May 2007

God is good, and I have peace and joy in Him. And if you think about it, being able to say this is a miracle in itself because I've been in prison for almost thirty years. Most men who've been incarcerated for this long are broken and bitter, or they're old and infirm, yet I am prospering.

At times, however, I do find myself becoming weak and weary for brief periods. But thanks to the Lord my strength quickly returns. This is because it's not really my strength, but it is the power of the living Christ who dwells inside me. And every Christian should be able to acknowledge this as true in his or her own life.

It is only by the grace of God, His unmerited favor which I will never deserve, that I can go on with life and still live with hope. Furthermore, I can also look with anticipation for good things to continue to happen in my life because Jesus is with me, and I love Him.

D.B.

Recently I'd been given a couple of unexpected opportunities to share short sermons with my congregation. A few weeks ago, as I wrote in April, I gave a message about the "Widow of Nain" from the Gospel of Luke, chapter seven. Then this past Saturday I gave another sermon bases on Jeremiah 29:11-14. Both of them were messages of encouragement, and I urged the men to get closer to Christ, to seek a deeper relationship with Him, and to never give up having faith in God.

Frankly, my personal ministry is mostly within the realm of encouraging my brethren to stay faithful to the One who has promised never to leave or forsake those who belong to Him. But as for actual preaching assignments, they're rare. Primarily my chaplain does most of the Sunday sermons, and so do our volunteer lay ministers. I leave these men to handle the more intricate and meatier themes from the Scriptures.

My chaplain, for instance, is far more experienced than I, and he preaches with great authority. I have watched him as he goes behind our pulpit. When he begins his message, he becomes a different man. He'd go from being the soft-spoken pastor that he is throughout each day, to a man of loud and fiery passion, which is quite impressive to observe. It is, I know, the Holy Spirit that's working through him.

Meanwhile, however, my messages are of the meeker sort delivered with less energy and passionate zeal. I suppose this is because God still has me in a training mode; I'm not as experienced as he. But one day I hope to have the same level of spiritual maturity that would be needed to take the congregation deeper into God's word.

D.B.

Even though the world is getting spiritually darker, as many Christians believe it is, it still remains an open and ripe mission field. In addition, because of conditions which now exist in many nations, evangelism is becoming more difficult to carry out. But people need the Lord, and the Holy Spirit does indeed give us His divine power to speak God's word.

Without Jesus hearts are empty and multitudes of lost and lonely people remain destined for a Christless eternity. Hell, the Bible says, is a real place. Furthermore, all the glamour and glitter and vain materialism this world tries to offer the masses could never satisfy a single hungry heart. As the psalmist writes in Psalm 107:9, "For He (the Lord) satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness (parentheses mine)."

D.B.

Mother's Day is usually a difficult day for those who are incarcerated. Some of us have or had mothers who were very loving and caring. They had great hopes and dreams for their sons, while others had mothers who were uncaring, unloving, irresponsible and indifferent.

So this morning, during our chapel service, the minister asked those of us who wanted to, to say something about our mothers. I publicly thanked God for blessing me with a devoted mom. Many others did the same.

Yet for those who had mothers who were not good at parenting - some had moms who were alcoholics or drug addicts - our pastor suggested that, if this applied to any of us, that each man would hereby choose to release forgiveness toward his mom. He also suggested that each one ask God for help to let go of his hurt and pain. And our chaplain added that this wouldn't happen overnight, but it would require a lifetime of trusting the Lord and learning to forgive.

Nevertheless, for the men behind these walls, Mother's Day is a day for wishing, hoping, regretting, reflecting and reminiscing. It's a time, too, for God to heal broken hearts.

D.B.

This morning I experienced a divine appointment that was arranged by the Lord.

As part of my job assignment, every weekday morning, immediately after the breakfast meal is over with, I leave the cell block where I live (D-North) and walk down the corridor to the Special Needs Unit (E-South). I have to pick up an inmate whom I escort to the prison's Infirmary for his medicine. He's legally blind and cannot travel through the facility by himself.

But today, however, because it was "laundry day" for the guys in E-South, they were allowed to remain out of their cells longer than usual. Therefore, when I arrived at E-South, I spotted three of my Christian friends standing around. So I joined them and suggested we begin to praise the Lord. And we did. Then, a few minutes later, we began to discuss the twenty-third psalm. We also were able to pray together until it was time for me to leave with the man I had come to escort.

What a blessed day this has been. The morning's surprise gathering was a lot of fun. Our approximately seven minutes together refreshed my soul.

D.B.

This weekend was a busy one. There were two worship services in the chapel on Saturday, one in the afternoon, and the other in the evening. Then on Sunday morning, as always, we had our main worship service. While after lunch there was the Bible class for new believers which is held every Sunday afternoon by "Brother Phillip." He's an inmate just like me. Phillip's class is held in a classroom near the prison's chapel. Then on Sunday evening we had our fellowship gathering which we have at the same time every week. Obviously there's much going on behind the walls with regard to church services and Bible studies.

Furthermore, although we have some inmates who teach a few of the studies, most of these events, however, are conducted by lay ministers who volunteer to come here. These are ordinary people who give of their own time to bring the Word of God to us.

As I have written previously in this journal, in the United States of America, with more than two million men and women presently incarcerated, not including those being held in our jails and juvenile detention centers, state and federal correctional facilities have become one of our nation's biggest and most fruitful mission fields. Sadly, though, prison ministries usually receive the least support from the churches. Too bad, because they're missing the chance to be commended and rewarded by the Lord (Matthew 25:31-40).

D.B.

I've written before about Ozzy, a man with AIDS and other ailments. By the grace of God he's still hanging on to life. His praying mother, who visits him at least once a month, tries to keep him encouraged as best she can. He's very precious to me too as a friend and brother in Christ.

Last night, however, when I was in the west recreation yard, I happed to spot Ozzy sitting by himself on a picnic table at the furthest part of the yard near the rear gate. I could see by the way he was hunched over and sitting almost motionless that he had a lot of his mind.

After Ozzy invited me to sit with him we had a good talk for about thirty minutes and until the yard closed for the evening. He needed some words of encouragement, and he allowed me to put my left hand on his shoulder and pray for him. I then let Ozzy unburden his heart. I saw his tears.

Ozzy's big concerns were a few personal family matters as well as his health. He often appears weak and tired. He's also scheduled to go home soon. So where to go was yet another concern. He's hoping to live with his mother, but she lives in a drug and crime infested area. Thus the facility's parole officer wants to send Ozzy to a live-in rehabilitation program. He doesn't want this. I therefore encouraged Ozzy to take the matter to Jesus and to keep praying. God is with him, I said.

I know Ozzy will be fine and I am confident that everything will turn out well for Him.

D.B.

Today I was sharing a biblical truth with a few of my Christian friends as we spent time together in the prison's "West" recreation yard. This morning I also discussed it in a letter to my friends John and Annette who live in New York City. And it is this that God delights in His children. He takes pleasure in us. Isn't it amazing?

Here I am, a convicted felon, who's spent most of my adult life behind bars for a string of violent crimes, yet God has allowed me to repent of my wrongs and place my faith in His Son, Jesus. Now, thanks to God's grace, I have forgiveness of sins as well as a heavenly inheritance that awaits me in eternity.

So when I read this verse from Psalm 147 and then shared it with my friends, they were greatly encouraged. You see, those who hope in the mercy of the Lord are blessed. Of course none of us will ever deserve God's mercy, and we could never earn it. Yet it's available to all who call upon the Lord. It is free to those who trust in Him. Hallelujah! Jesus loves me, and this I know. The Bible says it is so.

D.B.

One of Satan's long-standing strategies is to cause a man to think that by becoming a Christian he's going to miss out on a lot of fun, that without the world's pleasures he would not have much to live for or enjoy. But the Bible says that the devil is an habitual liar (John 8:44).

This morning, as I walked through the corridors of the prison, I gazed at the faces of those who were on the way to their work assignments or school classes. I also heard the usual cacophony of curses and blasphemies that are a normal part of many conversations in this place. And I came to the realization that these men have been incarcerated by sin and were put under Satan's control long before any of them committed the crimes which caused them to come here. And I could say the same for myself!

Satan, at one time, was my slave master. I served under his yoke without even being aware of it. And many still serve this tyrant out of ignorance. However, the good news is that God, through the "foolishness of preaching," has chosen to rescue us from the devil, and from the bondage of sin.

For it is by the preaching of the gospel that a man will repent of sin and place his faith in Jesus Christ. So with this in mind, I must endeavor to do my part, however small, to keep men out of hell. Satan's schemes must be uncovered and exposed at all cost because he has already stolen far too many souls. Of course the world is ignorant of this, but the church should not be.

D.B.

During the past week I've been very tired. My body seems to be grinding to a halt. I've got a strange upper respiratory infection and a touch of bronchitis, too. I've also been experiencing shortness of breath. Not even lots of hot tea has helped me to feel better.

Nevertheless I consider myself to be blessed because my trust is in the Lord. God has long ago placed a fire in my heart to live for Him through the strength He provides. And while, for brief periods, I have degrees of physical weakness, within a short time my strength returns. God is faithful to restore me to optimum levels of health so that I could continue my journey. But for now, however, I must pace myself wisely as I wait upon the Lord to renew me.

D.B.