I pray all are well and resting in the arms of the Savior. My goodness, "Souls in Stir" is now officially two years old! Praise God! What a blessing it has been to be a part of this. I am constantly amazed by what the Lord can do. I receive more and more letters and personal contact telling me that this article by so-and-so or that article by another has touched or encouraged someone, either in prison or outside the walls. God has truly been using each of you who submit testimonies, articles, poetry and artwork, to speak into the lives of others. It has been reported that at least one inmate has given his life over to the Lord as a result of your efforts! Praise be to God! If that is the only person who is saved through this paper, it is worth doing. Remember, all the angels in heaven rejoice at the salvation of one person. Jesus, himself, would have come and died if only one would be saved. That is His incredible Love. Can we feel less? I think not. With the newsletter now going into 13 countries, you're offerings are truly going into all the world with His message of love and hope. Thank you all. Anyway, grab your cup, put up your feet, and enjoy!!!............... Rev. Bunnie

"But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. . . . . . . . . . Acts 21:24 NKJV

TO ALL SERVANTS OF THE LORD

By Lawrence Cottle
(inmate)

Even though our bodies are confined, our spirits are free in God's Word. That means we must not sit on God's word, but express it through prison ministries such as the one you are holding in your hands. God has given His chosen ones the anointing to preach, teach and proclaim His Word. He has given each one of us a gift which we should use so that others may know that God is still alive and is sitting on His throne.

We possess God's ministry within each and every one of us in which the Holy Spirit guides us in truth when we pray for others, edify others, are soul winners toward others. On Fire Ministry has provided a newsletter called "Souls in Stir" to get God's Word across to those in prison. This means that each and every one of God's anointed should have something to say to others on how God saved you from your sinful ways. Remember, the testimony you give can help save a soul, or souls, and lead that person to Christ. Now, I'm not saying this to promote Reverend Bunnie's "Prison Ministry letter", I'm saying this because the Holy Spirit moved upon me today in Arizona while at work. I also am an inmate in the correctional system. The only difference in me and I pray, others also, is that I don't feel imprisoned because God has set me free! Praise God! And if you are a child of God, you shouldn't feel imprisoned either. Remember, God forgives and forgets! Your past is behind you. Let's get the note pads out, the type writer, the computers, and let's start doing God's work. Let's ALL be fishermen of men so that God may draw men unto us. If you have some things that are pending, get rid of it. If you have some un-forgiveness in your heart, get it cleared up. Remember if you want forgiveness of God, then you must forgive. Let's get on board for the Lord and start proclaiming His Word. If you don't know what avenue to take, get on your knees and ask God to show you the way. Trust in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Praise God!

I love you, my brothers and sisters. I pray that you find joy in your hearts doing the will of the Lord. Miracles can happen through prayer. Let's witness miracles in the lives of all of God's saints so that the non-believers can witness our Lord in action. May our Lord above be with each and every one of you.

Your brother in Christ,
Lawrence E. Cottle

MAN RELIVES, GOD FORGIVES

by Lawrence Cottle
(inmate)

Man relives everything in your life.
From your sinful nature, to your everyday strife.

From the time you were born, till the time you die.
Man relives even the days you cried.

God forgives and remembers no more.
He relieves you of strife and the burdens you bore.

He gives you new life through His son that He gave.
All He asks you to do, is trust in Him and behave.(Smile)

So don't live your life according to the things of yesterday.
That day has been forgotten, in which Christ already paid.

The debt you owed while in your sinful nature and lust,
God has forgiven you totally, and in Him we must always trust.

Amen

YOUR CALL

Submitted by Jana Peterson

This is said to be the transcript of an actual radio conversation between a US naval ship and Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995. Truthful? We don't know. Jana says, "This is how we are towards God, who is like a lighthouse."

Americans: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.

Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.

Americans: This is the aircraft carrier, USS Lincoln, the second largest ship in the United States Atlantic Fleet. We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers, and numerous support vessels. I demand that you change your course 15 degrees north, that's one five degrees north, or counter measures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.

Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

MY TESTIMONY

by Winfred Brown
(inmate)

Believe it or not, my testimony is quite simple. I was born an orphan and was adopted at birth. As a young child, my adopted mother took me to my adoptive father's family church. I was baptized as a child, but my adoptive father died in a house fire when I was seven years old. My adoptive mother sent me off to a miliary academy for four years in high school. She physically and emotionally abused me as a child. I used alcohol and drugs as a child. When I became an adult, she kicked me out of the house. I didn't want to work, so I took to pimping and hustling to make a living. Because I was outside of the law, I've been incarcerated numerous times and have been to prison six times. I got tired of the whole world and its system and decided to try God's way and His system. The world has given me nothing but pain, sorrow, and disappointment. Since I've given my life to God, He hasn't let me down. He has been true to His Promises. I've come to trust Him and have faith that He will never let me down. That's my testimony. Because of God's love, I have eternal life through Jesus Christ. It's that simple.

THE SPIRIT ALIVE

By Robert E Wojcik Jr.
(inmate)

One day not planned,
One moment of asking,
One spirit waiting,
One Spirit that answered.

I never knew that day would be the day that I called out to God, and I never knew that He would answer.
His answer was love that I knew was real.
He didn't yell. He didn't speak as we speak. He simply reached out and took away the longing for that something that I didn't know I longed for.
He then, later, took away my guilt, my loneliness, and my despair. He has me the gift of hope. All of this from a spirit I just met.

And who am I?

If the Spirit will answer me, then He will answer all of those in despair.
And I am one who didn't think He would answer.

I am: A NEW LIFE IN CHRIST.

AN E-MAIL TO REV. B

From: Roy Ellsworth
(ex-inmate)

Editor's note: Roy Ellsworth has written a wonderful book called "The Ellsworth Letters. The cost is $10 US, and well worth it. Write to me at On Fire Ministries, or contact Roy directly at: Christian Endeavors, PO Box 3626, Florence, AL, 35630.... Phone: (256) 760-9797

Prison abuses have occurred since the first man was hired to guard another. There are great numbers of guards who let their authority go to their heads and become abusive in that authority. The favorite noun the guards in Texas liked to call us inmates in the early '60's was, "Sorry ol' thing." Was that description of us meant to rehabilitate us, to change our minds toward authority? Was it designed to foster self-esteem or to further tear it down? Was that one of those so-called rehabilitative tactics?

When I rededicated my life to God in '69, while incarcerated in the Dallas County Jail, there were many guards who thought I was "faking it to make it," or had nothing more than "Jailhouse Religion."

This one guard in particular gave me a hard time. He would try to antagonize me. He even threw me in the "hole" one time for 18 days for an infraction of which he knew I was not guilty. There I lay for 18 days on a mattress which was so thin it was like not having one. They would not allow me reading material - not even my King James. But by this time I had many scriptures committed to memory, so I passed the time by quoting them in my mind and by praying for that guard, his family; all other guards and the men and women on the floors above me, plus all of my own family. On the 18^th day the same guard let me out of the hole. It was obvious he was enjoying himself. It was also obvious that he was shocked that I was polite to him and showed no anger. (There wasn't any.) He placed me in 12-S-13, an isolation cellblock, thinking he was punishing me. Little did he know that is exactly where I wanted to go.

The months passed and his attitude prevailed. Mine did too. Each time he would make a snide remark, I would respond with a smile and courtesy. Late one night, as I was kneeling in prayer, I heard his brass key turn in the lock close to the Control Picket. I knew he was coming, but had no idea he was coming to my cell. I could hear his footsteps in the Catwalk, and knew he would pass right by my cell which was adjacent to the Catwalk. None of this deterred me from praying. When he turned the key in the last lock before entering the Catwalk, I continued to pray. He Walked up to my cell and stopped. For a split millimeter of a second I started to stop and look up to see what he wanted. Instead, I finished my prayer and before I was through I could feel the irritation in his spirit. I said, "Amen," and then got up off my knees. I looked at him and there was perplexity written all over his face as he handed me a letter from my Aunt, Ruth Galloway. I thanked him as I accepted the letter and as he turned away that perplexed look was frozen on his face.

As time progressed, that guard began to change his attitude toward me. He became friends and stopped saying "no" each time I asked to use the phone. One evening he came to my cell to tell me Col. Armstrong has just announced that "The Eagle has landed," and that man had made a soft landing on the moon's surface. It was 1969.

If an inmate is truly converted, he can disregard the abuses of prison life and come out a better man. He can obey God and pray for those who would use and abuse him. He can make a conscious choice to not render evil for evil, but overcome evil with good. When "reviled," he can learn not "to revile again." He can learn to "walk the extra mile and turn the other cheek." He can learn to be loving, kind, tenderhearted, and merciful. He can do all that God requires of any of us. Why? Because "greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world." Then, too, "we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us," Phil 4:13.

In closing allow me to say to you inmates that Jesus is just as real as the steel and concrete which surrounds you. He is only a short prayer away. "A broken spirit and a contrite heart God will not despise." Psalm 51:17

LIKE JESUS

by Leon A. Lewis
(inmate)

To view each as an equal,
Yellow, brown, red, black and white,

To love unconditionally,
Foes and friends alike.

To conquer evil thoughts
Of lust, vanity, and greed,

And master all good virtues,
From patience to humility,

Compassion to benevolence,
And reverence for all

In every social caste
However great or small,

And to judge each, not by flaws,
As hard as that may be,

But to see the good in all,
And their capabilities.

Now listen very carefully,
For I really do believe this:

The world would regain its glory,
If we strive to be like Jesus.

A little boy is at school one day and while he is gone, his cat is killed in traffic. His mother is very concerned about how he will take the news. Upon his arrival home, she explains the tragedy and tries to console the boy saying, "But don't worry. The cat is in heaven with God now." To which the boy replied, "What's God gonna do with a dead cat?"

DISORDER IN THE COURT

Q. Mr. Slatery, you went on rather an elaborate honeymoon, didn't you?

A. I went to Europe, Sir.

Q. And you took your new wife?

Q. How was your first marriage terminated?

A. By death.

Q. And by whose death was it terminated?

GROWING IN THE SPIRIT

By Mark Robbins
(Pastor)

As we grow in the Spirit of the Lord, we all have questions that come up from time to time and I would like to share a question I had and prayed about. I asked God to show me how to spiritually be more mature. One thing I asked is what I could do for example, at 10:31 A.M. tomorrow to be more of a spiritual person and to operate in the spirit more effectively.

We are, as Christians, spirit beings. We are born into the world in the flesh and the flesh is what we understand because of this bias. The flesh is temporal, or will pass away. Truth is, we are a spirit and not of this world. That is who we really are. We are new creations in Christ. We are not the same. The spirit of us is now able to be seen by God. Before He could not even look upon sin. We now have a new nature. We are going to be very much alive 1000 years from now. So what do I do to be more of the spirit nature that I really am now?

A lot of men, and I am one, spend some good time with God when we are in our trucks going places. Well, as I was pulling into work one morning I had been meditating in this area. God spoke to my spirit and said, "Mark, what are you taking to your spirit." He reminded me of several scriptures that had been working in unison in me for a while.

I ran into work, got a piece of paper out and started drawing and writing what had touched my heart. I was plenty early, so there was no interference with work time either. What I had written was, "What am I doing to increase the spirit of Mark? What am I taking to Mark's spirit? What am I feeding my spirit?" God also reminded me of a verse:

Proverbs 20:27, ". . .The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly."

Well, candles burn at different intensities and of different colors depending on the fuel. Matthew Henry states on this verse: "The rational soul and conscience are as a lamp within us, which should be used in examining our dispositions and motives with the revealed will of God." So what am I taking of God to the spirit of Mark to be used as a standard of examination? The fuel I am putting into that fire is going to affect the flame very much so.

I considered 2 things that people live in that affect them. The fuel of life situations around us, and the input of the news media that is based completely on what is profitable. Strife, trouble, fighting, living in neighborhoods that are like a zoo of wild animals. There are so many things that surround us and go in and effect our spirit - who we really are.

The second is several scriptures of which here is only a small part.

II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Philippians 4:7-9, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."

Galatians 5:22-25, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

John 6:63, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

I also add a comment of a term I learned and that is "in Christ realities." Everything that we do that is of the word is "In Christ". For example, our redemption. That is very much a part of the new creation man. No more spiritual death, sickness, and poverty. We now have the opposites. It is of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus and not of the spirit of sin and death.

All of these things effect the candle of man. What are we choosing to take to our spirit. God has given us everything we need to accomplish this. What are we fueling the candle of our spirits with? How bright is my spirit going to shine tomorrow at 10:31 a.m.? Have I taken the truths of the reality of life to my spirit or the problems that surround me. I would like to view the eternal things of life and not the temporal things that will pass away. One of the things that Jesus flat out said is that, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." So what am I speaking to those around me that is spirit and life? The study, meditation and prayer are a very important thing to our spirit man and appears to those around us. The word of God changes from the inside out. It is making us a more eternal being.

In closing I would like to suggest to you that God has great things for all of us and he is willing to help us grow if we just ask. Everything is hinged around the Father's love for us and his willingness to accomplish His word. We have a work of that same love to do to others we encounter daily. What am I taking to my spirit to be an ambassador of that love to others?

OUT FOR GOOD BEHAVIOR

Joseph Hall was sentenced to jail for five years for theft and driving without a licence. But the day Fayette County, Georgia deputies Bill Cooper and Steve Borders were transporting him to jail, their car skidded off the rain-slicked highway and into a deep gully. Both deputies were injured and barely conscious. Hall could have used the opportunity to escape, but instead he crawled to the highway and flagged down help, then came back to stay with the men. His actions garnered him a reprieve. The former employer dropped the theft charges and he was released.

HAVE FAITH

By Lawrence Cottle
(inmate)

The plea they gave me brought tears to my eyes, not really knowing what to do.

Then, all of a sudden I realized that Jesus is a judge too.

For they chained Paul, and they chained Peter, but their chains came off without a key.

Then out of nowhere I heard a voice say, "Put all of your trust in me.

For I am a mighty God, I am a just God, a God of sincerity.

I'll stand as your defense when all doubts arise, as long as you
have faith in me.

So now I am awaiting that mighty trial, to see if I'll be set free.

For I will not worry, nor have despair, for I have Christ inside of me.

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