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    Jesus In Prison
    Jesus In Prison
    Jesus In Prison
    Ebook121 pages1 hour

    Jesus In Prison

    By Thomas Trock

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Jesus in Prison is a book of gripping, true stories of the power of God in a place most of us seldom venture. Enter through the razor wire and concrete walls of prison to experience the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ meeting head-on with the forces of evil. Be challenged and encouraged by remarkable instances of healing and deliverance from addictions, despair, rage, suicidal thoughts, the occult and more.

    Events covered are both compelling and challenging regardless of your background or walk in life. The topics embrace issues facing not only prisoners inside of institutions, but real-life, shake-you-to-the-core matters that can affect each of us or someone we know. The power of the gospel of Jesus Christ demonstrated by these events makes for compelling reading and, more importantly, illustrates that Jesus Christ truly is the answer to our deepest needs.

    Read first-hand accounts of how the power of the Word of God disarms evil and brings light in the midst of suffocating darkness, hope in the heart of despair, and even prayers for victims by the inmates themselves. Be encouraged to know that Jesus Christ is still the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that no one is beyond the power of His love to transform lives into new creations. Jesus said if anyone comes to Him, He would never turn him or her aside. You have His Word on it.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThomas Trock
    Release dateJun 1, 2015
    ISBN9781311576163
    Jesus In Prison
    Author

    Thomas Trock

    Thomas Trock is a career biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service who brings a unique perspective to the outdoors. He enjoys hiking “where no man has gone before,” armed with a backpack, fly rod, and one of the goofiest dogs on the planet. When not captivated in the solitude of the mountains, he likes to visit nursing homes with Star the Wonderdog and serenade the residents with his acoustic guitar.Thomas has lived in Africa, and he and his beloved wife have worked with some remarkable people in several third-world countries. He describes himself as a simple man who has found a remarkable Truth.Some of his favorite movies are The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry, The Chronicles of Narnia series, and Babe.Theodor Geisel is a favorite author, as Thomas claims Dr. Seuss is one of the few writers he can understand. Usually. Well – sometimes anyway.

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      Book preview

      Jesus In Prison - Thomas Trock

      Jesus

      In Prison

      Thomas Trock

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright © 2011 by Thomas Trock

      Graphic Design by Eric Walljasper

      All Scriptures are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted. New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible, (AMP) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission (www.Lockman.org)

      Scripture quotations taken from the New International Version (NIV®) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

      Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission (www.Lockman.org)

      Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Table of Contents

      Dedication

      Foreword

      Preface

      Chapter One - Counterfeit Armor

      Chapter Two - Twenty-One Years

      Chapter Three - The Letter

      Chapter Four - Inside Out

      Chapter Five - The Blood of the Lamb

      Chapter Six - After-Christmas Gift

      Chapter Seven - The Name Above Every Name

      Chapter Eight - The Power of Forgiveness

      Chapter Nine - The Broken and the Brokenhearted

      Chapter Ten - Our Only Hope

      Time

      About Thomas Trock

      Connect with Thomas Trock

      Dedication

      To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

      And to Jenny: God’s precious gift to me.

      A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman—who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls

      (Proverbs 31:10 AMP).

      Return to Table of Contents

      Foreword

      My name is Dr. Sammy Simpson and I am Co-founder and CEO of Global Outreach International. Since 1964, I’ve worked with numerous full-time Christian missionaries in nearly forty countries around the world. Although diverse in background and experiences, these missionaries share a common desire to share the saving and healing power of Jesus Christ with a lost and hurting world.

      I have known Thomas Trock since 1992 and his wife Jenny since the mid-1970s. Over the years, they have been on mission trips together and worked with Global Outreach missionaries in Belize, Costa Rica, Haiti, and Kenya, East Africa. Thomas is not a pastor or a member of the clergy. He and Jenny are regular people whose desire is simply to tell others of Jesus.

      Jesus in Prison is a book of gripping, true stories of the power of God in a place most of us seldom venture. I believe you will find these stories both compelling and challenging regardless of your background or walk in life. The chapters you are about to read embrace issues facing not only prisoners inside of institutions, but real-life, shake-you-to-the-core issues that can affect each of us or someone we know. The power of the gospel of Jesus Christ demonstrated by these events makes for compelling reading and, more importantly, illustrates that Jesus Christ truly is the answer to our deepest needs.

      Dr. Sammy Simpson, CEO

      Global Outreach International

      Tupelo, Mississippi

      Return to Table of Contents

      Preface

      Often when I tell people about some of the things God is doing inside the prison, they stare at me and their eyes grow wide. Sometimes they interrupt me with No kidding? or That’s amazing! But perhaps the reaction I most often receive is You need to tell people about this. You really do. This book is my humble attempt to do just that.

      Many years ago when I first began going into prison to help with Bible studies, a very self-assured inmate involved in the occult confronted me. Out of the four volunteers present that night, I happened to be the one leading the study. As I stood in front of the group of inmates, this man made a false statement concerning Jesus. Even though I really knew little about the Bible at the time, and even less about where I could find a particular Scripture, I directly refuted what the man said by using the Word of God, the Bible. This inmate made another false statement about Jesus, and again I refuted what he said by directly quoting from the Bible. I truly didn’t know where these Scriptures were located, but they were hitting the target each time, and it was obvious to me that the Holy Spirit was giving me insight far beyond my own.

      This exchange went on for an uncomfortably long time since I was aware that many of the other inmates were carefully analyzing everything we said. The last thing I wanted to do was make a false statement about Jesus or water down the gospel in any way. That night, by His grace, God gave me all His words needed to turn back the assault on His Son.

      I learned a tremendous lesson that evening. I had recently asked God to forgive me for the time I had wasted over the years. That night I realized that the inmates could and would make statements or ask questions that would have never occurred to me. I understood that God was giving me an opportunity to make up for lost time in a hurry, and that if I was going to be effective for Him, I had better start learning His word.

      This book is about real life stories of God’s love, power, and triumphs—in spite of my own inadequacies—inside the walls of prison. I have changed minor details and the names of inmates to protect people and institutions from adversity.

      I wish to thank many of the correctional officers whose tolerance over the years has allowed me to present the gospel of Jesus Christ under some trying circumstances. Thank you, DJ, JC, LJ, and EN, my friends and fellow volunteers, who have shown extraordinary patience toward me and my off-the-wall ways. In addition, I extend special thanks to my wife, Jenny, who spent countless hours proofing and editing my writing as I recorded these events.

      Return to Table of Contents

      —1—

      Counterfeit Armor

      That guy over there needs to talk to you, Jim whispered to me as he entered the visiting area with the rest of the inmates from maximum security. Jim, who had formerly been a high priest in the satanic church, subtly raised his tattooed arm and gestured across the room. I followed his gaze to see a muscular young man whose eyes darted around the room as he bounced lightly from one foot to the other. He needs to talk to you in private, Jim said quietly so as not to draw attention to our conversation.

      I’d known Jim for a long time, and his renunciation of Satan and embrace of Christ had always seemed genuine. His questions and insight into Scripture over the years were truly encouraging. Now he’d abruptly stopped me as I was greeting the arriving inmates. As I studied Jim carefully for a moment, he nodded and looked me straight in the eye to reassure me of his sincerity. Meanwhile the noise from the other inmates’ conversations grew louder in the concrete-block visiting room.

      Are you sure, Jim? I asked hesitantly.

      Jim nodded again. I’m glad you’re here. You’re the one he needs to talk to. Been praying about it and I’m sure of it. Then he quickly turned and walked away.

      A moment later, another inmate came up and whispered that the new guy needed to talk to me tonight.

      Ah nuts, I thought. I hope this isn’t a con. Knowing Jim, I doubted if it was. However, I’d been teaching a lot lately, and if I’d been scheduled to teach this night, I could have passed this whole thing off to someone else. Since DJ was teaching tonight, all I needed to do was just add any insight that I could. This was supposed to be my night off. Nuts.

      I turned and studied the newcomer for a moment. In the past, I’d found that some of these one-on-one discussions with inmates did not turn out so well. Sometimes the inmate was so deep into a cult that there was no reasoning with him. Some inmates so hardened their hearts to the Word of God that all they wanted to do was twist it or argue against it. Other times conversations would turn into a detailed recital of an inmate’s past crimes, no matter how atrocious. Although I never solicited this—ever—some inmates felt the need to unload their guilt nonetheless. By the grace of

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