From: The Pastor’s Heart
To: You
Title: “No Longer Bound!”
I regularly correspond with a few prison inmates. Young men I know personally who I
want to make sure they feel somebody cares while they are away. Never being locked up, I
can only imagine how difficult it is trying to believe and hold on to hope as each passing
day presents evidence to the contrary. My heart aches at times for those who are bound
and shackled regardless of the crime because I know that I too have done wrong, but
God’s mercy prevailed in my life. My errors may not have broken the laws of man, but
they certainly violated the laws of God and it’s only because His love is unexplainable that
I’m not handcuffed to the sins of my past.
Each of us who rise every morning in beds of our choosing have so much to be thankful
for especially when we realize the things we’ve done that violated the commandments of
the Lord. I often think about David’s words in Psalms 51 when he said, “Against thee and
thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight…” The mercy of the Lord blows my
mind at times when I think of the immensity of it upon our lives. The way God protects us
from the onslaught of the enemy’s attack is refreshing and more than we could ever
deserve. That alone should drive us to regular unrestricted praise.
The next time you find yourself in the house of the Lord, regardless of the day, stop and
just look around and acknowledge the freedom and liberty that you have in all things. You
can walk around the entire facility and bow before a holy and perfect God anytime you
want to and the more you give your all to Him, the more He gives His to you. If God
locked us away for the laws we’ve broken we would never again know what it feels like to
participate in explosive, life-changing worship. The older I get the more I realize it’s an
honor and a privilege to serve Him in the temple and pray to Him in the sanctuary.
In my letters to the inmates, I try very hard to deposit as much spiritual hope and wisdom
into them as I possibly can because I want the glory of the Lord to be experienced by them
even from the confines of an eight by ten cell. I want them to feel His hands of protection
upon them and know that above the sounds of chaos and discord, there’s a sound above
their heads that’s calming and reassuring. I want them to walk each day with the hope that
one day, despite their crime they have a place awaiting them in glory as long as they give
their lives to Him.
If you know someone who’s hurting, bound, or lost in sorrow, please make time for them
today and write to them. Let them know they are not forgotten and God’s love is available
and accessible twenty-four hours a day. Give Him praise because we are ‘No Longer
Bound.’
EVERYTHING WE DO MOVING FORWARD WILL BE INTENTIONAL AND DRIVEN WITH
PURPOSE TO REPRESENT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT!
NOTHING WILL BE DONE WITH ENERGY LESS THAN OUR BEST AND EFFORT BELOW
OUR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL.
OUR SERVICE IS LOCAL, BUT OUR REACH IS GLOBAL – SO WE CANNOT REDUCE OUR
PRESENTATION DOWN TO WHAT’S CONVENIENT, BUT RATHER WE MUST RAISE IT TO
THAT WHICH IS EXPLOSIVE!
Get ready for major change that’s coming systematically, intellectually, purposefully, and
professionally. Nothing we do moving forward will be done haphazardly, sloppily, poorly,
or carnally.
We Are the LIGHT!
Sincerely,
Pastor J.E. Chandler, Sr.
(CEO/Pastor of MLCM)
