Tuesday, September 26th, 2017
NOT SURRENDERED AND SURRENDERED
I have posted before about a 28 year old man, Joe, whom I have been mentoring. He’s the one who called me Ridiculous Pat because I told him God couldn’t help him until he surrendered his life to His governance. Joe claimed he was a Christian, and I accepted his testimony on that; but he was intent on living out his life his way and on his terms. He was given one more chance by the courts to go to a dual diagnosis facility in St. Paul to be straightened out, instead of being sent to prison for two years. I considered that a miracle of God’s intervention in his life at the time. But Joe didn’t take that chance to be finally surrendered. He was in the rehab facility for less than a month when they threw him out for being the Joe he was on his own – angry, belligerent, blaming everyone else for his problems, and looking for loopholes to avoid doing what he had to do. He’s back in jail until his hearing at the end of October, when he most likely will be given no more chances and sent away to the St. Cloud prison for two years. Pray for him.
Yesterday, I met with a 34 year old African American named Kennis. He had asked for a Gideon to mentor him on how to live out the Christian life he had accepted. Two other Gideons bowed out as mentor possibilities, so I agreed to meet with him. What a difference from Joe! He broke out in tears of joy when I told him Jesus loved him so much that he sent a man to teach him how to stay so close to Jesus that he’d be safe in this world. We talked for an hour, and when he left he was as surrendered a man as I’ve seen in quite some time. He’s applied for going to Adult and Teen Challenge in Minneapolis for a year-long residence. They have accepted him, but he needs to be furloughed by the courts in two counties for that to happen. Please pray for Kennis, the man who loves God and wants Him to take over his life. I’ll be meeting again with him later next week.