December 6, 2000

 The time seems to be passing so quickly.  In less than a month 2000 will be history.  I pray for this nation and for our churches.  Perhaps the Lord will give us a little more time to repent and to turn away from the sins that displease Him.

     Lately I have been doing okay in some areas but in others I have been struggling.  I have strong faith, so this is not the issue.  It is just that for now God’s hand of chastening is resting upon my life.

     In His word it says that when we as true Christians are bearing fruit, He will “prune” us so that we can bear even more fruit.  Pruning is painful!  And God is talking about developing the “fruits of the Spirit” in our lives (John 15:1-15).

     You see, the Lord wants to make us sweeter so that our lives can be a blessing to others.   A fruit tree grows its fruit for others to enjoy; it doesn’t grow fruit for itself.  These ‘fruits of the Spirit’, then, are for others to taste the goodness of God through our lives.

     So at this time I have been in great internal pain.  Jesus is now doing and inside job on me.  And while this might be painful, in the end it will make me into a better Christian, more holy, more yielded to Him, and more loving.

David Berkowitz

December 10, 2000

“SOMETHING MORE DEADLY THAN CANCER”

     The time is passing so quickly.  It’s hard to believe this year is almost over.  Last year at this time many were worrying about “Y2K”.  But Y2K was never the problem.  Rather the problem was and still is “sin”!

     It is sin that is killing our nation, wrecking havoc in the Church, and hurting and destroying our families and even our very lives.

     This is what  the Lord was showing me today and what I am putting down in my personal journal.  Today God sent me to Isaiah chapters 58 and 59.  The Lord really opened up these passages to me this morning.

     It’s time to scream “Sin”!  It’s time to cry out that there is sin being practiced among God’s people, and these sins will eventually ruin us.  However, there is still time for each person to repent and to turn away from their sins and to get closer to the Lord.

     And I too need to turn away from sin.  For it is sure going to kill me if I keep doing the things I’ve been doing.  But God is merciful.  He wants us to be holy and obedient, and to be spiritually prosperous.  He wants our lives to be as a “well watered garden” full of joy, peace, and hope.

     Yet as is often the case, our sins are standing in the way of our spiritual progress.   They are quenching the Holy Spirit in us, are separating us from having a good relationship with Jesus Christ.  And, as I said, these sins (whatever they are) will eventually damage each of us and will cause the church to be robbed of her power and sacred anointing.  Her light of hope will be weakened unless we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, stop practicing sin.

     Sin always kills!

Psalm 66:18

1 John 1:9

David Berkowitz

December 14, 2000

God sure has a sense of humor!  Only the Lord can put a former Ku Klux Klan leader and a Jewish guy like me together as brothers in Christ.

     Earlier last year I began to receive mail from a man, Roger, from Alabama.  He loves the Lord and was happy to share his testimony with me.

     Roger was an influential person within the ranks of the Klan.  But then God got hold of him and turned his life around.  Today he, along with his wife, Jill, attends many “all black” and mixed churches where they invite him to share his story.

     God completely changed his heart and today roger has nothing but love for blacks, Jews, and everyone else.  It has been a joy to get his letters which are always so full of energy and encouragement.

     Several weeks ago Roger asked for my prayers because presently active members in the Klan have been threatening him as well as his family.  Right now a large church in New York City is praying for him.

     He also likes to share my testimony in the churches.  His wife, who ministers at a local youth shelter, also shares my testimony with the teenagers.

     It’s the same old story all across America, even in rural Alabama: teens caught up in dugs, gangs, depression, struggling with peer pressure, feelings of hopelessness, broken and dysfunctional homes, and their parents who are struggling with their own problems.

     And it is athe same old problem: “Sin”!  There’s sin in the cities, and there’s sin in the suburbs.  Sin is wherever people are because it is in our hearts and is a part of our fallen nature.  Only through Jesus the Messiah can sin be taken away.

David Berkowitz

December 17, 2000

                   A friend from Minnesota wrote a letter recently asking me what to tell a young woman whom he’s been ministering to.  This woman is a schoolteacher who lives in Togo, West Africa.  Her family has begun to persecute her and show hatred towards her for giving her life to Christ.  She comes from a family of witches and, according to my friend, both of her parents and her sister are high ranking village witches.

     He is in contact with this sister via e-mail.  After some prayer the Lord gave me Matthew 5:43-46 and Mathew 10:34-36.  I told Mark that he needs to tell her to pray for those family member, that they get saved and delivered.  Prayer changes things and God can soften any heart.

     The above passages from the Gospel of Matthew deal with being hated, even by family members, for following Jesus.  The Lord says we are to love our “enemies”, to do good to them and to lift up each one in prayer.

     He will e-mail all this back to her.  And I know that this dear sister in Christ will overcome because “Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world.”  (1 John 4:4).

David Berkowitz

 December 19, 2000

 “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise…

            and the lowly things of the world, and the things which are despised--

                                    1 Corinthians 1:27,28

     I am so thankful and happy that the Messiah has chosen me to be one of His witness and a minister of His grace.  If it were up to mankind, I would not be chosen.  Instead I would be rejected and thrown into the deepest, hottest hell.

     But God who delights in showing mercy has come to earth to save sinners.  The central themes of the Holy Bible are that man is a sinner and is in rebellion towards God.  But that the Lord loves people so much that He came to earth to die for our sins and pay the penalty for our wicked deeds, so that we might be forgiven and restored to fellowship with Him.

     Wherever there is hatred, Jesus comes to bring love.  Wherever there is racism, Christ comes to bring brotherhood.  Wherever there is pain the Lord comes to bring healing.  And wherever there are sinners, Jesus Christ comes and offers His forgiveness.

     No sin is to great, no deed is so wicked that it cannot be washed away by the blood of the Savior.  No life is so hopeless that he or she cannot be given a new start.

David Berkowitz

Another year is almost here and the Lord has brought me safely through.  I have no complainats.  He has been more than faithful.

     God has been blessing the services and Bible studies at the prison I am in.  I have a born again chaplain who loves the Lord.

     Earlier today, in addition to our morning worship service, we had a special baptismal service in the afternoon.  All the new Christians were baptized, and each got the chance to share his testimony with everyoine else just before he would be immersed in the water.

     I had tears of my in my eyes as I listened to each young brother give God the glory.  Each man was thankful for what God is going to do with each man in the future as they stay faithful to Him.

     During the baptismal service I had my hands full because I was one of the volunteer “mop men”.  We have a full size tank and there was water all over the place.  I had to help mop the chapel as well as the corridors leading to men’s room where each inmate had to go to change his clothes.

     Then to top it off, the siphon pump which was supposed to pump all the water out of the tank and into a utility sink quite a distance away decided to break down.  It would not pump the water back out of the tank.  So me and the chaplain plus a few other inmates had to get buckets and empty it a bucket at a time.

     It took a several hours and it was a lot of work but it was fun.  I had a good time praising God, working, and fellowshipping with the brethren.  We also sang many songs together.

David Berkowitz

December 26, 2000

As this year closes out I have been spending time thanking the Lord and meditating upon all the good things God has done for me this year.  There were many  trials of my faith, but there were also many victories.

     There were also some personal losses of several dear friends, Christians who were a blessing to me and who shared some of their loves with me.  They prayed for me often, helped with the ministry, and gave my spirit a lot of encouragement when I was at my low points.

     This year my brothers Pat Cicala and Dick Williams went home to be with the Lord, as well as my dear sister in Christ, Angela Hewitt.

     I am so grateful to each of them and so thankful for their love.  I am a better man and a better Christian because of these three, and I look forward to the day when we will all meet again around the throne of glory.

     While the passing of our friends and family may be painful for us, I know that our loss is heaven’s gain.  They’ve already received big homecomings.  The Lord was right there behind the veil to greet each one as they stepped into eternity.  For Pat, Dick, and Angela, their trials, troubles and struggles are all over.

     I cannot wait for the day that I too will be able to see my Messiah face to face, to look into Jesus’ eyes and tell Him that I love Him, and to thank Him personally for all He has done for me.

     I also want to give my Savior a big hug.  He is truly King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.  Not many people are so privileged to hug a king.  But Jesus is a King who will gladly receive hugs.

Psalm 116:15

David Berkowitz

 December 31, 2000

    There is one particular inmate whom the Lord has put in my heart to encourage and help.  His name is Michael.  He has no one.  Long ago abandoned by his family, Michael is doing a lengthy sentence for setting fire to a youth detention center which caused the death of another young resident.

     Michael has been a wanderer on this earth since his youth.  Presently he is assigned to the Intermediate Care Program Unit because of his emotional problems and his anger.  But the Lord said to befriend him and he really is a nice person.  He’s not a Christian  (yet) but I feel he’s getting there.  I’ve been working one-on-one with Michael for more than a year.

     This morning he was in church which is the best place for him.  We sat together as we always do when he comes.  Thus far he only comes on Sunday, but this is a start.  And today he actually behaved himself.  Sometimes he acts up in church and makes noises.  “Lord, give me patience!”

     This past Friday, however, I found Michael in the recreation yard.  It was bitterly cold and we had to keep moving to stay warm. At this time he was in one of his moods and he lashed out at me again and again.  What anger!  He’s really hurting inside.

     I spent the afternoon talking to him about Jesus Christ.  Yet in spite of the abuses I sometimes take, it will be worth it in the end to one day see Michael surrender to Christ and be saved from his sins and delivered from his demons.  Man truly is a sinner, but Christ is a savior.  Amen!

     And this will be my last journal entry for  the year!

David Berkowitz