Miracle Stories

How God Changed One Man's Life

by John Jackson 
12/16/16
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HOW GOD CHANGED ONE MAN’S LIFE
A SHORT STORY BY JOHN JACKSON

            Skip wasn’t a bad guy, he just needed some direction. I met Skip while he was in prison in 2014; he had been there for about 15 years, that time.

            As a young teenager, I became a criminal myself—my crimes ranged from petty theft to possession of drugs. By right, I should have been in prison for several years myself, but God had a different path in mind.

            I became part of a prison ministry through a church I attended. The ministry sponsored a four-day ministry weekend inside the prison each spring and fall. Being a part of that type of ministry was fulfilling and rewarding. Considering the rap sheet that I acquired as a teenager, I felt at home with the inmates.

            Some of the inmates that are housed in prisons aren’t the monsters that people make them out to be. Some of the inmates just got mixed up with drugs and couldn’t shake the demons. Skip was just that type of guy—mixed up with drugs. When I met him, he had just quit shooting dope three weeks prior to that weekend. In fact, he was told by the Chaplain that he must pass a drug test before he would be allowed to attend the event. But God had a bigger plan for Skip’s life and extended him grace to quit the dope. 

            Since 1986, Skip had spent all but three years in prison. A man in his fifties when I met him, Skip had lived a hard life. His life was riddled with drugs and prison. Skip knew in his heart that he had to make a change; he also knew that it meant a bigger change than stopping the dope. He had no idea how big of a change that was.

            During the fall prison ministry weekend where I met Skip, he wanted to know more about GOD. He was hungry to know more about Jesus Christ and how Jesus could be so forgiving of “people like him.” Like most new comers to the grace of God, Skip didn’t feel like he was a “good” enough person to be forgive by God. No matter how many times through the four-day weekend that I told Skip he was a good man, he repeatedly denied it. Over the course of the weekend, the gospel was shared with my new-found friend. As Skip and I sat and talked, I made it a point to remind him of the very important decision he needed to make—the decision to accept Jesus Christ as his savior.

            On the fourth day of the weekend, Skip made the decision to allow GOD to navigate his life with Jesus as his co-pilot.  

            My new saved friend had told me about the drug test that he was required to pass, and in the end, when the Chaplain took the microphone to say a few words, he spoke highly of Skip and of how he had passed his first drug test, allowing him permission to attend the meeting. I was elated for my new friend. Just being able to see his miracle of salvation was well worth going to prison.

            When the Chaplain asked those to stand who had accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, Skip stood and made his outward declaration known that indeed, he had accepted GOD’S way, and that GOD had changed his life.

            Another miracle happened in Skip’s life just six months after he accepted Jesus Christ into his heart.

            I was privileged to be a part of the following spring four-day ministry weekend. During the weekend, the Warden decided to give Skip some overly-due good time and set him free. When the joyful news was shared with the group, everybody broke out in a shout of praise. Skip was not only free on the inside of his heart, but freed from prison as well.

John Jackson
2015