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heroin

Heroin Addict Delivered From 13-Year Addiction After Giving Her Life To Jesus

by Christel Berns November 5, 2023

written by Christel Berns

A woman addicted to heroin got delivered from her 13-year addiction after giving her life to Jesus.

Messed Up Childhood

Courtney Willingham had always wanted to escape reality because of a messed-up life. Her parents divorced at a young age, and she lived with her dad growing up. His father was a drug addict. But that didn’t stop the dad from becoming a loving father to his daughter. He made Courtney feel loved. However, everything changed when he went to prison.

The 700 Club. (Screenshot). (2023). Mom’s Words Cut Deep Wounds, Retrieved November 2, 2023 from: https://youtu.be/tUVmYIyIXiU

At ten years old, Courtney stayed with her mom where her trauma started. That’s where she experienced mental and physical abuse that eventually led to her anxiety and depression.

Hatred filled Courtney’s heart for many years. For that reason, she turned to drugs and violence as a teenager. And by the age of 20, she was “arrested twice for violence.” She had crazy mood swings and couldn’t handle her temper.

Later, Courtney became a stripper in a club where she found attention and validation. But after she got pregnant, her life changed again. Her addiction remained while Courtney had a child. She also suffered from an abusive marriage. But soon, she was sent to jail “for numerous crimes.”

Addiction To Heroin

After all the mess, Courtney eventually became a heroin addict to escape reality. Then, at 25 years old, she got sober and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. But three months later, she relapsed and got arrested again.

Courtney lost custody of her children because of her crimes. And she was locked up in jail. But in jail, a turnabout happened when she started reading the daily devotions distributed throughout the prison.

One remarkable story in the Bible changed Courtney’s life. It was when Jesus chose the people like her instead of those who claim to be good.

“Jesus ate with such scum.. He hang out with sinners and tax collectors,” she said.

The Pharisees questioned Jesus because of it. But Jesus, Courtney explained, told them, “the sick needed a doctor. It wasn’t the well that needed a doctor.”

God’s Word deeply touched Courtney, which began her journey to knowing Christ.

Watch what happened in the video below.

Mom’s Words Cut Deep Wounds

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Reference | The 700 Club

Header Image: The 700 Club. (Screenshot). (2023). Mom’s Words Cut Deep Wounds, Retrieved November 2, 2023 from: https://youtu.be/tUVmYIyIXiU

November 5, 2023 0 comment

Articles Faith Featured News Revival Video

Heroin Almost Took Isaiah Severs’ Life But Jesus Intervened

by Rhoda Gayle August 24, 2023

written by Rhoda Gayle

Heroin almost took the life of Isaiah Severs but Jesus stepped in and saved him.

Heroin almost took his life

Isaiah was born and raised in Bennington, Vermont in a Christian home. However, during his teenage years, his parents got divorced and their family fell away from their faith. In high school he was first introduced to drugs. Eventually he started smoking and selling marijuana. It then led to a life filled with drug addiction until heroin almost killed him.

“One day it was a little bit difficult to actually get the prescription painkillers, the Percocets that I was into. I had a friend that I was getting them from and he said, ‘Well I got heroin that you can try. I got bags of dope that you can try. It’s basically the same thing, it’s the opiate, gives you the same high.’ I didn’t even really think twice about it, I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll try it.'”

Dalafe Testimonies [@delafetestimonies]. Isaiah Severs. YouTube, videographed by Delafe Testimonies, August 22, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgmWMCB8c1U

Isaiah Severs

That day he overdosed and was on the brink of death. By the grace of God, he survived, but it led him to rethink his life.

“All of a sudden I was lying on my back and I saw all the paramedics, and police officers around me. All I could hear was voices saying, ‘Isaiah, stay down Isaiah, stay down. You just had an overdose.’ When the paramedics reported to the scene, I was breathing two breaths per minute.”

Jesus saved him

After the incident his father invited him to attend a Teen Challenge Program. It is “a network of Christian faith-based corporations intended to provide rehabilitation services to people struggling with addiction.” Knowing that he needed to make his life better, he accepted the invitation and attended the program.

“I remember being there and I was sitting down and I was looking around me and I was seeing guys pray. I was looking at the altar, and I said to myself in my heart, ‘I need to make a decision with my life.'”

It was at that moment that he gave his life to Jesus Christ and he experienced God’s amazing love. Isaiah was saved and delivered in that moment.

Now, he serves the Lord as a pastor of Bethany Revival Church at his hometown in Bennington, Vermont.

Heroin Almost Took My Life, Until Jesus Did This…

Watch this video on YouTube

Reference: YouTube | Delafe Testimonies
Header Image: Dalafe Testimonies [@delafetestimonies]. Isaiah Severs. YouTube, videographed by Delafe Testimonies, August 22, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgmWMCB8c1U

August 24, 2023 0 comment

Articles Featured Video

God Prompts Police Officer To Adopt Baby From Mother He Caught About To Inject Heroin

by Christel Berns October 9, 2022

written by Christel Berns

God prompts a police officer to adopt an unborn baby from a mother he caught about to inject heroin while on duty.

Police Officer Meets Drug-Addicted Woman

On Sept. 23, 2017, Police Officer Ryan Holets met a drug-addicted woman named Crystal Champ on the streets of Albuquerque, New Mexico. When he saw the woman, she was about to inject heroin into her veins. The Officer approached her and discovered that she was pregnant. So, he warned her not to do it because it would surely kill her baby.

Photo Courtesy | YouTube – CNN

Soon, Crystal broke down in tears and told her story to the Officer. Apparently, she started doing drugs in her teenage years. Crystal tried to change, but every time, her addiction came back. The 35-year-old became homeless and got pregnant as she lived on the streets.

God Prompts To Adopt Baby

In the video recorded by Ryan’s bodycam, Crystal shared her frustrations and pain.

“You have no idea how hard this is,” she told the Officer. “I know what a horrible person I am and what a horrible situation I’m in.”

Photo Courtesy | YouTube – CNN

Then she opened up that she “had been looking for someone who could adopt her unborn baby.” That’s when Ryan felt a prompting in his heart.

As a Police Officer, it’s no longer unusual that he would witness things like Crystal’s situation. However, this time, he clearly heard God speaking to him.

“Tell her that you will do it because you can,” God told him.

Photo Courtesy | YouTube – CNN

After hearing God’s voice, Ryan immediately called his wife, Rebecca. Even with four kids already, the Christian couple obeyed God and agreed to adopt the baby.

Three weeks after that encounter, Crystal gave birth to a baby girl. Ryan and Rebecca named their new daughter Hope. And the couple plans to tell baby Hope the truth when she gets older.

Photo Courtesy | YouTube – CNN

Following the adoption, Crystal went to rehab and is now in better condition.

“There needs to be more people like Ryan and his wife and their family in this world,” Crystal attested.

Police officer's unbelievable offer to pregnant addict

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Reference | Faithpot

October 9, 2022 0 comment

Articles Video

Addict Set Free When He Called Out To Jesus

by Christel Berns April 1, 2020

written by Christel Berns

Daniel struggled to break his addiction to heroin. Despite time in rehab and being arrested, he couldn’t seem to get free from the addiction until he called out to Jesus.

Daniel McGee was a smart kid but he was small in stature. It created a need in him to always prove himself.

Woman Dies Of Cardiac Arrest Goes To Heaven And Sees The Unbelievable

“I felt like a fragile little person so I started emulating people. At a very early age, I started watching gangster movies, drug dealer movies, and I wanted to emulate that. I wanted to be respected and feared,” he shared.

Daniel’s parents did everything they could to correct Daniel’s behaviors. They would punish him and even take him to Church, but it only got worse.

Heroin Addict

Daniel discovered the alcohol and the confidence it brought when he was still 13 years old. He then started selling drugs and was kicked out of school. At 17, he left home because he was an alcoholic and a drug dealer. He was then introduced to heroin.

For the next 6 years, Daniel was trapped in a life of addiction and homelessness. He made attempts to get help through rehab but was unsuccessful.

“Do you even know that even though I did not want to be an addict but I continued that cycle out of fear? The fear keeps us locked in place because the alternative is going through anxiety, depression, and severe physical withdrawal. And I went right back to what I know. Heroin numbs your physical pain, your emotional pain, everything. And it was like a refuge for me,” he said.

Calling Out to God Broke the Cycle of Addiction

Watch this video on YouTube

Redemption

In 2001, the court made Daniel choose between spending 14 years in prison or entering into a rehab program. He chose the Salvation Army Treatment Center because it was only for nine months and it was free.

Daniel then started studying the bible, attending church and meeting with the pastors. He understood his situation and how he needed a Savior. One Sunday morning, Daniel surrendered his life to Jesus.

“Once my heart was opened, it was like my whole being was opened. I felt lighter. I felt positive,” he recalled. “For once, I felt like I had a future and I had, you know, a chance.”

He continued, “I had to have a control of everything in my life. I had to be in charge of everything, in control of every aspect in my life. The ironic thing is that it wasn’t until I learned that I have to surrender, to surrender my life and my will to God that I was able to get clean and change my life.”

At 25, Daniel completed the program and has been clean ever since.

Living Life With Jesus

He is now a realtor and owner of a jail bond business. Daniel knows that his calling is to help those who are in need. He shared that he only looks up to this one person in life.

“Jesus is the role model. And that’s what I also tell people. He’s my role model. I try, I spend my entire life trying to chase Jesus, trying to be like Him. If I came out of what I came out of, to be where I am at today, anybody can. We win by surrendering to God and let His will take over our lives instead of our own will,” he said.

Source: YouTube

This article was written by Christa Monina Gomez.

April 1, 2020 0 comment

News

Mortality Can be a Bitter Pill to Swallow: America’s Opioid Problem

by Jim Leamon May 15, 2017

written by Jim Leamon

America’s Opioid Problem

“O Lord, help me understand my mortality and the brevity of life! Let me realize how quickly my life will pass! Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.” Psalm 39:4-5

Nothing but Vapor

Life is short and the older I get the more that rings true. Death often comes suddenly, unexpected and uninvited onto the scene. Young lives with so much life ahead of them, swept away into eternity, leaving those behind to ponder the lost possibilities. What could have been? Rich full lives, no less tragic, taking with them ages of wisdom, no longer present to tap into for guidance. One thing is certain, one day we will all face our own mortality individually.

Will it be on your time table? Will it be on your terms? We like to think so. We plan our retirement years as if we’ll live indefinitely. But in reality, we really have little to no control ourselves. Jesus spoke a parable about a wealthy man that says to himself,“…You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you.” Luke 12:19-20 NET

In 1997, my 17-year-old cousin who I was close to died in an automobile accident. At that point, I’d been resisting God for several years. I knew I wasn’t living right. But I was determined to live life to its fullest without God. My plan was to enjoy life while I was young and then settle down later. Through losing my cousin, who was more than a decade younger than me, I realized the critical flaw in my thinking. Like many of you, I assumed that I had plenty of time to change the course of my life in the future.

In reality, life is fleeting. None of us have the guarantee of tomorrow. The Bible describes our entire lives as nothing more than a vapor. A puff of smoke across the chasm of time, hardly noticeable. Here one second, gone the next. A decision delayed to commit your life to Christ is in effect no decision at all.

The Opioid Epidemic

A horrific reminder that life is fleeting going on right now in America is the Opioid crisis. The statistics available from the government are staggering, labeling it as an Opioid Epidemic. It’s the worst drug epidemic in the history of our Country. Death by drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death, claiming a new life about every eighteen minutes. And yet there were enough opioid prescriptions written in 2014, to give every adult in America their own bottle of pills.

I witnessed the crisis up close and personal this week as a young man was rolled into the Emergency room of a local hospital. His girlfriend drove him to the hospital unconscious and dropped him off seeking help. The last words I heard one nurse calling to another was, “Can you get a pulse? Is he alive?” I honestly don’t know what happened to him? Was he one of the latest victims of the opioid epidemic? One of the eighty that lost their lives that day across the country? I hope not. I hope his girlfriend got him there in time for the medical staff to administer the Naloxone to save him. If so, I pray he also finds the help he needs to recover from a life of addiction.

Eternity

I hope you’ll consider what I’m telling you. Life is short. Your soul, however, is eternal. Which are you placing the most weight on? Which are you planning for the most? Like me in my twenties and thirties, are you more concerned with living for today versus living for God? Have you heard plenty of sermons but never committed your life to Jesus? Do you know him?

If not, you can pray right now:

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for dying for me. Forgive me for my sins. I’m tired of running from you. Please come into my life and save me. I believe you died upon a cross for my sins. In your precious name, amen.

Help for the Addicted

In closing, I feel compelled to acknowledge that there could very possibly be those reading this right now that are struggling with opioid addiction themselves. If that’s you, please, please, please follow this link to find resources available to you in your area HELP. You can get free. WITH God all things are possible!

Andy Rooney — ‘I’ve learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

May 15, 2017 0 comment