"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your
thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure,
and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent
and worthy of praise... Then the God of peace shall be with you."
Philippians 4:8-9 NLT
By the grace of God, I am trusting in the Lord as I leave everything in His hands...
thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure,
and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent
and worthy of praise... Then the God of peace shall be with you."
Philippians 4:8-9 NLT
By the grace of God, I am trusting in the Lord as I leave everything in His hands...
Even in prison, the Lord has shown Himself faithful. He keeps me focused on His word, while at the same time He gives me the strength to keep going forward.
Thankfully, we have an active fellowship group behind the walls. We like to think of ourselves as a family of faith who seeks to pour encouragement into each other's lives. And we also try to do our best to keep one another from dwelling on our past sins, mistakes, and crimes, which is something many incarcerated individuals have a tendency to do. Which, by the way, I happen to believe will oftentimes lead to depression and despair, and even to suicidal thinking.
I know this to be true as I get ready to enter my 48th year of being locked up. Doing time is not easy. We have our seasons of regret when we will torment ourselves with thoughts of, "If only I hadn't committed that crime," or, "Why did I allow this to happen?" I've asked myself these very same questions again and again.
As a church family we want to represent the Lord Jesus well. And we also want to keep watch over each other lest we lose our brothers to the negative forces of misery, gloom, and anger which abound in such a place like this.
It is easy for one to lose sight of hope when he is confined. But we cannot allow that to happen because, as the Bible declares, the Lord himself is a Being of hope. As Paul the apostle wrote, "I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NLT).
D.B.
Thankfully, we have an active fellowship group behind the walls. We like to think of ourselves as a family of faith who seeks to pour encouragement into each other's lives. And we also try to do our best to keep one another from dwelling on our past sins, mistakes, and crimes, which is something many incarcerated individuals have a tendency to do. Which, by the way, I happen to believe will oftentimes lead to depression and despair, and even to suicidal thinking.
I know this to be true as I get ready to enter my 48th year of being locked up. Doing time is not easy. We have our seasons of regret when we will torment ourselves with thoughts of, "If only I hadn't committed that crime," or, "Why did I allow this to happen?" I've asked myself these very same questions again and again.
As a church family we want to represent the Lord Jesus well. And we also want to keep watch over each other lest we lose our brothers to the negative forces of misery, gloom, and anger which abound in such a place like this.
It is easy for one to lose sight of hope when he is confined. But we cannot allow that to happen because, as the Bible declares, the Lord himself is a Being of hope. As Paul the apostle wrote, "I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NLT).
D.B.