3-15

"Oh my God!" I thought "Kairos"?!? Out of the darkness and into the light - into the warmth of God's embrace. :D

I hadn't even considered the 'Kairos Retreat' as an option, because the 4-day 'events' had begun the day before. As it turned out, I'd made it in as an alternate.

Kairos is literally 'God's special time' - a slice of grace, carved out of eternity and carried into prisons across the country and around the world. (See: www.kairosprisonministry.org and www.mykairos.org).

I'd headed to the chapel expecting words of bereavement and death - what I found was a group of compassionate brothers in Christ who were saturated in God's [?] glory, and apeaking of life. (And that more abundently.)

Finding god's light amid the darkness
is a gift that's beyond compare,
a sweet rose that grows amid starkness,
Once plucked, it's beauty to share.

A rare gem or diamond's a treasure
That's a fact that can't be denied -
A 'diadem' with jewels beyond measure,
Can install a great deal of pride.

But -
If you walk in this light with me brother,
You'll know the peace that in grace can be found -
At the end of the journey discover
That you've earned an incorruptible crown.

Glory be to God!

In Psalm 139: 7-8, King David asks, "Where can I go from thy Spirit? And where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in Hell, behond, you are there."

Now - clearly if I had made my bed in Hell, I would not be a happy camper. :D God may not have stopped me from making my bed so close to the flame - or in this place, which so often may seem like Hell - but because of his great mercy, and amazing grace, he hasn't abandoned me as I ride out the consequences of what may have been poor decisions or foolish actions. He hasn't abandoned me, as I struggle through this painfully lonely chapter of my life. No matter what may be going on around me, his presence sustains me, and his grace is, indeed, sufficient to see me through.

On the weekend of March 7-9-2014, the bretheren of Kaikos 36 came into Century C.I. to remind those of us who were blessed to take part. That it is not our location in prison, but our position in Christ that matters most. They came in on the wings of a prayer to remind us of God's great love - of GPS: God's positioning System. :D They came to remind us that we could be free on the inside!

The shadow of a dog can't bite you - the shadow of a knife can't cut you, but the shadows of doubt can attack your faith and have you stumbling along in the dark. This bretheren of Kairos 36 brought the light of God's love to Century CI.

Aside from the 'man-made' light of a bulb or the temporary light of a flame - man's only source of natural light comes from the sun - right?

The sun is about 93 million miles away from the Earth, travelling at over 186,000 miles per second, it takes the 'light' or the sun about 8 minutes to make its journey to Earth.

Here's a thought - if you gaze up into the night sky, you can see the beautiful lights of the stars sparkling like diamonds laid out on black velvet...but, wait a minute! Black velvet? Space is pitch black! So how is it that the 'light' of the sun passes through over 93 million miles of darkness in order to shine down upon us and '...divide the day from the night'. (Gen 1:14).

As it turns out, (as god designed it :D) what we see as 'light' originates on the sun and heads our way in the form of electro magnetic waves...these 'waves' only become visible to us as 'light' when they enter the unique 'atmosphere' which surrounds the Earth. (That 'atmosphere' extends upwards from the Earth for about 300,000 feet) Beyond that, we re-enter the pitch black darkness of outer space.

Jesus says, in John 12:46A 'I am come a light into the world...' So why is it that so many sit in darkness? It's because they have to create that atmosphere in their lives through which that light (Jesus) becomes manifest. Ha! :D We create that atmosphere through our belief. '...whosoever believeth in me should not adbide in darkness.' John 2:46B

Kairos may mean 'God's special time' but the breatheren of Kairos 36 brought more than just an event to Century 36. They came in like suns of righteousness with healing in their wings - they entered into the prison gates drenched in God's anointing and overflowing with this agape (unconditional love) they allowed the light of God's love to flow through them and ushered in an atmosphere of God's Shekinah Glory.

There are over 1400 men at Century CI and 42 of us were blesed to take part in this last 'weekend retreat' I may have arrived after walking that longest mile expecting news of death and finding words of love and life and liberty, but each man carried his own baggage, his own mixed bag of shattered dreams, mingled with hopes and fears and doubts.

Each of us might have arrived dressed in prison blues, but we were all wrapped up in our own thoughts and various spiritual conditions.

Some of us were running on fumes, or in bedridden conditions. Some of us were just curious, others filled with doubt. Some were looking for answers. And others just looking for the cookies that they'd heard would be flowing like candy on Halloween. :D

Some of us were anxious - uptight about the break in routines that were developed as a way of coping with the weight of time.

We arrived dressed in prison blues and rattling chains, emotional financial and psychological chains, varying degrees of faith and doubt and many in spiritual bondage.

What we found when we arrived at the chapel was a slice of grace, carved out of eternity, and carried in by the bretheren of Kairos 36. We found an atmosphere in which the light of God's love flowed like rivers of living water.

What we found there was the Shekinah Glory of God's presence. The light of God's love shining brightly.

What we found when we arrived was the opportunity to be re-invigorated, recharged, renewed and refreshed.

We found love and faith and hope and light.

We found brothergood and fellowship and unity - a Christian community to remind us that we are not alone.

We found, not a new religion, but a way to develop a stronger, more personal relationship with God, in Jesus name, and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

What we left with were tools for positive change - we left with an understanding that Christian growth was a process...a stronger relationship with God was likened to a 3 legged stool of life. To stand properly, a balance must be found with the 3 legs of spirituality, discovery and Christian action.

Spiritual growth would be a personal journey of discovery through God's word - a journey that would be made manifest through Christian action - not simply 'professing' but possessing the word of God until it became as a lamp onto our feet and a light onto our path.

We left knowing that there would be challenges ahead, but we are not alone, and we could learn to be strong in the lord and in the power of His might.

We would no longer be ignorant of the Devil's devices, but would put on the full armour of God as we continued along on our personal journey of discovery - forgetting those things which are behind and pressing on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

We left Kairos 36 having picked up our cross and cast off our chains. We would no longer be content to take timid steps into the dark after making that great leap by faith into the marvellous light of God's love.

We left with the Kairos Community prayer engraved on the tablets of our heart:

Jesus, come join us
In our journey
As we seek your will
for this community
in this environment.

Teach us to love each other
As you loved us
To give ourselves
As you give yourself, so
That the Kingdom of God
Might be made present to all.

Amen.

I want to offer up a heartfelt word of gratitude for all the bretheren of Kairos 36 who allowed themselves to be used as tools in the hand of the master. Tools to help his kingdom come, into this place, during this special time, and for this glory.

To paraphrase AW Tozer - Others may have gone deeper into god's word than we did that weekend, but though our fire is not large it is yet real. And there may be those who can light their candle at its flame.

I mentioned that Kairos 36 (God's special time) was not just an event, but an atmosphere in which the light of God's agape love could flow freely that weekend was the result of months of planning, and the efforts of many people who were working tirelessly behind the scenes. There were moments, however, which stood out as extraordinary. (No, I'm not talking about the moment I unwrapped a Whattaburger. :D)

There were times when personal testimonies touched hearts and knocked down walls. Personal tales of triumph and tragedy - of painful memories and shame - as well as god's miricles of healing, of His mercy and amazing grace. Personal testimonies of spiritual growth and setbacks, journeys of discovery that resulted in God's grace being made manifest in Christian action.

There was a simple paper chain - made with links of the kind we once labored over in Grade school. :D However, each one of the links from this chain contained the name of someone who was praying for those of us who were blessed to be taking part in Kairos 36 - as they taped that paper chain up in looops around the room - one of the brothers became emotional... he got choked up as he explained the meaning of each link - of the love and compassion, and the power of the prayers that made up each link of that chain. That chain looped around the room again and again and again and again...until I felt the shekinah glory of God's presence as a physical force - It was a special moment and a potent symbol of what Kairos is all about.

Kairos 36 was indeed a special time - but there is one moment that really stands out for me...a moment which reached out and touched my heart so quickly and completly that tears burst forth before I even knew they were forming.

We had been handed a white paper bag which had been decorated with the image of a shepherd looking over his lamb. It had been filled with dozens of cards and letters - well wishes from my new brothers in Christ who had made Kairos 36 a reality. I felt like a kid in a candy store as I flipped through all of those letters.

And then I came across a little hand-made card - it had the outline of a little hand done in crayon. Inside were the words:

I'm praying for you

It was signed by Erin, age 7.

With that simple card, I felt the comfort of the master's touch! I thank you Erin, even as I thank God for you. "The spirit itself bearesth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God'. Romans 8:16.

I pray that god continues to make His face to shine upon you all as he pours out his abundences of blessings onto your lives.

Gary Field - Century CI
Kairos 36 Family of John.