For several years (I don’t know how many, exactly) I belonged to an organization that distributes Bibles at schools, hospitals, military bases, correctional facilities, transport hubs, hotels, and so on, as well as individually, through personal sharing.  It is a large and well-known organization, with international operations and a good reputation.  Its workforce is composed almost entirely of volunteers.

When a friend at church, a longtime student of my adult Bible classes, suggested that I join, I didn’t seriously consider it, at first.  Or the next time.  Or the next.  

1. I am not a joiner, not a clubby person.  I like to paddle my own canoe.
2. I was already serving on this board or that committee at church and teaching my weekly class.  I did not need another continuing obligation.
3. I had a demanding job with long daily commutes.
4. My wife and I were busy raising three daughters who deserved and required significant time and focused attention.  

I politely declined each time the subject came up, until one day, when I learned that this organization did jail ministry.  That seemed especially worthwhile.  If I could do that, I decided, I would join.  So, the next time I was invited by my persistent friend, I eagerly accepted.  It was he who presented me at a monthly dinner meeting, he who helped me apply for membership, he who coached me through the vetting process, he who served as one of my references, and he who retired from the organization as soon as I was received into the group.

I did not see that coming and did not particularly appreciate being left stranded in a new environment, surrounded by considerably older strangers who knew each other very well and looked at me somewhat askance.

While I wished my Christian brother had told me he was thinking of separating from the organization immediately upon my induction, I had to admit that I may not have joined if he had.  And I was grateful to him for introducing me before departing, to those involved in jail ministry.  They were serious-minded and purposeful men, who were permitted by the penal system to share on a rotating basis, the “duty” of providing “church” to those inmates who signed up in advance.

After probing my background and a period of internal scrutiny, I seemed to have been granted wary acceptance by the jail ministry team.  Another application and vetting process followed, this time at the behest of the state.  This one included fingerprints, a background check and promises to adhere to a strict code of conduct for persons inside its jails and detention centers, interacting directly with inmates.

Once the formalities were completed, I was finally allowed to join the team and begin visiting the jails and youth camps whenever our group came up in the rotation.  Our team also had its own rotation, to give everyone a chance to participate and to enable us to cover for each other if one of us was ill, traveling, etc.  One Saturday evening, I received a call from a jail ministry teammate, asking that I take his place next morning.  I assured him that I would. Later that night, I prepared a message to share at the jail in twelve hours or so.

My alarm went off before dawn.  Though our room was cold, my bed was blissfully warm and comfortable.  Its seductive power was comparable to that of a huge electromagnet.  No, make it the irresistible gravitational pull of a black hole in space.  ‘Why, oh why do I get myself into these situations?’ I wondered.   I could be sleeping like anybody else with a grain of sense was doing at that moment.  THEIR alarms hadn’t even been set.  THEY weren’t stumbling into an icy shower.  It was a cinch that none of THEM was grabbing clothes out of a closet to dress for church in a jail.  What was wrong with me?

Still, I had made a promise.  God had heard it.  A brother in Christ was relying on it.  The choice had been all mine the night before.  I could have made a lame excuse and said, ‘no.’   But I had said, ‘yes’ instead, and there was no going back on it now.  My options had expired.

A wicked and pernicious thought tugged at my mind.  What did it really matter, in the grand scheme of things—ONE Sunday, ONE jail visit, more or less?  What indispensable act would I perform that day?  What life-changing words would I utter?  They certainly weren’t in the notes I was bringing with me.  I should know.  I wrote them.  What difference could my presence possibly make?

I strongly suspected that the correct answer to that question was none at all.  But it might make a difference to the image of our team as trustworthy and reliable partners, who truly cared about the inmates.  I was not about to let down the side by flaking out.

Then there was the undeniable fact that we represented Christ to the men I’d be seeing soon.  If we didn’t come, it might very well mean to them that HE didn’t come.  I could not have that on my conscience.

The garage door went up, revealing fog, mist, and heavy overcast—a bleak start to an already cheerless day.  Even the car’s engine was cold, reluctant, sluggish.  I prayed on the 45-minute drive and through parking, check-in and security screening, that God would ignore my grumbling and complaining, and somehow use me to accomplish His purpose, in spite of myself.

Each jail visit is different in terms of the number and nature of the attendees, the space available, recent events in the facility and the attitudes of inmates and staff.  On this particular morning, I found myself in a small, crowded room, where I was met with blank stares, sideways glances of hope or suspicion, and the set jaw of hostility on a few faces.  In other words, the usual.

In my early days in jail ministry, I hit upon (or less pridefully, God showed me) a formula for productive visits.  I told the men that I wanted to accomplish three things during our brief time together.  First, to pray for them and their loved ones (this shows genuine interest, moves their concerns to the top of the agenda and helps disarm most of the sceptics and cynics).  Second, to bring them a message of hope from God’s word.  And third, to give them a blessing to take back to their cells with them.  No sooner had I said that, then I knelt down on the cement floor (showing humility), primed the pump with a couple of frequent prayer requests, closed my eyes (showing trust or insanity) and began to pray.

As for my message that day, I don’t even remember the subject I chose or the passages of scripture I used.  But it was not an unusually good message for me, nor especially compelling.  I did present the gospel as always, and did go over God’s plan of salvation.  That much I do know.

A few men had comments or questions.  Near the end of our allotted time, one of the inmates in the back of the room raised a hand.  When I acknowledged him, he asked whether or not he could be saved right now?  Recovering my composure, I said that if that was his desire, he could indeed be saved right then and there.  He said yes, it was, “If that’s alright.”   I assured him that it was most definitely alright and asked his name.  Turns out, he was named after one of the most well-known characters in the Old Testament.  I’ll call him, Elijah, (not his real name).

My teammate in jail ministry never dreamed of the impact his Saturday night call for a substitute would have.  I had no inkling when I agreed to stand in, that God had planned to draw Elijah to Jesus that Sunday morning.  Elijah had no idea when he signed up for “church” that before it was over, he would become a child of God.

“Moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (I Corinthians 4:2).  Here endeth the lesson on the supreme importance of just showing up for any and all appointments that God may have made for you.  The point of the story was not WHO showed up to lead this man to Jesus, but that SOMEBODY, ANYBODY did.  My grudging obedience and self-pity were no barrier to the power of God, but it was essential that someone be physically present, to share the love of God and the good news of the salvation granted to us by faith in Jesus Christ.

How about you?  Have YOU heard this good news?  Have you ever listened, I mean, ever really listened to it?  Jesus made it clear that He is “…the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but through me.”  (John 14:6).  Have you come to God His way?  Have you believed in the truth of God’s word and trusted in the True One, His Son, sent to save you?  If so, I rejoice with you, my brother or sister in Christ.  You are safe from the judgment and wrath to come and will inherit the kingdom of God.

But if you have not, the opportunity you have now, right now, may be the last you will ever receive.  Listen again to Jesus: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44).  Has God the Father drawn you to Jesus?  Has he impressed upon you that you must act on His invitation, repent of your sins and receive His gift of eternal life?

If you have heard God’s call—even now, while reading this column—but have not answered, I urge you to do so immediately.  Please don’t delay.  Don’t gamble with your own life.  You will only lose and forfeit your eternal destiny.  Don’t ignore the pull of God’s Holy Spirit.  Respond to it urgently.  Here’s how.

HOW TO BE SAVED:

• Admit to God that you are a sinner (that you have not kept His moral law to perfection; in your thoughts, words and actions you have done what His law forbids and have failed to do what His love demands).  This is seeing yourself from God’s point of view and agreeing that He is right about you.  Be as specific as you can.
• Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead.
• Sincerely repent (turn away) from your sins, asking God to forgive you and to use His power to help you resist temptation, no matter how strong the pull of sin may be, at first.
• Acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of your life.  Invite Him to move into your heart and take up residence there, so that He can change you from the inside out.
• Trust His promise to save you and give you a new spiritual birth and a new nature (thoughts, desires, priorities, hopes, dreams and character).

SOME KEY TRUTHS:

• “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)
• “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:10)
• “For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (Romans 6:23)
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)
• “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)
• “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”  (I Corinthians 15:3,4)
• “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12)
• “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him…”  (Revelation 3:20)
• “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13)
• “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”  (Romans 10:9)
• “Verily, verily, I say unto you; He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life; and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  (John 5:24)
• “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name.”  (John 20:31)