I would like to take this time to thank Kevin Ott, the editor, and you, the reader of RockinGodsHouse.com, for providing a format that has enabled me to share the healing power of God’s love.
On July 13, 2012, the Lord came into my life in a major way, but not until a failed bank robbery and horrific car crash almost took my life and the lives of four others. And while my court battles have waged on for almost five years, on Nov. 16, 2016 I will accept a 20-year prison sentence in the California Department of Corrections. (You can read more details about the failed bank robber, car crash, and Christ’s work in my life during that event in the article linked below called “Prison Inmate’s Amazing Testimony: Hope for the Hopeless.”)
Some might be tempted to view this as the end of the line, but I choose to look at it as just the beginning. The Lord our God has given me this unique opportunity to reach many other young men who have lost their way just as I once did.
I will take my story of tragedy–that has ended in victory through Christ Jesus–into some of the darkest prisons this country has to offer. This will be my legacy, taking a negative and turning it into a positive with a message of hope.
Look forward with me to future articles depicting God’s saving grace at work behind the prison walls as I transition through the system.
Some of you may have wondered who exactly is writing this article. I’m not just your ambassador in chains. My name is Phil Bailey, and I am the writer Robert Stroud–my pen name, until now–that you have been reading at this site. The pen name was necessary while my trial situation was still in process. But who I am is not as important as the saving message of Christ Jesus. Here are links to the articles I’ve written for this site under the name of Robert Stroud:
- Prison Inmate’s Amazing Testimony: Hope for the Hopeless
- Time = Love: A Simple Way to Reach the Forgotten with Christ’s Love
- How Do We Keep a Positive Attitude With So Much Bad News?
- Striving to Change? Make Fellowship Your Routine
- Who’s Voice is that Anyway?
- Remembering Old New Year’s Resolutions (Did They Stand the Test of Time?)
- The Institutionalization of America for Which We Stand
If you would like to share your prayers, strength, or hope with me, I can be contacted directly at:
Deuel Vocational Institution
Phillip Bailey #BB9184
PO Box 600 D-133
Tracy, CA 95378-0600
Yours always in Christ Jesus,
Phil Bailey
