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my Christian friends, to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you have received this letter and
respond in writing you will be mailed a Bible along with a list of Bible studies available. We are not
selling anything or asking you to join our denomination. We want to share with you the Glorious
Hope of salvation as we received it, free from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We are told to go
and preach to the world. Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature.
We are also told to be a living witness to the world. I want to tell you about the way I was, the way I
am now, and what happened to me to make me a new creature. It was nothing I did, except
believing in the Lord. John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of
God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Let me start by telling you something about myself. I was put on Valium at eight years old and
Librium about one year later throughout high school for hyperactivity. I started drinking
(alcoholically) at the age of eleven. I started smoking weed at twelve or fourteen. I joined the Marine
Corps at twenty years old to keep from going to jail. When I got out, crack had hit the streets. I knew
nothing about it, but it didn’t take me long to learn and experience the problems that came with it. I
either smoked crack or shot up coke for about eighteen years. I was into heroin for about fourteen
to sixteen years.
I said I would never use needles but after awhile I needed them just to get off. I have been in over
fifty detox centers and rehabs in my life. It got to the point that no place would take me in any more.
I broke out of a veterans’ psychiatric ward that I was in for heroin detoxification and ended up on
federal probation. I violated probation after turning in dirty urine and ended up in a federal
psychiatric prison for six months as a case study to determine if I could be released or if I was a
danger to others or myself. If it was determined that I was a threat to society then the doctors would
sign me in on an involuntary commitment.
When you first get there you are put in seclusion until a doctor clears you. This is where the head
bangers and the screamers (the cases they can’t control with medication) are kept. It wasn’t like the
federal prisons on Sixty Minutes. There were no swimming pools or tennis courts. The memories of
standing on the street corner talking junk about getting busted and not being afraid of going to
prison and how that was going to make me a man or gain me respect weren’t so funny anymore.
There weren’t any care packages coming off the streets with my name on them.
That was when I had to seriously look at the way I was living. It just wasn’t working. It’s not that I was
afraid of prison. It’s just that there was nothing to it: absolutely nothing, a lot of emptiness, a total
lack of anything of any value, a complete void. And I was right there in the middle, by myself, alone.
Was this what life was about? It couldn’t be. God wouldn’t make life like this. That was when I turned
to God to find out. It was the only thing I could think of. I had had enough. I gave up, and I couldn’t
live like that anymore. If God was the way out I needed to know. I didn’t care what people would
think of me or if I became one of those Jesus freaks that people laughed at. It was time I looked at
my future, and I don’t mean just on earth.
If Hell was anything like my life I didn’t want any part of it. I thought if I just prayed somehow
everything would turn out all right. The only thing I knew about praying was what I had been taught
in church. I was repeating someone else’s prayers that didn’t mean much to me and rarely fit my
needs. I had tried to read the Bible but found it difficult to understand, and I didn’t know why there
were so many different translations. I wasn’t even sure who to pray to: God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit,
Mary, Joseph, or whoever happened to be hanging on the wall of the church I was in at the time.
I started reading the Bible more and more and noticed some things I did not remember seeing
before, or hearing in church. Like, 1 John 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath
not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. and, John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me. Did this mean that if I didn’t believe and accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, I
was going to Hell? I was beginning to understand that I was praying to the wrong people and in
ways that were against what the Bible said. We are told that there is one way and one way only: the
word of God manifest in the flesh, the one that has the Spirit of truth, the only true living and triune
God, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Bible says that Jesus is going to judge people based
on the righteousness of God. Romans 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of
men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 2 Timothy 4:1 I charge thee therefore before
God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing
and his kingdom; Romans 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up
unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of
God;
I did not want to stand before anyone with the power to send me to Hell and to be judged for the sin
in my life. After I made a bunch of promises to God, things starting getting better for a while, and I
was released. Then there came the task of keeping those promises that I had made to God. Did it
matter? Would He get angry? What would He do about it if I went back to the old lifestyle now that
things were getting better? Well, I found out what happens to people who call on God, and then,
when he answers their cries for help and reveals himself to them, try to renege on the deal.
I wanted to call on Him when I wanted help, but I didn’t want Him to tell me what to do especially if it
meant that I couldn’t sin any more. For all the trouble that drugs, sex, and crime had gotten me into
I still didn’t want to let go. I wanted to keep God in a box and only pull him out on rainy days. I had
been doing drugs and committing crimes for so long that it didn’t seem that I had a choice anymore.
I just wanted to be able to control what I did or didn’t do and when I did it. But it doesn’t work like
that. The Bible calls these things sin, and I had to look at what I was doing as a sin if I wanted
victory in my life. My drug addiction was not a disease as some would call it, and I wasn’t going to
be a drug addict forever as others would have me believe. The victory is in the blood of Jesus
Christ that was shed on Calvary, and that victory is available to every believer in their daily life. It
was Jesus Christ that defeated sin, and I could also have His authority to overcome temptation in
my life by the power of the Holy Spirit. 1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have
overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
All I had to do was repent, ask Christ to come into my life and forgive me of my sins, and believe not
only that he could, but also that he would forgive me and give me eternal life as promised in the
scriptures. What I’m telling you is that this same authority is available to each and every one of you
in the person of Jesus Christ. Don’t believe Satan’s lies. 1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that
denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
The Bible tells us that everyone stands before the Lord and is held accountable. Romans 14:11
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue
shall confess to God. Romans 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself
to God. I had been trying to get through life on my own. Facing temptation by myself wasn’t
necessary. God had already provided me a way through them. 1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath
no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a
way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
I had been saying yes to sin for so long that I didn’t even call it sin anymore. All I knew was that I
didn’t want to live that way anymore. The Bible said I didn’t have to and as a child of God I wasn’t
supposed to. 1 Peter 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
God wasn’t going to stop me from sinning, but he wasn’t going to let me get away with it either.
Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom
he receiveth. and Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous
therefore, and repent.
I knew that if I stood before God to be judged in the condition I was in and wasn’t saved, I was going
to Hell, and I would deserve it. If I was saved, like I told people, I wasn’t living like it. I had to know for
sure. I didn’t understand it, but the Lord says come as you are.
This offer of salvation is open to everyone. We don’t get right first and then come to the Lord. For it
is the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer that performs the things we can’t do for
ourselves. I would love to share how the word of God has worked in my life and has given me hope
where all hope was lost. I can’t claim to have the authority it takes to bring someone to the Lord, but
the word of God has that power. Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God.
This I can bring to you. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the hole, seclusion, the box, solitaire or
whatever they call the disciplinary segregation unit at your prison. You can get your mail, and you
can get the word of God delivered right to your house. The Lord has revealed himself to me in such
a way that I must proclaim my faith in Jesus Christ so that God does his will in me and through me.
Hebrews 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that
which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and
ever. Amen. Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of
his good pleasure. We, the children of God, are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who
are the called according to his purpose.
Those of us that have already received the blessed hope of salvation bring this newsletter to you to
proclaim to all the world our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Mark 16:15 And he said unto them,
Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
All you have to do is send a request to 2nd Chance Christian Newsletter, P.O. Box 184, Martville, N.
Y. 13111-0184. Right now this letter is free to all inmates. Bibles and Bible studies are available in
English and Spanish. Bible lessons are also available on our web site at www.2ndccn.com. All
English scripture quotations will be from The Authorized King James Version only. Now, one can
make a commitment to the Lord or be without excuse on judgment day and have to pay the penalty
of sin themselves, which is the second death (the second death is that which a child of God is
saved from). Revelation 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Revelation 20:6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death
hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a
thousand years. Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This
is the second death. Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the
abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all
liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the
second death.
To fully understand the need of God in our lives we need to know what we are saved from (Hell,
torment) and what we are saved to (Heaven, glory). To receive the free gift of salvation is one
thing, but to yield to the will of God as revealed by the Holy Spirit after salvation is another. I would
like a chance to explain to you how this yielding has taken place in my life, when I was and wasn’t
obedient to the will of God. The best thing you can do for this newsletter is to subscribe. The best
thing you can do for your soul is to confess your sins, repent, ask the Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ to come into your life and to forgive your sins, and believe in your heart that he can and will.
To receive salvation you must believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You
must believe that Jesus Christ not only paid for your sins but that it was an acceptable payment to
God the Father. 1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also
received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was
buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be
ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same
Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved.
The proof of our salvation lies in the fact that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
Please be patient the mailings may be slow and I’m relying on the Lord to bring the glorious hope of
the gospel of Jesus Christ to you. All honor and glory goes to God through his ever beloved Son
Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever, Amen.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places.
I am quite familiar with the spiritual wickedness that takes place in the prison system. Sometimes the
hatred and anger that exists is beyond comprehension. The stress levels can drive someone to say
and do things that can alter their life forever. As if the situation isn’t bad enough, along with the
uncertainty of out dates and only the possibility of early releases, one can never be certain of the
future. With God all that changes. We can know what our future holds. The physical aspect of life
that we see is only part of life. God is not affected or confined by time. He is outside and in, ever
present. 1 Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God,
be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. God is eternal, before the beginning and after
the end; He is not bound by anything and has the authority to give eternal life or torment. Matthew
25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life
eternal. This is the same authority that I have in my life now that I have accepted Christ. Once we
become saved we become a child of God. The Bible tells us the lost are Satan’s children. John 8:
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a
murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in
him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Keep in mind people, that whatever you are going through now is temporary. By the time we die or
get raptured, the first second of eternity has not yet begun because eternity has no beginning or
end. When God allows pain and suffering in our lives, it is to reveal to us our need of Him. It is the
sin in our lives or the sin in others (human disobedience to God), that causes pain and suffering,
not anything God did or does. It was man’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden that brought sin
into creation as it is today. When a person chooses to sin in his mind, it is then brought into the
physical realm (manifestation). The battle over whether to choose the will of God or the will of man
(the desires of the flesh or the Adamic nature) is in the hearts and minds of men. The desire to sin
is sin. God had created the world perfect. So on the first page when I said (at my spiritual breaking
point) that this can’t be the way God created life, I was right. This is the way life became after Adam
and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God (in the person of Jesus Christ)
provided a way back to the relationship between Him and man that was lost. Romans 5:15 But not
as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more
the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto
many. Just as Adam and Eve chose to sin we must choose Christ. Because God gave man a free
will He can’t make us do anything. Yes, there are things God can’t do. Holiness is the absence of
even the ability to sin. God can’t violate his attribute of Holiness. Hebrews 6:18 That by two
immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong
consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: If He did He
wouldn’t be God. God is the source of all Holiness. He will give us a just reward according to our
works (recompense for good or evil based on the righteousness of the Lord). Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be
good, or whether it be evil.