In his own words, Larry Heikkila, Cleveland County site chaplain

We had another wonderful month at the Cleveland County Detention Center (CCDD).

Four inmates came to Christ and eight repented and chose to recommit their lives to Christ this month.  The Lord is graciously using us to do His will for these inmates.  God provided the inmates.  He provided the words we use to introduce them to Christ, and He provided the hope that the inmates receive through us.  He also provides the eternal life that we and our new Christian brothers and sisters will all enjoy one day. 

Our purpose is to be His plowmen and till His fields for planting; and the eventual harvest.  He tells us this in 1 Corinthians 9:10(b), “… Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops.”  And the wonderful gift that He gives us is the hope that He gives us when we labor for Him. 

I pray that you plow and thresh in hope and I pray that His hope is your energy to prepare and harvest His fields.

I thank the Lord for all that our volunteer chaplains do at CCDC and their other missions.

https://www.ojpm.org/877282-2/

I spent a week last spring enjoying preaching every night at Victory Baptist Temple, my home church in Midwest City.  How greatly God has dealt in my life, learning each night how removed from being a “Beatitude Christian” that I think/thought, to realizing how easily, how forcefully sin creeps back in. 

I don’t have the same type of sins in my life that most of the women we deal with do, but I am in the flesh.  I ask God to guide, direct, perform, help in situations I am in every day, in situations friends are in.  And then, there is sheer self and stupidity.  My mind begins to work “how I can” take care of . . . whatever it was I just committed to God and asked Him to take care of.

I am seeing myself like a child who wants to work with Mom in the kitchen fixing a meal.  Mom carefully and skillfully uses a sharp knife to cut bread for the table, and a child says “Mommie, I want to help.”  Mom gives the child a handful of napkins and asks her to put the napkins carefully at each place.

The child frowns and responds “No!  I want to really help.  I want to cut the bread!”  This child, who is sincere in heart but so blind to the power and danger of the knife only sees the beauty of the bread once it is cut.  How much out of help she becomes as she insists that she be allowed to do what she is not prepared to handle.

Oh Lord, change my heart and life.  When I ask you to take control, stop me from interfering. I behave entirely out of line . . . although I truly want to “do my part.”  I would not have asked You to take control, if it was something that you had already outfitted me to do.

I am so thankful for these lessons.  I have also had the privilege to peek into another corner of the jail ministry.  The preacher (for our revival services) has a young man who he attends church with who is an officer at the jail.  The preacher described him as a very tall, large man, rather quiet, and I believe I have met him in the elevator more than once. 

The preacher does not know that Miss Peggy and I are part of OJPM, and is very excited about this young man’s presence in the jail, relaying a testimony from the young man how he had just seen his job, as most do, of working with these miserable people who are so vile and ugly in spirit. 

Then God moved that young man’s heart to see what God has him there to love the souls of these people.  Oh, how blessed to be a part of this.  My presence is so small, but last night the preacher talked about the city on a hill and a candle not being hidden.

I am so thankful to be a little light in the darkness.  I am so thankful to be a contributor, a participant, of that great glow.

Thank you OJPM, every participant, every contributor, for you are a part of my life.  You make it possible for me to sit as that single little light, and to be a part of that great glow.  But, without Him, we can do nothing.

The Lord Jesus definitely is worthy of our praise and glory.  He started me on a path 17 years ago by bringing me to Journey Church. 

There I started my journey to becoming a chaplain, attending many Bible studies and leading Bible studies to mold me for what he had planned for me.  In the fall of 2016, I was approached by Cindy Ashlock in our prayer room.  Her words were, “Marvin, I think you would make a great chaplain.”  She said, “You need to go talk to Bill Farley.”

I had been praying for some time for the Lord to open new doors for me to serve Him.  Day in and day out seeing the Holy Spirit work in these men’s hearts and changing them is amazing.  Each time it is my day to go, I start my prayer the night before for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to do their will.  I also pray for the Lord to let me be the shepherd of that one lost sheep that is lost and needs to find his way back.  Then the day of I pray on the way to the Cleveland County jail.

This is why God has us to plant His seeds for Him.  I was leaving the jail one Friday after teaching a class.  This young man walked up to me and started hugging me.  He called me by my name and thanked me for changing his life.  He thanked me for the Bible I gave him and my words of encouragement.  He said he was doing great and was at the jail talking to one of the supervisors about getting his cousin into rehab.  I did not even remember him, but the Holy Spirit had changed his life.

My personal thought is that if you are not willing to serve the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit then you better recheck your heart.  These men and women and God know if you are there for you or for the Holy Spirit to guide you to change them, one life at a time.

To the Lord Jesus be all the

Glory!