I Timothy 2:5-7 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Dear Readers: Happy New Year “2016”. Grace, love and joy unto you. May you eternally walk in the blissful, peaceful light of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen! My beautiful brothers and sisters, I want to talk to you about testifying. Not only that, but making yourself a walking, talking, breathing, living testimony for our Lord. You know that I try to remain upbeat and joyful as much as possible; but every now and again, the problems I face get to me. I let my guard down and that dirty old devil creeps in. That happened recently and I momentarily lost my bearings. One problem after another piled up on me… the six months in solitary; my pastor, Tom Shuford, and his wife, Terry, being barred from visiting me by the prison administration; then Tom’s health failing and finding out he has to go in for surgery; not to mention spending another holiday season incarcerated for crimes that I did not commit and having very limited contact with my family. Then, the kicker, the prison has made good on its threats and has written me up for my writings being posted on this site. I will now be fined and sanctioned for nothing more than exercising my first amendment rights and spreading the gospel. The culmination of it all fell on me like the weight of a thousand bricks.
One day, I finally broke down. I wept and fell on my knees. I cried in prayer to my Lord. I said, “Lord, my God, forgive me please. I know it is not my place to question you, but as you can see, Lord, I am overwhelmed. Lord, I know that you have a plan for me. I have no doubt of that. I only ask that you remind me of my purpose; for my strength has been weakened and such a reminder would refresh and renew me. Please, Lord, grant my request. Shore up my faith, Lord. Please! In your mighty, precious name, my Lord. Amen!” Now it was time to trust and wait on the Lord.
I did not have to wait long. The man across from me is a Muslim. I have been witnessing to him. He suddenly decided to order a bible and start studying with me. Praise God!
He said, “I watch you and I know your situation. Yet, amazingly, you are so calm and peaceful. There is always joy in your eyes. I can’t understand it. And, whenever I ask you about it, you tell me it is because of your Lord Jesus Christ. Well, I want to know more about Jesus. I want you to teach me everything. I want that peace and joy you have.”
Shivers ran down my spine and I thought to myself, “Wow! Thank you, Lord, for this opportunity. Give me the strength to reach him.”
Tom and I have decided to keep studying together. You see, every day we will read the same scriptures at 11 a.m. We won’t be together physically, but in spirit we shall remain bonded to each other and the Lord. I asked my Muslim neighbor if he would like to study with Tom and me. He agreed. He and I will also do a separate study. We will start in the book of John. I will teach him all I can about Jesus. I feel that he will accept Him. I told him a prayer to recite should he decide to accept Christ. He says he wants to learn more first. I have faith that he will make the right choice. I was excited about my Muslim block-mate coming to me, but God was not done yet.
Later that same day, a man came into the segregation unit and was also moved to a cell across from me. He had been with me here when I first came in and now he was back.
He said, “I am glad you are still here. I started reading the bible. I want to change my life. Can you help me understand it?”
“Wow!”, I thought. “Is this really happening right now?” I almost pinched myself. It felt like a dream.
“Of course I will help you. It would be my honor, brother. I am so grateful you have come to me.”
Amazing! But, God was still not done. Last night, yet another inmate, who is in the cell next door, has started reading the bible and he too wants me to help him.
The Lord has answered my prayers. He has reminded me of my purpose here in solitary. He has shown me that I am a living testament. For it is the Holy Spirit within me which is drawing these men closer to the Lord. By keeping the Lord in my heart, I have become as a light in the darkness to these men and hopefully to many more who read this site. I am not special. The Lord can and will make you a living testament as well. It is part of His plan for all of us. We need only follow Him. My brothers and sisters, it has been such an honor sharing my love of the Lord with you all. I just want you to know that. Thank you, all of you, for sharing my experience with me by visiting this site. I am truly blessed by you. I will do my best to keep writing posts. We all have a purpose, folks. Remember that. I love you all very much. May God bless and keep you! May you be a living testament! May you live a life of purpose in service to the Lord! Amen!
Love in Christ,
Randall
(A living testament of the Lord)