Issue #1,149 August 10, 2004 Rough Crowd
The prisons in South Africa are rough and violent. Murder, rape and other forms of violence are commonplace events. The meanest man in the cell block gets whatever he wants from the others and has no qualms about taking it.
I mentioned in passing in one of the few Gleanings sent from Africa that we visited Leehoff Prison. Leehoff is a place designed to hold less than 400 inmates, but is home to more than 700. There are men there awaiting trial, and hard core criminals doing up to eight years. Murderers share cells with petty thieves and those who have yet to stand trial.
In the court yard, we could feel the tension. It was a pretty rough crowd, and the guards looked perhaps the meanest of them all. A couple of men walked in front of us. The older of the two had his arm around the younger and seemed very proud to be strutting his new "possession" around for all to see. The younger, perhaps in his late teens at the most, looked terrified and ashamed. He looked at the other inmates with his eyes and face silently begging for help, but each inmate in turn averted their eyes. None of them wanted to tangle with the older of the two.
Later that day, I spoke to a group of young offenders about the joy of Jesus. I shared the fact that nothing in the world could separate them from His love.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39 NIVThe Scripture caught the attention of one young man in the crowd. I spoke of knowing that when they returned to their cells, anything could be stolen from them and the fact that violence might await them. He nodded in a sad way. I shared another verse on the same theme.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
John 10:27-30 NIVThe prison could rob them of their few meager possessions. Their fellow inmates could steal their dignity, harm them in any number of ways and even take their lives with relative impunity. Nothing they did though could take the love of Jesus away from them. He would walk with them through the most vile of circumstances and never abandon them.
The young man grabbed onto that truth and had hope to face another day. I don't know what the rest of his time in Leehoff will bring, but I knew that Jesus was entrenched in his heart and he could face it all.
The same holds true for you and I. Nothing the enemy or the world throws at us can take Jesus away once He's in our hearts. He'll walk with us through whatever we face.
Until next time, rejoice in His perfect faithfulness.
Hallelu Yah (Praise God)
Be blessed
Kevin
Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that heaven will not be complete without you.
HELP FOR THE HURTING
I don't know what struggles you will face today. They could range from trivial inconveniences to the life changing. You don't have to face them alone. If you have a personal relationship with Jesus, it means you'll spend eternity in heaven with Him, but it also means that He will walk with you through all the "stuff" you must face. Don't walk it alone, ask Jesus to take charge of your life right now!
You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely opening your heart; admitting you need God's help; turning away from your sin and saying a prayer along the lines of the one below. There isn't any "magic" in the prayer; it's simply a way to open up to the gift that Jesus already bought for you with His very life. You can't earn it. You don't deserve it. He freely offers it to all who will accept it.
Jesus:
I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my life to you Lord.
Amen
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