Testimonies

UNSHACKLED: AMAZING FACTS BIBLE STUDY GUIDES CHANGE LIVES

By the time Castro Wilson was 36 years old, he had been an alcoholic for more than 20 years and had been using drugs for about eight. He felt the destructive toll on his mind and body that these addictions had on him and came to the depressing conclusion that he had managed to ruin his life entirely. He says, “I felt the only thing I had to look forward to was my untimely death. I didn’t care anymore; I had given up.”

Thankfully, the Lord wasn’t ready to give up on him. “It was about that time my parents wanted me to go to a tent revival, but I had no desire to go. The last thing I wanted was to be around people, but every night my parents would plead with me to go. I would always refuse.”

But on the last night, Castro saw in his father’s face grave disappointment as he told his son that the revival was over. He then watched as his saddened father tossed a handful of pamphlet-like literature on a table in the garage. They were a set of Amazing Facts Study Guides.

“I glanced at them for a moment, and they caught my eye,” Castro explains. “I really noticed the pictures and titles on the covers. So I decided I would take a closer look.” Strangely compelled, Castro put the disheveled Guides in order and took them to his room. Miraculously, he then proceeded to begin his very first Bible study.

A Gripping Revelation
Castro liked the question-and-answer format of the Study Guides. To him there were like crossword puzzles that you solved with a Bible rather than a dictionary. “So I searched my room and found a Bible that my father had given me 20 years earlier when I left to join the military. I didn’t think it was very important back then.”

The Study Guides about the Bible’s origins and prophecies certainly interested Castro, but the Lord used the Guide about biblical health principals to reach his heart. A particular passage pricked his soul especially: “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). What stopped Castro in his tracks was the Guide’s claim that the Bible can change lives, enabling the drunk to be sober and the addict to be free.

“I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I kept thinking I was too old. I was dying! But then at that moment, Jesus Christ came into my life.” Castro began to weep, and soon he put his hands together in a desperate prayer, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” He gave His life to Jesus.

Explains Castro, “When I read the text again, it was crystal clear how the Lord had given me sight. I grabbed my beer and drugs and cigarettes and threw them all away. I could see who was behind them and his plan for my destruction.” The one-time addict had felt the Lord’s love, and knew it was like no other love he had ever felt—a life-changing love.

Castro is now taking classes about how to learn more about Jesus and how to be a better witness to others. But he’ll never forget when he first became unshackled. “I thank Amazing Facts for providing these eye-catching Study Guides. They lead a person to the source of truth, which shall set them free.”

From Old Leaks to New Life

FREED FROM SATAN’S PRISON

It was every man for himself. Growing up in an abusive family, Dennis Page learned about the realities of life with little parental guidance, love, or spiritual influence. So as an adult, he easily plunged into a dark prison of drugs, money, and women.

One day, Dennis’ boss invited him to church. “I thought it odd because he knew I was using and selling drugs,” he says. Dennis declined, but then to his surprise his boss asked if he could take Dennis’ five-year-old son Travis.

“I told him, ‘If I ever do anything right in this life, I want my son to know who this Jesus is.’ My thought was that there is still hope for him. He’s five. He’s untainted. I’d heard of heaven and hell and was pretty sure where I was going, but maybe my son might have a chance.”

A short time later, another employee invited Dennis and his son to church. They attended a few times, but Dennis felt hypocritical going to church while still a drug user and dealer. Nevertheless, the employee and his wife gave Dennis a Bible, which he dismissively placed on a shelf.

Dennis soon quit that job and joined a drug ring to push drugs full-time. Within a year he was involved with spiritualism. Not long afterward the FBI began investigating Dennis; so the drug ring decided to murder him. Scared and depressed, Dennis sent Travis to live with his mother.

One night of despair overwhelmed him. As he journaled his thoughts, a poem called “Jesus Said” poured from his pen. Although he’d never read the Bible to know what Jesus actually said, the Holy Spirit spoke through his just-written words. “The greatest experience of comfort and peace came over me. God made Himself known in a way I could understand at that moment. I now knew God was real because for the first time in my life I felt hope, regardless of my situation.”

“Lord, save me!”
Dennis found the Bible his co-worker had given him and began to read. “I wanted my life to change and was under strong conviction that the things I was doing was wrong.” Weeks went by as Dennis tried to fix himself, to no avail. Finally, in desperation, he cried out to God for help. The next day he was arrested by the secret service. “This was not my idea of help!” he says. “But we serve an awesome God. When it comes to saving a soul who is crying out for deliverance from sin, He does not waste time.”

In prison Dennis started reading the Bible. “I could hear God talk to me every time I opened the Bible. I also read the book Left Behind and thought, ‘This is a lie! This is not the same God I’ve been reading about in the Bible.’”

Eventually, Dennis shared a cell with a man taking the Amazing Facts Bible study course. The first lesson Dennis read was like cool water to his thirsty soul. Within one week he had completed 12 lessons. As each new truth unfolded, Dennis immediately put into practice the things he learned.

“I could see how much God loved me, and I wanted to respond. What really built my faith was seeing how I could trust the Bible through prophecy. The 2,300-day prophecy showed me that Jesus was the Messiah. Seeing His love from creation to the cross made me realize that the Bible was no ordinary book. When I see what love Jesus has for me, why would I live contrary to that?”

Dennis spent the next two years in five different prisons. During this time, members of a local Sabbath-keeping church in Fort Wayne, Ind., continued to minister to him and sent additional materials from Amazing Facts. Their faithful ministry quickly grew Dennis’ faith and understanding. He was baptized before leaving prison.

New life in Christ
Since his release from prison six years ago, Dennis now takes every opportunity to share his testimony. Today he is a frequent speaker in churches and prisons. He also wrote From the Cell to the Cross, which details his experience and the power of God’s grace to save and transform lives. This book has been sent to many prisoners around the country. Aware of the powerful witnessing potential of his book, Dennis also included a listing of all the Bible Study Guides available through Amazing Facts and information on how to receive them.

“One book or Study Guide will be read by a multitude of people,” he says. “In prison one person will share with others, and they likewise will share with many more.” The church who ministered to Dennis has already received many letters requesting the Amazing Facts Bible studies and more information on the Sabbath.

Dennis is also now married, and he and his wife Melody are committed to ministry. They hope someday to attend the Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism to strengthen their talents and be better equipped to share God’s love with others.

One of Dennis’ greatest joys has been to introduce his son to Jesus. Now rather than needing to depend upon someone else for that solemn task, Dennis can tell Travis himself about the Savior.

“Only God knows the depth of gratitude I have for the faithfulness of Amazing Facts. You have been a tool in His hand to not only reach my life, but now also my son who is coming to know Jesus through my experience – and with the help of your ministry by presenting the Word of God in such a clear and understandable way.”

An Unlikely Bible Worker

THE ROAD TO BIBLE TRUTH

When Judy was a girl, she almost attended church. After her mom died of cancer when Judy was only six-years-old, her father gave her a nickel each Sunday and told her to go to the church around the corner from where they lived.

Well, she knew her dad really wasn’t into church, and she didn’t want to attend either—so she snuck out each week and spent the five cents on candy instead.

Hard times came when Judy’s father remarried. Being very independent, conflicts erupted in the blended home. But after graduating from college, she moved to Seattle where she met her husband. Eventually, they found their way to Sacramento, California.

After two daughters came along, Judy was working at a hospital when she found out that her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident. She was devastated—and afraid knowing she’d face life and work as a single mother. “My life nearly fell apart,” she says …

But God, through Amazing Facts, was waiting with answers to point the way to Jesus.

First Contact
On a Sunday morning, while looking for a program to watch, Judy happened onto an Amazing Facts television broadcast. She says, “I loved it. As I listened, I found myself agreeing with what he said, except when he started saying that Saturday was the Sabbath. At this point, I didn’t know about Pastor Doug’s church, but I went to my Bible and discovered he was right!”

Soon Judy signed up for the Amazing Facts Bible School and began completing lessons and mailing them in. When she finished the introductory lessons, she quickly moved to the advanced lessons and was thrilled at all the new Bible truth she was learning. She found her understanding of Scripture growing tremendously.

Judy then discovered amazingfacts.org and once more found resources to strengthen her walk with God. When she came across difficult Bible passages that didn’t make sense, she’d type them into our search engine and found articles and sermons that cleared up her questions.

Getting on a New Path
Sometime later, two young AFCOE students, as part of their seminar series pre-work effort, knocked on Judy’s door. The young men provided her with more helpful booklets and DVDs from the Amazing Facts bookstore. She says, “Those young men taught me to pray in a meaningful way. I always prayed for my own needs, but they helped me to realize how important it is to give praise to the Lord in prayer.”

A few months later, the two AFCOE students invited Judy to attend an Amazing Facts prophecy seminar. Often, the young men brought her to the meetings because she was unable to drive herself. “I attended almost every session. God was speaking to me! He has been so good. I let go of coffee, cola drinks, and unclean food. The Lord took away my desire for these things.”

Judy was eventually baptized and says she loves her new church home. She says, “I’m so comfortable here. People accept you for who you are. It’s very multicultural without the gossip and cliques in most churches. I am learning so much and love helping out with the fellowship luncheon each week.”

A Call to Boldly Share
More recently, Judy has been sharing her faith with her neighbor Donna and pointing her to the real gospel. Each Sunday they meet and study an Amazing Facts Bible study lesson. Donna’s best friend recently passed away, and Judy has been helping her grieve and face the pain. Judy says, “Donna wanted to run away, but I told her she needed to get God off the backburner and study her Bible.” The first time Judy took Donna to church, there was an altar call, and before Judy knew what was happening, Donna was upfront committing her life to Christ. Praise the Lord!