May 07, 2008
Committed
Statistics for a prison ministry reported that in 2007 they had 71 baptisms, 89 first time commitments to Christ and 238 rededications to the Lord. Wow! That’s a great harvest for a limited captive audience. Many of our churches, where there’s opportunity to preach the gospel in the whole community, pale by comparison. In today’s church vocabulary we understand the meaning of ‘first time commitment’ and ‘rededication’. However, I wonder how our Groom feels about his Bride talking of first time commitments, as opposed to second and third, and rededications. --Gail
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Gail;
-----I learned from a historical documentary on PBS not long ago the our prisons were called penitentiaries because that is where convicts were expected to do a penitential reflection upon their lives while barred from accessing the rest of the world’s fun excursions. If that indeed is so, evidently the concept of punishment and payment for crime has interfered with what may have grown into an even more beneficial system than it has now become.
-----But thank God for the prison ministry programs. The separation from the freedoms and niceties of life provides the time and undistracted opportunity to focus upon what is basically important: spiritual life. If we were to look at it through Jesus’ parable of the sower, there are less weeds in prison and there are more hearts being tilled by reflection and remorse. I have a close friend who has been jailed a number of times. His heart has been the hard path when outside the system, but it quickly is tilled and softened when inside. He has mentioned to me several times that it is easier for him to read and respond to the Word when inside. And now, that effect is beginning to increase on the outside as well.
-----How nice it would be to have a government that even tried to understand the principles of godliness, and which had enough guts to stand down the Anti-Christian Lunatic Union. But at least the opportunity is still available for godly men to go into the prisons and sow for the Lord in soil being somewhat more tilled.
Steve Corey
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