“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (New International Version 1984, 1 John 1:7).
Christmas is all about light. The glory of the Lord. The revelatory light. His star in the east. Christmas lights (trees, house and drive-thru displays). Christmas candles. The star on top of the Christmas tree.
And yet as we enter this Christmas season there is darkness all around. I will not go into too much detail because I do not want to focus on the negative. You are well aware of the darkness you, our country and our world has been through in 2020.
The challenge is to walk in the Light. Christmas is the perfect reminder that light overcomes darkness. It was a dark world that our Savior was born into. It was for our dark sin that He became Immanuel, God with us.
This Christmas season I want to remind you to walk in the Light. Embrace the Light through putting fresh effort into your daily devotions. Share the Light by including the story of the incarnation in your Christmas cards, gifts and family gatherings.
In dark times the Light shines even brighter to give sight, warmth, comfort, revelation and direction.
2020 has been a year where our chaplains and volunteers have been limited in their access to those incarcerated across our state. In spite of this God has worked through our faithful donors to provide enough support for our ministry to continue paying the salaries and stipends of our staff and site chaplains. In another way of saying that the light has overcome the darkness, our income has topped our expenses!
Thank you for being a part of the OJPM family during this past year. Some of you were recipients of our ministry. Some of you were physical participants of our ministry. Some of you were spiritual participants of our ministry. Some of you were financial participants of our ministry. Some of you were all of the above. To each of you, thank you!
Your participation in our OJPM family is another way of walking in the Light.
Unleashing the Light,
Tim Gentry
Executive Chaplain