Participants:
Series Code: USP
Program Code: USP210005S
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00:01 Have you ever tried to navigate your way through the dark?
00:03 I think we can agree, 00:04 the most important thing you need is light. 00:07 Stay tuned to get ignited. 00:14 They try to change us from the outside in, 00:16 and that's never going to work. 00:19 Because I know that no matter 00:21 how hard and cold the exterior may seem, 00:24 I know that inside we hurt. 00:27 So we just want to come and share some hope with you 00:30 and let you know that we love you, 00:32 and that Jesus loves you 00:35 beyond anybody in this world. 00:39 I'm not here today to judge you or condemn you, 00:41 we're today to tell you that we love you 00:42 and we understand the situation that you're in. 00:56 Wow! 00:57 That's solemn sound, isn't it, bro? 00:58 Yeah. 01:00 That reminds me of the dark times 01:01 in my life, man. 01:02 Amen, that's for real. 01:04 Yeah. 01:05 Hello, I'm Jason Bradley, 01:06 and I'm glad that you decided to join us here in jail. 01:10 I'm here with Lemuel Vega, 01:11 founder of Christmas Behind Bars 01:13 and you kind of caught us in the middle of reminiscing 01:17 about our dark past. 01:18 So, Lemuel, speak 01:20 to what it's like to have the light? 01:23 You know, Brother, 01:24 that's what Christmas Behind Bars is all about. 01:26 It's bringing light into these dark places. 01:29 These packages that we make and our sponsors help provide 01:32 and 3ABN as well, 01:35 they go to solitary confinement. 01:36 They go to places where men don't ever get out 01:39 unless they're going to the shower. 01:41 They eat in there, they sleep in there 01:42 and they're in there just, like, all day, 01:44 you know, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 01:46 unless they get a little bit of recreation. 01:48 There is no hope confined to a cell. 01:52 There is no light. 01:53 There's outside sunshine 01:55 that occasionally a ray will come in, 01:56 but we're talking about a light that's internal. 01:59 Can you share something from the scripture 02:01 about the internal, 02:02 the internalization of light? 02:04 Absolutely. 02:05 I want to read to you from John 8:12, 02:10 and the Word of God says, 02:11 "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 02:14 'I am the light of the world. 02:16 He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, 02:20 but have the light of life.'" 02:23 The light of life that we're able to provide 02:25 for these people in prison. 02:27 We can't take matches and candles 02:29 and flashlights and batteries. 02:31 But the light of life is embedded in the power 02:37 that comes through the Holy Spirit in the Bible. 02:39 So we're able to take Bibles in to these people 02:42 and we actually need Bibles, 02:44 so if our sponsors at home 02:46 would like to send Bibles to Christmas Behind Bars, 02:47 they can do that. 02:49 New or used Bibles, we need Bibles. 02:51 The gift packages that we make are filled with literature. 02:55 There's a Creation magazine in here, 02:57 there's a Steps to Christ, 02:59 there's a GLOW tracts and literature, 03:01 along with pretzels and snack items. 03:04 So our desire is this can bring them a bit of hope, 03:07 a bit of light, the Creation magazine, 03:09 the Word of God. 03:10 And so, there's a lot of different ways 03:12 we talk about light, 03:13 but you're talking about that Jesus 03:15 is the light of the world. 03:16 That's right. 03:17 And, you know, there's lights, 03:19 there's candles here representing 03:20 the light, the light. 03:22 And so as people come to know who Jesus is, 03:26 then they want to share that with somebody else. 03:28 That's right. That's the gospel. 03:30 When we come and we have that desire 03:32 because we want others to know of the truth. 03:36 And I have a friend, 03:38 he was in the maximum security prison 03:39 where I was incarcerated. 03:41 And this guy was selling drugs. 03:43 He's inside prison 03:44 and he's selling drugs on the street from prison 03:48 and they busted this guy 03:50 and so he got a lawyer. 03:52 In maximum security prison, he got a lawyer 03:54 and he paid him $30,000. 03:56 $30,000. 03:58 $30,000 from a prison cell, 04:00 paid his attorney and guess what? 04:02 His lawyer worked against him 04:03 and they added 30 years to his sentence. 04:05 Wow. 04:07 He only had a couple years left, 04:08 they added 30 years to his sentence 04:10 and they took him out of the state of Indiana 04:11 and they shipped him off to a faraway place, Virginia. 04:15 And in a super max prison, Brother, 04:17 let me tell you something, 04:18 then boys that had life, double life, life plus 80, 04:22 they started telling my friend about Jesus. 04:25 They started telling my friend about the light of the world, 04:27 they started sharing with him the gospel. 04:30 You know what my friend told him? 04:31 What did he tell him? 04:32 I already know about Jesus. 04:34 He said, "I've been running from Jesus." 04:37 But in that super max prison in Virginia, 04:40 my friend gave his life to Christ, 04:42 and my friend began to evangelize 04:45 and share with other people. 04:47 My friend only had 30 years, 04:49 these people had life and double life. 04:51 My friend was transferred back to Indiana, 04:53 he was down to... He have to do half of your time. 04:56 He was transferred back to a prison in Indiana 04:59 and they said, Oh, he's back, he's back. 05:01 The game's on, come on dude, let's get." 05:03 He said, "No." 05:05 He said, "That's the old me." 05:06 Yes. 05:07 He said, "This is the new me." 05:09 And when he got out of prison, 05:11 he started going down to his local county jail 05:13 and he wanted to share, he had a desire to share 05:16 and bring hope to those people in the county jail 05:18 where he went to prison for many years 05:20 and people he knew. 05:21 And, you know, they begin talking 05:23 about Christmas Behind Bars, 05:24 they said, "Christmas Behind Bars brings these great, 05:26 big bags and they got the big bags." 05:28 And this guy would just bring little bags 05:30 full of candy and a few things 05:32 and so he called me wanting to know 05:34 what Christmas Behind Bars, 05:35 what's that about, you know? 05:36 Can I go with you? 05:38 And so I invited him to come to a prison 05:41 and we're at this prison, 3000 inmates 05:44 and he comes up to me and said, 05:45 "Do you think we could ever take this program 05:47 to Virginia?" 05:48 So see, he had found a hope in Christ 05:51 and he wanted to go back to the state of Virginia, 05:53 where those people were never going to get out of prison. 05:55 And I'm like, "Look, dude, right now, 05:57 we're focused on this prison right here. 05:59 The next three days, we're going to be right here," 06:01 and I couldn't even think, I said, "Why don't you check?" 06:03 What he did, man, is he went home 06:06 and he called the prison 06:07 and he talked to someone in the chaplaincy office. 06:10 I get a call from central office in Virginia 06:13 and this guy's named Dr. Chay, 06:15 he's in charge of all the prisons 06:17 and all the religious programming. 06:18 And this guy called me and he said, 06:20 "You know, I think that it's a great program" 06:23 he said, "I've approved it. 06:25 He said, "I've approved it for every inmate 06:28 in the state of Virginia." 06:29 Praise the Lord. 06:31 I said, "Sir, how many inmates you got?" 06:35 He said, "Thirty thousand." 06:37 I said, "Look, man," I said, "I tell you what, 06:39 we'd never even done 15,000 up to that point, 06:42 never in the ministry time before." 06:44 I said, "Look, I tell you what, we'll do 15,000 to start." 06:46 He said, "Well, we'll start at the level ones 06:48 and we'll work our way up." 06:49 I said, "Oh, no sir, 06:51 we want to start at the super max 06:52 and work our way down," 06:53 because I knew that's where Buddy wanted to go. 06:55 And see because Buddy gave his life to Christ. 07:00 Buddy gave his life to Christ and lives were ignited, 07:05 lives were changed, 07:08 hope was brought back to not only the prison 07:11 where Buddy wanted to go back, 07:13 but hope was brought to 30,000 men and women 07:17 for Christ. 07:19 And that's what the gospel is about. 07:21 As we come to know who Jesus is, 07:24 then we want to share it with somebody else. 07:27 And so one individual committed his life to Christ, 07:30 30,000 men and women were encouraged with the gospel 07:35 through Christmas Behind Bars and the packages. 07:37 So that's what the light is, 07:39 as we come to know the light internally, 07:42 then we want to share the light. 07:44 Yes, absolutely. 07:46 I mean, how can you hold on 07:47 to a good thing and not share it? 07:49 Amen. 07:50 When Jesus comes in and He transforms your life, 07:53 you can't help but to share the good news of Christ. 07:56 And that is incredible that you got in touch 07:59 with the guy that was in charge over all of the prisons, 08:02 30,000 people incarcerated. 08:04 He approved it for every prison. 08:06 Yes, and the interesting thing 08:07 for your friend's attorney too. 08:11 You know what? 08:12 We have packages for these folk right here. 08:15 If you'd want to take and give them to the officer, 08:17 he'll look at them and then he can pass them out, 08:19 that'd be great. 08:24 Yeah, these are really great packages, 08:27 full of great snacks, 08:30 great spiritual material and everything. 08:32 What do we tell people when we go into the prisons 08:35 about the spiritual food versus the physical food? 08:39 Which one lasts longer? 08:41 The physical food is a blessing. 08:43 But the spiritual reality 08:45 is what's going to last throughout eternity. 08:47 That's right. That's right. 08:49 Let me ask you this, how does your faith 08:51 play a role in what you do? 08:53 I think it's huge. 08:56 Where would I be without the Lord Jesus Christ? 08:58 Amen. 08:59 I can only imagine, right? 09:01 As the song says, so they're no different. 09:05 If He can change a person like myself, 09:08 He can change any of those people. 09:10 They have to know that somebody believes in them. 09:15 Absolutely. 09:17 I'm no different, 09:18 and it's a great way that we can change their lives, 09:21 even if it's one of them. 09:23 Oh, yes. 09:24 I can't tell you many times this guy has come in, 09:27 calls last minute, "We've got bags, 09:29 I'm like, "Yeah, bring them," 09:31 and you can just see how receptive these people are 09:34 because I think that the love. 09:37 Yeah, the goodie bags, I get it, 09:39 but the love that you're not going to surpass that. 09:43 And in the first block that we went to, 09:45 the ladies that were in there, the tears, 09:49 those are raw, those are real. 09:51 And some of those people and some of these individuals 09:54 in this facility are so hardened 09:55 and so hard for you to get the tears out of them, right? 09:58 That's not us, that is the Holy Spirit. 10:01 Amen. 10:02 Again, I think that your heart has to be compelled 10:07 to give back to see somebody change 10:10 and really what kind of price tag 10:12 can you put on that, so? 10:13 Amen. 10:15 What kind of difference do you think 10:16 receiving one of those packages 10:18 makes in the lives of say, 10:21 someone that's incarcerated? 10:24 Well, number one, they know that these packages 10:26 just didn't jump together. 10:28 They know that someone took the time to care about them. 10:32 There was a lady 10:35 and she was trying to go into this prison 10:37 to see her loved one 10:39 and the officer told her she had to lock her car keys up 10:42 in the locker. 10:43 And he said, "It takes a quarter." 10:45 She said, "I don't have a quarter." 10:46 She said, "I spent my last five dollars 10:50 to come down here to see individual 10:52 that they were going to go see." 10:54 And I thought, man, 10:55 she spent her last five dollars to come down here. 10:58 So these people know that you could be doing anything else 11:01 any other day of the week, 11:02 you could be doing a whole lot of other things 11:04 than coming down to the prison. 11:06 So they know it's genuine love, care and compassion, 11:10 no strings attached, everybody gets one. 11:12 Yes. 11:13 And how do you come about getting all of the things 11:16 that go into these packages? 11:18 It's through the sponsors, sponsors make it possible. 11:21 We always try to be very frugal 11:23 with the prices we pay for things. 11:27 I've told the inmates 11:28 and I'll tell the people in the world today. 11:30 It's God number one. 11:31 Amen. 11:33 Thank Him. Yeah. 11:34 Number two, thank the administration, the staff. 11:36 And number three, if the inmates would like 11:38 to write any letters of appreciation, 11:40 we make copies of those and send them to the sponsors 11:43 because it's not us. 11:44 We've just been people that have experienced 11:47 pain that far. 11:48 And the man, there was a biker, dude. 11:50 We were walking down the range 11:52 after the package's all been passed out. 11:53 He didn't have no shirt on and tattoos from here to here. 11:57 He had everything systematically 11:58 laid out on his bed 12:00 and when I was walking by his cell, he stopped me, 12:03 he said, "What you people have done for me 12:05 is more than what my people's done for me 12:07 the whole time I've been in prison." 12:09 So that's what that bag meant to one individual. 12:12 Wow. Yeah, that's huge. 12:14 What did it feel like for you coming out of darkness 12:18 into Christ' marvelous light? 12:20 That there was hope for my life and there was purpose. 12:22 I mean, it's not about a jet ski 12:24 or a boat or a convertible or whatever, 12:26 it was about that there's hope to share the gospel, 12:30 that we cared and I can't begin to tell you 12:32 the dynamic of it. 12:34 It's such a joy and such a blessing. 12:36 Did you experience the same? 12:37 Oh, I did and, you know, I noticed a change 12:40 in my countenance. 12:41 I noticed, you know, once the inside began to change 12:44 that the outward began to change as well. 12:47 And I think that as Christians, we need to keep that in mind 12:50 before we go about judging other people 12:53 for their outward appearance. 12:55 We need to recognize that, hey, 12:57 God is working on their heart, 12:59 God is working on their insides, 13:02 and you will end up seeing the manifestation of that 13:05 on the outside as well. 13:07 And you don't know where they're at on that spectrum 13:09 on their journey. 13:10 You know, maybe they're just starting, 13:11 maybe they just lost a loved one 13:13 or whatever and they got all this, 13:14 so want to come alongside, 13:16 be an encouragement as Christians. 13:17 Amen? 13:18 Yes, and uplifting. 13:20 Now, you know, Christ came and not entered the world, 13:22 not to condemn the world, right? 13:24 But that the world through Him might be saved. 13:26 Might be saved, yeah. 13:27 So what would you say to that individual 13:29 that might be on the fence about accepting Jesus? 13:34 I'd like to say, you'd been through the world, 13:36 you've tried everything else and today, 13:39 please be willing to try one more time. 13:42 Maybe you've tried before and maybe you've failed, 13:44 maybe your candles went out. 13:46 God will reignite, relight, inspire, 13:49 encourage and He will walk with you 13:52 on this journey from now to eternity. 13:55 Amen. Thank you, Brother. 13:56 Thank you for coming on and sharing. 13:57 I see the passion and the fire that's lit inside of your life. 14:01 And we want to thank you for joining us. 14:03 Join us next time. God bless. |
Revised 2021-10-28