Today, however, it was pouring rain. Nevertheless, this afternoon, the light of Christ was ablaze in our chapel. It was a joyous time, and we were praising the Lord.
 
This afternoon from 12:45 till 3 p.m., there was a special worship service with approximately twenty members of the Manhattan Grace Tabernacle Church from New York City. They had come here last year. And once again they sounded like a choir of heavenly angels.
 
I sat near the back of our full chapel. This was a time for me to get spiritually refreshed and to be fed from the word of God, which Pastor Luis Rivera did. His message from Ephesians chapter 5 was a blessing.
 
Moreover, having some of this church's choir and ministry team with us is a once-a-year treat. I was especially encouraged to see about 15–20 inmates, who had never attended any of our Christian services, present. Some of them have been in this prison for several years, too.
 
In addition, this group of first timers included five Muslim men. Each one was scattered in the audience. I know that all of these Muslim prisoners probably thought they had come to this service simply because they were curious. Yet, I believe it was really the Holy Spirit of God who had drawn them in.
 
Many hearts were touched today, including mine.
 
D.B.

He has completed the term of his sentence to include his allotted time off the back of his sentence for good behavior.
 
Jeffrey spent his days between prison terms mostly living on the streets, or in stinky shelters. And when he was very fortunate, he told me, he would manage to score small rooms in boarding houses.
Jeffrey said that he did better in the boarding houses. They were his best habitations until, he added, his mental illness and his alcoholism got out of control. Then came eviction and having to start all over again.
 
In Jeffrey's situation, nothing decent ever lasted very long. The demons of drink plus his own internal struggles would eventually get the best of him. Nevertheless, Jeffrey is a decent human being. He regrets his violence. He understands his illness. But he is in his 50s now, and he's tired of trying anymore. This is the sad part; this worries me.
 
We had our talks. I suggested that he visit a Rescue Mission, and he said that he wants to do this. He is familiar with one that is in the area he's going to. They will feed Jeffrey and give him some clothes. And they will tell him of God's love for him.
 
My prayer is that Jeffrey does okay on the outside. That this time he succeeds. Best of all, that he surrenders to Jesus Christ. Without God in his life, Jeffrey will have nothing. For he is a lonely and psychologically fragile man who will be living in a world that has no time for life's losers.
 
I noticed, too, that when he left the cellblock this morning, unlike the other men who were being released, he wore no smile.
 
D.B.

He is scheduled to leave prison early tomorrow morning, report to his parole officer in Nassau County in the late afternoon, and then be driven to a shelter to live.
 
Earlier today, Jeffrey told me that part of his life plan is to get back on Welfare, which the parole officer will provide some assistance with. Not only is Jeffrey an ex-con, but he only has a ninth or tenth grade education. The medications he's taking to treat his schizophrenia will sometimes cause his eyes to blur so that he cannot read average size print. And in a world of official government forms to fill out for Social Security, Welfare, Parole and housing assistance...a maze of confusion awaits him.
 
But the biggest problem, however, will come when his mental illness gets mixed with booze. Jeffrey has been in prison four times now. All his criminal cases involved assaulting other men during arguments that turned into scuffles, then escalated into violent brawls, an angry alcoholic with a pocketknife in hand.
 
He is small framed, quiet, and diminutive, hardly someone who could intimidate. Alcohol, however, would make a giant out of Jeffrey, at least in his mind.
 
Tomorrow I will share about his final day here.
 
D.B.

Yesterday, he told me that he's scheduled to go into a shelter when he is released from prison this coming Friday. His sentence for assault has just about run its course, and now it is his time to be ushered out the front door of this facility.
 
Jeffrey will be required to take a Short Line bus from the local station in this area, directly to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City. He then will have to make his way to the Long Island Railroad to catch a commuter train for the City of Mineola, in Nassau County.
 
When Jeffrey gets to Mineola, he must immediately report to his parole officer, who will then escort him to a shelter for homeless men. This process has already been prearranged. Somewhere on Long Island, there is a basic military style bunk bed and a cramped space reserved for him.
 
The dilemma now, though, is that Jeffrey told me outright that he doesn't plan on staying at the shelter. He said that he was going to a certain public park he's familiar with to "sleep under the stars.” He made it clear to me that he despises a crowded and dehumanizing shelter.
 
So already Jeffrey is going to start his life over again on the wrong foot. He made it plain to me that he is not going to go along with the program his parole officer is setting up. I tried to dissuade him, but he wasn't listening to me.
 
Jeffrey has his own ideas about "making it" on the outside. And mind you, his previous plans never worked. This was his fourth time coming to prison.
 
D.B.

For a majority of prison inmates, the chance for release is the greatest thing that could happen. Yet for some, the prospect of getting out is a curse. It is something to be feared.
 
Jeffrey* is a case of the latter. He is scheduled to leave prison this coming Friday. He did his maximum amount of time. Yet he wishes that his day of release would never arrive.
 
This morning, I spent about an hour talking with Jeffrey. I have known him for several years. Yet today was the most he had ever opened up to me.
 
Jeffrey and I were always able to make small talk. We would go to the gym together to play basketball as part of this therapy. He is on some heavy tranquilizers. The Mental Health staff said that he must be kept active, or he will sleep away the days.
 
Anyhow, today, Jeffrey poured his heart out to me. We talked about Jesus Christ. He told me that he's finishing up his fourth prison sentence. This time he cut another man with a knife during an argument and fight.

Jeffrey has a drinking problem. He has been in and out of prison for twenty-one years. He cannot read well, and he has no marketable skills. He is classified as schizophrenic and mentally ill.
 
Jeffrey is genuinely afraid of the "streets." He told me that he cannot resist alcohol and doesn't plan on making any effort whatsoever to stay away from it once he's released. Alcohol has him in bondage. And when he drinks, trouble starts.
 
D.B.
 
*Pseudonym

He lives in the E-North cellblock. Wade has his share of problems and struggles, but doesn't everyone? His faith is strong, and he loves the Lord.
 
When I arrived at E-North this morning to report to work, I was very pleased to find Wade in his cell. Usually, he's at his work assignment in the mess hall. Today, however, he was given the day off. So he and I were able to spend about an hour together. We encouraged each other in our walk with the Lord.
 
I shared with Wade a passage from the Old Testament which has been spiritually fortifying and inspiring me throughout this Passover week. This passage is Micah 7:18-20. 
 
Micah asks the question: "Who is such a wonderful God that He would pardon all our sins and iniquities, and pass over our wrongdoing?" Well, this indeed is the God that I serve. He has not retained His anger towards me, not even with the all the terrible things I did in the past. As a portion of this Scripture says, God delights in showing mercy. He will have compassion on His creation. He will take all of our sins and throw them into the "depths of the sea."
 
Thus, within the time Wade and I were able to share our faith together, and as we pondered this precious passage from the word of God, we got fired up in our minds and spirits. We were refreshed with God's joy.
 
D.B.

Not only in this prison, but also outside these walls. God has made ways for me to proclaim His name and to tell people of His goodness.
 
Today, a student in North Dakota will be sharing my story with her professor and classmates. She is a Psychology major who, last month, had asked me to prepare a message she could share with them. It will be incorporated into her oral presentation and then in her written report.
 
Also, a ministry team of Christian lay people are leaving today for Cuba. They are from Times Square Church in New York City. A friend of mine gave them 1,000 copies of the "SON OF HOPE" testimony tracts in Spanish to distribute in Cuba. I am thrilled and thankful about this.
 
And, lastly, today I was blessed with a wonderful visit from some friends. Tim and his son, Chad, came to see me along with Don and his son, Eli, and another young man in his 20s, Tim. They usually come to see me about once per year, and we encourage each other in our walk with Christ. They're very involved with youth ministry.
 
During our visit of several hours, we shared amongst ourselves what the Lord is doing in each of our lives. We also prayed for one another. Visits such as this help to strengthen and bolster my faith.
 
Truly, my life has come a long way since those dark and sad days of 1976-77.
 
D.B.

I am sitting in my cell in front of this typewriter, doing my journal entry for today, and watching tons of snow falling outside my window.
 
Here it is, "Spring," and there's a snowstorm. The news reports have been saying that, thus far, the New York City area has received several inches of snow. This means that up here in the Catskill Mountains, one could double or triple that amount.
 
Anyhow, aside from this, today was a blessing. This morning I had an opportunity to talk to and pray with a man who was troubled at not having heard from his mother in more than four years. He told me that he thinks he is being rejected by her because of his crime. And yes, this does happen. For every prisoner who has some kind of family support, there are many more who either have no family, or whose family has disowned him.
 
Many of us "convicted felons" have discovered the hard way that we have to pay a heavy price for our criminal acts. Our punishment is more than simply being placed in a prison cell for a given number of years. There are other losses that an offender faces, and the loss of some, or all, of his family members is one example.
 
Nevertheless, this man was in tears. I told him about Jesus' love for him. I also shared Psalm 27:10, which says that when one's father or mother forsakes him, that the Lord will take him in. I don't know anything more comforting than this.
 
He lives in the Intermediate Care Program cellblock, which is where I work, so I will be checking up on him tomorrow, and I will try to encourage some more.
 
D.B.

I pray for the troops to be kept safe, and for this war to end soon. I also pray for the people of Iraq. Their suffering and pain are more than anyone living in the United States can comprehend, including myself.
 
In the Middle East, empires have come and gone. Nations have gone from life to ashes, and then into desert. There have been so many wars that have been fought in the land which is now Iraq. And there will still be wars in this region until Christ returns to earth.
 
And getting back to what I had been sharing in yesterday's journal, chapters 50 and 51 from the book of Jeremiah are fascinating when one looks at this current war, and then compares it to the biblical account of the attack on the ancient city of Babylon.
 
In these two chapters, there are descriptions of idols being torn down and smashed into pieces. The armies of the nations that were surrounding Babylon were firing their expertly aimed arrows at the city, causing Babylon's palaces with their palatial ornaments and gardens to be destroyed. Babylon's expansive buildings were being burned and looted and pulled apart brick by brick. Her rulers were being thrown into dismay and confusion. Her soldiers were trying to hide. They were surrounded with no place to flee. They were felled in the streets, and they were no match against the armies of the invading nations.
 
How similar this all sounds to what is now happening in Iraq. How history repeats itself!
 
D.B.

Even the Bible says there is a time and season for everything in our lives. There is a time to be born, and a time to die. There are times when we should speak, and times when we need to remain silent. Likewise, there is a time for peace, and there is a time for waging war (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
 
I do not believe there is anything especially prophetic about this current war. Battles have been fought in this region of the world for thousands of years. I am sure there will be more wars to come that will cause blood to be spilled in Iraq's streets and deserts. Yet I have, because of this present war, developed a special interest in searching the Scriptures for what the Bible can tell me about this land. As I mentioned in my journal entries for the previous two days, this part of the world is exceedingly rich in Bible history. It will also play a major role in the fulfillment of yet future Bible prophesies concerning the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-16).
 
In addition, in the Old Testament writings of Jeremiah the prophet, I have found chapters 50 and 51 absolutely fascinating in light of this present war. Although these chapters concern the region that, in Jeremiah's day, was the city of Babylon, amazingly these two chapters almost describe what is taking place today in the modern city of Baghdad. And many of the people of today's Iraq are the descendants of the Babylonians!
 
D.B.

For the events which are occurring these days in Iraq are certainly fascinating from a Biblical perspective, simply because of where this present war is being fought.
 
This is a land that has been steeped in wars since ancient times, and which holds so much prominence in both biblical history and in Bible eschatology. 
 
It was in the land of what is now modern Iraq that Jonah the prophet took his message of repentance to the ancient city of Nineveh, which now sits in ruins on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, directly across from what is now the modern city of Mosul.
 
Nineveh, once the capital of the pagan Assyrian Empire, was called "the Robber City," because it would rob other nations to enrich itself (source: Thompson's Chain Reference Bible). The Ninevites would loot the treasuries of their victims. And frankly, this sounds so much like the philosophy of today's Saddam Hussein.
 
Furthermore, Bible greats such as Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, and Queen Esther, all walked this land and did exploits for the Lord. The Prophet Isaiah threatened mighty Babylon with ruin for her pride, and for trusting in her own riches and power. Babylon was enmeshed in its magic arts, enchantments, sorceries, and occult activities.
 
Many who live in the land of Iraq today are the descendants of what was once this Babylonian Empire. King Nebuchadnezzar ruled here. The Jews were held in bondage here. God worked miracles here. And the demonic spirits of darkness continually battled for the souls of men here; and they still do.
 
D.B.

I have been reading many different Scripture passages in the Bible which concern the former empires of Babylon, Assyria, Persia, Mesopotamia, and what now make up what is present day Iraq. There are almost as many Bible prophecies - some already fulfilled and some yet to be - concerning this region of the Middle East, as there are about Israel and the Jews. 

I also find it both fascinating and relevant that what is now modern-day Iraq, was the scene, in times past, for many biblical events. Abraham, for example, was called by God to be the father of a new spiritual race. He once lived in "Ur" (a town near the Euphrates River). Nimrod, the hunter, and warrior, who was and is a type of the yet future "anti-Christ" (see more about the anti-Christ to come) roamed this land. And the infamous "Tower of Babel," which was erected by men, but was later demolished by the Lord, was here, too.
 
D.B.