Meeting God inside the prison walls

Let me introduce you to a man I met while ministering in the largest prison in the Philippines. He is an Australian and over three months ago he was arrested with another man for human trafficking. The story goes or as he told it, he had just gotten the cab and the cab driver put three underage girls in the car with them. About the time that was done the police showed up and this man was arrested with the cab driver. The three under-aged girls were released and free to return to their homes. Human trafficking is a very large problem in the Philippines and for whatever reason or for whatever excuse this man would have, it would be better to walk away than to continue to stay in the situation.

So what is it about this man from Australia that is so different? First of all he is the only white man inside the prison and therefore at a greater risk. Second it is not the fact that he did or did not do what he was accused of, but it is the fact that he has gone over three months without a trial of any kind. I don’t have an opinion of whether the man is innocent or guilty and my only reason for telling you this story is so you can see how God intervenes in people’s lives regardless of where they are, and that is exactly what happened to this man. He does have a name and that is Hilton Monroe.

Hilton approached me after I had spoken to over one thousand men in the chapel/mess hall. He told me in a short story that he was brought up in the church and that at an early age he walked away because he felt he could run his life better than God. For some years he said that everything went along OK and he was doing all right for himself. Then came the day he was arrested and his whole world crashed down around him. He said he had been searching for answers or at the very least some kind of hope for his life. He told me that as I spoke about how much God loves each and every person how something inside of him was telling him to come and see me. After the service he came to me and told me this story and a door was opened by God.

I told Hilton that no matter what he had done or where he had gone when he walked away, God was ready to meet him right where he was. I told him that God has forgiven him and that He wanted him to return. Hilton told me that there was no way God could love him for what he was accused of. Again, I was able to tell him, God loves you more Hilton and He loves you so much that one day He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for his sins and that he was forgiven.

Hilton’s eyes began to swell with tears as I continued to speak to him and I could sense the power of God beginning to work in his life. I asked Hilton if he had ever surrendered his life to God and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He told me he had never actually asked God he thought it was if he only did good. To make a long story short, Hilton surrendered to God and accepted Jesus Christ into his life and he really did not care who was around. The tears flowed but God was in the midst of us and showed a love for Hilton like he had never known.

It does not make a difference what you have done, where you have been, or what you are doing at this very moment, the only thing that can change your situation is you and inviting God into your life. You have no idea how much God loves you and you will never know until you first know how much God loved Jesus. He loved you so much that He gave you Jesus as a sacrifice so that you may be forgiven and loved beyond all understanding. God is ready to meet you right where you are and He is ready to forgive you and accept you. He will change you from the inside out and the only thing He asks of you is just to surrender.

God loves you. He has always loved you and will continue to do so forever. You have a decision to make and that is to accept Him at His word and decide in your heart that the love He has for you is far greater than anything you have ever known. Ask Him to forgive you and accept Jesus today as your Lord and Savior and it will be the best decision you will ever make. We all had to go there and as for me I will never regret the decision I made that day that changed my life forever. No matter what comes at me, I will always know that God loves me and that He will never leave me nor forsake me and that speaks volumes to my heart.

God bless you and it is not too late to receive Jesus today.