1 of 1

Key Bible Verse: "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him" (Luke 15:20).
Bonus Reading:Luke 15:11-32

As soon as I was released from prison, Ruth Graham called the Salvation Army halfway house where I was and asked permission for me to go to church with her that Sunday morning. When I got there, the pastor welcomed me and sat me with the Graham clan—two whole rows of them. I'd only been out of prison 48 hours. The organ began playing and Ruth walked down the aisle and sat next to inmate 07407-058, telling the world that I was her friend.

Afterwards, she had me up to their cabin for dinner. When she asked me for some addresses, I pulled this envelope out of my pocket to look for them. In prison you're not allowed to have a wallet, so you just carry an envelope. She asked, "Don't you have a wallet?" And I said, "Well, yeah, this is my wallet." After five years of brainwashing in prison you think an envelope is a wallet. She walked into the other room, came back, and said, "Here's one of Billy's wallets. He doesn't need it. You can have it."

The Grahams sponsored me, paid for a house for me to live in, and gave me a car to drive.

—Jim Bakker in Christianity Today

What does it cost to reach out to someone my friends avoid?

When we put ourselves in the other person's place, we're less likely to want to put him in his place.

—Farmer's Digest

Adapted from: Christianity Today (12/7/98)

 1 of 1

Prayer for the Week

Father, help me to reflect Your deep compassion to the needy people I encounter.

				Try an Issue of Men of Integrity Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Men of Integrity as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter    RSS Feed   RSS Help