New Life on Death Row

By Bennett Rolan, Editorial Manager

Mark lives in complete isolation, cut off from the rest of the prison population. But the magnitude of his criminal conviction is not beyond the redemption of Christ’s work on the Cross.

Through a BSF satellite group, men in solitary confinement are able to study God’s Word independently in their remote prison cells. Personal contact is restricted, but the men do get to correspond with local BSF leaders who deliver their lessons each week. Through written comments on the lesson material, BSF leaders provide encouragement and accountability to the men on death row who aren’t allowed to attend discussion groups. They also have access to their weekly BSF lecture through the prison’s radio station. 

When asked in Lesson 8, “How might your current situation be an opportunity to positively influence how those around you view God?” one man in isolation answered: “By showing them that all the things may seem tuff, you can use this in a positive manner and learn about God and grow within.”  

To the Lesson 9 question, “Whom can you thank for offering God’s grace and blessing to you? How will you thank God for them?” another man on death row responded:

“This BSF program and the ESV Bible. Servitude.”  

For these men, BSF offers a lifeline to a community with believers and a reminder that they are not alone. In the general prison population, three BSF Discussion Groups meet weekly, led by local BSF leaders.

“The men at Polunsky are worthy of our time,” Group Leader Purvis Harper  said. “These men are at rock bottom. They’ve had all their chances in society and burned them all. When they have no other place to turn and are craving answers, the answer is Christ. The Lord is playing such a vital role.  Many either find Christ or re-ignite their faith from past exposure, knowing they either find peace where God has put them, or live in agony, fear and frustration during their long and sometimes lifetime sentences.” 

Freedom in Prison

BSF Leader Purvis Harper

For one BSFer named James, God’s Word offers more than comfort. Through BSF and other Christian programs, James has discovered a purpose. In a recent conversation with Purvis, James shared that he grew up in a Christian home. Familiar with the gospel, James rejected its truth.  

“He said, ‘I had the head knowledge of Christ but didn’t have the heart knowledge of Christ,’ ” Purvis shared. 

In college, James rebelled against his family’s faith, seeking financial fortune above all else. When he was implicated in an illegal scheme, James was ultimately sentenced to 35 years at Polunsky. Though he continues to appeal his case and seek parole, James has discovered a sense of peace.

“When he was taken from the courtroom to the county jail, he came very close to committing suicide. He broke down and gave his life to Christ,” Purvis said. 

“Now, 14 years later, James is a well-respected inmate. Nobody messes with James because he’s so genuine and does so much good for the men. He’s truly to the state where Paul was when he said, ‘Whether I live or die, I’m going to be with Christ.’ He lives that out and loves the in-depth nature of BSF. He just loves studying the Bible and actively discussing it with other men in Discussion Group.” 

In prison, James uses his influence and education to minister to other inmates.

“He says, ‘God, you’ve put me here for a reason, and I am going to be faithful,’” Purvis shared.  

Within His Reach

For men like Mark and James, freedom from prison is a faraway dream. As their hope of release dims with each parole board denial, God’s Word confirms that no man is beyond His reach. 

One BSFer on death row wrote this about God’s promises: “John 10:29, no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. Yes, I am a child of God.”

Like the men of Polunsky, our sin separates us from God. But through the eternal reach of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are never beyond God’s grasp.

In Genesis 37 and 39, we read about Joseph, who was abandoned in a cistern and sold into slavery. In his darkest moments, Scripture repeats a simple phrase, “The Lord was with Joseph.” 

In Joseph’s suffering, God had a plan and a purpose for Joseph that stretched beyond his circumstances. Through his family’s deceit and his unjust imprisonment, God was preparing Joseph to save an entire nation. But as he sat in a prison cell, unjustly accused, Joseph wasn’t consumed by the future. His focus was on the present.

Genesis 39:20–22 tells us, “… But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him. … So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.” 

Fixing his eyes on eternity, Joseph faithfully followed the Lord in his suffering. Like Joseph, we are called to seek God today, without worrying about tomorrow. So where might God be calling you to serve? Maybe it’s inviting a friend to BSF or sharing the gospel with a family member. Wherever we are, God has a plan and purpose for His people.  

For the men of Polunsky, prison is a constant reminder of criminal convictions and bleak futures. But God’s Word offers hope in the darkest corner of the loneliest cell. For these believers, each day is new opportunity to share God’s grace with those who seem beyond forgiveness. 

Interested in starting a BSF group in your local prison? Contact your Teaching Leader for more information.

Building An Authentic Faith

By Bennett Rolan – Editorial Manager

“I knew that wasn’t what faith looked like,” David shared. “I had to repent for my lack of faith. I prayed, ‘You are going to have to provide for this child, because I can’t.’ When we went to the doctor, they did an ultrasound, and we saw this tiny little gummy bear baby. The doctor said, ‘We were concerned it was possibly cancer, but everything looks great!’ Those health issues were totally resolved. That’s still my favorite ultrasound image.”   

God was growing David’s faith, and the couple experienced His healing presence. But David’s trust was built on more than a moment. After years of testing in trials, God had established a firm foundation of faith.

Faith Built in Adversity

Two years earlier, David and Susan had clear plans for their future. As newlyweds, the couple moved to France, where David was earning his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering. While abroad, David and Susan received a phone call that changed their lives.

“It was about 11 a.m. for us, which meant it was 5 a.m. in the U.S.,” David said. “We knew immediately that whatever was on the other side of that phone call was not good.”  

The couple learned that Susan’s mother had been in a traumatic car accident. The impact knocked her unconscious, and just before the car erupted into flames, a stranger pulled her from the vehicle. Her identification was locked in the trunk, so the paramedics transported her to the hospital as an unidentified woman.

Hours later, Susan’s father was notified, but her mother remained in a coma. For 11 days, her family waited, hoping for a full recovery. 

  “I don’t think I really understood the severity of it until I was back home and visiting the hospital,” Susan said. “When she woke up with severe brain damage, I didn’t realize how serious it was going to be.” 

When doctors detailed the gravity of her mother’s condition, Susan volunteered to return to the U.S. to become her mother’s full-time caregiver. Months later, David joined her in Atlanta, Ga., where he continued his studies. 

“I don’t think I felt any bitterness over my mother’s situation,” Susan shared. “I think I just felt compassion toward my dad. His upcoming retirement was not going to be what they had planned. It was completely derailed. We were in the house for the transition with him, but I knew at some point we would be leaving.”  

While caring for her mother, Susan was invited to a nearby BSF class. As a young adult, she had been a BSF member but had taken a break during her time in France.  

“I was able to be a part of an evening class so I could stay with my mom during the day. BSF was God’s provision. It was my break from hospital duties,” Susan shared. “Later, when I was asked to be Children’s Leader for the first time, I didn’t have kids, I was a caregiver for my mom. The advice I would have gotten from my mom was taken away, but God replaced it with the training I got from BSF. Those women taught me so much. It provided a better foundation for parenting than I could have planned myself.” 

David also joined a BSF class, along with Susan’s father, and the family grew in their commitment to God and His Word. 

“I had been a Christian for 20 years at that point, but being in the Word of God, and actually studying it, was so important,” David shared. “BSF taught me how to do that. Not to just rely on man’s words, but to allow God’s Word to speak. Then He would confirm it with other sources. When we don’t learn to study on our own, it’s as if we’re missing the feast God has set before us.” 

Building a strong scriptural foundation developed the Swaffords’ faith and helped them accept the reality that Susan’s mother would never fully recover.

Faith Tested in Trials

Four years after the accident, and two years after his daughter’s birth, David finished graduate school. With a Ph.D. from a renowned program, David’s future seemed secure. But job prospects were limited and, once again, David and Susan’s faith was tested.

“I remember having one interview in California as we finished the BSF year,” David said. “I knew I wasn’t going to get the job and was facing months without the spiritual support of those BSF guys. I had to do something to provide for my family.”

In their darkest moments, as they prayed through their fears, David and Susan approached God with confidence. Clinging to His Word and remembering His provision gave them the faith to trust God with their family’s future.

“God doesn’t promise to take away hard times just because you’re a believer,” Susan shared. “He pretty much guarantees hard times. But God uses us and our stories. God uses broken people for His greater purpose, even with all of our faults.” 

After months of struggling through financial insecurity, David accepted a position as a sales engineer, a significant departure from his original plan.

“God perfectly orchestrated each step,” David said. “I didn’t see what He was doing in the moment, but I can see now how much better His plan was than mine. If I hadn’t been in the Ph.D. program, we wouldn’t have relocated back to Atlanta. We were supposed to be here so Susan could care for her mother and we could both serve in BSF. It was never about earning a graduate degree; it was about learning to trust Him. God used it to accomplish His purpose.” 

Faith Prepared for a Purpose

In studying Genesis this year, David read chapters 21 and 22 with a new perspective. Instead of solely focusing on Abraham’s remarkable faith, David saw God’s preparation from one chapter to the next.  

“In Genesis 21:12, I noticed that God was telling Abraham, ‘You need to let Ishmael go, you need to send him away.’ And that would have been really difficult,” David shared. “He was sending Ishmael, a son he loved, into the wilderness with no indication he would ever see him again. Just a few verses later, in Genesis 21:20, it says, ‘God was with the boy as he grew up,’ proving that Abraham could trust God with his son.’

“Then you go to the very next chapter, and it’s the same request with Isaac, except this time, God is not only asking Abraham to surrender his son, He’s asking Abraham to sacrifice his son. It’s almost as if the Ishmael experience was a ramp to God’s request with Isaac. Once of the themes here is trust. I think you see God building Abraham up for that. Abraham learned that he can trust God to care for his children better and more fully than he ever could.”

Through Susan’s mother’s accident, God taught the Swaffords to hold their plans loosely. They learned to adjust their expectations and embrace God’s direction. When David’s career path took an unexpected turn, God had already laid a foundation of faith. 

Today, David serves as a BSF Teaching Leader, and Susan is a Children’s Supervisor. They have three daughters, ages 8, 5 and 2. And while they no longer live with Susan’s parents, they regularly spend time with them. Their girls are learning how to care for their disabled grandmother, and the couple sees every step as preparation for God’s future plan. 

Like He did with the Swaffords, God pushes our faith to its limits. And when our plans fail, He asks us to trust Him with confidence. Every challenge offers an opportunity to respond in faith. And as God meets us in our darkest moments, we learn He alone can be trusted with our greatest fears and uncertain futures. He is faithful to prepare His people for any situation.  

Redeeming failed expectations

By Sherry Thomas – Guest Contributor

Toward the end of our first year of marriage, my husband and I made an agreement that forever changed our relationship. We decided that no matter how angry we felt, we would never again suggest we had married the wrong person.

Until that point, it was the ultimate weapon in heated arguments. Making this declaration in an argument did tend to bring things to a halt, but never in a good way. It sowed seeds of doubt. It led to the question, “Were we destined to be stuck in a loveless marriage?”

The Lord’s design for our union was not based on ignorance, but on His complete awareness of our strengths and weaknesses, our individual pasts and our united future.

As we continue to study the life of Jacob in Genesis, we come back to the same conclusion: God’s plan of redemption outweighs every failed expectation. 

One marriage, three broken hearts

“When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?’ ” – Genesis 29:25 

The lives of Jacob, Leah and Rachel were fraught with tension and insecurity. Polygamy was never part of God’s design for marriage and the sisters lived in constant competition. They struggled for the attention of their husband and gloated over each other’s miseries. Did Jacob wonder if Rachel’s closed womb was a result of his decision to marry her when he was already married to Leah? Did he ever blame God for allowing Laban to deceive him? What if his circumstances were a consequence of his own sinful past?

God had done the joining. Maybe we had been idealistic in our expectations, but God had a plan and purpose …

Jacob’s family life was not ideal, but it also wasn’t hopeless. The Lord blessed Leah with Judah, from whose line the Messiah eventually came. He also blessed Rachel with Joseph, who would later preserve that same line. What Jacob saw as a great injustice was used by God to bless him and, ultimately, the world. 

While God used prophecies and visions in Genesis to direct His people on a future course, He never allowed anyone to go back and change the past. No wrongdoing can ever be undone. However, every sinner and situation can be redeemed. Without contradicting His own nature, God brings blessing into seemingly hopeless situations. There is a righteous path forward for the child of God to take at every crossroad. 

Rut or redemption?

What areas of your life or relationships seem beyond hope? Are you tempted to assume that your own choices or the choices made by others have forever ruined any chance of fulfillment? When your marriage or spouse fails to meet the standard you had envisioned, do you mourn the loss of a dream, or do you look to the Redeemer for help and the right way forward? 

… Every sinner and situation can be redeemed. Without contradicting His own nature, God brings blessing into seemingly hopeless situations.

God’s complete redemption is offered to every person who comes to the realization that only God can fix damaged things. Will you continue to carry around the brokenness or are you ready to offer it to the Great Redeemer? 

Scripture is replete with stories of pain caused by sin, but they are also marked by His abounding mercy and love. Just as God protected Jacob, looked upon Leah and remembered Rachel, He continues to see us when we seek Him. Through His Son Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit, God is faithful to redeem every failed expectation.

Finding Life After The Death Of A Dream

BY BENNETT ROLAN, BSF DIGITAL EDITOR

At a glance, Hoa Luu recognized the doctor’s office phone number. For a moment she paused, suppressing the familiar longing and excitement. But minutes into the call, she knew the truth. Her pregnancy results were negative once again. Hoa felt numb. How long could she endure the endless cycle procedures and tests? And what if she never had a baby? 

Surrender In Sadness

Like Hoa, Gwen Cruzan struggled through the highs and lows of infertility. Some years older than Hoa, Gwen provided hope that joy in the Lord runs deeper than the death of a dream.

“I often think about 1 Timothy 6:6, ‘Godliness with contentment is great gain,’” Gwen said. “Sometimes we can become so focused on the things we want, that we don’t see the things we have. The Lord is the only one who could have provided that contentment. But I had to find a place of total surrender to His perfect will for my life. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, but God’s will is perfect, with or without children.”

Sometimes we can become so focused on the things we want, that we don’t see the things we have.

For both women, the grief of infertility and the struggle for contentment is ongoing. Holidays like Mother’s Day or well-meaning comments can open wounds that God is still healing. 

“There are times when it’s more difficult than others. It is a little bit of a roller coaster when you see the nieces and nephews you helped to raise having children,” Gwen shared. “Asking God ‘Why?’ is natural. But we may never fully understand the intricacies of God’s plan, because it’s never about us. It is about Him and what He desires to do through us for His glory. I think if I had let my devastation keep me from being around children, I would have missed God’s blessing through relationships with young people in our church and children in the BSF school program. For me, contentment is something God has given over time.” 

A Commitment to Contentment

In Genesis 21, we see the contrast of God’s blessing through Isaac’s birth and the destructive results of Sarah’s earlier interference. Though waiting on God’s promises and welcoming His plan can be painful, Gwen and Hoa both testify that He alone satisfies our unfulfilled longings.

“Reflecting on our lesson in Genesis with the story of Sarah, Abraham and Hagar, I am comforted in knowing that our God is a God who sees us. He is the God that hears us, and He is the God who truly loves us best and knows what’s best for us. He has His perfect timing in blessing us,” Gwen shared. “Look to the Lord to encourage your heart through His Word and His people. Continue to serve Him.   It’s easier to sit in God’s waiting room when you’re busy with your hands. Through Psalm 27:13-14, I can say: 

‘I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.’”