What God Did
….I devoted 14 years of prayerful study on the subject of anger in the Bible, teaching it at the Denton Jail, the Denton Freedom House and Midway Church. I also reviewed the secular Biblical Anger Management courses to discern the difference between God’s counsel and the secular programs. For the most part, God is excluded from the secular programs. The failure to provide Divine Counsel is why I believe people handle the subject of anger poorly. Perhaps this is the reason for the high 64% recidivism rate on violent crimes. All other crimes hover around 30%. Those secular programs aren’t bad, they are grossly insufficient.
Anger is a broad topic and I had a lot to learn. As I studied, I felt God open His heart and mind to me. People have a lot of misconceptions of God and His anger, including Christians. The study of anger was a lot of work that required deep dives, discerning moments, and a lot of soul searching. My many years of studying Biblical Hebrew and Biblical literary devices paid off in the passages of God’s judgment and wrath in the Old Testament. It became obvious to me that we have misjudged God’s temperament. We have failed to read the small print. The topics of love, mercy and grace became vital to the study and God’s Word harmonized wonderfully.
Then in 2019, Nancy and I embarked on teaching the course in the Texas prison system (TDCJ). After our first 3-day teaching in the Clements Unit, in Amarillo, Texas, by Chaplains request, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) Rehabilitative Programs Division in Huntsville approved the Gospel-Centered curriculum to be taught “as is” beyond the faith-based dorms. This was an exciting opportunity.
There were so many who were hungry for real answers and surprised that God handled their anger so graciously. God’s word proves that He cares about the angry person. The study was fun and sometimes exhilarating but always deeply humbling. Nancy and I witnessed a wonderful response. We saw men develop a newfound respect for God and His Word. The life change we witnessed was inspiring. Their testimonies were powerful. It was a blessing to see people forgiven, refreshed and willing to align their hearts with God. In one prison unit, all 84 men, mostly unbelievers, stood and dedicated themselves to live out the love of God. I was amazed as we witnessed God overcome evil with good.
In 2023 we provided a full course curriculum comprised of a book, workbook and video series and gifted these products to TDCJ and the Denton County Jail.
