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AN ENCOUNTER WITH LIFE BEHIND BARS

When I was younger, I was wrongfully accused of theft.
It was the saddest period of my life.
At the time the incident occurred, my father was at work and my mother had travelled to Kumasi.
When she returned, I told her what had happened and she immediately threatened to take me to prison: she had an inspector friend who could whisk me away whenever she needed that kind of help.

Mummy didn’t do that.

But what if she had?

I would have been reprimanded and perhaps remanded for a crime I did not commit.

The prisons visit I embarked on with a group of friends was a personal reminder of the faithfulness of God and how much He has covered me.
You know, the young men we met at the correctional institute are no different from our brothers at home, church or in school.

We need to constantly plead the blood of the Lamb over our lives.
There are some of them who got caught for a single mistake…. mistakes you and I could easily have made.

Over there, you would see…
Wrongfully accused inmates
Victims of broken homes
Victims from abusive backgrounds
Victims of strong demonic manipulations
Victims of hurt as a result of unfulfilled promises from loved ones
Victims of circumstance


They may have caused harm to others…
They may have inflicted wounds in the hearts of others…
But what we do not see is that they were victims before they victimized others.

Yesterday, our leader, Reverend Caleb Hammond spoke to the inmates on, “The man of honour”. It was a brief but profound message of how men of honour protect, give and above all, are spiritually strong and not just physically.
It was breathtaking to see a sizeable number of these young men stand to profess their intention to be men of honour.
The motto of the inmates is: We will rise again!

We pray for these young men, that indeed they will rise again.
We most especially are asking the Holy Spirit to water every good seed which the various churches and ministries have sown into their lives through their outreaches and ministrations.

Like Reverend Hammond said, when we get the chance to sow seeds of goodness into the lives of the young men and women we see outside the walls of the correctional centre, let us not hesitate. For it is better that we save them from entering such places because whether we like it or not, some of these young men who enter such environments are likely to come out being crime lords.

I have a responsibility…. You do too.

Lord, help us.

This is #SharingLife.

God bless you for sharing life!

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