This is my testimony of how Jesus Christ changed my life and has given me real joy! My love for music started around the age of four years. I felt that somehow my life would always involve music. I was in the Church choir when I was a child and taught myself the piano. As I grew older, I involved myself in things such as hanging out with the wrong crowd of which I was one of the main ones. I experimented with drugs and alcohol. Soon it became the focus of my everyday life. When can I get high? Where can I get some more? Let’s get drunk. Let’s find some girls. Put off work and school so we can have fun was all I was concerned with. All during this time I would play in little known rock bands that amounted to nothing more than excuse to get out of the house and get high. After high school I went through several jobs and rock bands and eventually ended up in Birmingham, Alabama. There I started playing and singing for the rock band I would remain with for a long time, all the while partying and having what was then considered fun and the time of my life. Drugs and alcohol were very dominant in my daily activities. Also very present in my daily life was a growing unrest, a lack of peace, an emptiness. Questions would pop up in my mind like, “Is this all there is?” “Where do I get fulfillment?” “Maybe if I had more money…” “I don’t think I’m really happy…”. Maybe I need a steady girl friend. A different job. Maybe a new car, a house, or put out a new record. I was searching. In reality I had more than a lot of musicians I knew as far as career success goes. Oh, but the emptiness and loneliness dominated. Have you ever felt alone in a room full of people who were there just to see you? Have you ever felt that you just couldn’t figure out where you fit in? That’s how I felt. What was my purpose? Then came the bad news. Health problems that were directly related to the life style I lived. The drugs & alcohol were taking affect on my body big time. So now it’s time to change some old habits. Not so easy. In fact I found it nearly impossible. Finally, my doctor told me I needed to seek help through special groups like AA. That really broke my heart to think that I have done this to myself. That I couldn’t even control the urge to drink or not to drink. In my environment, it was especially difficult. So for a little over a year I ignored the doctor and went on the way I was going. Trying unsuccessfully several times to quit drinking on my own. Then a series of tragic and sad events happened to some people I know and loved. Sometimes death comes like a thief in the night. When the victims are young and have young families, it’s hard to understand. When someone you love, or someone close to someone you love dies, it makes you think, kind of giving us a chance to make right what could use some changing in our own lives. Many times there is little or no warning when tragedy will strike. It doesn’t always happen to the other guy. Now my emotions were stirring non-stop in my gut. I felt more alone, empty, and was thinking that my life was meaningless. I was a broken man with nowhere to turn. All the things I had seemed worthless. My life was filled with despair when one day a friend, a true friend, reminded me about Jesus. He reminded me how when I was young, that I had accepted Christ Jesus as my Savor, and that I still belonged to Him. He also reminded me how Jesus wanted much more for my life and He could take away all of my despair. I thought, well how could I face Jesus after all the things I’ve done. He reminded me that God knows everything we’ve done. He knows everything everybody has done. He knows every hair on our heads. His love is so great that it makes it possible for him to forgive us no matter what we have done, if we turn to him and ask his forgiveness, and when he forgives us he takes our sins away and forgets them. Then we become new. God forgives us even when we can’t forgive ourselves. Well I know this sounds kind of hard to believe for some of you. Maybe some of you already know this. Well I knew this but I had been so busy living for myself and doing whatever I wanted that it had slipped my mind. Worse yet, I had been avoiding the subject because I didn’t want to give up the life I was living. You know, the life that was making me so miserable. I was afraid of losing friends, losing popularity. I might have to give up something. I might have to give up playing and singing or I might even have to stopping waking up in strange places I barely knew, feeling like crap. Well as I was talking to my friend I was driving to a show in my hometown. I started crying like I never have before. The type of crying that a baby does. Loud uncontrollable crying. I pulled my car to the side of the road because I could no longer see to drive. My friend asked me if I wanted to pray with him. I couldn’t speak. He started to pray for me over the car phone. Then I prayed in silence. I prayed, “God you know my sins, only you can help me. I’ve made a pretty good mess of this life you’ve given me. I want to turn my life over to you now and ask you to forgive me for all my sins. Help me get my life back within your will.” As I prayed, I felt the warmth of the Holy Spirit. I could feel His presence. This was real. My tears were still pouring down my face but a smile had started to appear. I started to laugh, while still crying. The tears of emptiness, despair, pain and helplessness were turning into tears of joy. As I continued to pray telling God I would strive to live for him the joy kept on coming. Then, oh yeah, then I felt a peace I can’t ever remember feeling before. A real peace. A peace that went deep in my soul. I felt brand new. 2 Cor 5:17 – Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. A few minutes later I was back on the road and off the phone. A smile still covered my face as I wondered, what next? I got to the gig, or job, that I was playing that evening. One of my old drinking buddies I haven’t seen in a while came right up to me and asked if I wanted a drink. I searched my soul and couldn’t find the desire anywhere. I told him no thank you. I’ve only drank once since that day April 5, 1996 and will never drink again. I’ve never been to AA. Although I think AA is very good for most alcoholics or people with drinking problems. I felt, for a time, God left me in the night clubs, or the mission field as I choose to call it, so there was an immediate need to take away my desire to drink. There i had many conversations about whatGod was doing in my heart and shared Christ with a ton of people. I’ve dedicated my life to Christ now and I haven’t had any regrets. It has changed my life and I am happier than I’ve ever been. Oh yeah, sometimes it’s hard but Jesus has promised He will always be there. Just call on Him for help. I spend a lot of time in prayer and reading God’s word, The Holy Bible. It is truly wonderful and I pray that each of you will soon share this gift of grace from God with me. It could be that just like me you’ve been saved and have slipped far away from God’s will. You just need someone to remind you of the love Jesus has for you and you need to turn your life over to Him. Or it could be you’ve never accepted Jesus as your Savior and you need to ask Him into your life. Accepting Christ as your Savior is the only way to have eternal life in heaven. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.– Not of works, lest any man should boast.” These verses of the Holy Bible tell us all we need to do is believe that JESUS is the Son of God and if we simply believe he will save us by his grace. Good works alone will not do it. Simple faith in Him is what He wants. Thanks for taking the time to read my testimony if you would like to ask any questions or if you would like to talk about asking Jesus into your life please E-mail me right away. If you would just like to comment, please E-mail me anytime.