AMAZING STORY
David Lewis:Experiencing the Love of Jesus
By Caleb Kinchlow
The 700 Club
CBN.com-David Lewis was a good child but something about the streets enticed him.
“These guys are riding fancy cars. They have all of the women. They have all the money. I wanted to be able to have that respect they had and have that influence.”
David eventually realized nothing good would come of this lifestyle so he decided to enlist in the Army. He was smart and had the potential to rise through the ranks to leadership; instead he chose to distinguish himself another way, as a criminal.
“So people would, just to get a few extra bucks, go purchase the alcohol and the cigarettes at the military store and then they would sell them for a huge markup. I did not think myself above the law because of the rationale, the justification of ‘everyone is doing it and no one gets prosecuted for this.’”
David’s small crimes lead to bigger heists.
“If we walked in to an area and we saw where there was going to be a huge amount of cash, we would plan to literally go get that cash. We knew that when soldiers were in the field, back in those days before the automatic draft, you got an officer with two briefcases full of money, and they have to go out to this remote area sign to give them their money out in the woods. We would simply be out there waiting for them and we would rob them.”
Eventually David was caught and sentenced to 24 years in Fort Leavenworth Military Prison.
“I got this criminal thing wrong; I want to get it right. I am in this institution I have the best and the worst of the worst around me and I have famous people here, the ones you hear about in the news. I am just going to get as much information and knowledge as I can to become this master criminal when I get out.”
But the horrible reality of life in prison overwhelmed David and after 5 years in Leavenworth, he decided to kill himself.
“I have to deal with the craziness, the yelling, the bars closing. I have to deal with all of these issues again. I had to admit to myself, that at this point I was really tired of it. I actually took my sheet off the bed tied it up and made it into a makeshift noose and prepared for my last night on earth. While I was preparing I reached over to grab my headsets and this song by Lionel Richie called Jesus is Love, came on. All my life I have heard Jesus loves you. He won’t let you down. This particular night, it reached somewhere deep in my core.”
David began to pray.
“I am just there crying, balling like a baby admitting some ugly truths about myself talking to God, for the first time really talking to God. I am at the lowest point of my life but if you get me through this I am going to as best as I can have an impact on everyone I come in contact with.”
“When that cell door opened the next morning, for the very first time I was free and I was free inside of prison.”
As David grew in his new found faith, he began to encourage other inmates.
“We started a littler believers group and we would minister to folks while we were there.”
After David served an 8 year sentence he was released. Today, he visits prisons to share his testimony with the inmates.
C.T. Woody, Richmond City Sheriff reports that David has made a difference in the Richmond jail. “David has made a great impact here at the Richmond City Jail. We love him because we know that he cares and knows the role of being in here. It gives the residents here hope they can follow in his footsteps.”
Todd Alert was changed by David’s message. “When David came he inspired me. You have to change your mind thinking and let God cut you as a diamond. So when I surrendered, I found myself being a blessing to the guys at the jail.”
David continues, “Being in prison is not just a physical thing. It’s about being trapped in your circumstances. The devil had me in his cross hairs and he was trying to take me out, and it would have been another life unfulfilled. God, He means everything to me. He was patient enough to love me when I didn’t love myself. He was patient enough to accept me when I finally came to my senses. The example I am trying to set is to inspire somebody to say, ‘You know what? I may be in prison or trapped by something, but if God can do it for him then surely He can do it for me.’”
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