Tuesday, April 27th, 2021
The difference between the inmates I chaplain and us is that our sins dirty our souls and theirs put them in jail. This blog is from Ricco, a believer in the Wright County Jail whom I have come to know and love.
“You ask me how I can be a believer and get myself in so much trouble that I’ll be in prison for a long time. This is what I learned from that day when it all went bad.
“I already knew that week by week focusing on God wasn’t good enough. By that, I mean going to church on Sundays and then living with distractions for six days. So I focused on God day by day, but that left spaces in my life when I did stupid things with friends. One day at the wrong place at the wrong time, I did something so bad that the police led me off in handcuffs and here I am.
“Now I know it’s not day by day but moment by moment I need to focus on Jesus. I am an empty vessel that needs to be filled by the Holy Spirit every minute of every day. When I’m filled with Him, I’m safe. When I’m filled with Ricco, I’m not. It’s that simple. I need to be constantly realigning my focus; I need to be constantly aware of what He desires of me. ‘What do you want of me in this situation, Lord? How can I serve You here?’
“There is a greater yes that overwhelms the no’s of life. If I focus on Jesus, the Greater Yes, I have the abundant life. I get Him and everything that comes with Him until my vessel overflows with God’s grace. If I don’t keep that focus, trouble can creep in, and here I am.”
There but for the grace of God go I.