My Testimony

Duane Keeney

            I am a 55-year-old man serving a life-sentence for committing a terrible crime.  My specific crime was against an innocent young woman; but worse than that, I afflicted pain on society as a whole because of my wicked selfish lifestyle.

            My childhood consisted of growing up in an abusive home which resulted in me growing up to be a very angry adult.  After I graduated from high school, I became addicted to meth, which fueled my anger in a major way.  This was the lethal combination that led to a life of rage and violence.

            When I was arrested in 1992, I was 29 years old.  My life was over.  I had nowhere to go except up.  I needed help; I needed a Savior.  That was when I cried out to God asking Him to make Himself real to me.  I knew there was a “god,” but I didn’t know God.  I needed someone bigger than myself to get me through this situation.  God answered my prayer by making Himself very real to me; and a few weeks later, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

            After that I thought everything would be great and all my problems would disappear.  I was wrong, and that was unrealistic thinking.  My sins had been forgiven, but there were still consequences for my actions that I had to face.

            Since that time life has not always been easy, but it has been rewarding because I was able to make my peace with God; and I’ve grown up in Christ.  I no longer have the addictions and the anger that I had as a young man.  I am in a right relationship with the Creator of the Universe; and through it all, God has been with me in everything I’ve gone through.  He has never left me nor forsaken me.

            Over the past twenty-six years of incarceration I’ve had many ups and downs, and I’ve even battled severe depression.  It has been in those times that I’ve learned to lean on God the most.  I have learned to trust Him to hang onto me because I was not capable of hanging onto Him.  I wanted to give up.  One of the things God tells me to do in those difficult situations is to seek fellowship with other believers in Christ.  That is why the “Life Above Reproach” program is so important to me.  This class provides a safe place where men can come together to fellowship and discuss biblical issues.  It is also a place to discuss more personal issues that cannot be talked about anywhere else.  I am grateful for this class, and I encourage anyone to take advantage of this useful tool for dealing with all of life’s difficulties.

            In closing, I praise God for saving me and for giving me a hope that I had never before experienced.  God has given me a purpose in life and a reason to wake up every morning.  I give all praise and glory to God through His Son Jesus Christ.

Thank-you!