Who is your friend? (2002-11-03)

Last night, we talked about friendship and how valuable it is. You cannot use money to buy friendship. Friendship is priceless.

a man who has been in and out of prison for most of his life said that he has many friends. When probed further, he said, "You only have friendship Only when two persons can use each other." My heart sank, but I picked up my voice again and ask, "Do you have any true friends?"  After thinking a second, he said no, and that answer resonates among most of the men I talked to last night. They are not just isolated physically, but emotionally and spiritually. They have no one to go to, someone whom they can trust. A long the same line, I wonder if they have someone who really trust them.

Oh, how I pray that they can find friendship in Jesus, the most precious friend of all. Jesus said, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)
 
It often blows my mind to think about how the creator of the universe can be my friend who is always ready to listen, to advise and to comfort. My peanut brain does not understand, and I'd like to just say "thanks".

Other things to pray for:
- There are a few women whom we would like to outreach, but they are not too open to us men.
- The profile of the inmates whom we are serving nowadays are changing - more criminal cases and less immigration cases. Pray that God would strengthen and prepare us for these changes.
- Security in FDC is quite tight these days. Pray that the Christmas caroling plan is not negatively impacted.
- Pray for Pastor Li's leg recovery. He has not been able to bring the sports team into FDC.

Peter