I have recently been listening to messages on the names of God from one of our Prison to Purpose board members, Tom Brandon. They have totally impacted me and been used to encourage me in places where I have been discouraged. As a result of some circumstances in my own life, I have found them to breathe life within me in a very special way. As you all know, when God is doing something in me, I have to share it with those in prison! Therefore, I taught on El Roi (The God Who Sees) and added some of my own personal life messages in the presentation. Dr. Tom Brandon used six confessions in his message of El Roi, which are:

• God sees.
• God sees me.
• God sees inside me.
• God sees around me.
• God sees beyond me.
• God sees me through the eyes of Jesus.

I have always loved to worship God through His names. While in prison, I would take one of His names each month and would ask God to create circumstances in my life that I may come to know Him more in that name. I challenged the ladies in the PAL barracks to do the same. This morning I was so encouraged by a young lady, Tangela, who handed me the below testimony:

The God Who Sees

I have truly been blessed by this name of God. After the class that Stacey taught, I began to pray that God would reveal Himself to me in situations and circumstances where I could clearly see His character.

The first thing that happened took place while fulfilling my responsibility in a program that I am in half-day where I have to scribe notes at my desk. The clock is behind me on the wall, and everything I scribe must have a time beside it. I was constantly having to look behind me. I saw a young lady across the room who was wearing a watch and I thought to myself, “I’ll ask her if I can use her watch.” Then I thought, “No, I don’t know her well enough to do that.” It wasn’t a few minutes later that she walked by, and without saying a word, set the watch on the desk – The God Who Sees Inside Me!!

Secondly, our class had been working on the character quality of orderliness, and the Lord was really bothering me all day Friday about cleaning my trunk out and getting it in order. Finally, Friday night after class I said, “Okay, Lord, I will clean it.” I got everything neat and in order only to be awakened early the next morning by the guard wanting to search my trunk. Because it was neat and in order, he barely looked in it. God knew that guard was going to search my trunk and wanted to make it easier for me – The God Who Sees Beyond Me!!

On two different occasions I lost something and prayed the name of El Roi back to Him. Both times those things mysteriously showed up later – The God Who Sees Hidden Things!!

Lastly, I needed someone to switch schedules with me, and out of the blue someone approached me and said, “Hey, would you like to switch schedules?” – The God Who Sees My Dilemmas!!!

I am so blessed by this name of God. These things might seem small to someone else, but they are HUGE to me. I NOW KNOW THE GOD WHO SEES ME!!!

- Tangela

I am so thankful for Dr. Tom Brandon’s study of the names of God and for his obedience to present them in this powerful way. It is my desire that each one of you will take the challenge like I did years ago, and like Tangela did this week, and ask God to make one of His names personal to you through your circumstances this week!

It has been a privilege to be a frequent visitor of the PAL program and to become friends with many McPherson inmates. Before visiting prison, I had a prideful, pharisaical view of those in penal institutions. The Lord began to break that pride on my first visit to prison as I heard 56 women singing a verse from James 4:10, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” Their humility convicted me to the core and made me view my sin of pride for what it really was. Their lives depict the depths of God’s grace–even in the midst of failures. Because of their example, I have realized that God does not waste my problems or failures, but rather, He uses them to humble me and to make me usable for Him! The women in the PAL program give me hope and continually remind me that “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it…” (Philippians 1:6).

The training given through Prison to Purpose has helped me to identify with the life of Christ living within me. Because I am a child of God, nothing in life has to be done without His guidance and wisdom; nothing goes without His notice; nothing is too difficult for Him to overcome. Temptations and trials have become opportunities for me to interact with the Lord on a new level knowing that He is involved in every situation that I face. This is the mystery which Colossians 1:27 so beautifully speaks, “Christ in you, the hope of glory. ” In the midst of my failures and the trials, the reality of Christ in me gives me stability in this ever-changing life.

Now all of that may sound like my life has become easy and perfect–that is far from the truth! Each day has held new problems, temptations and failures. Each day has given me a choice to do things my way or God’s way. I am amazed how many times my heart has reared its “desperately wicked” head and I have followed it. “But God, who is rich in mercy” has been faithful to pick me up and plant my feet on that solid rock of Christ Jesus. And that’s what this ministry is all about–bringing others to confidence in Jesus Christ as the “completer” of our faith.

I challenge each of you to not view P2P as a program, conference, support group or an event. P2P is a lifestyle–a lifestyle of taking God’s Word and integrating that Word into every fiber of our being. Trusting in Jesus Christ alone as the payment for our sins and accepting His righteousness changes our eternal destiny. Then applying the Word of God to our lives changes our mentality. May we all treasure these precious gifts of God’s salvation and God’s Word as we seek the Lord in the coming year!

Did you know that you are the first victim of your heart?

I continue to be amazed at how we can think we are doing God’s ways when so many times we are just working in harmony with our own desires. Eve proved to us that our desires will lead us in walking with the enemy and not walking with God.

It is the job of our flesh to get us to focus on everything outside of us instead of what is going on inside of us. Our heart needs constant supervision. II Corinthians 10:4-5 tells to take every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. According to Hebrews 4:12, the Word of God is sharp enough to pierce into the heart and discern its thoughts and intents. Therefore, the reasoning that is produced by the conceived Word of God stands as a guard in our heart against reasoning that would cause us to be led contrary to God’s will. The engrafted Word of God is the only tool that God has provided for us to bring us to a full awareness of what is going on in our heart in every circumstance or situation we experience. Jesus is our greatest example in defeating the enemy and that was through, “It is written.”

More and more I realize that my heart is “desperately wicked and deceitful above all things, who can know it?” I do not really know my heart! It is when situations and circumstances rise up that I am able to sense God’s power and strength and battle it in the same way Christ would – “IT IS WRITTEN!”

My challenge to you is this:

Determine to keep your heart under constant supervision through the leadership of God’s Word that is hidden in your heart. It is the only guard that you need in order to wage war against that which has caused you to become a victim of wrong choices through faulty reasoning.