Jailhouse Block (666)

I had a mental vision or impression this morning as I was awakening from sleep.  I saw a man that was held captive in a prison of his own making, incarcerated in a cold, dungeon-like cell.  He was lonely and securely imprisoned behind impassable bars caused by sin.  Above the cell door was the number (666).

His incarceration in Jailhouse Block (666) was nothing to sing about; not to be confused with the following two songs that came to mind.  “Jailhouse Rock” (1957) made popular by Elvis Presley in the year 1957, and “Fulsome Prison Blues” (1955) sung by Johnny Cash, and made popular in 1955.

The man was alone even though he was housed with other sinners that were held in other jailhouse blocks, separated from each other in their own filth and degradation.  Though he had never seen the inside of a cellblock, he was certainly headed in that direction, while traveling down the wide road to destruction.

The path he had chosen to travel was one that offered self-gratification, only.  This way of life produced a toxic environment with a non-caring attitude toward the concerns of others.

The people that he associated with were influential in generating defiance, because of their scrupulous character which he wanted to emulate.  These people were hell-bent in all their ways, as was he, because he was walking away from God.

His lifestyle was one of entanglement with wrong choices, while looking for something, anything to calm the unrest that he harbored within.  Peace was far-reaching, as far as the north pole is from the south pole…polar opposite.

Wait!  It was then I realized it was me that was in the vision.  I saw the results of Gods handiwork when He stepped into my dilemma and destructive path on which I was headed.  His Son, Jesus, through His death on the cross for humanity, put up STOP signs, DETOUR signs, WRONG WAY signs, and DO NOT ENTER signs along the way trying to get my attention.

God wanted me to evaluate the direction I was headed to see exactly where my lifestyle was taking me and that there was a better way to travel.  God prepared a parole plan for those behind bars, looking for freedom from Satan’s jailhouse cellblocks.

(John 3:16-18), “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (vs 17) “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (vs 18) “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

In my vision, the jailer, Satan, hung a mirror in front of the cell door on the wall a few feet away.  Under the mirror he posted the words: I HAVE YOU NOW.  THERE IS NO HOPE FOR FREEDOM.

The mirror was at eye level that I looked into every morning and throughout the day.  But wait!  The closer I peered into the mirror I could see the reflection of something that was secured to the header just above the cell door and above the numbers (666).

It was a manmade wooden emblem of suffering and shame.  It was a cross.  A nail was driven into it and on the nail was hung the key to the cell door that held me fast.  All I needed to do was reach my hand toward the heavens, take the key in hand, unlock the door, and I would be free. 

Out of habit, every day I kept looking at the hopeless reflection of me in the mirror and the lie that was posted below it, rather than focusing upon the key to my freedom that hung on the cross above the cell door.

Out of desperation, because of my discomfort and lack of peace, I finally ignored Satan’s message and reached my hand through the bars toward the cross and grasped the key which provided my escape.  The key to my freedom was Jesus. 

The message below the mirror was indeed a lie from hell.  Jesus Christ and He only is our hope of salvation and true freedom from Jailhouse Block (666).  I thank God for the joy and peace of mind that the Lord provides to those that are free in Him.

www.wordsfrompapa.blogspot.com

Written by,

Papa Boyd