Well I made my travel arrangements to Angola Prison where I will be speaking on the 10th of May. I’m not looking forward to entering that place, but nonetheless the Lord’s will be done and not mine. I’m obedient these days, no matter what the calling… I am very much looking forward to seeing men accept Christ however, and I pray and ask you to also pray that this worthy goal be accomplished.
Today I received a letter from a man I recently met. Meeting him was interesting to say the least. I’ve been working with some local folks trying to figure out a way to get my book, “Miracle on Luckie Street†into prison and jail libraries. I’m willing to donate them, but the logistics of obtaining a list of contact information for jails and prisons, receiving permission from the wardens, deciding how many books to send to each jail or prison, boxing them up and mailing them, etc. is time-consuming, and as busy as I am these days, my time is at an absolute premium.
I was lamenting the fact that I don’t have any help for this project to a buddy of mine over the phone when my doorbell rang. I told him I had to get off the phone and answer the door and as I did so two men were standing there dressed in white shirts, narrow ties and black pants in the hot Florida sun. They seemed too old to be Mormons on a mission, but they were looking at me as though something was awry. I quickly checked to make sure my zipper was in place or that I didn’t have some other problem, but nothing.
It was at this point that they introduced themselves and told me they worked for Bill Glass Champions for Life and dropped by because they had heard about me and my testimony and wanted to meet me. They had stopped off at the Resort office and our office manager had directed them to my home.
Hmmm… I’d never heard of Bill Glass or Champions for Life, but I invited them in and we sat down in my office. They told me that Bill Glass Champions of Life is the largest, most prestigious and effective prison ministry in the country. They were driving over to Louisiana to conduct a revival at a prison and decided to stop by and meet me on the way.
WOW! I felt the hair on my neck standing on end. I told them about the project that I had just been discussing on the phone only seconds before they knocked. We were all in shock. One of them actually started crying when he recognized that God had directly brought us together. I’ve had this experience more than once, but I tell you I will never get used to it. With tears streaming down his face the man excitedly said that he was sure that they could assist with my goal of book distribution to prisons and then we talked about the possibility of me speaking to prisoners at some of their revivals and a wealth of other things.
The letter that I received from him today spoke of something that I had mentioned while I offered my testimony to them in my office that day. I had forgotten about it, but it had been weighing heavily on his mind ever since our meeting; (some call that being under conviction by the Holy Spirit). I had told them that what God desired from us was TOTAL SURRENDER.
I don’t know what this man has not surrendered to God in his life, and I did not ask. God knows and so does he and it is between the two of them. I just related to them how I’d fought all of those years resisting God at every turn and finally in 1992 I just decided to give it up entirely and completely surrender my life to God and there would be no turning back.
It was the best move of my life.
I’m not the type to be afraid of many things, but Angola Prison terrifies me, even today. I relate my fear of this place in my book and I’ve never gotten over it. I could have easily said that I could not make this trip and none of my peers would have thought badly of me, but I know that God opened up this opportunity because HE wants me to go. Total surrender means God gave me this opportunity and wants me to go to Angola and pour my heart out to those inmates and no matter my personal aversion to that place of dread, I’m going.
I have no doubt that God will bless this endeavor and my obedience. I cannot adequately describe the joy I receive from seeing people give their lives to Jesus Christ and to know that I had a small part in helping to direct them towards the love of Christ and as a result they will now spend eternity in heaven instead of hell; well, take it from me it just don’t get no better than that. (sic)
If you have not totally surrendered to God, I urge you to do so. Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.†(John 12:26)
Be there serving the Lord and you will be honored by Him. I can tell you from experience that statement is true. Once you fully commit, feeling the Spirit of God moving in your life and seeing it with your own eyes will become commonplace. And you too will shed tears of joy at knowing that whenever two or more are gathered in His name that He is right there with us opening up opportunities for us that we cannot even fathom…
The Bible guarantees it: “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass … Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.†(Psalm 37:4-7)
Sing this song:
All to Jesus I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
Luke 14:33
“… whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.â€