Prison Guide, John Parker, takes us on the “Joy in Jail” tour!
Day 1 – By which we are introduced to the main players in the book of Philippians. We begin to see how joy can happen in the most trying of circumstances. Why? Because Jailbird for Jesus Paul took time to write during his incarceration to encourage others. By faith the great apostle recorded his thoughts for people just like us, most of whom, he will never see this side of eternity! Paul’s faith works through love to give us a “Get out of jail free!” card.
Today’s passage: “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:1–2, ESV)
Paul’s Prison Players Playlist includes:
Paul—this is one of four prison-letters he wrote during this first extended prison sentence. the other three are Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians.
Timothy—Paul’s protege who later work with the church in Ephesus and received letters from Paul on how to lead by example in the church.
Servants—“douloi” in Greek meaning slaves or bond-servants.
Christ—The christened one, anointed one, and the Hebrew word “Mashiach,” meaning Messiah—“the one anointed with oil.
Jesus—Joshua/Yeshua—which means Jehovah/YHWH is salvation. “…and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21, ESV)
Saints—hagiois in Greek meaning set-apart ones. A description rather than a beatific title. All Christians are called saints—as seen here.
Overseers-episkopois-a function of seeing the big picture.
Deacons-transliteration of the Greek word diakonois-translation: servers
God our Father (2 Cor 1:3) and the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:27). The bestowers of grace (giftings that are freely given and received) and peace.
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John and the “Giv’m Heaven” Team! (CHT)*
When I think of saints in jail I think of Malcom. He was born in a jail of Cerebral Palsy. Some day he will be released from this jail to heaven and a new body. I met him at the park across from my house. He had a basketball in his lap on the basketball court. We had a conversation about the Lord instead. I asked him if he knew Jesus. He quoted for me Philippians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” To make a long story short, Malcom trained me in how to “wash one another’s feet”. There are no classes on this in any seminary. Malcom must have a PhD in this so I got the best training for over a year, almost daily. How can I murmur or complain about any jail experience when I have been tutored by Malcom
Thank you, Tim, for your Malcolm story about his ministry from prison! God is at work!