Letters
Letter From the Editor
Letter From the Editor
Welcome to the April issue of MORNING STAR, our seventh edition.
Before going on the usual business, we have an announcement:

Congratulations go out to staff writer Mike Wilkinson and his
wife Kim. Lindsey Kay Wilkinson who was born on March 10, 1992
at 10:23 PM. She is 7 1/2 lbs and 19 1/4 inches. Both baby and
mother are doing well. Praise God!

This issue of MORNING STAR is dedicated to prison ministries,
their workers and inmates across the United States along with
their families. Of all the issues we have published to date,
this one was the most moving to me personally. The testimonies,
stories and poems are all wonderful and really show how God can
work in the lives of those who choose to trust Him. This issue
will be sent out to many prison ministries and we hope that it
will be a blessing to all who read it. Our prayers are for
those imprisoned who need to be set truly free by Jesus. He has
come to do this for all who let Him. (Luke 4:18) 

For anyone wishing to make literary contributions to MORNING
STAR, here is a list of our upcoming "themes" that we need
feature articles for, along with the respective deadlines:

Issue 9: Biblical Counseling (deadline April 18th)
Issue 10: Christian Womens' Issues (deadline May 16th)
Issue 11: Bible Study (deadline June 20th)
Issue 12: Prayer, Praise and Worship (deadline July 18th)
Issue 13: 1990's Evangelism (Television, Film, Radio, Faxes,
Computers, Networks, BBS, Software etc. - deadline August 15th)

Besides writing a feature article for one of these themes, you
can also help us out with one of our regular columns. We are
always in need of material for the Testimony, Music and Cooking
Columns. Articles for our Witnessing, Young Adults and Ministry
Profile areas are especially welcome. Do you know an
interesting Christian person? Why not set up an interview for
our People Profile column? And don't forget to send in your
news clippings for publication in the Morning Star Newsdesk and
prayer requests for our international Praise and Prayer report!

For those of you who are into the electronic bulletin board
system scene (BBS), here's an exciting press release from Walter
Bauer, our Director of BBS Distribution for the USA:

"Morning Star Magazine can be read not only with the software
that comes with it but for those of you that operate a bulletin
board using SuperBBS, QuickBBS, Remote Access, and others can
obtain a door program that would allow your callers to view
morning star right on screen. What is nice about this door
program is that it is free. The author, Alan Graff does not
charge you anything for the software although he does require
that you register it. The reason you should register is so that
he can keep track of just who is using his software. He will
send you the necessary file to stop the beep noise when the door
loads. Your callers will also see that you took the time to
register the door.

MSDOOR also requires a MS-DOS compatible computer, XT class with
640K memory, a modem and a hard drive.

To obtain your copy of MSDOOR look for it on your bulletin board
that carries this magazine or write to Alan Graff, Cross
Connect Software, P.O. Box 131, Wheelersburg, Ohio 45694. When
you write please send a Double density diskette for him to load
the door program onto it for you. Sorry he can not handle High
Density diskettes at present. You can also contact his BBS at
614- 776-7136 and download MSDOOR.ZIP directly to your system."

Anyone who desires a computer subscription should write to our
Post Office box for details. MORNING STAR is available in 3
formats:

HYPERCARD edition (version 1.2.5) for Macintosh
WINDOWS edition for PC's
DOS edition for all DOS-based computers.

Each DOS edition comes with a built in reader application which
makes it possible for all DOS-based computers to read it! 

Praise the Lord ... issues 1 to 7 of MORNING STAR are now
available in the new WINDOWS edition! Publisher Steve Paulovich
has been very diligent in this effort.

We are looking into the possibility of creating an audio
cassette version of the magazine. This would be of great help
to the visually impaired or those with learning disabilities. 
Anyone with ideas on this should contact me personally.

Finally, if you like MORNING STAR please send us a note! We
love to publish comments from our readers in our Letters section.


In service to Jesus the Messiah,

Toby Trudel
Editor in Chief
MORNING STAR


MORNING STAR accepts literary contributions from believers
wherever they may live. It is our policy to publish testimonies
as they are originally submitted with minimal alteration of the
text. Opinions stated in these testimonies do not necessarily
reflect those of the MORNING STAR staff. The content of MORNING
STAR does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of any
computer network.
Your Letters
Your Letters
Dear Friends:

I read the Morning Star publication Vol I Issue 2, and found it
to be very informative. The publication addresses issues that
minister to the Christian from the babe to the mature. I
especially liked the Witnessing Column which shared some
concrete facts about how to effectively witness to Jewish people.

Bonnie Heard
Houston, Texas


Hi! I found your great uploads of MORNING STAR here on the GENIE
network; I have been uploading to MORNING STAR CHRISTIAN BBS in
Tulsa (918) 492-1749 Sysop: Dave Wenrick. This BBS is THE BEST
SOLID CHRISTIAN BOARD and I highly recommend that you look and
see for yourself. (The sysop is only 15!) Dave likes the
magazine so very much that he's set up a special online door
just to accommodate it.

Robert Edwards Ellison
Hartford, Connecticut
Commentary
Commentary
"Praising in Prison"


The theme of this issue of Morning Star focuses on prison
ministries and related issues. We praise the Lord for those who
are called by Him to minister to people in prison. These
ministries present the gospel of salvation, support for new
believers, and frequently assistance for the newly released.

Regardless of one's view on the prison system, I suspect that
each of us finds the idea of being imprisoned unacceptable. We
can therefore conclude that the primary desire of anyone who is
incarcerated is to be free.

What many of us may not realize is there are more ways to be
imprisoned that just being put behind bars. You may be
imprisoned by a bad marriage. You may feel like a prisoner
because you are tied to a wheelchair, or a sick bed. You may be
imprisoned by circumstances over which you have no control. 
What is the response to this kind of imprisonment? Usually the
desire to be free.

What we need to consider, however,, is that God may not want us
to be free from our prison. The Lord may have a purpose for
allowing us to remain bound in our chains.

Consider the case of the Apostle Paul. He said of himself; "I
have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been
flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and
again. " 2 Corinthians 11:23 Paul knew what it was to suffer
in prison. He knew what it was to suffer in general. (Read 2
Corinthians 11 for an account of all of Paul's sufferings.) Was
his response to want relief? Yes. Anybody's would be. But
getting out of difficult circumstances wasn't his primary
concern. Paul recognized that it was through his difficulties
that he was forced to depend on the Lord. Paul's dependency on
the Lord gave God the glory for his ministry. As Paul said: 


"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to
 go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me.
 Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the
 two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by
 far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. " 
 Philippians 1:21-24

Paul recognized the same truth that we must accept. We may be
in prison, but it may only be in prison that we can serve the
Lord. What benefit was there to Paul's imprisonment? We know
that much of his writing was produced during the periods when he
was under arrest. Much of the basic doctrine of the Church is
grounded in the writings of Paul. God chose to allow him to
remain imprisoned for our benefit.

Think of the final days of the Apostle John. He ended his life
in exile. He was locked away from his own world, an exile on the
island of Patmos. Christ allowed John to remain there to serve
as His secretary. There John recorded the only letters we have
from Christ. These are the letters to the "Seven Churches." 
John, on Patmos, wrote down the entire vision of the last days. 
God chose to allow him to remain imprisoned for our benefit.

"All right," you say, "these men were the saints of the church. 
They could stand up to hardships. They were willing to be used
that the entire Church might benefit. But what about my
situation? Why should I stay imprisoned?"

Before answering the question, let me give some more examples,
of people who have accepted suffering for the Lord. John Bunyan
spent time in prison. Out of this period came the work that is
still considered one of the classic writings of Christianity,
"Pilgrim's Progress."

The Lord used Charles Colson's time behind bars to help him grow
in spiritual maturity. He made Colson into His man. Many
people have been blessed by the works Colson has produced over
recent years.

Joni Erickson Tada has been imprisoned by a wheelchair for many
years. But during that time she has established a ministry that
not only has led people to the Lord, but she too has written
several books. Her writings have helped others grow in the
midst of suffering. Her ministry has helped make life a little
easier for others who are physically challenged.

Many of us today have been blessed because of how God has used
the sufferings of others. Every trial we experience can be used
by the Lord for our benefit, and through us for the benefit of
those He puts in our path.

We may be imprisoned by jail walls, circumstances, or our own
bodies, but our soul remains free to serve the Lord. He will
use us in ways that we could never imagine, if we will simply
allow Him to be in control. We must be willing to let God
decide if and/or when we are to be freed.

God is loving and merciful. As a result, He may choose to free
us. After all, He did free Peter. (Read this account in Acts
chapter 12.) As the Lord kept Paul in prison, so He freed
Peter. In both cases the decision was not based on the comfort
of the individuals. God's concern was for their spiritual
growth. Both Peter and Paul desired, more than anything else,
that God would be glorified through their lives.

What a praise that God may choose to allow us to be freed from
our prison now. But, it may be a greater blessing when He is
willing to let us serve Him in the midst of our circumstances. 
Let us not rail against the bars in our life. Instead let us
praise God because He loves us enough to be willing to let us
grow in our relationship to Him. It is through the difficulties
of life that we find the greatest opportunities to serve Him.

You must decide right now what is truly important to you. Is
the most important issue in your life getting out of prison? 
What price are you willing to pay? If you truly desire to be
obedient, then the Holy Spirit will provide the resources to
remain where God has placed you. Life doesn't depend on
improved circumstances. Life depends on walking in obedience to
the Lord. Being in prison for the Lord is much less painful
than being free and not being able to be used by Him.

We can endure our prisons when our focus shifts from our need to
get out, to the needs of others. As we learn to see others as
the Lord does, we become more concerned about loving them than
protecting ourselves. Christ went to the cross because we
needed salvation. Paul remained in prison and gave us the basic
tenets of the faith. John continued in exile. As a result, the
book of Revelation was written. Therefore, we not only know
that Christ loves us, but that He will come again and restore a
fallen world. 

As our primary concern becomes serving the Lord, we may still be
in prison, but we will find opportunities there we would never
experience in "freedom." Freedom doesn't depend on
circumstances, it depends on your relationship with the Lord
for, "...if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. " 
John 8:36

You cannot be bound by your prison as long as you depend on God
to help you soar above the walls in service to Him. Rejoice
that while He may choose to let you remain behind those bars for
now, one day you will truly be free indeed. One day you will
stand before the Lord and hear Him say to you, "Well done, good
and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things;
I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master's happiness! " Matthew 25:21
Staff List
Morning Star Staff List
Morning Star Staff :
MORNING STAR STAFF LIST

EDITOR IN CHIEF
Toby Trudel - Nashua, NH

SENIOR EDITOR - Biblical Department
Geoffrey Kragen - Roseville, CA

SENIOR EDITOR - Christian Life Department
Teresa Giordanengo - Canonsburg, PA

SENIOR LITERARY EDITOR
Al Murillo III - El Paso, TX

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Jerry Johnson - Modesto, CA
Clark Stephens - Huntington Beach, CA
Dale Strand - Dublin, CA
J.C. Trudel - Naples Park, FL
Mike Wilkinson - Citrus Heights, CA
Dr. Charles Wootten - Matoaca, VA

SENIOR PUBLISHER - DOS and WINDOWS Editions
Steve Paulovich - Derry, NH

NETWORK DISTRIBUTION
AMERICA ONLINE Network:
Jerry White - Germantown, MD

COMPUSERVE Network:
Kay Hall - Cocoa Beach, FL

GENIE Network:
Mike Wilkinson - Citrus Heights, CA

DELPHI Network:
Derrick Shipman - Greenville, SC

DIRECTOR OF BBS DISTRIBUTION - USA
Walter H. Bauer Jr. - Sugar Land, TX

MSDOOR PROGRAM DISTRIBUTION
Alan Graff - Wheelersburg, Ohio

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION
Sharon Sanders - Jerusalem, Israel
Lars Storstrand - Minde, Norway
Peter Cunliffe - Noisiel, France
Roger J. Obe - Iloilo City, Philippines
Scott Walters - Punchbowl, NSW, Australia
David Faris - Yaounde, Cameroun

OFFICE SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN
Patrick Auriemma - Nashua, N.H.

Features
Testimony of Randy Mitchell
Testimony of Randy Mitchell
TESTIMONY OF RANDY MITCHELL

Ellis II Unit
Huntsville, Texas

Well, I've had the Gospel preached to me many times before, but
I was just never aware of the truth that was behind it. After
being arrested and placed in the county jail, about two weeks
after I was there, I was laying on my bum, considering all the
problems and the mess that I had gotten myself into, and a
little Spanish fellow came up to me and he had a Bible in his
hand. He held the Bible out to me and said, "I've got something
here I want you to read." My first reaction was to tell him.
"No, take that away from me, that's not what I need right now." 
And he said, "Yeah, I think it is." So, to get him off of my
back, I pampered him and I took his Bible from him and read what
he had given me to read. He had given me the 24th and 25th
chapters of Matthew, which speak of the end times and the last
judgement. It's hard to explain, but something inside me
clicked, and told me, "This is real and you had better check
this out."

I gave the Bible back to him thinking, "This is just my
despondency, my reaching out for something, cause here I am in
jail." Later on that evening I found myself going back to the
man and asking him to borrow his Bible. I went over and started
reading in the book of Revelation. I had talked to some people
about the Bible before and they said don't read the book of
Revelation first, well that's naturally that's the first thing I
did. So after reading it, and not understanding it, the
majority of it, but knowing that I didn't want to go through
what that book was telling me, I went back to the beginning. It
was just a New Testament, so I went back to Matthew. I spent
approximately two weeks in the Word and then I had run across
some other little booklet by a prominent preacher out in
Houston. Through reading that book I was led to the sinner's
prayer. So, one night in my bunk, I felt the tug of the Lord on
my heart, which said, "You need me now, worse than you've ever
needed before in your life." I didn't know what that meant, but
I knew that something was telling me, "Yeah, that's what you
need." So as I lay there in my bunk, by myself, no altar call,
no preachers around, I asked the Lord to come into my heart, and
I went to sleep.

I woke up the next day and it was like I was in a whole new
world. I had been delivered from hate, because I had a terrible
hate for the people around me in the jailhouse. I was not a
hateful person out in the world really, but for some reason I
had hate in my heart for those people around me when I got
thrown in jail. But that hate was gone when I woke up the next
morning. People that I had chewed out, I went to them and asked
them to forgive me for getting mad at them. I told them I had
no reason for that. I didn't understand what I was doing. 
There were things going on in my life, that I didn't understand,
I didn't know why. But I knew it wasn't me doing it, because
even when I would sit and tell myself, "Don't go and do that", I
would still get up and go to those people and say, "I'm sorry."

Well, I continued reading the Word, got involved in the church
there and the Lord delivered me from a lot of things. In the
very beginning he delivered me from a mouth that was unfit for
most sailors, and their reputation for having bad mouths is well
known! I didn't worry any more what was going to happen to me.
I knew I was coming to prison. I was on probation when I got
arrested. I knew that they would revoke it. I knew that I was
looking at least ten years in prison. But I prayed and said,
"Lord, I don't know where I'm heading and I don't know where I'm
going. But if you just show me what it is you would have me to
do, then I'll do it. You're going to have to make it very
simple, because I'm not a very bright person."

He's honored that. He's given me peace in my heart, to put
total trust in Him. No matter what happens, no matter where I
go, no matter how much time I do in the penitentiary, I know
that God is with me. I know that Jesus has made a change in my
life. It's kind of hard for people to see it, because they
didn't know me out in the world. But I know in my heart that He
has, and I'm out to share that with others and show them that He
can do that for them too, if they really want him to.

Copyright 1991 
Printed with Permission of JEWISH VOICE BROADCASTS
Testimony of Larry Thompson
Testimony of Larry Thomspon
TESTIMONY OF LARRY THOMPSON

Hillsboro County Jail
Manchester, New Hampshire

On October 24th, 1991, facing a combined total of 25 to 50 years
imprisonment for three armed robberies and kidnapping charges, I
decided to board a bus heading to Montreal Canada. From the
time I left my parents house to catch the train to Boston, I had
second thoughts about my decision to take a vacation to a
country I had never been to, with only twenty dollars on me.

I can remembering praying to "God" on the way two or three
times, to give me the strength of courage to start my new life. 
I kept having flashbacks of my mother leaving for work that
morning. As she was leaving she leaned over and with tears in
her eyes kissed my forehead as she knew that she would not see
me for quite some time. Every time my mind flashed back I would
begin to cry and I knew in my heart I had made a bad decision,
but decided to stick with it.

When I got to the Canadian border and was asked questions
concerning my "vacationing" to their country, the immigration
official pulled me aside and asked how much money I had on me. 
I told him I had fifteen dollars and was subsequently detained
while they checked for warrants. I was then approached by the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who informed me of my warrants
and turned me over to the U.S. Marshall. After confirmation of
my identity I was brought to a correctional facility in St.
Albans Vermont, where I awaited extradition to New Hampshire.

I can remember that through this whole sequence of events, how
filled with fear and doubt I was, and how I felt very suicidal. 
When I got to my jail cell, I cried and cried to the point of
being completely drained. When I finally stopped, I looked
around and noticed all I had with me were some poems I had
written and a pocket Bible that was placed by the Gideons in a
jail I had once spent time in down in Massachusetts.

For some strange reason, I had taken this Bible with me. I now
began to read it and prayed, and confessed my sins. I asked
Jesus to come into my heart and soul and to guide me as I was a
very tired and broken man.

My life has since turned around to the point that my fear is
gone and my faith grows stronger every day. I have purpose in
my life today, and as far as the courts and the justice system
go, the Lord Jesus already knows what is going to happen and I
trust in Him that He will be with me. I believe today that all
the events I described happened the way they were supposed to
happen. They weren't by mistake or coincidence. This is Jesus
plan for me.
When Time Is All You've Got
When Time Is All You've Got
WHEN TIME IS ALL YOU'VE GOT

A Death-Row Redemption Story

Stephen Nethery could be anyone's son. His mother, Evelyn, is
church pianist at Pilgrim's Rest Baptist in Soddy-Daisy,
Tennessee, where his father, Hal, is a deacon. Stephen's
grandfather was a preacher.

Hal and Evelyn had high hopes for Stephen. Would he follow in
his grandfather's footsteps? Would he be a missionary in some
exotic land?

A missionary, yes. But under a cloud that darkens his mother's
world, a day-to-day dread that the phone will ring bearing news
of her son's execution date.

For 10 years Stephen has lived on death row in Huntsville,
Texas. Two execution dates have come and gone. He waits for a
ruling on his latest appeal. "It could come today," he says. "It
could be next year. You sit back and wait. I'm assured that if I
die, I'll be with Christ. But I know my family would be sad, and
I don't want to hurt them any more than I already have."

The hurt began when Stephen rebelled as a young teen, running
with the wrong crowd. Stephen remembers coming home late at
night, opening the door on a tranquil domestic scene: "Sometimes
Mom would be over there kneeling down praying for me."

Hal recalls his fatherly tack: "I would tell Stephen when he was
doing wrong. He'd answer, 'Well Dad, I've just got to sow some
wild oats.' " Hal had no idea how prophetic his retort would
prove to be: "Then you're going to reap a bountiful crop."

Finally, at age 19, Stephen left home. "I thought I'd die," says
Evelyn, "and it's been awful ever since."

Landing a riverboat job on the Mississippi, Stephen would binge
on drink and drugs and, within a year, armed robberies. One
favorite spot for reverie was Dallas, where an early-morning,
February 1981 tryst exploded. Routinely patrolling the shoreline
at White Rock Lake, a young police officer walked up to
Stephen's car window and said, "Why don't you two get dressed
and go on home?"

Drunk, stoned, and scared, Stephen came out shooting. The
policeman's partner, Officer McCartney, fell, dead. 

Five days later, Evelyn Nethery took a phone call from an
attorney in Dallas. Sensing catastrophe, she handed the phone to
Hal and began packing for their trip to Dallas.

In the headlines for days, Stephen's name and crime "cop killer"
caught the eye of Nancy Berry, a Prison Fellowship volunteer who
served as a Dallas County Jail volunteer chaplain.

She remembers how 21-year-old Stephen shuffled into the visiting
area in prison overalls, stooped and unshaven, his scraggly hair
drooped over his shoulders. "He just looked pitiful," Nancy
recalls.

Sensing Stephen's need, Nancy came back, visiting him several
times a week in the months before his June trial. When Evelyn
and Hal and Steve's younger sister, Susan, came for the trial,
Nancy and other PF volunteers arranged for their free lodging,
meals, and even diversionary entertainment for Susan.

At the trial, Nancy grieved for the Netherys and the McCartheys,
parents of the slain officer. At the end of the two-week trial
Evelyn expressed her sympathy to Mr. McCartney, who responded in
kind, saying, "If my son's death will help turn your son's life
around, then maybe his dying will not be in vain."

Nancy could see the Lord's hand at work in Stephen, who
struggled during the trial to make his peace with God. "But," he
says, "I was so full of guilt and anger and bitterness. I was
blaming everyone but myself."

On June 30, 1981, it was over: The jury's verdict mandated the
death penalty. But on July 1, the story turned around. Stephen
put his life and death in God's hands. Stephen remembers, "I
said, 'I cannot face God with all this sin. Lord, this is it.
This is when I can fully trust You. Until then I had hatred in
my heart for the judge, for the D.A., for the witnesses, for the
jury, and just everybody. I wanted to release that to God. I
wanted to be clean." And that day Stephen received the inner
assurance that he was.

Though Stephen's days seemed numbered, he set his mind to
redeeming them. "I have nothing but time," he says, "so much
free time to spend in the Word" and in "the Christians of old,
like Luther, Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, and the Puritans. And
there are plenty of people in a place like this that need help.
It's like a mission field. There are people who can't read or
write. They need you to help them write their letters."

Stephen himself writes about 30 letters a month, including two a
week to his parents. "Twice a week, every week, regardless."

Evelyn, who hadn't been able to touch her son for more than 10
years, being separated by miles or a glass wall in the visitors'
room, is amazed at his letter-writing avocation. But to Stephen
it is more than a hobby, it's a ministry given and received.

There's his correspondence with church members back home, who
help Evelyn and Hal with transportation money so they can visit
three or four times a year. Then there's his junior-high coach,
Mr. Fox. "He has taken some of my letters and read them to the
students. Maybe my life can make some kids look at what they're
doing, the drug scene, the alcohol, the sex, and turn to God."

He's written about a dozen kids who have responded to an article
he wrote, printed in a Tennessee magazine.

Stephen regularly corresponds with James Allison, a PF volunteer
and In-Prison Seminar instructor, living near Shreveport,
Louisiana. James drives 12 hours, round trip several times a
year to visit Stephen, who says, "From the beginning we just hit
it off. It's a real blessing, knowing that he comes that far to
visit me. It's not easy to feel sorry for myself when I know
that people love me."

James has even provided lodging to Hal, driving west to see
Stephen, and he went to be with Stephen the day before his
second scheduled execution, May 28, 1988. With only 12 hours
left, an officer interrupted their prayer session with joyful
news, Stephen had been granted another stay.

Stephen and the 300 other men on the Huntsville-Ellis I Unit
death row live with the tension that not every countdown halts
with a court stay. In his 10 years there, Stephen has seen 27
men silenced by execution. Nancy Berry describes two of them as
his "best praying buddies."

Men he led to the Lord?

"Well," Nancy says, "he's very humble. He doesn't feel he leads
people to the Lord. God just puts people there for him to tell
about Him."

Stephen misses yet another praying buddy, a man he met shortly
after he arrived on death row. As a long-time Christian,
Clarence Brandley had his own deep bitterness to surrender to
the Lord: He was innocent, his only crime being that he was
black and living in a racist town. Clarence was freed in January
1990, being exonerated by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

"We didn't have any church service or any group fellowship when
I first got to Huntsville," says Stephen. So he and Clarence
began to discuss and study Scripture together in the recreation
airhead. Then they started attending the church growing up
around their witness, as fellow inmates saw the peace and
purpose they preached.

"There are many guy real close to death here," says Stephen.
"They need to hear the message. One guy here didn't even know
there was a Bible. Another guy with the mental capacity of an
eight or nine-year-old was just baptized."

Stephen notes, "If we Christians won't love him and try to help
him, who will?"

Stephen rejoiced when Clarence walked out a free man, but he
mourned the absence of a comrade. There are so few Christians in
the Ellis block to help hold one another up. Death row is cut
off from most volunteer ministry. The burden for all religious
services falls on Chaplain Alex Taylor. Even though church
attendance has grown to 25 or 30, Stephen expresses impatience.
"I would like to see a great revival. Like you read about in the
Book of Acts."

As for his own fate, he's not impatient. "A lot of people here,"
says Stephen, "turn to God as a means to get out. I made up my
mind never to ask God to deliver me from death row. I don't feel
worthy to ask. It feels as if it would be a selfish request. I
leave it in God's hands."


Printed by permission of the Prison Fellowship 
Taken from JUBILEE, October 1991 issue
Copyright 1991
Accept Me As a Person, Not As a Convict
Accept Me As a Person, Not As a Convict by Glenn Ralph Mellot
ACCEPT ME AS A PERSON ... NOT AS A CONVICT

By Glenn Ralph Mellot

I know a lot of people have had a rough life. I know also that
even more have had a rougher life than mine. The message of this
testimony is for those who have had a pretty easy life. Those
who wouldn't know what a rough life is, except for what they
have seen on television or in a movie. I pray that my testimony
will help someone. The story which you are about to read is true
and documented.

First, I want to prepare you. Remember, this is for those who
have led a sheltered life and don't know what goes on in most
lives. Life has not been good to all of us.

At the age of eleven I was placed in a private school operated
by the sisters of Saint Joseph. I was sent there because my
parents couldn't handle me. I wouldn't go to school, and I would
stay out all night most of the time. The reason for this was, I
didn't feel any love at home. Although I know today that my
mother loved me then as she does now.

I spent three long years of my life at the private school and
hated every minute I was there. I learned to hate it so much
that no one could tell me to do anything. I had no respect for
authority. (However, most of what they tried to teach me rubbed
off on me, and in a way I am glad it did.)

After going back home. I got into trouble. I stole about $300
that my mother was holding for the church. She was the church
treasurer. I was caught an hour or so later. The reason I was
caught was, I stole from God my Father. I didn't have the sense
to realize it for quite some time.

Then I was placed in a reform school, Oakdale Boys' Industrial
School. near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The first day I was there
some of the other boys got me down on the ground and put
cigarettes out on my arm. I still have the scars from that today.

I was at Oakdale for about six months and tried to escape at
least twenty times that I can remember. Finally I was sent to
George Junior Republic at Grove City, Pennsylvania. I was there
about a year and tried to escape three times that I know of. The
last time I stayed out, because the judge said I didn't have to
go back. I had been out almost a year when I got involved in
stealing cars and transporting them across state lines. In the
meantime I joined the Army. But the Army soon discharged me for
being unfit for military service.

After being released by the Army I went back to stealing cars. I
drove a car until I felt like it was getting too hot, then I
ditched it and stole another. Later I was arrested in Seward,
Nebraska, driving a stolen 1969 Dodge Charger. I had been
stopped for speeding. The judge sentenced me to 30 days in jail
for giving false information to a law enforcement officer. After
serving my time in Seward, I went to Davenport, Nebraska, and
took a job with a paving construction company. I collected my
pay after a week's work and started hitchhiking.

A trucker heading for Salt Lake City, Utah, gave me a ride. I
rode with him to pick up his load and stayed to help him unload.
Then I went home with him to help out on his ranch near New
Braunfels, Texas. I stayed there about three days then stole his
car and drove it to Pennsylvania. When I got there I turned
around and drove to California. About a hundred miles out of
Bakersfield I stopped to rest. While I was resting the state
police stopped to see if I was all right. They arrested me on
the spot and put me in jail in Los Angeles. The judge gave me a
four-to-six-year suspended sentence and I was placed on four
years probation.

I went back to Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania, and lived about a
month. I Couldn't find a job anywhere. Finally I took a service
station job near the house where I was staying. The first day on
the job I stole a car and went to Charlotte, North Carolina,
with it. In Charlotte I was stopped for speeding again and was
arrested and put in jail. This time I was sentenced to two years
running concurrent with the probation that I had.

In April of 1975 I was sent back to California for a revocation
hearing for probation violation. At the hearing the judge
sentenced me to serve the four-to-six-years. Then they sent me
back to Milan, Michigan, where I was doing the two-year
sentence. When I first went down (to prison), in 1973, I got
interested in Christianity. But I backslid so far that I got
involved in satanism. I was so deeply involved that all my spare
time went to reading anything and everything that I could find
on the subject. I was considered Satan's high priest of a
dormitory of about 150 men.

While holding black mass one night something happened that
scared me so bad that I could hardly talk for about six hours or
so. I still get the shakes when I think about it. I had a vision
of me standing before God at His Judgment Seat in heaven. God
didn't say a word to me, He just pointed to a door. I walked
through the door that led to the eternal flames of hell. I hope
no one believes there is no hell, because there is. I've seen
it, I've felt it and I thank God that I will never have to go
there again.

That was when I accepted Jesus as my Savior. I praise God that I
was able to be saved from the fiery pits of hell through Jesus
Christ my Lord and Savior.

PRISON IS NO GAME

This is what happens when a man goes to prison. Prison is no
game! The people who are confined in prison play for keeps. They
are the type of people who think that if they have a problem
with someone else, they are justified in eliminating the problem
permanently. Everyone goes back to his animal instinct to
survive. I'm going to be perfectly honest with you and not hold
anything back that I feel would be of benefit to you. I want you
to be able to understand the different circumstances that occur
in prisons all over the world.

Maybe through this article just one teenager or someone else can
be saved by the Grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Then
maybe they will never have to go through what I, and many
others, have gone through. If this happens, then everything that
I have gone through and every day that I have been in prison
will be worth it.

A convict's reputation is very important to him while he's
behind bars. After all, his reputation is all he has. During a
period of about four years before I accepted Jesus Christ as my
Savior, I built a reputation for myself that has been hard for
me to get rid of now that I have given my life to Jesus. After
dedicating my life to Jesus about a year and a half ago, the
prison guards still held my past against me. It is very hard for
me at times not living up to the reputation that I had. They
keep wanting to shove it down my throat. I really get frustrated
at times. But with the help of Jesus Christ I will some day be
able to overcome this time of trial that I am going through. I
will stand my ground for Jesus Christ and will not falter.

My past life earned me the name "Hillbilly," because I headed a
clique. In prison there are groups of convicts who swear to
stick together through every kind of circumstance, even killing,
for the protection of each other. My clique was the "K's" (short
for Ku Klux Klan). I had gone so far as to start racial riots,
sit downs, work stoppages, and just about anything else that I
could think of to defy authority. Ever since I can remember I've
never liked authority or anyone that represented it. I never
liked doing anything that necessitated someone standing over me
telling me what to do. But now, thanks to Jesus Christ, I can
take orders without one word of complaint.

I've been in several Federal Prisons, from Milan, Michigan;
Petersburg, Virginia; Lompoc, California; Tallahassee, Florida
and finally Memphis, Tennessee, where I am presently
incarcerated.

These do not include the ones I have been in on the way to the
other ones as a holdover. These are Leavenworth, Kansas;
Atlanta, Georgia; El Reno, Oklahoma; Texarkana, Texas; La Tuna,
Texas; Terre Haute, Indiana and Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

The reason for my moving around so much is because the guards
could never control me, although I will give them credit where
credit is due for trying. They tried hard to break me, but they
would finally give up and transfer me to another prison so they
wouldn't have to put up with me any more, or have to worry about
me. I've fought, I've hurt people, and I've been hurt. My nose
has been broken so many times in fist fights that I stopped
counting. During all this time, my greatest fear was the night
time, as no one ever knows when they might be killed. I've never
been stabbed but I was "piped" once (hit on the head with a
metal bar).

People who have never been exposed to this kind of life tell
themselves, "Well, this doesn't go on in our free country."
Well, brothers and sisters, you're wrong. It does happen and
will keep on happening as long as all of us let it happen. This
will go on either, until we the people stop it, or until Jesus
Christ comes again, which I don't think will be very long from
now.

If I were to sit down and tell you about prison it would take me
a lifetime, and then it would be only about the things that I
have seen or experienced. For someone else to go to prison is a
different thing than what it was for me when I came in. Every
one does their own thing and everything is different because
every one is different. If you were to go to prison you would
have a complete different interpretation of prison than the one
I would try to explain to you. It is different for all who come
here and believe me, it is no joke.

I could never readily admit this before to anyone, but God has
given me the strength to tell you. Since my incarceration,
October 11, 1973, I have had about six "kids" (prison slang for
homosexual). In Tallahassee I stabbed an inmate for trying to
take my kid. There is a difference between an inmate and a
convict. An inmate will do anything that he is told by the
guards, with no complaint or rebellion. A convict would rather
go to the "hole" (maximum security). An inmate is considered a
low life, scum-of-the-earth type individual in a convict's eyes.
I used to be a convict, now I'm considered an inmate because I
accepted Jesus as my Savior. That used to be hard for me to
accept because of my pride. It also means that my time is a lot
harder to do as far as being in prison. But, to most I am still
considered a convict, as they have known me for some time and
they know what I am about. They can't understand it but they
accept it. I have led three convicts to Jesus Christ. Actually,
they brought themselves with the help of the Holy Spirit.

I stabbed the inmate in Tallahassee because he thought he could
take what was mine and get away with it without me giving any
repercussions. Therefore, to protect my reputation and keep the
respect of the other convicts, I stabbed the man. If someone
tries to disrespect you in any way, you do your best to do away
with that person. That way, you have no problems. Today I ask
God to keep that person I stabbed safe and free from all harm. I
am truly sorry that it ever happened. I know that it didn't have
to be, but I was not a Christian then and I felt it had to be
done at the time. Satan has a way of leading people astray and
people have a way of following his leading.

To give you a little more insight on what takes place in prison,
I will tell you a little about what a young person can expect if
he ever goes to prison. These are just some of the things that I
have seen or experienced myself. These things happen everyday. I
feel compelled to dwell on what happens to young men who come to
prison as I went through it myself. I might have handled it a
little different than most would have, but I did what I thought
was right. Before I start I just want to thank God for the time
that I have done in reform school as it taught me what I should
do if ever backed into a corner not knowing what to do. I used
to handle all situations as a convict would, now I leave it up
to God as He is the One that rules my life.

A "kid" is a person who comes to prison young and "pretty." He
is one who doesn't have the strength it takes to handle
different situations. He is not prepared for it physically or
mentally. This is how most kids are found or made. A young dude
comes to prison, he doesn't know what is going on. He just got
here and is scared to death, or just about. He is not a
homosexual and has never even thought about being one. He is the
typical all-american boy who made a mistake. The judge just
wanted to teach him a lesson.

The kid comes in with all his property or belongings. He puts
them in his locker and makes his bed. Then he might decide to go
to the yard or something. He comes back to find "zoo-zoo's and
wham-wham's" (candy, cigarettes, coffee and things of this
nature) on his bed. He picks the things up and puts them in his
locker. After he has eaten all the candy, smoked all the
cigarettes and drank all the coffee, the dude that put all that
stuff on the kid's bed to begin with comes and asks him for all
the stuff back. Naturally the kid can't give it back. But the
dude keeps insisting that he wants it now. There is no way the
kid can give it back so the dude goes to get his shank (homemade
knife). He comes back and pulls it out to let the kid see. The
kid gets scared. The dude says something like, "I'll give you
three choices. One, get my stuff. Two, get stabbed with this
knife. Three, do some kind of sex act for me. " Nine out of ten
times the kid does the sex act for the dude and becomes the
dude's "kid."

To be a Christian in prison is the hardest thing that a man can
do. A person gets tired of all the little games that the
convicts run on him to try to make him backslide. You see, when
a man becomes a Christian in prison he is considered weak. The
convicts think that they are stronger and can make the
Christians do whatever they want. I have seen this time and
again. I thank God that they don't try this on me any more
because I was totally fed up with it. God tells us in His Book
that He will not let us go through any more than what we can
endure. I think this is the reason that they stopped on me,
because God saw that I wouldn't be able to take anymore.

I used to get laughed at and criticized, I would have to
constantly swallow my pride, which at times is still hard for me
to do. But, now I think, "what did Jesus do when He was laughed
at, lied to, and spit on for me?" He did nothing. I forgive
those who make fun of me now, and I pray that someday, someday
they will see the light before it's too late. The Bible also
tells us that pride is the downfall of every man unless used for
the Glory of God. I put my pride in Jesus of Nazareth, Who arose
from the grave after dying on the cross at Calvary for the
redemption of all mankind.

I know there are many Christians in here and out there who put
their pride in themselves. They even think it's too hard to
confess they are Christians. Well, brothers and sisters, for
those who are doing this, I want you to know that having this
pride in yourselves will never get you to heaven. In fact, for
those of you who are putting pride in yourselves you are on a
one way trip straight to hell. I thank God for my pride because
I learned to use it for the glory of God, and not my own. We are
not here on this earth to please man. We are here to please God.
If we can't please God then there is no use for us being here.
God made man for His pleasure, not our own.

I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and gave Him my
life to run the way that He wants to run it, not the way I want
to. I will do everything within my power, and the power that God
has given to me, to spread His Word to every living creature. I
am doing this so that someone can be saved by the grace of God
through Jesus Christ so they will never have to endure the pains
that I, and so many others, have endured. All my pains will be
well worth it if I can save one person from going to the fiery
gates and pits of hell.

May God bless you all and hold all of you in the hollow of His
hands safely, always and forever.


From ACCLAIMED BOOKS
P.O. Box 18186 Dallas, Texas 75218
American Evangelistic Association
Don't Ever Give Up On People
Don't Ever Give Up On People by Jeanette McFarland
DON'T EVER GIVE UP ON PEOPLE

By Jeanette McFarland

Last December when Lieutenant Jim Mays arrested frail Tracy
Eichman the umpteenth time for prostitution, she begged him not
to take her to the Winnebago County (Illinois) Jail; she'd be
cut off from her drug suppliers. No one could have predicted
then that two months later Tracy would hug Jim at her baptism,
publicly thanking him for locking her up.

"I'm freer in prison than I've ever been in my life on the
streets as a prostitute and addict," she told members of
Rockford's First Evangelical Free Church on February 24. "I
believe that Jesus has died and forgiven me for my sins, and the
slate is wiped clean."

Tracy had heard of God's love, and even prayed at times, before
her last arrest. "But I was not a Christian; I thought I was too
imperfect to be able to accept His love, so for 32 years I
didn't," Tracy recalls. But in her jail cell she cried out to
God, "Please help me. Either I'm going to commit suicide or
You're going to have to give me some strength, because I'm
through. My way didn't work."

Tracy's case quickly made a splash in the local media, as she
was the first to be held and convicted under a new state law
making attempted criminal transmission of the AIDS virus a
criminal charge. But God was already orchestrating a team of
people to spur her spiritual growth.

Janice Mathis, the jail chaplain's assistant, visited Tracy
daily during her initial drug withdrawal. "She was so happy and
filled with joy," Tracy remembers. Then, within days of the
arrest, newspaper articles quoting Tracy's apology for what she
calls her "terrible sin" caught Lieutenant Mays's eye. He headed
to the jail to visit Tracy with his pastor, John Aker of First
Evangelical Free, and Jean Flores, who as coordinator of Martin
House's Magdalene program, a ministry to prostitutes, had
witnessed to Tracy on the streets.

As they walked in, Tracy pointed at Jim and said, "If you hadn't
arrested me, I never would have found Jesus." She said she was
grieving over the harm she'd caused others in her effort to
support her drug addiction. The visitors hugged their new sister
in the Lord, assuring her of God's saving grace.

Over the next two months Tracy anticipated visits from these new
friends and participated in Bible studies. Her understanding of
the Gospel grew under the counsel of Pastor Collins and Chaplain
Hoekstra who "explained the simplicity of God's plan."

As a new believer one of Tracy's first concerns was to be
baptized, in a church. After several phone calls, the sentencing
judge gave permission for two policemen to escort her to First
Evangelical Free. When it came time to walk down into the
baptismal waters, Jim and Pastor John escorted her, aglow with
the joy of the Lord. At the end of the Sunday morning service,
the congregation celebrated with gifts and hugs at a reception
held in Tracy's honor.

With her health declining and her transfer to prison imminent,
Tracy savored these hours of outside contact; within days she
was moved about 100 miles away to Dwight Correctional Center.

Her subsequent letters to John often mention her gratitude for
the congregation's love. "We have a sister with AIDS," he says,
"who is our missionary to the Illinois penal system. She is a
member in good standing, and we care about her."

Hospitalized twice since being moved to Dwight, Tracy says, "I
know this disease is going to kill me. But I choose to make
myself function. I have no (self-) pity whatsoever."

In fact, despite her confinement Tracy chooses to reach out with
a ministry of correspondence. To date she has received letters
from nearly 300 people, including 80 school children,
individuals struggling with pain or depression, and many new
friends from First Evangelical Free. Some offer encouragement,
others seek advice. "If they care enough to write me, I can take
my time to write them."

Tracy also takes advantage of every opportunity to grow in
Christ, participating in a course in Christian basics and
attending worship services. Soon after her arrival, Prison
Fellowship held its first seminar at Dwight. Tracy was able to
personalize the title of the seminar, "You Are Somebody"

She summarizes what she learned, "Take off the labels (that
other people give you); you are always someone in Christ's eyes.
That's when I started to believe that I could be someone.
I'd never had any self-esteem until I found Christ."

Tracy may not have long to live, but, she says, "I'm determined
to keep walking with the Lord until I can't walk anymore." Her
message to fellow Christians and prison volunteers is concise:
"Don't ever give up on people. They can always change, as long
as they find the Lord."

Printed by permission of the Prison Fellowship 
Taken from JUBILEE, July/August 1991 issue
Copyright 1991
Poems From Prison Cells
Poems From Prison Cells
The following letter and poem are from "Poems from Prison
Cells". Printed with permission granted by Chaplain Ray of
International Prison Ministry, P.O. Box 63, Dallas, Texas 75221.


WE QUOTE
(An Actual Letter)

Three months ago I sat in a court and heard a judge say, "Twenty
years." He was pronouncing sentence on my twenty-one year old
son, a punishment for drinking, gambling and robbery, which
ended in the shooting and death of a man.

The sentence might have been less, but my son took a sneering,
defiant attitude all through the court, ridiculing every law
officer who spoke to him. But the crowning, shocking climax
came when the judge sternly asked, "Young man, don't you believe
in God?" He laughed long and loud as he said, "God? Who's
that?" Every eye in the court room turned to look at me.

I went to Sunday school and church when I was small and learned
about God. After I was married I decided to go and take my
children. I could not persuade my husband to go, but the
children and I went regularly for a year. Then I skipped two or
three Sundays and got out of the habit, and then I only went on
special days.

Soon I joined a bowling team that competed on Sunday afternoons.
I could not go to church and get ready to leave in time to
bowl, and bowling was such fun!

If only I had those years to live over! Night after night since
that court trial, I have walked the floor with the words, "God?
Who's that?" echoing in my ears.

My son was thirteen the Sunday the policeman came as I was
leaving with my bowling bag. I waited impatiently while he told
me my son had been caught breaking a window just the night
before. I practically forgot it and went on my merry way. By
now the church was just a thing of the past. The years went by
- to end up in a court room! When I think of my wasted years of
having fun instead of meeting God at His appointed place I am
sick with shame. I'm trying to make restitution by urging other
people to go.

So many do not believe in making a child go to church and Sunday
school if he does not want to go. But how many would go to
school if they were not made to go? Ask any child that
question. And I do know that parents must set the example
themselves by taking their children to God's house with them. 
It's too late for my son now, but please take advice from one
who knows!

-(Signed) Mother

_________________________________________________________________


These men within the prison write about "walls, cells, dreams
and life beyond the strong, silent barrier." Those outside the
wall write to those within! The following is a piece written by
a father to his son, an inmate.


TO YOU IN PRISON
By Jimmy Palmer

Cry, Cry, Cry
Won't you ever smile, my son?
You know that the world won't end,
Just because you're in.

Lie, Lie, Lie
Won't you ever tell the truth?
You really want and wish to be,
Living here at home, with me.

Why, Why, Why
Did this cruel thing fall on you?
Remember all you planned to do
Has vanished from your sight.

Try, Try, Try
Try to open up your heart!
You can surely make a new start
Once you've changed your inner heart.

I Know, I Know, I Know
What's running through your mind;
Life can really be unkind,
So what's the use of living?

Alone, Alone, Alone
When you're all alone, don't think
I've turned my back on you.
Love is going to cut right through.

You know, you know, you know
That you'll always be my friend.
That our love will not end,
No matter what we be.

Take time, think
Think about the things I say.
Soon your life will fade away;
Will you then be free?

Cry, Cry, Cry
Someone else is crying, too.
Shedding tears for only you.
He cares, He cares, 'tis true.

Die, Die, Die
Blood and sweat upon a cross.
Run to Him, you know you're lost.
Yes, He died for me and you!

Biblical Department
New In Christ
New In Christ
"New in Christ" is a regular MORNING STAR column written
primarily for people who wish to learn more about the basic
teachings of Biblical Christianity. The editorial staff at
MORNING STAR encourages all readers to freely use this
information to help new Christians grow in their walk with the
Lord. In this issue we conclude our article, begun in the
previous issue, on living a Christian lifestyle.


LIFESTYLES OF THE POOR AND HUMBLE
(Part 2 of a 2-part series)

When we share the news of Christ with others we are not to do so
in a threatening or condescending manner. Rather, we are to be
pleasant and gentle when we try to persuade them to come to
Christ. (2nd Timothy 2:23-25) An important technique is to
find a "common ground" with people. This way we can gain their
trust, persuading them to listen to our message. (1st
Corinthians 9:19-23) This does not mean however, that we are to
try and trick anyone into believing, by "coloring" what the
Gospel says. (2nd Corinthians 4:2) We should simply present
its truth as it stands. Unfortunately, some Christians start to
take pride in how many "souls they've won." But, they forget
two important things. First, that they are only doing what they
are supposed to do as the Lord's servants. (Luke 17:10) 
Second, that they are only presenting the Gospel. It's the
Holy Spirit that does the actual soul-winning.

Being involved with "soul winning" is probably the most
important duty of a Christian. Some of us may be better at it
than others, because the Lord has given us different abilities
in life. Never-the-less we are all to make the best effort with
what He gives us, not sticking our heads in the ground. (Matthew
25:14-30) 

Christ said that if you're not part of the team "gathering",
then your part of those "scattering". (Luke 11:23) Sounds like
that old saying; "If you're not part of the solution, then
you're part of the problem". There are big rewards in store for
those who bring people to the Lord. (John 4:35-38) God is
especially pleased when you can bring someone back to trusting
the Lord after their having slipped away. (James 5:19,20) 
Soul-winning should be a priority in every Christian's life.

Here's the question in the back of every new or potential
Christian's mind: "Won't I be ridiculed by both friends and
strangers, if I go around talking about Christ to people?" 
Jesus gave these words of wisdom to those who follow Him: 
"Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye
therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." (Matthew
10:6) The Lord tells us that any suffering we encounter for Him
is microscopic compared to the size of the reward we will
receive from Him. (Romans 8:17,18, 2nd Corinthians 4:17,18) 
Many of us might express willingness to go fight and die for our
country. But, all of us should be willing to suffer for Christ,
who suffered and died for us. (Philippians 1:29, 1st
Thessalonians 3:3, 2nd Thessalonians 1:5, 1st Peter 4:16) Keep
this in mind if you ever start to "chicken out," when given a
chance to talk about Him, because of concern over what someone
present might think. We are to worry about pleasing God, not
people. (1st Thessalonians 2:4)

Of course not all the hours in our days are spent sharing the
Gospel. We still have our lives to live and many temptations
will present themselves before us as we go about our daily
activities. The subject of dealing with sinful "natural"
desires was mentioned in the previous part of this article
(MORNING STAR, Vol 1.6). Three of the most prevalent causes of
sin in the world today are desire for wealth, status (fame or
power), and sex. When you examine the New Testament, you will
find more written on these issues than any others. Not only
does the pursuit of these things lead to sin, but the failure in
acquiring them often causes many people to turn to crime,
alcohol, drugs, abuse of others and suicide. The Lord's position
on these three matters is something to be aware of.

God makes it quite clear, concerning the desire for wealth, that
our lives are not to be lived in the pursuit of money. There's
nothing wrong with earning a good wage and leading a comfortable
life, but we should be satisfied at that. Those fortunate
enough to have high paying jobs should be actively using their
money to do good. (1st Timothy 6:17-19) We are warned that the
desire for a lot of money is the source of all evil, and that
its pursuit will cause many people to turn away from God. (1st
Timothy 6:10) 

There's nothing wrong with saving or frugal investment, as long
as you remember to first return to the Lord His fair share of
what you earn. As we bring nothing into the world, none of it
is really ours, it all is "loaned" to us by the Lord. We take
none of it with us when we die. (1st Timothy 6:7) We are to
keep the less fortunate in mind, (Ephesians 4:28), and help
support the Christian Church's ministries here on Earth. We can
forget worrying about ever starving once we are part of God's
family of born again believers. Jesus said there is no need to
ever fear where our next meal is coming from or how we are going
to clothe ourselves, because our Father in heaven promises to
provide for us. (Matthew 6:25-34, Luke 12:6,7, Philippians
4:19, Hebrews 13:5)

Social status is so important in this world we live in. If you
can't keep up with the Joneses, at least give the appearance
that you are doing so. Television and magazines are just
littered with ads for material goods, telling both teenagers and
adults that they need this thing or that. The amount of money
that young adults spend today on the latest clothing, jewelry
and cosmetics is staggering. All this occurs so that they
aren't left out of the crowd. It used to be that these
advertising strategies were aimed exclusively at women, but
that's changed. A casual look around will reveal that more and
more men are becoming overly concerned with how "fashionable"
they look, or seeking to get attention by wearing ridiculous
amounts of jewelry. 

God made it quite clear that Christian women, (and nowadays
men), should not be concerned with the whims of fashion or
spending their money on expensive jewelry. (1st Timothy 2:9,
1st Peter 3:3) There's nothing wrong with looking sharp, but
when vanity enters your heart, it's not right. (Galatians 5:26)
Our lives should be humble as Christ's was, not seeking the
praises of men and women. (Matthew 20:26-28, Galatians 5:26,
Titus 2:12) Those who seek after such admiration will be
brought down by the Lord. Those who live humbly, will be
exalted by Him. (Luke 14:11) 

Finally, there's the area of desire for sex outside of a married
relationship. This is the Biblical teaching that more
non-Christians take exception to and try to undermine, than any
other. The morality of the world says that whatever goes on
between two consenting adults in fine. (Of course, they say,
"safe sex" guidelines should be observed.) God however, refers
to all sex outside of a male-female marriage as fornication. 
There are too many references to this being sin in the Bible to
list here. The most graphic one tells us that as Christians our
bodies are part of Christ. If a Christian should engage in
fornication it is the same as joining Christ to a prostitute. 
(1st Corinthians 6:13-20) God's position on this issue is quite
clear and as always unchanging.

Look at how the world is trying to cope with the problems of
aids, venereal disease, rampant abortion, teenage pregnancies
and illegitimate, unwanted children. Society is trying to
correct all of these problems by applying "surface remedies". 
Sort of like a doctor putting bandages on bruises caused by
internal bleeding as a "cure". The world hasn't dealt with the
real cause of these problems, which in each case is disobeying
God's law regarding sex. To whoever says that this is not a
practical solution, note that all of these tragic situations are
getting worse daily while we experiment with foolish human ideas
on solving them.

Obedience to God's standards is not just a practical solution,
it's the ONLY solution, because it deals with the problems at
their source. Of course the world will never turn to Jesus,
which is why the Bible tells us that our problems will grow
continually worse until the Lord returns. Our responsibility,
until He does return, is to share the Gospel, which is the only
means by which men and women can escape serving sin, and begin
serving the Lord.
Bible Study
The Word Distinctive - PSALM 1
The Bible Study column examines specific sections of Scripture.
This issue features a study of Psalm 1. Future studies will
include other Psalms, and books from both the Old and New
Covenants.

"The Word Distinctive" - PSALM 1

Consider the following. Isn't much of our behavior predicated
on the need to please others? Husbands want to please wives,
and visa versa. Children want to please parents, and parents
want to please their children. We want to please employers or
peers. We're concerned with the approval of family, friends,
peers, neighbors and everybody else in sight. Sometimes this
desire to please others is appropriate.

Often however, we get into trouble because we live as if winning
the approval of others is the most important need of our lives. 
But we may not be able to please them. And because of what
their approval requires, sometimes we shouldn't.

The lesson Christians ought to learn is this: the only one Who
must be pleased is the Lord. We please Him by walking in His
way. How do we know His way? By understanding, immersing
ourselves in, and living out the words of His book: the Bible.

Believers must be committed to grow as individuals and as
members of the local church. Growth is demonstrated by
obedience to the command of God as given by our Savior. 
"...'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and
greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your
neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on
these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40)

A study of Psalm 1 demonstrates the importance of the Word in
the life of the believer. What is the difference between the
believer and non-believer? One major difference is the reality
of God's love worked out in the life of the Christian. Another
difference must be the commitment to the accurate teaching of
Scripture.

As we examine the Psalm, first let us look at the background. 
Next, we will examine the text itself, and finally we will see
the call to live a life grounded in God's word.

Background: The first two Psalms, of the book of Psalms, appear
to have been placed specifically as introductions to the book. 
The spiritual foundation of the Old Testament is the Law and the
Prophets. Jesus gave recognition to this when He said, "Do not
think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not
come to abolish, but to fulfill." Matthew 5:17 These two
psalms point out the importance of these foundational teachings.
The first psalm focuses on the Law, the second on the
Prophets.* The first Psalm deals with the one who is blessed
contrasted with one who is not. The second looks at the
specific prophetic issue related to the Messiah.

Psalm 1 identifies its theme with the Law. The psalmist is
probably speaking not only of the Ten Commandments, but also the
613 commands found in the balance of the Pentateuch, the first
five books of the Bible. In fact, sometimes the term Law is all
inclusive of God's word. Therefore in this study we will take
the broadest application and focus on Scripture as a whole.

Psalm 1: 1-3 The Blessed: The blessed man is contrasted by two
factors, what he doesn't do and what he does. These are an
outward sign of an inward condition. The man is blessed because
he chooses to obey God, not to please men. Actions are simply
the testimony to who he is. "But someone will say, 'You have
faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I
will show you my faith by what I do." (James 2:18) 

The one who seeks after God is called blessed or happy. This is
the same adjective that the Lord uses in the "Sermon On The
Mount." He uses it to describe the condition of those whose
goal is relationship with God. True happiness, joy, etc. comes
only from being in the Lord's will, not from circumstances
meeting expectations. Believers cannot demand that comfort
comes from circumstances going their away. Instead comfort
comes from going God's way. The righteous person is blessed
because of the quality and focus of his life.

The Psalmist, speaking of the blessed, notes the absence of
negative behaviors. He demonstrates a possible pattern of the
progression of sin. First, the believer doesn't walk in the
counsel of the wicked. He doesn't go to the unbeliever for
input, as it is tainted and can lead away from the Lord. Dr
McGee puts it this way, "Who are the ungodly? They are the
people who just leave God out. There is no fear of God before
their eyes. They live as though God does not exist." ** The
believer can not go to the unbeliever for advice in an area
which affects his walk. Why? Because the unbeliever leaves the
Lord out of the equation.

The next thing the blessed one doesn't do is stand with the
sinner. The downward spiral is first taking advice from the
unbeliever, and then as a result, the lifestyle soon becomes
aligned with the sinner. To stand with the sinner is to condone
and to practice a similar mode of living.*** The sinner is one
who misses the mark, who lives in a way that falls short of
God's standards. The Christian is called to hit the mark, so
happy is the one who doesn't identify with the sinner. One of
the difficulties with living in an open society is that it is
too easy to become identified with the world. It takes a major
effort of dependency on the Holy Spirit to live separate from
the world. "...do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and
perfect." (Romans 12:2)

If somebody takes advice from the unrighteous, then soon he is
identified with that life. Finally, having identified with this
way of life, he makes himself comfortable in it. He ends up
sitting in the seat of the scornful or scoffers. This is the
assembly which rejects God's law. These are individuals who
have turned their backs on all that He has to say. It is
obvious that one can only be blessed by being separate from this
group.

The righteous delights in God's word. The blessed person is an
Old Testament saint who really enjoys God's word and finds
pleasure in being obedient. He enjoys God's word is because it
is the focus of his life. It is a constant part of his walk. 
He meditates on it day and night. This is Biblical meditation,
not meditation as it has become today. Another translation of
the word might be ponder. "The verb 'ponder' (yehgeh) does,
indeed, mean 'moan, hum, utter, speak, muse' but all meanings
involve the same process. For the man is pictured as reading
over texts of this law to himself." ****

By focusing on God's word, with the intent of making it living
within ones' life, the believer can live as God intends. The
Psalmist uses the tree planted by water to illustrate the
believer who is nourished by God's word. He is not affected by
circumstances, but prospers under all conditions. The verb
"prosper" should not be taken to mean in a material sense, but
in carrying out the will of the Lord.

Psalm 1:4-6 The Wicked: Contrasting the healthy tree, which
represents the believer, are the wicked who are described as
being like chaff. The wicked has nothing of value to offer. 
They will be swept away.

The psalmist explains that when the unrighteous appear before
God at the judgment, they will have nothing to say in their own
defense. They wouldn't be able to stand. "They shall stand
there to be judged, but not to be acquitted. Fear shall lay
hold upon them there; they shall not stand their ground; they
shall flee away; they shall not stand in their own defense; for
they shall blush and be covered with eternal contempt." ***** 

Here the Psalmist points out the criteria for being in the
presence of the Lord. The sinner can't be there because this is
the assembly of the righteous. It is only the righteous who
can stand before God, and God is the One Who defines what meets
the requirement for righteousness. 

"But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been
manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets; even
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all
those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a
gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ
Jesus; ..." (Romans 3:21-24)

The only one God knows, that is, who He will have a relationship
with, is the righteous, whereas the wicked can look to Him for
nothing but eternal judgment. By the working of the Holy Spirit
the individual is given the opportunity to choose which way he
will go. Only the righteous can look forward to an eternity
with the Lord. The unrighteous has only an eternity of
separation in Hell, to look forward to.

Application: There are two questions that must be asked. 
First, are you counted among the righteous? Paul says, "For
what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he
was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures,..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). If you have not yet
accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, then "...if you
confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." 
(Romans 10:9)

Next, believers must ask, "Is my life typified by living by the
Word? God's word needs to fill two areas of the believer's
life. The First is that it must be an integral part of daily
life. Like the tree planted by the stream, the believer must be
immersed in God's word. You can not put out fruit, or remain
alive, if you have no sustenance. Take every opportunity to get
into the word. And to maximize your time, it must be spent with
the involvement of the Holy Spirit.

Second, if God's word is all important, then we must be willing
to getting disseminate it as the Lord leads. Outreach isn't an
option, but a requirement of the walk of the believer. 
Christians are not called to go out and get converts. First, it
is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to convict someone unto
salvation. Second, the role of the believer is more complex
than giving out the message of salvation. Believers are to take
those that come to know the Lord and to help them mature as
believers. This requires the accurate use of the Word. "Go
therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;..." (Matthew
28: 19-20)

Finally, there is the promise of prosperity for the believer who
is immersed in God's word. Yes! In the context of the Old
Testament, for Israel in the land, this was a promise of
material prosperity, but this is not true for the church age. 
The prosperity for the believer is a blessing of the Lord. This
blessing comes from obedience to Him. It makes sense that, as
you spend time in the Word, you will grow in your understanding
of God. The blessing will be the growth of relationship with
Him.

As the Lord becomes your focus, as His word becomes the
foundation and sustenance of your life, no longer will you be
overwhelmed by the waves of circumstances. You will be able to
say with Paul, "...for I have learned to be content whatever the
circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what
it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content
in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether
living in plenty or in want." (Philippians 4:11-12) Then you
will truly be able to rejoice in all circumstances, for you will
live in the reality of being a child of the king.

If you would like more information on how to become a child of
the king, contact us here at Morning Star.


*     H. C. Leupold, "Exposition Of Psalms," Baker Book House,
      1974, pg. 31

**    Vernon McGee, "Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee,"
      Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1982, Vol II, pg. 661.

***   Ibid

****  Leupold, pg. 35-36

***** C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Macdonald
      Publishing Co., Vol. 1, pg. 3
Special Studies
The Abrahamic Covenant - Part 2
The Bible is an account of God's relationship to man, a covenant
relationship.  We find this from the day of creation to the
eternal relationship we can have with the Messiah.  This is the
fifth in a series of articles detailing the individual covenants
found within Scripture.  This is the second of the two-part
discussion of the Abrahamic Covenant.  Last time we discovered
that this covenant was revealed when God determined that it was
time for man to relearn how to trust Him.

------------------------------------------------------------------

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT
By Doctor Charles A. Wootten

This is the second of the two-part discussion of the Abrahamic
Covenant. Last time we discovered that this covenant was
revealed when God determined that it was time for man to relearn
how to trust Him.

God delineated the blessings to Abraham. He specifically
identified victory over his enemies, (Genesis 22:17) and the
blessing of kings (Genesis 17:6). The best blessing of all was
the blessing of Divine Relationship (Genesis 17:7,8 JPSA): 

"I will maintain My covenant between Me and you, and your
offspring to come, as an everlasting covenant throughout the
ages, to be God to you and to your offspring to come. I give
the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come, all
the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession. I will be
their God." 

This is a promise we, the spiritual descendants of Abraham, can
securely hold to.

There is also a specific curse attached to this Covenant. It is
identified in Genesis 12:3. God said to Abraham, He would
"curse him that curses you." (JPSA).

The terms of this covenant were the same as the previously
identified covenants: faith and obedience. (see earlier issues
of Morning Star)

The Abrahamic Covenant is one of the few covenants which has an
oath attached to it. This makes its promises irrevocable. The
first statement of this oath is presented with the typical death
and resurrection of Isaac. He is called the only begotten son
of the Old Testament (Genesis 22:16-18; Hebrews 11:17-19). 
Because of God's immutability, (Hebrews 6: 13-18) the promises
of the Abrahamic Covenant can never be annulled (Galatians 3:
15-17).

Another interesting facet of this covenant is its associated
blood sacrifice. The sacrificial elements of the Abrahamic
Covenant were progressively unfolded during Abraham's lifetime. 
Here is seen the symbolism of the bread and wine (body and blood
of Jesus Christ) offered to Abraham by Melchisedek (Genesis
14:18; Matthew 26:26-28).

Abraham offered up animal sacrifices during the revelation of
the covenant (Genesis 15:7-17; Jeremiah 34:18,19; Leviticus 1-7;
Hebrews 10: 1-10). These which were later expanded in the five
offerings of the Mosaic Covenant. There is the sacrifice of
Isaac. This is a revelation of the compassion and love of God,
who would later send His Only Begotten Son. This is
demonstrated by the fact Isaac was redeemed by a ram (Genesis
22; Hebrews 11:17-19; James 2:20-23).

The rite of circumcision became the everlasting seal of the
Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 17:11; Acts 7:8; Romans 4:11). The
seal is called a token and a sign. Circumcision involved the
shedding of blood (Genesis 17:9-11). It included the invocation
of the name of the child. It was carried out on the eighth day
(Genesis 17:12; 21:4; Luke 1:59; 2:21). All of these practices
were the outward evidence of the Hebrews inward commitment to
the terms of the covenant (Genesis 17:14).

God is revealed in this through His desire for the new creature
to be circumcised in heart. This is "the seal of the
righteousness of faith" for "as many as walk according to this
rule." (Romans 4:8-12; Ephesians 2:11-13; Galatians 6:15,15
[NKJV]).

Due to its import, impact, and relevance to this discussion, we
are going to allow Alfred Edersheim to pick up this narrative
(Alfred Edersheim, Old Testament Bible History, I:69-72).

"It is far more important to think of the Kingdom of God, the
history of which is given us in the Holy Scriptures; for now we
are at the beginning of its real appearance. If God had at the
first dealt with mankind generally, then with one part of the
race, and lastly with one division of nations, He now chose and
raised up for Himself a peculiar people, through whom His
purpose of mercy towards all men were to be carried out. This
people was to be trained from its cradle until it had fulfilled
its mission, which was when He came who was the Desire of all
nations. Three points here claim our special attention:"

1. The election and selection of what became the people of God.
Step by step we see in the history of the patriarchs this
electing and separating process on the part of God. Both are
marked by this twofold characteristic: that all is
accomplished, not in the ordinary and natural manner, but, as it
were, supernaturally; and that all is of grace. 

Thus Abram was called alone out of his father's house--he was
elected and selected. The birth of Isaac, the heir of the
promises, was, in a sense, supernatural; while, on the other
hand, Ishmael, the elder son of Abram, was rejected. The same
election and selection appears in the history of Esau and Jacob,
and indeed throughout the whole patriarchal history. For at the
outset the chosen race was to learn what is the grand lesson of
all Scripture--that everything comes to us from God, and is of
grace, --that it is not man's doing, but God's working; not in
the ordinary manner, but by His special interposition. 

Nor should we fail to mark another peculiarity in God's
dealings. To use a New Testament illustration, it was the grain
of mustard-seed which was destined to grow into the tree who
branches all the birds of the air were to find lodgement. In
Abram the stem was cut down to a single root. This root first
sprung up into the patriarchal family, then expanded into the
tribes of Israel, and finally blossomed and bore fruit in the
chosen people. But even this was only a means to an end. 
Israel had possessed, so to speak, three crowns separately. 

It had the priesthood in Aaron, the royal dignity in David and
his line, and the prophetic office. But in the "last days" the
triple crown of priest, king, and prophet has been united upon
Him Whose it really is, even JESUS, a "Prophet like unto Moses,"
the eternal Priest "after order of Melchisedek," and the real
and ever reigning "Son of David." And in Him all the promises
of God, which had been given with increasing clearness from Adam
onwards to Shem, then to Abraham, to Jacob, in the law, in the
types of the Old Testament, and, finally, in its prophecies,
have become "Yea and amen," till at the last all nations shall
dwell in the tents of Shem.

2. We mark a difference in the mode of Divine revelation in the
patriarchal as compared with the previous period. Formerly, God
had spoken to man, either on earth or from heaven, while now He
actually appeared to them, and that specially as the Angel of
Jehovah, or the Angel of the Covenant. The first time Jehovah
"appeared" unto Abram was when he entered the land of Canaan, in
obedience to that Divine call which singled him out to become
the ancestor of the people of God (Genesis 12:7). After that a
fresh appearance of Jehovah, and of the Angel of the Covenant,
in whom He manifested Himself, marked each stage of the Covenant
history. And this appearance was not only granted to Abraham
and to Hagar, to Jacob, to Moses, to Balaam, to Gideon, to
Manoah and to his wife, and to David, but even towards the close
of Jewish history this same Angel of Jehovah is still found
pleading for rebellious, apostate Israel in these words: "O
Jehovah of Hosts, how long wilt Thou not have mercy on
Jerusalem?" (Zechariah 1:12). The more carefully we follow His
steps, the more fully shall we be convinced that He was not an
ordinary Angel, but that Jehovah was pleased to reveal Himself
in this manner under the Old Testament. We shall have frequent
occasion to return to this very solemn subject. Meantime it
may be interesting to know that of old the Jews regarded Him as
the Shechinah, or visible presence of God, --the same as
appeared in the pillar of the cloud and of fire, and afterwards
in the temple, in the most holy place; while the ancient Church
almost unanimously adored in Him the Son of God, the Second
Person of the blessed Trinity. We cannot conceive any subject
more profitable, or more likely fraught with greater blessing,
than reverently follow the footsteps of the Angel of Jehovah
through the Old Testament.

"3. The one grand characteristic of the patriarchs was their
faith. The lives of the patriarchs prefigure the whole history
of Israel and their Divine selection. In the words of a recent
German writer, amidst all varying events, the one constant trait
in patriarchal history was "faith which lays hold on the word of
promise, and on the strength of this word gives up that which is
seen and present for that which is unseen and future." Thus
"Abraham was the man of joyous, working faith; Isaac of patient,
bearing faith; Jacob of contending and prevailing faith." But
all lived and "died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off; and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims in the earth." And it is still so. Without ignoring
the great privilege of those who are descended from Abraham,
yet, in the true sense, "only they which are of faith, the same
are the children of Abraham;" "and if ye be Christ's, then are
ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.""

In that hour of Abraham's severest trial of faith, God revealed
Himself by another of His names: "JEHOVHAH-JIREH" (Genesis
22:13,14). When the Angel of the Lord had pointed to a ram as a
substitute for Isaac, Abraham called upon "the Lord that
Provides." This name reveals personal provision. The Lord sees
and provides for the necessities, not wants--but needs, of His
servants.

In Genesis 15: 8-18 a most amazing thing is seen. God entered
into covenant with Abraham, promising him the SEED and the LAND.
It was usual for covenanting parties to kill and animal, laying
pieces opposite each other, and to pass TOGETHER between the
pieces. This would be considered a most solemn, binding
covenant, or "blood covenant." 

But here God - told Abraham to prepare many animals signifying
the major importance of the act put Abraham to sleep - so that
he could not participate in the ceremony Himself walked through
the divided pieces! 

Thus God bound Himself to fulfill the covenant alone, and not
conditioned on man.

The next revelation of God is seen when God revealed Himself to
Moses, and, recalling His covenant with Abraham, sent Moses to
deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage.
Messianic Studies
Jesus Makes Us Kosher
The Messianic Studies column explores the world of the Messianic
Believer.  Like the church at large, Messianic Judaism contains
much diversity.  It is made up of numerous views as to what it
means to be a Messianic Jew, who we are, what we call ourselves
and what we believe.  This column will be used to explore this
variety, giving the reader a broader perspective of Messianic
Judaism than found elsewhere, exposing those of us who are
Messianic Believers to the wide spectrum of practice found
within the movement.  Hopefully we will succeed in helping our
Jewish brothers and sisters to understand why we follow Yeshua
as our savior.

We also hope that what is provided here will give our gentile
readers both a better understanding of their Jewish brothers and
sisters in Christ, as well as the Jewish roots of their own
faith.

------------------------------------------------------------------

JESUS MAKES US KOSHER

From the JEWS FOR JESUS NEWSLETTER
Volume 2:5752


One of our earliest Jews for Jesus broadsides announced, "Jesus
Made Me Kosher." The word kosher is the adjective of the Hebrew
noun "kashrut". To an observant Jewish person, kashrut means
"ritual cleanness", or "fitness." By proclaiming that Jesus made
us "kosher", our tract declared that accepting Him as Messiah
and Lord had cleansed us from sin and made us fit to be in God's
presence.

The Jewish kashrut laws stem from Old Testament laws for Israel
that banned certain animals as food. The eleventh chapter of
Leviticus defined clean (kosher) and unclean (non-kosher)
animals: All split-hooved animals that chewed their cud were
permitted as food. (Pork, a major meat source in many cultures,
was banned because the pig, though it has split hooves, does not
chew its cud.) Only fish with both fins and scales were
permitted. This precluded all shellfish, like lobster, shrimp
and crab. Chicken, duck, goose and turkey were kosher but many
other fowl, including birds of prey, were not. Certain locusts
were also permitted (John the Baptist ate them), but other
insects were not.

The Israelites were not to eat any dead thing except that which
they had intentionally slaughtered for food. (Deuteronomy
14:21). And they also were forbidden to boil a young goat in its
mother's milk (Exodus 23:19, 34:26). (The edict about not
boiling a kid in its mother's milk is somewhat obscure, but it
may have been given because the practice was part of an
idolatrous pagan rite.)

Beside the Old Testament dietary prohibitions, "halakhah"
(rabbinic law) added regulations about slaughter. Food animals
were to be killed by a ritual slaughterer (schochet) who knew
how to slit an animal's throat so it would painlessly bleed to
death. This was essential because of the admonition of Leviticus
17:11 that the blood of a creature is its life, given by God to
atone for sin. To make certain that no blood would remain
accidentally and be eaten, the rabbis also ordained that the
animals could only be cooked in ways that would entirely
eliminate all traces of blood. Unless the meat was to be
broiled, it had to be "kashered." This involved salting it for
an hour and soaking it for half an hour.

As protection against breaking the injunction of never boiling a
kid in its mother's milk, the rabbis also ruled that no dairy
products should ever be combined with meat. A kosher meat meal
could have no milk, cheese, dairy dressings, cream gravies, ice
cream desserts, or even cream for tea or coffee. (In modem times
many non-dairy substitutes have been approved for such use.)
Neutral (parve) foods like fish, eggs, all fruits, vegetables,
grains and nuts could be eaten in any combination. To insure
this total separation of milk and meat, the rabbis also decreed
separate dishes and utensils for dairy foods and meats.

To comply fully with all these laws, the strictest sects of
Jewry also keep separate dish towels, and some even have
separate sinks for meat and dairy food preparation and the
washing and drying of the utensils. Nevertheless, these
embellished kashrut rules ordained by the rabbis have become so
complex and difficult to observe in today's society that most
modern Jewish people have dispensed entirely, or at least in
part, with the kosher laws.

Closely associated with kashrut are the halakhic laws of
"shaatnez". These pertain to the wearing or mixing of certain
fabrics as forbidden in Deuteronomy 22:11, the mixing of seeds
in a field and the hybridizing of cattle as ordered in Leviticus
19:19.

Many have sought logical reasons for all the Old Testament
restrictions and dietary laws. Some think they were given for
health reasons, for Israel's physical preservation. Some have
reasoned that they were given because in order to follow God's
laws in all those small details His people would have to remain
constantly aware of Him.

Some Jewish people see keeping kosher as an exercise in
self-control. Others say, "Jews are what Jews do - and Jews keep
kosher. We are Jews, so we ought to keep kosher. That way we and
those who observe us will know we are Jews." From a strictly
Orthodox Jewish viewpoint, it is sufficient to keep kosher
because "God said to do it." Yet even the most observant Jewish
people often seek to find rational explanations.

As believers we can say that no rational explanations are
necessary. While there may have been valid health benefits to
many of the Old Testament dietary restrictions, other
regulations like "shaatnez" seem to defy logic. The underlying
reality is that God called Israel from among the nations to be
His special people. They were to be distinguished from the
heathen by difference in dress (fringes and shaatnez),
differences in dietary habits (kosher laws) and differences in
worship (no graven images, and sacrifices to be performed in a
prescribed manner and place - first, the Tabernacle and later
the Temple).

Today, at least theoretically, the Orthodox and Conservative
branches of Judaism keep the kosher laws, while the Reform Jews
usually do not. Many secular Jews do not identify with any of
these three branches of Judaism. They still maintain a loyalty
to "being Jewish," but seldom show an interest in kashrut.

Some Jewish believers in Y'shua keep kosher. They do so not to
observe the Law, which has been fulfilled in Y'shua, but as an
identification with the larger Jewish community. They feel that
by keeping kosher, they are living out their convictions that
accepting Jesus as the Jewish Messiah does not make a person a
non-Jew.

Occasionally some Gentile Christians want to keep kosher. Most
Jewish believers find this odd because Acts and Galatians both
proclaim that Gentiles are not required to become Jews in order
to be Christians. On the other hand, Paul wrote that the Law is
good (Romans 7:12). All Christians are free in Christ, not
merely from the Law, but to follow its example if they so choose.

The "bottom line" is that as believers we are not bound either
way, and we have no right to impose our preference as a legally
binding lifestyle on other Christians (Romans 14). It is a
matter of individual choice. We must decide for ourselves
whether "kashrut" is more healthful for us, or of more spiritual
value to us than exercising the liberty we have in Christ.
Ultimately, one must remember that a "kosher stomach" may
produce a healthier body, but it cannot provide anyone with a
"kosher heart" before God (cf Matthew 15:11) Only faith in
Y'shua can do that!
Anee M'Amin
Anee M'Amin
ANEE M'AMIN is Hebrew for "I believe". Every month this column
will feature the testimony of a Jewish believer in Yeshua (Jesus).

I was brought up in Cleveland, Ohio. My mother was a very
loving person but she knew little of Judaism. My father was
born in Russia and attended an Orthodox Synagogue on the High
Holy days. I was sent to Hebrew School four times a week after
public school from the age of 9 to the time of my Bar Mitzvah at
the age of 13. Our home however, was totally secular except for
some matzoh on Pesach. I hardly ever went back to synagogue.

While a professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson, I
attended both Reform and Conservative congregations. I was
active in the University's Jewish Professors+ Committee as well
as the ADL and Hillel.

On being denied tenure in 1982, I moved to Phoenix and became
the State Director of the Jewish National Fund from January 1983
to September 1984. Then I became the Endowment Director of the
Jewish Federation from September 1984 to September 1985.

I Have always considered myself a spiritual person although not
a religious one. Temple or synagogue always seemed to be a place
to talk about God, not to Him. I was searching for answers. I
became involved with New Age groups and philosophies. The
Kabbalah, the Zohar and all of Jewish mystical lore was a
fascination to me. I wrote articles, did pen and ink drawings
and even wrote a novel (never published, thank God!) about these
areas of spiritual darkness. When I began my present job three
years ago, I was going through a divorce, my three sons were
leaving Phoenix for the East coast, my father was dying and I
had been recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I was
living with another woman. My life was in chaos.

God wanted to get my attention. He did.

This company where I started to work was Christian owned and
operated. There were dedicated believers who prayed for me. My
clients prayed for me. I argued with them, I debated with them,
but I sensed their love. Unconditional Christian love was
always something that I admired. The Lord wanted me and things
began to happen.

I went to a seminar that we put on in Dallas. On the way back,
the president of the company asked me to sit with him. I did
not want to be preached to, so I said, "No, thank you." I went
back to my seat to find the woman next to me take out her Bible
and share her love of the Lord and the Jewish people. Shortly
afterwards I went to a friends house where after an evening of
fun he wanted me to pray with him and the others. We all closed
our eyes. I saw a man dressed in a suit of armor and holding a
sword. He took the sword and began slashing a being clothed in
darkness. Phillip told me that it was what is spoken of in
Ephesians 6:10.

The dreams and visions increased. The Holy Spirit had taken
hold of my life. I had a vision of Christ on the cross. It was
the middle of the night (black sky) and there was lightning all
over the sky. The next day I had another vision of Christ on
the cross. This time He lifted up his head and light beamed out
from His eyes. He came off of the cross. That night (October
22, 1988) I had a dream that changed my life forever. In the
dream I knew that I needed to be crucified in order that others
might live. I was ready to go but I could not anticipate the
stripes on my back and the nails in my hands. I knew that it
would be excruciatingly painful yet I knew that I had to do it. 
(John 10:15-17, Galatians 6:17) I woke up looking at my hands
and did so the entire next day. That day I accepted Jesus as my
Lord and Savior.

From that time on, I gave up all of my New Age pursuits. In
fact I had a dream in January of this year that I was holding
the novel I had written before I came to the Lord. I said if
there were any evil spirits in it they should come out. All of
a sudden I was bombarded by powerful forces of darkness that
tried to kill me. It was the most terrifying, real experience
of my life. I rebuked them in the name of Jesus Christ and they
scattered.

My health is great and I thank God every day for that. I got
out of the bondage of the personal relationship I was in and
have since married the most wonderful spirit-filled Christian
woman.

Paula works at the same company as I do. We had been friends
for about a year. Paula was the most Christ-like person that I
had ever met. She not only talked the talk but she also walked
the walk. I respected her greatly and often went to her to seek
counsel. Given my circumstance, we never could become any more
than friends. The odds of us coming together were next to nil. 
Everyone said than it was a miracle. Praise God. Her Hebrew
name is Peliyah, which means "miracle."

I sincerely believe that the Lord has work for me to do, but He
knew that I needed a strong, supportive helpmate in order to
proceed. Our first date was Friday, January 19, 1990. We went
to dinner and then to Phoenix Messianic Congregation. We were
engaged March 2 and married March 30. Praise God. I also thank
God every day for Paula. She is the best thing that ever
happened to me.

Over the past five months I have been very active in prayer,
reading the Bible and listening for God's Word. The Lord has
given me dreams and visions. On our first date at Phoenix
Messianic, I had a vision of a window in heaven with a dove in
it. The dove flew out and came to earth (Matthew 3:16). The
next Friday, I saw water rushing out of a window in heaven. 
(Jeremiah 2:13, 7:38, John 4,10,14) The next Friday that we
went, I had a vision of a Torah scroll with white Hebrew letters
in it. The letters came off and danced around the heavens. 
They danced around Jerusalem. They danced around Jesus on the
cross - around His head. He was off of the cross and walking
the earth and the letters still encircled His head (John 1,
Revelation 5).

Paula and I went to a prayer meeting at our brother-in-law's
house and I saw a crop in the field with white plants all in it
(John 4:35). These dreams and visions continued at Calvary
Church of the Valley and elsewhere. In the past month God has
given me Biblical passages. They just appear in my head (ex.
James 1-3). I then go and look them up.

As I said before, I thank God every day for all the blessings He
has bestowed upon me. I thank God for Paula, for good health,
for the discernment and wisdom He has given me, for all the
material needs that He has helped me with. God never gave up on
me no matter how far I moved from Him. He knew my heart. He
knew I was searching for Him and, praise God, I found Him. 
Thank you, Jesus! Once I turned my life over to Him, He has
continually blessed me. The adversary has since bombarded us
with all that he can. It hasn't been easy but our love in
Yeshua HaMashiach has enabled us to put on the full armour of
God and go to battle.
Witnessing Column
A Witness to the Prisoners
A WITNESS TO THE PRISONERS

Roger Houle is part of a group of Christian men who spend time
each week visiting the Hillsboro County jail in Manchester New
Hampshire. There, they bring the Gospel of Jesus to men who
have little or no hope in life. This is done through one on one
meetings, Bible studies and weekly worship services. Roger
shares some of his experiences with our readers in the following
article.

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Our work in the prison system here in New Hampshire began as a
Bible study in the Hillsboro county jail in Goffstown in 1987. 
At first, there were three of us involved: the pastor of our
church, another man and myself. Our study groups ranged from as
few as one person to as many as seventeen. We went on Fridays
at noon, and were allowed one hour with the inmates. The small
groups were effective as we had a lot of chances to talk one on
one with the men, many of whom had a lot of problems and
questions.

At that time, a new larger facility was constructed in
Manchester. We began to look into making contacts with prison
officials to assure that we would be able to continue our work
in the new, larger facility when it opened. The authorities
were very cooperative. We were very fortunate in that the head
of the prison system was a born again Christian. When the new
facility opened, we were allowed to actually hold a service, not
just a Bible study in the gymnasium. At first, we drew about
twenty to twenty-five people, but now it has reached the point
where we have to have two services, as about a hundred and
twenty attend on the average. There are only about 380 people
in the facility, so that is a remarkable average, almost one out
of three. There are several churches involved that alternate
conducting the service, including Christian Bible Church in
Nashua, Faith Christian Church of Bedford, Merrimack Baptist
Church and Trinity Baptist. The services are announced ahead of
time and the prisoners must inform the authorities the day
before that they plan on attending one of the services. The two
services are about equal in size now.

The first half hour of every service is a song service. It's
amazing to see these men singing and praising the Lord, many
with their eyes closed, some with hands in the air really in
tune to the Spirit, singing their hearts out. Others are quiet
and shy, but they still move their lips. The way they respond
to the messages is great too. There are a lot of "amens" and
"hallelujahs" and a lot of excitement. On their way out, we see
how they felt about the service--they thank us, sincerely.

What's really exciting is that many times we see these same men
after they are released from prison show up at our churches with
their wives and children. One thing we ask them about when they
are in the jail is that while they are in there, are they coming
because there's "no other show in town"? Are they coming just
because it's an opportunity to meet with their friends in the
jail? We have no doubt that often time it starts out to be that
way. But what happens is that the Word of God does not return
void. They sit there, the Word of God is preached, hearts are
changed, the Holy Spirit is there and draws them. They may have
come for many reasons, maybe as something to do on a Friday
night instead of staying in their cell. We don't care why they
come, as long as they get there.

It's something to see the looks on the faces of the men when
attending for the first time. As we shake their hands on the
way in, they look at you and you can tell they are wondering,
"What are you going to do for me? What are you here for? What
do you get out of this?" Many look mean, and of course they
have that real look of despair on their faces, as though there
was no hope in their lives. What's so exciting about this
ministry is that after a few weeks with some of these people,
they've heard the Word preached, and accepted the Lord. And
then, to see them actually embrace you, and know their lives
have changed. They are truly born again. It's real exciting to
hear them relate stories to us about how they now tell their
wives and children who come to visit about the Lord.

Many of these men are very young, they've been caught on drugs, 
often their wives or girlfriends have left them. Some are
facing long terms. They got into big trouble and it's like,
"What's there to life?" Many are even suicidal. But they come
in and hear the Word of God preached and their lives are changed
forever. You can see it in their faces--it's a different look
when they come in. There's a joy in their walk now, it's "Hi!
How ya doin!" when just a few months earlier they were like
zombies walking around wondering, "What's this going to be all
about?" Now, they can hardly wait to praise the Lord and sing,
and that's what excites us so much. It's really something to
see some of the stuff these guys write too, these letters and
poems. You can see that the Spirit is with them, these men
don't just imagine these things. They've learned that once they
start trusting in the Lord, they get that peace that surpasses
all understanding. They suddenly have hope. You can go without
water and food for long periods of time, but you can't go
without hope--you perish. That's the message we have, a message
of hope, a message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

We've even seen some of the guards get the message. There are
always guards in the gymnasium, there to keep an eye on things. 
We've gone into the sinner's prayer and I've actually seen a
guard with his eyes closed reciting the sinner's prayer. Some
of the guards in there are Christians. Some even sing along at
the service.

We discovered that there were many Spanish speaking people among
those attending that we just recently started having a Spanish
speaking service. The Spanish service is the second service
now. We have a Spanish pastor that comes up from Massachusetts,
Jose Matos, to conduct the second service. Jose was in prison
himself once. In fact, he spent time in eight different
prisons. He wrote a book about his life experience. It's
unbelievable how the prisoners tune into what he says because
they understand him better. They sing in Spanish too at this
service.

There are many people who accept the Lord at these services
every week. Many there are born again - truly born again. Many
people there come forward at the end of services and give their
lives to the Lord. What's interesting about this situation is
that unlike a prison, this is a jail. There are many people
there who are just there awaiting sentencing. We have a such a
turnover because of this, that we make sure to always give the
salvation message of the Gospel and have an altar call at almost
every service. We explain at every service, for the benefit of
those who are there for awhile, why we give this message and
have altar calls so often. People come up for prayer at every
service and often pass along requests to meet with the chaplain
one on one during the week.

One thing we stress, especially to those who are soon to be
released, is that immediately, upon leaving, they get involved
with a good Bible-preaching church. We even recommend places
for them in the towns they are returning to. This is an area
where there is good cooperation between denominations such as
Assembly of God and Baptist churches.

The prisoners just started holding Bible studies among
themselves now. Some of them are so far along with the Lord
that they are able to conduct these. The chaplain showed them
how to get started and guides them when they need it. They have
a place they can gather and do this. They all have access to
Bibles too. I'm part of the Gideons and we see to it that the
prison has a plentiful supply. What the Gideons do is replace
worn out Bibles in hotels and motels, and place the older worn
ones in the prisons and halfway houses.

One area we try to teach the men is in the area of prayer. 
Oftentimes, they ask to pray when they are about to go off to
trial. We tell them that we aren't necessarily going to pray
about the outcome, but rather that the Lord would have his way. 
We teach them we are forgiven of our sin if we ask forgiveness,
but we still have the consequences of sin. It may be that God
wants them to have a light sentence, it may be that God wants
them to have a hard sentence. We try to impress upon them that
it could be that God has been trying to get them for a long time
but it took them coming to a place where there was no place else
to look but up. Now, all of a sudden, they're in a cell,
nothing to do but think and plan, and where did they look from
that point? That's when they finally stopped and looked up and
said, "You were trying to get my attention all this time. It
took your getting me to this place before I listened." We try
to tell them that the consequences of sin are still there. Not
that God can't see to it that they get off easy. It's like a
smoker who asks God to forgive him for years of taking part in
that habit. God forgives, but even after quitting, that person
may still face the consequence of destroying his body for all
those years. Not that God can't heal in such a situation, or
get them a light sentence in their case. We just pray that
God's will be done and that they should not be discouraged and
that whatever happens they should trust in Him. Most of the men
seem to understand this well.

Many facilities are welcoming prison ministries in because they
see the calming effect that these new Christians have in a
prison. They aren't wild troublemakers any more since getting
involved with the services and studies. The officials don't
always understand why this happens to these men, but they see
the effect it has, and they don't fight us being there. It's
the Word of God again. 

I encourage any Christian men who are interested in starting a
ministry in their local prison, to approach the officials
directly. They usually won't come to you. Of course, you may
run into roadblocks, so remember to really pray ahead of time
before embarking on this. By ourselves it may be difficult, but
through Christ we can do all things!
The WORD for Today
The High Road to Beginning Again by Chaplain Ray
THE HIGH ROAD TO BEGINNING AGAIN 

By Chaplain Ray

More than ninety-five percent of all the prisoners in our jails
and prisons today will walk out the front gate someday. What
kind of people will they be? What kind of neighbors will they
make? Will they continue their careers of crime, or will they
change to a lifestyle of labor and obedience to law? How can a
prisoner who has served years in penitentiaries and prisons find
the road back and build a new life? What can Christians do, and
what can churches do, and what should our churches do to help?

Most men doing prison time will get out sooner or later. How can
they stay out? What does it take to start over? That is what
every prisoner needs to know. If you wanted to know how to
repair an auto mobile, you would ask a mechanic. If you wanted
to know how to repair a clock, you'd talk with a jeweler or
watchmaker. If you wanted to know how to build a house, you
would learn from a carpenter. However, you are wanting to do
something much more complicated and serious than any of these
things. You are about to rebuild a life that has hen destroyed
in the past. You are about to change your future.

Coming from someone who has studied the problem of
rehabilitation for some years, I can tell you that you must have
a good foundation upon which to build a new life. There must be
a basis, a real starting point. The day that a man walks out of
jail or prison is not the time to run a game or to kid yourself
into a fantasy, into a make-believe, unrealistic plan. Starting
over is for real. It is serious business. Staying out of prison
is serious business.

I have a friend who was involved in crime in the streets of
Houston for years. He was a drug addict. He dealt in drugs. He
committed many crimes. His name was Joe. He went to prison. The
day he finished his prison sentence and walked out the front
gate his father and brother were waiting for him in the prison
parking lot. What kind of reception did he get? In the car,
they had hidden some drugs, for he was a drug addict. In the
car, they had some booze. He liked liquor. And in town they had
a prostitute waiting for him. That foolish father and that
ignorant brother thought that when a man comes out of prison, he
needs drugs, booze, and women.

It wasn't long before Joe was back in deep trouble again. That's
not the end of Joe's story. His story has a wonderful end. He
stopped running around with his father and his brother, and the
prostitutes and the drug pushers and the liquor dealers. He hid
out in a Christian Center in Houston, a place that we called
"The Pulpit In The Shadows." He and his crime partner hid out
there mostly to break down their drug habits, and to hide for a
few days from the cops. My friend, Freddie Gage, was the
director of that Center. I was honored to serve on the Board of
Directors . While there, hiding from the police, Joe met Jesus
Christ. He was totally transformed. He went to Lee Bible
College. Today he's a great evangelist and a minister of the
Gospel.

There IS a road to that wonderful land of beginning again. That
road doesn't start in the "red-light" district. You cannot find
a signpost of that road in the tavern or among drug dealers. You
will find the signpost of that road among those who are walking
that highway. Jesus describes for us in the Book of Matthew the
seriousness of building a life and building it right. Matthew
7:24-27.

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth
them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and
the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for
it was founded upon a rock. And every one that hearth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a
foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain
descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew; and beat
upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

You can walk with me through any jail or prison in this land,
and look around you, and see the wreckage of houses that have
collapsed! Lives that caved in! Why? Because they were built on
the shifting sands of ungodly lifestyles, on unprincipled
living, and they could not stand the realities of life. The
foundation upon which you build your new life is of extreme
importance. That is why the rehabilitation rate among prisoners,
in all of the secular programs that leave God and the Bible out,
and that build on anything less than this foundation, is so
dismally small. Our government has abandoned its multimillion
dollar CETA program. They had vainly hoped to rehabilitate
prisoners by spending millions of your tax dollars. The history
of this nation and of other nations is littered with the
wreckage of such humanistic programs. The foundation upon which
you build your life will determine how well it will stand. If
the foundation is not solid, your life will collapse.

My prisoner friend, if you are going to start over, why not
start right?

My friend, George Meyer, who was a getaway driver for Al Capone,
a gangster in his youth, spent thirty years in various prisons
for robbing banks and armored cars, and other crimes. Then he
met Christ in Leavenworth Prison a few years ago. Today he is a
shining example of a rehabilitated ex-convict! His whole life is
built on the word of God. Seventeen years ago, when he left
Attica Prison the guard on duty said to him, "Well, goodbye,
George. We'll be seeing you soon."

George said, "No, you won't see me. I'm going home." The guard
laughed and said, "George, you're not going home; you are
leaving home! Prison IS your home!"

In two of three cases, the opinion of that guard would be valid!
Prison is home for two out of three prisoners in this land today.
Two out of three will be coming back because that is their
home. It fits their lifestyle of covetousness, of theft, of
permissive living, of unprincipled conduct, of ravaging the
rights of others.

That guard didn't know that God had put His hand upon George
Meyer and protected his life through many dangers up to that
same time - even when he and Willie Sutton tried to escape from
the Eastern Pen in New York State. They went down into the
sewers, so the guards just sealed the sewers and flooded them
with water. But they survived! And today, George Meyer is a
born-again Christian with a good Christian home. He is in demand
all over this land as a public speaker.

I had a letter just a few days ago from the chaplain of the
federal prison at Lompoc, California. He said, ''Your friend,
George Meyer, was just through this place. He spoke to our men
here." He added, "We really appreciated his coming. He had
something to say to prisoners."

He had found the rock on which to build, and that is the only
way that prisoners can be sure of staying out of prison. If you
continue the life that took you to prison in the first place,
that same life will take you back to prison again. But if you
build a new life on a new foundation, with a new Master, with
new values, with a new lifestyle, there is a rock on which you
can build!

Paul said in First Corinthians 3:11, "For other foundation can
no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.'' The
question is not "What is the foundation?", the real question is
"WHO is the foundation?" That foundation is more than a program!
That foundation is more than a principle! That foundation is a
person! His name is the LORD JESUS CHRIST!

Many prisoners think they will make it if they can just start
out in a new location. A lot of prisoners write to me and say,
"Chaplain Ray, I'd like to come to Texas when I get out of
prison, because I know if I go back to my hometown, I'll fall in
with the old gang and I'll soon be back in trouble again."

That's a good observation, and quite accurate. In many cases a
man does well, when coming out of prison, to go to a new town
and not get back among his old friends. If you are going back to
your old hometown, don't go back to the old gang. Go back to
those who are friends of God. Go to Christians. Go to church. Go
to Christian institutions. Work with Christians. Associate with
Christians. If you go back to the "old gang", you'll end up in
the same old prison cell. Only Jesus Christ can provide you with
the new life that every convict needs.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." II
Corinthians 5:17.

Your change is inward, and that results in outward changes. The
secret is in your heart, a new Lord, a new Master, new
priorities, new attitudes. Christ is the source of all that
change. He changed Zacchaeus, the crooked tax collector from
Jericho. He changed Peter, the boisterous fisherman from
Galilee. He changed the penitent thief from a guilty criminal to
a righteous child of God. He changed Saul of Tarsus into Paul
the Apostle. He can change anyone who will turn to Him in
repentance and faith and commit their life holy to God.

If you will do that, don't wait till you get out of prison.
Start where you are right now, as you are. As you commit your
life to Christ, pray, "God have mercy on me, a sinner. Take me
as I am. Wash me in the blood that Jesus shed for me, and help
me build my new life according to your Word and according to
your will." If you can pray that prayer from your heart and mean
it sincerely, in the next two minutes your life will be
wondrously changed. Half a million prisoners in jails and
prisons of this land need to find, and walk, this high road to
the land of beginning again. The sure guide, and the true road
map, is the Bible. The story of the Prodigal son, recorded in
the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, is a
good starting point for every person whose life has collapsed in
ruin.

Many people talk to God without ever talking to themselves. But
before this prodigal son went back to his home and talked to his
father, he had a talk with himself!

I've seen men talking to themselves in many prisons and in jails.

Some of them are really talking sense. Some are talking
nonsense. But this prodigal son talked to himself, "How many
hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare,
and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father and
say unto him, "Father I have sinned against heaven and before
thee."

You see, he didn't just make a mistake . He didn't just take a
wrong turn in the road. He sinned. "I have sinned. I am no more
worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired
servants." That prodigal son found the magical road to the
wonderful land of beginning again!

How can convicts and prisoners, and others whose lives have
collapsed upon them and around them ... how can they pull
themselves together when their world falls apart? How can they
put their feet on the high road that leads to the land of
beginning again? How can a prisoner find the high road that
leads to the land of beginning again?

In Galatians 6:9, Paul wrote, "And let us not grow weary while
doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose
heart, or give up." One of the staff members at our
International Prison Ministry offices in Texas found a poster
that spoke a great message. He put it in the dining room. It's
still there today. It reads:

"A man may fail many times but he is not a failure until he
starts blaming somebody else."

That wasn't quoted in the Bible, but all of the Bible affirms
it. Eve blamed the serpent who tempted her. Adam blamed Eve, who
offered him the apple. And the sons and daughters of Adam and
Eve have been blaming others for their failures, from then till
now. A man may fail many times, but he is not a failure until he
starts blaming somebody else!

The most revered president in the history of this nation was
once considered a failure. As a young attorney, he went
bankrupt, applied for a civil service job and was refused. He
got married, and his wife died. He entered the political arena
as a candidate for the House of Representatives, and he was
soundly defeated. Then he put in his bid for a seat in the
United States Senate, and again he lost.

Then at the age of fifty one, he ran for the office of the
president of the United States, and Abraham Lincoln was elected!
He became a legend in his time and for all time to come! His
secret was, he would not quit! He put his trust in God. He said,
"I will prepare myself," and he did. When the country needed
an unusual man to lead it through a civil war, it called on
Abraham Lincoln.

Those who fail are those who quit, and that applies to prisoners
and convicts just like it does to politicians, preachers, or
anyone else. It does not take any special talent or ability to
be a quitter.

Paul the Apostle, who was oftentimes put in prison and finally
was executed as a Christian martyr, wrote, in II Timothy 4:7, "I
have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have
kept the faith.' He was not a quitter. And in Galatians, he
wrote: "Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season
we shall reap if we faint not."

You can become anything you want to be and everything that God
wants you to be, if you will not allow the causes of failure to
defeat you.

It is true of prisoners. It is true of all of us. To shift the
blame to somebody else, to poverty, to the ghetto, to wrong
associates, to an unloving father, to a working mother, to shift
the responsibility for our sins and crimes and failures to
somebody else is to choose to walk farther and farther down the
road of failure! The first step toward finding the high road to
that magic land of beginning again is to face reality. "I have
sinned. I have played the fool. I made the wrong choice. I've
sowed wild oats. I am reaping the bitter harvest."

That is the point at which prisoners, turning from crime to
Christ and from self to the Savior, make the first turn and the
first step toward finding that high road that leads to the land
of beginning again. The Bible calls that land THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

We helped a prisoner get out of prison twice, once on the west
coast and once on the east coast. Then we brought him to Dallas
to work at our offices. He had only been here a few days when he
said to me, "Chaplain Ray, I never knew that people in the free
world worked so hard." I said, "Well, of course we have to work
so hard. We have to support ourselves and our families and all
of you men in the prisons as well."

The dignity of labor is the key to rehabilitation. And let me
tell you frankly. When prisoners say that nobody will hire a
prisoner, that isn't true. It is much easier to get a job for a
prisoner than to get that prisoner to stay on that job. And this
is from practical experience!

I have little interest in halfway houses that attempt to
rehabilitate prisoners without a daily diet of meaningful,
productive labor. One of the first things that a prisoner must
learn, if he's going to rebuild his life in the free world, is
the importance of work. Some people say that all things come to
him who waits. Not a word of truth in it! I know men in prison
that have been waiting for ten years, twenty years, and thirty
years, and the good things they're waiting for don't come to
them.

It would be better to say, "All good things that are needful
come to those who labor and who work."

Work will never lose its magic power. I commend work, not only
to everyone in the free world, but to everyone in the prison
world. Set your heart and your mind to labor. Get all the work
you can in the prison, and do it with all your heart. Develop a
lifestyle of labor that will make you a winner when you walk out
the front gates of the prison.

But the one thing that determines the destiny of a man is his
personal relationship with God. Get that right, and live by His
Word, and all your other relationships will fall into proper
place, including your labor relationship with other human beings.

When a man is paroled or released from prison he needs three
things that are essential to a crime free life.

1). He needs a place to live. Preferably with his own family.

2). He needs a church family of believers, a church to which he
commits his loyalty, and a church that is committed to him.

3). He needs a job. The idleness that is common in prison must
not carry over into the free-world. He needs to immediately go
to work and earn his own way.

"Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor,
working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have
to give to him that needeth." (Ephesians 4:28)

Prisoners who want to find the high road that leads to the land
of beginning again must totally forsake the old road. That road
led to prison. Forsake the old companions who also walk in the
old ways of sin, crime and lawlessness. Forsake the old hangout
and all of the old hang-ups. CHRIST makes all things NEW.

_______________________________________________________________


Chaplain Ray, director of the International Prison Ministry,
says, "When prisoners become New Creations In Christ, they
become creative. Many converted prisoners write powerful poems.
Others find they are gifted in art, painting, and in other
productive areas of life." Hundreds of poems from prisoners are
shared on the nationwide radio broadcast and in the many
publications of IPM. Each year IPM sends more than one million
life changing books, all free, to prisoners. Any prisoner in
America can write to Chaplain Ray for a free Bible and for Bible
study books. You can learn more about being personally involved
in jail and prison ministry by sending your letter to:

Chaplain Ray
International Prison Ministry
P.O. Box 63
Dallas, Texas 75221
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