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 RevelationCastro 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.”