“[The Lord] brought me up out of a horrible pit,
out of the miry clay,
and set my feet upon a rock,
and established my steps” (Psalm 40:2).
Justin and his brother grew up surrounded by alcohol and drugs. Their mom was single and an addict who invited friends into their home. Throughout his childhood he witnessed long nights of partying, sometimes lasting into the wee hours of the morning ...
As Justin grew older, the alcohol and drug use got out of control. Arguments started breaking out between his mother and her boyfriend. They would escalate into verbal abuse followed by physical mistreatment. “I saw my mom being battered and beaten by her boyfriend,” he remembers. “It went on for many years.”
Their lives were in constant turmoil. They moved from state to state looking for shelter, sometimes stopping at churches asking for food. Many times they slept in their car. Often his family would be stranded without gas or food, sometimes for three or more days.
Justin started using drugs and alcohol at the age of 13. He went from marijuana to crystal meth and cocaine. At 17 he would drink until he blacked out. By 19 we was getting picked up for DUIs and spending time in jail. And by his mid-twenties Justin began to realize a life of alcohol and drugs was getting him nowhere. “I lost my job as an auto detailer,” he explains. “My friends were only around when I had money for drugs. I felt empty and very lonely.”
Around this time Justin’s grandfather became interested in watching Christian programs. He bought a satellite dish and discovered Amazing Facts TV. He invited Justin to join him. Though they both were raised in Sunday churches, they found Pastor Doug’s preaching to be very interesting. His grandfather eventually started attending a Sabbath-keeping church.
Justin began to feel he needed to find a greater purpose in life. As he continued watching Amazing Facts programs, he started reading his Bible. Then he ordered and read
The Richest Caveman. He shares, “I really appreciated the way Pastor Doug preached straight from the Bible. I also enjoyed his question and answer format in some of his presentations. Most pastors I watched growing up did not go to the Scriptures as directly as Doug Batchelor.”
Justin attended a Revelation seminar in Lancaster, California, in 2009. He completed the
Amazing Facts Bible Study Guides and was baptized. “I made a decision to devote my life to sharing Bible truth with others,” he recalls. He surrendered every area of his life to Christ and stopped associating with his old friends that did drugs. His lifestyle completely changed, including his diet, freedom from drugs and alcohol, and victory over impurity. “I now have nearly five years of sobriety and am married. We have a 16-month-old boy.”
Justin also attended an AFCOE to Go program in San Francisco to sharpen his skills in witnessing and giving Bible studies. “It was a great experience,” he says. “God rescued me from a horrible pit and lifted me up to a joyful life without drugs and alcohol,” he enthusiastically shares. “I now enjoy caring for my wife and son. I’m teaching my boy about how God showed His love to me by saving me and pulling me up into the light of truth.”
Justin still loves listening to Pastor Doug preach and regularly downloads sermons to his smartphone so he can listen to them at any time. “Because of Amazing Facts I have grown to have a deeper relationship with God and a greater understanding of His grace toward me. I wholeheartedly support Amazing Facts because of the way God used this ministry to lift me out of a dark pit!”
Thank you for helping to make Justin's testimony possible. We praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit's influence in his life and for your dedication to growing His kingdom! Let's keep working together to make even more stories like this!