I agree
@Verifyveritas76 it would also make a lot of people think before committing the crime. The crime rates would drop but then the money would stop coming to the prisons. Like someone said earlier it’s about money it really is.
@rejoicinghandmaid i really do need to buckle down and start on a better relationship with Jesus. But to be honest I don’t understand have the stuff in the Bible so when I read it it confuses me and I stop reading it. Prayer I never know what to say so i basically have a conversation like I would with any one for the most part. Lol.
@JimandMary county jail is probably worse than prison. They deal with detoxing people and people who just found out that there going to prison. Once they come to us they are typically detoxed and the reality of prison has set in. So we get to deal with the fights the new guys want to fight and make a name for there selves but usually get beat up pretty good by someone who wasn’t a top dog. Top dogs are usually older cats who don’t don’t get into trouble.
@dixieprincess -- I'm listening very carefully to what you're sharing about your time in the Word and also prayer. What "the church" calls prayer and what it's supposed to be or look like are two totally different things--you need to know this. I have no idea what the Hebrew word is for prayer, nor the root of it in Hebrew. The Hebrew scholars on this forum could help us out if they would, please! But the real act of prayer with Yeshua can take many forms, has no boundaries, or format. At any level of prayer it is simply an honest to goodness conversation with your Yeshua who loves you so much more than an human being on the face of planet earth could ever think of loving you! He's not sitting in judgment of you because you've already been forgiven, accepted and adopted into His family. You are His daughter, a child of the King. We are encouraged to approach Him boldly, with no fear. Our total understanding of how truely great the Creator of this marvelous universe is automatically produces a respect and reverence for Him, and it humbles us that HE would even consider taking time to listen to us, much less love us, nurture us with that love, and bring us along on His path. Did you bite the dust in some way today?--don't we all, and He knows that we are but dust, our frame IS weak--but OH how He loves us and desires OUR fellowship with Him so He can dust us off, wipe the tears, set us back up on our feet, and gently holding our right hand with His right hand, encourage us to try again. He says, "I'm right here with you, you're not in this alone. TRUST me! for I have proven that I'm worthy of your TRUST!" There's nothing to small or too big or anything in between that you can not talk about with Yeshua or Papa or Sarayu!
Prayer can be gut wrenching, especially when you're pouring your heart out about how you are feeling and no one else understands, crying buckets of tears and going through a box of kleenex. But They are there. You will come to sense and feel Their presence, Their unconditional love, Their strength, the joy that comes from emptying the load upon their shoulders--"casting all your care upon Him for He careth for you."
Prayer can be exhausting as you find yourself entering into the inner sanctum in intercession for a particular need of a brother or sister in desperate need. You will be doing battle--real battle against the forces of spiritual warfare in Jesus' name--please, not in your own or in your own strength. Yeshua must be your shield and high tower, your bulwark.
Prayer can also be as simple as, "What should I wear today, my Lord?' "Which route should I take driving to work today?" "Do you want me to buy this?" Prayer is all of this and so much more. It is a constant flow of communication throughout your day with your Yeshua--"pray without ceasing". In my line of work and ministry I encounter wide spectrums of situations, human beings, and challenges. As I'm talking with another soul, I'm IMing (instant messaging) with Yeshua throughtout the entire dialogue. I'm very present in our conversation as I speak with the person, looking them in the eye and hanging on every word they say--or trying to, but I'm also listening very intently to what Sarayu may be saying to me that I need to share with that person. Yes, I'm very experience in many avenues being a teacher of 39 years, and my experience does carry weight, but that person more importantly needs to know what Yeshua is giving me for them. As your prayer life develops and expands in your personal walk, you will find the utter joy and blessing of simply being the conduit through which Yeshua can flow to another person. I may not always understand why I'm being told to share something, but I've learned to TRUST what Yeshua is telling me, learned the value of freely giving out what He's giving me and not play god by deciding they don't need that because in my humanness I don't see how it fits. After an encounter where I've seen God do mighty and amazing things because I made myself available as the conduit, I am at peace with myself and Him because "I kept nothing back" as Paul said.
I mentioned in my first post to you that you must decide that you want this and you must decide to begin and you must begin with baby steps. Papa will take you as far as you want to go and draw you in as close to His heart as you want to be! He lets you start right where you are today. You don't have to do anything to get ready to embark on this most wonderful of all journeys a human can ever experience. All you have to do is want to start and begin!
In your Bible reading, get off the hampster wheel of what everyone else in "the church" is telling you is the right way and the wrong way "to be spiritual" because you're reading your Bible. A good place to start SOAKING in the Word is to pick a verse with which you are already familiar and meditate upon it. Maybe John 3:16 or something else you've heard all your life. ASK the Lord to show you everything He wants you to know and understand about that verse. How can you apply it to your daily life? Start where you are--and there's NO wrong place to be! You decide--it's your God-given choice and rejoice that you have the choice to make! The blessing and promise comes in the meditating--Read Psalm 1 and Joshua 1:8. The word for "meditation, meditating" comes from the same root used for the chewing of the cud which cows do. They grab a mouthful (whatever their mouthful looks like), chew it, swallow it, then burp it back up and chew some more, then swallow, and repeat that process until the food is completely digested and available to their body's system. Reading a lot of Scripture at a time is not necessarily a good idea--there's NO time for assimulation, meditation, digestion. It would be wonderful if you'd consider starting a journal that allows you to record what Papa's giving you as you begin this journey of seeking Him Face-to-Face. Over the course of a week or months, you WILL begin to sense growth in your understanding of His Word, as well as, your closeness with Him, and your time in prayer. Don't set yourself up for failure by putting expections on where you think you will be or should be by a certain time frame. Don't do that to yourself. Your Papa and Yeshua certainly aren't doing that to you--they don't function in our sense of time! They DO so desire your relationship and fellowship more than anything else in this world.
@dixieprincess, I truly hope we will be able to stay connected on this forum. You are soooo loved and a precious daughter in God's eyes. Begin to see yourself that way. You are among real friends on this forum. These brothers and sisters are real because they're in the fire, have come through the fire, or are heading into a fire. Let them love on you. I'm so glad you've connected. Blessings to you today on this Labor Day weekend. Till later. I'll be praying for you as Yeshua brings you to my heart.
