Christian Library International distributes donated
Christian books to US prisons
The mission of CLI is to bring Christ to the imprisoned. Since its founding in 1996, CLI has helped thousands of incarcerated men and women find new hope in the healing powers of Christ. With a small Christian staff and a team of devoted volunteers, CLI maintains a low overhead, ensuring that the bulk of our resources go directly to the prisons we support. Our success depends on the prayers and generosity of individual donors as well as local churches, foundations and Christian publishers. To learn more about how you or your church can help CLI to reach more prisoners for Christ, click here.
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Inmate Letters
Inmate Karen writes:
"How can I begin to thank you for the Bible? I love it! And I received it December
24-Christmas Eve! I felt I received a Christmas gift. I know the blessing comes from
God, but I wanted to thank you and all the others at CLI who allow themselves to be used
by God. It is my prayer that someday God will find a use for me too in His kingdom's
business. I dove right in and am so delighted with the way this study Bible explains
everything that I feel like a brand new world has opened up. I was led to start in Isaiah.
He is among the prophets rich in symbolism that I have struggled in the past to understand.
I am so excited that I can't explain it."
Indeed, Karen, you have explained beautifully the joy and excitement felt by inmates
when they receive and read a book that speaks to their heart. Prison chaplains tell us
that Christmas can be a depressing time for inmates. Being away from loved ones takes
a toll on them, and many feel like they have been forgotten. The chaplains say the library
is an oasis where men and women are able to read a book or listen to a CD and forget for
awhile where they are. In using these materials they know someone on the outside is
thinking of them, and they are encouraged.
Throughout Paul's epistles he tells us to encourage one another, which is another
way of expressing the command Jesus gave us: to love one another. We are asking you
to send to CLI a Bible, Christian book, CD, or DVD that will encourage someone in a
prison or youth detention center. We'll send it to a chaplain or an individual inmate.
It can be a new book or one in good condition that you
have read and appreciated the message. It is a little gift that can have an eternal effect.
Check out the CLI Blog!
See the latest CLI news, send us your comments and see
them posted at:
http://cli-nc.blogspot.com/
Prison Praises
"I was to hold a Bible study in the yard and as I got to the
table first I was surrounded by a gang that told me they would jump me if I didn’t leave
(they said the table was theirs). So I sat down and prayed but refused to move.
I told them God was more powerful than any gang and they could stab me if they
wanted, but that table that day was God’s. They thought I was crazy but God made
them go away and we had a great Bible study that day."
Inmate Michael, Houtzdale, PA
I had reached a time in my life where I was very depressed and in the throes
of alcoholism and drug addiction. I was suicidal and the police were dispatched
to my home. Unfortunately, I charged them with a gun and was shot down by the
officers. I spent a long time chained to the bed in the ICU. Eventually, though,
I found myself alone in a concrete cell in the jail hospital. I had no
possessions... no books or even a toothbrush, and I was without God in my heart.
The jail chaplain brought me a Bible and D.L. Moody's 'The Overcoming Life'.
These (CLI books) I read carefully and I gave my heart to Jesus in that jail
cell right there in the St. Louis County Jail's infirmary. I have experienced a
profound healing in my gunshot arm as well as have been given a second chance by
the judge. So long as I stay with God, I will stay clean and sober and if I stay
clean and sober... well, I don't have to worry about going back to prison. Thank
you for reaching out to inmates, those in jail are in tremendous spiritual agony
and really need organizations such as yours."
Former Inmate Christopher
Prison Praises
"I was to hold a Bible study in the yard and as I got to the table first I was surrounded by a gang that told me they would jump me if I didn’t leave (they said the table was theirs). So I sat down and prayed but refused to move. I told them God was more powerful than any gang and they could stab me if they wanted, but that table that day was God’s. They thought I was crazy but God made them go away and we had a great Bible study that day."
Inmate Michael, Houtzdale, PA
I had reached a time in my life where I was very depressed and in the throes of alcoholism and drug addiction. I was suicidal and the police were dispatched to my home. Unfortunately, I charged them with a gun and was shot down by the officers. I spent a long time chained to the bed in the ICU. Eventually, though, I found myself alone in a concrete cell in the jail hospital. I had no possessions... no books or even a toothbrush, and I was without God in my heart. The jail chaplain brought me a Bible and D.L. Moody's 'The Overcoming Life'. These (CLI books) I read carefully and I gave my heart to Jesus in that jail cell right there in the St. Louis County Jail's infirmary. I have experienced a profound healing in my gunshot arm as well as have been given a second chance by the judge. So long as I stay with God, I will stay clean and sober and if I stay clean and sober... well, I don't have to worry about going back to prison. Thank you for reaching out to inmates, those in jail are in tremendous spiritual agony and really need organizations such as yours."
Former Inmate Christopher
