I had the privilege the other day of going back to Lithgow jail. I left there a year ago after seven years as a prison Chaplain. There is a number of men there still who I had grown very fond of as their pastor. As I sat with them again in the Chapel I began to wonder why on earth I had ever left. It was wonderful to see again how God is working in the lives of these men, some of whom have done terrible things and some who have just been caught up in the awful circumstances of life.

As I was walking through the yard the first bloke to see me was Steve. Steve is a big bloke. He walked over and gave me a great bear hug. Steve is a murderer and had lived a violent life until he came to jail in his late 20s. Being thrown in jail caused him to ask the question of what life was all about and the Lord heard his question and gave him the answer. Steve is a mightily changed man. People who knew him before don’t recognise him. Not just his behaviour but his physical appearance has changed. He is still a big man but his face has changed, no longer creased by a scowl of hatred. Steve loves the Lord, loves His word and loves meeting with God’s people. It was so good to see how God continues to bless this man who is a murderer.

Then I was surprised to see Jesse. He had left Lithgow for another jail some time ago and here he was back again. I had spent a lot of time with Jesse as he tried to come to terms with having been repeatedly raped by his uncle as a young teenager. Heroine had dulled the awful memories for him but to pay for it all, he had done many despicable things including threatening to shoot the 6 year old son of the woman he held up in the street unless she gave him the cash she had just withdrawn from the ATM. Jesse’s uncle had finally been brought to justice and there was a noticeable change in this young man’s demeanour.

At Bible study in the Chapel they were studying Hebrews and were up to 12:22-29. A dozen men sat there rejoicing that they have come to the heavenly Jerusalem and that they sat with thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly. John shared about how he had always said to me that this jail was an evil place. (Look at an aerial photo of it and it’s shaped like a coffin. Its post office box number is 666. And some evil things do go on there.) He remembered that I had always countered that with, “No. Jesus rules here.” He said he thought I was mad, but now he had come to understand the reality. Satan has been defeated at Calvary and Jesus rules. And because Jesus rules, these men (murderers, thieves, drug dealers) are members of the church of the first born. Their names are written in heaven. They have come to God, the judge of all men, no-longer afraid to face His judgement, and they have come to Jesus who was put to death by lawless men but whom God justified. They have come to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel who was murdered by his brother.

I know why I left - to support and promote more ministers at the coal face. But I still miss it. I miss seeing, first hand, the amazing work God is doing in the lives of these men. But now I have the great privilege of supporting and encouraging 30 other men and women ministers of the gospel who are bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ into hard places. And I’m even encouraging our churches in the Diocese to welcome their brothers and sisters into their fellowship when they’re released from prison.