VOLUME AUGUST 2002 b

August 10, 2002

NO LOOKING BACK

Historically, today makes exactly twenty-five years that I have been in prison. In reality, to me this is just another day. The years have gone by. My sins have been forgiven. God has healed my mind and filled my life with hope.

And I will continue to pray for the families who were hurt by my criminal actions. I feel that I've done all that one person could do to reach out to these people, to apologize, to assure them that I have accepted my sentence and am not seeking release.

For the most part, however, few of these victims who survived, or the family members of those who did not, want to hear anything I had to say. Still I did my best.

I sent money to (one of them) on three occasions to try to help her make ends meet. I sent her letters and cards. I also wrote a long letter from my heart to the Lauria family, and more.

Everything is in God's hands. I have done my part, and I will always pray God's best for their lives. But it is now time to move on. It is time to leave the past behind.

Presently, there are so many opportunities for me to tell people about the goodness of Jesus Christ. This is what I hope to do for the rest of my life, and it is what I have been doing these past fifteen years as a Christian. Today, Jesus' words were especially appropriate: "no man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62.

So, for David Berkowitz, there's is no more looking back anymore.

David Berkowitz

August 12, 2002

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1

I pray for those who do not know me and have no clue of what Jesus Christ has done in my life, yet they will publicly criticize me for things I did in the past. Nevertheless, part of my prayer for them is, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

They ridicule my Christian testimony thinking that they're doing a good thing. But I believe they're blinded by pride as well as a sense of self-righteousness.

Yet God's word is fully able to encourage me when this type of verbal persecution occurs. The implication in the Scriptures is that there is a reward for enduring such verbal sttacks and by keeping one's faith, fervently serving the Lord.

However, this reward will not be seen in my lifetime, but will be given by the Lord Jesus Christ in the world to come (Matthew 5:10-12).

For to publicly share one's testimony--and this applies to every Christian--is to step out into a hostile arena. It is to invite scorn, ridicule and hostility, because the world is at enmity against God.

To share one's testimony is a type of spiritual warfare. For there is a devil, and it is his job to try to neutralize one's tesimony, to discredit, and to sow seeds of doubt amongst the hearers.

Thus while I strive to allow Christ's light to shine through me so that others may marvel at the goodness and mercy of the Lord, it is Satan's job to try to darken this light, to obscure it as much as possible. And if he could (but he cannot!) the adversary would extinquish it altogether.

David Berkowitz

August 16, 2002

WILLIE

The past few weeks have been times of good ministry. I've been able to befriend and share Christ with some non-believers, telling them about the Lord and showing them God's love and care that He has for them.

Willie is an older black man in his 50's, a veteran whose mind has been damaged by mental illness and also by years of alcohol abuse.

He babbles to himself out loud and walks around in a confused stupor. His thoughts are disorganized, and when he talks he mumbles his words so that no one really understands very much of what he's saying. Yet when I tell him about Jesus, he stops to listen.

Willie is a chronic alcoholic. He was in prison for robbery, stealing from someone while in his bewildered state of mind. He was paroled on this case but ended up violating the rules and was returned to prison..

The story Willie tells me is that, when he left Sing Sing prison late in the afternoon, he didn't get to the parole office until after it was closed for the day. so, he said, he went off to "look for his family".

I know he was not successful, as he had been homeless. He has no idea where his family is. so he wandered around and ended up spending his forty dollars "gate money" that the prison adminstration gave him upon his release.

Disorganized in his mind and destitute in his wallet, he somehow managed to find his way back to the main parole office in Manhattan. However he was five days late reporting, and could give no satisfactory explanation where he had been from his release that Friday to his presenting himself to his parole officer on Wednesday.

Thus, he was promptly "Violated", and now he's here.

David Berkowitz

August 17, 2002

THE UNTOUCHABLES

Multitudes of convicted felons will one day enter into heaven while many so called "law abiding citizens" won't. Why?

Because these prisoners heard the gospel--that the Son of God died for their sins and that He arose from the grave--and each of them allowed the Holy Spirit to convict their heart. They repented of their sins and asked Jesus Christ to forgive them.

Thus they not only received forgiveness for all their sins (past, present, and future), but they have received the gift of eternal life..

While their names may be recorded on police blotters and in court papers, their names are now also recorded in God's "Book of Life".

And while convicted felons like myself must suffer the consequences of our criminal actions---for God is a Being of Justice--in His eyes our sins have been forgotten.

It is tragic, though, that so many 'good people" in this world see no need to repent of their sins, too, and place their trust in Jesus.

How foolish it must seem to many that the first person Jesus Christ promised to enter into paradise wilth Him, was a thief who was dying on a cross next to the Lord.

For this thief cried out with a repentant heart and in faith. And Christ said the most wonderful words a person in this man's condition could ever hope to hear:

"Truly I say unto thee, today, you shall be with me in paradise." Luke 33:43

David Berkowitz

PRAYERS

Let my prayer come before Thee: incline Thine ear unto my cry.

Psalm 88:2

Mondays are usually busy for me. Yet somehow I manged to have some quality time with the Lord this morning, at noon, and then again in the early evening.

And the Holy Spirit shared something with my spirit today that really encouraged me. I hope it does the same for any Christian who'll be reading this entry.

It is that the Lord has heard and taken note of every word His children have ever spoken to Him. Our prayers are not in vain. They are a sweet aroma to Him.

The Lord shared with me that He has heard and recorded every praise from our lips, every request and petition, and every cry from our hearts.

He has recorded every tear we ever shed whether in pain, or as part of our pleading for the salvation of others, etc. And He has recorded every tear of joy.

Not a word we've ever said to Him has been forgotten or lost from His memory. Even our most feeble of prayers are on His mind.

Furthermore, that there is also no weapon so mighty as a praying saint. And the Lord Jesus wants us to continue to pray and to praise Him, never giving up.

All these things give great pleasure to our God.

David Berkowitz