“I was so excited when I got my Bible. I’ve spent the whole day reading it along with some other girls and I already feel closer to Jesus.” – Crystal
Crystal’s words challenge me. I love the Bible, but when was the last time I spent the whole day reading it? Am I still excited when I go to open God’s Word, or has it become a mundane routine? Crystal’s words challenge me because we have very different lives. I wake up each morning and choose what to wear, what to have for breakfast, and when to open the door and walk outside. As a prisoner, Crystal doesn’t have those or many other choices. But the choice we both have is to follow Christ and grow in our relationship with him through his Word.
Through our partnership with Prison Fellowship we have been able to get The Life Recovery Bible into the hands of thousands of prisoners like Crystal who are in prison but hunger for the hope in God’s Word. At no charge to the prisoner they are able to receive a special edition Life Recovery Bible in English or Spanish through the Prison Fellowship ministry. Many of these men and women have been enslaved by addiction. Whether it’s an illegal substance, power, money, or something else, that desire is overwhelming and they’ve risked everything while in its deadly grip.
But God’s Word is a bondage breaker! Through his grace and saving blood we are no longer slaves. The Bible is filled with stories of people who needed second chances. We all have times when we have struggled and needed God to forgive us and allow us to start again.
“Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” (Romans 6:13, NLT).
Here are some examples of people who have found new life while reading The Life Recovery Bible and are living out the transforming power of God’s Word.
Delivered from the Sting of Spiritual Death
Bound by sin, my life
a mess.
Taken by trials, I failed the test.
A slave to drugs that
kept me in chains.
Smoking and shooting was burning my brain.
That list hit of dope
should have been the final blow.
But because of God’s love, mercy said “No!”
I ended up in prison.
It should have been the end.
Then God sent me Jesus, my heart He will mend.
I found true love
from my Creator and Lord.
So I walk with him, my Helmet, Breastplate, and Sword
This might sound
strange but take it from me.
I had to come to prison so I could be free.
“I was in a long, deep prayer to God. It was a very difficult day, and I was praying for comfort, for strength, just crying out to my Abba Father. I asked him to fill me with his Holy Spirit. With my eyes still puffy and red from crying, my heart still bleeding and aching, I saw an officer come to my cell door and place a new Life Recovery Bible in my hands. God heard me. He came to me. He held me. He showered me with His great, powerful, sovereign love. God always knows what we need when we need it.” –Melody
“I put my Bible to good use every day. I spread the seeds of God’s Word and even started a small group of believers. We get together and love to read God’s Word daily. Thanks to the powerful notes and information in The Life Recovery Bible,we’re able to have a better understanding of the Bible.” –Tylor
