What is passion? I think of it as an extreme, almost ungovernable emotion. Passion is when you feel so strongly about something, it’s difficult to keep it inside. When you feel passionate about something or someone, no one has to convince you to take action.

When Jesus was ministering near the Jordan River, a messenger came with the news that his friend Lazarus was sick unto death in the town of Bethany. But Jesus was not in a rush to get there. He waited two more days, saying, in essence, “Lazarus is just asleep.

“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.” – 1 Peter 2:11 (NIV)

It’s easy to go around believing that this life is the only thing that’s real. As followers of Jesus, though, we are called to a higher vision – like the heroes of faith in the book of Hebrews, we must keep our eyes on the eternal promises of God, even when we cannot yet taste, touch, or see the fruit of those promises.

Recently an asteroid, caught in the earth’s gravitational field, came crashing through the atmosphere and landed in Russia. Hundreds of people were injured.

In a similar way, spiritual gravity – our flesh, our bad habits, our character – keeps us from walking in spiritual liberty.

When God works on the inside of a person, the transformation of their heart inevitably overflows into their life. In the same way, if we are doing God’s work inside the prisons, we will effect change on the outside. What begins behind bars will bear fruit in homes and communities.

At the beginning of January I saw a powerful model of partnership and unity in the church in action. I went to an appreciation event for Angel Tree church volunteers in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hoffmantown Church, a suburban congregation, had taken on more than 150 children in 2012, but what really stood out to me about them was they weren’t content with just delivering gifts to inmates’ children in their own backyard.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.” – Matthew 18:1-2 (NIV)

It’s easy to judge the success or failure of a ministry based on numbers: How big is the building?

No Prison Fellowship program touches more lives than Angel Tree. Every gift presented with love to a prisoner’s child blesses not just that child, but also the caregiver, the incarcerated parent, and every volunteer who steps forward to make a phone call, take an Angel Tree tag, wrap a present, host a party, or make a delivery.

Our ministry to others can easily become rote, just another time slot in our calendars. But when we lose our passion for ministry, we also lose our power. In the days of the Books of Acts, when apostles Peter and John were thrown into prison, the power of their prayers was so great that it shook the whole prison.

Recently I visited California State Prison at Solano for an evangelistic yard event organized by Prison Fellowship. As I mingled with the inmates, one young man told me that he had been playing the drums for most of his life. He pointed out another inmate who was a great singer.

On a recent trip to an Oregon prison, I spent time with a group of inmates. I had the opportunity to encourage them, talk with them, and pray for them.

These men were in dark surroundings, but they were so excited about what God was doing in their lives through the ministry of Prison Fellowship!

Since Marloen's arrival at Folsom Prison, he's been struggling to survive. It's a daily battle not to lose his family, get dragged into fights with other prisoners, or just plain lose hope.

It's hard to be a Christian—especially in prison. Behind bars, prisoners' Christian faith is challenged from every direction from the very first day.

In my time in corrections and ministry I’ve visited over 100 prisons. I recently visited three more: Coffeewood Correctional Center in Virginia, E. C. Brooks Correctional Facility in Michigan, and the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. When we visit facilities to encourage the prisoners, there is a tendency to believe that we are the ones who will be a blessing to them.