Lord of the Poor
Scripture Reading — Psalm 146
He upholds the ... oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free. Psalm 146:7
George H. writes from a prison in Illinois: "My life started out without a father. My mother raised me by herself until the first guy, Donnie, came along. He ended up falling three stories to the ground. That's the last I saw of him. The second guy to enter the scene was Wup, a wild control freak with a temper that he didn't hesitate to express through different types of abuse.
"By the age of 15, I was pretty much lost, screwed up, and looking for something I couldn't get at home. That led me to the street and the gangs, the wrong crowd for sure. I took a man's life and got sentenced as an adult, at 15 years old, to 50 years. A long road of hardship came in different forms through a bunch of juvenile institutions. When I was transferred to the adult system at 17, things didn't get better.
"I did segregation time--a lot--and wound up in the first ?super-max' prison in Illinois. In this lonely environment, I had a chance to look back and think about my life to try and figure out how I ended up here and why. I knew about Jesus and what he did for me, but I didn't really put the effort into repenting of my ways.
"I started studying the Bible and came in contact with other Christians to learn more about salvation. I finally received Jesus into my heart. The Holy Spirit is guiding me to become the person I'm meant to be in Christ."
Lord, thank you for setting prisoners free with the power of your Spirit and Word. Please help George and all the rest of us to keep growing closer to you. In your name, Amen.
About the author — H. David Schuringa
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