2025
A few things I have learned…
Off the Chain / 0 Comments /Dear Supporters, Brethren and Friends,
I hope everyone’s New Year is off to a good start. 2024 concluded 20 years of working in the prisons to teach men about Jesus and 18 years working with men after release. These years have certainly been a period of learning for me. This quarter I want to share with you a few things I have learned.
- I didn’t have a clue what I was getting into! I was so prideful and sure that I would lead men in droves to the “promised land.” I never realized the scope of the mission and how much it was dependent on leaning on God’s wisdom instead of my own. I didn’t realize the depth of change that many men needed. Jeremiah was correct when he said Jeremiah 4:22 (ESV) “For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’—in doing evil! But how to do good they know not.”
- The more I have taught in prisons and worked with men getting out the more I realize the incredible application of God’s word. It fits and applies to every situation, not just the obvious ones. I have become more effective as an evangelist and counselor by learning to always rely on the word to solve problems. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” 14:12. When we leave the ways of God our teaching and counsel leads to destruction.
- There is a difference between worldly and godly sorrow – 2 Cor. 7:10. Almost every man that I study and counsel with have sorrow of some kind about their past. Many men are very emotional when they talk about their crimes and the people they have hurt. That, however, has no correlation to their true repentance. That can only be determined by their deeds over time. Great quantities of tears are shed that never lead to a changed life of service to our God.
- The world is a mess. I regularly see men who have had their lives destroyed not just slightly harmed by the lies of Satan. There are so many victims that a worldly life produces. The weight of that realization can sometimes be crushing to the men themselves and, also to those of us who work with them. God is the only one who can make a way for us to bear those burdens. The only way those past harms can be carried is by letting Jesus bear them on the cross and then changing into a different person. “If any man is in Christ he is a different person, the old has passed away and the new has come.” 2 Cor. 5:17.
- Following counsel is hard. I said earlier that God is the source of all wisdom. His word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path – 119:105. As I have grown in applying God’s word to the situations men are in, I have been able to give better counsel. However, it takes so much humility for adult men to listen and follow. If you only knew how many times each week I hear, “I know, but…”, or how many times I hear later “You were right, I should have listened.” The real truth is that God was right!
We recently had a brother who has been out for over five years and served God faithfully for a couple of years after release. He turned away from God to go lead his “own” life. He spurned our counsel and rebuke. I hadn’t seen him in two years when he reached out to me recently. He is now married and has a child, but due to marital problems, his wife asked him to leave. He began to reevaluate things and remembered the peace and security he had known when he served God in the past. He concluded that putting God first in his life again was the only way to save his marriage and his soul. He was humble when he contacted me. One of the first things he said was “You and the people at the church were right.” What he really meant is that God was right. He has now been restored to the church and is making progress in his marriage. He is trying to lead his family under God’s control.
I could go on, but you get the point. This work has produced more growth in me than maybe the growth that has occurred in any of the men I have encountered. Thank you for your support that has given me a chance to become a better servant of our King.
One last thing, here are the latest Pando stats. It truly is incredible.
1.7 million views
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God bless us all as we yield to Him in our lives.
Daryl Townsend
daryltown@aol.com
