Message
The first time I visited the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison was in 1975. I went there with an elderly pastor, and we saw a young man playing the piano and dancing joyfully. I asked the elderly pastor whether the young man was about to be released, and he responded that the man didn’t have any hope of being released because he was serving a life sentence. I then asked the pastor why the young man was so joyful despite his circumstances, and he replied that the man was joyful because he had met Jesus Christ while in prison.
Beloved, if you are going through a bad situation, I want you to know that no matter how bad it is, you have a reason to rejoice as long as you have Jesus. Today’s memory verse says that Christ in you is the hope of glory. When Christ is in a fellow, no matter what he or she is facing, such a fellow has hope for a glorious future.
A songwriter once wrote a song that says, “I am glad I belong to Jesus.” Another songwriter wrote, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.” These should be your declarations as a believer, even when the enemy knocks you down. says that the righteous may fall seven times, but they will surely rise again. This means that negative situations cannot keep you down permanently. When the devil arranged for Jesus’ crucifixion and death, he thought he had won. However, tells us that if the princes of this world had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Had they known that Jesus’ death would be their utter destruction, they would have tried to prevent Him from dying. In today’s Bible reading, the devil thought he had succeeded in shutting Paul and Silas up by getting them arrested. He didn’t know that God needed them to be in prison so they could show the jailer and his household the way to salvation. The devil’s attempts to make you fall will only lead to God being glorified in your life.
Child of God, are you going through a tough and uncertain situation? Rejoice because Christ in you is your hope of glory. Don’t despair or be discouraged. Rest assured that whatever you are passing through will give God a platform to announce His glory in your life, so long as you remain in Christ. May Christ indeed reveal His glory in your life, in Jesus’ name.