The devonharris’s Podcast
I know this...sometimes when I wake up in the morning and I am healthy and I am scheduled to go to a facility, I get in my car, arrive at the gate and if I get through security to at least one young man or group, I know there is going to be a battle. It has become the norm over the years because of where we go. It is a place of spiritual darkness and often the young minds do not even realize they are in the midst of “the pit.” Not the prison walls some talk about, but the spiritual bondage which has led them, possibly to the crime for which they are doing time. Most of the time I go in with no agenda, trusting God to speak something to somebody to open a door so they can have an awareness of God in their life.
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Episodes
Monday Mar 11, 2024
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Monday Feb 26, 2024
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Monday Feb 19, 2024
GOD AS LOVER John Wesley was thirty-five when he experienced the now famous "warming" of his heart — not his mind — toward Christ, and knew in that moment he had become not merely a Christian, but something more — a lover of God. Shortly after, he penned the hymn "Jesus, Lover of My Soul," whose first verse goes like this: "Jesus, Lover of my soul/Let me to thy bosom fly."
Down through the years the hymn has left many a hymnologist reaching for a more palatable translation, "the difficulty," as John Julian said, "is the term Lover as applied to our Lord." Revisions now in hymnbooks read, "Jesus, Savior of my soul" or, "Jesus, Refuge of my soul," which are touching but nothing close to what Wesley meant. He meant Lover. You'll notice how dominant the "reason and knowledge are everything" approach has been by noticing that men who have fallen in love with God are often referred to in the church as "mystics," a term that gives a sort of honor while at the same time effecting a dismissal. Mystic, meaning "inexplicable," which devolves into "unreasonable." Mystic, meaning also "exceptional, as opposed to perfectly normal." Odd, even. Difficult to analyze.
David would have had no problem at all understanding this. The poetry that flowed from the heart of this passionate Lover is filled with unapologetic emotion toward God. He speaks of drinking from God's "river of delights" (Ps. 36:8 NIV), how his Lover has filled his heart "with greater joy" (4:7 NIV) than all the wealth other men have found, and he writes in many of his love songs how his heart sings to God. He cries through the night, aches to be with God, for he has found, really found, his life in God: "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence" (16:11 NIV) to such a degree that his heart and soul "pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God" (42:1-2 NIV), his body even longing for God.
These are not the words of a dry theologian or moralist. These are not the words of even your average pastor. For him, God's love "is better than life" (63:3 NIV). David is captivated by the Beauty he finds in God. On and on it goes. The man is undone. He is as smitten as any lover might be, only — can we begin to accept this? do we even have a category for it? — his lover is God. Want more? Order your copy of Fathered By God today Wild at Heart Ministries · P.O. Box 51065 Colorado Springs, CO 80949 United States
Monday Feb 05, 2024
Monday Feb 05, 2024
Georgia leaders ramp up efforts in ongoing battle against human trafficking
Human trafficking is often hidden in plain sight.
Even for a seasoned investigator like Ryan Hilton, who knows how to spot all the signs, recognizing a potential trafficking situation can still be incredibly difficult.
“When a patrol officer pulls over a vehicle with four occupants, one male and three females ... and it’s for a simple traffic violation; ... there’s no overt crime necessarily,” said Hilton, an assistant special agent with the GBI’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) unit. “It’s one of those things where it’s right in front of you but if it doesn’t jump off the page with some of the indicators of human trafficking, it’s really just people traveling.”
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WHO AM I – IDENTITY CRISIS OF YOUTH – GANGS, SEX, & The SUPER BOWL
https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-7kss8-13ba017
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The anatomy of sin...
■ Step One: Deception.
■ Step Two: Desire.
■ Step Three: Disobedience.
■ Step Four: Death.
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I thought of you when I read this quote from "Wild at Heart Expanded Edition: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul" by John Eldredge -
Start reading this book for free: https://a.co/2sl3O4y
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Give me some feedback! podcast@fullcirclerefuge.org
NOW. GO SERVE YOUR KING JESUS! I'm OUT
Monday Jan 29, 2024
Monday Jan 29, 2024
The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionDecember 28, 2023FROM THE INSIDE: CRIMINAL KINGPINSPublic ‘getting nothing for its money’ from Georgia’s prison system failing at rehabilitation, expert says.One robbed a bank in Douglasville at the age of 16 and watched it turn into a comedy of errors when a dye pack mixed in with the cash exploded as soon as he reached the parking lot.
Another was just 14 when he joined two older teens in robbing delivery drivers in DeKalb County of cash, pizzas and Chinese food, threatening them with a broken gun.
Yet another was 26 and working at a Publix warehouse when he and a co-worker went on a crime spree in Gwinnett County that included a home invasion and two armed robberies. They were caught when police pulled them over for speeding and noticed liquor bottles, including pour spouts, from the Applebee’s they’d just robbed.
Arthur Lee Cofield Jr., Nathan Weekes and Ryan Brandt received lengthy sentences in the Georgia Department of Corrections for brazen but amateurish criminal attempts to get easy money.
When they arrived, they weren’t notable criminals, murderers or gang leaders. But in prison, the three were transformed into allegedly powerful crime lords who, with the help of corrupt prison employees, built lucrative criminal enterprises that orchestrated violent attacks that occurred outside the walls.
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution examination of their stories, including new reporting on their past conduct, demonstrates how Georgia’s prisons aren’t just failing to reform people. They are allowing prisoners to keep offending — often for years and sometimes in deadly ways — while they’re behind bars.
Cofield was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the bungled bank robbery. Now he’s known as the astonishingly adept scammer who, from inside Georgia’s most secure facility, stole $11 million from the Charles Schwab account of billionaire movie producer Sidney Kimmel, turned the money into gold coins and used a portion to buy a $4.4 million mansion in Buckhead.
Weekes, who received a 17-year prison sentence for robbing the delivery drivers, is now in far deeper trouble. He faces the death penalty and is accused of ordering the murders of three people on the outside to protect a lucrative contraband ring. One victim, an 88-year-old man, was shot to death in his bed in what prosecutors say was a case of mistaken identity.
Brandt received a life sentence for his role in the Gwinnett crime spree. Although the crimes that sent him to prison 15 years ago weren’t gang-related, he’s now the top defendant in a massive federal gang indictment that says members of Sex Money Murder, a subset of the Bloods, engaged in murders, drug trafficking and fraud from inside Georgia prisons.
The circumstances in each case shed light on the realities of an incredibly expensive prison system that isn’t working...
https://www.ajc.com/news/investigations/prisons-kingpins/?fbclid=IwAR3yWs24o6lMU9fs151L7AuEyxfsfnAKQbG_pk1AIfzVLYP441cKTBtpkXU_aem_AR3KyOapImHe8p7Cj3IvzTelGm5nDm3HiypSkauPVQG7GPlirL0cj-FcZmUQw5Ad_T8
Opinion: Inmates to Gov. Kemp: Here’s how to fix Georgia’s prisons Special Report: Inside Georgia’s prisonsJan 27 2024Editor’s note: This opinion piece was written by a group of Georgia prison inmates who sent it to us with the hope that their ideas for improving safety, security and other conditions inside state prisons might yield positive changes within the Georgia Department of Corrections.
We shared the gist of their piece with the office of Gov. Brian Kemp and asked them to respond to the prisoners’ concerns. The viewpoint today from the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections resulted from that request.
Open letter to Gov. Brian Kemp:
When naval officers are given command of warships, their orders contain a sentence which essentially states “Your authority and responsibility are absolute.” This statement seeks to impress upon the new captain that regardless of who screws up on a ship, or under what circumstances that occurs, the captain bears ultimate responsibility.
While Georgia is not a warship, and your office is elective rather than appointive, the concept remains the same. Disasters which occur within the executive departments of the state are your responsibility.
It’s not possible to be a marginally sentient human being and not understand that the Georgia Department of Corrections [GDC] has become a disaster of monumental proportions.
Just look at the investigative reporting by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The “junior officers” in charge of the GDC have not only run her aground, they’ve set fire to the powder magazines and somehow managed to misplace all the lifeboats.
You, sir, are the captain of this ship.
What follows are some suggestions for righting this ship, because its mission is critical to the people of Georgia. In the interests of transparency, the authors of this letter are stakeholders in this discussion because we’re “sailors” on this ship (inmates).
Everyone has a choice when confronted with problems: Be part of the solution, or part of the problem. We choose to be part of the solution.
An insiders’ view
The primary problem is that the GDC is hopelessly corrupt. There are upright and honest employees, but the overall atmosphere is one of corruption. GDC is grossly mismanaged by individuals who’re prime examples of the “Peter Principle” -- wherein folks are promoted until they’re not-quite-competent to do the job.
GDC is also excessively “inbred” to the point where the running joke is GDC stands for either Georgia Department of Corruption, or Georgia Department of Connections.
The mismanagement problem is exemplified by a systemic unwillingness to forthrightly address numerous issues. This has intensified the corruption.
The GDC is loath to take advantage of the expertise or assistance of any inmate or inmate group other than those whose motives serve the general corruption or personal agendas of staff and it’s downright afraid of inmates with educations or proven real-world experiences and success.
https://www.ajc.com/opinion/opinion-inmates-to-gov-kemp-heres-how-to-fix-georgias-prisons/KI5Q2VZASVBQBCF5TOM27DFX74/
Monday Jan 22, 2024
Monday Jan 22, 2024
ARE YOU A ROBOT?
I thought of you when I read this quote from "The Good Life" by Trip Lee, Matt Chandler -
"Hey I was born “less than human,” I know it sounds crazy But I was really born a robot as a baby No real life in me, I just played my role No self-control, I just did what I was told I got my first order, I was just a day old But I didn’t have a chance ’cause my heart was way cold My heart took the orders, it couldn’t break the mold I was sold under bondage and I couldn’t take control So I was just chillin’ in my robot clothes With my robot friends and my robot flow Livin’ robot ways ’cause that’s all I know Till I heard I could be freed from my robot soul.2"
"I was still a drone, nothing but a clone I only knew the lies, ’cause that’s all that I was shown But I’ve been remade, my heart is no longer stone Where my ex-robots who can sing this song? Now I’ve been remade and I’m no longer hollow A real man came, changed everything that I know He gave me truth, that’s a hard pill to swallow He gave me new commands, and He freed me up to follow.1"
Start reading this book for free: https://a.co/hkC2Is0
Start reading this book for free: https://a.co/9QOKuHm
Monday Jan 15, 2024
Monday Jan 15, 2024
Doing Time With God - Daily Readings from Kids in Lockup - Scott Larson
https://straight-ahead-ministries-bookstore.myshopify.com/collections/for-youth/products/doing-time-with-god
I thought of you when I read this quote from "The Good Life" by Trip Lee, Matt Chandler -
"WE’VE BEEN LIED TO I know we’re just getting started, but can I be brutally honest for a moment? I think we’ve been lied to. No one wants to be deceived, but we have and we didn’t even notice it. They told us that the good life means seeking our own happiness at all costs. They taught us that our goal should be a life free from any worries. And we believed them. But we’ve been duped. They sold us materialism disguised as determination. They led us to counterfeit satisfaction at the expense of the real thing. They told us to center ourselves on ourselves. And when we asked if there was another way, they whispered in our ear an assured yet deceitful, “Absolutely not.” We’ve been deceived. We have eaten the fruit. But who is “they”? Who lied to us and why?"
Start reading this book for free: https://a.co/9QvrPA5
Give me some feedback! podcast@fullcirclerefuge.org
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Monday Jan 08, 2024
I thought of you when I read this quote from "The Secret Battle of Ideas about God: Overcoming the Outbreak of Five Fatal Worldviews" by Jeff Myers -
Start reading this book for free: https://a.co/5I9m7w4
I thought of you when I read this quote from "The Heart of a Warrior: Before You Can Become the Warrior, You Must Become the Beloved Son" by Michael Thompson -
Start reading this book for free: https://a.co/d2ZtREp
Give me some feedback! podcast@fullcirclerefuge.org
NOW. GO SERVE YOUR KING JESUS! I'm OUT
Monday Jan 01, 2024
Monday Jan 01, 2024
IMMEDIATE NEEDS!
New opportunities for God’s people to serve and be part of the ministry of Full Circle Refuge
At-Risk Youth Prevention Team: Leaders/Mentors are needed to develop and oversee One Degree at a Time and other gang intervention programs. We are looking for volunteers with an interest in building relationships with partners in the community; ability to establish rapport and relate with sensitivity to multiracial and multicultural youth; able to work comfortably with at-risk youth in both group and individual settings and assist them in reaching their employment and education goals.
YDC Transition Team: Mentors are needed to disciple youth who have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ while at a YDC and to assist with their transition back into the community. The process generally begins 3 to 6 months before the student’s release. During this time the mentor will also help develop an aftercare plan including potential churches, businesses, and educational opportunities in the youth’s community to help ensure success in reaching his goals.
Gang Intervention Mediators: Youth violence among young people in our communities is a phenomenon that continues to challenge parents, teachers, law enforcement, counselors, recreation center staff and others who live or work with youths. At some point almost everyone who works regularly with youth in these violent environments is called to mediate conflicts. We need trained mediators, both men and women, in place and ready to assist when a need arises. Training is provided and incorporates biblical solutions which lead to changing the way they think and act.
Bible Discussion Group Leaders: Men and women are needed to lead weekly or monthly afternoon Bible discussions groups at Augusta YDC, Augusta RYDC, Wilkes RYDC and several other campuses throughout Georgia.
“Living a Life of PROMISE” Group Leaders: As more dorms begin to open up at Augusta YDC, opportunities are growing for more weekly PROMISE groups and men are needed to help facilitate these groups. The material is provided with training and assistance.
Training varies and is available for all areas of service. To volunteer or for additional information contact: info@fullcirclerefuge.org
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