Dear Readers,
Joy, love and blessings to you, my beautiful brothers and sisters. May the peace of Jesus Christ fill and surround you and may His grace be ever upon you. Amen! Let me start by giving you an update on my dearly beloved pastor, friend and brother, Tom Shuford. As many of you know, Tom went for surgery on 12/30/15 to put a dialysis port into his abdomen. Tom is suffering from kidney failure and a host of other ailments. Tom has defied death [only by the grace of God, of course] for over 30 years now. I am happy to report that once again God has stepped in and spared Tom’s life. Hallelujah! Praise Jesus! The Bible says that “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” – Luke 18:27. The Lord does not lie. Tom is proof of that. He is a living testament to both the power of God and the power of prayer. Make no mistake about it folks, our prayers have helped Tom tremendously and continue to do so. It was the faith of all of us, including Tom, that helped Tom make it through this and live to fight for the Lord another day. Praise God! SHOUT HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU, JESUS! WE BELIEVE IN YOUR POWER, ALMIGHTY GOD! Yes, we do. I thank all of you around the world who have kept our brother in your prayers. GOD BLESS YOU ALL! Tom is not totally out of the woods yet. He faces a lengthy recovery. So, please continue to pray for brother Tom, knowing that those prayers shall be heard.
I have some more excellent news. The warden has agreed to meet with me. I am staying true to my word and pursuing peace. It is by the grace of God that I am meeting with the warden. We will be discussing this site, my future placement and the restoration of visits with my pastor Tom and his wife, Terry. I ask you to pray that the Lord will soften the hearts of the warden as well as the M.D.O.C. I am told that the warden is a believer. I was housed at the Kennebec County Jail for a while, while waiting to go to trial. At that time, the new warden was the sheriff. After seeing the programs he offered the inmates and the way he was able to aide in lowering recidivism rates and also the impeccable way he ran the jail, I became a fan. I look forward to sitting down with him. I truly believe that God brought him to this prison for a reason. I expect great things in the future. Of course, he can only do so much. Ultimately, it is the M.D.O.C. and the legislature that have the final say. It is my great hope that God will show all of them that I come in peace in the name of the Lord. Your prayers are much appreciated. It is not easy to get an audience with the warden. I am truly honored and humbled that he agreed to meet with me, by the grace of God. Once again, prayers have been answered. No matter the outcome of this meeting, I believe that we shall overcome this situation, by the grace of God, in the end. It shall be done by faith and “the power of prayer.” Yes, sir! For I trust and believe that our God is an awesome God. And, I know He is so much bigger than anything this world can throw at us. We shall pray and we shall persist until we persevere in the name of Jesus. All of us must pray with vigor and the utmost faith in our hearts. Do you hear me, brothers and sisters? We must pray for each other whether we are together or alone. We must keep each other in prayer daily. I pray for all of you. I may not know all of your names, but you can be sure that God does and He knows who I am praying for. For sure, He does. By praying for each other, we are serving God’s will. God wants each and every one of us to be a team. He wants us to be united under Him and part of that is praying for one another.
Man, I love how God works. His plan is so perfect when you look at it. I get shivers just thinking about it. Even Jesus has prayed to the Father for us. John 17:9 says “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.” The Lord leads by example. He leads from the front. In the old days, rulers and generals went into battle with their soldiers side by side. And, so it is with the greatest of all leaders, Jesus Christ our Lord. Hallelujah! Praise you, Jesus! Thank you, Lord! Are you with me, folks? Shout, “Amen!” Pray, my brothers and sister. Pray daily and fervently. And, when you can, do it together. “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” – Matthew 18:20. Send me your prayers, brothers and sisters, or email them to this site. We will pray for you and as many as possible will be posted if you would like, so that others can pray for you, too! As I said, I pray for you all daily, but I would love to know what to pray for.
I leave you with this piece of scripture and I want you to really meditate on it – especially verse 8. I love you all very much! May Gd bless and keep you! May your faith be strong! May you pray daily for others and believe in the power of prayer! Amen!
Luke 18:1-8
1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” 6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Love in Christ,
Randall
(A man who believes in the power of prayer!)