My father, my wife, and I just spent three days at a wonderful mission’s conference and on Saturday we had a scheduled stop at the Trustee Camp at the Michael Unit, Texas State Prison.
I was the scheduled speaker for the evening service and found myself in prayer for the right words to speak. I seemed to only have a glimmer of the light of the message; just enough to keep me looking in the right direction but not enough to totally illuminate the way. I could just make out the next step but not much more than that.
In Acts 17:26 & 27, Paul was preaching in Athens and explaining that the God who created the universe also planned when and where each man and woman would live. This passage of scripture has been especially comforting to me as a means of providing more meaning to my life.
A trustee camp is a little different than most other prison environments. There is no barbed-wire, and no guard towers. There is only a brown picket fence around the yard to restrain the inmates. There was one guard who checked us in and we were allowed to walk ourselves to the classroom where church is held. If not for the familiar, State of Texas issued, white jump suit all the men were wearing, you could easily forget that the men we met are incarcerated.
Pastor Ray is a short young man full of joy. His personality is contagious. One of those people you instantly like. Ray is the pastor of this small flock, caring for his congregation as any loving pastor would. He is friendly, sincere, and vulnerable. Not what I expected from a prison inmate.
I'm not sure exactly when Rody came in. I don't remember seeing him until after the worship had started. He is a tall fit man who seemed very comfortable in his own skin. I really began to keep an eye on him once I began to preach, because, of the 30 or so men in the room, Rody stood out to me. He maintained eye contact with me through the entire message but there was something else. He seemed to be very in tune with the message. I believe that every message is crafted for someone in the audience, even if only for just one someone. I wondered if maybe Rody, or even Pastor Ray was that someone.
After the message three men prayed to receive Jesus for the first time. We also challenged each man to seek God like never before. Almost every man in the room stood to their feet to accept the challenge. What an amazing time we had watching these men praise God with their whole hearts.
As time began wrapping up, Rody came up to shake my hand. We exchanged names and I said to him,
"I believe God was speaking to you today."
He stopped in his tracks and invited me to follow him to his desk where his Bible lay.
Choked up, he began speaking through his tears,
"This morning I woke up at 4:00am asking myself, 'why am I here?' and God lead me to this passage of scripture."
He pulled out a piece of paper where he had written out Acts 17:26 & 27, the very text of my message. His ability to speak became even more diminished as he said,
"It may seem selfish but I believe God sent you here to confirm His word just for
me. He gave me this scripture but I really needed some confirmation."
Travis Moffitt
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