Changed  Lives

IN  JAIL  WITH  JESUS

Alone one night  in shame and despair
I looked for my help but none was there.
No future…but prison no past…just pain
I looked in the mirror my tears, the…rain.
By justice condemned in time to die
My only hope God’s mercy for His grace did I cry.
Then I seed planted somewhere long ago
In the midst  of my sorrow began to grow.
This seed was Christ who died for me
In jail with Jesus I am set free.
No longer in the hell of my sinful ways
He’s made me a new person who loves and prays.
Though seasons come and holidays pass
In jail with Jesus my hope does last.
So I do share with you my friend
In jail with Jesus it’s not the end!

 

PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS INMATES:

Greg William #63688-061
U.S.Penitenciary
P.O.Box 7000
Florence,CO, 81226.......for spiritual growth.

Stephanie Rogers #1050079
Hobby Unit 1A-213B
742FM 712
Marlin,TX, 76661........for salvation and spiritual growth.

Barbara Beard #750291
302Wackenhut Way
New Port, AR,72112......needs good Bible studies and learn spiritual truth.

Please pray for all our Christian friends who are in Maximum Security Prison Kabwe-Zambia (Africa ) that the Lord will protect them and help them to trust our Savior Jesus Christ and have faith that the Lord will meet all their needs.

Rev.Michael Corsale #952248
AdultDiagnostic &TreatmentCenter
8 Production Way (5W)
Avenel,NJ07001

...WROTE..."As a Rev. I do my best to help people to know the Lord Jesus Christ, as our Savior, so that they can learn the truth about our Lord Jesus Christ. We all need to read the Holy Bible and to know that GOD loves us all....and that He is the only way to heaven but there is one person that stop us and that is satan. He does not wants us to follow God but he wants us to fallow him.
...but we all know that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ, to accept Him in our hearts and trust and have faith in Him only, let Him guide our steps on the right way...may the Lord bless all of you and find your way of God " 

***

 A special message  from  prison

I have been in prison now over 7 years as of January 11th, 2007, I have been praying for mission and writing to missionary, National pastors and other workers. I take a line I relate to from a Revival Fires sermon I recently read by Dr.Dennis Corle, I may not quote it exact but it said “ the more people you know the more heartache your hear about “. I rejoice with those with who do  rejoice I weep with those who weep, on a given day I could receive 20 letters, missionary prayer letters, family letters, pen pals, inmates and others. One letter speaks of orphans, another lepers, the lost, sick, poor right on down the stack of letters. It’s a heavy  burden but one I am thankful I can bear, but the worst feeling has been the helpless feeling of not being able to do anything to help.
                                           

It does bring me to my knees in humble prayer. I also pray that by hearing of so much on a constant basis I will never be complacent and always remain broken and tender as if it were the first time I heard it. I want to continue to love and continue to pray with a full heart of love and concern.
Please pray for the inmates, I met many, not only from the USA but other countries, saved while incarcerated, please pray and write to them and encourage, send tracts for them to pass out, Bible study material. Many of these are babes in Christ flooded with a terrible mix of doctrines, that ’s the way the prison system is. So have patience, help with sound doctrine. I simply hope viewers will be bless by these testimonies and moved with compassion, we here in American prisons are in castles compared to what others face in some areas of the world.

My work here the Lord allows me to do, is to be a witness, pass out tracts and help others in the scripture and arrange correspondence Bible studies. Letters consume most of my time, as a witness to pen pals and help them spiritually, to arrange for these to receive Bible study materials, arrange for a church in their area to pay a visit.
This take a lot of letters and a lot of stamps , but like I tell folks, you may not get invited into a house but my letters make it through the front door. By letters I have been able to carry   the gospel around the world.
                                      

My mother is 83 years old and at this point my only help in consistent  support and she forwards letters and adds tracts and cant remember if she did or not. My mom is a sweet Christian. The help I need for this ministry is always tracts, more pen pal addresses and to be advertised as a pen paler in your area of the world. Always needing stamps, the more I have the more I can do but “ CAN NOT “RECEIVE stamps through the mail. I have to buy them here. If one does want to help its by money order only my name and ID and your name & address on the money order. I do not waist, I buy stamps, paper and envelopes. Letters is 90% of my work Pray for souls saved here. Feel free to ask me any questions, tell others to check us out also. I do love you all and I do remain your prayer worriers. Please do write and may God bless you all and keep you safe.

                                                                       With love and prayers,

M.D. Elliss
GDC1051085
DSP, Q1-16B
P.O.Box 276
Chester, GA,31012  USA

Call  unto  me, and I will answer thee, and  shew  thee  great and  mighty  things, which thou  knowest not--Jerem.33:3

  ***

MY  ONLY  COMFORT

My only comfort in life and in death
Is that I am not my own
But belongs body and soul to my
Faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with His
Precious blood and has set me free
From the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
That not a hair can fall from my head
Without the will of my heavenly Father
In fact, all things must work together
For my salvation.

Because I belong to Him, Christ,
By His Holy Spirit assures me of
Eternal life and makes me
Wholeheartedly willing and ready
From now on to live for Him

Heidelberg Catech - Lords day 1(1563)

 ***

ONE  DAY  AT A TIME

One day at a time, with its failures and fears,
With its hurts and mistakes, with its weakness and tears,
With its portion of pain and its burden of care;
One day at a time we must meet and must bear.

One day at a time to be patient and strong;
To be calm under trial and sweet under wrong;
Then its toiling shall pass and its sorrow shall cease;
It shall darken and die, and the night shall bring peace.

One day at a time-but the day is so long,
And the heart is not brave, and the soul is not strong,
O Thou merciful Christ, be Thou near all the way;
Give courage and patience and strength for the day.

Swift cometh His answer, so clear and so sweet;
“Yea, I will be with thee; thy troubles to meet;
I will not forget thee, nor fail thee, nor grieve;
I will not forsake thee; I never will leave”.

Not yesterday’s load we are called on to bear,
Nor the morrow’s uncertain and shadowy care;
Why should  we look forward or back with dismay?
Our needs, as our mercies, are but for the day .

One day at a time and the day is His day;
He hath numbered its hours, though they haste or delay,
His grace is sufficient, we walk not alone;
As the day, so the strength that He giveth His own

Annie Johnson Flint.

 ***

God is your shield. He is your refuge. In Him you are secure.

In 1921 Lewis Lawes  became the warden at Sing Sing prison. No prison was tougher than Sing Sing during that time. But when Warden Lawes retired some 20 years later, that prison had become a humanitarian  institution.Those who studied the system said credit for the change belonged to Lawes. But when he was asked about the transformation, here’s what he said; “ I owe it all to my wonderful wife, Catherine, who is buried outside the prison walls”.
Catherine Lawes was a young mother with three small children when her husband became the warden. Everybody warned her from the beginning that she should never set foot inside the prison walls, but that didn’t stop Catherine. When the first prison basketball game was held, she went…walking into the gym with her three beautiful kids and she sat in the stands with the inmates.
                                                        

Her attitude was: “ My husband and I are going to take care of these men and I believe they will take care of me ! I don’t have to worry!” She insisted on getting acquainted with them and their records. She discovered one convicted murderer was blind so she paid him a visit. Holding his hands in hers she said, “ Do you read Braille”? “ What’s Braille?”he asked.

Then she taught him how to read. Years later he would weep in love for her.
Later, Catherine found a deaf-mute in prison. She went to school to learn how to use sign language. Many said that Catherine Lawes was the body of Jesus that came alive again in Sing Sing from 1921 to 1937.

Then, she was killed in a car accident. The next morning Lewis Lawes didn ’t come to work, so the acting warden took his place. It seemed almost instantly that the prison knew something was wrong. The following day, her body was resting in a casket in her home, three-quarters of a mile from the prison. As the acting warden took his early morning walk he was shocked to see a large crowd of the toughest, hardest looking criminals gathered like a herd of animals at the main gate. He came closer and noted tears of grief and sadness. He knew how much they loved Catherine. He turned and faced the men, “ All right ,men, you can go. Just be sure and check in tonight!”
                                          

Then he opened the gate and a parade of criminals walked, without a guard, the three-quarters of a mile to stand in line to pay their final respects to Catherine Lawes. And every one of them checked back in. EVERY ONE !!.

  ***

A  LOVING  THOUGHT

…thinking about Christian inmates, all this men and women have very little going for them. A lousy spiritual climate, limited opportunities, little chance for growth… but they survive, grow and labor to bear fruit that remains. Anyone who knows anything about prisons knows it is not the ideal place to be a serious Christian. And yet they make it work. Most of them found Christ in a countyJail or in a prison. For many the only church they know anything about is the prison chapel. The way of transgressors is hard (Prov. 13: 15), even after a man does get saved. They can not change their environment, but they make it work… yes, is true that some of the best Christians are behind bars but how well they would fit into the average church on the streets I don’t  know. In some ways they might not be much to look at, but they are blood washed believers just the same. And just how good would you and I look under the same circumstances? Praise God for a Savior that knows no limits to His grace and is not ashamed to call the likes of us-wherever we are-His own.

 ***

Can Sardines  Be  lonely?

  by Lennie Spitale

A wonderful article about prison … inmates… and their loneliness….

“Picture a can of sardines-all of those tiny, silvery fish tightly squeezed together inside of that teensy-weensy tin box. Kind of like prison.

If you aren’t reading this from a bunk in a huge dorm room of some kind, you’re probably sitting in a cell. But unless you have been lugged to a segregation unit, it’s unlikely that you’re in that cell alone. You’re either on the top bunk, or (if you manage to get your own way) you are relaxing on the bottom bunk. Either way, you are not alone. I never thought about sardines as being lonely. After all, how could they be? They are crammed together  with a whole bunch of other sardines. Is it uncomfortable? Yes, lonely? No, But wait a minute, is that really true. There is a world of difference, I think, between being lonely and being alone. When people are locked up in prison, there is no such thing as being alone. The lights, the constant noise, the daily routine, the long lines-all serve to remain us that we share this tin can with a whole bunch of other sardines. And it ain’t always comfortable. When you look at how painfully small your “space” really is, you’re reminded yet again that we share this house with a whole lot of other folks. The few possessions we’re allowed to keep become precious. It’s nowhere near the stuff we had when we were on the streets, but it’s all we’ve got now. Maybe a few shelves we made out of cardboard to store our canteen and toiletries. Maybe even a TV. And, for our really special stuff, like our letters and photos, we tuck them under the mattress or in a special box.

But that ’s it; that’s all we’ve got now. That’s what’s makes them so important. It’s a big “no-no” in prison to mess with someone else’s stuff. But we have all got other “stuff” that no one else can see. No, I’m not talking about contraband; I’m talking about memories. No one can take those from us. We don’t have to hide them in a cardboard box, and they never show up in a shakedown. They belong to us alone; they are private.

They ’re also what makes all of this so very hard. If you are sitting in jail right now, then you already know ( maybe better than most), that it is possible to be extremely lonely in a sardine can. We want to be with certain people right now in the worst way. And that’s what hurts the most.

So what we suppose to do? And why am I bringing all this up? Just to make us feel bad? NO! Far from it-that will be a cruel think to do. I am bringing it up because convicts usually don’t. After all, it is not cool to talk about being lonely; it is a sign of weakness. But in our hearts, we know we all are. We just don’t want to front anybody with it. But when we lie there at night and stare at the ceiling, that’s when we tend to take those hidden memory treasures out. It’s also when, in spite of all the fish in the other bunks around us, we feel the most alone.

I have actually got some encouraging news for you: The pain that you are feeling is normal. We should feel pain when we are kept away from the ones we love the most; it means we are normal. It is also a good sign that you haven’t closed yourself down emotionally, as a way to protect yourself. The only problem with shutting our feelings down is that when we shut others out, we shut ourselves in. SO, even though the memories can be painful, they’re painful in a good kind of way. Don’t lose them.

And here ’s what else you can do. You can make the thin can a little more comfortable for the other sardines. You might have heard the old prison proverb “everyone cries at night”. We know it doesn’t mean we all actually cry, but it does mean that we’re all fighting our own personal battles-just by being here. I once heard someone quoted as saying, “be kind to one another; everyone is fighting big battles”. The Native Americans have another way of suggesting the same thing when they say, “walk a mile in my moccasins”.
I think that prisoners can do this better than most. They know what life is like for the other sardines. The challenge is that it is to easy to get caught up in the daily negativity that goes with prison life. It is easy to be swept up in the attitudes and the jive. We can even find ourselves saying or doing something, in the heat of the moment-which we later feel bad about.

The Bible says that when Jesus “saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). That is just what we need. Eyes and hearts like Jesus. To be able to see that others are hurting, and that others are fighting some big battles. And to care that they are. You know, in spite of what everyone will tell you, it is possible to make this sardine can a little more comfortable. We just have to see the other fish as individuals who, underneath it all, feel the way we do. I once heard that the loneliest feeling one can experience is when one feels alone in a crowd. It makes me wonder what would happen if we thought about how we could squeeze over to make just a little extra room for one of the other fish? I f we all started doing this, in our own small way, I think we could make life in the can a little easier for all of us. After all, we ain’t alone in here. “

  ***

BANK ACCOUNT

I HAVE JUST DEPOSITED LOVE AND BLESSINGS INTO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT
AND THE BEST PART IS THAT IT WILL COST YOU NOTHING
I ASK THAT YOU JUST USE IT IN ABUNDANCE
YOUR PIN NUMBER IS; J-E-S-U-S

IMPORTANT NOTICE
IF YOU LOSE YOUR PIN, YOU LOSE EVERYTHING
MAKE A DEPOSIT IN SOMEONE ELSE’S ACCOUNT TODAY!

MAY YOUR TROUBLES BE LESS
YOUR BLESSINGS BE MORE
AND NOTHING BUT HAPPINESS
COME THROUGH YOUR DOOR.

 

Do nothing that you would not like to be doing, when Jesus comes.

 

 *** 

WHAT IF....?

submitted by Tim Dixon

What if…?
God couldn’t take the time to bless us today because we could
 not take the time to thank him yesterday…

What if…?
God decided to stop leading us tomorrow because we didn’t follow him today….

What if…?
God didn’t walk with us today because we failed to recognize it as his day….

What if...?
We never saw another flower bloom because we grumbled when God sent rain…..

What if…?
God stopped loving and caring for us because we fail to love and care for others…..

What if…?
God took away the Bible tomorrow because we would not read it today…

What if….?   
God took away his message because we failed to listen to His messenger…

What if….?
God didn’t send His only begotten son because He wanted us to be prepared to pay the price of sin…

What if….?
The door to the church was closed because we did not open the door of our hearts…..

What if….?
God would not hear us today because we would not listen to Him yesterday…

What if….?
God met our needs the way we give Him our lives….

WHAT  IF.....?

  ***

... AND ONE MORE QUESTION PLEASE ... IS  CHRIST YOUR  LORD??

 

Do  you  know  for  sure  that  if  you  died today you would  go  to  heaven?

MY DEAR FRIENDS,

Do you know Christ as your personal Savior?
Have you ever received The Lord Jesus Christ into your life?

REALIZE THAT  GOD  LOVES  YOU.

God loves you and has a plan for your life.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.  John 3 : 16

THE BIBLE  SAYS  THAT  ALL MEN  ARE  SINNERS

Our sins have separated us from God. ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God .” Rom. 3:23
God made man in His own image. He gave man the ability to choose right from wrong. We choose to sin.
Our sins keep us from God.

GOD’S  WORD ALSO SAYS  THAT  SIN  MUST  BE PAID  FOR.

“For the wages of sin is death….”       Romans  6 : 23

Wages means payment. The payment of our sin is death and hell, separation from God forever. If we go on in sin we shall die without Christ and be without God  forever.

THE  GOOD  NEWS  IS  THAT  CHRIST  PAID  FOR  OUR  SINS

All our sins were laid on Christ on the cross. He paid our sin debt for us.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. Rom. 5:8

WE MUST PERSONALLY PRAY AND  RECEIVE  CHRIST  BY FAITH  AS OUR  SAVIOR.

The Bible says, “ For whosoever shall call upon  the name of the Lord shall be saved”. Rom. 10: 13

PRAY  AND  RECEIVE  CHRIST  AS  YOUR  SAVIOR

Lord, I know that I am a sinner. If I died today I would not go to heaven. Forgive my sin, come into my life and be my Savior. Help me live for you from this day forward. In Jesus name, Amen.

The Bible says, “ For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved “.   Romans  10:13

Dear  friends, new  life-everlasting  life  begins  when  we  receive CHRIST  AS  OUR  SAVIOR.

  ***

FREEDOM

By Mike Quarles

 

My duty is simple, perhaps too simple,
For a proud man like me.
I only have to give up my rights and self,
To the One who died for me.

 

My flesh rebels, Satan rages,
Do your own thing-be free!
So I turned my back on Him,
And soon found chains, not liberty.

 

Men have been bound with chains,
Left to die in deep, dark dungeons.
But nothing on earth can compare
With the bondage of our own prisons.

 

The sin in our body that we serve
Is a cruel tyrant, never satisfied,
Daily driving, dominating, debasing-
Its end is slow and certain suicide.

 

I agree with God’s condemnation on the cross.
The sin and lust in my flesh
Left unjudged, does not make me free,
But binds, enslaves and tortures me.

 

My choice is clear, perhaps too clear,
Admit the obvious, there’s nothing good in me.
I must give up on my resources and come
To the end of myself, if I will ever be free.

 

I flee to the cross on which he died,
I look ashamed to his beautiful face,
Deserving judgment, punishment and hell,
But all I see is His wonderful grace.

 

He says to me-it’s all been done.
The cross takes care of self and sin.
Stop struggling, striving and trying,
And into my peace and rest enter in.

 

The great enemy of my soul has been met,
It’s not from without, but from within.
Proud self forget the chains of my slavery.
I didn’t need help, but a new identity.

 

Hallelujah, I died on the cross with Him,
The old man is crucified and dead.
Sin and self has been judged and nailed to the tree,
I’m forgiven, cleansed, justified and free.

 

Jesus says, “It was for freedom I set you free,
Don’t be entangled in the yoke of slavery.
You are not the person you used to be.
I am your life-your freedom and victory”.

  ***

         FOLLOW JESUS

JESUS  SAITH  UNTO  HIM, “I  AM  THE  WAY,  THE  TRUTH,  AND  THE  LIFE: NO  MAN  COMETH UNTO THE FATHER  BUT  BY  ME “.  John 14:6

Dear  friends,

I want to recommend these Bible studies especially to those incarcerated. I remember when I first entered prison Jan. 2000 the best advice I received was from my sister & brother in law Donald & Teresa Myers of Bearen Baptist Church of Orange Park FL. The advice “Saturate yourself with the word of God”. My first three years I did just that, my second year I read the Bible cover to cover six times in one year and thankful for this many Bible studies, over time I receive piles of studies, some complete trash, some you put the whole fish in your mouth and spit out the bones.

But I found these listed here to be digestible .Please do encourage inmates and new converts to do home Bible studies, many of this have age level studies for children and youth. Home Bible studies do have good guidelines to lead folks through the word of God and help people grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, rightly divide the word of truth and study to show oneself approved unto God. I am a testimony of the difference made in my life. Many of this good people have other literature also so do enquire.

Thank you and hope this resource list above will help many people.   
 Dale. E.-ChesterGa.

 ***

RECOMMENDED CORRESPONDENCE   Bible  Studies-KJV ONLY.

Rod of God                                        
By Dr. Roy Ackerle
BIMI, P.O.BOX 9215
Chattanooga,TN,37412

 

King James Bible Study
Correspondence Course
1601 A.D. MIMS RD.
Ocoee, FL.34761

 

Faith Ministries
22 Gallivan  St.
Greenville, SC, 29609

 

Onesimus  Ministries
P.O.BOX 776
Burgaw, NC,28425

 

LIBERTY Bible Studies
11845 W .Carson City Rd,
Greenville, MI, 48838

 

Source of Light Ministries Int.
1011 Mission RD.
Madison, GA,30650

 

CEF Mail  Box Club
P.O.BOX 190
Warrenton ,MO, 63383-0190

 

ChristianHOME Bible course
23rd Ave. SW
Fargo, ND,53103

***

BIBLE  STUDY  FOR  INMATES  ONLY

Rock of Ages-Prisoner Bible Inst.
P.O.BOX.2308
Cleveland, TN, 37323

 

Mount Zion Bible Insti.
2603 W .Wright street
Pensacola, FL, 32505

 

Tri-State Prison Min.
P.O.BOX 537
Copperhill, TN, 37317-0537

 

Revival  Literature
P.O.BOX 6068
Asheville, NC,28816

 

Project Philip
P.O. Box 1008
Chino, CA, 91708-1008

 

Last Day Messengers
Darrel Childress
P.O. Box 278
Newington, GA, 30446

***

LOVE  THAT  FORGIVES

We must plant the seeds of  forgiveness in our garden of love. Why??
Because we are all sinners save by God and no one of us is perfect. I know I am not and I do know that our most beloved friends and family members are imperfect. I need to be forgiven and they all need to be forgiven. Sometimes is hard to find the generosity to forgive others but if we truly desire to obey God’s word, we must learn to forgive our loved ones, just as we wish to be forgiven by them .And Yes, until we learn the art of forgiveness, we remain trapped in prisons of our own resentment and regret.

 We can not hold bitterness in our heart not even for one person… and if there is someone you must forgive… than forgive. We must follow God’s commandment and His will for our life: “forgive”. Yes, we all make mistakes in life but we have to forgive and forget in order to walk free and move on. Bitterness and regret are not part of God’s plan for our life but FORGIVENESS  IS.

If Jesus forgave those who nailed Him to the Cross and if God forgives you and me,how can you withhold your forgiveness from someone else ?
                                                                                              

 ***

The last  hour

by Bill Henry

If there was just one hour
In this life left for you,
As you watch the hands on the clock,
I wonder, what would you do?

Would you tell a dirty joke
To give the boys a laugh?
Would you blast the name of God
And forget about the past?

Would you run down to the bar
To have a drink or two?
Would you ask that go-go girl
To spend the hour with you?

Would you deal the cards
Or shoot the dice to take another’s wealth?
Would you reject the Christian man
Who offered you some help?

Of course you wouldn’t do this things,
Knowing your time had come!
But this could be your last hour;
It is, you know, for some.