Do Not Crush The Spirit's Works

“I learned it from a friend,” a sincere answer emanated from those dry, cracking lips of this young man in front of me. His eyes surrounded with dark circles. His weight, seemed so much lighter for his age. He was able to meet my sympathetic gaze with those tired, somber eye contact.

“He’s back!!! What’s wrong with him now?,” exclaimed the medication nurses who recognized him from his previous incarceration, which was not long ago. I walked into the jail’s pharmacy to check if there was any medication already given to this young patient. He requested to be seen, complaining of nausea and vomiting and inability to sleep.

A chorus of opinions continued to flood the tiny room, filled with many different kinds of medications in different forms.

“Remember him, nurse Rcubes? He was just released. He looks like a walking zombie now,” added one medication nurse.

“He learned his drug use from his own mom. She’s also an addict,” joined another one.

“He told me though that he learned it initially from a friend, not his mom,” I uttered.

“No! He’s lying! It was from his mom,” insisted that particular commenter.

“I don’t know. But I know in my heart that he told me the truth. That’s not important anyway. I just hope that he’ll still get out of this nasty trap so he can live,” I answered.

Sadly, I discovered that there was no other medications to be given to him as everything was already initiated the day he entered the jail.

“Thank you Ma’am for checking,” he uttered in a soft, whisper-like voice.

“Sir, as someone who believes in you, I just want you to know that there are resources outside, when you get released, to help you get out of this bad habit. You are still young. Only 18. It doesn’t matter even if you’re using heroin for 2 years now. There is a way out. But the change to become a better person has to come from you. I believed what you told me, that you learned it from a friend. And even if there are influences around you, you don’t have to go with that flow. If you don’t stop, you will end your life because of this…”

Waiting for a nasty response and attitude, he replied, “Thank you, Ma’am. I will try. You’re right. I want to live some more…,” as his sad gaze pierced my own vision and felt some gratitude with his expression. He got up and went back to his unit.

As I stood still and in my mind prayed, “Lord, You are the One Who can make that change possible in this young man who has so many potential. Despite that no one believes in him anymore, You do. I do…Because You made the changes in my stubborn heart long time ago, too…”
　
The dictionary describes the word “stifle” with the following:

~ to quell, crush, or end by force: to stifle a revolt; to stifle free expression.

~ to suppress, curb, or withhold: to stifle a yawn

~ to kill by impeding respiration; smother.

Paul had reminded us in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 not to stifle the Holy Spirit. He went on to verse 20 by adding not to scoff at prophecies. We should not ignore or toss aside the gifts the Holy Spirit gives. V.21 - but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.

In 1 Corinthians 14:39, he talked about “speaking in tongues”. Sometimes, spiritual gifts become controversial and may cause a division in the church. Instead of trying to solve a problem, some Christians prefer to smother the gifts. But it impoverishes the church. We should not stifle the Holy Spirit’s work in anyone’s life but encourage the full expression of these gifts to benefit the whole body of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Nobody from my co-workers wanted to believe that inmate. But what if he’s telling the truth? He may have a long history of being a drug addict, a menace to this society…but we don’t have to be famous, rich, nor good looking to be used by God. He uses common, ordinary people from all walks of life to make His glory known. Look at some of the people God used in the Bible:

~ Sarah was barren but gave birth to Isaac in her old age
~ Moses was an ordinary guy God used to deliver the people from the crushing hand of the Pharaoh
~ Joshua who had faith in God was used by the Lord and who led God’s people to defeat Jericho
~ Rahab was a common prostitute, but she believed God and saved Joshua’s spies.
~ Paul, who was an angry man, a strict Jew, who persecuted Christians. He was a Pharisee who approved the stoning of Stephen. Yet, he was seen by God as a man for a special job. He met Jesus through a vision and his conversion started from there [Acts 9:1-19]. His journeys, sufferings, works are all in “Acts of the Apostles” and he also wrote letters to churches at Rome, Corinth, and others.

I can go on and on but the point is God used ordinary people whose weaknesses He turned into strength. If Christ, himself was ordinary being a carpenter’s son, why would we think or expect that God would just use special people for His purposes?

When it seems that things are impossible, don’t forget that God’s glory shines through the weakest vessels….

“But God told Samuel, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart." - 1Samuel 16:7 [The Message]

The Big Fight

I just barely started my shift when a call broke on the radio from one of the units, needing a nurse to go there and assess 2 inmates involved in a big fight.

I was requested to do a sick call, so it was the other nurse who responded. She ended up sending both of them to the county’s ER to be treated. One was punched really hard on his face and had massive swelling and a fractured nose. The other [the hitter] sustained a minor laceration on his right hand, yet still needed some suturing.

When they came back from the hospital, we needed to still take their vital signs and would review the ER doctor’s orders so we could give them the medications he ordered. I saw the one who punched the other inmate.

With the deputy’s permission, they sat only 3 chairs apart, both with handcuffs and chains on their ankles to limit their movement. 2 deputies stood nearby as the other nurse and I examined them. The one with the broken nose was not looking and looked afraid. The one I was seeing had a slightly sheepish smile as if saying, “I got him sooo good!” as he took a quick glance at the previous opponent.

The other inmate with a swollen face and fractured nose attempted to hurt him when they were in that cell. He had an intention to kill the “puncher”. But quick to react, this inmate kept the attacker’s head with his legs in a locked position, held the head with his left hand and with the right hand, just kept punching numerous, hard blows.

“What’s up with your nose?” I asked probingly. “Why do you have a severely deviated septum?” “Were you in an accident or previous fight?”

“Ma’am, I am a boxer, boxing for 10 years,” as he smiled at me slightly.

I also took a glance in one corner of my eye at the other inmate who was the predator. No wonder, he got him so well. That other inmate didn’t even know he was a boxer. All for intimidation and power struggle, he wanted to prey on him. But he chose the wrong “would-never-be” a victim. The attacker was the one who ended up getting hurt severely. He would surely be in pain for many days, possibly weeks.

Worst of all, though hurt, he would be staying longer inside the prison because his assault would be added to his previous sentence, since this inmate I was talking to was about to press charges against his assault and intention to commit murder.


Followers of Christ are being prowled upon by both humans and spiritual enemies. But the God Who doesn't change is our strength in winning these battles. Like that inmate who trained to be a boxer, it would be hard for us to win if we never have a complete knowledge of using God’s weapons. James 4:7 truly is the biggest help in this fight we are engaged in.

James 4:7 - “Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Note that our first step is to have a complete, willful surrender to the Lord before we can even begin to fight back against the enemy. If we want God’s maximum protection, we must completely give Him our all in order to get His all…

After that, we “resist the devil”. We don’t just sit around and don’t do anything during the enemy’s attacks. To resist means we are to fight. We don’t let him beat us down.

With complete surrender and obedience, we surely have His guarantee that He is there, fighting for us. Whether we like it or not, we become soldiers of Christ, once we give our hearts to Him. This battle is real and drawing near to the Lord will have us always prepared and ready to fight back.

Luke 10:19 - “And I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.”

Matthew 10:1 - “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.”

Isaiah 54:17 - “But in that coming day, no weapon turned against you will succeed. And everyone who tells lies in court will be brought to justice. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me, I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Psalm 44:5 - “Only by your power can we push back our enemies; only in your name can we trample our foes.”

Daniel 11:32 - “…but the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits.”

Zechariah 4:6 - “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.”

Either the Lord will battle for us or He sends His angels to help us:

Psalm 34:7 - “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.”

Psalm 91:11 - “For He shall give His angels charge over you , to keep you in all your ways.”

Friends, let us pray for each other for us to be closer with the Lord and more knowledgeable of His Word, the sWORD, that we can use to battle against the enemies. We have that powerful punches from Him against diseases, illnesses or spiritual attacks. Know them and use them…

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." - Ephesians 6:10-18 [NIV]

But when you win, stay humble. Don’t feel good nor smile sheepishly…Like the judge who will hear that attacker’s case and who will give him the appropriate penalty, let the One and only Judge take care of this battle up to the end:

Proverbs 24:17 - “Do not rejoice when your enemies fall into trouble. Don’t be happy when they stumble.”

Newcomer -Spiritual Sundays

The young faces were searched and were issued jail uniforms. In the holding cell, they kept on looking around, unfamiliar with the things or ways that occurred in the prison system.

They had different reasons why they were brought here. But it all came down to one: they committed a crime.

After being collected in a holding cell for a few hours, the jail’s classification system would try to house them in appropriate units, being careful not to place them where they could be hurt or where problems could arise if they were mistakenly housed with a wrong group of people.

If you have time, please silence my play list and watch this:





Romans 14:1-12 [The Message]:

1 Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.

2-4For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ's table, wouldn't it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn't eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God's welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.

5Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.

6-9What's important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God's sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you're a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It's God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That's why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.

10-12So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I'd say it leaves you looking pretty silly—or worse. Eventually, we're all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren't going to improve your position there one bit. Read it for yourself in Scripture: "As I live and breathe," God says, "every knee will bow before me; Every tongue will tell the honest truth that I and only I am God."So tend to your knitting. You've got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God.

For more of encouraging posts, please enter here to this special, welcoming place hosted by sisters Charlotte and Ginger.

Be Wise

This happened with a co-worker who had passed away few years ago…


She was our charge nurse that night. Frail from her weakened body, plagued by a disease she never truly disclosed, she still tried hard to perform her duty.

One deputy brought a male inmate who obviously had mental health needs. He looked afraid and had a very unpredictable behavior. His appearance was unkempt and he was threatening to hurt himself that night.

This charge nurse walked over to him while he was sitting on one of the blue chairs used for sick calls. His hands handcuffed behind him. For some reason that was not clear to the rest of us, the charge nurse started examining the inmate’s inside part of his mouth.

All of a sudden, he bit her hard. Her scream of pain echoed in all corners of the Infirmary.

That was the worst thing an inmate could do in a prison: to hurt one of the staff.

Within seconds, after the radio call for help, more deputies swarmed that area and that inmate was taken down and held on the floor, unable to move but at the same time, bloodied from punches that came from many fists. He wouldn’t stop biting and trying to spit on some of them.

That charge nurse was fortunate….to have a deputy nearby. Or else, she would have been hurt big time by that inmate who wasn’t thinking of any consequences with his behavior. Her finger was saved. It wasn’t that bad of a bite.

But that incident continued to harbor pain in some of us. Because we couldn’t find any valid reason why she examined that suicidal inmate’s mouth in the first place. We would never know…If there was no protection that night from the deputy, that nurse would have been severely hurt, because of her unwise action, too.


The days are evil. We must keep our standards high, act wisely, and do good whenever we can.

Ephesians 5:15 - “So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise.”