Friday, November 7, 2014

Prison MInistry

Jonas has a clear calling in his life and that is to minister to prisoners.  He is thriving here in Oxford in ways I have never seen.  He loves it here and one of the things that he loves to do is going to the prison for prison ministry.  I have joined him twice and I really enjoy it.  The guys there are incredible guys.  They have changed their lives.  You should hear their stories.  The places they were before and the places they are now really puts into practice the idea of being born again.

I mean when I was "born again" I felt alive and struggling to shed my old skin but shouldn't it already be gone?  At the prison these guys really see the effects of their sin and want change in their life.  Some of the men there have questions and don't really know if Christ is the way but are willing to listen.  They have so many good questions and some that I have hard time hearing.

This one guy said, "I have a hard time believing all of this but I know there has to be truth out there. What is the truth? How do I get it?"
The truth is, we've talked to him and he's been in prison a few times now and still doesn't get it.  But you can see the desperation in his heart.  He really wants to know God but I can see that he is scared and disappointed.  There is something so broken about him that I can see more the grace of God on all people bad and worse.
Jonas always says to me that people in prison get sin more than people in the outside world.  They sinned and got caught and they get it.  Sharing with them that everyone is a sinner is easy for them to understand but I think grace is hard for them to accept.  Their lives are really being changed by the gospel and its such a beautiful thing to see.
I don't ever want to forget the grace that God continues to give me in my broken life.
I am not skilled to understand what God has willed what God has planned.  But I know that Jesus died for me and only through him can I be redeemed.