I believe that God keeps many of His most valuable treasures tucked safely away in prisons...
During the Christmas weekend, for instance, while my chaplain was on vacation, prison officials had no qualms allowing the men in my fellowship to conduct our own services, all without any supervision whatsoever. And there were no problems or troublesome situations that developed as a result. My fellow elders and I are trusted enough to be left alone with the civilian volunteers, and to oversee the other men who attend our services and Bible studies.
I think it is nothing short of amazing and miraculous that inside the setting of a maximum security facility where many of the inmates, like myself, are doing long prison sentences, the authorities do not have to worry or be overly concerned with us.
And let me add that I am proud of these guys. They're elders in the body of Christ. They have the Spirit of God in them. And, by the grace of God, they also serve God and the church while they live in obscurity, and without any recognition or praise from men.
These are good friends and brothers of mine who tremble at God's word. They're not ashamed to be Christians, and to serve the Lord in an environment in which many of their peers see being a "Christian" as something similar to being a punk and a sissy.
So, with their faces fixed on Heaven, they press forward on their journey. They know, too, like I do, that the universe is run by a good and merciful God. Our hope is in Him.
D.B.
I think it is nothing short of amazing and miraculous that inside the setting of a maximum security facility where many of the inmates, like myself, are doing long prison sentences, the authorities do not have to worry or be overly concerned with us.
And let me add that I am proud of these guys. They're elders in the body of Christ. They have the Spirit of God in them. And, by the grace of God, they also serve God and the church while they live in obscurity, and without any recognition or praise from men.
These are good friends and brothers of mine who tremble at God's word. They're not ashamed to be Christians, and to serve the Lord in an environment in which many of their peers see being a "Christian" as something similar to being a punk and a sissy.
So, with their faces fixed on Heaven, they press forward on their journey. They know, too, like I do, that the universe is run by a good and merciful God. Our hope is in Him.
D.B.