Cellblock Ministry - Bobby Cole

Cellblock Ministry - Bobby Cole Cellblock Ministry is a Christian pen-pal mentoring organization dedicated to spreading the word of Jesus Christ to prisoners within the United States.

Cellblock Ministry is a non-geographical ministry. At times we minister to over 100 prisoners in 50 prisons in 18 States . We have been ministering to prisoners since 2011, showing those hardened souls how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and changing lives. Please pray for and remember those who are behind these prison walls. (Hebrews 13:3).

Nothing better than Jalapeño Poppers on a day like this!
08/12/2023

Nothing better than Jalapeño Poppers on a day like this!

01/17/2022

Sorry that I haven’t been here of late. Been really busy with newsletters and correspondence

10/04/2019

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9)”
Good Morning. It is so good to be back with all of you awesome people. We are so sorry for not having a Coffee Corner for a little while. Both Bubba, head chief and honcho of the newsletter, and myself have been going through some pretty significant health issues and we needed to take a little time off. We ask for your continued prayers as we push on. The coffee is hot, and we are roaring to go, at least I think we are. Honestly, there are days that I don’t know if I am coming or going so for right now things are good.
I guess this brings us to our topic for today. Living for today. It is so hard sometimes to live in the moment. To simply make the next right choice. Either the past looms so much in our mind that we can’t get over it or the future looms right in front of us and we are afraid to make a choice because the consequences seem so dire. There is a common saying in recovery circles that goes something like “the past is history, the future a mystery and today is a gift that is why it is called the present.”
Even the Bible talks about living in the now. Jesus directs us in Matthew 6:34 that we should not worry about tomorrow for today has enough problems of its own. And James reminds us in James 4:14 that we do not know what tomorrow will bring and reminds us our life is like the mist.
Recently, this all has become so much clearer for me. As I believe I’ve stated in here a couple months back I was recently diagnosed with Meniere’s disease. This disease affects the inner ear and causes severe vertigo, dizziness and balance issues. And the thing I am learning repeatedly is that it is very unpredictable. There are things I can do to mitigate the symptoms but nothing I can do to stop them. I can be doing great and suddenly, out of nowhere, I look up and my world is spinning uncontrollably. There are times when I will be sitting in my chair and my center of gravity changes and I find my head pushed against the table and I can’t move it.
And since it is so unpredictable, making any concrete plans is becoming a chore in and of itself. There have been several times I have had to cancel my prayer meetings because I could not function and there have been times where I have made plans with my wife just an hour before and bam, I had to change those plans.
There is so much unknown in this disease that I get overwhelmed when I even try to consider the next 5, 10, 20 years. So, God is teaching me to live in the now, right here right now. And right here right now I am feeling OK and I thank God for that. I am also learning to take advantage of the good days and enjoy them more fully, as they are becoming far and in-between. If I am not having an attack my body is recovering from an attack and that is almost as bad.
I don’t want to sound like I’m whining, I am only trying to explain my situation and how God is using it to teach me to live for today. Every day things come at each one of us that can overwhelm us if we allow them. And yet they don’t have to. God is there for each of us, every hour of every day.
When life begins to overwhelm me and when my world starts to literally feel like it’s turning upside down, I go to scripture. Now I can’t read while this is going on, but I remember the scripture I have memorized. And the one piece of scripture I go to most is Philippians 4. Philippians 4:6 says “do not worry about anything, go to God and tell him what you need and thank him for what he has already done.” It is so awesome we can God to God with anything and he listens.
But continuing on, verses 8-9 are so special and what I really concentrate on when life starts to feel like its crumbling. Think on what is good, noble, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable. In other words, think on the positive side of life. Think on what is always good and worthy of praise. THINK ON GOD. Keep your mind focused on God and the things of this world, the problems of this world seem to fade away. I can’t explain it but its true. When we think on God and stay in his presence the problems, I face daily seem so small. At least for me he gives me the peace that passes all understanding, sometimes that peace is only a moment, but I cherish those moments.
I don’t know what you are going through today. I don’t know what you will go through tomorrow. But this I know; our God is bigger than any issue we have today or tomorrow. If we go to him in prayer and concentrate on his goodness and peace he will show us what our next best step should be. Chances are he’s not going to take away the issue, disease, situation or whatever, but he will always be watching out for us and providing for us. That is if we allow him room in our lives. He can’t help us if we don’t ever have a relationship with him. He wants a relationship with each of us so much. If the only decision you make today is to be in a relationship with God than today is the best of your life.
In closing, I just pray that no matter where you are, no matter what life is throwing at you that you stay close to God and allow him room to give you the peace that passes all understanding. Live and enjoy the now. Continue to make that next best step and let tomorrow worry about itself.
Until next time God Bless!
Pastor Jonathan

05/12/2019

“Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)
Good Morning, Good Morning. Come on in. What a wonderful day in the Lord it is! It has been a long, cold winter but Spring is here. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and there is fresh coffee a-brewing. What coffee you ask? This month we are featuring a dark roast coffee from Ethiopia. This coffee is extra smooth with blasts of exotic tropical fruits undertones. It is a very aromatic coffee and tastes really good, or so I am told.
Have you ever seen someone in a bad situation in life and just seemed like nothing could bring them down? I mean like sure they get sad or angry or even frustrated and yet seemed to exude a joy that you just could not understand? How could someone go through it and still smile and persevere? Have you ever wanted to shout at them to stop smiling, or thought something was really wrong with them?
Well I have, and I never understood how anyone could persevere let alone have joy in the darkest days of their lives. That is until I came back to God and totally gave my heart to him. Today, when life becomes hard and struggles come I have this feeling of peace and contentment that I just cannot explain. I still get upset but at the end of the day I am learning not to sweat the small stuff. Just don’t ask my wife, I am not sure she would agree with me on that.
I am not saying I am happy all the time, cause that would definitely be a lie. No what I have is joy. There is joy in my heart, deep down in my heart. No matter what happens externally nothing can extinguish the joy that I have.
Now I know some of you are asking is there a difference between joy and happiness, or are asking what is the difference between the two? Well I am glad you asked. Happiness occurs, or triggers, for external sources. It is fleeting and dependent on what other people do, things, places or other events. Joy on the other hand occurs or is triggered internally. It tends to be long-lasting and not subject to what happens externally. You can have one without the other and you can even have both at the same time. However, I think you would agree with me that joy should be something we should strive for.
Joy is something we have to cultivate. We will never have joy unless we work at it. Joy comes when we are at peace with who we are and why we are here. But even more than that, true joy only comes from a life-changing relationship with God. As Nehemiah 8:10 says the joy of the Lord is our strength.
How can we cultivate joy? Well the first and probably main thing we must do is seek God. If you allow, God will supply you with unspeakable joy. When we let God in and seek him daily we learn who we truly are and why we are here.
The reason so many Christians have joy is because through their relationship with God they have come to understand who they are. Each one of us is created by a loving compassionate God. And more than that, in Genesis 1 we learn that each one of us is created in God’s image. In Jeremiah 1:5 and Psalms 139:13 we learn that God created us and knit us together. That is who we are.
And yet we are even more than that because of the work Jesus did on the cross. Because of Jesus dying and rising again Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:9 that “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Do you get that? Because of Jesus we are holy. Let that set in. Whenever someone comes against you remember that you are special because God has made you special.
Once we realize who we are joy begins to spring up from our core. Then when we realize why we are here it grows even more. Many people have tried to explain why we are here and many people give many in-depth analysis reasons for why we are here. There are books and book written on the subject. Jesus, on the other hand, gave a concise and perfect answer to that question. In Mark 12 Jesus states the reason we are here is to love God and to love others. Mic Drop. That ‘s it and that’s a lot. God created us to be in community with him and others. That is where we will find everlasting joy, in community.
We can find joy within us and it may last for a while. However, I hope you don’t mind me saying, true joy can only be found in Jesus our Lord and savior. If we seek him and allow him total access to our lives he will give us persevering joy everlasting. And he will not only fill us with joy but he will fill us to over-flowing with joy that we will have to share this joy with others. People will ask us how we can be so joyful and we will be able to share our hope and the source of our joy – Jesus Christ. Can I get an Amen?
Well our time is once again up. Wow how time flies. I know this will be a little late but I want to wish all the mothers out there a Happy Mother’s Day. I pray you get to spend time with your families and if not I am truly sorry. But until we meet again may you spend time seeking the Joy everlasting that springs from God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Last one out don’t forget to turn off the coffee. God Bless!
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Jonathan

04/11/2019

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:7. NKJV)
Good Morning once again from Coffee Corner. Come on in and have a seat. I have brewed up some really good Columbian dark roast. This coffee has hints of nuts and a chocolate flavor that sneaks up on you. I wish I could join you in drinking a cup but alas my doctor has sworn me off any caffeine. I will get into that in a little bit.
Before we go any further I just want to apologize for getting this out so late. I planned on having an April corner as well as a special edition Easter corner. However, that was not to be. See the last month and a half I have been battling some serious health issues that have knocked me down. I found out recently that it is all caused by Meniere’s disease. This is a disease that effects your ears and causes severe vertigo, light-headedness, dizziness, and hearing loss. Needless to say, as these episodes come on all I can do is sit on my recliner and stare at the wall. Any head movement sends me on a rollercoaster ride I can’t get off of.
Any hoot, I praise God that we have it figured out and can now take steps to mitigate the symptoms. By the way, there is no cure for this and this is something I need to learn to live with. It kind of reminds me of Paul’s thorn in the side. We really don’t know what Paul was talking about when he mentions this in his letter to the Corinthians, but many people suspect it was either an illness or poor eye sight. In any case, what we do know is that whatever is was God did not remove it from Paul and Paul ended up accepting his lot and leaning of God ever the more. I pray that I may do the same with this.
We are not here today to talk about my health issues. No we have something far more important to discuss. In a very short time Easter will be upon us. There is simply no better time for a Christian than Easter. I believe it is even more important than Christmas. Easter is the time of redemption. Easter reminds us of how much God loves us. It reminds us the lengths God was willing to go to redeem all of humanity.
Redemption. What is redemption? According to the dictionary redemption is “the action of saving or being saved from sin, error or evil,” or “ the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.” So, for humanity and more specifically Christians, redemption is actually a combination of both definitions. First, we are redeemed from our sinful nature and obtain our lost purity and eternal souls by God paying the price of our debt.
See, on our own, we are helpless to repay the debt we owe God for all of our sins against him. There is nothing we can do to rectify the situation. The fall of Adam and Eve created a fissure between us and God that we are unable to cross on our own. We needed something or someone to enable us to cross that divide so we could be in a right relationship with God.
So how did God do this? Well quite simply that is why we celebrate Easter. God sent his son to take on all our sin and die on a cross to pay the price for those sins. Ephesians 1:7 tells us that we are redeemed through the blood Jesus shed on the cross. It had to be Jesus, no one else would have been enough. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, the perfect payment, for all our sin. He was blameless, he lived without sin. He was crucified with all our sin on him. He rose again free from the chains of our sin. He currently sits on the right-hand of God, interceding on our behalf. And one day he will return so that we may live eternally with him.
How great is it that no matter how awful we are, no matter the gravity of our sin, the blood of Jesus cleanses us completely. We can be as pure as the freshly fallen snow. We can on the day Jesus returns stand blameless in front of God. What greater grace could there ever be?
How can you be sure to receive this redemption? Well that’s simple but not easy. As John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” All you need to do is believe in Jesus Christ. That he was God become man. That he lived, suffered, died and rose again. That he is the only way of salvation. And then live like it. Simple, but in no way is that easy, for believing in Christ means sacrificing your wants and desires and placing them at the foot of the cross. You need to realize and acknowledge all you sin and ask God to forgive them and then proceed to do them no more. Believing in Jesus means loving others just as much as you love yourself. At the end of the day, if you have never done this all you need to do is say this simple prayer. Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name.” If you said that prayer I urge you to tell someone about it. Tell a pastor or another Christian so they can help disciple you on how to live this new life. You are redeemed and no longer chained to the sin of your past.
Well that is all the time we have for today. I will be praying for each one of you to be living in the redemptive power of Jesus. May his blood cover you and make you clean, for you are clean indeed. Take care and God bless.

Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Jonathan

01/05/2019

“And no one can be my disciple who does not carry his own cross and follow me.” (Luke 14:27, TLB)

Good Morning and Happy New year to all of you. Come on in and grab a cup of coffee or tea and have a seat. I pray this new year has everyone in good health. Today the coffee is a dark roast from Brazil. The past couple weeks I have really been enjoying this deep, aromatic coffee that has quite a bit of chocolate notes. I hope you enjoy.
Well 2018 is behind us and here we come 2019. For me, 2018 was a year of transition and had many highs and lows. The high points in the year were when my wife received her kidney transplant and when I got called to the small rural church I now pastor. However, I have some lows as well. My health has seen a down-turn, while nothing big I have had to adjust my life accordingly. I have also had to say goodbye to some old friends as they have passed from this life. There have also been many bumps and turns along the way. Ah! But such is life is it not?
It seems like everyone like to pick a word on New Year’s Eve that will be their “word” in the coming year. As I began praying and thinking about what God wanted me to focus on in the coming year he directed me to discipleship. Now this is not the word I really wanted, not that it is a bad “word” but I was thinking something more along the lines of submission or rebirth. I guess discipleship is close to those words but it much broader and deeper than the other two words. And if I may be honest, discipleship is not really understood in today’s world. I’m not sure I understand what it all means.
Any hoot! I began researching and praying about discipleship and what it means and all that. I have a feeling that I will be needing to do whole lot more research and praying about this topic. However, as part of my research I began reading scripture and I came across Jesus talking to a large group about being his disciple and was astonished, well not really but I would have been if I didn’t know Jesus like I do, how harsh a tone he took. If you have your bible, turn to Luke chapter 14 and read verses 24-34. By the way you guys are getting a preview of what I will be preaching on this week at my church.
Reread those verses again and listen to how Jesus is drawing a line in the sand. For most people. Verse 26 is probably the most shocking. Most translations of verse 26 read that to be a disciple one must hate his family. Wait! What? I must hate my wife, my parents, my children to be a disciple of Jesus. Well that is not really what Jesus is saying. The word hate is more hyperbole than Jesus saying you must hate your family. No what he is saying is that we must love God more than anyone else. Our love for God must be so much more than anything else that when we compare our love for our family to our love of God, our love for family looks like hate.
Remember God wants each one of us to love him with all our heart, soul and mind, first. The very fist commandment he gave Moses was to have no other Gods before him. He is to be first in our lives. Can I ask you a question? Is God truly first in your life? Do you love him more than your spouse? Than your children? Do you act like it?
Jesus was not done there though, in verse 27 he says to be his disciple we must “bear his cross and come after me.” What does “bear our cross” mean? Well, at first glance it means we have to be ready to suffer, maybe possibly die. However, I think Jesus is saying more than that. I think he is saying we must be ready, in all circumstances to follow him. Whether we have physical ailments, or emotional ones, we are to carry them as we follow Christ. We can’t let our physical ailments get in the way of our spiritual growth. People are going to hate us, we might be shunned, abused, beat, spit on, stabbed in the back, or hated by those we love and we must persevere. Remember Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha after he was severely beaten, spit on and hated. He carried it without saying a word, because he loved God and loved us.
Jesus wasn’t done there either. In verse 33 he says to be his disciple we must forsake everything. Now again he is not saying we must actually give up everything, but he is saying we must be totally willing to give up everything. We cannot hold onto anything this world provides, not our job, our money, our house, our lives. At the end of the day everything we have isn’t ours any way, it is God’s. What are you willing to sacrifice for Jesus?
Let’s not forget, in this scripture Jesus was talking to a great multitude of people who believed he was who he said he was. However, he was instructing them to count the cost of being his disciple before they made the decision to be his disciple. In this scripture he his telling all those folks and is telling us it is better for us to never start to follow him than to start and not follow-through. He wanted everyone to know that being his disciple means forsaking everything and it means there will be suffering and maybe even losing your life. Are you prepared for that?
As we head into a new year, we need to ask ourselves what cost are we willing to bear to be a disciple of Christ? For there will be a cost, there is no doubt. What Jesus asks in this scripture and what he is asking you today is “Are you all in?” If you are not all in what is stopping you? You can’t be a disciple of Christ without being all in, no matter what. I pray that you nail that stake in the ground and go all in this year. If you are not all in I pray you ask God to make you willing to go all in.
You might be asking is it worth it? All I can say is yes, no matter the cost, it is worth knowing Jesus and being his disciple. “What is it worth if a man gains the world and yet loses his soul?” Matthew 16:26.
Well our time is up. It has been awesome being with each of you today. I hope you all have enjoyed this month’s edition of Coffee Corner and look forward to being with you next month. May God be with each one of you and may you “go all in” with Christ.

Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Jonathan

12/26/2018

Dear Cellblock Ministry Followers,


We are wishing a very happy holidays to you! Whether you celebrate…



Christmas – Merry Christmas!

Kwanzaa – Habari gani?

Hanukkah –Chag sameach

Diwali – Shush Deepavali

Yuletide – Blessed Yule!

Chinese New Year – 新年快乐



…something else entirely (or nothing at all), we hope you’re enjoying some quality time with the important people in your life. As we prepare to enter the New Year, we wanted to take a moment to thank you for being a part of our community and to recognize your critical role in making Cellblock Ministry a vital connection to those that are incarcerated.

One thing we’ve always appreciated about the holiday season is its ability to bring disparate groups together. Regardless of what faith tradition you follow or which holidays you choose to celebrate, there is an underlying parallel – especially apparent this time of year – that spans across a plurality of belief systems: the spirit of generosity, fellowship, and appreciation for the many blessings life has to offer.

We firmly believe that being exposed to other beliefs not only promotes mutual understanding – it also helps us realize that our supposedly "vast" differences are for the most part only perceived. So no matter what your holiday traditions look like, we’re grateful to count you as a member of our ever-growing family.



In peace,



Your Brothers and Sisters at Cellblock Ministry

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Moss, TN
38575

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