As I sit and listen to Joslyn cry in her room, I am saddened with the revelation that her life will be hard. I am already aware of the fighting spirit she has and the desire to do it all her way. Life's lessons will be learned the hard way. She will be good at manipulating people and situations to go her way, until they don't. It sickens me to think of the pain she will go through and the heart aches she will find. But I am hopeful for her future still, I learned a lot this weekend that teaches me hope.
This weekend, I got the privilege of singing in the worship team for the Celebrate Recovery Inside One Day Conference. CR Inside is a wonderful ministry that brings the healing message of Celebrate Recovery into the prisons and jails. It was fascinating and scary to hear that over 7 million people will be released from jail or prison this year. And even sadder to hear that around 70% of them will return. Now if that doesn't shake you to your core, I don't know what will. So you can imagine how daunting It must be for these workers that number few to want to change those desperate hearts in the prisons.
One of my favorite highlights of the conference was the testimonies. Out of the 5 testimonies told, I couldn't pick my favorite. They were all so good! But they all said the same thing, CR Inside changed their lives! Another thing that most of them said was that prison also saved their lives. Wether because of a harsh childhood, unfortunate circumstances or bad choices in life, most of them felt that when they were put in prison, it was an answer from God to change their life!
But most of the world doesn't see prison as an opportunity. And we definitely don't see prisoners as people chosen by God. But it reminds me of the Isrealites. They were slaves, God's chosen people in chains. The world and even they saw their situation as hopeless. But God had a plan to free them, in His time. And the same happens with these prisioners. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are being told that they are nothing, that they deserve nothing and that they will never change. THIS IS WRONG! They are God's chosen people! They deserve the chance to see their worth in God! And this is what CR Inside does for them.
So how does prision ministry give me hope for Joslyn's future? It reminds me that we can never run farther than God. We all have to learn lessons in life. Some of us learn some lessons harder than others. And some of us need to to fall over and over again before we learn the hardest lessons. But one thing I have noticed from the prisoners I meet on a weekly basis and their testimonies I hear, is that the harder you fall, the more God seeks you! And there are no testimonies like prisioner's testimonies! No one likes to read a book where there is no action and trials, in the same way, the most powerful testimonies come from the hardest situations into the loving arms of Christ and experiencing the most amount of grace and improvement! Talk about inspiring! So no matter how hard her life is, God has a plan for her. And my ultimate desire for her is to seek and find God and have an amazing relationship with Him. So if God designed her with a strong will and a fighter's spirit, I know He has a plan to use that in her individual walk and path. So although, some parts of her life will be hard, if she choses to follow God's path, which I pray she does, she will be powerful in her testimony and in her influence towards reaching other's for Christ.
If you have ever been nudged by God to reach others through Prison Ministry and are not involved, then what is holding you back? If you are not in a ministry and want to see the amazing work that God is doing in lives, why don't you pray about getting involved in CR Inside. If you want to help with prison ministry and don't feel comfortable going into the prisons, then next week I will blog about CR Inside Out and how you can help that way. God Bless!
This weekend, I got the privilege of singing in the worship team for the Celebrate Recovery Inside One Day Conference. CR Inside is a wonderful ministry that brings the healing message of Celebrate Recovery into the prisons and jails. It was fascinating and scary to hear that over 7 million people will be released from jail or prison this year. And even sadder to hear that around 70% of them will return. Now if that doesn't shake you to your core, I don't know what will. So you can imagine how daunting It must be for these workers that number few to want to change those desperate hearts in the prisons.
One of my favorite highlights of the conference was the testimonies. Out of the 5 testimonies told, I couldn't pick my favorite. They were all so good! But they all said the same thing, CR Inside changed their lives! Another thing that most of them said was that prison also saved their lives. Wether because of a harsh childhood, unfortunate circumstances or bad choices in life, most of them felt that when they were put in prison, it was an answer from God to change their life!
But most of the world doesn't see prison as an opportunity. And we definitely don't see prisoners as people chosen by God. But it reminds me of the Isrealites. They were slaves, God's chosen people in chains. The world and even they saw their situation as hopeless. But God had a plan to free them, in His time. And the same happens with these prisioners. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are being told that they are nothing, that they deserve nothing and that they will never change. THIS IS WRONG! They are God's chosen people! They deserve the chance to see their worth in God! And this is what CR Inside does for them.
So how does prision ministry give me hope for Joslyn's future? It reminds me that we can never run farther than God. We all have to learn lessons in life. Some of us learn some lessons harder than others. And some of us need to to fall over and over again before we learn the hardest lessons. But one thing I have noticed from the prisoners I meet on a weekly basis and their testimonies I hear, is that the harder you fall, the more God seeks you! And there are no testimonies like prisioner's testimonies! No one likes to read a book where there is no action and trials, in the same way, the most powerful testimonies come from the hardest situations into the loving arms of Christ and experiencing the most amount of grace and improvement! Talk about inspiring! So no matter how hard her life is, God has a plan for her. And my ultimate desire for her is to seek and find God and have an amazing relationship with Him. So if God designed her with a strong will and a fighter's spirit, I know He has a plan to use that in her individual walk and path. So although, some parts of her life will be hard, if she choses to follow God's path, which I pray she does, she will be powerful in her testimony and in her influence towards reaching other's for Christ.
If you have ever been nudged by God to reach others through Prison Ministry and are not involved, then what is holding you back? If you are not in a ministry and want to see the amazing work that God is doing in lives, why don't you pray about getting involved in CR Inside. If you want to help with prison ministry and don't feel comfortable going into the prisons, then next week I will blog about CR Inside Out and how you can help that way. God Bless!
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