Participants: Aaron Chancy (Host), Lemuel Vega, Donna Vega
Series Code: TNJ
Program Code: TNJ000002
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00:10 Welcome to The New Journey, the program where we meet
00:12 real-life people with real-life testimonies 00:15 with real-life work and ministries for Jesus. 00:18 Today we'll meet a man and a wife that are actively involved 00:21 in prison ministries 00:22 bringing Christmas gifts to inmates year round. 00:25 Tune in for this exciting interview as we discuss 00:28 how he leads people to Jesus 00:29 as well as find out his personal journey to God. 00:32 I'm your host Aaron Chancy. 00:33 Come join us on The New Journey. 01:04 Welcome back to The New Journey. 01:05 Today we have an exciting husband and wife 01:08 that are going to be talking about their prison ministries. 01:10 Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Vega to the show. 01:12 Greetings, brother. It's a blessing to be here. 01:14 Amen, amen. Now we have some exciting information 01:17 that we want to talk about during the show 01:19 in terms of your ministry Christmas Behind Bars. 01:22 Can both of you share some information, shed some light 01:24 to the viewers of your ministry, your involvement in ministry, 01:27 your passion for ministry. 01:29 Shed some light on that, please. 01:30 Well first of all, Christmas Behind Bars is not a 01:33 once-a-year program. The true meaning of Christmas 01:37 is applicable 365 days a year. All year round. 01:39 This was not my idea... this is God's idea. 01:43 Um, 13 years ago I gave my heart to Jesus in a hospital room 01:47 sick and ready to die. OK. And so this program's been 01:50 running for about 12 years. About 12 years? 01:52 OK, so both of you all are actively involved in 01:54 prison ministries. Mrs. Vega, what's your involvement 01:58 in prison ministries? Well, I love to go to the prisons 02:01 and visit the men, but actually my main goal is to 02:05 write them letters, like correspondence with the inmates. 02:09 You know that's actually good because, myself, I spent time 02:11 incarcerated and I'm well aware of people who are incarcerated. 02:16 They don't have loved ones who are out there 02:18 They receive no mail, receive no commissary... 02:21 things like that... and it's good to get a letter 02:23 just from somebody that cares. It may not be a long letter. 02:26 It may just be a short letter or a card just saying 02:28 "I'm thinking about you. " But people appreciate that, 02:30 don't they? Yes they do. It's very humbling. 02:32 You know, I'm just one little servant but they really 02:35 enjoy it. They really enjoy it. And I fully agree. As I said, 02:38 I've seen people in there that just can get a letter 02:41 of just a paragraph long and be overjoyed that somebody 02:45 took the time to write them a letter, 02:47 send it to them, and say "Look, I just really care about you. " 02:50 Praise the Lord for it. That is good! That is good! 02:53 So ya'll have been involved in prison ministries for about 02:55 how long? Well I guess I've been involved about 30 years. 03:00 30 years, OK. Lemuel was a big Chicago boy that 03:03 came to the little Bluffton town - OK - and his name was 03:07 splashed all over the paper. And the Lord told me 03:09 to tell him about Jesus the way I know Jesus. 03:12 Amen, amen. And Mr. Vega, how long have you 03:14 been involved in prison ministries? 03:16 Well I was in prison myself 03:18 looking at 10-20 years in the county jail - OK - 03:21 and some volunteers came in. So that started the importance 03:24 of volunteerism in my life because I was the recipient 03:27 of volunteers coming in. So that's kind of how 03:29 the prison ministry has had its fuel because, you know, 03:32 like you said... they appreciate a letter. 03:34 They appreciate a volunteer coordinator or a sponsor to come 03:37 into the prison to share with them. OK. 03:39 So this program specifically 03:42 has been going now about 13 years. About 13 years? 03:45 Can you describe a little bit of your joy? The feeling 03:48 that you get when you go inside a prison 03:51 as well as the feeling that you've noticed that 03:54 other... that inmates receive from the work that you guys 03:57 are doing in the prisons? Let me tell you something: 03:59 I had one year clean. I've been out of prison for 12 years. 04:02 I had one year clean, and let me tell you something: 04:04 it was somebody else's idea to make some little tiny packages 04:08 to go down to the local county jail. 04:09 OK. Somebody else had this idea, and I had a little grocery 04:11 business and so I donated product. 04:13 OK. And so we went to this first county jail. 04:15 I had one year clean, and on the way home that night 04:18 I took my wife's hand and I said: "Baby, 04:20 you couldn't give me a brand new Corvette 04:23 for the blessing that I received. 04:25 So that's the transforming power of God. 04:27 Because when I got out of prison it was ski boats, it was 04:29 motorcycles, it was gold, it was cars, it was all this 04:32 stuff... but I was still empty. So the power of God 04:36 working through the volunteer's hearts. 04:38 The volunteers are blessed as much as the inmates are blessed 04:41 I believe, but how I don't... Or more... or more. 04:43 Talk about your experience going into the prisons, 04:45 Mrs. Vega. There's just a total blessing. 04:47 They're like your neighbor next door, and it's a total blessing. 04:51 So a total blessing. Lemuel, when you all go into 04:54 the prisons, what's some of the work that you do 04:57 inside of the prisons? 04:58 Aaron, when we go into prisons we want to bring them 05:01 a message of hope. You yourself were in prison, and somewhere 05:04 it sparked a change and a desire to follow Jesus. 05:07 Yes. And so that's what we do in the prisons. 05:09 We have different services. Our Christmas Behind Bars 05:12 ministry visits many prisons and county jails throughout 05:16 the states. OK. What we see here 05:19 is a maximum security prison right here. 05:21 These people... they have a death row here 05:24 and they're in prison for many, many, many years - 05:27 OK - and yet they can find hope and truth. 05:29 Here what we're doing is we're using a big warehouse 05:32 which someone donated. And what you see here is... 05:34 is months worth of planning. And we are putting together 05:38 15,000 of those brown paper sacks going down the line. 05:42 We are putting together 15,000 packages. 05:45 And let me tell you something: that's three semi trailers 05:48 full - OK - from the top to the bottom, from side to side. 05:51 So here we have about 300 volunteers 05:53 which came from throughout the state. OK. 05:56 There's products that's been... 05:57 some of it's been donated, a lot of it has been purchased 06:00 at a very minimal amount. So we're always trying to watch 06:05 and be very good stewards of stuff that's been donated. 06:08 So during the footage we see that there's some food items 06:12 that are being given. We actually see some Pathfinders 06:15 involved as well. What are some of the things that are in these 06:18 packages that you give to the inmates? 06:20 They have devotional books in there. 06:21 They have an opportunity for Bible studies. 06:23 They can send for a Bible if they want a Bible. 06:25 And then here we're finishing up here at this point 06:29 and everyone is just like closing out and saying goodbye. 06:31 OK. So it's even a good experience for the volunteers. 06:34 They get to get involved; they get to help out. 06:37 And they get to be a blessing to inmates as well. 06:39 Any time we can be of service to Jesus, whether you're 06:42 in the prison system or out, 06:44 we are blessed somehow through God's providence. OK. 06:47 So Mrs. Vega, are you also involved in helping gather up 06:50 the food and gather up the materials 06:52 to be able to send them out to the prisoners? 06:54 I do some. I basically just stay at home 06:57 and write the letters - OK - and keep the house. 06:59 Lemuel has volunteers that help him. 07:01 OK. So you have a lot of correspondence going on 07:04 between the inmates and yourself. 07:06 They write a lot of letters; you respond to a lot of letters. 07:08 Yes. Now here there's a bunch of volunteers who are taking 07:10 the packages off of the truck and we're deciding which part 07:12 of the prison we're going to right now. 07:14 These volunteers have taken the specific number of bags 07:16 that go to that cell house. And in that cell house there 07:19 they are stacked five high - five rows high. 07:22 And then they're in a little tiny 6x10 cell. 07:26 And it's just a pretty solemn time in their lives. 07:29 So on the footage it looks like some of the volunteers 07:31 are going inside of the prisons and handing out the stuff. 07:34 Is that correct? Yeah. 07:35 So they get to see the actually inside of the prison. Yeah. 07:37 They are the hands and feet of Jesus. 07:39 I tell them: "You've got 10 or 15 seconds to share God's love. 07:43 Whatever it is: a smile, a handshake. 07:44 Whatever it is, let them know that you care about them. " 07:47 So you don't have time to sermonize when you're giving. 07:50 No. Just give a 15-second sermon on the love of Jesus, 07:53 the gospel. In this particular prison... 07:55 but now some prisons they'll do it in the gymnasium 07:57 or the chapel, so you'll have a group of 300 or 400 inmates 08:01 sitting there, so then you have an hour for the program. 08:03 OK. So different prisons are different. 08:05 OK. That's amazing. That's amazing work! 08:07 I can tell that the people are actually richly blessed 08:10 by this. It seems that you're getting to shake hands. 08:12 You're getting to pray with people. I'm sure people give 08:14 prayer requests. I'm sure through the correspondence, 08:17 Mrs. Vega, people mention a lot of what they need prayer for. 08:20 Things like that, correct? They do. 08:22 OK. So throughout the letters, Mrs. Vega, do you see many 08:25 people that are wanting a relationship with God? 08:29 And are asking - yes - "How do I do it? 08:31 What do I do? " Things like that? Yes, yes. 08:32 And when you write them and tell them, it's like they can't 08:35 quite hear what you're saying. 08:37 OK. They need a lot of prayers. OK. 08:39 Tell us what's going on a little bit right now. 08:42 This is in the dorm, and this is dormitory there. 08:44 And we had an opportunity to actually share 10 minutes 08:46 in that dorm setting. OK. 08:48 So it's just an amazing amazing blessing, brother. 08:52 OK, yeah. Looks like an amazing blessing to be inside 08:54 of the prison. Now I heard you mention something that you go 08:58 throughout the US into different prisons. 09:01 How do you get inside of other prisons? 09:04 Because your ministry is based out of Indiana 09:06 so how to you get involved in prisons, jails, juvenile centers 09:10 around the nation? Through God's providence. 09:12 Usually there's a family member or a church that says: 09:14 "Hey, how can we get involved in this ministry? " 09:16 They'll call. We'll dialogue with them. 09:18 We'll check out what prisons are close to them. 09:20 They'll check it out for us, and then we'll get with them. 09:22 Maybe come and share with their church 09:24 or send a representative of Christmas Behind Bars 09:26 and let them know to get the groundwork started 09:28 'cause it takes months of planning. 09:29 Not months... but it takes a lot of planning. 09:32 OK. So when, Mr. Vega, you go inside of the prisons 09:35 around the country, Mrs. Vega, do you go along also 09:38 into the other prisons? Yes, I do. 09:40 So are both of you guys involved in going into juvenile centers, 09:44 jails, prisons? Both of you are actively involved in that? 09:47 Yes. So it's a husband and wife team that you have here? 09:49 Yes it is. It's amazing to be able to work together, isn't it? 09:51 With a multitude of volunteers. OK. 09:54 It's God putting people together in the right place 09:56 at the right time that's the blessing. Amen. 09:58 Do you encourage? There may be people out there 10:00 that want to get involved in prison ministry 10:03 but may be a little bit leery about going inside of a prison, 10:06 especially as a female. 10:08 Maybe if they haven't served time themselves 10:10 or maybe not know the workings of what's going on 10:12 inside of the prison. Do you all actually encourage 10:15 people to get involved in prison ministries, Mrs. Vega? 10:18 Absolutely - OK - yes. OK. How about you Mr. Vega? 10:21 Do you encourage people to get involved in prison ministries? 10:24 100% because we are not going to go to heaven 10:26 filling a church pew. That's true. We need to be actively 10:30 involved in a relationship with Jesus Christ. 10:32 And as we are actively involved in a relationship with 10:34 Jesus Christ we will want to go out and serve. OK. 10:37 Jesus specifically talks about "when I was in prison 10:40 you came and visited Me. " Yes. Not that Jesus was in prison 10:42 but that we had done it unto the least of these our brothers. 10:44 Done to Me, my brother, like. OK, now you have 10:47 many years, Mr. Vega, involved in prison ministries. 10:51 Can you tell us about an experience of somebody that 10:54 was blessed by the work that y'all are involved in 10:56 with prison ministries? You know, the first maximum 10:59 security prison that we went into I received a $3 donation. 11:04 So an inmate sent a $3 donation, and I cried, dude. 11:08 When you're in prison you know what it's like to give up money 11:10 that you've got in your book. And I cried. 11:12 It brought tears to my eyes that someone would care 11:14 that much about wanting to help further the cause. 11:17 And so with that in mind, the value is just unbelievable. 11:22 There's a maximum security prison where I was imprisoned 11:25 at - OK - and Three Angels Broadcasting Network 11:28 they helped sponsor and connect and set up a satellite dish 11:32 in this prison that inmates could begin to experience truth. 11:36 OK. That they could begin to see in their little tiny cells 11:39 that they don't have to come to service. 11:40 And if we could just watch that - OK - just watch that 11:43 right now. The roll in of this guy. Gave his heart to Jesus. 11:48 And his ministry on the rec yard grew from one picnic table 11:52 to three picnic tables - wow! - because of 3ABN sponsorship 11:57 combined with Christmas Behind Bars. 11:59 So 3ABN's work inside of prisons 12:01 is being... with the satellites in side of prisons... 12:03 is becoming a real blessing to inmates all across the nation. 12:06 Correct? That is correct. And we have a roll in right now 12:10 of a friend of mine dear to my heart: Dion. 12:13 Yeah. And it's a real blessing. OK, well let's go ahead 12:16 and roll that footage so that the viewers can see what's 12:19 going on inside of the prisons. 12:22 I promised you to come up here. You've got 3 minutes, brother, 12:24 to share a whole sermon. Dion is one of your own. 12:27 Dion, would you come up here and we appreciate... 12:35 Praise the Lord. 12:38 Bro. Vega wanted me to speak a little bit on wheat and tare. 12:43 He brought these illustrations for you. 12:46 First I would like to go to Matthew 13. 12:50 Excuse me. I'm sort of losing my voice. 12:52 This is where the parable... where Jesus gives 7 parables 12:55 in Matthew 13 and one of them is about the wheat and the tare. 13:01 And I'll just pick up... I'll just sort of explain 13:05 what the parable is about: sowing a seed. 13:08 And when that seed grows up, when that wheat is produced 13:12 and tare is produced with it, 13:15 and Jesus said He didn't want the reapers to come 13:18 and take away the tare because it looks just like the wheat. 13:23 First thing I was thinking about when Bro. Vega asked me to 13:27 expound on this I was thinking about something I'd seen on TV 13:30 where they were looking for a mummy and they found a vase 13:35 with some wheat in it 4,000 years old. 13:39 They took that wheat out of that vase and by faith 13:42 they planted it. And it grew something. 13:45 But the reason the wheat would not grow was because it was 13:48 in a dark place. This is the same way that the seed of God 13:54 and the Holy Spirit that I believe indwells everyone 13:57 that's come here tonight. But the Holy Spirit 14:00 cannot grow if it is in a dark place. 14:03 And I'm not talking about a place that don't exist 14:06 with natural light. I'm talking... 14:08 you can be in natural light and be watching porno 14:11 and be in a dark place. 14:13 You can be watching a movie full of profane speech 14:17 and violence and sex and be in a dark place. 14:20 You can be plotting against your brother 14:23 to do something evil or to extort him 14:27 and be in a dark place. 14:30 You can be selling something to your brother 14:32 keeping him addicted and be in a dark place. 14:37 Any of these dark places that exist in us 14:41 will inhibit the Holy Spirit from growing just like it did 14:44 the grain. If you go to Matthew 13 14:49 go to verse 40 where it says: 14:53 "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned 14:56 in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 15:00 The Son of Man will send out His angels and they will gather 15:04 out of His kingdom all things that offend. " 15:08 That word offend in the Greek is scandalize. 15:11 That's where we get the word scandal. 15:13 Any time we do anything to cause scandal to our brothers 15:17 it offends God. And here's what He said: 15:21 "And those who practice lawlessness... " 15:23 If we claim to be under the new covenant 15:25 of Jesus Christ where the law is written in our hearts, 15:29 then we should live like that. 15:30 We know that there's no amount of keeping the commandments 15:33 that will save any of us. It is only through the faith 15:36 in Jesus Christ, but keeping the commandments should be 15:39 a result of that faith. 15:41 We know that through the grace of God that's what Jesus Christ 15:44 died for. He shed His atoning blood on the cross. 15:48 This is what saves us and this is what redeems us. 15:51 But if we are redeemed then we should look redeemed 15:53 and live redeemed. 15:56 I wrote something down, and I'm going to leave after this. 16:05 It says: this fellowship with Christ 16:07 brings an end to a life where sin is too strong for us. 16:11 It is the beginning of a life in which Christ is 16:14 too strong for sin. God bless you and thank you, brother. 16:17 Thank you very much, brother. 16:19 The wheat and the tares will grow together until the end 16:23 of time. And Dion, at the end of time, 16:26 what is going to the kingdom of heaven? Only the wheat. 16:29 Only the wheat. The choice is ours tonight. 16:35 That was some amazing footage we just saw, Mr. Vega. 16:38 So Bro. Dion is a person that you minister to 16:41 in prison and now is ministering to others. 16:44 That must be an amazing feeling to know that you have 16:47 an impact... Actually, that you and Mrs. Vega 16:49 are having an impact on people's lives in prison 16:53 and now they're ministering to others. 16:55 That must be a very powerful feeling, isn't it? 16:58 Amen. Hey, dude, you know what? We're only there for a moment 17:00 of time. OK. And when we leave that if they can grasp 17:03 the gospel that will be innervated in and throughout 17:07 the prisons. And it doesn't stop within the prisons 17:09 because they're going to want to send that home through 17:11 messages, through letters, through notes, 17:13 through visitation. And that gospel message is 17:15 going to continue to flourish - yes - until Jesus comes back. 17:17 OK. Now, we want prison ministry work to continue 17:21 not only in your own ministry Christmas Behind Bars 17:24 but in the many various prison ministries around the nation 17:28 and around the world. Amen. And I know that your ministry 17:31 has needs as well as many other ministries have needs. 17:33 Can you tell us a little bit about the needs that are 17:36 are really needed to continue to further the gospel 17:38 with the work you're doing? Prayer is number one. OK. 17:40 OK. Prayer. Bibles... used or new Bibles. 17:43 For $300 you can buy 100 brand new Bibles 17:45 to give to these people. They're asking for Bibles... 17:47 new or used Bibles. OK. 17:49 Um, computer. We need a computer, lap-top computer. 17:52 OK. We definitely need... and I've just found out that 17:55 the importance of it 'cause we've just come back from 17:58 Arkansas just two days ago and in the high temperatures 18:02 we need a refrigerated box truck - OK - for perishables. 18:06 So viewers: you heard some of the information 18:08 that... what this ministry needs to continue to further 18:12 the gospel inside of prisons. 18:14 You yourself watching this show: you may not be able 18:16 to go inside the prisons yourself 18:18 but you have that dollar. You have that several dollars. 18:21 God may be impressing upon your heart to give to a ministry 18:24 to donate somewhere. And I encourage you 18:27 at the end of this show we're going to give the Christmas 18:29 Behind Bars contact information. 18:31 If the Lord is moving upon your heart to help this ministry out 18:35 with their needs - their necessities - to further the 18:38 gospel, we encourage you to go ahead and do that. 18:41 To contact this ministry. 18:43 Well we're going to shift gears just a little bit 18:45 and we're going to focus on a different aspect of your life. 18:50 And I want to talk a little bit about... Mr. Vega, you have 18:52 not always been involved in prison ministries. 18:55 You were actually in prison yourself, 18:58 and we want to talk a little bit about that as well as 19:00 Mrs. Vega, we want to talk about when you met your husband. 19:03 Were you involved in prison ministries prior to him being 19:07 incarcerated? At what point did you two meet together? 19:13 When Lemuel was around 18 years old he was a big Chicago boy 19:18 and he was very much in drugs and he was in trouble. 19:21 And he came to Bluffton... a small rural town. 19:25 OK. And he just raised havoc. He and his brothers 19:29 pictures were in the papers. It was havoc. 19:32 And the Lord just touched my heart to tell him about Jesus 19:35 like I knew Jesus. And he was put in prison 19:38 and I wrote him and visited him. 19:40 My dad had a fit. And so I prayed and I opened up to 19:44 Romans 28 and I went forward. OK, AMEN. 19:48 Amen. So you met Mr. Vega prior to him being incarcerated 19:53 in prison. Just before he went in. OK... just before. 19:55 Now Mr. Vega, what was some of your involvement in... 19:59 in the street before you went to prison... 20:02 things that led to being incarcerated? 20:05 Well brother, let me tell you something. I learned early on 20:07 in my life, at least I thought, that money could buy happiness. 20:11 OK. And so you're trying to gain all this materialistic stuff. 20:14 OK. And you know, by the time you're 18 20:17 you have thousands of dollars you actually set up shop 20:20 selling drugs. And you know... So that's what led me to prison, 20:24 OK, is a life of sin... not necessarily narcotics. 20:27 Now you know it's interesting that you should say that. 20:29 We seek for money, for happiness, things like that. 20:32 You know, God has created each of us - each human being - with 20:35 like this little specific keyhole in our hearts 20:38 that only God's love... only God can fill that. 20:42 Only Jesus Christ can fill that emptiness, that void. 20:45 But a lot of times as human beings we try to 20:47 put money in place of it. We try to put drugs in place of it, 20:51 entertainment, things along those lines. 20:53 But those really don't actually satisfy that void in the life, 20:56 do they? No, absolutely not. 20:58 We have little of nothing today, brother, by society's standards. 21:02 But we have joy, we have some peace, we have hope, 21:04 we have happiness. Nobody in this ministry gets paid a dime. 21:07 OK. It's all volunteer, and it's just amazing how God 21:11 has paved the way that we can go encourage the brokenness 21:14 in our society - Amen, Amen - in and OUT of prison. 21:18 OK. So Mrs. Vega, were you also incarcerated at any point 21:21 in your life or have you... you've never spent time 21:24 in prison? Tell us a little about that. 21:26 I was raised in a Christian home. We weren't perfect, but - 21:29 OK - we knew Dad and Mom loved us, they loved God. 21:31 And I didn't know families just survived. 21:35 I thought they were all like our family. OK. 21:37 OK. So that's pretty interesting that y'all are basically 21:42 two different people from two different sides of the tracks. 21:45 And God has brought you together working in ministry together 21:49 from two different sides of the field. 21:51 How is that? How is that in your marriage? 21:54 It's a blessing. It's a blessing. 21:56 The Lord has continued to perfecting in my character. 21:59 No longer just narcotics or alcoholism or sexism 22:03 or Hollywoodism or secularism but my character - 22:06 OK. That I can have patience and kindness at the end of 22:08 the day. And so it's been a blessing. And I pray that my 22:11 wife has been encouraged through it all too. 22:13 Amen. Amen to that! 22:14 Now when you went to prison you were sentenced to... 22:17 well you were facing a charge of ten to twenty years. 22:20 Right. Can you talk a little bit about that experience? 22:23 How it was facing that amount of time? It was traumatic! 22:25 Because in Chicago when you grow up, first time, 22:28 second time, third time. First time you get out. 22:30 Second time you get out. Third time you can buy your way out. 22:32 OK. So I thought I could like buy my way out. 22:34 But as a young man 18 years old, walking in the back gates 22:37 of the prison, man, shackled and handcuffed 22:39 with some dude you don't even know doing life in prison, 22:41 and the first word you hear up inside the prison is 22:45 "I'll give you a shank for your watch. " Wow. 22:47 That's like real. Wow. I mean, that is like... 22:50 Now for the viewers that don't know prison terminology - 22:54 uh-huh - you use the word "shank. " 22:55 I know what you're talking about when you say shank, 22:57 but the viewers may not understand what a shank is. 23:00 Can you explain? A shank is an instrument to do damage - 23:02 bodily injury - to someone whether to kill them 23:05 or just wound them really really bad. 23:07 So whatever form the shank is it's something to cause 23:10 some kind of bodily harm. OK. 23:12 So there are weapons in prison. 23:14 You know, people generally have this fear 23:17 before they go to prison. You hear many stories of 23:20 different things that happen. Before you went to prison 23:23 you were facing the 10-20 years, did you have any fear? 23:26 Or was it kind of like well, you know, I've talked to many 23:28 people that say: "Well it's just like going home. 23:30 Just like a family reunion to me. " 23:31 Did you have that fear of going in not knowing 23:34 what was going to happen? I did... I did. 23:36 And when I left the county jail I took all the narcotics 23:39 I could find in the county jail or get before I went off 23:42 to prison. And I OD'd a few weeks before I actually entered 23:46 the prison system because I was scared. 23:48 OK. And when I got into prison... 23:50 You know, many people walk around in prisons on thorazine 23:53 and mellaril. And you know what? They still ain't satisfied 23:56 no matter how much they try to medicate them. OK. 23:58 So you overdosed on drugs. Was that intentionally? 24:01 Was that an accident? It was because I was going to prison 24:04 and I knew it. And I was scared because I didn't know 24:06 the unknown. I didn't know what to expect - OK - 24:08 when I got there. OK. And I just want to share a little bit 24:11 that that's scary for our viewers today that don't know 24:15 how it's like to life live without drugs or alcohol. 24:17 So that's scary for them because it's the unknown. 24:19 Yeah. It's the unknown of what may happen when you go into 24:22 prison. I remember myself when I was being transported 24:25 from the county jail to the prison just as you stated 24:28 that they shackle you to a bunch of guys 24:30 that, you know, you don't know. 24:32 And they transported me over there, and here I am 24:34 sentenced to five years and don't know how much 24:37 of that five years I'm going to be sentenced to. 24:39 And you know, I know you hear so many stories 24:42 of things that happen inside of prisons. 24:44 And you get to the intake unit 24:46 and they make everybody strip down. 24:49 You've got 50 guys in front of you; 50 guys behind you; 24:52 50 guys to the side of you. 24:54 And it's just you don't know what's going to happen 24:57 and there's an overwhelming fear that comes upon you. 25:00 But there's something that you can't show in prison... 25:03 and that's fear. 25:04 That is one thing that people prey off of is fear in prison. 25:09 Is that correct? That's correct. 25:11 And there's also a fear, bro. I don't know if it was in your 25:14 life, but when you get out of prison it's fear 25:16 because you don't want to come back and yet you're powerless 25:19 to change your life on your own, right? OK, yeah, yeah. 25:21 And that is true. You know, many times people 25:23 believe that, you know, I have to get myself right first 25:26 before I come to the Lord. I need to get everything 25:28 in my life... I need to clean myself up 25:30 before I come to Jesus Christ. 25:32 But actually Jesus says: "No, don't do that. " 25:34 Satan will whisper in the ear and say: 25:36 "That's what you need to do first, " when Jesus is saying: 25:39 "Don't do that; you can't even do it on yourself. 25:41 You need Me. " And many don't know that. 25:44 Talk to the viewers for the families out there that have 25:48 ones incarcerated that are saying that same thing of 25:51 "I need to get together first before I come to Jesus. " 25:55 Talk specifically to the viewers of what they should do 25:58 and give them some words of encouragement. 26:00 I want to encourage you at home today that whatever you're 26:03 problem, whatever your trial, Jesus is the answer. 26:05 As He's been my forever friend and He's changed my life 26:09 from the inside out, He will help you, I guarantee you. 26:12 Whether you're in prison today or whether you're free 26:15 by society's standards, a relationship without Christ 26:19 is emptiness. 26:20 I have a couple Bible scriptures I'd like to read. 26:22 And the first one is Jeremiah 29:13. 26:26 "And you shall seek Me and find Me 26:29 when you shall search for Me with all your heart" 26:31 Christ says. So please I appeal to you today... 26:34 I John 1:9... "If we confess our sins, 26:37 He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins 26:42 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. " 26:44 And a favorite Bible scripture in closing is Philippians 4:13 26:48 which says: "I... " - we, you - 26:49 can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us. " 26:53 Please pray today and ask God's presence in your life. 26:56 Let Him know that you want His help 26:58 with your unmanageability. God bless you and we love you. 27:01 Thank you Mr. Vega. 27:03 Mrs. Vega... some brief words of encouragement to the viewers? 27:06 If they would have a chance to go to a prison or a jail 27:09 it would be a great blessing. Amen, amen. 27:13 Viewers, you've just heard a powerful, powerful story 27:16 of a husband and a wife that are actively involved 27:20 in prison ministry. 27:21 You yourself can get involved in prison ministry. 27:23 It may not be with Christmas Behind Bars... 27:25 it may be with another ministry. 27:27 It may be a ministry that the Lord is encouraging you 27:30 to start on your own. 27:32 We encourage you, though, to get up, get out, 27:35 and to do something. The Lord is calling you to a work. 27:38 Each Christian - each man, woman, and boy and girl - 27:41 God has called to get involved actively in prison ministry 27:45 work or any other kind of ministry work 27:47 to help usher in the soon coming of Jesus Christ. 27:51 Mr. Vega, can you please provide the viewers with your 27:53 contact information so that they can learn more 27:56 about your ministry? Yes. www. christmasbehindbars. com 27:59 www. christmasbehindbars. org 28:01 The e-mail address is contact@christmasbehindbars. com 28:05 So the website is www. christmasbehindbars. org 28:08 www. christmasbehindbars. com 28:10 We respond to each communication personally. 28:15 Folks, you've been watching The New Journey. 28:17 We encourage you to tune in next time for the next show 28:20 of The New Journey. |
Revised 2014-12-17