Dear Brothers and Sisters,

May I have a moment of your time. I am writing to you from prison. Yes, prison. In a way, I hope to reach out in the way that Paul did while he was in prison--by letters. But I have a much different reason for my letter; yet, it is for the same purpose as Paul's--to help you live according to the gospel of Christ.

First, stop and think what it is that may cause one of us to end up in prison. It is the same thing that can cause you to end up in Hell. What is it? Sin! One of the sins I want to speak with you about is REBELLION.

Rebellion is what most of us don't think very much about. Like not listening to our parents when they tell us something. Like not listening to God when He instructs us to walk in His ways. Like not listening to the authorities who govern us. What is one of the greatest and easiest things that cause this rebellion--your friends! Yes, your friends will try to get you to do something, and if you should respond with a "NO," they will often call you "chicken," ask if you're afraid, maybe even call you a coward. Then, most people jump right in and do what they have been asked to do. Why? They don't want to be "out of step" with their friends. Maybe you just like to run with the crowd, do it because "everybody is doing it." But please consider this, if people see what the crowd is like, and know that you run around with them, whether or not you partake in the things they do, people will think you are just as bad as they are. Some say: "birds of a feather flock together." If you don't pick your friends, as some pick tomatoes, you may pick a bad one. And take if from me, someone who has been there, that can cost you more than I think you are willing to pay. I know what I am talking about, for doing the things I've mentioned so far landed me on death row. ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?

Wild women, drugs, and fast living, was the road I took, and look where it got me. Don't think it cannot happen to you, for if you find yourself on any of these roads, sooner or later, you will run into a situation that may hurt not only you, but your loved ones as well. And when you say, "Oh, I know what I am doing," believe me, I said the very same thing, and see where I am. I obeyed the gospel many years ago and fell away, and now I have come home to the Lord again. I feel the Lord allowed me to end up here to wake me up from the sinful life I was living. For who knows, had I not ended up in here, I might still be living that fast life. When I obeyed the gospel, I was told through God's word what to do, and I fell away. Jonah was also told what to do, but he didn't do it, and he ended up in the belly of a whale. If you have heard or read the story, you know that he repented, and God had the whale spit him out on the beach. Now, I am not saying I will be spit out of this cement whale, as I call it, or that I will be digested in it, or that I will live out my life to old age in here. My fate is sealed; my punishment has been determined.

But, PLEASE HEAR ME; clean up your life if you are heading down the wrong road! In the back of your mind, you know who you are and the life you live. And if you say to yourself, as I said many times: "I know what I am doing," the TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, better known as TDC, has a number for you. Mine is 000893. I am only one of 340 and some odd people on death row here in Texas. And if you run with the wrong people, YOU, too, could get the death penalty.

For example, say you are riding around with a friend, and you pull into a gas station. Your friend goes in to pay for the gas, and robs and kills the gas station attendant. You are only sitting in the car, but under Texas law, a District Attorney can get a jury to give YOU, as well as the guy who did the killing, a death sentence. And Texas will execute such a person as though that person is the one who committed the crime. There is a man down here who was hitchhiking and got into the car with a guy who had just killed someone and stole the person's car. When they were caught, not only was the hitchhiker arrested, but he also got the death penalty, because the killer did not tell them he was only a hitchhiker. So he may die for something he did not do. NOW, do you think you can say: "I know what I am doing"???

It is my prayer that you, young and old, will stop and think about your life; for we are all under a law, God's law. If we obey the Lord, then we can have eternal life, even if life on earth throws us a curve, like it did me. I was able to repent of my sins, but I could have died before I had a chance to repent, and I know without a doubt, had I done so, I would be bound for Hell.

But I did repent, and have the chance to meet you in Heaven come Judgement Day.

So please, let's work toward the goal together, OK?

On August 4, 1999, the state of Texas executed Ricky. During the last few months, Brother David Banning spent time with Ricky to prepare him for the date of his departure from the land of the living. While the details of what brother Blackmon did to receive the death penalty may be going through our minds, it really is not important. Sin is sin. Murder is just as much an offense before God as lying is. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." {Isaiah 59:2} "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." {1 John 3:4} "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." {Romans 3:21-23} "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." {1 John 1:8-10}

God is full of love and mercy. He is willing to forgive anyone--yes, even someone on death row--if that one repents of the sins of which he is guilty. God is giving men time to get their "lives in order." Our brother Ricky Blackmon did not waste his opportunity. Read prayerfully and soberly these words from one who had no reason to lie, deceive, or make excuses for his actions. Young people, there are terrible consequences for choosing the wrong friends. Running "with the crowd" can cost more than you ever intended to pay. Here is a story from one who tried and paid the ultimate penalty for his crimes. Be careful not to think "it could never happen to me." Brother Blackmon did not begin with the crime that brought him to death row. The road was paved with the choices he made along the way. His first mistake--probably a fatal one also--choosing the wrong kind of kids to associate with. Maybe, in 1 Corinthians 15:33, God does KNOW WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT after all! ---KG