"So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord..." 2 Timothy 1:8-9 NIV

Testimony of Skip Lewis

Racing toward Hell

. . . by this time, the sin in my life had driven me insane and demons of darkness controlled me. Voices would invade my sleep telling me that hell was my future. If I could just escape I would leave the country or at least shoot it out and die trying.

The Life Story of Skip Lewis

Early Years

My name is Skip Lewis. I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on February 28, 1948 to loving and honest parents who tried to raise me right. During the first ten years of my life, we moved around a lot. By the time I was 11, we had settled in east Tulsa. My dad was a first class upholsterer. He made upper middle class wages and we had a well provisioned home. Having everything I would need provided, I began to take life for granted.

Running the Streets
Suddenly my dad's personality changed and he began to yell at me and punish me a lot for minor infractions. I didn't know then, that he had cancer of the spine and was in a lot of pain. I guess he didn't want to worry mom and I. As a fourth grader, I thought it was my fault, so I began to crawl out of the bedroom window and run the streets at night. I didn't think I was really wanted at home anyway.

This went on for awhile, until I was failing at my schoolwork, not eating right or getting enough sleep. My dad tried to remain calm and discuss it with me rationally. But I thought it wasn't really a concern to him, so I didn't listen. He would go as far as his pain allowed, then would beat me and scream that there was not anything good about me.

My mother was not able to stop this. When my dad got this way, she would just leave the room till he cooled off. I remember the last time he got mad and was going to beat me. It scared mom so bad, she took the belt and told him to leave the room. She told him she would punish me herself. To her way of thinking she was doing her best to protect us both. To my way of thinking it severed all ties with these people who had become strangers to me. They were now teaming up and it was them against me. In my mind they ceased to exist and running away from home became my obsession.

Crime - My Lifetime Occupation
On the street, I stole food to eat, clothes to wear and ate from garbage cans. I had changed into a crazy boy the courts would later lock up because I was running from life. They kept me in custody from age 12 to 16 at which time I was considered an adult. My dad died two years after I was locked up in the state training school and classified as "incorrigible." In jail I met others running from life. We would serve our sentences then go back on the street. We believed no one wanted us and crime was just our lifetime occupation. It never entered my mind that things should be any other way.

At seventeen I was arrested for kidnapping another boy and forcing him at knifepoint to drive me to California. Actually we left together but as the sun came up he changed his mind. He realized this was his dad's car and he would get into trouble at home. We stopped at a filling station and when I got out of the car, he drove off to call the police. He told them I made him go with me. I was arrested at the filling station and taken to jail for kidnapping him.

Jailbreak!
The District Attorney told me if I didn't plead guilty for 15 years, he would take me to jury trial and get me 35 years. I knew I had this beat because a policeman saw us leave together the day before. I laughed at him loud and told him to take his best shot. It made him very mad to say the least! When I went back to my cell, I found that all the prisoners in the jail were working on an escape plan. I joined them and helped get the job done. On the day before the letter arrived to clear me of the kidnapping charge, I escaped from jail. For this I got 2 years in prison beginning in 1965. By then I had a long rap sheet of convictions and Crime had become a part of my life.

Murder
In 1977 I murdered two people who were trying to help me with car trouble. One was a policeman and the other a businessman. They were just aiding two stranded motorists. When they stopped, they didn't know the stranded motorists were two escaped hard-core felons, driving a stolen truck. We had been in a gunfight across the state line in Colorado, and were half drunk. We were men who thought life had cheated them and the world owed them everything they needed. When we drove away into the night, I thought how easy it had been to gun them down and rob their lifeless bodies. For that crime we were given two life sentences and fifty years in prison.

Mom
At least once a year mom would visit and tell me how I needed Jesus in my life and how He could change everything. After she would leave, I would go back to my cell and plan my next escape. Because of my escape plans, I grew to be a "big shot" on the yard. It was all the existence I had. By this time, the sin in my life had driven me insane and demons of darkness controlled me 100%. Voices would invade my sleep telling me hell was my future and I deserved this life. I had given up hope that I could have the American dream talked about on TV. If I could just escape I would leave the country, or if not, at least shoot it out and die trying. I was 37 years old and since 1959 I had been racing toward hell and life was bad for me.

Revival at "Big Mac"
In 1984, a revival broke out behind the walls of "Big Mac" (Oklahoma State Penitentiary) as the power of Jesus led committed volunteers from ministries around the state to form a program called "Prison Invasion." They came down into the hell house of the devil to plunder his domain and take back what he had stolen …the lives of men, living behind those walls at the McAlester State Prison, bound by crime, drugs, and homosexuality.
One day I saw some men on C-block talking to some prisoners I didn't know. They seemed to be having a good time. They were standing near the door through which we entered the cellblock. When I passed near them I tried to see who they were and why they were laughing. Laughter is not a part of the devil's routine, so the scene was unusual. Suddenly one of them called me by my name and asked me how I was doing. I looked for fear in his eyes. I knew how to control fear in people. But when I looked into his eyes there was no fear, only friendship. As he put his hand out, I took it and said that I couldn't place him and asked where he knew me from. He said that we had never met, but his name was Ron and someone had sent him down there to tell me some good news. I asked him what this good news was. Suddenly other prisoners began to surround us looking very happy. I figured it must be a new court ruling to let us have less time or something. Then he said, "Jesus sent me to tell you that He loves you and wants you to be a part of His family." I stepped back like I had been shot. Jerking my hand loose, I said, "You're mistaken, Jesus doesn't want me. I've done terrible things and it's too late!" I quickly turned and moved away from them, but Ron moved with me as the Holy Spirit ministered to me. His words were fast and he knew that they were affecting me. He could see sin and bondage waging a war with my mind for control. And Ron knew God had a plan for my life. I returned to the cell and covered the window, but the words were loud in my mind. "Jesus sent me to tell you that He loves you and He want's you to be a part of His family."
After that, believers inside began to pray to God asking Him to work in my life. Some would talk with me and tell me all the great things Jesus was doing in their lives. As I watched them in their own group, eating together, I decided God wanted them but I still believed my only hope was to escape from prison. So I went back to planning how to leave again.

Jimmy
In March 1985, Jimmy Smith started talking with me about quitting smoking. He'd quit and had a book on how to quit. I read it and that opened a door for him to witness to me. He took his time and kept it very simple. I began to understand I was a sinner and when I died I was going to hell, but I didn't have to! Jimmy said, "Jesus sent me here to tell you that He loves you and He wants you to be a part of His family." These words passed through the walls of my life. He asked me if I would like to be filled with peace and be a part of that family? At the same time another voice entered my mind saying, "It's too late. Jesus doesn't want you, a killer, a stealer and a destroyer like your master the devil." I didn't answer him. I just got up and went back to my cell and sat on the bed. I sat there all day and most of the night until I fell asleep sitting up. I thought Christians all seemed so happy, such straightforward attitudes, such friendliness with each other. I never saw them unhappy. It seemed too good to be true.

Forgiven!
On April Fools day 1985, after waking up and eating breakfast, I returned to my cell and asked Jesus to forgive me for my sins, to come into my life, and make me a blessing to all those around me. At that moment, Jesus spoke twice, "Read My Word!" I told Jimmy Smith what I had done. I found a Bible and began to read the New Testament. As the story of Jesus began to unfold, the Holy Spirit opened the message to me. By the end of the week everyone knew Jesus was with me. I told them I had good news and shared my witness with them. By June of 1987, the staff had decided the changes were real and transferred me to this place. I have been a witness for Jesus ever since.

It's been over twelve years since Jesus came into my life and His blood washed me clean of all my sins. I am writing this to anyone who is hurting. There is Someone who cares for you and loves you and wants you to be a part of our family. His name is Jesus and He is calling you and drawing you, even as you read these words. Life is being sown in you and the Word will not return unprospered in Jesus' name. I may still be in prison, but prison isn't in me. Jesus is living in me! And he wants to live in you!

Invitation
Jesus is inviting you, too, to become a part of His family like Skip did. He loves you and has a whole new life for you. It begins when you cry out to Jesus for forgiveness of your sins and cleansing of your heart. Open your heart to God and let the Light of Jesus shine in. The following prayer will help you get started.

Dear God,
I have sinned against you and broken your laws. I deserve to go to hell. But I thank you that you love me and that you sent your Son Jesus to die for me so I could be forgiven. Right now, in Jesus' name and through His blood, would you forgive me of my sins, cleanse my heart and make me your child. Would you give me your power (grace) to live a life filled with your love from this day forward.
Amen

Permission to use granted by
Don Holt & Don Beasley & Skip Lewis

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