“I Remember The Day That The Lord Saved Me”
A STORY OF HOPE
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
(2 Corinthians 5:17)
Larry Styles is an amazing man. Amazing, because of what God has done in his life. Larry is a member of Whitfield Baptist Church in Dalton, Georgia and serves there as a Deacon. Every week, he goes to the Whitfield County Jail, to minister to the men who are incarcerated there. Larry is married and has two children. God has used his life in a great way, to have a positive impact on many people.
It was not always this way though. Larry was a founding member of a local street gang. He was a drug dealer and addict, and an inmate in the same correctional system where he now ministers. I know Larry Styles personally, and he is for real. God has radically changed his life. Here is his story...
A Troubled Past
My name is Larry Styles.4 I'm a member of Whitfield Baptist Church. I'm an ex-drug addict/dealer and convicted felon. I've been in and out of jail since I was fifteen years old. I was a member of the “Rat Hole Gang” from 1972 until 1981. I've been arrested for burglary, assault, contributing, three misdemeanor and two felony drug charges.
Hope In A Jail Cell
On August 28, 1981 I was arrested on the felony drug charges and placed in the Whitfield County Jail. On August 30, 1981, while sitting in cell block A-East, Frank B. McCarty, a Gideon, came to my cell and asked if he could talk to me. He told me that God loved me, and that it didn't matter what I had done; God would forgive me. He said that even though I was behind bars, God could set me free on the inside. He showed me, from God's Word, that I was a sinner, and that I needed a Savior. That morning, I prayed and received Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. God changed my whole life that day. Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Changing My Plea
The first time I went to court, I plead “not guilty.” Judge Pannel told me that he was going to run a pre-sentence investigation on me. While waiting to go back to court, the Holy Spirit started convicting me and showing me that by pleading “not guilty,” I was lying. I prayed and told God that I was trusting Him, and that if He saw that I needed the twenty years, I was willing to accept it as His will for my life, and that I would do the time serving Him. I told the judge that I wanted to change my plea to “guilty.” He told me that by changing it, he could give me twenty years in prison and a twenty thousand dollar fine. He asked me if I still wanted to change it. I told him that I did. He then said that he was going to give me three years on count one, and three years on count two. He asked me if I understood, and I told him that I did. Then he said that he didn't know why, but he was going to run them concurrent. I ended up getting three years to serve. I knew, then, that God heard my prayer.
Trust In The Lord
After getting back to the jail, Officer Parker asked me what happened. I told him that I got three years. He told me that the state of Georgia had recently passed a law that said I would only have to do one third of my sentence. Proverbs 3:5,6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” I knew that all I had to do was trust God and He would help me through all of this. God had brought my sentence down from twenty years to six years, then down to three years and on down to twelve months. No matter what the situation may be, remember God is always in control.
Answered Prayers
I stayed in the Dalton Jail for thirteen months. During that time, God answered several prayers. He put my marriage back together. I was baptized on October 4, 1981 while locked up. I prayed for a good study Bible and God provided it for me. I prayed to get on run-around;5 God worked that out also. Then, about two months before my release, I prayed about getting on the work release program. God came through again. I got a job working twelve hours a night in a carpet mill, then I would sleep at the jail during the day. I thank God for the time I spent locked up. It was one of the best things that has ever happened to me because it gave me time to get grounded in God's Word so when I did get out, I wouldn't go back to my old life.
A Changed Life
When God saved me, He gave me a new want-to. I didn't want to listen to rock music. I didn't want to use filthy words. I didn't want to use drugs anymore. I didn't want to do the things I used to do. I wanted to do what He wanted me to do. Yes, I have failed Him many times, but He has never failed me. I was released on September 23, 1982. I then started going to the jail services with Mr. McCarty, and helping him in the Mailbox Club Prison Ministry. Bibles and Bible studies were being sent into over 160 jails and prisons throughout the United States. The reason I still go to the jail is because I know that what God has done for me, He can and will do for others.