Sunday was a great day. A great day.
The service at IRBC was great. Three people were baptized. When Josh baptizes, he asks three questions, one having to do with the renunciation of Satan, sin, evil and so on. The young lady (“young” being young enough to be my daughter, probably) who was baptized second answered the question in this manner and you could see – at least from Row Three, where I was 
sitting – her face brighten when she responded and she said, “Oh, YES, ABSOLUTELY!!” Made me tear up yesterday and made me tear up again writing this.
The next woman to be baptized then gave a testimony about her life over the past 20 years and how Jesus is now all that matters in her life and how He is in all parts of her life and daily activities. The man she comes to church with then stood up and gave a very emotional testimony as well.
Finally, a young wife whose husband is in the military stood up and talked about how she has been able to overcome and endure her struggle of being alone with her young child through the help of the people of the church. She didn’t discuss this, but I can’t imagine what her immediate thoughts were last week when she heard of shootings at a military base (Fort Hood). I don’t think her husband is stationed there, but still…..through all of this, I couldn’t stop crying. Then we sang “How Great Thou Art” and it was GOOD.
It’s always a blessing to see the people of God being obedient and obedient these three were. Josh then preached a good message on Hebrews 11:24-26 and we then celebrated the Lord’s Supper. It was all very, very good.
Then that same night three of us went into Chippewa Correctional-West for the bi-monthly bible study and we discussed Genesis 45. First, though, we took time for the sharing of praises, prayer requests and common concerns. Some of the men – there were between 20 and 25 attending – were very vulnerable, tears were shed and we prayed for common concerns along with offering praises for the ongoing work and providence of the living God.
The Genesis 45 discussion took two avenues and nded up primarily discussing the need for forgiveness within the body of Christ, as Joseph’s example had shown us. An interesting encounter occurred between two men who have a lot of years in the prisons and who both are somewhat physically intimidating – but they are great guys and they are my friends. The first man is in a leadership position within the body at this prison and he expressed his disgust at some within the body who are just “playin” at church and he says it’s getting worse and he was ready to walk out on the church services and not come back. Within a couple minutes, when his turn came to speak, the other prisoner with a lot of time and an intimidating presence spoke directly to the first 
man and called him out for being disobedient and how the Bible doesn’t give him license to do what he said he wanted to do and that he needed to set an example for the other men within the prison – that we can be united in spite of our differences and petty problems with each other. He also spoke that he was rebuking him out of love for him and love for the body and love for Christ.
Interestingly enough, later on, the first man – who had wanted to bail on the church body in that prison – confessed he was wrong and commended the other prisoner for taking him to the biblical woodshed, so to speak.
We also discussed Joseph’s trust in God – how he remained obedient and faithful in the midst of suffering and injustice. How he didn’t know all the details of God’s plan, but that through trust and faithfulness in a faithful and trustworthy God, we can see His plan as it is worked out. God works out His plan through the decisions we make under His governing providence each day – Joseph was able to see, in hindsight, that the evil thoughts of his brothers resulted in evil actions that resulted in other evil actions but in the end, resulted in goodness for His people. Without knowing Romans 8:28 or Ephesians 1:11, Joseph understood their meaning a long time before Paul wrote them. Good advice and an example for us, as well.
All in all, a great day. A spiritual day. A day of glory to God.
