Incarcerated Freedom – behind enemy lines

Mineral Wells Correctional Facility – November 2nd, 2012

I was on a rescue mission... one of our own had been captured behind enemy territory and was now being held under the firm oppression of Satan’s tyranny. His name was Eli, and the Lord had commissioned me to go find him.

You see, Eli was an inmate of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system and I had been sent to this particular prison to rescue him.

When I say rescue however, I’m not talking about rescue from incarceration, what I mean is something much greater than physical imprisonment. I had been sent to recover Eli’s soul from the chains of darkness because the Lord had chosen Eli to come follow Him.

This of course, required crossing over into enemy territory – not an easy task in a prison… luckily, this wasn’t the first time I’d been commanded to cross enemy lines and by now, I was somewhat experienced in the skill of spiritual warfare. Although, I have to admit, something about this mission seemed more dangerous… there was a presence here that seemed more oppressive than in most prisons I enter; nonetheless, I was determined!


With that goal in mind, I entered the prison’s main yard. It was from here that I could see Eli standing far off, so I immediately went up to him to let him know I was here to rescue him... having never met me before, the look on his face was priceless, but I meant it! And I was firmly set on my goal. The problem was, it wasn’t time for that yet, so I left him and told him I’d be back later.


You see, the rescue mission had to be precise… every detail had to fit together perfectly, and for that, I needed time to prepare, so I headed back to the staging area to pray.

It was here the Lord instructed me to put on my armor and then wait for further instructions.

As I geared up for potential combat the words of my Commander seemed to echo through my head.

“I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hands…”

With assurance like that, I knew I had already won; all that was left was to claim the victory.


- Finally, it was time to roll!

So having put on my armor, I headed back to the yard with the other inmates. The instructions were clear – “leave the ninety-nine” God commanded, “and go after the one”

The problem was, first, I had to find him again…and in a sea of two-thousand inmates, it wasn't going to be easy.

After gathering some intelligence, I was finally able to locate the prisoner's sleeping quarters. As I approached his location I could feel the presence of the enemy looming intensely at me from around the prison yard. Every step I took felt like entering a lion’s den and waiting to possibly be devoured, but I wasn’t scared because I knew I had the full armor of God to protect me.

Finally, I reached the hallway of Eli's dormitory – I could feel the presence of darkness begin to mount as I made my way down the corridor.

It was here that I stopped to pray.

“Father, rescue your children,” I implored

Suddenly, I felt the Spirit of the Lord come upon me. I could feel His power coursing through my entire body as He went before me and instantly, the enemy began to flee, hiding and cowering behind the darkness of each room as the Light of the Lord shone forth.

Now with the enemy out of the way, I began to search meticulously for my target.

Suddenly, I came upon a fellow prisoner named Earl – “Hi, i’m looking for Eli,” I exclaimed.

“Eli’s outside” he responded, pointing me to a fence across from the dorm.

As I walked down the narrow pathway, there he came into view. Finally! There he was! Eli, sitting at the fence, waiting to be rescued!

As I approached him, I began to tell him how I had been looking for him the entire time.

“I know…” he responded, “I saw you walking back and forth” he exclaimed, “and I told myself, if this is meant to be, let him come find me… and sure enough, here you are…”

I just smiled and told Him that God knew where he was the entire time… "He just wanted to meet you where you were," I exclaimed.


And it was here that Eli was finally rescued.

Incarcerated Freedom – oxygen and vitamins

Dawson State Prison – February 13th, 2012 

It’s been a month since I first met some of these inmates. Ordinarily our team hosts events for different prisons throughout the year but during my last prison weekend I was given the opportunity to lead a weekly Bible Study for Dawson State Prison’s faith based corrections program. Since then, I have been meeting with these inmates on a weekly basis.

During my first visit to Dawson I met an inmate named Peter – He had been serving time for some unfortunate decision making in his life, but since coming to know the Lord that had all changed. You could tell Peter was a changed man, and his life and attitude reflected it! Peter was also one of the men who had helped me to disciple “Fox” and “C” during my first visit and he was just the type of man I had been looking for to help me lead these inmates to Christ. So after meeting with Peter for a few weeks, I decided to ask him to help lead a group during our weekly gathering. Peter was much obliged for the opportunity and was excited to share the Gospel with his fellow inmates. I could tell the Lord was going to do some great things through him but little did I know that it would be for me as well.

- “Alright Brother! Let’s get started!” I began.

This week’s theme was reconciliation and decision making. We had just watched an “I Am Second” video of a couple who had been previously divorced over an extra-marital affair and had been reconciled to each through reconciliation with the Lord.  

-  “So I guess my first question is, what are some of the decisions that you've made in your lives that have led to some negative consequences? And more importantly, where was God in relation to your decision-making?”

Some of the inmates began to speak about some of the decisions that had led them to be incarcerated but were also quick to acknowledge God… well, at least in terms of a supplement, but more on that later…

-         “Alright, so what consideration did God play in those decisions?” I began…

Peter was quick to speak up. “None of your decisions matter if they’re not made for the Lord!” he started. “I spent my life chasing after everything I could get my hands on to satisfy my desires and let me tell you, they don’t work!” – I was humbled listening to these words, especially coming from an inmate who had experienced life on a level I could barely even begin to wrap my mind around.

“Crack, methamphetamine, ice, heroin, alcohol and women… he began, "nothing could fill that void!” “And some of you!” he continued – “Some of you are about to get out of here, and you think you have it all figured out… and for others, all you can think about is how you’re going to stay clean and not get locked up again, and maybe that’ll last a day, a month, a year… but eventually you’re going to start worshiping something, and if it’s not God, it’s going to be yourselves!”

“Wow!” I thought to myself. That was real! Peter knows the Gospel and it’s because he’s lived the alternative! But sometimes the alternative to the Gospel is not always as explicit as drugs, sex and alcohol. Sometimes it’s as subtle as pride, or as glaring as adultery. In my experiences, the alternative has always been ‘myself’ as the center of my life and I think that’s why I was so humbled to listen to Peter lead those men through his testimony. It’s so easy for me to extend the Gospel beyond my spiritual gifting as a teacher, to form some identity of importance in lieu of Christ and His acceptance of me. In that case, I tend to make Jesus a supplement to life instead of the Master. 

Well, it was about this time that I realized I had the perfect analogy. It’s something I ask my middle school and high school students all the time but often fail to recognize in my own life.

-   “Alright fellas, I have a question for you: ‘what’s the difference between oxygen and vitamins?’”

After a few blank stares I began to un-pack it. “Alright, let me explain” I began, “You wouldn’t eat vitamins in lieu of a meal, right? In the same way, God is not a supplement to your life to make you better! He has to be the oxygen, the thing by which all things flow properly and through which you survive!”

 I began to speak about decision making and how all dysfunction ensues as a result of making God a supplement instead of the object of every intention.

I quoted one of my favorite passages in Deuteronomy 8 where the Jews wanted to make God a supplement to their riches in the promised-land, but God decided to humble them in the desert first, in order to prepare their hearts to receive those riches.

“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart – whether you would keep His commands or not. And He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live off of bread alone, but from every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” – Deuteronomy 8: 2-3.

“Some of you are in the desert of prison right now, but ‘freedom’ for you can either be Canaan or back to slavery in Egypt, and it doesn’t take prison to be enslaved!”

After having said this, I began to realize that my statement was just as true for them as it is and had been for me. I guess I had been a little jaded when it came to my own goodness but Peter was quick to expose my hypocrisy when he began to speak about his own experiences. I began to be reminded that he and I are just as sinful as any other Christian and that we are both in desperate need of God’s grace.

My first weekend at Dawson I used the analogy of the prodigal son to witness to some of the inmates, but this week it was the older brother who stood out to me. I had been that older brother too many times! And in a bit of irony, God decided to show me my sin in that moment by using a prison inmate to reveal how I had squandered His gifts for my own purposes. 

But then I remembered the Father’s promise, that - ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

I was reminded that some of these inmates are just as lost as I once was and continue to be at times and that we all need the Father’s unconditional acceptance, regardless of weather we follow the rules or not.

I also found it a little ironic that I had taught the inmates about God’s rules at the outset of my first visit here and now God was using the inmates to re-teach me my own lesson…

Well it was about this time that Peter smiled and began to thank me for teaching him the Bible Study lesson this week. I just smiled and assured him that he had taught me much more than I had taught him!

Incarcerated Freedom – garbage and glory

Incarcerated Freedom – garbage and glory

- Dawson State Prison  

“Empty your pockets!” declares the guard, as we’re hurried into the shipping depot. “No phones, cash or contraband! And have your I.D.s ready at the checkpoint when you’re called!” he retorts, as we empty out our pockets.

“I know the routine…” I think to myself. “I’m almost a professional inmate, at this rate…” Four prisons! And strangely, I feel oddly at home every time… Not that I’ve ever been incarcerated, but there is something almost ‘homely’ about it when you begin to realize the Lord’s calling on your life.

We proceed through a wide, sold-steel gate to another gate as the door slides shut behind us. It’s what they call a ‘sally-port’ – only one door can be opened at a time, as to prevent any escape attempts.

 “Let’s pray,” declares the chaplain, as we gather inside. “Father, go before us…”

I remember this prayer because it’s what we pray at all the institutions we go to – that the Lord would go before us and grant us even the authority to be there! That authority of course, comes with a grave responsibility. It’s almost like being a solider gearing up for war; (or so I’d imagine, never actually having been a soldier myself…) you pack on your flack-vest and tear through the gates with your Abrams tank and assault rifle like no one could possibly touch you! There’s little exhilaration and boldness than walking into an institution armed to the teeth with the full armor of God and knowing you've been granted by the highest authority in the universe to be there! I never walk in places with more confidence than I do when I enter a prison facility. It’s not because of any pride on my part, but because I know I’ve been granted the authority to be there! My God is Bigger and Stronger than the biggest and baddest inmate of any of Satan’s minions he could throw at me, and my job in that moment is to strip him of his soldiers, because my Father outranks their command!

“Ten to an elevator!” declares the correctional officer (CO, for short), as we all shuffle inside. The doors open at the fifth floor and I am met almost immediately by my dear friend, Champlain, John Lee Luck. I give him a big hug! Pastor Luck and I met at my first prison in Huntsville, TX. He had been incarcerated for years before he became a Christian. John had been part of a prison gang when he was locked up and was covered to the hands with Aryan, white-supremacist, prison tattoos. Yet despite all of this, he would be the last person you would ever suspect to be an ex-con. John is the nicest, most Spirit filled Christian I know and the Lord was sovereign and gracious to save him out of his life of crime and addiction.

“John,” I smile broadly, “I was assigned to the 4th floor,” I begin to tell him, as the smile on his face grows sharper. “Steven!” he responds, “if the Lord wanted you on the 4th floor that’s where the elevator would have taken you!” He assures me. 

You see, I had stopped to wash my hands as we were waiting for the elevators and my team went on ahead of me. We each got apportioned to different floors, as to cover adequate personnel for each pod. However, my new assignment it seemed, was now the fifth floor, pod C.

A pod is a ‘common area’ consisting of inmates from general population, all of whom share a living quarters together. Each pod is its own community behind lock and key, and once a volunteer gets assigned to a pod, you’re locked in that particular area until it’s time to leave.

“Clear!” yells the guard from behind the Plexiglas command center, as he opens the door to pod C. I step inside – still armed to the teeth with my God – as I take a look around. Immediately, I see two young men sitting at a bunk together. I go up to introduce myself. “Hey fellas…” I begin, “how’s it going?” The one closest to me looks up from his intertwined fingers crossed in his lap. “My name is Steven!” I declare, as I extend my hand out to him. “How are you?” I implore. “…Fox!” he replies. “Fox?” …I was a little confused. “My friends call me Fox…” he explains. “That’s quite the nickname…” I think to myself. “It’s nice to meet you!” I respond, as I lean forward to shake his hand.

It was about this time that the word “soul” became visible across Fox's right knuckles, followed by the word “lost” tattooed across his left. In fact, Fox seemed to have a lot of tattoos and most of them were words. “Nice tattoos” I comment, as I extend my arm to introduce myself to his bunk-mate sitting next to him.

Now, Fox may seem like the ‘type’ you would expect to see in jail. A seemingly hopeless young kid whose family is incarcerated and whose been locked up for most of his short, adult life… the sad fact is that though these adults need to take responsibility for their actions, they often lack mature role-models to help model how to be responsible and productive members of society.

Well, Fox and I got to talking, as well as his bunk mate – a young man by the name of “C.” They hadn’t really grown up in 'church' but they had been exposed to enough of it to have left a bad taste in their mouths. They explained to me how the legalistic vibe of their church backgrounds had left them somewhat cold to any ‘religious’ observances.

“I could understand that…” I exclaimed, and after a few cordial background stories we finally got to talking about the misconceptions of “rules” in the Bible and how God intends parameters for our protection and for our joy. I read them the story of the Prodigal Son – pointing out the fact that the father was overjoyed to have his son back home again, despite his rebellious behavior.

They had never heard the story before, but were intrigued in the curious observation that the father wasn't angry about the son having wasted all his money. I just smiled and told them that God is a good Dad and that the lesson was learned by his son learning the hard way what was best for him.

At this point, I began to see some of the confusion melt away in their minds as they each began having their respective “a-ha” moments – so I decided to let them chew on that realization for a while as I went on to my next assignment.

It was now time to go the “hole!”  I had volunteered to step into the ‘administrative segregation unit’ for a while – that is, solitary confinement! (the 'pit' in some prisons)

This was my second prison in administrative segregation or 'ad-seg' for short. I had volunteered for it each time. I don’t know if it’s because I enjoy a challenge of the Spirit, or maybe just because I have a morbid fascination with the lion’s den, but in either case there’s nothing like bringing the Gospel message to individuals whose lives seem to be in utter disarray. And the truth is, contrary to popular belief, you don’t get much more fertile ground for the Gospel to be sown than behind the steel  and plexi-glass of ad-seg!

Now, back to the story…  As I entered the 'hole' through a massive, automated steel door, I was greeted by a prison guard sporting a (no joke!), 2 inch thick Kevlar vest! He told me to sign in at the table. Apparently, I was not receiving such a vest… though, I still had my armor! As I turned down the small corridor, it was as though I had entered Fort Knox! There wasn’t much to it, a few cells and concrete – but it was heavily fortified, almost like a bomb could explode down the hall and still leave all the inmates intact... I turned to face the first cell as I peered through the window at the inmate sitting on the other side – a cell door separating us by two inches of steel and Plexiglas. Every word I spoke seemed to bounce off the walls in a loud, booming ruckus...

 “HOW ARE YOU?” I seemed to shout, as I addressed the inmate. “MY NAME IS, STEVEN!” The other inmates began to mock me. “Hey, preacher man!” “Come over here!” they retorted. I ignored them, sticking obstinately to the mission at hand! “What’s your name?” I asked. His name was “A,” he was a young gang member who had been sent to ad-seg for fighting and because of threats of other gang-members on his life. I shared the Gospel with “A.” He seemed receptive to it, though hesitant…  “What do you think?” I replied, as I began to wrap up my time with him. “A” exclaimed how he was in a gang and that if he became a Christian (that is, if he were to change his lifestyle) his other gang members would kill him (for leaving the gang). I tried to explain to him the mission of Paul from the Scriptures, and how some men had vowed not to eat another meal until they had killed him. I tried to tell him about Paul’s joy and contentment in the Lord. And then I read from the book of Luke, chapter 4:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

    because he has anointed me

   to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

   and recovering of sight to the blind,

   to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

“A” seemed somewhat unmoved by it, but told me he’d think about it as I began to pray for him.

“Father, deliver your sheep! Leave the 99 to go after the one!” I implored in prayer. And with that, I returned to pod C.

As I returned back to my pod I noticed one of my teammates, an older gentleman by the name of Chuck, praying with Fox. Apparently, he had been talking with him for a while. “He really learned a lot from you…” Chuck exclaimed, as he turned to face me, “I’ll let you two catch up...” I couldn’t help but feel a little proud in that moment, not in a selfish way, but more so, like a father who is proud of his son. There’s no way I could have taken credit for that, so I just peered up to heaven and told my Dad, “thanks!” as I smiled and asked Fox what exactly he had learned. “I didn’t know God was like that…” he answered. I couldn’t help but feel a little over-whelmed in that moment, like the way God must feel once we finally start to understand His love for us. “Now you’re getting it!” I laughed.

I finished my time with Fox and “C” by praying for them and inviting them to my weekly Bible Study at the prison on Monday afternoons.

Its times like these I think back to my youth kids and how it must have been when they first learned to walk. My pastor has this beautiful example where he talks about his daughter stumbling about as she learned to walk, taking a few steps and crashing to the ground, and then taking a few more, until she finally learned to walk on her own. No one rebukes those first few steps as failures and the more I stumble, the more I appreciate the fact some of these inmates are just learning to walk, and the more I can’t wait to see what God is going to do in their lives!

 - Steven Bieberly

 note:*(Some names have been changed for protection and privacy purposes.)