5/17/2026 "The Backside of the Desert"

Friday, May 29, 2026

In this episode, Pastor Lonnie Provo delivers a powerful message of hope, reconciliation, and spiritual renewal tailored for incarcerated men and women, their families, and faithful listeners. Navigating technical difficulties with the studio phone lines, Pastor Lonnie uses the time to connect deeply with his audience through prayer, personal testimony, and scripture.

Key Highlights

• A Celebration of Life: Pastor Lonnie acknowledges a text from "Mama Nellie," sharing the blessing of 18 expectant mothers at a women's correctional unit who chose life despite facing insurmountable challenges.

• Confronting the Drug Crisis: The host addresses a heavy burden regarding the recent rise in prison suicides and drug overdoses, calling directly on "field ministers" inside the system to stand strong as ministers of the gospel and reclaim territory from the enemy.

• A Testimony of Deliverance: With profound vulnerability, Pastor Lonnie reflects on his own eight-and-a-half-year incarceration in the 1970s and 1980s. He openly discusses how surrendering his life to Jesus Christ instantly broke severe strongholds in his soul, specifically removing a deep-seated spirit of racism, hatred, and an inferiority complex.

• Scriptural Reflection:

  • Psalm 11: Exploring how King David trusted the Lord as his faithful defender during times of mortal fear.

  • Isaiah 40: Remembering that all nations are merely a drop in a bucket to a sovereign God.

  • Exodus 3 & 4: Diving into the calling of Moses, illustrating that the greatest lessons in leadership and holiness are not learned in the palaces of Egypt, but at the "backside of the desert."

Closing Thought: No matter the bondages of the past—whether anger, addiction, or prejudice—there is no sin too big for God. True transformation begins when we allow Him to crush our old nature and build a new foundation in Christ Jesus.

Related Episodes