At home a new man
Yesterday, after Trey and I prayed with Jay to receive Christ, Jay asked for prayer to be released from jail soon. He had been having difficulty trusting God with his release date.
"Jay," I told him, "God is for you, not against you. He sacrificed His only Son for you. You can trust Him with when you get released. He's already demonstrated His love for you. He will not do anything that does not lead to your good." We prayed and left it in God's hands.
A few hours ago, I got a phone call from Jay. He told me that he had just been released and knew he needed to call me as soon as he got home. I encouraged him to make sure he told his loved ones about what the Lord had done in his life.
"Jay," I told him, "God is for you, not against you. He sacrificed His only Son for you. You can trust Him with when you get released. He's already demonstrated His love for you. He will not do anything that does not lead to your good." We prayed and left it in God's hands.
A few hours ago, I got a phone call from Jay. He told me that he had just been released and knew he needed to call me as soon as he got home. I encouraged him to make sure he told his loved ones about what the Lord had done in his life.
posted by Brian at 3:23 PM
2 Comments:
I was thinking the other day about what our jails and prisons are like. I was thinking about how sometimes people come out of jail more hardened and more criminal than they went in and I was so saddened for this population. I was talking with someone about about it and wondering what the prison and jail system would look like if it was ran by the church and that there in lies the only real hope of a life being rehabilitated and restored. I just was thinking about this and reading your blogs I was reminded that Jesus will alwayw work in the most hopeless and desperate of places and will even use us if we will allow him. Thank you for all you work in this area and thank you for posting about what Jesus is doing in the jail.
Hey Tamy,
That's an interesting question: What would the prison system look like if the church ran it?
I would like to think that the situation would improve. But it seems that historically Christians have had the greatest influence when we have had the least worldly power.
The Church did just fine while it was outlawed in the Roman Empire. It experienced great persecution, but also great growth and power. Sadly, it seems that when we get political power, we tend to rely on that rather than God's power.
I'm grateful that at least Christians have access to the jails/prisons in the U.S., and that the vast majority of jail officials that I have worked with have been very helpful and welcoming of Christians coming in to do ministry.
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