Captain Clean is consistently pure. Captain Clean doesn’t just confess his or her sins weekly and practice brutal honesty with his or her band of brothers/sisters. Our Captain has broken free of that oh-so-addictive cycle. (Yeah, I know—those of you in denial are still resisting that term “addict.”)

As an expert on addictions, having literally counseled over 600 alcoholics, drug addicts, and sex addicts—not to mention spending 30-plus years as an addict myself—trust me when I say you’re an addict. Addiction is defined simply by loss of control, or in Biblical terms, trying to serve two masters. If you can’t stop yourself from lusting, masturbating, looking at porn, cheating on your spouse, and/or having sex with prostitutes, and so on—then you are an out-of-control addict serving a demonic master. Getting honest and going to a group and confessing your sins is a great start, but if you’re still relapsing every week, then you’re still a prisoner and not a Captain Clean.

I haven’t masturbated since 2005. I never have cravings for porn anymore, even after recently and briefly seeing erotic material as I checked my recommended filter for reliability (see Chapter 9, “Attack Access,” for more detail). I’m usually at the gym every other day, around nearly naked women, and yet I don’t lust, much less even think of trying to seduce them. As long as I don’t watch regular TV, my thoughts are 100% pure for days on end now (and I’m expecting it to be weeks, then months, etc.). This is me we are talking about! I regard my ongoing transition from Private Pervert to Captain Clean as no less a miracle than the first day of Creation.

Here’s the awesome news: IF I CAN WALK IN CONSISTENT PURITY, ANYONE CAN! It takes serious hard work and perseverance and the ability to follow instructions (which is why I wrote this book), but God would never command us to do something that’s innately unachievable. It’s high time you get consistently clean!

Excerpt taken from Pureheart Ministry’s Basic Training! Stage 1: Operation Purity