The Salvation Army Does Prisoner Rehabilitation

 
Through cooperative arrangements with prison, probation, and parole officials throughout the country, The Salvation Army plays a growing role in prison rehabilitation and crime prevention. In some jurisdictions, prisoners are paroled to the direct custody of The Salvation Army. Services include Bible correspondence courses, prerelease job-training programs, employment opportunities in cooperation with parole personnel, material aid, and spiritual guidance to both prisoners and their families.

Community-based rehabilitation centers are the trend in the field of corrections. Many Salvation Army rehabilitation centers and Harbor Light Centers have served as designated halfway houses where former prisoners can participate in work-release programs. Those convicted of minor offenses often are given the opportunity to aacept placement in community service programs at corps community centers and institutions as an alternative to incarceration, or in the last months of their sentences.

In addition, Salvation Army officers and volunteers lead worship services in jails and prisons. A national Salvation Army Correctional Services Sunday is observed. Counseling and emergency assistance also are available to crime victims.

Find our more here;

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf/vw-local/Home

Friendship; the Secret of the Universe

Any serious study of friendship must begin by recognizing that a standard definition o friendship does not exist! In Simple Words, the distinguished Jewish scholar Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz examine the meaning of a host of common terms – such as nature, good, faith and death – to reveal wisdom about how humans see themselves. Sandwiched between chapters on masks and family, he probes the meaning of the word friends. Steinsaltz writes: “The term ‘friendship’ does not have an exact, universal meaning. Its precise definition may be, like pornography, a matter of geography, and indeed, its meaning varies from country to country and from culture to culture.”

We may not agree on a universal definition, yet friendship captures the hearts of all who dare to imagine that we can transcend loneliness and solitude. Henry David Thoreau wrote: “No word is oftener on the lips of men than Friendship, and indeed no thought is more familiar to their aspirations. All men are dreaming of it, and its drama, which is always a tragedy, is enacted daily. It is the secret of the universe.”

This is an extract from: Making Friends, Making Disciples by Lee B. Spitzer.

http://www.abcnj.net/about-us/dr-lee-b-spitzer

Pray for Pakistan and India

I have a friend who is traveling to India this month. That part of the world is very troubled with religious conflict. Please pray for the Christians in that region who are fearful of attacks from their neighbors.

Here is a story about the murder of a Pakistani Governor who fought for the release of an innocent woman imprisoned for her faith in Jesus.

The governor of Pakistan's Punjab province was assassinated Tuesday by his bodyguard.

Salman Taseer was one of the most vocal advocates for Asia Bibi, a Christian mother sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy, and an opponent of the country's blasphemy laws.

He was shot dead while walking through an Islamabad market by a bodyguard who opposed the governor's position.

http://in.christiantoday.com/articles/pakistan-mourns-slain-governor-who-backed-christian/5922.htm

Comfort for The Suffering

Every true Christian will suffer trials of various sorts. God uses trials in our lives to accomplish many valuable things that have ETERNAL ramifications for us, but among other passages from the Bible, we know from 1 Peter 1:3-7: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Samaritans Purse

 
The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) gives a clear picture of God's desire for us to help those in desperate need wherever we find them. After describing how the Samaritan rescued a hurting man whom others had passed by, Jesus told His hearers, "Go and do likewise."

For over 40 years, Samaritan's Purse has done our utmost to follow Christ's command by going to the aid of the world's poor, sick, and suffering. We are an effective means of reaching hurting people in countries around the world with food, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ. This, in turn, earns us a hearing for the Gospel, the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Our emergency relief programs provide desperately needed assistance to victims of natural disaster, war, disease, and famine. As we offer food, water, and temporary shelter, we meet critical needs and give people a chance to rebuild their lives.

Our community development and vocational programs in impoverished villages and neighborhoods help people break the cycle of poverty and give them hope for a better tomorrow.

We impact the lives of vulnerable children through educational, feeding, clothing, and shelter programs that let them know they are not forgotten.

We provide first-class treatment in the Name of the Great Physician through our medical projects, as well as supplying mission hospitals with much needed equipment and supplies.

As our teams work in crisis areas of the world, people often ask, "Why did you come?" The answer is always the same: "We have come to help you in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ." Our ministry is all about Jesus—first, last, and always. As the Apostle Paul said, "For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5, NIV).

For More Information;

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php