Here is an article that I just finished for our brand new official newsletter... make sure to sign up so you can receive them straight to your inbox.
The Imperfect Journey
Inside Out Revolution
by Rev. Jim Wilbur, D.Min. - Executive Chaplain
If you have a pulse then the horrendous news coming from Aurora Colorado has not escaped your attention. In the midst of my day today I briefly caught a news personality talking about the case and they mentioned that a possible defense could be "irresistible influence." Simply meaning that the accused shooter could not help himself and was not able to stop his own actions.... or could he???As I reflected on that I could not help think about what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:6-8 about the state of fallen man...
"For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
The stark reality is that BUT for the grace of God you or I could be sitting in a jail cell in Aurora Colorado. The truth is evil is present all around us and is manifested on a daily basis. It is clear that as a society we are making a wholesale move away from a Biblical ethic and then look amazed when things like this happen. Not to long ago I had a brief interaction with the young man who is accused of taking life in our community. On a daily basis those of us who minister inside the prison come face to face with the depravity of man, but so do you.
The Inside Out Revolution is when by grace through faith Jesus Christ reaches in and replaces our hearts of stone with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26.) Until that moment scripture tells us we couldn't't please God even if we wanted too! I have to continually remember this as each and everyday I interact with many different people who have made decisions that have impacted their lives in major adverse ways.
As we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the inmates they are instructed that through repentance and faith they can live a life of forgiveness, freedom, and to the full. I heard of one survivor in the Aurora shooting who when interviewed on a national talk show stated that he wanted the accused shooter to know - " I forgive you." Whether that young man ever bows his knee to the Creator of the universe or not, he has had a tangible demonstration of what redemption produces... forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ.
Continue to pray for us as we continue the mission of being ministers of reconciliation in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. It is our prayer that the redemption of God does not stop with the individual prisoners, but as their lives are changed that redemption will have a holistic effect on their families and the overall community.
