Behind Prison Bars

Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to experience. Nothing! Not all Marvin’s wonderful stories about the victories in Jesus Christ, not the scriptures I had read, not the time spent in prayer and preparation, not the testimonies of others, not even various ministry newsletters I had read.

Nothing had truly prepared me for the overwhelming compassion and mercy I felt when Marvin and I held our first concert and ministering event together at a nearby state jail.

Marvin was in the prison ministry for many years and at one time had been to almost every prison in Texas, some in Oklahoma, and even Angola in Louisiana. He’s told me story after story of how God touched the lives of those that were incarcerated, how countless souls were won and of the lives that were changed forever.

Anyone that knows Marvin knows he is a very unique story teller. He can take events from every day life and spin them into a ‘yarn’, mixing it with just the right amount of scriptures, and the proper dose of the Holy Spirit’s anointing. People say he’s a modern-day ‘parable’ preacher. I say it’s his God-given gift.

All I know is as he preaches in the jails and prisons it doesn’t matter if it’s a group of 20 or 200, he holds their attention as he relates God’s love to them and what they must do to be saved or to get back on track. What I didn’t know and what I wasn’t prepared for was the overwhelming compassion I would feel.

I also realized that even though they were in jail, the ones that were Christian’s had a job to do themselves ‘inside’. They needed to share the Word with the unsaved and to encourage other Christians to increase their faith. Now don’t go getting all up on your high horse. Yes there are Christian’s in prison. They made mistakes just like we make mistakes and we ALL can be forgiven and go on with our lives. You know, the Bible speaks a lot about every situation we face in our lives even about being imprisoned. I began to realize that there but for the grace of God go you or I.

Hebrews 13:3 (NLT) says you should, “Remember those in prisons as if you were there yourself.” Jesus did some of His greatest works because of His compassion and as I read the scriptures I began to see that compassion is one of the Holy Spirit’s most powerful tools for healing, for comfort, and for restoration of our lives back to wholeness.

What did we see as we ministered to these men from all walks of life? We saw men that wept and were broken. Men that had chosen a wrong path, men that had probably endured abuse in their lives. You know….real men, with real emotions and a God shaped hole in their lives that only a touch from Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit would fill.

At this particular meeting of around 200 people, we noticed there were two men that appeared to be quietly talking way at the back of the room. At a second glance we realized that one man was interpreting for the other. At the end of the service the man needing the interpreter responded to the invitation and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior.

Marvin welcomes each person at the door when they arrive and then shakes each of their hands as they leave. One man told Marvin this was the first service he’d ever been to that he hadn’t watched the clock all evening long. Another man said he was so grateful that we had spent some time with them, and many others wanted to know when we could come back.

I am so grateful and so thankful to of had this opportunity to share Jesus Christ with those men. I pray that above every song I sang and above every story Marvin told that the Holy Spirit’s anointing poured out His compassion, His mercy, and the understanding of Jesus Christ Himself on the men we were fortunate enough to share God’s Word with.

We count it a privilege and an honor to be used by God in this way and pray that God will continue to put people in our path that need His Son, His love, His strength and His encouragement. It is truly more blessed to give than to receive; more than I could have ever imagined, and I look forward to many more prisons and many more souls comforted and won to Jesus Christ. Shalom…….Marvin & Diana

Our thanks to microsoftclipart.com for use of this graphic.