Acts 20:35 “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Seasons Greetings, my beautiful brothers and sisters. May the grace of God be upon you. Amen. I pray that all of you are well during this joyous time of year. This is the time of year when some Christians celebrate the birth of Christ our Lord. Of course, it is unknown when Jesus was born. Some speculate that it was in October. Jesus never commanded us to celebrate His birth, only His death and resurrection. Christmas trees, Santa Claus and mistletoe are all pagan traditions which were left over from the Roman empire. I find it trivial to debate such things. To me, Christmas should be celebrated every day, to some degree or another. Most definitely, we should praise Jesus for His sacrifice infinitely. His birth, life and death forever changed all of creation. Where we once had nothing, we now have hope. Thank you, Jesus! All praise be to you, Lord! Hallelujah! Woo! It gives me shivers just thinking about the Lord and what He has done for us. This is a time of year when we focus not only on Jesus, but each other as well. This is a time when we are reminded to give, to volunteer, to share, to open our hearts and love one another. We should do that yearly, but we so often forget.
If there is one thing that God has taught me, it’s to share and give. I do not have much right now. I have no way to earn a living. My family does not send me much money, nor do I expect them to. Never-the-less, I share what little I do have and the Lord has blessed me for it. Some of the men here have no one to care for them or send them funds. The deodorant and soap that is provided by the prison does little to mask body odor. Some men lack basic hygiene or even lined paper to write letters. There are a few of us who help out when we can. You would be amazed at how appreciated a small gesture is in here. When you have nothing, even the smallest gift means so much. The Lord was right [He always is]; it is so much better to give than to receive. We should not do it for accolades, but because it is the right thing to do. After all, it is what Jesus would do. We must always strive to follow His example. We are the body of Christ. We must be His ambassadors on earth. We must look out for each other and love our neighbor. We will be better for it. Just the simple act of praying for one another can be so powerful. There are so many people in the world who need our help. I only wish that I had the means to do more.
I despise the selfish life I used to live. There is so much more that I could have done as a free man. Even in prison, I have so much more than so many people. That is never lost on me. It breaks my heart. Many of us look forward to the gifts we will receive and the family we will visit with. We lose sight of the fact that many people are destitute and have no family to speak of. There are men in here who have been here for months without receiving mail or speaking to someone on the phone. I cry for them sometimes. It’s just awful. Even in this situation, I have so much more than so many people. A lot of us do. We ought to always be mindful of that. We should reflect on it and be thankful to God for it. Please, brothers and sisters, do the will of God. Love your neighbors and give them what you can. Show them the love of Jesus Christ. Let us pray: Lord, we thank you for your sacrifice. We love you Jesus and we pray for our neighbors, even our enemies, Lord. May you bless them and help us to love them as you would have us love them. Father, we pray for peace on earth and good will towards all mankind. In Jesus Name, Amen. Thank you for praying with me.
I would ask you to also please pray for my brother and pastor, Tom Shuford. He will be going in for surgery on December 30th. The prison has made a final decision. They have banned him from visiting. He tried to fill out a regular visit form to visit me and they denied him. I can’t understand why. The extremes that this prison is going to, to silence its critics are unlawful and dangerous. What are they hiding??? Satan is in full bloom here. Please pray for us all.
I love you, my beautiful brothers and sisters. I wish you joy, peace, love and blessings.
May God bless and keep you! May you share the wealth He has given you! May we love our neighbors as ourselves! Amen!
Love in Christ,
Randall
(a man who loves to share)
Mark 10:21 “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ’One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.’”