My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
God answers prayers in many ways, big and small, and He always answers. We must realize He doesn’t always say “Yes”, sometimes He says “No” and sometimes He says “Not yet”. We got a definite Yes last night as we entered the prison chapel and felt a rush of cool air – hooray! The air conditioning was fixed! Quite a difference from 90 degrees and stifling humidity last week. Praise God from whom all A/C flows!
We thanked God for more blessings than just cool air as we began with Psalm 32:
Oh, what joy for those
whose rebellion is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of sin,
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
When I refused to confess my sin,
I was weak and miserable,
and I groaned all day long.
Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Selah
Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide them.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
Selah
Therefore, let all the godly confess their rebellion to you while there is still time,
that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.
For you are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with songs of victory. (Psalm 32:1-7)
Phil began his 1st service message asking the men why do they think we come in each week? Most responses were correct. Phil described it as a 2-part mission, and like emails where we ask people about 2 things (and almost always only get back an answer to the first), many forget about the second part. Part 1 is to be a disciple – Jesus calls us into relationship and to follow Him. Part 2 is to make disciples, teaching them to obey all I have commanded (per Great commission, Mt 28). It’s all about Jesus, who He is, what He’s done, and what He continues to do through us. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and teaching others about Him is why we go in each week.
Marty used Romans 1:14-20 to remind us that like Paul, we are to preach the Good News to everyone, no matter the culture or level of education or station in life. This passage also reminds us that God leaves no excuses for anyone – His glory and magnificence is clearly seen in His creation, from millions of stars in the sky, to the organization of an ant colony, to the engineering and self-healing of a human hand. God’s anger is against those who suppress truth, especially the ultimate Truth – His son. God is not surprised at how depraved our world has become, we see our sins enumerated in His word. But it’s our faith in Jesus that saves us from the judgement, and He calls us to live a much better life following Him.
The men in prison see us as deliverers of Good News, and we share that recognition with all of you, because no ministry can be successful without God and without prayer. Thank you all for the time you spend each day and each week praying for the ministry/volunteers, the men, their families, and their prayer requests. Your contribution through prayer and other ways keeps it going. God bless you!
Grace and Peace,
Rick
Prayer Requests from last Thursday (12:00pm Chapel service):
- Eugene– for forgiveness.
- DJ– for everyone in the world, and to get out.
- Joel– for all of us in here, my court date in August, that everything goes good, my family, my Mom in Puerto Rico, all our families, and for peace.
- Kenneth– spiritual guidance.
- Ron– that all goes well for all of us here, for peace and happiness.
- Keith– court date on 7/29, family, my kids, my life in general, for less stress and for the days to go by easy.
- José– family, my girlfriend and her daughter, thankful that we are talking again after some bumps in the road, for my spiritual wellbeing, and for my friends.
- Eugene (volunteer) seeks prayer for the “Me-We-City” movement sponsored by Coatesville pastors to transform the community by transforming minds, spirits, and bodies across the city- family by family, and neighborhood by neighborhood. This week’s prayer focus is Government (and next week’s final focus is Salvation/Revival).
Prayer Requests from Medium Security (7:00pm Monday service):
- John– that my daughter remembers me and how much I love her.
- Eric– for a well-paying job when I get out, and for a beautiful girlfriend (who meets his very specific criteria).
- Raymond– for our world leaders to have wisdom to make good decisions, for those less fortunate on the street, abandoned, hungry, homeless. For those in hospitals and prisons, for our families and loved ones. For us as men to take our rightful position. For my wife Anna and forgiveness for what I did.
- Jim M– my son Jacob is lost, may He find his way.
- Phil T– my cousin Dotsy needs a kidney transplant.
- Drake– guidance, thankful for the volunteers, and for a medical exam to get some glasses because I can’t see.
- Dan T– for my brother-in-law to overcome whatever obstacle is holding him back from accepting Christ.
- Zach– for more consideration of others in here.
- Phil T– for Lindsay who had breast cancer surgery Friday- recovery and peace for the family.
- Rick C– for my friend Tom who lost his Mother last night. And safe travels for our brother Jose who is in Netherlands for work.
Prayer Requests from Minimum Security (8:30pm Monday service)
- Jeremiah– my kids and significant other.
- Martin– salvation, thanks for volunteers, for my family. This is my last service with you guys, I’ll be going up state on Monday.
- Clarence– for the volunteers who continue to bless us, the guys on the block that couldn’t make it out to church, for closure on my case and my court date next month, for my family and my children, and to grant my motion for rule 600 (violation of constitutional right to a speedy trial).
- Jeron– guidance, to be led in right direction, to be able to see what God is doing in my life, my kids, my Mom, and family.
- Kevin– the volunteers, all of us in here, my girlfriend to have a safe pregnancy, kids, family, relatives, and my cellmate has court tomorrow and hopes to go home.
- Derrick– thanks for volunteers, work on my relationship with God, motivation and confidence in our Bible study group on the block, healing for me and for my roommate Lisa.
- Andy L– for my wife and I to be a good testimony in our very troubled community – one lady needs a kidney badly, several wives have thrown out their husbands, and some pretty wild stuff.
- Kellimel– all in here to be saved, our families, for wisdom, patience, and to understand God’s Word.
- Glen– family and friends to have good health, bring to faith or stronger in faith, everyone to get closer to God (me too), for good health, and for the volunteers.
- Rick C– safe travels and good time off for our brother Andy.
Prayers from Onesimus Prison Ministries
- Our prison chaplains – Jack, Heinrich, and Rhonda.
- Prison leadership, prison staff, and all of their families
- For expansion of the chapel schedule and use of more volunteers.
- Resolve staff shortages which impact families and prison programs.
- For recently released men and women to find safe haven and continue their faith journey.
- For all the Aftercare ministries out there taking care of inmate transition back into society.
If you’d like to find out more about mentoring and discipling a man or woman coming out of prison, drop us a note at outreach@onesimusministries.org.
These weekly prayer requests are also posted on our website – https://onesimusministries.org/category/weekly-prayer-requests/
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