Christ Comes to Prison

2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Four days at a Kairos Prison Ministry Retreat transformed thirty women. The retreat included the usual items of talks, discussion, prayer, praise and worship—and much more.

However, the participants were female prisoners whom we team members call “residents.”

We saw the women come in with a sad or scared appearance. They sat at tables with women they didn’t know.

Little by little, we watched God work in their lives. A smile replaced their sad or scared appearance. Their conversation and laughter filled the room. They learned the songs and lifted their hands in praise to the Lord.

By the end of the retreat, the residents told us they came lonely, broken, ashamed, and feeling unloved. They knew nothing about God’s love and a relationship with Jesus Christ.

They were leaving with joy, God’s love, his forgiveness, and their forgiveness of others.

Each woman became a new creation in Christ, and God can do the same for you.

Dear God, help me see that Christ can transform anyone, even me. Amen.

Application: In what way can people see you are a new creation in Christ?
Copyright © by Yvonne Ortega May 8, 2012