Christian Deliverance

It is finally finished! As you can see from the front cover, It’s Only a Demon: A Model of Christian Deliverance, Second Edition has been finally published.

This book contains considerably more information than did the former book. This book is physically larger, being 6” X 9” rather than 5” X 8”, and has 412 pages as opposed to 326 pages. Besides having all that the previous book had, this book has a completely updated methodology section, a chapter on what to do if demons resist or refuse to leave, one on working with children and adolescents, and one addressing how to deal with demons in physical locations. It also has all those interesting case studies, plus some. It has a chapter on exorcism in the literature of the ancient church (for when people say that all this stopped with the death of the apostles, and most importantly, the complete script, word for word, that my teams and I use when we do deliverance.

My goal in preparing this book was to create a reference tool that would provide all the resources that any believer would need to help any friend, family member, or fellow church member to be set free from demonic involvement, clear down to the words that you can use throughout the process. It provides a starting point for those who are unsure as to what to do.

If you already have the first edition you will find that the second edition is much more specific, more insightful, and reflects a greater level of understanding, as God has revealed much to my teams and me as we have continued to work together over the ten years since the first edition was written. It is available on Amazon: It’s Only a Demon: A Model of Christian Deliverance

Other than this major event, the last of the turkey has been tucked away, the remaining stuffing thrown, as it has gotten dryer and dryer the past couple of days. We still have a pie or two sitting in the refrigerator, which just reminds me that miracles still do occur, even in the Appleby household.

Within this past week, we have seen other miracles as well. My youngest son, Matthew, and his wife Katie gave birth after two days of labor, to a little boy, Benjamin West Appleby. He finally entered the world through the artificial smile of a C-Section after trying to get out for two day and bringing sleepless days and nights, lots of contractions, considerable pain to his mom and dad, and a high degree of concern for the rest of us who waited expectantly for something to happen. Little Ben’s middle name, West, was in honor of my mother, who would have been 96 on Thanksgiving Day, had she not died a little over two years ago.

While that part of my family awaited Ben’s coming to the hospital, we had ten out-of-town family members; my other two sons, their wives, and their combined five children arrived on Wednesday evening in anticipation of a great deal of fellowship and food. What they discovered when they arrived was that Matt and Katie were occupied at the hospital, their sister Rachel had to work most of the holiday, and her daughter, Alyssa, was hanging with us. My wife Carol, was also gone one shift caring for a dementia patient (not me). When everyone arrived we had seven adults and six children, all the children being age 10 and under, present.

So, while visions of a Norman Rockwell picture-perfect Thanksgiving dinner occupied our fantasies, the reality someone how escaped me. In fact, I don’t even remember Thanksgiving dinner, as I was otherwise occupied, having only the remaining debris of an amazing dinner standing as proof that something had actually happened.

You see, I, who always walks in divine health, except when I am sick, was totally wiped out by the flu, even though I had faithfully received all my highly recommended flu and pneumonia shots over the years to prevent such a thing from happening. Solid chest congestion, headache, muscle pain, sensitive skin, sweats, fever, very sore throat, exhaustion, and wheezing filled my days. In short, I was the masked man who found himself in an empty bedroom by myself wrapped in blankets while still struggling to grade my online papers (the curse continues).

Now, a few days later, both sons and their families have now returned to their own homes (after serving us in more ways than we can recount). Matt and Katie are enjoying their son in their own home (little Ben even slept well last night), Rachel has today off, Carol is trying to put things back together after everyone’s visit, and I am still feeling congested and punk but still doing my online teaching stuff still and working on the newsletter.

In real life, I continue to do deliverance a couple of times a week, see six or seven pastoral counseling clients a week, and work for Liberty University online. It appears that next term I will be teaching in the Pastoral Counseling MA program and in their new EDD program in Community Care and Counseling program. I am looking forward to the change in online teaching as the online professional counseling program has just about dried up.

So, life continues. Please pray for health for my family and me. We are all feeling a bit depleted as a result of this illness. Pray for our clients, that God will send us the ones of his choosing, and that he would protect those with whom we have already worked. Each of you is loved and appreciated. Thank you for being you.

Blessings.