TESTIMONIES FROM PRECIOUS SOULS SET FREE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

We are very grateful and pleased to share some of the testimonies of people who have applied God's wondrous truths to their lives which are shared in "Liberating the Bruised" and it's partnering book, "More Tools for Liberating the Bruised".  From a crowd of souls who had suffered from minor to major problems, we have learned that so many have exchanged their heart-felt grief for joy and tormenting battles for peace.  What joy for them to learn that they had available to them God-given authority, His legal rights to claim victory over God's enemy who is also the enemy of every person God created.  Our hearts are filled with joy in knowing so many precious souls have received freedom, peace and joy through our Lord Jesus.  Plus, they learned that He makes His wisdom, courage and strength available for them to walk consistently in victory in His plan for their lives!  We thank these precious souls for their gratitude and loving kindness shown by sharing what Jesus has done for them!  Because these testimonies (which come from a variety of Christ-based denominations) represent so many other similar testimonies, all are kept anonymous except for one pastor�s testimony (which is also shared in our second book by permission). 

In Luke 4:18, 19, Jesus said, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."  And, in John 8:36, Jesus promised, "If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, you shall be free, indeed", which these precious souls testify to be truth:

~ ~ 1 ~ ~

"I thank God that He led me to a counselor who knew about you, brother Joe!  I was so full of hopelessness that I was suicidal.   I am so thankful that after I went though the steps, I found freedom!  If I had continued the way Satan was leading me, I would have died and missed the joy of sharing my testimony with others about how Jesus gives hope and can truly set Satan�s captives free!  I am so excited!  Thank you for obeying the Lord and writing and teaching others about God�s wonderful truths!"

~ ~ 2 ~ ~

"Dr. Joe, I just want to thank you for writing �Liberating the Bruised!� I was so desperate for help, and when I did as you suggested, "snuggled up to Jesus" and read your book and very seriously applied His truths to my life�it truly saved my life! Thank you! I know first hand that He can do the same for others if they snuggle up to Him and apply His truths to their lives! And, I am very happy to hear that you plan to share additional counseling information and prayers in another book! I look forward to reading it and sharing it with others! God bless you!"

~ ~ 3 ~ ~

"I am so thankful, my dear brother Joe, that the Lord placed a very caring minister on my pathway who had studied your teachings�which are quite eye-openers to say the least!  I had no idea how Satan could manipulate and control a Christian�until it happened to me!  I thought people who claimed they were Christians but displayed behavior extremely contrary to God�s ways were actually lost!  But when the minister asked me to read your book so I would understand your counseling procedures, I understood the truth!  He then took me through the counseling procedures and I was led out of captivity!  I was no longer withdrawn from the world, depressed, hiding "in the bottle," and feeling like I was worthless to God and everyone else!  My eyes and heart were even opened to the amazing truth that God could even use me to help others find freedom as I did!  So, I just want to thank you for sharing God�s truths with me and others like me!  God bless you, brother!"

 ~ ~ 4 ~ ~

"How very, very grateful I am to you for counseling me and leading me to freedom from Satan�s stronghold!  Thank you for not being ashamed of the Gospel�nor of the truth about our mighty battle with Satan!  Thank you for boldly sharing God�s unpopular, uncompromising truths that most certainly can set Satan�s captives free�if they take the Lord at His entire Word and obey Him!  I had been to so many other ministers and counselors, who sincerely wanted to help me, but they didn�t know about the deeper, root things you teach in your book�the wounded personalities, the flip-side and iniquities of the fathers connected to ancestral demons!  I truly cannot thank you enough for taking time to write �Liberating the Bruised� and for holding the workshops!  Thank you for not only helping me and my family, but also for helping so many of God�s children find peace and freedom to walk joyfully in God�s will for their dear lives! God bless you!"

~ ~ 5 ~ ~

"My dear Dr. Joe, I really shudder, thinking of what would have happened had you not counseled me!  I�m so grateful that the Lord led me to you, to your ministry!  For I know I would have lost my family and my ministry, and in despair, would have more than likely killed myself!  I thank God often each day for His mercy on me and for leading you into this very needed spiritual warfare ministry!  Thank you for sacrificing so much time in penning and publishing �Liberating the Bruised� in order to share what the Lord taught you about our enemy and how we can absolutely, totally defeat him! I am now able to be the spiritually healthy husband, father, and pastor God intended!  With joyful gratitude, my family, my flock, and I thank you!  May God bless you and Rita for your love and commitment to Him!"

~ ~ 6 ~ ~

"Thank you, Dr. Joe, for not being selfish with God�s truths! Thank you for blessing my husband and me, our children, and our grandchildren�our future generations! We are all eternally grateful to you! God bless you and Rita as you carry on His work!"

~ ~ 7 ~ ~

Excerpts of an inspiring testimony of a dear lady who diligently studied and applied God's truths in both "Liberating the Bruised" and "More Tools for Liberating the Bruised" and received victory:  "I am so thankful to our Elohim and our Saviour Yeshua for all He has done to set me free, and to you for listening to Him so He could give you mighty tools for freedom.  My mother's side of the family had several ancestral problems because my grandmother was tricked into an arranged marriage with my grandfather when she thought arrangements were being made for her to marry someone else.  The result was that the young man who she thought she was marrying committed suicide because of the treachery.  My father's side of the family had changed their last name because of the constant ridicule of others, so there were ancestral sins on both sides of my family.

"I had abandonment issues because my mother would leave me in my crib most of the day except for feeding and diaper changes.  This started at one-week of age.  I was also abused by an uncle when at a young age, all contributing to my developing wounded personalities along with a flip-side.  I was made fun of in school because I was poor, wore glasses, and was not one of the popular set.  As a result, I hated school and would daydream about being somewhere else instead of putting my mind to my school work.  My parents were told that I was very intelligent, but I was not applying myself.

"Somewhere in my early to mid-thirties, I felt the heavenly Father knocking on my heart's door and I surrendered and started praying and studying the Word.  I started growing rapidly.  I learned about spiritual warfare and realized that I needed deliverance but didn't know who to turn to who had experience in that area.  Then, our Father, who is so good, led me to a couple who knew about spiritual warfare and prayed with people.  While the denomination they belonged to didn't encourage deliverance, the couple helped people through their own ministry.  During my appointment with them, I received quite a bit of freedom, felt much better, but knew there was still more work to do.  Knowing they had done all they knew to do, I started looking further to find answers.  My husband and I read several books on spiritual warfare, prayed some recommended prayers but we were still not free.  We learned about ancestral sins passing down to some descendants. We confessed sins we knew about that our ancestors had committed, but still no freedom came.

"We joined a Messianic congregation and in talking with a lady who had also recently joined, when I said something about demonic traps, she looked at me and said she knew that what I said was the truth.  After talking further with her and her husband, he brought us a copy of your first book to read.  When I started reading, I got so excited that I didn�t put it down until I couldn�t absorb any more.  I think I finished that book in just over a week.  I knew I had finally found what I had been looking for over the last twenty years.  When I called your ministry number, Rita shared more information, including news of the second book.  I read it and prayed to ask the Father if I could go through the process just He and I.  He told me that He would make it simple so I used the tools in the books and the Father helped me walk to freedom.

"What a blessing to experience peace, quiet, and wholeness for the first time!  I want everyone to experience what the Father is able to do for them.  I know the Father is able to perform miracles without the tools He gave you, but I believe He wants us to go through the process because it helps us understand how we came to be in the bondage in which we find ourselves, and the lies that we believed and hung onto.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you for being obedient because I received freedom because of it.  May Adonai richly bless you and the distribution of your books so many who feel trapped with no way out will find that Adonai is all that the Scripture says He is.  I am rejoicing in Yeshua!"

UPDATE ON THIS DEAR LADY:  Not only did this precious lady receive freedom, peace and joy in her precious life, but the Lord then began using her to counsel and lead others to freedom through our Lord Jesus as He placed people on her pathway.  Recently, we were extremely grateful and full of joy when we received a wonderful update from this dear sister-in-the-Lord.  For, she said that through the mercy and grace of the Lord, He allowed her the privilege of leading an SRA (Satanic Ritualistic Abuse) victim to freedom!  How blessed we are to know the truth, that through our authority in our precious Yeshua, Jesus Christ, Satan's captives can be set free!  Most assuredly, "...if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."  What JOY to know that this precious SRA victim is no longer held captive by the enemy and that she's walking in victory, peace and joy in God's will for her precious life!

~ ~ 8 ~ ~

Another beautiful testimony from a precious sister in the Lord came, saying:  "I wanted to share my testimony concerning your book and instructions for counselors.  In 2010 our lives were changed for an everlasting difference through your ministry.  A real lifeline through Jesus Christ was revealed to my husband and myself.

"I had been raised in the church all my life but it wasn't until February 23, 1976 that I came to be HIS own.  Before this I was unaware of my own need for Him.  I answered His call and through the years I struggled with Life's challenges and did my best my best to solve my problems.  My biggest challenge was not my unbelieving husband, but my biggest challenge was myself.  I kept getting in the way of Jesus trying to help me.  I didn't realize I was trying to be my own god but that is what it amounts to.

"In March of 2010 my life took a detour, by no fault of his own, but now I know it was Jesus stopping life so He could perform His work in us.  A dear friend told me about your book Liberating the Bruised and gave us the phone number of one of your trained independent counselors, Jonathan Katzen.  We called immediately and he explained the process of coming for counseling.  We thought it was rather odd to have to read a book first, but we had tried it our way and it was not effective.  He sent the inventory sheets and we both filled them out and returned them quickly so we could get this show on the road.  We waited which seems like a long time and then the call came from Jonathan.  He spoke to each of us over the phone privately and a time was set for our session for a month away.  He explained the sessions would last two days and I still did not think this was any big deal.

"We went to Houston for our session.  Upon arrival he did a normal introduction and gave his testimony and said he would address my husband first.  I was fine with this whole process because I was only there for support.  Right?!  The next day he began with me.  I do not remember all that was asked of me or what I answered but the freedom I received then continues until today and is indescribable.

"Your ministry uncovered the hidden chains that kept me in my struggle.  As I describe this whole experience, it reminds me of going to the circus as a child and seeing the elephant being held by a tether chain around his back leg.  Even as a child I could see the animal was stronger than the chain but it was enough to hold him captive, as was mine.  The chains were invisible to an ordinary observer, but using your book, Jesus was able to provide freedom from all, His blood He shed was for all of this!

"I will be forever grateful for you answering HIS call to write such a book, inspired by HIM."

~ ~ 9 ~ ~

Also from the crowd comes forth a beautiful testimony from a dear brother, Pastor Bill Stallings, a Southern Baptist Minister, who is Associate Pastor of Chester Second Baptist Church in Chester, South Carolina.  He and his dear fellow pastors graciously gave us permission to include their church�s name and contact information, with hopes of encouraging other ministers and counselors to read his testimony, and prayerfully study God�s truths shared in both of our books which led to Pastor Bill�s own freedom. Brother Bill and the other pastors desire for other pastors and counselors to experience the same joys they have been blessed to experience by leading bruised people on their mission field to freedom from the enemy, Satan.  Pastor Bill and his fellow pastors are well-balanced in God�s Word, not off to extremes in either direction.  They do not water down the Word, nor do they add to it�they have determined to obey the Lord�s words: "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (II Timothy 2:15) And now, Brother Bill Stalling�s powerful testimony:

"Greetings in the name of our Lord.

"I was born and raised in North Carolina and like so many Southern Baptists, our family sporadically attended church. I eventually became saved at the age of 13 at a youth retreat.  There has never been any doubt of the legitimacy of my salvation experience within me but, like so many new believers today, there was no follow up or discipleship available.  Very soon the Enemy began to creep into the areas of my life where I was weak, vulnerable or still sinful.  Even though my eternal destiny was secure by my profession of faith, my daily walk continued to be a struggle and I never felt "whole".  I was somewhat bewildered because "all things did not become new" as I tried to reconcile that with my experience.  In some areas yes, there was immediate and drastic change, but in others, there was still great difficulty regardless of how much I disciplined myself, studied or prayed.  I was born the youngest of four children to a mentally ill mother who was in and out of hospitals for much of my life, and even today at seventy-one years old still has episodes of which lead to her going to care facilities.  She has mental issues running back several generations on her father�s side and a sister, who is a few years older than she, is in an institution today.  On my father�s side there is a long history of both emotional and physical abuse which included substance abuse.  Epilepsy also ran on my father�s side.  He himself was an epileptic and it affected two of my brothers, but by the grace of God it skipped me and my precious children�my daughter Kristin, now age twenty-four, and my son Landon, age twenty.

"Our home life was one borne out of secrecy and control as my father attempted to keep the Christian facade up as he took us to church on occasion, only to have the family issues continue to surface from time to time by the children either running away from home or being brought home by police for things such as substance abuse, breaking and entering and just general behavioral issues leading to embarrassment which eventually led us away from church altogether.  In 1980 my parents lost one of their children, my eldest brother, due to a drowning accident.  This would be the first of many children they would lose through accidents. For, in 1985, my second brother died in another tragic drowning accident.  Then, ten years later, in 1995, my sister died in a one-vehicle drunk-driving accident.  From the time my first brother died, our home life completely unraveled as my father overcompensated for his own pain, while dealing with his mentally ill wife and trying to figure out what to do.

"My father dominated me in every respect as he saw his world come apart and his frustration turned into physical and emotional abuse.  By this time I was the only one left at home at 14 years old.  None of us along the way received any type of secular counseling as it was unpopular to the church and often came with a stigma attached so we simply learned to cope in our own ways which led to deeply embedded sinful ways of dealing with our emotions and the anguish that was going on inside.  No counseling was offered by our church other than the proverbial message of "in time God will heal". However, I found that time does not heal all wounds, but only added to the pain, the dysfunction and confusion of my life.  My father�s continued emotional and verbal abuse escalated more and more as well as did the physical. By the time I was seventeen, I was gripped by fear, anger, anxiety, insecurity, nightmares and a sense of dooming failure which was coupled with hopelessness and a spirit of futility as I lived in constant fear that I too would be dead by the time I was 30 years old. I simply could not live beyond that which I had come to believe about myself and our family�s history.

"As I continued to mature I became performance-oriented in all aspects of my life.  There was no room for mediocrity, and failure was not an option in any area whether it be work or recreation.  During the early years of my marriage I attempted suicide and sought to destroy myself as well as my precious wife, Teri Lyn�to whom I�ve been married for twenty-six years this August 2011.  Like my father, I learned to conceal everything from everyone out of fear of judgment and shame.  I suffered in silence and kept all the childhood experiences inside so much that I never even told my wife about the abuse and the mental torment that I experienced on a continuous basis, which began from the time I awoke in the morning to the time I fell asleep with exhaustion at night.  It took some 15 years into our marriage following my own healing before I was able to share.  I learned how to cope the best I could while living in a state of denial, yet all along I knew deep within me that there was "something which was not right," but I did not know what to do or where to go for help. Fear of exposure kept me in an emotional prison, isolated from experiencing true intimacy with God.  I had so many structures built into my heart and mind from habitual patterns of thinking that I could not enter into meaningful relationships with people on a deeper level. All relationships were about "an inch deep and a mile wide" due to the lack of my ability to trust and I could not put myself into any position of which I thought would carry any form of personal risk. I avoided all social gatherings except for those of which I could manage to find a way out, and I often found myself depressed.  I tried to reconcile the Word against my present experience, as I was told as a Christian that I should have joy, but that certainly was not always my experience as I strained to endure and I didn�t understand why.

"I studied the scriptures looking for some self-help and cried out to God because I didn�t dare ask anyone out of fear of rejection which would only add to the guilt and shame that I was already carrying.  I knew that I could ask for forgiveness from those things that I had committed, but found no way to reconcile the sins and hurts committed against me or find any rational reason as to why they affected me for so long and how tight a grip they seemed to have on me as they continued to linger and control me in so many ways.

"Later the Lord called me into full-time ministry where I continued to seek answers and grow in my faith.  Much to my regret at that present time, I had somehow managed to open a very small window into my life and a select few were able to see that there was "something in my life that needed healing".  I do not know how I let that happen because I had worked so hard to make sure it didn�t.  However, the Lord wanted my healing nonetheless and because of that He sent a lady to our church who was doing ministry. I serve on a three-pastor staff with each of us having different and varying gifts and responsibilities, but somehow I was left out of the planning and scheduling of this Christian lady who was to come to our congregation and offer some help for people whom we had worked with for years but had failed to lead them to freedom from Satan�s strongholds.  These people were held in strongholds connected to sexual molestation, child abuse, marital problems, adultery, pornography, drug abuse, SRA, and issues with bipolar.  Many were heavily medicated and some had actually become "professional counselees" who knew the scriptures as well as any pastor, yet could not get free and walk with any dominion of power and authority in their life or with personal integrity. We were putting "band aids on gaping wounds" at best and ended up seeing the same people revolving through our office doors.  Many of them finally left the church because they had come to the last place that they thought would and could offer some hope and help, yet only to leave disappointed and disillusioned.  All of this was taking place around us while I myself was "standing up on the outside, but falling down on the inside".

"I knew in my heart that the Lord wanted me free from my own silent cry and as usual, I learned to run when these issues began to surface or felt as if "my inner self" was about to be an open book and then only to be flooded with deep feelings of the coming shame.  After discovering the actual reason for the lady�s ministry visit, I made it a point to be out of the office during the time the Christian lady-counselor would be there in hopes I could prevent myself from running into her until she left and avoid the "looking into my soul that I so feared".  However, by the end of the week and after much pressing from the Lord I agreed I would see her.  I went to see her very reluctantly with my mind made up I was just simply going to "go through the motions" so I could return to my prison.  Yes, it was a prison, but at least it was a familiar prison and I knew my way around.  As strange as it may seem, I desperately wanted freedom, but feared what freedom might look and feel like as I had no idea what total freedom might cost me.

"As I began receiving ministry I knew it was of the Lord and that He was drawing me to Himself.  It was my time for healing, however for the very first time I heard the enemy speak to me with a voice of authority as I began giving myself to the Lord in ministry.  It was a very clear and distinct voice which said "Don�t you dare tell...you will never get free!"  At this point, I, for the very first moment in my life, realized that I had been caught up in a spiritual battle since I was a child and that I had no chance of winning or becoming free outside of deliverance by the power of God.  The lady counselor had studied God�s truths taught in Dr. Allbright�s book, which led to my freedom from performance orientation, arrested development, anxiety, depression, suspicion which bordered on paranoia, anger, and fear of authority.  Today I am 45 years old, healed and whole and serve with greater joy and anticipation of the things God has for me as I too minister to the needs of our people in this way.

"After my healing I was asked to share what God did for me with the others who gave themselves to this ministry as well.  There was so much the Lord had healed and so much that had been "upside down" for so long that He "righted," that it was not only overwhelming to talk about, but to be able to share with others as to the depth of my healing was difficult to put into words.  One of the pastors in our meeting time said to me, �We knew all along that you needed help, but because you were so wounded we knew you couldn�t and wouldn�t let any of us in to help, therefore we purposefully didn�t include you in the planning and scheduling because we knew you would run.�   Their response, which was out of love, was also followed by, �Bill, we knew there were people here who needed this ministry in their life, but you needed it the most.  We also knew that it was you that God was going to use in this ministry to help and heal others.�  I was absolutely blown away, first by the love of God because of the great care and enduring love He had for my healing, but also for the love I could feel from them for the very first time. And, for the very first time my life, my past made sense and was reconciled. I was able to see what and why it was that I never could seem to step up into my ministry as God had designed for me.

"My spiritual ministry gift is that of the teacher so as you could imagine I struggled with my theology as I served in a Southern Baptist Church; however I could not deny what had taken place in my life.  I wrestled with God because I wanted to make certain that I was following the scriptures and anguished over it all.  I did however finally have to put down my pride and seek God and the scriptures without my preconceived ideas or traditional teachings.  I searched the scriptures diligently for His truth and I ended up coming to a great peace that God is not obligated to heal only in the realm of which I am able to believe at the present moment.  I am a student of the Word and if a person is willing to search they will find that Dr. Joe Allbright�s teachings are biblical and sound in the faith as well.  The problem we have as the Body of Christ is that we have believed the lie from the Enemy that deliverance is a thing of the past or it�s regulated to third world countries.  The Lord is able to reach across time and space and heal the damage done by our past mistakes or sins committed by our ancestors of which we suffer the lingering consequences.  Is it so hard to believe that we receive blessings from our fathers and forefathers, yet deny the curses that come from them as well?

"As pastors to our congregation we continued to fail in our counseling methods with the most difficult problems that some were facing.  After no measurable lasting progress we either blamed our sheep for their lack of love for the Lord, their undisciplined life and we ended up only having them leave the church burdened down with guilt and shame with no answers for their problems and with a greater sense of hopelessness.  Many times we were faced with the reality of what to do next as we then began to see the same families with children who carried the same issues.  It�s heartbreaking that we as pastors have even gone so far that when we are unable to help, that we would send them to a psychiatrist or a psychologist because we feel powerless to offer any hope.  Unfortunately many end up on medication with a dull and slumbering spirit that is all but dead to the voice of God.

"We are in a small bedroom community in rural South Carolina governed by church tradition where it seems that men�s traditions are held in honor, while the works and power of God have been regulated to the lower shelf.  Our church today is an outreach and a hospital for the hurting, walking wounded and the imprisoned.  We, as expected, are and have been ridiculed for our non-compliance to the status quo by the churched or religious community.  We have an excellent reputation however with the unchurched in our community because they are being saved, loved and healed here and then equipped for the Kingdom and released to live out their faith as the Father desires.  We as a church are willing to pay that price if it means God�s people are set free and are able to embrace their walk with God which in turn changes the world.

"Dr. Allbright's ministry has enabled a disproportional amount of our men who are being set free and are now reclaiming their role as high priest of their families and who now know the love of their Heavenly Father and can, in turn, be a father to their children.  We have men who are compassionate and tender with their wives who were themselves abused and abusive and can now look at and treat their wives with honor and love the same way Jesus does.  Our children are learning to have respect for their parents, respect for themselves, respect for the holiness of marriage and for authority and yet are secure in who they are because Dad has been healed and made whole through this ministry.

"There is so much more that God is actively doing because we have decided that God�s plan and truths of yesterday still meets the needs of people today.  We have had to pay a high price in other areas as well, but in each of them the Kingdom gain has far outreached our level of risk.  God has met us at every opportunity and opposition and He has gone before us countless times as we have simply sought to pursue what He wanted to do in us and through this ministry here.  My prayer is that, we as pastors will have a heart like God when we see the sheep stricken, oppressed and wearing sackcloth of ashes instead of a garland of praise and offer help, healing and cleansing to them."

In His Service,

Pastor Bill Stallings <>< Chester Second Baptist Church - 803-377-7149

P. O. Box 115, Chester, S.C. 29706

www.chestersecondbaptist.com

~ ~ 10 ~ ~

Testimony of a precious Christian counselor, Mark Evans

"Have you ever felt that something inside was broken? Or that part of you wanted one thing and apart wanted the opposite? Have you ever felt that your prayers of confession and surrender would only go so far, and then they either hit a wall or ran into something that fought against them? Have you ever felt disconnected from what you were doing or felt like you were watching yourself talk?

"It came be hard to explain what it feels like to have a broken soul. No one description fits everyone. Maybe an example will help. So here is my story - my first memory that I know for certain was my own broken soul in action.

"I was in my mid-20s and was part of the leadership team for a young marrieds Sunday school class. A friend and co-leader, one of the finest people I�ve every known, and I decided to meet for breakfast once a week for accountability. I noticed a pattern in my conversations with him that I knew wasn�t healthy. But it seemed to just happen without warning. Each week I found myself saying things to him that put him down. They were usually just smart-alack comments. Nevertheless, they were cutting and they stung.

"Soon, I could see that this was wearing on him so I offered, in a friendly and understanding way, to stop meeting with him. The next week, he took me up on the offer. He did not want to meet anymore. Suddenly, like a switch had flipped, I began to chew him out for wanting to stop meeting. The things that I said were wrong, untrue, hypocritical, and went back on the very things I had said a week earlier! This wasn�t me! Yet it was, all at the same time. Inside, I felt exactly like what Paul described in Romans 7:17, "It is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me."

"While I was doing this, I still remember thinking to myself, "Why am I saying these things? I know this is wrong." It didn�t even feel as if I was the one saying them. The words were coming out of my mouth and I was allowing them to be said, yet it was as if I was watching the conversation happen at the same time. Looking back, I now recognize that pattern of speech as the kind of destructive, maniacal conversation that is a reliable sign of an enemy stronghold. It was as if the enemy was feeding me words that were assured of destroying our friendship, and I was allowing it to happen. Sadly, it worked. From then on we were little more than acquaintances.

"This man was truly one of the nicest, most intelligent, friendly, level-headed people I�ve ever met. At that time in my leife, he was possibly the finest friend that I had, and he is someone whose friendship I would have valued as I have grown older. But by the time I was done, the friendship was spoiled. Not long after that I moved to another state and we lost touch. Unfortunately, my brokenness continued to act out, causing damage in nearly ever area of my life.

"It took about 15 years before I gained any understanding of what was happening. During a particularly difficult time, another friend told me about a man named Joe Allbright. I had been through a wonderful three-day deliverance ministry that had changed my life, but my worst struggles continued, so I called Joe and told him about my situation. His response was, "I can help, but you have to read my book. You see," he explained, "others deal with what is seen. I deal with what is unseen. And you must read my book before you will be ready to work with me."

"I didn�t have a clue what he meant, but he sent me his book, Liberating the Bruised, and soon I felt that I was reading my life story. This man described every aspect of how I felt, where I had struggled, and the dynamics in my marriage and my family. For the first time in my life, I felt tht I understood what was inside of me. Joe explained what was driving me to places that I didn�t want to go and into behaviors that I didn�t want in myself. He explained what it means to have a broken soul. It was different from anything I had ever heard. (To this day, I still haven�t read or met anyone who matches Joe�s knowledge of the broken soul or his methods of healing it.)

"To make a long story short, by the time Joe was finished working with me, I hadn�t just been counseled, I had been healed. For the first time in my life, my mind was quiet. I was at peace. I didn�t feel any unfriendly pressure or thoughts hassling me. It was as if I were standing in the middle of the Houston Astrodome with no one else there, no lights, no power, nothing�only silence. I remember thinking that this must be how "normal" people feel. Thankfully, this peace wasn�t temporary. I had received a miraculous and thorough healing. The destructive emotions and upheavals that I had experienced for my entire life were gone. I could think of situations that had always brought up pain or anxiety, and now there was only peace.

"This began the most amazing and wonderful journey that I have ever been on. I grew into a relationship with the Lord, containing peace and intimacy that I never knew was possible. Now to be honest, I still made mistakes, had plenty to learn, and over time, had some more heling to do. But I was no longer fighting and unwinnable internal war. I had self-control, better understanding, peace and the ability to actually correct things that I needed to do differently.

"Over the long run, the Lord used theophostic prayer ministry to pave the way for some additional blessings that were nearly as powerful as the healing I had received through Joe, but in my case, nothing ever matched the healing and the blessing that I received from God mending my broken soul.

"So exactly what happened in my store above? A separate part of me, literally another personality, took over. You have probably heard of it by other names�names that do not aptly describe this very powerful and elusive form of spiritual oppression�names like dissociative identity disorder (DID), or multiple personality disorder. Those names, and the secular understanding that goes with them, do not do justice to this problem. As evidence, I will offer you this: It takes a traditional counselor, psychiatrist, or psychologist (Christian or non-Christian) an average of seven to ten years to heal a typical case of DID. The minsitry God gave through Joe Allbright will accomplish the same thing, only do a better job in two to three days."

Mark Evans

Hope Preserved Ministries of Mark and Risa Evans ~ www.hopepreservedministries.org

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