Pass the Defibrillator

“Do not let anything set your heart beating so fast as love for Him. Let this ambition fire your soul; may this be the foundation of every enterprise upon which you enter, and your sustaining motive whenever your zeal would grow cold. Make God your only object. Depend upon it—where self begins, sorrow begins; but let God be your supreme delight and only object.” – C.H. Spurgeon

What makes your heart beat really, really fast?

A horror movie?

The final seconds of a close ballgame?

Watching the results roll in on Election night?

How about worshipping God… or reading His word… or singing His praises… or sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ?

On Saturday, November 1st, my heart started beating fast the minute I woke up and kept up the pace for the rest of the day. Why? Because I was so excited to be going back into prison to minister after a four-year layoff. I simply couldn’t wait to get inside the barbed wire fences where I have spent much of my adult life, sharing the gospel (and lots of God’s unconditional love) with lost and lonely inmates.

Our team played three games that day and because we were so short-handed, I also had to play about 10 minutes against men 40 years younger than me… so that caused my heart to beat a bit faster, too. But what really got my “ticker” going was preaching at halftime and letting the men at Polk Correctional Institution know that – regardless of their crime – God was offering them an eternal pardon.

Ten men responded by trusting Jesus as their Savior and many more requested additional information about becoming Christians. That, my friend, makes my heart skip a beat or two.

And yes, I can’t wait to go back behind bars again on February 7th!

“Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.” Hebrews 13:3 (BSB)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President