Mathew 25:44-45 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
Late last year, I felt that the Lord asked me to visit a prison house and so I approached Mirte and Brian Longridge here in Cebu. They're faithful missionaries who reach out to the people whom society often rejects: to the lepers and to the convicts in prison.
The prison house we went to is the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), a maximum security prison facility with a capacity for 1600 inmates. We went there that Thursday morning 10 AM and were guided by a prisoner inside to a prison cell whom the 'mayor' or the cell leader was open to hear the gospel.
As Brian began to speak and as our guide began to interpret, the prisoners watched him as he poured out his heart to them- sharing to them the gospel of salvation, of God's mercy, grace and of his testimony; they began to remain quiet and looked intently on. "Who was this God that loved them? Can God really forgive me from all of the wrongs I have done, even if I had murdered?" were the questions burning in their eyes. And when Brian had given me the queue to speak, I shared to them my testimony of God's deliverance of my mother whom I witnessed shot while I was still 4 years old; how God in His faithfulness given her a second chance to live on this earth even when she was dead for 4 minutes. I shared to them that today, she still miraculously moves even with a fractured c1 and c2 vertebrae and lives normally; and that our family was now converted to the Christian faith. I also shared to them what my mom saw and to make no mistake, heaven and hell is real and one day we were to stand before God, and that we were to be judged by an infallible judge, who would judge righteously and not wrongly, that Jesus Christ is the only way to God the Father and none other. The Spirit came on me so mightily I began to speak in tears, my heart poured out calling to them; and though these words were said plainly and not in a fancy speech, the words reached them and gripped them of the urgency and the severity to them who'd depart from this life to the next without Jesus as their Savior. The men became convicted and then Mirte spoke, she then called to them who would receive this free gift of salvation from this Righteous God who came in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ who redeemed us with His own blood.
People from the different cells began to flock and look outside this cell, "What was going on?" you'd see them curiously looking in, "Why were these people from our neighbor cell now bowing their heads and receiving this God?" All the men in the cell confessed that Jesus Christ was their Lord that day and how mightily blessed I was to see them converted. Praise the Lord forevermore! Neighbor, these men deserve to know Him and choose whether or not they'd like to follow the Lord. Truth be told, God had told Isaiah the prophet to preach for 40 years to the people of Israel, and the Lord told Isaiah that as he would preach, the people's hearts would get harder and harder. And yet in other parts of the Bible we are to see men's heart softening and submitting to the Lord as they hear His word. The Word of God is either well received unto joy or it'd make man's heart even harden unto deeper pride, but it is our choice to choose but no one ever gets to stay neutral, you'll either go farther or closer to Him. Our role as Christians: as laymen, ministers or workers is to preach this great news -that Christ had come on to this earth: that God came in the person of His Son Jesus Christ, that He died on the cross bearing our sin and had sin punished, that He rose from the dead and that He ascended again into glory and that He was to come again.
What a privilege indeed to be in service to the King. Shout out to the rooftops that Christ is risen, call to the people in the highways and say come, let us return to the LORD.
Friend, here is something powerful, that you could share. It's a video clip from Andres Bisonni Ministries, may this bless you. If you too would like to support this missionary, or get more details about them, go to www.abm.cc.
If you don't know the Lord as your personal Lord and Savior, please ask Him to come into your life.
Blessings,
Kevin
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[1] To contact Mirte and Brian Longridge please visit their website at http://leprosyphilippines.blogspot.com/
