October 2009
It is such a privilege
to take the message of Jesus Christ around
the world through the Monthly View. "For
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God to salvation
for everyone who believes, for the Jew first
and also for the Gentiles. For in the gospel,
the righteousness of God is revealed from
faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just
shall live by faith.'"1
Mailbox Testimonies
Last month's letters drew
a wonderful response. Here is another one
that came my way:
Green Bay, WI - Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and
from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I
felt moved by the Holy Spirit to write this
letter in hopes that it will lift your spirits
to know that you have lifted mine! I was
reading your story on the internet, out
of idle historical curiosity, when I came
across the part where it said that you had
a conversion to Christ many years ago, and
have taken up your Cross to follow Him as
a fellow minister of the Gospel. This brought
me great joy!
I did some terible things
as a young man and felt that I was beyond
the reach of even Jesus. I was Peter in
my denial, Pilate in my indifference, and
Judas in my betrayal. It was only in the
realization of the Holy Spirit at a retreat
center that I was able to comprehend the
fact that Jesus died for these very sins,
not in spite of them, but because of them.
My mom, dad, brothers,
and I did prison ministry at Marquette State
Prison in Michigan for over thirty years.
On a Kyros retreat, my brother Dave witnessed
something that changed his life forever.
The leader of the Aryan gang, as well as
the leader of a Hispanic gang were part
of the group. It was known that the Hispanic
leader had a contract out on the life of
the Aryan leader. Towards the end of the
four-day retreat, my brother was on the
back porch where the men were allowed smoke
breaks. The two men happened to be on the
porch at the same time, when the Aryan leader
said, "You know who I am, don't you?"
the Hispanic leader replied, "Yes,
I do, but that doesn't matter anymore because
we are now brothers in Christ." They
hugged each other.
The power of Christ is
here and now, and I thank God for your witness,
Charles. I pray God's blessings on you and
your family. Keep the faith! - Pastor Paul.
Another Testimony
Since Pastor Paul shared
that testimony, I'd like to share another
one. This testimony can be read in detail
from my book "Will
You Die For Me?" (Chapter
13), but not the whole story. That continued
to unfold after the '78 publication.
In July 1969, I ripped
off a major drug dealer named "Lots-a-Pappa"
for $2750, as told in my book. As a result,
he threatened to hurt the Manson family,
so Manson went into town and shot him in
the stomach. I wasn't present. We thought
he had died because of news reports on television
the next morning concerning a black panther's
body being found on the UCLA campus. He
later showed up to testify at the Manson
trial (my trial was separate), so we knew
he was still alive.
Here's the rest of the
testimony, not in my book: Around 12 years
later, Chaplain Ray, the co-author of my
book, told me that he had met "Lots-a-Pappa"
in another California prison, and that he
was not only saved, but still had Manson's
bullet in him, which was his claim to fame.
Of course, we rejoiced,
but lo and behold, he showed up at the prison
where I was housed, walked into the chapel
where I worked, and said, "Hi, Tex."
I no longer went by "Tex," but
I wasn't going to argue. He was a 6'5",
380 pound, black man. I said, "Lots-a-Pappa,"
I heard you got saved?" He said, "Yeah,"
and began telling me about his life since
we first met that hot July night. As we
shared, I sensed the miracle of salvation
taking place in our midst. Needless to say,
I was relieved that he was born-again.
We shared communion together
the following Sunday. It was a special moment
as the Holy Spirit moved upon us as we shared
the body and blood of Christ, and celebrated
our brotherhood as believers.
For a year, we walked
the prison yard together. I believe he had
a true conversion experience and, like myself,
he was a new man in Christ. "Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
old things have passed away; behold, all
things have become new."2
The Testimony of Jesus
Through the years, I've
been told that I have a great testimony.
I respond by quickly saying, "It's
the testimony of Jesus, not mine."
My testimony isn't great, because it's all
about death. "For the wages of sin
is death; but the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord."3
The gift of God is eternal
life, for "...the testimony of Jesus
is the spirit of prophecy."4
Jesus is the One, Who "...came into
Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom
of God."5 He
preached the testimony of God, that our
heavenly Father "...delivered us from
the power of darkness, and translated us
into the kingdom of His dear Son: In Whom
we have redemption through His blood, even
the forgiveness of sin..."6
Jesus provided forgiveness for our sin,
paying the penalty through His death on
the cross; but, He didn't take responsibility
for our sin. Our sin is responsible for
putting Him on the cross, and the punishment
that brought us peace was placed upon Him.7
I read an opinion from
a chat room sent to me this week, saying,
"...that those of us who receive Jesus
don't take responsibility for their crimes."
To the contrary, the first step of recovery
is to acknowledge that our life has become
unmanageable, and that we are powerless
to do anything about it. Next, we came to
believe that a power greater than ourselves
can deliver us from insanity. Then, we turn
our wills and our lives over to the care
of God for salvation. Whereas, those who
don't receive Christ, will not only be responsible
for their sin, but also for the penalty
of their sin, because they reject the cross
of Christ.
What's your testimony?
Webster's dictionary says
a testimony is a "statement given as
evidence in court." One day, everyone
of us will be judged by God in the court
of heaven. Jesus says, "...that you
must give an account on judgment day of
every idle word you speak. The words you
say now reflect your fate then; either you
will be justified by them or you will be
condemned."8
This means that your opinions
about those who believe in Jesus will one
day testify against you. In the end, those
who you judge will have a better fate than
yours. The Apostle Paul said: "I know
very well how foolish the message of the
cross sounds to those who are on the road
to destruction. But we who are being saved
recognize this message as the very power
of God. As the Scriptures say, 'I will destroy
human wisdom and discard their most brilliant
ideas.'"9
My book "Christianity
For Fools" explains how "God
deliberately chose things the world considers
foolish in order to shame those who think
they are wise. And He chose those who are
powerless to shame those who are powerful.
God chose things despised by the world,
things counted as nothing at all, and used
them to bring to nothing what the world
considers important, so that no one can
ever boast in the presence of God."10
My desire is for you to
know that God loves you! "He alone
made it possible for you to be redeemed
by Christ Jesus. For our benefit, God made
Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one
who made us acceptable to God. He made us
pure and Holy, and He gave Himself to purchase
our freedom. As the Scriptures say, 'The
person who wishes to boast should boast
only of what the Lord has done.'"11
A Prayer For You ...
Our Father in Heaven, You
are life for us, and You gave us the payment
for sin so we may live with You forever.
Your Son, Jesus, makes us one with You and
becomes wisdom for us. We once were blind,
but now we see. Light has come into our
lives and light drives out darkness. May
we have a witness to that light, and may
our righteousness, obtained through Jesus
alone, shine as a testimony to all You have
done for us. In Jesus' precious name. Amen.
Scripture References:
Acknowledgement: A special thanks
to Sherry for transcribing this months view!
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