How Beautiful the Feet

How Beautiful the Feet!

Posted by Kathleen Skaar, Executive Director

Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, O Judah, and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed. NIV Nahum 1:15

Nahum the prophet (circa 630 B.C.), told the Israelites to look to the mountains for a messenger was going to be bringing good news. The news would have to come by a envoy personally because they didn’t have cell phones, email or any other kind of modern communication tools. The Israelites were in war with Assyria and needed help. They needed to be delivered from their enemy.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" NIV Isaiah 52:7

Isaiah the prophet (circa 700 B.C.), describes the messenger’s feet as beautiful! In those days when the battle was going well a runner would head for the mountain where the king and others were stationed. They were waiting for good news of deliverance from their enemy.

In this case, Isaiah uses the principle to describe the Israelites forthcoming release from the Babylonian exile. The Israelites would be free to return to their own country. They would be free from foreign domination. They would know that God had delivered them out of captivity and that He reigns in power. Peace would return.

And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" NIV Romans 10:15

Paul the apostle (circa 57 A.D.), wrote to the church at Rome using this same principle to encourage the saints to go forth and proclaim Christ as the deliverer of sin and death. There are people everywhere held captive to Satan and his army. They need the good news that they can be free from evil dominion and can enter into the light of God’s kingdom.

Through CLI we know the beauty of the feet of our partners who work diligently to get the good news to those, not only held captive to sin, but also physically held captive in prison. We have received many letters from inmates who have trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior telling us that even though they are behind bars, they have never been freer in all their lives. Yes, when we have Jesus, we are free indeed (John 8:36).

Even in Paul’s day the good news would mainly come from a person physically proclaiming it. The printing press had yet to be invented and copying letters and manuscripts by hand took time and money. Besides not everyone could read and write.

Today we have many choices and ways to bring the good news to the world without forgoing the physical gospel presentation. Through CLI we bring the good news into the prisons with Christian books, Bibles, tracts, CDs, DVDs, letters and Bible studies. Perhaps you have these materials on your shelf that God could use in bringing Christ to the imprisoned. Or perhaps God is calling you to join us by volunteering in the shipping room or in reviewing Bible studies. We’d love to hear from your beautiful feet!!

CLI Author Dinner Fundraiser in October

Since 2002 CLI has hosted an annual dinner with a special guest speaker and author. Our authors have not only donated their time, but many partner with us financially. They see the value of God's work. All of the funds raised go toward our ministry and helping inmates know and mature in Christ.

Coming up on October 8th 2011 our guest author will be Rev. Aaron Johnson who wrote "Man from Macedonia"; that was released last year. His story is multi-faceted, but the theme of God's faithfulness overarches all. His mother went to battle every morning on her knees for her seven children, resulting in lives lived with a sense of destiny and purpose. Rev. Johnson faced the worst of racism, without bitterness, but with a determination to bring understanding between the races. And he took great risks to bring humane treatment and the life-transforming power of the Gospel into North Carolina prisons.

In his book, Rev. Johnson tells about growing up dirt-poor, the son of a share-cropper in eastern North Carolina, and facing the evils of racism from his birth. As a young adult, he met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and became involved in the struggle for civil rights. He worked under three North Carolina governors to bring about integration in a peaceful manner. He became an advisor to President Reagan, and then Secretary of Corrections in North Carolina, all the while pastoring a church in Fayetteville, NC. He often put his life and his reputation on the line rather than compromise his principles.

We pray you will join us for this very exciting event in Raleigh NC and meet this "Man from Macedonia" in person. The date is Saturday, October 8th in Raleigh NC.

Please reserve your table now on the CLI Website or by calling 919-212-8122.

The CLI Leadership Bible Study is a Great Success

Posted by Anders Skaar - CLI Staff

Created several years ago, the CLI Leadership Bible Study is taking off. Inmates in prisons around the country are signing up to deepen their walk with Christ and follow Him. Every week, our loyal CLI volunteers come in and review the completed lessons, making positive comments and suggestions and sending out the next lesson.

CLI has sent hundreds of thousands of Christian books and Bibles into the prisons with our stamp encouraging prison inmates to sign up for the CLI Leadership Bible Study. Hundreds of inmates have come to Christ through this study, and in turn, have led others to Christ.

We praise God for His Holy Word and how it touches lives behind bars.

CLI is a Strategic Ministry!

We take the gospel powerfully into the prisons and impact thousands. Look at all the men in this California prison dorm just lying around. Wouldn’t you like to see a Bible for every bed…for everybody!

Join us and be an even greater part of the great deliverance! Right now we have thousands of donated Bibles. Help us to send them to men and women inmates all over the US.

Together we can reach a lot of beds…and bodies for Christ. Your cash donation will have a lasting effect. With the books and Bibles we have right now, you can help us reach all those beds.