I have seen the power of God in changing my life. I was known as an habitual criminal, a career criminal. Between 1979 and 1993, I was charged with the following: first degree arson, aggravated motor vehicle theft, criminal mischief, harassment, theft, trespassing, second degree burglary, attempted arson, forgery, eluding, menacing, theft by receiving, possession of marijuana, and shoplifting. Several of these I was charged with more than once. And of every one of them I was guilty.
Altogether I’ve been sentenced to serve a total of twenty-three years since I was eleven years old. I’ve served over four-and-a-half years in eighteen different facilities. I have been on probation seven times and on parole once. I have been ordered to pay more than $26,000 in restitution for my crimes.
I also spent ten years in bondage to my addiction to pot (marijuana). My mom spent hundreds of dollars on lawyers, bail bondsmen, and shrinks.
I did not have the power within me to stay out of trouble. The authorities tried everything: rehabilitation programs, reform school, AA, NA, counseling, and even a “Scared Straight” program which involved a trip to the Territorial Correction Facility in Canon City, Colorado, when I was fourteen. None of these gave me freedom from this life of crime.
I found the power to free me in one place–Jesus Christ.
In 1993, I was in jail, on my way to prison for eleven years. It was there I met Don, Ted, and Bruce. They were coming in, giving us the gospel.
I was finally at the end of my rope, so with nowhere left to turn, I received Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.
I went on to serve my time, and after only sixteen months, the Lord freed me from those walls. He had already freed me spiritually, but now He let me go free physically too.
This is the first time in twenty-three years I have had the power to turn away from all this crime and trouble. I got this power from God.
Today I have been drug-free for three years. I have worked at the same job for two years and God has really changed my life. Today I have peace.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” That describes what happened to me.
Maybe you too have had a struggle with sin and are tired of the bondage. Whether you have been in jail and prison or not, you are a sinner. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). But God loves you and sent Christ to die on the cross to pay the penalty of your sin. The Bible states “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). Christ now is a living, risen Saviour.
Like Toby, you must repent and cry out to God for salvation. “For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13). You too can know deliverance from the penalty and power of sin.