Tuesday, January 8, 2019 -
“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond comparison, while we look not at things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (II Cor. 4:17-18). “Therefore, the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait on Him.” (Isaiah 30:18).
God seems to be continually throwing those words, “wait” and “endurance” at me through His scriptures.
It is some days harder than others for Kathie and me to “patiently endure,” which is why the prayers of God’s saints who uphold us faithfully to the Father are so precious to me. I know He “… will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed upon us through the prayers of many.” (II Cor. 1:10-11).
Indeed, I echo Paul’s gratefulness to you who have prayed for Kathie and me. Not only that, so many of you have done so much more – called and visited Kathie, written us notes and letters of encouragement, helped us financially, contacted the media and organizations, written letters to the editor, written the President, sent me books and magazines to read, and more!
Around 350 people sent letters to Judge Arcara prior to my sentencing, urging leniency. I believe God miraculously used your letters to soften the judge’s heart to give me the minimum mandatory sentence and more importantly, for the first time in his nearly 40 year career on the federal bench, bail. This allowed me to remain at home for another 18 months. He also could have fined me as much as $500,000 – or the minimum recommended guideline, $50,000. Instead, he fined me a mere $200. God did that miracle, and those of you who wrote a letter on my behalf were used by God to touch Judge Arcara’s heart.
As I’ve explained, the biggest blessing about being here in prison is the fact I have so much time to delve into God’s Word – as never before! I am learning so much!
A few prayer requests I have today: please pray that Kathie will begin to get more than two or three hours of sleep a night. She is mentally and physically exhausted, and that, coupled with the pain, is very concerning. On my end, one of my crowns came off tonight. The dentist is only here one day a week (I think), and I understand there is a long wait.
I will close today with a few quotes from “Idols for Destruction” by Herbert Schlossberg, which I’m currently reading: “In the late twentieth century, bereft of the biblical limitations by a generation that has turned away from Christian faith, history, pursues its mad career, running amuck with saviors making rules they crown with divine status. History, thus de-Christianized, has no moral limitations. ‘Right’ is a moving target, propelled by the march of facts and sentiments. Theft, homosexuality, pornography, genocide, and torture were wrong yesterday, but tomorrow who can say? Perhaps we shall find compelling national, social, or economic interests that require us to do things that would not have been contemplated without horror a short time ago, and perhaps we shall find that way they are ‘right.’ A society that cannot tolerate a judge beyond history will find that it can learn to tolerate anything else.”
Keep in mind this was written around 35 years ago, which makes its words truly prophetic. He goes on, “…the great task of the prophets was to show Israel that God was still active in history, just as He had been in the time of Moses. Without that, their denunciations of evil in the two kingdoms would be little more than an exercise in finger-wagging. Judgment for them was not an intellectual activity but a word denoting God’s action against evil. The church, too, is a custodian of the prophetic message that, after twenty-five hundred years, God is still active in history and still makes Himself known in blessing and judgment. The message is as unpopular now as it was then, and there are many places in which the church is faithless to its charge, preferring to preach on popular themes that find ready acceptance among those who have rejected the first principles of Christian faith. But churches are no less subject to judgment than are other institutions, and they will learn this truth as did the faithless prophets who were the contemporaries of Amos and Isaiah.”
I believe Schlossberg hit the nail on the head, so to speak, and it is the reason I sit here in prison today.
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