On Bended Knees - Inmate Poetry

On Bended Knees By Paul Chittum 5/7/09

Walking through this life with you "Oh Lord",
Teach me your ways,
More of you and less of me.
My days become lost without you in them,
Walking in the ways of the world

My life is but a tangle web of ins and outs no place to go,
Except, down on bended knees.
Down on bended knees, "Oh Lord" I cry out to you,
Only can you show me the way to go,
Only you

I'm down on bended knees.
"Oh Lord" hear my plea,
I'm down on bended knees.

Only you are righteous to hear the cries of the lost,
When they are down on bended knees,
So faithful are you "Oh God",
To hear the broken and contrite spirit,
Lord you are the only one,
Who answers the cries of those down on bended knees.

The peace you gave me Lord while I was down on bended knees,
Filled my spirit with the comfort only you can give to the lost and broken hearted.
I cried out to you "Oh Lord",
Down on bended knees.

You lifted me up and drove the pain away,
My heart, you filled with love,
While I was down on bended knees.
Down on bended knees "Oh Lord",
I will come to you,
Down on bended knees.

CLI: A Ministry of Reconciliation

(Kathleen passing out a Thai tract to a weightlifter in Lumphini Park in Bangkok)

By Kathleen Skaar, Executive Director at CLI

We are therefore Christ’s Ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20

God is making His appeal to prison inmates through Christian Library International. We are a ministry of reconciliation. He makes His appeal through books, tracts and Bibles that contain the good news about Jesus Christ. God also calls inmates to trust His Son through our volunteers who write letters and administer our free Bible correspondence study.

Through CLI we are Christ’s representatives on earth and implore the imprisoned to be reconciled to God. However, it is not only the imprisoned that need to be reconciled to God, but the whole world. Perhaps this Christmas season we might consider how well we have done our jobs as heavenly representatives. Being Christ’s Ambassadors is not part-time work or a job for a particular ministry. It is a lifestyle, a way of life.

How have I implored others on Christ’s behalf to be reconciled to God? How have you? In many cases I have failed to bring up spiritual conversations, or taken the time to get to know someone, or to minister to a person’s need. However, some of the time I have succeeded through the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

For example, we are in Bangkok, Thailand for the birth of our fourth grandchild, a beautiful baby girl. We are blessed to be with our family at this special time. But Bangkok is a large city with idols set up on every street corner. One per cent of the population is Christian and 99% are not and therefore in jeopardy of dying and going to hell and torment.

I don’t speak the Thai language and although I prayed a ‘faithless’ prayer for the gift of tongues, I can still only speak one language – English. We have gospel tracts in English and many other languages that tell the story of Jesus and how He died for our sins and was raised from the dead. I wondered if there were tracts in the Thai language and prayed for God’s help.

God answered my prayer and provided tracts abundantly through two different sources: a small Christian bookstore and a local Christian church. Each day when we go out I pray and then hand out multiple copies. God’s Word does not return empty and therefore I am confident that He will take this written plea in the Thai’s own language to reconcile many to Himself.

I am also confident that as you consider the seriousness of your ambassadorship this Christmas, that God will provide new and unique ways for you to have a full ministry of reconciliation. If you are not in partnership with CLI, a ministry of reconciliation, please join us. We have millions of inmates that need to be reconciled to God. For those of us who are involved with CLI, I pray that God will continue to provide us with the grace we need to be 24/7 Ambassadors.

Jesus, saving one life at a time

Justin, an inmate in Raleigh, gave CLI this thoughtful Christmas card and a ringing endorsement: "I am blessed; God put me in your path. I love you. I believe you saved my life."