On this episode of A Touch From Above, Dr. Luauna Stines continues her conversation with Tom Beban, sharing a raw look at addiction, false faith, and real transformation. Together, they expose the danger of thinking you’re saved without change, and point to the power of Jesus to truly set people free.
00:00:00 Introduction and Mission America Book Details
Do you have faith? I wrote a book called Mission America. It’s a journal. I literally took a team of five women. We traveled across the entire United States of America with 250,000 gospel tracts, a revival tent, 250 chairs from San Diego all the way to the East Coast, all the way back, reloaded all the way up the West Coast, all the way across Washington, Oregon, you name it. Setting up our tent and preaching the gospel. This book, Mission America, will make you laugh, keep you at the edge of your seat, and you’ll go, oh my gosh, I can’t believe these girls. I want to encourage you, for your support, I want to send you your copy. ATFA, P.O. Box 2800, Ramona, California, 92065. A touch from above, P.O. Box 2800, Ramona, California, 92065. Or you can log on to our website, atouchfromabove.org and give.
SPEAKER 01 :
Set your spirit on fire and let Dr. LaJuana Stines guide you to a life of purpose and fulfillment. To reach Dr. LaJuana Steines, call 760-315-1967. That’s 760-315-1967. Or visit atouchfromabove.org. And now, here’s your A Touch From Above host, Dr. LaJuana Stines.
SPEAKER 03 :
God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you. Thank you so much for joining me. I’m Dr. Luauna, and this is A Touch From Above, right from our prayer mountain out of Ramona, California. Oh my, if you haven’t been up to our prayer mountain for a church service, get in that car. Sunday morning, it’s a beautiful drive. We’re about 35 to 45 minutes from anywhere in San Diego County. A church alive is worth the drive. Come on up. Every Sunday morning, 10, 15, I’m there at the Prayer Mountain sharing God’s awesome, amazing word, and I sure would like to meet you. Well, my guest today is Mr. Tom Beban. Tom, thank you so much for being here.
SPEAKER 02 :
And Dr. Nuwanen, thank you for having me. What a privilege.
SPEAKER 03 :
What a joy it is to have him. Tom has been a part of our ministry now for a little over five years. And when God brought Tom in, you know, Tom was, if you missed out yesterday’s program, Tom’s Freedom Part One, you need to really go back and listen to that. It’s going to be on our website, atouchfromabove.org. You can go back and listen. Click on radio, and it’ll take you to our radio page of all the different programs on. You want to listen to Tom Part 1, and this is Tom Part 2. But anyway, Tom is originally from Poland. His father was very abusive, not only to him, but also to his mother. His father was a terrible drinker and a very, very abusive person. to a place where Tom got completely angry and rebellious, ran off at the age of 18, started doing drugs 12, 13 years old, ended up on the road when he was 18, just traveling wherever the wind would take him, stranded in one place after another, begging people, living on the streets, addicted. And I’ll let you go right from there. Tell the people how you were addicted and where the drugs took you, Tom.
SPEAKER 02 :
yeah so the drugs and alcohol took me into the darkest places i could ever imagine in my life and it caused me to do those things that i never thought i would do and i was homeless on the streets and i would let men pick me up and That led me to a life of perversion. It was horrible. It destroyed my life. Meth introduced such a stronghold of lust that it completely blinded me and led me astray down a path of just shame. And shame became my glory.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow. Amen. That’s so powerful. There’s people that are listening today, Tom, and they think they can’t be free from meth. Meth is, I can’t remember the definition that Daniel said meth was. Main entrance to hell. The main entrance to hell. Whoa. That is so true, isn’t it?
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely.
SPEAKER 03 :
And there are people that are listening today and there are even quote unquote Christians that are in and out, dabbling in and out with meth. What do you want to tell them?
SPEAKER 02 :
yeah so that is such a danger zone to be in and i fear for that for the body of christ because i remember being in that place where i would think that because i’m on meth no one can tell that i could lead a normal life that i was able to be a functioning addict but the truth is you cannot function without it and it’s such a stronghold that you will begin to lose your mind And the lies that you start telling, you’ll actually believe and you won’t be able to discern the truth from a lie.
SPEAKER 03 :
that Hosea 3, verse 6 says, my people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priests for me because you have forgotten the law of your God. I will also forget your children. Now, the amazing thing, you said something really powerful that just triggered that verse for me, is you actually thought you were a Christian when you were younger, but you really weren’t a Christian. You had a form of religion that but you really didn’t know Jesus. And maybe that’s some of the listeners today. Maybe they’ve been raised in religion. Maybe they think they know God. Maybe they have a cross on their neck. Maybe they have a cross dangling from their mirror. But there’s something missing. Share that, Tom.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, you’re going to miss Jesus. You’re going to miss the one that’s going to keep you from now and into eternity. And what ends up happening is what I realized, and that was one of my biggest fears for the body of Christ, is thinking that you’re okay going to heaven when you’re bound by hell. Amen.
SPEAKER 03 :
So you thought you were saved before you got saved. Absolutely. How did you think that? What made you think that?
SPEAKER 02 :
because I believed that I had a relationship with God, a special relationship, as if God knew me enough. And the scripture that always comes into my mind is when Jesus called out the religious people, and he’s like, You guys say you have your religion and you have your crosses and your Mary’s, or you say your parents are saved or you have family members are saved. When I can turn these very rocks into children of God.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, that’s good. The scribes and the Pharisees you’re talking about, they had a form of godliness but denied his power. They can say anything they want with their lips, but their hearts were so far from God. And that’s exactly where you were until… What, Tom? Until I overdosed. Tell what happened. You almost died how many times? At least three that I can remember. And you had also from drinking, you had what was that called? I had pancreatitis from drinking too much alcohol.
SPEAKER 02 :
how many times did you end up in the hospital oh i’ve been in in and out of the er they called me an er angel whoa how many times do you think if you were to just off the top of your head if you probably at least 50. oh my goodness how many times did they find you on the street and and was that night night nikon or whatever that stuff is yeah i had to get a adrenaline shot at the time and brought me back to life and my friends asked me later on like what happened and I just remember being in a pit of darkness, about to panic because I was still alive, and I didn’t know where I was.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow, wow. So this whole web of meth and darkness that confused your mind, I think that’s the really amazing thing. When Tom first came into A Touch From Above, he was struggling through that. He was struggling through the anger. He was struggling through… you know share a little bit about that where you you know it’s taken years to finally get that out of you and what a miracle of grace and what a blessing you are today but when you first came in that raging battle that was after your soul right that battle of anger was raging and that all stemmed from the abuse and growing up in that
SPEAKER 02 :
abusive environment where i didn’t know how to deal with it and drugs and alcohol became the only way i knew how to deal with it now with that out of the picture it all started coming up and i had no idea that that was there the anger the lust all those things that drugs and alcohol hid or provoked were still there that was still something rooted in me from a young age that god wants to work out of me
SPEAKER 03 :
Amen. You know, it’s amazing. There’s a scripture in the book of Luke chapter 22 where, you know, Simon Peter had a relationship with God, but he didn’t realize that, you know, without God as our protection, then we are an open target. And Jesus said to Simon, he said, Simon, Simon, indeed, Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail. and when you have returned to me strengthen your brethren but he said to him lord i’m already i’m ready to go with you both to prison and to death and he said peter i tell you the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny me three times It’s amazing in the beginning when you first get saved, you think you’re okay, but it really takes the Holy Spirit. And this is why church is so important. You go to church and a lot of people today think, I don’t have to go to church. I don’t like organized religion. I don’t have to go to church. I don’t have to do this. I’m busy. And they call themselves a Christian, but they never get a chance to grow spiritually. And I love here where Jesus said, Satan asked for you that he may sift you as wheat. Well, the devil doesn’t give up. He works 24-7, seven days a week. And the only protection that we have is our salvation and God’s word, prayer, and being a part of the house of God. What do you say about that, Tom?
SPEAKER 02 :
I say that is a big key to your salvation, is being in the body of Christ and recognizing and honoring those who labor among you. and they are over you in the lord and they admonish you you warn us all the time and i want to know let you know to esteem each one more highly than yourself in love for the work’s sake and to be peaceful amongst one another through that peace you will begin to have an understanding that surpasses your very own you’ll come into that grace and that mercy and the love of god so that you can commit your works to him and he will begin to establish you And one of the biggest reasons why I fear for the body of Christ is the way that I was thinking I was saved and going to heaven when I kept dabbling in the world. And it gets worse and it gets worse. And Jesus speaks about that when he states about the wicked and perverse generation. He makes a comparison. that you get swept up and cleaned and that’s what god does every time you turn to him i remember many times turning to him he would clean me up he’d get me on a road that would help me to get closer to him but i kept turning back and it kept getting worse and i kept allowing satan to come back in seven times stronger until he almost took my soul to hell
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow. You’re listening to my program today. Thank you so much for tuning in. I’m Dr. Luauna. This is A Touch From Above, right from Ramona, California. My guest today is Tom Beban. He is preparing and working on a book, you know, free from meth, free from crazy. And God has just done an amazing work in him. He is a powerful, powerful man of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, works diligently at the prayer mountain every single day. And just to watch God unfold, it’s like a rose. I think about a rose. Roses, I used to always, I used to write poetry about roses. That’s crazy. It was before I got saved. But now I think about a rose and Jesus is the rose of Sharon. When you think about the rose that begins to just that little bud and begins to open up and that rose becomes so beautiful. that everyone could admire that’s what god wants to do in every single one of our lives we’re lost without christ we’re broken without him the bible says that the god of this world blinds us and unless jesus comes in and becomes lord and master of your life you can go to church you can live religious you can live like the scribes and the pharisees and you can even quote the scripture but if you’re not a doer of the word and you’re only a hearer only you deceive yourself the bible says you deceive yourself and i think the worst thing is seeing somebody that thinks they’re a christian and they live like the devil’s hell and they think they’re going to go be with jesus in heaven wrong answer sweetheart there’s a way that seems right unto a man but the way of it is death When Tom came in to a touch from above, excuse me, I saw Jesus just, he didn’t have the drugs anymore. He didn’t have the alcohol to run to. And now Tom had to deal with Tom. So Tom, you want to share? That was a pretty tough thing, wasn’t it?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER 03 :
It was like God was taking out a mirror.
SPEAKER 02 :
right yeah and then i had to deal with me and then i had to realize that i was selfish and self-centered and self-seeking and all that stuff that was in self and man the way of a man is not himself correct me lord but not in your anger lest you turn me to nothing and then that correction came in through salvation and then i was able to finally just recognize the blessing of being committed and faithful at church and around the body of Christ, being rooted and trusting that God is working all things for my good.
SPEAKER 03 :
Did you ever dream that one day you’d be at the prayer mountain and one of the wonderful little cabins there and you wake up and people are praying and you’re helping build a place for God’s people from all over to come and pray? No.
SPEAKER 02 :
I mean, I always wanted purpose in life and I was always looking for that purpose. And what greater purpose than to be in the kingdom of God?
SPEAKER 03 :
Amen. So, Tom, when you see people come and they’re praying, or you see a large group come, or maybe just one pastor, two pastors, what does that do to your heart?
SPEAKER 02 :
It makes me just leap for joy. see the value and the honor and the privilege of doing something that’s going to last into eternity. Ooh, that’s good.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s true. A lot of people don’t understand that. Because Prayer Mountain, because a lot of Christians don’t understand about the power of prayer. The power of prayer. Oh my goodness, if people only understood the power of prayer. When I see people come to pray, you know, before Tom came, at that time, there was a big, what do you call that, a coup that took over in Eritrea, Africa, and we got a phone call, and it said, Dr. Luauna, we need a place to pray. And at that time, I didn’t have the tabernacle set up, and they said, we need 50 to 75 people to come and pray. well i i just happen to have a tent up on one of the fields at the prayer mountain i said well i don’t have a building but i do have a tent and it was in the middle of winter but they said we don’t care we just want to pray god calls to pray there’s a coup in in eritrea and our families we can’t get contact What happened was 250,000 Christians were displaced and great persecution. Many of them were killed. Many of them were placed into prison. So those that were here in the United States called to come together to pray. So I told them, yes, they can go to the tent. They’re more than welcome. I’m telling you what, when they came and they went into that tent, that tent, by the way, would hold 250 people. And hearing them all night long, prayer and praying in the spirit and crying out to God, praying and crying out. I got up in the middle of the night and I snuck up to the field and I had my camera on. And I just stood outside the door, and I’m telling you, I was in tears. I could not stop crying because I could hear the desperate plea of God. God, help our families. Of course, it was in their Eritrean language, but you knew in your spirit there was a desperate cry. So when you think about the prayer mountain, a touch from a prayer mountain, and the team that are building the prayer mountain for god’s people it’s like building the tabernacle of the kingdom of god and it’s so awesome and what a joy to have tom be a part of that who was bound by alcohol bound by meth bound by heroin bound by every kind of drug you can think of bound by anger now free on fire filled with the spirit of god and loving jesus with all of his heart mind and soul now walking around with joy praying in the spirit hallelujah bless god running over here we’re all just kind of running around getting this ready getting that ready it is a joy to be a part of god’s kingdom amen
SPEAKER 02 :
amen yeah who but god i’m just looking back on this is just i mean not in a million years would i ever think or see myself doing something like this and it’s only through the grace of god you know i thought forever that i would be bound by prescription medication and heroin or drugs and and drinking i could never see that freedom like christ saw the freedom
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, what joy, huh?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s like that rest in God. You have that rest in Him. And even in the future, in eternity, we’ll have more rest in Him. What a joy to be a part of God’s kingdom. you’re listening to my program today and maybe you’re trying to figure out you know um how can i do this well you know first peter chapter 5 verse 8 says be sober be vigilant watch you know when that word means watchful alert cautious aware Because your adversary, who is your adversary? The enemy, the opponent, the rival, the antagonist, those that come against you. The devil walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Can I tell you, Jesus is our hope. What do you want to tell the listener today? Tell them that’s struggling and they’re playing back and forth. Tell them the word. What do you want to tell them?
SPEAKER 02 :
I want to let you know that you need to be still. And what I mean by that is to get to a place where you can pray, where you can beg. I had to beg for my salvation. I rejected Jesus so many times that I got to a place where I had to beg him into my heart. He didn’t want to come into my heart. Because I’ve refused him so many times. I trampled over that grace of God and the mercy. I trampled over it. Every time he’d get me well, I trampled over it again, going back to drugs and drinking. So I had to beg this time. It got very serious. And you have to know and understand that you’re fighting for your very own soul. It’s a fight. It’s through prayer and petitioning and knowing that God is faithful to hear your cry. Ask Jesus in your heart and don’t stop till he does come in. That’s what changed my life. He came in. I felt and experienced something for the first time, that living word of God becoming true. And I started doing what his word said to do for obedience is better than sacrifice. So obey and stay saved.
SPEAKER 03 :
Amen. You know, you’re listening to my program today, and you convinced yourself that you don’t have to go to church. Well, can I tell you, the Bible tells you and I that for you and I not to forsake the gathering of the assembling of the saints in the last days of His coming, as so many have. It’s important that we go to church. Why? Because you fellowship. You know how come people don’t like to go to church? It’s because when they get to know you, you got to know the real you. Iron sharpeneth iron. When you go to church and you’re apart, I’m not talking about you walk in, hallelujah, bless God. Hallelujah, brother. What’s up, sister? How you doing? that fake, sappy, religious greeting, and you walk out and you’re the same. I’m talking about when you jump into church and you become rooted, grounded, laboring, working, faithful, loyal, a tither. What can I do to help build the kingdom? You are faithful. You’re obedient to God. You’re there every single time the door is open. You know what? The real you, people get to know the real you. You become a family. You become a family. You begin to love one another. You know when somebody’s struggling, you’re able to help them up. You know when somebody goes through a hard trial, you’re there. But to be out there in the field, unfaithful, unloyal, not, you know, but call yourself a Christian, wrong. You’re disobeying God’s word. I love the psalmist David. He said these words. I was glad when they told me, let us go up to the house of the Lord. Why? Because you will be like a tree that is planted by the rivers of living water. The word of God is the living water. So, Tom, what do you want to tell them for those that are, you know, you struggled, you went back and forth, but now you’re saved. It’s been five years. You love God, you know, and tell them what God did in your mom.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right. So when my mom saw what God did to me, she started believing and got saved. Because at first she didn’t want to believe it. I called her. I said, Mom, you’re not going to believe it. Jesus, it’s Jesus. He saved me. Mom, he changed my life. And she thought I was losing my mind. She’s like, okay, so now he’s finally lost it. But God showed her what he did to me, and he showed her through me that he is alive.
SPEAKER 03 :
What’s so amazing, I remember meeting your mom. I remember you hadn’t been at the Prairie Mountain for too long and your mom came to see because she thought, oh my gosh, Tom’s lost it. Oh, he’s really out there now. And she came to see where you were because your mom really always has loved you. You’re her only one and you’re her only son. And there’s nothing like the love of a mother. And so your mom is coming to say, oh no, now what did he get himself into? What’s wrong with him? He wants to do God’s work. Oh no. So I remember meeting her and she’s just as beautiful as ever, by the way. And she has her beautiful little Polish accent, little tiny thing. And she’s just, I want to check on Tom, make sure he’s okay. I don’t know what’s going on. You know, he told me I’m going to go be a part of Tatram above. I don’t know. You know, and I says, well, it’s so nice to meet you. Come on, let me show you around. So showing her around the prayer mountain. And after a while, you know, it was amazing because she was testing. She was seeing if Tom was going to be faithful. And how long did it take before she finally ended up coming to a service? Do you remember?
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, it took a few months. Was it like four or five months, I think? Yeah, it did.
SPEAKER 03 :
And guess what? Stay tuned tomorrow to find out what happened. Oh, my goodness. You’re going to be so shocked. I’m Dr. Luauna. This is A Touch From Above. Tom is my guest. Thank you, Tom, for being here. We’re going to be here tomorrow.
SPEAKER 02 :
Wonderful. Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER 03 :
God bless you. You know what? Stay tuned tomorrow. You do not want to miss tomorrow. Oh, my goodness. It’s the icing on the cake. On the cake. And don’t forget, every Sunday morning, 1015, up at the Prayer Mountain, come and join me for a service. And don’t forget, support our ministry. Give a monthly gift. Come on. Get in the car. Come up to the Prayer Mountain. I love you. God bless you. Have a great day.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for listening to Dr. Luauna Stines. Give online at atouchfromabove.org.
SPEAKER 03 :
Are you distracted? Seems like everything gets in the way? Come to A Touch From Above Prayer Mountain, 25 beautiful acres. Walk up to the cross or relax in a small private cabin to pray. Bring your leaders to pray at Prayer Mountain. God answers prayer. Even Jesus had to get away to pray. Call today and make your reservation, 760-315-1967. Your answer is just a prayer away, at touchfromabove.org. Do you have faith? I wrote a book called Mission America. It’s a journal. I literally took a team of five women. We traveled across the entire United States of America with 250,000 gospel tracts, a revival tent, 250 chairs. from san diego all the way to the east coast all the way back reloaded all the way up the west coast all the way across washington oregon you name it setting up our tent and preaching the gospel this book mission america will make you laugh keep you at the edge of your seat and you’ll go oh my gosh i can’t believe these girls i want to encourage you for your support i want to send you your copy atfa p.o box 2800 ramona california 92065 a touch from above p.o box 2800 ramona california 92065 or you can log on to our website atouchfromabove.org and give
