December 2005

During the past several weeks the Lord has been confirming to me that I have a "work" to do that is going to extend far beyond the prison I'm confined to. I've known this in my heart for a long time, but now it's becoming clearer. Something inside me is changing. A new season has begun. And there will of course be many spiritual battles ahead. Yet after each of these battles will come a sweet victory.

The Lord has been preparing me for this. At times, however, I've been running in the opposite direction like the prophet Jonah did. God called him to the city of Nineveh and Jonah fled to Tarshish until the Lord successfully persuaded him that it's always best to do it God's way.

And John the Baptist, as the New Testament reveals, had to live in the desert until his appointed time. So many I say that, within the depths of my soul, I sense the Holy Spirit is doing something similar with me. And I pray I'll be ready when the time comes. That I would say "Yes" to the Lord and not fail to answer the call, as I've done many times in the past.

It will be a new beginning for me. I sense it. I know it. "Lord, please give me the courage and the strength to fulfill your will. Amen."

D.B.

Earlier today I was reading one of my favorite Bible stories (Luke 19:1-10). Zacchaeus was a wealthy but corrupt tax collector. The Lord Jesus, when He met Zacchaeus for the first time, told him that He wanted to stay at the tax collector's house for the day. However, when the citizens of the community saw this and heard the exchange of words between Jesus and Zacchaeus, they all began to murmur. They voiced strong displeasure that the Lord would want to be the guest of a notorious "sinner."

But Jesus, observing the anger and self-righteousness of the crowd, immediately defended His decision by saying that Zacchaeus, too, was a "child of Abraham (a fellow Jew)" who needed forgiveness just like everyone else.

What a wonderful story of hope this is for a population of prisoners. Zaccheaus was a swindler and extortioner. He was also held in contempt by his neighbors. Yet when Jesus came on the scene He wanted to fellowship with Zacchaeus, and offer him forgiveness, too.

And the Lord was in no way condoning Zacchaeus' life of crime and corruption. But Jesus knew this "sinner" needed a touch of mercy, not judgment. And it turned out well because Zacchaeua, in his contrition, offered to pay back four times the amount he had swindled, plus half of the goods he already possessed, Zacchaeus offered to give the poor.

So when people ask me, as they often do, if God will forgive a person if he has committed a crime, my answer is always, "Yes!" The Lord can forgive anyone if he is willing to turn from his sins and place his trust in Christ. After all, according to the Bible, Jesus came into the world to save "sinners." And where else could He find such a high concentration of transgressors and lawbreakers than in a penal institution or a jail?

D.B.

I seldom share letters I receive from friends because I wish to respect their privacy. Once in a while, however, I will get correspondence that is very uplifting. And to not share it may mean a loss for someone who needs to hear words of encouragement.

Therefore, with permission from my friend, I am going to present most of his recent letter:

Dear David,
It was great hearing from you . . . a lot has happened
in my life since I last wrote.

I got married this past June. The Lord brought this
wonderful person into my life . . . we dated for about two
years and this summer we felt is was the right thing to do . . .

I never thought marriage would have happened to me.
I haven't shared this with you, but 25 years ago, when I
was nineteen, I was in an automobile accident where I
lost the use of my legs. I go from playing high school
and college basketball to being a paraplegic. It sounds
like this could end up being a tragic story, but praise
the Lord, through my accident, I found Jesus . . .

I grew up a good kid. I believed in God, but I had never
given my life to Him. Lying in the hospital, I began to think
on what was real and true. I knew I had been saved from
death and I knew God had his hand on my life.

I accepted Christ into my life and my life has never been
the same . . . I never dreamed that I would get married,
I guess that was a lack of faith on my part. But with God,
all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). He has so blessed
my life beyond all I could think or imagine.

One thing I've learned, our heavenly Father cares about
every little detail in our lives. He knows our every want and
need, and He wants so very much to bless us. He gets
pleasure out of giving us the desires of our heart.

I am so thankful, every day, for what He's done and for
what He's going to do in my life. We do serve a great and
mighty God.

I am thankful for you, David. I believe you have a powerful
ministry and through you lives are being changed. You have
an awesome message of hope . . .

Robby Timmons
North Carolina

Robby's letter was dated December 13, 2005.

D.B.

With the holiday season now in progress I have to be on the alert for any man who may be showing signs of depression. As those in society rush about to buy gifts for family members and friends, and as fathers purchase Christmas trees and sets of decorative lights for their homes, for those like myself who are incarcerated, the reality is that prison is a tough place to be. It's always hard when you have to do "time," but it is even more so during the seasons when loved ones get together.

Many of these men, unfortunately, haven't received a Christmas card or a visit in many years. Depression, therefore, prevails easily in such an environment as this, and it destroys life, too. Because when a man is depressed he views his life through a dark lens. Things will look worse than they really are. He may also begin to think of suicide as an option; it is never an option!

Thus my prayer is that Christ would use me as a little lighthouse of hope. I want Him to shine from within me to, hopefully, point a lonely man to the One who can give the gift of eternal life to whosoever calls upon Him.

D.B.

Today we had our annual Christmas Day service in the prison's chapel. My chaplain was off in order to be home with his family. So I had to take charge until our visiting minister from New York City was ready to preach his message. And our inmate choir was present to lead in the worship.

In the meanwhile, however, I was able to preach a short sermon of about twenty minutes in length. It was a message about "salvation" being that, as with congregations all over the world, there are many who come to church but once per year, and this being Christmas day. So an evangelistic message, I felt, was in order.

I first read the above verse from Matthew's gospel. I also used in my sermon Ephesians 2:8-9, about salvation not being a result of doing good deeds. But it is only by the grace of God and the faith He himself imparts to us to believe the gospel account that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, resurrected, and now sits at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us, that we can be saved.

The part many were especially touched by - and I could tell this was the case by the responses I got afterwards - was when I said that "Jesus is the reason for the season, but sin is the reason for Jesus."

Throughout my years as a Christian, I told the men, I have heard the familiar and often overused cliche' that "Jesus is the reason for the season." But to me this seems very inadequate. For the fact is, I explained, our evil and rotten sins were the reason Jesus came to die on that splintery cross at Calvary.

I said to the congregation that our sins were ugly blots in the face of a holy and righteous God. And that if it were not for God's mercy in sending His Son to die in our place and receive God's full wrath for our wretched wickedness, none of us would be forgiven right now.

The Lord Jesus, I told them, had a difficult task to complete. While He went willingly because He loves us, His death was horrific. He was tortured, and He died in extreme agony.

But glory to God in the highest, Jesus paid the price for our sins. He was, therefore, the true Passover "Lamb of God" who washed away our sins with His own blood so that we could live with God now, and then continue to live with Him throughout all eternity. This, I said, is the real reason for the season we're in.

Jesus did not come, I firmly stated, to give us colorful lights and Christmas trees. Likewise He did not create a holiday so that we could exchange nice gifts. Rather He came to die that we might live. He came so that a corrupt and fallen humanity could be made fit for heaven. Amen!

D.B.

Last week I began to sense that it was time to make a change. I knew the Lord was calling me to go back to work with the prisoners who are confined at the facility's Intermediate Care Program (the ICP Unit that's located in the E-North building).

I've been working on and off with these needy men for more than twelve years. And for me it has been the most challenging and rewarding job I've had at Sullivan Correctional Facility. It's really my ministry of helping and encouraging men who are in need of special care.

So when my heart began to stir about going back, I prayed, "Lord, may your will be done." I told Him, "If You want me to reapply for a job at the ICP Unit, then you will have to make an opening, and you will also have to make a way for me to see Mike Kaplan, the counselor who works there."

Sure enough, the following day one of the four inmates from the general population who was already assigned to work there, got fired for breaking a rule. Then, also on this day, I happened to run into Mr. Kaplan. As soon as Mr. Kaplan saw me, he said, "Hey Dave, when are you coming back?" I quickly blurted out, "I'm ready. When do I start?"

Well I started today. Yet for now I will continue to do my janitor's job in the mornings. While in the afternoons, however, I am a caregiver for the men in ICP.

D.B.

As I get ready to enter into a new year I continue to see the reality of how all things in my life are being guided and directed by the hands of God. And as time goes on I am also learning to trust Him more for every aspect of my life. The Lord, I know, is faithful. And He is patiently teaching me to be more like Him. In addition, God wants me to possess a faith in which operates exclusively through "love (Galatians 5:6)."

Just this week, for example, the Lord made a way for me to return to work at the prison's Intermediate Care Program. I prayed for this to happen and behind the scenes, God put everything together so that it came to pass.

And in the coming year I'm sure there will be new challenges for both myself and the church which flourishes behind these walls. There will be new trials and tests of my faith. But there will be new victories too.

Nevertheless, I hope my faith remains childlike and strong. After all, a little child's faith is not a complicated thing. He simply trusts His father and takes him at his word. A child never doubts. Therefore I have to be the same way. And I also need to love people the way Jesus does. I need to see them through His eyes.

Now, however, with all this in mind, I'm moving forward.

D.B.