Full Pardon - Issue 4 - October 2009
Digging into the Word
By Clarence L.
The Chaplain's office offers inmates the opportunity to take a Bible Correspondence course from the Good News Jail & Prison Ministry. I have great joy and give God Almighty praise for the wisdom and knowledge He was blessed me with in doing these Bible study lessons. I start every lesson by first asking God to open my spiritual eyes to His truth. Then I read the assigned Bible passage and answer essay questions (#55 and #56) in the booklet. It brings a smile to my face and enlightens my soul! Next I do the True and False questions and the rest of the section's questions and then see if what I have written in my essays aligns with the passage/course questions. I am almost able to answer questions 1-54 without having to look things up in my Bible! I know God is working inside me for the better and that this Bible Correspondence study course is doing a lot to further my walk with God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I thank God for this Bible Study Course and the volunteers who weekly grade them.
________________________________________
Keeper of the Light
By Anthony M.
The keeper of the Light comes like a general ready for the fight. So I could sleep in peace through the night. The weight of my accusers weighs on my thoughts as though I am drowning. So I drop to my knees and say, "Please Jesus, please." And then His army of angels descends upon me, protecting me in the everlasting Light. So I give thanks to my Lord, the King of Kings for His sacrifice as we get ready for the next fight.
________________________________________
David H's Testimony
I've been here at the Lake County Jail since February 2009. In May, I had the privilege of being moved into the "Programs Pod". There, with 20-30 other male inmates, I have had an opportunity to participate in the faith-based part of the programs being offered. I feel that I have been truly blessed in many ways. I have found this part of the LCJ has had a very positive effect on my life and the lives of the other men that have been fortunate enough to have shared this experience with me.
Here we are offered several faith-based classes and church services taught by Chaplain Pete and volunteers including Tom, Neil, Gary, Joe, and Lowell. I have found great spiritual support from the church services, Bible studies, and the "Seeking Him" class taught by Neil. In addition, we have other classes like Moral Recognition Therapy (MRT) with Mrs. Stone, Anger Management, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Parenting Kids God's Way, Communications, and Budgeting. I don't think I could have managed the time that I have spent here at LCJ without Jesus Christ in my life. The volunteers that have come in through the Chaplain's office are true Christians-true believers in Christ. Through these very special individuals I have been saved and I view my time here as a gift from God.
Recently I was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The sentence was a lot longer than anyone was expecting. I am still processing the punishment that I have been given but I will not turn away from my faith nor will I blame anyone for the situation that I find myself in. I have asked God why am I to experience such a severe sentence and immediately I thought of the Book of James chapter 1 verses 2 and 3, "Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." I'm not sure where my path with God will lead me but I know everything will work out in the end.
Soon I will be moved from LCJ to Orlando CFRC and then on to my final home in the Florida correctional system. I will miss the friends that I have made here and all the volunteers who've given so much of their time to us. I will miss the officer who gave us a Bible verse to read in our prayer circle and the officer who left our pod at the end of her shift with a tear in her eye saying, "Bye guys, I'm gonna' miss you!" Thank you all. I'm gonna' miss you too...
________________________________________
I Just Thought You Should Know
By James N.
Hello, it's me again. I greet you like that because this isn't the first time I'm writing in the Full Pardon. The first time I just used some initials (NJ) because I was a little ashamed of letting others know that I'm stuck behind bars again and that I've prayed and rededicated myself to God. But this time I thought I'd let everyone know that this time I'm truly changed. I came in this place (LCDC) very double-minded. My frame of thinking was: Well I'm in here and if I pray real hard, study my Bible, pray real hard again and again then maybe God will miraculously set me free as He did for Paul in the Bible. Or maybe He'd pour out so much compassion and mercy on the judge and the prosecutors that they'd be drunk on it and they'd set me free. All I'd have to do for this was just promise God that I'd serve Him and continue to do on the outside what I'm doing in here.
Well my friend, I and maybe you also fail to remember that God is omniscient. He knows all before anything is even thought of. He knows about it and yes He even knows the ending. So why do we do this? Is it my inner-man wanting to know God, to seek Him because I'm scared and afraid to let anyone else know? Well brother, the word and action of fear affects everyone! No one-and I mean NO ONE-is omitted from fear. The thing about it is that my God - Jesus Christ - can take away my fear when I call on Him. So whether I'm facing 60 days in here or 60 years in DOC I know that Jesus will be with me the whole time. He's made me feel and know His presence so strongly since I've been here and been in His presence that I forget about time.
I've been here 5 months and I have to remind myself how long it's been. God has and will give me peace and contentment wherever I am if I continue to trust Him and keep my faith in Him. I understand, even more now, how Paul felt when he spoke of contentment in Philippians 4:11-13 because truly "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." So if you're in here or anywhere else where you think you're not free-please call on Jesus-not because you want to "bargain" with Him but because He'll be that friend, that loving, "stick-with-you-through-everything" God. I'm witness to all of this and I'm not ashamed to have others know that "Jesus Christ" is "Lord" over me. I just thought I should let you know. God bless!
________________________________________
Editor
Thanks to you who sent in testimonies, poems, stories, and drawings. We hope more of you will write for the next issue of Full Pardon. Send them to Chaplain Pete along with a request form. Remember to try to keep it to 200-250 words. If you would like to share Full Pardon with family and friends on the outside they can go read the rest at www.trinityfree.com/fullpardon on the Internet. Trust God, He is on your side!
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| FullPardon0910.pdf | 238.32 KB |