Earlier this week, I arrived at a high security area of the jail. An inmate was yelling, so I walked onto the cell block and went right to the cell where the fellow was yelling, so as to start the conversation with the men from that location of the cell block. Another member of our KJM team (brother Kris Sanchez) told me that this fellow was needing some ministry, so I wanted to make my way over that day earlier this week. As soon as I got to the cell, I was greeted by the inmate who is approximately 45 years old and who was full of life. As soon as I walked up, to my surprise, the inmate was up and moving around his cell, and as soon as he saw me, he said:
“I could feel you coming! I could feel the light coming!”
I said:
“Really?”
“Oh yeah!” The inmate said.
“OK… That is nice, brother,” I said, not sure how to respond.
The inmate and I talked for a long time. We had a very lively discussion about the Bible, Jesus, prayer, the Biblical view of marriage, and similar topics.
Near to the end of the conversation, the inmate told me about an experience he had when he was five years old, where he said he saw Jesus in his kitchen. He said he was walking into the kitchen and there was a shadowy figure over by the sink. Scared, he turned around and went the other way, through another door on the other side of the kitchen. He crawled under the table and looked at this Being. As soon as he could see it again, seeing its back, the Being turned around to him and threw something into his eyes, that blinded him temporarily. This inmate said:
“It felt like this Being had thrown sand in my face, but it looked like little speckles of light. But when he did that, I couldn’t see. And then the Being was gone. My mom did not believe me about this experience, but my grandma did. My grandma brought me to our church to talk to our pastor, and the pastor said that I had seen a vision of Christ, somewhat similar to Paul in the Road to Damascus, where he was also blinded by that vision of GOD.”
I was elated at how this brother opened up to me, to tell me these profound things about his life. Then he said:
“Chaplain, my grandma always told me I was supposed to be a minister. She started saying at that point, when I had the vision in the kitchen.”
Then the inmate started to get a little bit more ponderous and contemplative right at that point. He was staring down the floor for a moment, his manner a little more slow an peaceful, and then he continued:
“Chap, I think I’ve had so much trouble in my life because I was supposed to be a preacher, like my Grammy’s been saying to me ever since that day. But I always just make such bad decisions, because I’m fighting against with the LORD has called me too. I think if I had not made all these bad decisions, and did with the LORD said, I wouldn’t be in so much trouble all time, and in-and-out of jail. I wouldn’t have destroyed my life.”
I responded:
“You have to follow the LORD’s calling, that’s the only option,” I responded, “or you will just get thrown over the side of the ship to get swallowed by the supernatural “whale-fish” that swallowed Jonah.” I said that in response to him, as he looked at me while I said that.”
We talked further, and the inmate said he knew it was time to finally follow the call, 40 years later. I told him that I received the call when I was 25 years old, but I remained an atheist until I was 35 (I am 54 now). I told him I was slow, too.
I was elated to have met another inmate called into ministry. You would be amazed at how many genuine and real calls to ministry happen inside the jail. And also, I’ve noticed a surprisingly high percentage of preacher’s kids (PK’s) inside the jail as well, through the years. The inmates have noticed this high frequency of PK’s also. In Christian theological terms, the explanation for this might simply be that they are under a satanic attack. But many of these inmates turn into great preachers inside the jail, and by that, even more are brought to Christ.
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