Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Grace”
Our Bible verse for today: “I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.” Matthew 25:40 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Grace often shows up in the most unlikely of places.”
Zagorsk Prison is the oldest prison in Russia. Built in 1832, most of the structure is below ground – deep below ground. To get to the cells you have to descend long flights of stone steps. The cells themselves are small, crowded, dark, and damp. It is truly a dungeon in the worst sense. Inmates spend years there without ever seeing the sun.
At one point, shortly after the fall of communism, the government was in shambles and was forced to cut off all funds to the prison, therefore there was no longer any food to feed the prisoners. In desperation the Warden turned to the monks in a local monastery, asking them for help. The monks made it their mission to provide daily food for the prisoners out of their own meager rations. In turn, the Warden allowed the monks to construct a chapel in the prison and to hold weekly worship services. Soon there was a robust church thriving in that place. It was grace in a dungeon.
As I write this I’m in Carrefour, Haiti. It’s a coastal town approximately thirty miles northwest of the capital city of Port-Au-Prince. I’m here on a short trip to meet with some new ministry partners, do a little fact-finding, and make plans for future mission trips.
Haiti is a country with a long history of exploitation by foreign powers, rampant corruption by their own leaders, and a seemingly never ending cycle of natural disasters. There is a small wealthy ruling class, but the majority of the population lives in abject poverty.
In the middle of the poverty and despair is Grace International Ministries – a ministry formed by Haitians to minister to Haitians. With over 260 churches across the island, along with a hospital, three orphanages, a widow’s home, numerous Christian schools, and multiple training sites to teach trade skills to young people, Grace International brings the love, mercy and compassion of Jesus, into a difficult and desperate situation. It kind of reminds me of the story of the monks and Zagorsk prison.
I’m looking forward to bringing medical and dental mission teams to Haiti to work alongside our brothers and sisters from Grace International. It’s a wonderful example of grace in the most unlikely of places.
God’s grace shines most brightly when it shines in dark and unexpected places. That could be a dank Russian prison, or a place like Haiti. But it could just as easily be your workplace on a bad day, or in a hospital room, or perhaps even in your own home. I encourage you to intentionally be a conduit for the grace of God to flow in unexpected ways and in unexpected places.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 