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We’ve also been on the road a lot – travelling around the UK as well as into Europe for conferences and events. It is always a privilege to be a part of what the Father is doing in the world, and it is our on-going desire to see his presence bringing healing and restoration. This May I had to fly to the USA to speak at various churches. During that time I attended a conference simply to receive. Having been giving out a lot, I was very keen to encounter the Father’s love in a fresh way. I was mindful of the saying, ‘if your output exceeds your input, then your upkeep will be your downfall’. What was very interesting to me was this: that I really didn’t experience anything during the conference at all. Don’t get me wrong - the music was amazing and the preaching was outstanding - but at no point did I have my heart ‘seized by the power of a great affection’, to use Brennan Manning’s phrase. Then the worship leader announced that she and the choir were going to go to a local prison the next day to bless the prisoners. Something leapt within me and I just knew I was supposed to be there. So I asked her if I could come too. She said yes, adding that she wanted me to speak.
The next day I was driven to a juvenile detention centre just outside the city. As I walked through the entrance, I began to feel an overwhelming sense of compassion for the young people there. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that I spent most of the next three hours either in tears or on the edge of tears. Over 70 prisoners came voluntarily to the meeting where I shared about the running father from Luke 15.11. They listened very respectfully and at the end over 20 of them made a commitment to Jesus. After that we went round the room hugging those who wanted a hug and praying for them.
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In the future we at FHT are going to seek to reach out to prisoners, and we are planning carefully exactly when and how we do that. I have a strong hunch that many of us who have experienced the Father’s love in receiving mode at conferences are going to have our hearts seized by the power of a great affection outside the church – as we minister to orphans, widows, the lonely and prisoners (Psalm 68.5-6). We are going to realize the truth that there is a much greater blessing to be found in giving than in receiving (Acts 20.35).
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