From the Chapel: Andrew was full of pride. He was enslaved to sexual sin yet saw himself as spiritually superior to those around him including those he was sinning against. But when he came to the Pure Life Ministries Residential Program, the Lord revealed the reality of his condition through the power of His Word and gave Andrew the beautiful gift of repentance and newness of life.

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John 15:9, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” (NIV)

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       Before I arrived at Pure Life Ministries, my heart was full of pride, self-reliance, selfish ambition and fear. In particular, I had a great fear of man. My marriage and family were beginning to crumble from my years of masturbation, pornography, massage parlors, and prostitution that I had brought into my life over the years. Outwardly, I was very religious and thought I was a better person than most, including my wife. I was so deceived. I was actually working right along with Satan's plan to destroy my life and the life of those around me.
       As 2 Timothy 3 says, I was a lover of pleasure rather than a lover of God. I had a form of godliness but denied it’s power. Shortly after arriving at Pure Life, I had my first counseling session. I soon realized that I did not look forward to my counseling sessions. They felt like interrogation sessions to me. I was blind to the fact that I did not have love for my counselor and my heart was hard, but God was putting His finger on the sin in my heart. Little did I understand that the Lord’s plans for me were and still are so much more than I can see.
       Things began to change in a subsequent counseling session. I was told to read a portion of John 15 out loud. I began reading and my counselor stopped me. My counselor encouraged me to read it louder and slower. I remember thinking, “What's wrong with my reading?” But I decided to humble myself because the Lord had put this man in my life to help me. After reading a verse or so, something happened. The Lord was helping me to put my guard down and open my heart to His Word.
       I very strongly sensed the presence of God in the room. I lowered my defenses and the Holy Spirit rushed in to convict my heart. God made it clear that my kingdom of self would never stand against such a perfect and holy God. Tears fell from my face. “I'm so full of pride” were the words that came out of my mouth. The Lord was starting to show me who I really was, a self-loving person with little concern for God or others. But the Lord was also showing me who He was, a merciful Father, who, while I was still a long way off in the distance saw me and was running to me so that He could embrace me.
       Still in my counseling session, all I could do was cry and thank Jesus for His loving kindness as He cleansed me with His blood. During that session, Jesus gave me the gift of repentance, even though I intellectually could not tell you what repentance was. The Lord gave me a peace that passed all understanding. My counselor put his hand on my shoulder as I left the session. This meant a lot to me because I had such a fear of him before entering the session. The Lord showed me through this gesture that my Heavenly Father is not a harsh taskmaster. Instead, He is gentle, He is lowly and He is loving.
       I left the session feeling free from all my pride, selfishness, and fear. Nothing else mattered in that moment except for what the Lord had done for me. Throughout my program, the Lord gave me other powerful experiences with Him similar to the one I just described. I also had failures, setbacks, and mistakes, but through the help of staff in the program, the Lord continuously opened my heart to repentance. The Lord has laid a foundation for me to remain in His love and now my eternity is on a completely different trajectory. Now as I walk with Him daily, He always reminds me that He is enough.