Saturday, January 25, 2020
Because the men who come to the Bible study I lead come from various units, we’re forced to meet in an open pavilion in the recreation yard. We’re forbidden to hold a Bible study anywhere else indoors, other than an individual cell. Not the gym, the library, the classrooms in the education department, the cafeteria, nor the chapel. I toyed and discussed with the men back in early November whether or not to continue into the winter, and the consensus was that as long as it was above 40 degrees, we’d continue to meet. So far, we’ve met every Saturday except one in December when I had a visit. Last week we actually got fairly wet with the winds driving the cold rains under the pavilion. Only three of us showed up, but it was a blessed time regardless of the nasty weather.
Well, today was even colder! It was still quite blustery, but thank the Lord, no snow or rain. I don’t know what the temperature was, but the forecast was for a high temperature of 40 degrees. I figured nobody would show up. But to my amazement, four did, besides me. Three of these are very new believers. We studied Matthew 16:24-28, which I wrote about several weeks ago.
The amazing thing was to me how much these men seem to appreciate and glean from this study, and that is such an encouragement to me. One main point of discussion was what it means to deny one’s self. And at the end, as it got colder and colder, and windier, and I was shivering, I said, “You know, coming here for this study today is a form of denying yourself, too!” How true that is! I just praise God I can help speak into these men’s lives as they speak into mine!