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From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

 

Dear Rev. Graham: Is there one good reason I should give my life to Jesus? It won’t get me out of prison any quicker, and no one here would believe me anyway if I said I turned my life over to God. If I tried, I’d fail. It doesn’t really make sense that I could become a new person, as they say “in Christ,” and I don’t really know how to get around in the Bible. – S.P.

 

Dear S.P.: Many prisoners come to God’s salvation while in prison. Why? Because they are at the end of themselves and realize their need for God. Everyone needs God for this life, and we need Him for the life to come.

The devil makes promises he cannot keep. He promises that you don’t have to worry about what will happen to you when you die – which is a lie.

But Christ does not lie. “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37, NKJV). You can depend on His promises – and the greatest promise is God’s promise of new life in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). God can forgive your repentant heart.

“The Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin” (Galatians 3:22, NIV). It was God’s love that knew people were incapable of obeying His law, and it was His love that promised a Redeemer, a Savior, who would save His people from their sins.

Study God’s Word. He opens up our understanding. Read the letters penned by the Apostle Paul and Peter while imprisoned. Read the story of Joseph, John the Baptist, and the prophets of old who landed in jail. And then read the gospels and the account of the thief on the cross who was gloriously saved, and Jesus said to him, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43, NKJV).

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)