By Charles Gardner —
After being in and out of prison for decades, Paul Dayes had an encounter with Christ as he read the Bible. And the police, whom he had previously regarded as the enemy, became his friends.
His encounter came as he was reading Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 9, verse 13, where Jesus says: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
He was doing a prison term for robbery with intent to obtain money for drugs and told BBC Songs of Praise presenter Sean Fletcher: “I remember having the urge to read the Bible. I don’t know why.”
But to his surprise, there wasn’t one in his cell. “It was the first time I’d ever been in prison and not seen a Bible.”
But next morning, when he was able to step outside his cell, there was a brand-new Gideon Bible(1) on the radiator. He began reading and was soon struck by Jesus’ words, quoted above. “It spoke straight to my heart, and I found myself praying the sinner’s prayer and gave my life to Christ.”
After his release, his life was turned around through a program run by the London branch of Teen Challenge, a global organisation reaching out to those trapped in substance abuse.
He was particularly shocked to find policemen among those helping addicts at the facility. And he has since started his own charity thanks especially to friendship with a Teen Challenge trustee who was a police superintendent. His enemy became his friend. And the EXIT Foundation was established to enable youngsters to get back on their feet and find employment.
From a childhood in care, Paul was first arrested at 14 and was in and out of jail for decades until, at 47, he had that amazing encounter with Jesus outside his cell, somewhat akin to that of his namesake, the Apostle Paul, when the risen Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus.
In the Songs of Praise program, which focused on Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan, illustrating the importance of loving your neighbor, even if you regard him as your enemy, Paul discussed overcoming prejudices and how the Good Samaritan mirrors his own story.
Teen Challenge was birthed in 1958 through Pentecostal pastor David Wilkerson amid Christian revival among warring gangsters in New York.
1 The Gideon movement, distributing Bibles in hotels, hospitals and many other venues, is now known in the UK as Good News for Everyone.
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