our attentive god.

7/2024

Recently I sat down with “Mary,” an inmate housed in a dorm that isn’t allowed to attend our classes in person.  (Because of logistical and security reasons, inmates can’t be moved from one part of the jail to the next. We’ve adapted our delivery methods to accommodate these inmates.) 

Mary had been participating in the class through writing, and it was my job to track her progress.  She was working with our transition team and had recently placed her trust in Jesus. My colleague/friend thought that Mary would benefit from taking the class.

One of the lessons requires the participant to set a goal for the duration of the class. Some commit to exercising or intentional reading. Hers was to memorize scripture. When I asked her what Bible verse she was working on, she said, “1 Peter 5:7.” 

My eyes widened. I knew the verse. I said, “MARY! Do you know that I left a note for my husband this morning, with THAT verse as a way to encourage him today? In fact, there is a song that came from that verse, and it’s what I wrote to him.” 

And just then, I sang it to her. Her eyes began to tear up and a big smile lit up her face. I said, “Isn’t Jesus beautiful? Of all the verses you could be memorizing and of all the verses I could have written to my husband, God had us pick the same one!” Both of us sat there for a moment, amazed at what just happened.

Friend, God sees us. He loves us. “Cast your cares upon him, for He cares for you.”

Serving with you,

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Praises:

Matt has started a new Bible study with a young artist in Orlando and kicked off an artist’s small group which intends to meet quarterly.  Betsy loves her work and is having significant spiritual conversations in the jails.

Prayer Requests:

We have a lot of ministry opportunities on the horizon that we will be sharing with you over the next few months. Please pray for spiritual discernment and wisdom.

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