Checking Recidivism: Tasks, Roles, & Responsibilitieslightandlibertyministries.org/cms/kunde/rts/lightandlibertyministries... · Barak Obama as the nation’s 82nd, and first African

Presentation to the monthly United Methodist Men’s Breakfast Group at Paradise Hills United Methodist Church Date: 2/15/2014 David Mueller, President Rev. Jay Armstrong, Pastor

Rev. 1.2 2/27/2014

Checking Recidivism: Tasks, Roles, & Responsibilities

http://www.umc.org/atf/cf/DB6A45E4-C446-4248-82C8-E131B6424741/cross_and_flame_color.jpg

Definitions: Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed. Recidivism: n (1886) : a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior; esp “ relapse into criminal behavior Recidivist: n (1880) : one who relapses; specif : an habitual criminal – Recidivist adj – recidivistic adj

(Continued on the next page)

Checking Recidivism: Tasks, Roles, & Responsibilities (continued from the previous page)

Page 2

Dramatic Growth in America’s Prison Population in the last three decades From a 2008 report: 1 in 100 Americans was now behind bars

From another study in 2009: 1 in 31 adults in the US was either incarcerated or on probation or parole. The costs associated with this growth also have been well documented. Total state spending on corrections is now about $52 billion, the bulk of which is spent on prisons.

State spending on corrections quadrupled during the past two decades making it the second fastest growing area of state budgets, trailing only Medicaid.

Source: http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/sentencing_and_corrections/State_Recidivism_Revolving_Door_America_Prisons%20.pdf

(Continued on the next page) Page 3


http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/sentencing_and_corrections/State_Recidivism_Revolving_Door_America_Prisons .pdf


Source: http://www.businessinsurance.org/prison-industry/


Perfect Storm Brewing…



Source: http://www.businessinsurance.org/prison-industry/


President Nixon

declared “War on Drugs” in

1971.

From the talking points of a speech delivered August 12, 2013 by Attorney General Eric Holder

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/read-holder-s-remarks-at-american-bar-association-as-prepared-for-delivery

Eric H. Holder, Jr., is currently serving under President Barak Obama as the nation’s 82nd, and first African-American Attorney General.



Murder Rates in US 1960- 2011 (Enlarged graph on the next page)



Eric Holder Attorney General of the Obama Administration







It’s everywhere… It’s everywhere… Recidivism, recidivism, recidivism… How to reduce recidivism… It’s a big topic in the state prison system in NM today. How to reduce recidivism…

If the murder rates are down, and if crime in general is down, then why would the Attorney General make the statement that “our system is in many respects broken”? The key word is sustainable… we can’t keep locking up people at the current rates.

Page 9

Again?

Crime is down!

Source: http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/sentencing_and_corrections/State_Recidivism_Revolving_Door_America_Prisons%20.pdf



of

Back in again!

Comfortably

caught!

return to prison!

The new figures suggest that despite the massive increase in corrections spending, in many states there has been little improvement in the performance of corrections systems. If more than four out adult offenders still return to prison within three years of their release, the system designed to deter them from continued criminal behavior clearly is falling short. That is an unhappy reality, not just for offenders, but for the safety of American communities.










Choices: There’s the bottom line right there… It’s yes… or it’s no… People make choices… People slam doors… People curtail freedoms…

Page 12


The bottom line is that, while the aggressive enforcement of federal criminal statutes remains necessary, we cannot simply prosecute or incarcerate our way to becoming a safer nation. To be effective, federal efforts must also focus on prevention and reentry. We must never stop being tough on crime. But we must also be smart and efficient when battling crime and the conditions and the individual choices that breed it.

What started as Paradise in the Garden of Eden…



…became Adam and Eve’s worst (and first) nightmare as they were forced into a life of corrections by their inordinate choices…



Adam and Eve’s probation officer didn’t violate them. They violated themselves… Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s out of bliss they go! The world became the first jail, complete with sally port: angel on one side, death on the other.


Presidential Quotables about Prison…

Four score and seven years ago…



Straight Street: the road to a better life? It’s a choice! Yes, or no?

Light and Liberty’s answer to recidivism is Straight Street

18 But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no. 19 For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes in Him. 20 For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. 2 Corinthians 1:18-22



What is Straight Street?

Jesus said it this way: He’s the way! He’s the truth! He’s the life!

Counterfeit truths!

Shades of grey is a lie… it’s not true…

Jesus: Liar, Lunatic, or LORD!

--C.S. Lewis

By God, Jesus was “declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead…” Romans 1:4


“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

C.S. Lewis in “Mere Christianity” -- The famous Liar, Lunatic or Lord quote





Solomon said it this way: Get knowledge! Get understanding! Get wisdom!




The Apostle Paul said it this way: And now abide faith, hope, and love, these three, but the greatest of these is…


How do you take an inmate from incarceration…

to freedom in Christ… OUT OF DEATH… INTO LIFE… Page 21

(continued on the next page)


Page 22

We are continuing to see a model of life itself unfold, a unified field of knowledge which provides purpose, direction, and potential, a house made without hands!

Faith Hope Love

Knowledge Understanding Wisdom

The Way The Truth The Life

His Word His Will His Way

THE LOAD BEARING WALLS ARE: Peace Love Joy


…so that life has purpose.



“When our arrest became a reality, however, it happened so quickly that it all seemed unreal. I could not believe it was actually happening to me. I was in a daze, disoriented. My mind simply could not adjust itself to all that was happening– especially the total loss of freedom and the immediate deprivation of all rights or the possibility of any recourse. “There was no way to argue, no way to plead innocence, no way to tell anyone it was all a mistake. The secret police had their orders; they were men with a job to do. They simply rounded us up like so many head of cattle. They wanted to hear no protests, they were in no mood for arguments, and they shunted aside all questions of innocence or rights, brusquely and completely, by ignoring them.

The reality from an inmates’ perspective is significantly different…

It’s a piece of cake… free room… free food… free! (three hots and a cot)…



“That experience is something you cannot describe adequately. Anyone who has ever been arrested by mistake or held overnight in jail will know the feeling, but I cannot find words to convey fully the shock, both emotional and physical, that comes over you in such an experience. “Helplessness may be the closest one-word description of that feeling, and yet how pale and inadequate it seems to express the reality. You feel completely cut off from everything and everyone who might conceivably help you, unable to make a move to help yourself and powerless to get in touch immediately with anyone who might help, totally at the mercy of those who have you in custody, not free to go anywhere or to take any action unless they allow it. “It is as if an iron door has slammed on the world you know and can operate in, and you have entered a totally new universe with its own set of rules and powers and boundaries. Those who give the orders do not have to listen, nor do they ever seem to have to make an accounting to anyone. You, on the other hand, are helpless to say or do anything that might affect your plight for the better.” From the book “He Leadeth Me” the account of a priest who was incarcerated in Russia. “I realize finally why I can relate so well to the emotions of the description above. I was once burgled. The real word is burglarized. But I think burgled sounds more like what happens. And the word helplessness used above also describes this situation. Someone was here. Someone was in my house. Someone was going through my things. Someone was taking advantage of my situation. Complete and utter helplessness… Burgled… Anyone who has been “slammed down” in a jail or prison knows the same feeling? Interesting… Criminal when caught and “criminaled” feel the same.” From a paper written for an MDC Captain about the above book , back in Steve’s earlier years at MDC.

Steve’s Note:



The jail’s job is to slam the doors shut on the inmate: to incarcerate… They are not there to provide services, but society has forced a jail to think more clearly about its role over the years… security of the inmate is a high priority generally, though you can still hear stories from time to time… And indeed, the recognition that we can’t just slam them down and forget them is the major focus of the recidivism reduction efforts being made by most prisons, and also many jails today. The objective of a Light and Liberty volunteer in the jail is to show the inmate how to open the doors of this closed “No” environment, so that they can begin to make the “Yes” choice again.



Since 1971, Light and Liberty has also gotten much more adept at understanding our target audiences and our tasks, roles, and responsibilities. First a quick look at our unchanged mission: Light and Liberty ministers the gospel of Jesus Christ to the staff and inmates of correctional facilities. That used to mean a quick gospel presentation and a prayer, collecting a few prayer requests and returning next week for more of the same. Also we began to provide Bibles, and Christian literature… and then reading glasses, and pencils. And then calendars and Bible reading materials.



How we do what we do?



What can you do to help?



In the end it’s all a choice… Three steps of yes… And those three steps become the nine stories of the spiritual house God is building in us as we say yes… It’s a trip! It’s an adventure! Can we use more Bibles? Always… even large print paperback Bibles… Used Christian Books and Literature? Always… especially paperbacks… many jails will only accept paperbacks. More volunteers to just walk into a jail and open a Bible and let them read to you! You’d be surprised how much you’ll accomplish with just this step of Yes! Come to our monthly Volunteer Breakfasts on the first Saturday of each month to find out first hand from other volunteers, what they are doing…


Peeling back Straight Street Level by Level— The highway: as it is written! The Levels: as inductively derived from the Bible.

Straight Street Roadmap level by level

Wisdom’s Process Proverbs 2:1-5 Accept Store Up Listen Understand Search

Appendices: The following pages are referenced by the titles at the top of each page.



Over the years, our understanding of the YES choice has slowly grown to include three basic steps of Straight Street… We say yes… we call it faith. We keep saying yes… we call it hope. We say yes even when it hurts… we call it love.

These three steps of faith will stop recidivism in its tracks in the final iteration. I hasten to explain…

32

Straight Street City Limits on www.lightandlibertyministries.org website

What’s it take to enter the City Limits, instead of falling off the wagon, again and again… What gets you on track, and keeps you on track? Where is the Straight Street that doesn’t veer off? What makes recidivism impossible? Where’s the Straight Street that leads directly into and through the city gates?


(continued from the previous page)

Source: Checking Recidivism: Tasks, Roles, & Responsibilities (continued from the previous page)

http://www.lightandlibertyministries.org/

At once a week… we’ll see the average inmate up to twelve times, maybe… Often we may see a person once, or twice… sometimes up to eight times… And then there’s the curve breakers, that stay for up to a year and the very few and far between, we’ll see for up to three years… rarely more! What can we hope to accomplish in that short a stay? I said at the onset of the year this year, that at these rates we’ll need to fix our eyes on the prize! So this year, STRAIGHT STREET came clearer than ever… as we fixed our eyes on Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith!

Straight Street City Limits

(Continued on the next page) 33

Author! Finisher! Opening The Door!

Where’s the limit reached? 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144… The fibonacci series has no limit, for example… (continued from the previous page)

Set in concrete…

Source: Checking Recidivism: Tasks, Roles, & Responsibilities (continued from the previous page)

Ta do? Ta done! Zip ta de do dah! Daniel 9:24 for sure…

34


In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. Ephesians 1:8b-10a KNOWING! So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22 SEEING! And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Ephesians 4:11-16 DOING!


Lift up a standard … (Continued from the previous page)


Page 35

On the next pages– a standard fleshed out!

Christ’s Way

Christ’s Way

Christ’s Way

Christ’s Truth

Christ’s Truth

Christ’s Truth

Christ’s Life

Christ’s Life

Christ’s Life

Self Control

Peace

Goodness

Faithfulness

Love

Patience

Gentleness

Joy

Kindness

Faith Process Hope Process Love Process

The results of God’s Spirit living in us…

a standard process!

Go through, go through the gates, Clear the way for the people; Build up, build up the highway, Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples. Isaiah 62:10

Note: To see the derivation of the fruit’s order from the source document, that is, the Bible— Go to: www.lightandlibertyministries.org and click on Calendars and menus, then Straight Street 6 documents, and then Doing the Steps Cube.

Introducing a standard…

Designated Derivation

Below!


http://www.lightandlibertyministries.org/



Page 36 Horizontal Take on the Spirit’s Fruit

Christ’s Way

Christ’s Way

Christ’s Way

Christ’s Truth

Christ’s Truth

Christ’s Truth

Level 1

Level 2

Christ’s Life

Christ’s Life

Christ’s Life Level 3

Doing it!

Doing it!

Doing it!

Self Control

Peace

Goodness

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Knowing it!

Knowing it!

Knowing it!

Faithfulness

Love

Patience

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Seeing it!

Seeing it!

Seeing it!

Gentleness

Joy

Kindness


The Chart in words* Level 1 As you do self control, you’ll know faithfulness, and as you know faithfulness, you’ll see gentleness.

Level 2 As you do peace, you’ll know love, and as you know love, you’ll see joy. Level 3 As you do goodness, you’ll know patience, and as you know patience, you’ll see kindness. * John 7:17; John 8:32




Page 37 Level 1 Processes Christ’s Way Christ’s Truth

Level 1 Christ’s Life

Doing it! Self Control

Level 1 Knowing it! Faithfulness

Level 1 Seeing it!

Gentleness

Just by faith Peace with God Intro into grace Exult in hope Exult in tribulations Perseverance Proven Character Hope Love of God poured out

Rom

ans 5

:1-5

My teaching Conduct Purpose Faith Patience Love Perseverance Persecutions Suffering

2 Ti

mot

hy 3

:10-

11a

The poor in spirit The mourners The gentle The “hungry” for righteousness The merciful The pure in heart The peacemakers The persecuted Insulted/persecuted/falsely accused

Mat

thew

5:1

-12



What are you living with?






Doing it! Peace

Level 2 Knowing it!

Love

Level 2 Seeing it!

Joy

Peace Pure Peaceable Gentle Reasonable Full of mercy /good fruits Unwavering Not hypocritical Righteousness

Jam

es 3

:17-

18

Love Compassion Kindness Humility Gentleness Patience Bearing with one another Forgiving each other Uniting bond of perfectness

Colo

ssia

ns 3

:12-

14

Joy Encouragement in Christ Consolation of love Fellowship of the Spirit Affection and compassion Be of the same mind Maintain the same love United in spirit Intent on one purpose

Phili

ppia

ns 2

:1-2


Perfect timing! Weight of the World?






Doing it! Goodness

Level 3 Knowing it! Patience

Level 3 Seeing it! Kindness

Above reproach Hospitable Loving what is good Sensible Just Devout Self controlled Holding fast the Word Sound in doctrine

Titu

s 1:7

-9

Patient Kind Rejoices with truth Bears all thing Believes all things Hopes all things Endures all things Never Fails The Perfect

1 Co

rinth

ians

13:

4-10

Live in harmony See what’s true See what’s honorable See what’s right See what’s pure See what’s lovely See what’s of good repute See what’s excellent See what’s praiseworthy

Phili

ppia

ns 4

:2-9





Page 40

having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, Ephesians 2:20

For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:10-12 KNOWING CHRIST! MAKING CHRIST KNOWN!

OLD TESTAMENT The Prophets

NEW TESTAMENT The Apostles


But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets Romans 3:21

For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. Matthew 11:13 …those who handle the law did not know Me; Jeremiah 2:8b

Proverbs 8:12-14; 9:1,10

2 Peter 1:5-8

Fear of the Lord Faith

Prudence Moral Excellence

Knowledge Knowledge

Discretion Self Control

Counsel Perseverance

Sound Wisdom Godliness

Understanding Brotherly kindness

Power Love

Knowledge of the Holy One

True Knowledge of Jesus




Page 41 Vertical Take on the Spirit’s Fruit

Christ’s Way

Christ’s Way

Christ’s Way

Christ’s Truth

Christ’s Truth

Christ’s Truth

Level 4

Level 5

Christ’s Life

Christ’s Life

Christ’s Life Level 6

Doing it!

Doing it!

Doing it!

Self Control

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

Knowing it!

Knowing it!

Knowing it!

Peace

Love

Joy

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6

Seeing it!

Seeing it!

Seeing it!

Goodness

Patience

Kindness


The Chart in words: Level 4 As you do self control, you’ll know peace, and as you know peace, you’ll see goodness.

Level 5 As you do faithfulness, you’ll know love, and as you know love, you’ll see patience. Level 6 As you do gentleness, you’ll know joy, and as you know joy, you’ll see kindness.







Level 4 Knowing it! Peace

Level 4 Seeing it!

Goodness


Rom

ans 5

:1-5




Jam

es 3

:17-

18

What are you living with?

Above reproach Hospitable Loving what is good Sensible Just Devout Self controlled Holding fast the Word Sound in doctrine

Titu

s 1:7

-9






Doing it! Faithfulness

Level 5 Knowing it!

Love

Level 5 Seeing it! Patience


Perfect timing!


2 Ti

mot

hy 3

:10-

11a Love

Compassion Kindness Humility Gentleness Patience Bearing with one another Forgiving each other Uniting bond of perfectness

Colo

ssia

ns 3

:12-

14

Weight of the World?

Patient Kind Rejoices with truth Bears all thing Believes all things Hopes all things Endures all things Never Fails The Perfect

1 Co

rinth

ians

13:

4-10






Doing it! Gentleness

Level 6 Knowing it!

Joy



The poor in spirit The mourners The gentle The “hungry” for righteousness The merciful The pure in heart The peacemakers The persecuted Insulted/persecuted/falsely accused

Mat

thew

5:1

-12 Joy

Encouragement in Christ Consolation of love Fellowship of the Spirit Affection and compassion Be of the same mind Maintain the same love United in spirit Intent on one purpose

Phili

ppia

ns 2

:1-2


Phili

ppia

ns 4

:2-9




Page 45

having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, Ephesians 2:20

For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:10-12 KNOWING CHRIST! MAKING CHRIST KNOWN!

OLD TESTAMENT The Prophets

NEW TESTAMENT The Apostles


But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets Romans 3:21

For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. Matthew 11:13 …those who handle the law did not know Me; Jeremiah 2:8b

Proverbs 8:12-14; 9:1,10

2 Peter 1:5-8

Fear of the Lord Faith

Prudence Moral Excellence

Knowledge Knowledge

Discretion Self Control

Counsel Perseverance

Sound Wisdom Godliness

Understanding Brotherly kindness

Power Love

Knowledge of the Holy One

True Knowledge of Jesus




Page 46 Diagonal Take on the Spirit’s Fruit

Christ’s Way

Christ’s Way

Christ’s Truth

Christ’s Truth

Level 7

Level 8

Christ’s Life

Christ’s Life

Doing it!

Doing it!

Peace

Self control

Level 7

Level 8

Knowing it!

Knowing it!

Faithfulness

Love

Level 7

Level 8

Seeing it!

Seeing it!

Kindness

Kindness


The Chart in words: Level 7 As you do peace, you’ll know faithfulness, and as you know faithfulness, you’ll see kindness..

Level 8 As you do self control, you’ll know love, and as you know love, you’ll see kindness.



(Continued from the previous page)


Level 7 Processes Christ’s Way Christ’s Truth


Doing it! Peace

Level 7 Knowing it!

Faithfulness




Phili

ppia

ns 4

:2-9


Jam

es 3

:17-

18

Page 47


2 Ti

mot

hy 3

:10-

11a



Page 47







Level 8 Knowing it!

Love




Phili

ppia

ns 4

:2-9

Love Compassion Kindness Humility Gentleness Patience Bearing with one another Forgiving each other Uniting bond of perfectness

Colo

ssia

ns 3

:12-

14


Rom

ans 5

:1-5


A brief glimpse into the build of the house as we keep looking at the ramparts and palaces.

Level 1 Self Control SS6 Faithfulness Gentleness Rampart 1 Perfect* Level 2 Peace SS4 Love Joy Rampart 2 Confirm* Level 3 Goodness SS5 Patience Kindness Palace 1 Bears all!+ Level 4 Self Control Peace Goodness Rampart 3 Strengthen* Level 5 Faithfulness Love Patience Rampart 4 Establish* Level 6 Gentleness Joy Kindness Palace 2 Believes all!+ Level 7 Peace Faithfulness Kindness Palace 3 Hopes all!+ Level 8 Self Control Love Kindness Palace 4 Endures all!+

H O R I Z O N T A L

V E R T I C A L

D I A G O N A L

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, In the city of our God, His holy mountain. 2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion in the far north, The city of the great King. 3 God, in her palaces, Has made Himself known as a stronghold. See Psalm 48

As we have heard, so have we seen In the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God; God will establish her forever. Selah. 9 We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of Your temple. 10 As is Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness.

Walk about Zion and go around her; Count her towers; 13 Consider her ramparts; Go through her palaces, That you may tell it to the next generation. 14 For such is God, Our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death.

An inductive look at the results of the Spirit’s Work in the Believer.

Wisdom: Unity of the Faith Knowledge: Knowledge of the Son of God Understanding: Mature Man

From Him** Through Him** To Him**

Measure Stature Fullness of Christ

Growing up in all into Him who is the head: Christ Ephesians 4:11-16 *1 Peter 5:10 **Romans 11:36


49

DOING THIS! KNOWING THIS! SEEING THIS!

+1 Corinthians 13:7

Checking Recidivism: Tasks, Roles, & Responsibilities (continued from the previous page) S T R A I G H T

S T R E E T

CITY LIMITS



Two more pages… that re-deliver the next steps of Straight Street… A good summary of what we’ve already seen to close out this presentation… 1. We say yes… 2. We keep saying yes… 3. We say yes even when it hurts…

These three steps of faith, hope and love for the basis of the External perimeter of the Christian Life… the Bulwarks, or the Ramparts… “O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming…” The perimeters of life that defense the returning citizen-- checking recidivism—

What this presentation has said in a nutshell…

Tough nut to crack?

Getting to the meat of the walnut…

Straight Street Bulwarks for the Build of the House

Self Control

Faithfulness raised to the suffering level Peace raised to the righteousness level

…to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:12b-13

Isaiah 32:17-18 And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. 18 Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;

1 Peter 4:1-2 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

The foundations of the defensive ramparts as the body is built up…

We keep saying yes… We say yes even when it hurts…

We take the free gift… For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.


Bulwarks: A defensive stance…

51

Colossians 2:5b-7a rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. 6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith,

1.

2. 3.

Bulwarks

We say yes…

Straight Street City Limits (continued from the previous page) Checking Recidivism: Tasks, Roles, & Responsibilities (continued from the previous page)

1. Just by faith 2. Peace with God 3. Intro into grace 4. Exult in hope 5. Exult in tribulations 6. Perseverance 7. Proven Character 8. Hope 9. Love of God poured out

Rom

ans 5

:1-5

1. My teaching 2. Conduct 3. Purpose 4. Faith 5. Patience 6. Love 7. Perseverance 8. Persecutions 9. Suffering

2 Ti

mot

hy 3

:10-

11a

1. Peace 2. Pure 3. Peaceable 4. Gentle 5. Reasonable 6. Full of mercy/good fruits 7. Unwavering 8. Not hypocritical 9. Righteousness

Jam

es 3

:17-

18

Self Control

Faithfulness raised to the suffering level Peace raised to the righteousness level Straight Street City Limits (continued from the previous page)

The Bulwarks… The Ramparts

Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher

of our faith!

(continued on the next page) 52

1.

2. 3.

Armed with this mind! 1 Peter 4:1

Hurt too much to continue?

DO THIS!

KNOW THIS!

SEE THIS!

Walk up the mountain!

Climbing


Documents

Checking Recidivism: Tasks, Roles, & Responsibilitieslightandlibertyministries.org/cms/kunde/rts/lightandlibertyministries... · Barak Obama as the nation’s 82nd, and first African