“For as many as are the promises of
God, in Him they are yes; therefore, also through Him is our Amen to the glory
of God through us” (2
Cor. 1:20). “Behold if God loved us, should we not love one another”. (1 John 4:11). Jesus, our Lord, who paid the ultimate
sacrifice so that we can be freed from the bondages of our sin and death said,
“There is no greater love than to lay down your life
for the brethren”. (John 15:13).
Hey Gang: I am presently exchanging letters with a
young man, twenty-one years of age. He has reached the obsolete pits of the
Michigan Prison system called Marquette Branch Prison. I would ask that you add him to your prayer
list. To gain this achievement in the prison
system requires a diligence in being a “bad sort of hombre” and not learning
from previous incarcerations in lesser secure facilities.
It is
interesting to me that at the same time we are preparing to celebrate the
fiftieth anniversary of Eagle Village, this young man crossed my path. His story is one I have heard thousands of
times, in my fifty-plus years of working with kids who made bad decisions in
their lives. I long ago placed the name
“the empty eye syndrome” for I see an emptiness in the eyes of the hearts of those
who seek something that will fill the vacuum in their chest cavity that is just
the size of God.
His first
letter, in response to my first letter to him, was filled with “I am a total failure and there is nothing
you can do for me”. I am here, in a Maximum Security Prison
where violence is the only thing respected and will be here for fifteen years
or longer.
The theme of
his letter was wrapped up in one sentence: “I’m
a convicted class A criminal doing 15 years minimum in prison. I’m a gang member, and have tattoo’s on my
hand, head and face. I am lost and I
don’t know where to go. But he
followed his comment with the solution to his problem “I love God but I struggle to see how He’s helping me.”
In my return
letter to him, I first agreed there was nothing I could do to change him. That was the sole responsibility of the guy
he greets every morning in the mirror.
And I shared the story of a man in similar circumstances locked away in
a secure facility in Georgia. One night,
he received a visit from Jesus who told him, “When I
created you I had a plan for you but you have failed to fulfill that plan, you
have left “Holes in Time”.
I wonder how
many holes in time I have left in my 84-year walk through his life? I pray daily that someone filled hose holes
that I failed to fill. That night Frank
Constantino gave his life to Jesus and began to prepare to become a hole-filler
right there in the prison. We know that
nothing is impossible for God and He certainly knows how to open prison doors. He did it for Paul and Silas; he did it for
Frank, God opened the prison door many years before his sentence was fulfilled.
Paul wrote: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for
whatever a man sows, that he will reap”.
(Gal 6:7). We taught families and staff- this works both positive and
negative. My challenge is to seek the
Lord’s guidance in changing this young man’s attitude from ‘I am a failure and
my life is over’ to “I can do all
through Christ” for whom nothing is impossible for.”
How about
you? Are you a Johnny Appleseed with the
Word? Our Church is raising money to
send kids to camp. I am a great believer in kids going to camp because it is a
proven fact that more kids are saved in camp than in church. One of the fund-raising projects is pop cans.
When I was delivering my stash of said product, I found a group of people
sitting in the lobby of the church in total silence. So, I said, “good morning, is this not a
beautiful day that God has given us?” Then I shook a few hands on my way out
the door. I noticed as I left, people
were talking to each other and several were even smiling.
Reread the scriptures of the morning again, “There is no greater gift than to lay down
your life for the brethren.”
Why? Dr. Luke wrote: “Give, and it will be given to you.” Luke 6:38) Give and God will
bless you in the same measure”. In
Malachi 3:10, God says, “Test me now in
this”.
Blessings,
Gramps
Hey Gang: Don’t leave any holes in time today!
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