BTLAU

(Back to life as usual.)And now I'm back from vacation and back in the regular day-to-day happenings of my life, which are, if you're interested: work, sleep, eat, and church. I don't sleep enough, I eat too much, I don't do church enough, and I work too much.

I'm looking forward to the Johnny Cash movie coming out Nov. 18. I grew up listening to country music, and he was one of the best. He toured for 38 years. He came to know the Lord and even made a movie called "The Gospel Road."

One of my favorite songs is his recording of "I Saw A Man," written by Arthur Smith, another country music legend who lives right here in Charlotte. (Smith also wrote "Dueling Banjos.") The song touches me because the character in the song says a man came to him in a dream, and it was the Lord. When he awoke, the Man was still there. "He said 'If I be lifted up I'll draw all men to me;' and then I saw the nail-scarred hands that bled for me. I touched the hem of His garment that fell 'round Him there; my heart, my life, my soul are in His care."

Many years ago I worked with an inmate in a prison for insane criminals; he had asked for ministry, and a friend of mine who was a guard there brought me in to speak to him. Turns out the man had seen two lights at the foot of his bed several nights before; he told me "One of them was Jesus, and I didn't care who the other one was."

He was saved, and his life changed, and the Lord blessed him to the point where he was released within a year and went back home to live with his mother. I had the privilege of sharing the love of Jesus with him for his remaining time in prison.

He sets the prisoner free.