BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

------------------------------------------- APRIL Read Through the Bible Old Testament / New Testament Tue 1 Deut. 34; Josh. 1 / Acts 15 Wed 2 Josh. 2-4 / Acts 16-17 Thu 3 Josh. 5-6 / Acts 18 Fri 4 Josh. 7-8 / Acts 19 Sat 5 Josh. 9-10 / Acts 20 Sun 6 Josh. 11-12 / Acts 21 Mon 7 Josh. 13-14 / Acts 22 Tue 8 Josh. 15 / Acts 23 Wed 9 Josh. 16-18 / Acts 24-25 Thu 10 Josh. 19-20 / Acts 26 Fri 11 Josh. 21-22 / Acts 27 Sat 12 Josh. 23-24 / Acts 28 Sun 13 Jdgs. 1-2 / Rom. 1 Mon 14 Jdgs. 3-4 / Rom. 2 Tue 15 Jdgs. 5-6 / Rom. 3 Wed 16 Jdgs. 7-9 / Rom. 4-5 Thu 17 Jdgs. 10-11 / Rom. 6 Fri 18 Jdgs. 12-13 / Rom. 7 Sat 19 Jdgs. 14-15 / Rom. 8 Sun 20 Jdgs. 16-17 / Rom. 9 Mon 21 Jdgs. 18-19 / Rom. 10 Tue 22 Jdgs. 20-21 / Rom. 11 Wed 23 Ruth 1-3 / Rom. 12-13 Thu 24 Ruth 4; 1 Sam. 1 / Rom. 14 Fri 25 1 Sam. 2-3 / Rom. 15 Sat 26 1 Sam. 4-5 / Rom. 16 Sun 27 1 Sam. 6-7 / 1 Cor. 1 Mon 28 1 Sam. 8-9 / 1 Cor. 2 Tue 29 1 Sam. 10-11 / 1 Cor. 3 Wed 30 1 Sam. 12-14 / 1 Cor. 4-5 “Read Through the Bible in a Year Plan” written by Marilyn Hickey, and used by permission. ---------------------------------------- “One day the chaplain opened the food slot into my cell and said, ‘Jesus loves you!’ I screamed, ‘Get away from me!’ Before he left, he dropped a Bible through the slot. I was furious and had no intention of reading it, but after two weeks I was so bored I picked up the Bible and started reading the New Testament. “I grew up on the streets of New York City, one of six kids whose dad walked out on us,” Jon explained. “Our mother was strong, but she wasn’t able to keep us out of gangs and off the streets. In the summer we visited our grandmother, Madea, in Mississippi. Reading the New Testament brought back memories of going to church with her and hearing stories about blind Bartimaeus, the woman at the well and the woman with the issue of blood. “After a couple of weeks the chaplain opened the food slot again and said, ‘Jesus loves you.’ This time he dropped another book through the slot. It was 'Pursuit of His Presence' by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. I turned to that day’s date and read the message. It was as though it had been written just for me. “As I read that book and the Bible, the strangest thing happened. The anger which had been my constant companion for so many years dissolved. Alone in a prison cell, I was aware that Jesus was with me. Through his book, Brother Copeland was with me as well.” The Power of Forgiveness One morning another inmate was getting discharged. Passing by Jon’s cell, he said, “Hey, I can’t take this with me. Can I give it to you, Ponder?” He passed a little transistor radio with one ear bud through the slot. Lying on his bunk, Jon tried to find a station but the radio could only pick up one signal: KSOS 90.5—a Christian station. Jon Ponder didn’t need anyone to tell him how bad he was. That was old news. He’d started drinking, using drugs and stealing at the tender age of 12. Detectives had come to his high school and arrested him for armed robbery. He had children he didn’t really know. He was a functioning addict and a career criminal. Jon knew he was a sinner. No surprise there. What came as a shock were the stories the radio DJ told about God’s forgiveness. They broke him until he fell on the floor weeping. God could forgive…him? God would forgive him? He crawled into his bunk and fell asleep while listening to the radio. When he awoke at 2 a.m., Billy Graham was preaching on the prodigal son. Jon heard Graham say, “Jesus wants to be the Lord of your life.” At that, Jon stood up and prayed the sinner’s prayer, accepting Jesus as his Savior. There in solitary confinement, he became a new creature in Christ. The seeds that Madea had planted more than 40 years earlier were finally taking root. During the long months in solitary confinement, Jon fed constantly on the Word of God. When the time came for sentencing, the U.S. marshals took him in shackles to the courthouse. Waiting in a stainless steel cell, Jon fell on the floor and prayed. “God, I know You’re real,” he said. “I’ve experienced You in my cell. I want You to know that from this day forward I will spend every waking moment serving You. And I’ll serve every day of the time I’m sentenced to serve. All I ask is that You climb into the robe of that judge and let my sentence come from You.” 12 : BVOV : APRIL '14

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