Can Anything Good Come From San Quentin?

When Nathaniel was told by his friend Phillip that he had found the Messiah and that the Messiah was Jesus of Nazareth, Nathaniel replied, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. (John 1:46)

I thought of this verse as I finished reading the book, "Lessons From San Quentin" by Bill Dallas. It is subtitled, "Everything I Needed To Know About Life I Learned In Prison".

How could anything good come out of San Quentin (other than a Johnny Cash song & album)?

You'll just have to read the book.

I was attracted to the book because I thought it was a biography, and I love reading biographies of men and women who share their stories of their life before and after becoming a christian.

Boy, was I in for a surprise!

Although the book contains biographical information on Bill Dallas, the book is not a biography.

What do I mean by that....read the book!

This book has convicted me in areas of my life with Christ that I thought I already had "under control". It has made me re-evaluate just what it means to be a believer in the very prosperous United States of America.

How did it do that, you ask?

You'll have to read the book.

This book reads quick, but it does not offer a quick fix, or a lot of spiritual cliches. It will make you think, and think again. It will make you stop, or at least slow down and ponder the direction your life is going, and not just where it is going, by why it is going in that direction.

Bill became a believer in Jesus before he went to San Quentin, but he did not become the believer God wanted him to be until after he was in San Quentin prison, as prisoner number H64741.

How did that happen?

You'll have to read the book.



Pick up a copy of this book, read it, absorb it, and thank God that you are able to learn the lessons that Bill Dallas learned, but without having to go to San Quentin.

Ok, so there's that.
Pastor Dave