Miracles of Grace in the Prisons of Greece As told by a Prison Evangelist
I n the prison of Piraeus I became acquainted with a young man who was being tried for murder. Every time I visited him I tried to bring him to the Lord, but with great bit terness of soul he declared he was an athe ist and that I was just wasting my time talking to him. One day I handed him a New Testament and told him it would do him good to read the First Epistle of John especially verses 7 and 9 of the first chapter. W ith a cynical smile he promised that just to satisfy me he would do it. On my next visit he could hardly wait to tell me what had happened. “ As soon as you left, I went to my cell and read the two verses you had called to my attention. One especially gripped me and I read it over and over: 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ And do you know, I have believed this verse and am sure the blood of Christ has cleansed my sin!” He then continued, “ I was trying by every possible means to escape a murder sentence and to plead innocent, but my con science began to bother me. I killed someone because he owed me money, and now his widow and children are suffering for my sin. In my despair over my plight I contemplated suicide, but as I pondered over these two verses, I knelt down and asked God to for give me. Then I asked to see the director of the prison, and whereas I had before sought to convince him I was innocent, I now con fessed to him my crime and gave him my testimony. Please pray that God will use me greatly in this prison as I witness to my fellow-prisoners. Since the New Testament was the means of my salvation, I am anxious to give New Testaments to the other in mates.” At the prison of Averof one of the men with whom I had been dealing told me he was there as a result of a brawl with a drinking companion in a tavern. The prisoner had struck the other man so violently that he lost one of his eyes. "When I was a young man,” he told me, "I used to sing a song that went, 'The prison bars are for the brave,’ but when I actually found myself in this cell I knew that it was one thing to sing about prison and another thing to be in it. I began to reflect on what had brought me here. My father was a drunkard and a gambler and of course he became my exam ple. As the years went by my evil deeds far surpassed his and now I am behind bars. I am not complaining, you understand. My punishment is just. But now I can see that God had a hand in it all, for it was here in prison that He brought me to myself and then caused me to be spiritually enlightened. Had I remained free I might never have
learned of the Christ who died on Calvary to save me and others who believe on Him. Now, however, I am happy because I have found the Lord as a result of reading His Word and through the testimonies of His faithful servants who have visited me in prison. When my father learned where I was, he came to visit me quite often. But when I told him that I had taken Christ as my Saviour, he cursed me and refused to visit me any more. He has disowned me as his son, but I know that I am a child of the living God. Please pray for my witness in this place and also that the grace of God may bring my father to a saving knowledge of Christ.” An unfortunate young woman in this pris on gives the following testimony: "I come from the island of Syros. There early in life I lost my parents and was obliged to come to Piraeus to work. An employment office placed me as a servant in a hotel patronized by very evil people. About midnight one night, as I was sitting in the hotel office, a drunken sailor and soldier came in. Before I even had time to think, they attacked me. The next day, as a measure of protection and revenge, I secured some strong acid. That night they approached me again, but this time I threw the acid in their faces. As a result, they had to be hospitalized with serious injuries, and I was sentenced to pris on for two years. My heart burned at the injustice done me, for I had only sought to protect myself. I even cursed the hour of my birth. But now I can praise God for this prison, for it was here that I came to know Christ as my Saviour. Someone came and brought me a Bible which I read with great eagerness. It was through the Word of God that my heart was touched by the Lord, and now I cannot wait until the day when I shall be able to leave this place and tell others of His saving grace.” At the prisons of V—■— a great gap has been left, spiritually speaking. John K -------- , who found Christ here and who then headed up the Bible class, has been released, along with other saved and changed prisoners. W ith the departure of the prisoners who knew the Lord, there arose a great need for Bibles for the other prisoners. As soon as I entered the prison, I was met by the secre tary and chief guard, along with a delega tion of other workers and prisoners, asking me to help their Bible class with Bibles and other Christian books, as well as pens, ink and paper on which they could write their testimonies and experiences in Christ. They said to me, "Your contribution in bringing us the Word of God here in prison plays a great role in the rebirth of these prisoners and in the reduction of crimes in society. The prisoners who leave here are entirely
different men. They are spiritually equipped to withstand temptation and they never go back to lives of crime and lawlessness. In stead they become missionaries to their for mer companions in crime and seek to lead them to Christ.” I told them it was a great joy for us to do all we could to help. The next day, my dear wife and I, loaded down with two great suitcases filled with Bibles and other Christian literature, came to the offices of the prison and distributed what we had brought as far as it would go. Everyone was most grateful for these spiritual gifts. W e supplied this prison with 10 Bibles, 30 New Testaments, 200 copies of our monthly evangelistic magazine, "The Voice of the Gospel,” 300 evangelistic booklets, 5 Christian calendars, 40 Daily Meditation books, 10 pens, 10 exercise books, ink and envelopes. The first Bible was offered to a prisoner who had been most receptive to the Gospel. Greatly rejoicing he said, "H ow can I ever thank you for this gift which God gave you to bring to me, a miserable sinner? I am sure this book will cause my spiritual liber ation, and then I shall find my physical liberation.” W e told him that we would pray that his double liberty would soon be come a reality. This is a great work that the American Mission to Greeks is doing, sending us the Word of God to give to these prisoners of sin. May I beg you to continue it, for with out the instrumentality of the Word of God we can do absolutely nothing. With it we can proclaim "liberty to the captive," who finds in this precious volume release from his sins and strength to live for Christ. It may be that you who read this article have never witnessed to those behind bars, yet the Word of God enjoins us to visit those in prison. There is a very real sense in which you can fulfill this command, how ever, and that is by enabling qualified sol diers of the Cross to bring the light of the Gospel to those who sit in darkness. The support of a native evangelist in Greece is only $50 a month, and his basic tools— Bibles and New Testaments in Modern Greek— cost $1.00 and 20c each, respectively. Has the Lord touched your heart with com passion for these unfortunate men and wom en who are so desperately looking for a way out of their misery and sin? Then pray for them and ask the Lord what He would have you do to assist our work in the prisons of Greece. You can write to the Rev. Spiros Zodhiates, American Mission to Greeks, Inc., P.O. Box 423, New York 36, N .Y. (In Canada: 90 Duplex Ave., Toronto 7, Ontario.)
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker