝说：“我也不记念你的罪恶。”（25节）
上帝明确表示：“除我以外没有救主”（11节）。你我唯有将生命交给基督，才能得自由。我们之中有些人需要决志将生命交给基督；有些人虽已决志，但需要反思到底谁才是我们生命真正的主宰。我们确信，藉着基督，上帝确实会“作一件新的事”。那么，就让我们看看会发生什么事吧！作者： 毕恺腾
你在哪些方面被自己的罪囚禁？
你要怎么做才能摆脱自身的软弱和败坏？
天父，请救我脱离自己的罪恶牢笼