Free Indeed: The Key To Complete Recovery From Addictions

06/13/2026

(Faith based recovery centers.) Right now I am teaching at three different faith-based residential recovery centers. These are 8-month programs where the residents live at the center 24/7, and I always encourage them to complete the program. Stay the full eight months or longer if they need to, because I understand this characteristic about the heart, that it waxes hard or soft. Basically two things are going on as they go through the program: (1) Because they are spending five and a half hours a day in the word of God, and in praise and worship, with very little distractions their heart is waxing soft to God and his word. (2) Because they have taken their eyes and focus off the problem, their heart is waxing hard to that old lifestyle. So, I always encourage the residents to complete the program, don't be leaving early, give your heart time to get right. At the beginning of this message, I shared in my testimony that I went through Mom and Dad's tough love program. I moved out of my apartment and moved in with my parents so that I had accountability. Well about eight months after I moved in, I was going to be alone for a few days, because my parents were going on a vacation. And I remember Mom asking me if I was going to be okay, and I had to think for a moment, "What is she talking about, am I going to be okay?" Then I remembered, "Oh yeah, I forgot that I use to be an alcoholic." I will never forget the joy and peace I felt when I realized that the chain of alcoholism had been broken.

05/16/2026

(Addiction Myth- A Closer Look) Let's take a closer look at that myth about addictions which states, "That before you can be set free from alcohol or drugs, you will have to want to quit. And notice it says, "you will have to want to quit before you can be set free.' And let me start out by saying that this is impossible. The desire to not use drugs or drink alcohol doesn't come before you start your road to recovery, but rather it comes near the end of your road to recovery. In fact, this is one of the main indicators that will tell you you've been set free from alcohol or drugs. Now on the surface this myth or false addiction doctrine sounds good, it sounds like a noble thing to say. But you can always tell if a doctrine is true or false by looking at the effect that is has on people who are battling addiction. And this is the effect this doctrine has on people, it brings confusion, frustration and condemnation. And how I know this is because that was my experience. This is one of the advantages of having been an alcoholic, and then overcome alcoholism, I know these things firsthand. Anyway, that was my experience when people were telling me that before I can be set free from alcohol I will have to want to quit. This was the effect, I felt confused, frustrated and condemned. I would think to myself, something is wrong with me, because I knew that I still had a desire to drink. Not realizing that it would take time before that desire left my heart. And this effect is common, it wasn't just me, I have talked with other people who had the same experience. Also, this doctrine will produce hypocrisy, let me explain what I mean. One time I was ministering to a man who was looking for help in his battle with drug addiction. And during the course of our conversation he made this statement, "I have come to the point that I want to quit using drugs.' And as I was looking at this man, I could tell that he didn't no more believe what he just said, than the man on the moon. He was just repeating this doctrine that someone had told him. Now I will say this, you will have to admit you have a drinking or drug problem, and that you need help. Also, you have to be willing to quit before you can be set free. From page 84-85. ( Message me your mailing address and I will send you a copy of this book, free of charge!)

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04/24/2026

(Addiction myth) Now I want to deal with a myth about addictions, or what I like to call a false addiction doctrine. I know that I am probably going to make some people mad by saying this, but I believe what I am about to say is true. Anyway, over the years I have heard people make this statement, "That before you can be set free from alcohol or drugs, you will have to want to quit." And I am just going to be blunt right here, people that say that don't know what they are talking about. Because that's the dilemma, a person who is struggling with an addiction know that they need to quit, but they don't want to quit. If they wanted to quit, then they would. Let me go back to my testimony. I shared in my testimony that I didn't go through a secular or Christian recovery program, instead I went through Mom and Dad's tough love program. I moved out of my apartment and moved in with my parents, so that I had accountability. And I mentioned that I tried to sneak around and drink a few times, okay, why did I do that? I did that because I still wanted to drink. In my head I knew that I needed to stop drinking, but here was the problem, I still had a desire to drink alcohol in my heart. That's what this whole message is centered on, the heart, I mentioned earlier that the key to complete recovery is your heart. A person's heart has to be changed before they can be truly set free from addiction. Addictions are heart issues. Going back to my testimony, it took time before that desire left my heart. Remember, a person's heart doesn't change quickly, it doesn't change overnight. It takes time for a person's heart to change. Someone's probably thinking, "How did that desire to drink alcohol leave?" Well stick with me, I will be getting into that in a minute. That's why intervention, and some type of accountability are important in helping a person overcome this hurdle on their road to recovery. From pages 80-81. ( If you would like a copy of this book message me your mailing address, and i will send you a book free of charge!)

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04/04/2026

(Alcohol Advertisement) Someone might be thinking, "I wish a person's heart could be changed quickly." But it's actually good that God made the heart this way. Let me give you one reason why it's good. I believe it would be really hard, if not impossible, for a person to keep their deliverance from alcoholism if a heart could be changed quickly, because alcohol advertisement is everywhere! It's on television, not only the commercials, but people are drinking on the television shows, in the movies, it's on social media, billboards, alcohol delivery trucks. There are advertisements in convenience stores and restaurants. Looking back today I can see that this was a big hindrance on my road to recovery. I didn't realize that all this alcohol advertisement was keeping me conscious of the problem, and because I wasn't guarding my heart like I should have, it was slowing down the recovery process. Now later in Chapter 15, I will show you how to guard your heart from all the alcohol advertisement. (From page 34-35.) ( Message me your mailing address and I will send you a book, free of charge!)

03/21/2026

(Spiritual garden) In Matthew 12:35 it says, "A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure [ of the heart] brings forth evil things." Think of your heart as a spiritual garden, of course in a physical garden we all understand that it will bring forth whatever you plant in it. If you plant tomato seeds, it will bring forth tomato's, if you plant watermelon seeds, it will bring forth watermelons's. It's the same thing with our heart, our heart will bring forth whatever is planted in it. If we have good things planted in our heart, like humility, it will bring forth promotion in our lives. If we have bad things planted in our heart, like bitterness, it will bring forth bitter things in our lives. By and large, the things that are coming to pass in our lives, are just a reflection of what is in our heart. This is one of the great mysteries of the bible, unfortunately this is still a mystery to many Christians. That's why it is so important that we guard our heart. Now later in Chapter 15, I will talk more about how to guard your heart. Let me go back to that statement I made a few moments ago, I said, "By and large, the things that are coming to pass in our lives are just a reflection of what is in our heart." And notice I said, "by and large," which means there are other things that can be a factor in the things that are coming to pass in our lives. Of course, other people can have an impact on our lives, especially if someone has been a victim of verbal, physical or sexual abuse, but here's the good news you don't have to remain a victim. The Lord can heal you of the hurt and shame. (From pages 18-19.)

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03/06/2026

Look at Proverbs 4:23 again, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." If you see yourself as a victim, if that is what is in your heart, then you will always be a victim. But if you see yourself as an overcomer, you will beat this problem. What movie is playing in your head? It"s vital that we change that movie from the victim to the overcomer. Another verse that goes along with this is Proverbs 23:7 it says, "For as he [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he." And here's another powerful truth, your thinking determines your experience. If you are thinking victim in your battle with drugs and alcohol, then you will experience defeat and failure, but if you are thinking overcomer, then you will experience victory and success. The way you think is key to overcoming addictions. Later in chapter 23, I will explain in detail how our thinking determines our experience. Again. it's vital that you change from a victim mindset to an overcomer mindset. I remember one time I was teaching at a Christian faith-based recovery center, and a lady in the class shared her testimony about a previous program they had gone through. She said everyone was sitting around a table feeling sorry for themselves, and the counselor would come up to each person, put their hands on their shoulder and say, " You poor thing, you poor baby." You know what? Nobody is going to overcome anything sitting under something like that, self-pity is a destructive force.

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02/27/2026

We have all heard the saying, "I am just a product of my environment." I can remember saying this when I was an alcoholic. Basically, what I was doing by saying that I was blaming people, situations and circumstances for the mess my life had become. Today as I look back on my life, I can see that it was my fault, I just made some really bad decisions. What it boils down to is I wanted to have fun, and I saw drinking alcohol as a way to have fun. My environment didn't make me an alcoholic. It's important that we take responsibility and not blame people or blame genetics. And I believe it is one of the first steps you're going to have to take on your road to recovery, because you cannot be an overcomer with a victim mindset. ( From page 16-17.)

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02/19/2026

Let me go back to September 2014, this is where this message all began. One day I met some friends at the golf course to play a game of golf. So I got there and as I was loading my bag of clubs on the golf cart and getting ready to play, I noticed that someone brought a cooler of beer. I was surprised, I didn't know they were bringing it. Of course, the courteous thing to do if a person brings beer is to offer everybody one. So when I was offered a beer, I almost went into my "I can't drink speech." It goes something like this, "I can't drink, I was an alcoholic for 15 years. If I drink one beer, I will drink two, if I drink two, I will end up drinking twenty." But I caught myself, instead of giving my speech I just said, "no thanks I have water." Because I noticed immediately something was different that day. Instead of fear hitting me and thinking, "I hope I don't mess up, I hope I don't blow it." I had total peace, I didn't struggle at all. I didn't have to grab hold of my golf cart steering wheel and white knuckle it, and pray, "Oh God, help me not to give into this temptation." There was no fear of failure at all. Later I will talk more about this fear of failure. Instead I felt an excitement and confidence that I had never felt before, those two words best describe what I was experiencing that day, excitement and confidence. I will never forget that day. To realize that something that had dominated my life for 15 years and came back on me a few times after becoming a Christian, I could sense that it was completely gone. Anyway, in my excitement I asked the Lord what has happened, something is different? I must have asked him that question twenty times. And this is the answer He gave me, He told me, "My heart has become so hardened to alcohol and my old lifestyle, that when a temptation presented itself, there was nothing in me to get a hold of." Then He said that "alcoholism has completely lost its grip in my life." So right there, I believe the key to complete recovery is your heart. From pages 9-11.

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02/09/2026

I can't drink Vs. I don't want to drink. What I am about to say here is important, you need to understand this. If someone came up to me today and asked me, "Can you drink alcohol?" My answer would be yes, yes I can. But here's the thing, I don't want to drink so I am not going to drink, and it's not because I can't, but because I don't want to drink. I have had some people argue this point with me, they think I am splitting hairs. So let me use the hot stove example to drive this point home. Someone could turn on a stove, let it heat up and if I wanted to, I could go over and touch that hot stove. But I don't want to touch a hot stove, so I am not going to do it. Someone might say, "So, what you're saying is you can't touch that hot stove." It's not a question of if I can or can"t touch a hot stove, I don't want to touch it. It's the same thing with drinking alcohol, it's not a question of if I can or can't drink, I don't want to drink. My desires have changed. From pages 81-82.

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02/09/2026

A roadmap for your road to recovery. Today as I look back at my road to recovery from start to finish, I can see all the mistakes that I made. The reason I made so many mistakes was because I really didn't have any instruction or a roadmap to follow. My hope is that this message and my testimony will give you direction and help you find your way on your road to complete recovery.

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