A Favorite Passage From A Prisoner!

Yesterday we asked if anyone would like to share a favorite Bible verse and here is what was shared, in the NIV:

1 Corinthians 13

1-If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2-If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3-If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4-Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5-It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6-Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7-It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8-Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9-For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10-but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11-When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12-Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13-And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

We pray that these inmates find the true LOVE of God!

What are you thankful for?

Today we asked the men if they would like to give thanks to God for a recent blessing they have had and here’s what we got:

“I want to thank God for the restorative justice program here. I have sat in the room with lawyers, judges, other inmates and even victims. It has helped me to understand how crime hurts society. God is using these sessions in my life.”

“I want to thank God for sending my daughter and granddaughter to visit me last week. I have 7 grandchildren and have now seen two! It is a blessing from God!”

“I want to thank God because I just received a letter from my father. I had not seen him since I was 14. He’s very sick. So several weeks ago I asked Carlos & Katy to pray about me making contact with him, and then came the letter! Thank you God!”

“I want to thank God that my liver test showed that nothing was wrong!”

“I thank God for the health and patience He gives me!”

We want to thank God for these testimonies!

LOCKDOWN!

We want to update everyone on the hostage situation that occurred this past Wednesday, Nov. 14, at the Waupun Correctional Institution. As many of you know, we are in Waupun every week, doing Pastoral visits.

Apparently, an inmate took a dental worker hostage and held her for almost six hours. According to what has been released, it seems as though he wanted some cigarettes. (All Wisconsin prisons are non-smoking, sometimes causing more of a problem for workers than for inmates!)

Anyway, here are a couple links you can visit to find more info. I’ll see if I can make them hot links. But if I can’t, please cut and paste into your browser for viewing. http://toplistings.twincities.com/wisconsin/ci_7464722 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21790963/

Additionally, we were not allowed to enter Waupun this week due to the lockdown lasting three days. God is still doing His work in the lives of many prisoners. We praise Him for this!

Hear this testimony!

He began his testimony by saying, "I thought I was a brave man! I had my gun under my bed and my knife under my pillow. I always made my wife sleep closest to the door, in case someone entered our bedroom looking for me. Man, wasn't I brave?"

"But after getting locked up in 1992, I began, off and on, to attend Bible Studies. But not until six months ago did I really know what it meant to be brave. When another brother in this study stood up and sang, even though he is not a singer, I could see that he was brave for the Lord. While he was singing, God said to me, 'you can sing, but you are not brave enough to stand and sing for me. You are a coward.'" Our man went on to say, "as you all remember, I got up that day to sing for the Lord and now I want to do it in every study!"

We give praise and honor to God for what He is doing in the lives of these men! God is good and He remembers these prisoners whom society has forgotten.