Bringing Jesus

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ…So there was much joy in that city.
(Acts 8: 4-8)

I’ve been blessed to be involved in jail ministry for going on 12 years now & in that time have seen men & women in the darkest places of their lives. The jail is a place of loneliness & despair for many. A place where striving to keep your sanity is an everyday ordeal. I’ve talked with people who are on the edge of giving up & at the slimy, rocky bottom of their lives. But in that cold, dark place of empty hearts & deep depression, there is a light. In the middle of intense anxiety & self-inflicted hardship there is a joy. But where does it come from?

It’s amazing & awesome I would say at times, but truly, every time, that God allows me & others the opportunity to go in & share Jesus in the cellblocks. It’s wonderful to see someone who had always seen God as distant, cold & uncaring come to realize that the God of the Old & New Testament, though He never changed & is holy & just…was also close, warm & loving & that they could become His child through a relationship with Jesus. It’s great to see the light in their eyes come on, the hope bubble up from their hearts & most of all…almost a look of relief come across their faces, a look that screams “There is a future & a hope for me” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Hope brings joy, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13). So where does that light that hope & that Joy come from? It comes from Jesus Christ & Him alone. When Philip brought Jesus to Samaria…he brought hope & joy. When we bring Jesus to the world…we bring them hope & joy. No hope & joy around your work place, your school, your home? Think about it…are you bringing Jesus?

Vern