Tagged: Jesus

BARRABAS’ LIFE

By – David Taylor

I was standing there paralyzed. Me, or the other one. They called him the “King of
the Jews”, but no king would be standing next to someone like me. It is in times like these when I start to wonder how I got here: imprisoned, embarrassed, and scared. When I think about it, it all started when I was young. I had good parents, but they were unable to take care of me. We were poor as dirt. So, at the age of nine, I started to steal food. I almost never got caught, but when I did, I just made excuses and lies about what I was doing. I always got away clean. As I got older, I got better at stealing and started to take things besides food. I took money, possessions, jewelry, and things of that nature.
By the time I was fifteen, I was a full-out thief and criminal. Because of my experience, though, I was never caught. I stole and sold, and lived a life of cautious luxury. Because everything was stolen, though, I still lived in a horrible home. I kept on with this lifestyle until I was in my late teens.
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The Cross

Here I am. Sitting in a cold cell. With no other choice than to await my death. As I sit, I float into sleep. When I open my eyes, my home is before me. My daughter stands at the door waving to me as I walk up. When I reach her, I see her face is filled with happiness. This scene fades and horrible images come next. Me, on the path, my daughter, not being at the door, but dragged away by soldiers. My heart become stone, filled with hatred towards the Romans. I seek revenge. Fighting back is the only option I see. I do it. This goes on for several years until I get captured. Continue reading →

The Promise

Author – Emily T.

A long time ago, in the land of saints and sinners, there lived a man like no other . It was said that he could heal the blind and make lame men walk. It was also said that he could even bring people back from the dead. Some believed that he was the son of God. His name was Jesus. There was also a man named Jarius. Jarius was an important man, for he was the ruler of a synagogue. He had a pretty good life. He had a wife, a daughter, and a nice home as well. One day his daughter got sick, and so he went to his synagogue to pray. As he was coming home, he saw a crowd. In the middle of the crowd was a man he had never seen before.  It wasn’t that the man was ugly or alien. He had a look similar to others. Yet, there was something about him. Maybe it was the way his eyes shined with love, or maybe it was the warmth that radiated from him, or it could have been the feeling that the man gave him; the feeling that everything would be all right.  Jairus didn’t want to simply pass him by, but he knew he had to get home. Reluctantly, he left the crowd and walked toward his house. As soon as he got there, he could feel that something wasn’t right. His wife confirmed his premonition when she ran out of the house, face red and wet, tears flowing from eyes streaked with sorrow. He ran to her and enveloped her in a protective embrace. “What is wrong he asked?” “M…M…Maria is d…d..dead. Continue reading →

The Demoniac

​Without doubt you’ll never guess who I was. I was mentioned in the gospels and Jesus completely revolutionized my life, but my name was never mentioned. I will say this though. When Jesus met me I was probably more in need of his help and a miracle in my life than anyone else in the entire Bible. I was certainly the grungiest and most disgusting looking. I was completely naked, unshaven, covered with slime, and prone to shrieking uncontrollably, and cut myself with rocks. You’ve probably figured it out now. Yeah, that was me, the demoniac. I was completely filled with demons when Jesus found me. I was the kind of person that people avoided. Well, I lived in a cemetery. My family and everyone in the cities had driven me out of town because of my violence and uncontrollable behavior. They had even tried unsuccessfully the shackle me with chains more than once. It didn’t matter. I just broke them all. I don’t even remember how it all started. Well, not exactly. All I know is that I loved to go to the various temples of Diana that were located in the Decapolis. Each time I betrayed my family and secretly went to worship at these temples I would begin to feel strange urges and conflicting desires within me. They would go away eventually, but I noticed, along with my wife, that I was getting a temper and becoming violent. The priestesses at the temple never told me what was happening. Others weren’t affected. Over time, I noticed that I was getting worse and worse. I would hear voices in my head and sometimes I would lose control of myself. Continue reading →

The Cross

Here I am, sitting cold cell. With no other choice other than to await my death. As I sit, I float into sleep. When I open my eyes, my home is before me. My daughter stands in the door, waving to me as I walk up the path. When I reach her, I see her face filled with happiness. This scene fades and horrible images come next. Me on the path, my daughter not being at the door, but being dragged away by soldiers.

My heart becomes stone, filled with hatred toward the Romans. I seek revenge. Fighting back is the only option I see. I do it. This goes on for several years, until I get captured. Continue reading →

My Big Brother

             As I sat in my room and let the tears pour, I felt hatred. I felt like my insides were going to explode. All I wanted to do was make them pay. How could they do this? Why would they? All he ever did was for the glory of God, his father, and God’s people. He only ever listened to his heavenly father. Why would his father whom he loved and served greatly do this to him? Why would he sit there and watch him die? I began to feel hatred towards God as well. As the hatred began to grow, my mind raced to the time when I was a child.  When I was little I always watched him in the kitchen.  He helped my mom with the dishes and the laundry. He was always trying to help my father when it came to carpentry. And most of all, he was making sure that his true father was first. Sometimes I would be mad at him. Why? I thought he was too much of a rule follower. The problem was that he was perfect. It made me feel useless, like I was unimportant. In the end I looked up to him for everything. He was the one who encouraged me to be a better person.  A knock at the door makes me jump out of my thoughts. I hurried to wipe the tears from my face. Continue reading →

Estranged

They said he was a strong man.  They said he was a good father.  They said he cared for his friends and kept his commitments, but he lied to me.  He told me that ‘he would be there for me, and I would be together with him forever.’  There was a smile on his lips and truth in his eyes, and I believed him.  But he gave me the cold shoulder.

Alone, I sat wearing black.  Alone, I was surrounded by tears and grief.  Alone, I dreamed of promises, broken.  I gazed upon his vizage pale, and he was simply cold.  He was so cold to me.  There were no more smiles.  There were no more dreams to share.  I had been lied to and left alone.

I’m on the edge now.  I’m confused now.  I need to talk to a man now.  I need to talk to a father, but I can’t.  YOU LEFT ME!  YOU SAID YOU’D NEVER LEAVE ME!  YOU SAID THAT YOU’D BE THERE!  NOW WHAT AM I TO DO?  Yes, I know about God.  I know about Jesus.  They say Jesus can heal me, BUT I LOVED YOU…AND YOU LEFT ME.  How am I supposed to trust anyone?  I trusted you.  How am I supposed to help mom?  I DON’T KNOW HOW. Continue reading →