For decades, Roger Stone’s life has been full of controversy and swagger as he relished the role of “political bad boy.” It was all very well documented in a recent Netflix documentary called “Get Me Roger Stone.” The longtime advisor to Donald Trump was notorious for his hardball political tactics, self-promotion, and a penchant for sexual promiscuity.

“I certainly admit that I had some wilder days,” Stone confessed to Just The News. “I mean I was a sinner. We’ve all sinned. The good news is we can all get right with God.”

Stone is also known for an exuberant adoration for one of his favorite presidents: Richard Nixon (he has a tattoo of Nixon’s face on his back). While the tattoo remains, the spiritual imprint that now overshadows everything in his life is Jesus.

Stone’s transformation began in earnest in the midst of all the federal charges that were brought against him last year. “I was having a very hard time dealing with it,” Stone recounted. “All of the emotions involved of uncertainty, anger, a need to defend yourself and so on.”

In January of this year, about one month before his sentencing date, he attended a Franklin Graham rally in Boca Raton. He was encouraged to go by a man named Randy Coggins, a Florida evangelist with whom he became fast friends after meeting him at a Trump rally. For a period of time before that rally, Coggins and Reverend Mark Burns from South Carolina had been imparting some frank spiritual advice: You need Jesus.

When Franklin Graham’s evangelical rally came to Florida, Coggins arranged for Stone to meet with Graham in private before the event began. “I kind of laid my problems out for Franklin Graham, and I asked for his help, and he essentially said, ‘It’s not my help you need, you need God’s help,’” Stone recalled. “He said, ‘You just need to reach out to God to cleanse your sins, to receive Christ as your Savior, and then you can stop worrying.’”

At the end of the rally, Graham asked those in the crowd if any of them were ready to accept Jesus right now. The time had come. Roger Stone, along with hundreds of others, stood up and raised his hand.

“I know I felt the calling, and we confessed our sins, and we got right with Christ,” Stone says. “I was looking for some political fix, but what I was really looking for was a spiritual fix.”

Likening the feeling of relief to “a cement block being removed from my chest,” Stone now declares, “I’ve chosen to walk with the Lord, and that has really made my burdens so much easier.”. . .

Stone, who was raised Roman Catholic, has decided to remain a Catholic but now actually attends church in Fort Lauderdale, where Father Michael Grady of St. Anthony Church is giving spiritual counsel. Stone spends every day in prayer and Bible reading, concentrating heavily right now on the Books of Psalms and Proverbs.

“I never really realized how practical the Bible is,” Stone marvels. “This is not just some history book. It doesn’t matter what your situation is. There’s solid practical advice throughout the Bible, regardless of what problem you’re dealing with.”

Of course, Stone has not been a boy scout — and he knows it. He is self-aware and politically astute enough to expect widespread skepticism of what some will inevitably mock as a foxhole conversion, or even an opportunistic ploy. Stone is at peace with that too.

“A lot of people,” Stone acknowledges, “are going to say, ‘You know, Roger Stone, the guy’s a showman, he’s a political animal. This is a pose. This is a head fake. This is posturing to gain public sympathy.’ The old Roger Stone would have been angry about that, but I’m not angry because I really believe that He, God, knows what’s in my heart. He knows whether my conversion back to my faith is real or not, whether it is honest or not. And therefore, I’m perfectly at peace. With those who want to scoff, scoff. It does not bother me.”. . .

So what’s next for Roger Stone? At the age of 67 in this time of coronavirus, he’s self-quarantined at home in Ft. Lauderdale. He misses his daily weight lifting and a good meal at a nice restaurant, but for now, he says he and his wife are cooking more than ever before. He’s also a great-grandfather for the first time.

As for his future, he’s facing three years in jail, unless President Trump decides to pardon him, something he couldn’t discuss due to the ongoing gag order on the case. Stone also has a motion pending for a mistrial based on juror misconduct.

Whether he serves a day in jail or not, Stone is at peace. But don’t expect a career change at this point. “Am I going to devote my life to Christ as a full-time preacher?” hs asks. “No, I don’t think that’s my best calling. I want to get back to trying to save this country.”

Though he’s not looking for a job with the Trump campaign or administration, he does want to help in other ways. “I would like to get back to being able to proselytize for his re-election, “ Stone said. “I want to get back to commenting on politics, writing about politics, and having that same kind of impact.”. .

“Everyone can be redeemed,” he said. “That’s the most important lesson of the Bible.”

(Excerpt from Just the News. Article by David Brody.)