THE STORY OF JOHN COOPER

James Couper was what most people would call an average, middle-income American. He grew up in an average-looking neighborhood in a small town in Virginia. Making good grades in school, he was never in trouble with the law and did the same kind of things other high school kids did. After he had reached eighteen years of age, one of his friends talked him into trying a marijuana cigarette Shortly after the experience with marijuana, he allowed himself to be hypnotized in an experiment.

When James Couper had reached his thirtieth birthday, he had already spent ten years in the penitentiary. After James was released from jail the last time, he went to EI Paso, Texas, where he tried to start a new life. He failed. It was not long until he was running drups across the border and taking part in many drug related crimes. When James could not make enough money selling narcotics to feed his own drug habit, he had to turn to stealing. When that would not suffice, he had to beg. Somehow he had to get the money necessary to feed his drug habit.

Drug addiction Finally, the day came when he had no money with which to buy his drugs. He could not steal the drugs, nor could he beg for them. He had come face to face with the one hellish thought of every drug addict-no way to procure the drugs he had to have. He had no place to go, no place to sleep, no one to turn to. He knew of a half-way house where some of the street people went. Almost out of his mind for want of the drugs, he managed to get to the house in some way. He was so miserable that it was like a nightmare. At this point in his life, his drug habit was costing him two hundred dollars a day.

That night a religious service was held at the half-way house, and he saw the power of God through the lives of some of those people there. He had never heard the plan of salvation and had never heard that Jesus was a personal Savior. In an act of desperation for relief, he gave his heart to that unknown God, fell on his face, and begged for mercy. That night a great miracle was worked because James was instantly delivered from those demons



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Transformed and delivered

which made his physical body cry out for drugs and alcohol. He also instantly received a physical healing from a hernia he had received in a street fight. In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, a new man was born. A drug and alcohol addict went into that meeting; a brand new man came out. (Howard Pittman)