American Bible Society

The Lord gave the word: great was the
​company of those that published it.
Psalm 68:11

Having the day off from work, I decided to go to the recreation yard, where I ended up meeting a man who's a new arrival at Shawangunk...

​He got here several days ago from Auburn Correctional Facility. His name is Richard. As we started to get acquainted for the first time, he told me an interesting story.

While confined to Auburn's Special Housing Unit, more commonly known among prisoners as "The Box," Richard found a bible in his cell which its former resident left behind. It was a copy of the American Bible Society's "God Sets You Free"​ special edition bible for prisoners. And inside its opening pages was the message I had written at the request of the Bible Society, titled, "Living With Hope.

​​So, unbeknownst to me until today, having spent two years in solitary confinement for stabbing another inmate, Richard had read my message. He told me that from this moment now several years in the past, the Lord began to stir his heart.

Then, finishing his time in solitary, he was returned to the facility's general population only to be invited to church by a fellow inmate. Having spent two years reading the Bible every day, Richard was ready to receive Jesus as his Savior, and he did! My heart was jumping with joy as he spoke.

Now, several years later, he and I met for the first time. Richard was excited to see me. He said he didn't even know I was here. Now I've got a new friend. It was a God-engineered "divine appointment."

D.B.

NOTE: The special edition of the God Sets you Free Bible was published by The American Bible Society in 2011. My message, "Living With Hope," appears in its opening pages.