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Katz, you go ahead with what you are led to do within your own heart, there are people who will benefit from that ... and I know that there are other posters herein who appreciate you. Looking forward to hearing more. In his love and mine.
As a probation officer - I unfortunately see lots of people who "found God" in prison or jail. Unfortunately, the people who make the biggest issue of "finding God" are usually the first ones to return to the same activities that got them in jail or prison to begin with. Then, they get into trouble all over again.
But, hopefully you get some sort of message across to some of them.
It's much easier to focus on God when distractions of the world are removed, when nothing remains but a Bible and bars.
Not far from me is a post-prison ministry, one in which men and woman are taught to live as Christians upon their release.
We need more of these ministries, as they have been proven to reduce recidivism.
It's much easier to focus on God when distractions of the world are removed, when nothing remains but a Bible and bars. Not far from me is a post-prison ministry, one in which men and woman are taught to live as Christians upon their release.
We need more of these ministries, as they have been proven to reduce recidivism.
What does it mean to live as a Christian? Is that something different than being remorseful; and changing your life around for the better? Because you don't need to be a Christian in order to do that, it only requires a changing of the mind and heart.
This is the last thread I would ever have thought to end up requiring moderation.
ShouldIMoveOrStayPut's interpretation of the K.J.B. version of Philippians 4: 5-6 stated in light hearted good natured humor to buoy spirits here and get the thread back on a positive track...
Philippians 4:
5. "Let your MODERATION be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand"
This means the board moderators need to let their powers be known to ALL men and women, NOT just the members of the C-D forums. The Lord is at hand, so yes, you mods need to tell your friends, family, co-workers in the office, folks in supermarkets, etc. of your powers...
6. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known unto God".
So... "Be careful for nothing" means you should post from your heart here on the forums, do not color or skew your statements or otherwise "guard" or 'be careful" your statements in order to gain rep points, unduly or unfairly influence the direction of a thread, etc.
"But in everything by PRAYER and SUPPLICATION with thanksgiving let your REQUESTS be known unto GOD".
Let's break this down...
If you get into hot water with a post, you can, by prayer and humbly begging with thanksgiving REQUEST that a moderator show leniency or otherwise engage in a favorable action.
"let your requests be know unto God".
The moderators have God like powers, you are requesting unto them... Self explanatory...
It's a good and very self sacrificing, noble thing you and your husband are doing here Katz, best of luck and please report back with experiences/progress once you start the Sunday School program...
Spiritual Gifts are something the bible speaks of US ALL having. Only God reveals that
I am referring to the true God, the of GOD of the Bible. Christianity is based on the bible. The bible is where you derive the definition of a Christian
I my have already said this,,
Even in a prison or any other lock down facility the truth is CHRISTIANITY IS BASED IN CHRIST.
Christianity is NOT reflected in the bible, the bible is supposed to reflect Christianity.
When we go into the dredges of of existence, we take with us the love, Acceptance and Patience of Christ, not the HATE, BIGOTRY and FEAR of society.
As some of you may know, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( score one point for me for using the "approved" nomenclature) issues "callings" to its members on a ward (i.e. congregational), a stake (i.e. several groups of congregations) and general church levels. When you are "extended a calling" to serve in a specific position, you may, of course, decline. Most Church members that I know accept every calling that comes their way, believing that the person who issued the calling was inspired to do so. As a kind of an atypical member of the Church, I accept only callings that I think I could enjoy and do a good job at. I haven't had a calling at all for the last couple of years. My husband is currently heading up our ward's Family History (i.e. genealogy) program.
Well, about a hour-and-a-half ago, my husband and I were asked to meet with our Stake President. That would imply that a calling is imminent. Neither of us could imagine what on earth it might be. As it turns out, we were called to serve for the next three years as Sunday School teachers to the inmates at the Salt Lake County Jail. It sounded intriguing, so we accepted.
So, for the next three years, we'll be driving about a half an hour every Sunday to the jail, where we'll be teaching inmates in the minimum, medium and maximum security areas of the jail. These are men who are awaiting trial or sentencing for various crimes. It's a LDS program, but apparently there are even more men who are not LDS than who are who attend. It's a "no touch" facility -- no handshakes, pats on the back or anything. So, within a couple of weeks, we'll be starting. This is my "I was in prison and ye visited me" contribution to the church, and to be perfectly honest, I'd rather be serving in the jail than in the temple. (I hope I don't get struck down for saying that!)
When I read the title I had a quick "oh no" moment, then regained my senses and realized that it must be something else.
With your non judgmental attitude and easy sense of humor, I think this should be a challenge, and an interesting one for you and your DH.
I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that I look forward to reading about your experiences.
I do understand your current preference for serving in a different environment and it is your'e time to shine light to people in some or the darkest times of their lives.
Let's just say you won't be preaching to the choir.
Katz, how is Jail going!? Please give an update on your Sunday School teaching experience....
I am, of course, assuming you have begun the lessons...
It is absolutely beyond amazing! It's the most excited I've been about Sundays in a very, very long time. We generally teach about 10-12 men for the first hour. These guys are in minimum security and are allowed to meet in a small room with us for what basically amounts to a Sunday School lesson. They attend because they want to, not because they feel like the neighbors will talk if they don't show up. They want to change their lives and we are trying to give them hope that they can. They take turns offering a prayer at the beginning of each lesson and most of them really want to participate in the discussions. Afterwards, several of them will usually stay in the room and ask Matt to offer a special blessing on their behalf. Every week, they thank us profusely for being there. They appreciate us so much and we're really starting to get to know them and care about them.
During the second hour, we teach in maximum security. That's an entirely different experience. We teach one-on-one there, and do so through a small opening between the tempered glass door and the wall of the cell. We only visit with the ones who want us to, and we know who these guys are because they'll be standing at the door of their cell waiting for us to come over to them. We have visited one guy in max for the last two weeks. We never ask what they're in for, but he volunteered the information. He said, "Well, they got me for murder. I killed my wife. That should have never happened and I'm really angry. God should have protected her from me." Wow. What do you say to that?
You are a person of faith who is "Going Forth And Doing Good Works". Isn't there a Bible passage that goes something like "Faith Without Works Is Like A Day Without Sunshine!" (Or something like that).
So the combination makes you a Sunny Day, and you certainly seem to be a new ray of sunshine for these individuals....
Rep point for you!...
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score one point for me for using the "approved" nomenclature) issues "callings" to its members on a ward (i.e. congregational), a stake (i.e. several groups of congregations) and general church levels. When you are "extended a calling" to serve in a specific position, you may, of course, decline. Most Church members that I know accept every calling that comes their way, believing that the person who issued the calling was inspired to do so. As a kind of an atypical member of the Church, I accept only callings that I think I could enjoy and do a good job at. I haven't had a calling at all for the last couple of years. My husband is currently heading up our ward's Family History (i.e. genealogy) program.
