Not to Resist an Evil Person
Since its founding, Lighthouse Publishing has been operated by churches and staff who share the Anabaptist theological perspective. The more well-known churches in this framework are typically the Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites, or Church of the Brethren. Sometimes, these sorts of churches are known as the “peace churches.”
Although Loaves & Fishes is intended to be of help to a broad range of faith traditions within Christianity, sometimes our unique perspective may be evident to a discerning reader. Our next issue is about one of the teachings of Jesus that have come to define the Anabaptist position.
Jesus taught that not only should one not resist an evil person, but that evil should be repaid with doing good. It is an idea that can be very difficult to put into practice, and there are many opinions about what this means for Christians living in a world filled with evil.
Regardless of your exact views about how we should treat those who would do harm to us or others, I hope you will see the clear benefit of encouraging Christians in prison to live in peace with others. In an environment that is often characterized by selfishness, manipulation, and strife, Christians have a unique opportunity to love their enemies and respond unselfishly and kindly to anger, hatred, and violence.
The willingness of Jesus to lay down His own will and ultimately His life is the supreme example of the power of good over evil. In issue 52, it is our goal to point our readers to this sacrifice and call them to follow Jesus’ example of love and peace.
Challenges We Face
It is nothing unusual to face challenges in non-profit work, and we typically make our donors and others aware of our needs. So, we want to make you all aware of developments that are affecting our ability to ship Loaves & Fishes into some facilities. Some prisons apparently are now choosing to disallow the receipt of paper publications, including books and magazines.
Some of our longtime distributors are contacting us to let us know of this change and the need to discontinue their subscriptions. This has a negative effect on our circulation, and I want to invite all of you to pray with us that the opportunity to ship our magazines into prisons would remain open in as many facilities as possible.
In addition to praying with us, we invite those of you who distribute Loaves & Fishes to spread the word to colleagues, friends, and acquaintances who may benefit from receiving the magazine. In our last newsletter, we informed our distributors about the availability of back issues, and many of you responded with requests for extra magazines. We were delighted to fill those requests. Thanks for helping us to put our inventory to good use.
Since we have been unusually blessed with financial support recently, we are currently able to publish Loaves & Fishes on a quarterly schedule, a goal of our organization for many years. We gratefully receive the gifts our donors provide, and on behalf of the thousands who read and distribute our materials, thank you so much.
Issue 52 Status
Our next issue is expected to ship in late June to early July. The cost is fully funded. Pray with us that the thousands of packages that are shipped would reach those in need at just the right time, and for energy and inspiration for our editorial staff. Thank you again for your support.
Distributor Feedback
The Spiritual Care Team at Eastern State Hospital are so grateful for your generous donations. The Loaves & Fishes Bible study publications are a great blessing to all our patients as they are being reminded of the importance of their faith and the amazing love of God. Thank you to all at Lighthouse Publishing for all that you do.
—Rev. Ana Rivera-Georgescu/ Religious Coordinator, Eastern State Hospital, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
Reader Feedback
It is nice that people always think about people in jail. We always experience abandonment from our loved ones. But God is always at our side. Thank you! Keep up the good work.
—Margentina Panilla, Prince George’s County Correctional Center, Upper Marlboro, MD
Thank you for the awesome publication. It really helps us and inspires us prisoners and lets us know we are not alone.
—Christopher Brenner, FMC Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX
