The day that changed my life…..
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On June 26, 2006 I had a powerful experience with God that sent me into a whirlwind, and confounded most of what I formerly thought I believed, and most of what I had been taught in the professed "church" of today, (many of which I found out to be lacking in the truth).  What happened to me was like dynamite blowing up inside of my body, yet I remain alive; (weak words to describe how much God changed me).  Because of what God told me that night, I now admit I was so wrong about so many things; as if I had been buried my whole life in a room with no windows, only to have the walls fall down all around me allowing the bright sun to flood in, and I was utterly stripped bare from one day to the next!  Needless to say, what He would reveal to me on that Monday, would change my life forever.  It would split me like soft wood.  He told me what I was doing, where I wouldn't be going, where I WAS going, and why I was headed there!  And He used a person- a woman, to tell me.  It's interesting, how all walls and barriers of sexual prejudice, intellectual pride, presumptions, and much educational learning; are all broken down when you're ready for the truth, and stop lying to yourself.  And then, when the truth comes, it hits you in the face!  It dropped me to my knees, and I was left trembling for days after that!  God sent a healthy fear of Himself all through me!  No room for whining, reasoning, leaning on my own understanding, intellectualizing, or making excuses.  My words were shut up, and all of a sudden, I realized who was GOD, and who was dust and ashes before Him! So I did everything He said! ..
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Here's what happened; and all that God revealed to me.  This is my testimony; quite personal as you will see:

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It started on ..Thursday June 22, 2006....
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I had been living in ....Paris.... ....France.... for the last several years; but as a recording artist, I had returned to ....Hollywood.... for a few months to present my new album to the American music industry.  On this night, I was at a girlfriend's house (not the woman who God would later use to introduce me to Him).  I liked her, so I was laying my moves on her.  And then, she pulled out a piece of paper and started reading me a poem!  Strange, I thought, but the artist in me liked the idea anyway.  But then, this "poem" she had written turned out to be a prayer to God… about me!  Talk about surprise, and subsequent plan change!  Then, while she was reading this one page "prayer/poem", something started happening in me.  I couldn't understand it right away, but somewhere inside, my motivation to continue my "moves" had been completely halted.   As in a recording, I bypassed the "pause" button, right to the "stop" and then cut the power.  As if all of a sudden at that moment, I received some kind of supernatural mind plug from God with the strong feeling that what I was attempting with this girl- was very wrong!  Sort of a jolt of conviction, with God letting me know He was NOT pleased. ..
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Now this was 2006; years after I had gotten divorced.  I had a bad marriage, yet I had remained faithful to my wife.  But when I was no longer married; I got steeped into self-pity; justifying what I knew was wrong, and I began sleeping with my girlfriend(s), consequently leading to lying and deceit.  I knew it was all wrong, but I seared my own conscience, justifying myself, and thinking; "well, God understands, I'll be saved by His grace, because He loves me right?"  And having not heard much about "repentance" from the preacher in church, I didn't even know I really had to, so I felt justified.  I lived that way for seven years.  And then on that night, the night this girl read to me her "prayer/poem";  I, all of a sudden, somehow KNEW I was Not justified, and somehow KNEW- I had better stop.  This was a very difficult decision to make, but with the greatest amount of faith I could muster, I made the frail choice to stop.  I said; "God, I don't know how I'm going to do this, but I just make the decision to end what I'm doing, and I trust you to help me".  Little did I know, that one first step to obey God sent a strong message up to Him… that I was finished making excuses, and I was no longer satisfied with deceiving myself into thinking I was "saved" when I wasn't.  He saw my heart that night; that I WANTED the truth- and 3 days later on ..June 26, 2006.., He pulled out all the stops, and revealed to me the whole thing-- the "way" to have Him. ..
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So… I did everything He said, and I've had victory ever since!..
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Now, pause.  There is something that I really shouldn't leave out.  It's one of the first things that God revealed to me, that I was (almost) in disbelief about, and it really shocked me.  It made a difference however, but it's something nobody really likes to talk about.  God showed me the road I was on if the books were closed on my life today… it was a certain "broad road", and it led to the place that Jesus spoke of more than any other subject; hell!  I couldn't believe it at first.  Up until the last several years, I had always been a good Christian boy, so I thought, and there was No reason for me to change even if I could, because even the pastor said; "we all have to sin- you'll still go to Heaven anyway".  26 years of going to church and doing a lot of "good" things, yet constantly struggling; only to find out BY GOD, that if I died that day, it would have all been for nothing...
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Now, because of the substantial victory over sin that I've had (and continue to have), this is invaluable information!  And also proof that the source from which it came, is true.  Although, this woman who introduced me to Christ; I think I was a little skeptical at first, because of her acknowledgment of the way SHE HERSELF met Christ many years ago.  However, I do admit that Jesus did the SAME thing with a few OTHER people in the Bible; like Moses, and even Paul in the New Testament- so who am I to judge without seeing the 'fruit' first (as it is written; "you will know them by their fruit").  She had a face to face encounter with Christ, where HE told her Himself- how to have eternal life; (which she also admitted she could not find in the church).  She said that He changed HER life that night, and totally transformed her.  She then told me the Words that He said, and I absolutely KNEW it was God- because not only did the Bible back up His Words that she repeated, but everything that was said was busting me and speaking directly to me; even telling me things about myself that she could NEVER have known- that ONLY God could have known.  Not to mention, as I said earlier; I have been totally living victorious to this day for the sake of the Gospel, and NOBODY other than Jesus can do that!..
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The proof of the pudding...
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Now for the proof.  This is what God told me to do, which I DID, and it worked:....

First, He said; "Keep the commandments".  Just as He told the "rich young ruler" in the Bible (Mark 10).  Jesus DIDN'T say "Raise your hand, close your eyes and repeat these words after me, and Poof, you're saved".  He is God, and He demanded that I repent.  No excuses, as I later read in Luke 13:3, Jesus said; "Unless you repent, you WILL all die."  That's Jesus.  He also said "Go and sin no more" (John 5) (This is only one of several places in the Bible where Jesus commanded "Go and SIN NO MORE".  In fact, to a paralyzed man, he added; "lest the worst thing come unto you", and what could be worse than physical death after being paralyzed?  Obviously hell.  (I think that's where I started trembling-  when I realized I was on that road!)  Then Jesus, who knew my thoughts, and how I had been falsely calling myself a "Christian", and doing like many do today; who's "faith without works is dead" - - relying only on what He did on the cross to redeem me, and falsely claiming His promises, His grace and His mercy… He slam-dunked His message to me by reminding me of this potent scripture:  1 John 2:4; "He who says 'I know Him', and does Not keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is Not in him". ....

That was it!  The truth was now hitting me hard in the face, and it hurt.  It hurt because it WAS true and my excuses were shut up.  So I chose to believe Jesus.  And I did what He said.  I repented to never do those things again.  And I never have, and continue to have total victory to this day!..
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Then, (this was amazing): the next thing God would reveal to me- was the KEY to even being ABLE to have victory and keep His commandments in the first place!..
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He said to me; "I will Not share My temple (your body) with idols, and YOU have idols!  VERY interesting how He brought this up right after the "commandments", because that's exactly what Jesus did with that rich young ruler in the Bible! Immediately after Jesus told that man to "keep the commandments", He confronted him on his idol, which for the rich man, was his money.  Jesus also explained it like this:  In Matt. 16, He said you must "lose your life" here (the word in the Greek refers to "your will for your life") for my sake… to gain it in the world to come, but if you hold on to what you want for your life here, you will surely lose it in the world to come.  And Luke ..14:33..; "He who does not forsake all that he has, cannot be My disciple".  But more pointedly, so that I could NOT misunderstand;  God reminded me of this scripture; 2 Cor. ..6:16..- "For what agreement does the ....temple.. of ..God.... (my body) have with idols", None.  And I later read this, which REALLY helped me understand; God said through His prophet:  Ezek. 14:7-8;  "Everyone… who sets up his idols in his heart, putting before him that which causes him to stumble into iniquity… I will set My face against that man… and I will cut him off from the midst of My people."   Wow!  I was stunned.  But I thank God for revealing this to me.  I didn't know I even had idols!....

God was really taking the blinders off of my eyes now, because then, by His mercy, He even revealed to me what my idols were!  One was my music, another one was sex, and the biggest one was 'looking for fulfillment in a person'.  Because- (I know many will relate to this) I had been divorced, I had much hurt inside, and I held on to the idolatrous notion; that 'If I just had the right woman to love and to be loved by, then I would be fulfilled'.  And Jesus revealed to me that 'to look for spiritual fulfillment from any person or any thing in this world, instead of Only from Him, is idolatry'; He said, 'I will Never share my temple with idols'.  He made it very clear that as long as I had ANY idols, He would Not come to live in me.   I could call myself a "Christian", and even my pastor could call me a "Christian", but Jesus would never acknowledge me as His own...
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So that day, I took my heart away from all those things that I had formerly made into idols, and gave it all to Him.  And what was exciting; is from the very moment I gave up those idols, and died to my own will, it became SO EASY to keep God's commandments!  I got a new nature with power over sin; and through the power of the Holy Spirit, I've had victory ever since!  No more constant struggling with the flesh, and telling God "I'm sorry" for this and "I'm sorry" for that - - because "those who belong to Christ have CRUCIFIED the flesh with it's affections and desires" (Gal. ..5:24..) just as Jesus told me to do, AND I DID!  And I have victory to this day, and have NOT gone back!  Anyone who just simply DOES what Jesus says, will have victory over sin; because if we "take up our cross" and die to our own will, then we will be free from it.  Exactly what Paul said in Rom 6:7; "He who is dead is freed from sin!"  That's why I've been free from that struggle with my flesh!  Praise God.  It doesn't mean I don't make mistakes; BUT IT'S NOT DELIBERATE, WILLFUL SINNING: these are little things that the Holy Spirit convicts me of; and when I'm made aware of them, I repent of it RIGHT AWAY!  Even now, I examine my heart continually; I search it out, I ask God to show me what is offensive to him; and then I get rid of it, and I repent!  BUT… as far as the keeping of God's commandments go-  that has become easy; and as the Bible says, they are "not burdensome".  Because my will is surrendered to God; to do ONLY His will, Not my own.  Plus I fear God, which keeps me far from evil as well.  Not to mention, "I can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil ..4:13..), and as if that's not enough, God promised to provide a "way out" of every temptation (1 Cor. ..10:13..); this means no one has an excuse for sinning.  On the judgment day, it will be proven that there was always a way out, and that it was always OUR choice; whether to sin, or whether to choose the "way out" that God faithfully provided.  The Bible says we must "bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).  So with all of that… we have no excuse.  But it's ok; it's not hard to follow Christ when you have No idols.  Really!  And believe me, my friends; I was addicted to some of them...
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Now God is growing me up, maturing me and refining my character as I grow in Him with things like- occasional bad attitudes; "raising my voice", or losing my temper while driving etc.  But I DON'T make the mistake of equating "character" refinement issues with a deliberate breaking of God's commandment:  adultery or fornication, lying, hate or lust in my heart, envy or jealousy, idolatry or covetousness!... all of which the Bible clearly says "…those who do such things will NOT, in any way, enter into Heaven!" (Gal. 5:19-21).  That's the popular error many people make- as an excuse to Not give up their sins or their will.  But those other character refinement issues:  I'm allowing God to perfect in me as I get closer to Him; and how do I get closer to Him?  By consistently praying and reading His Word.  But it ALL comes back to repentance- that Jesus commanded; which is a true principle part of the gospel, and is sadly missing from the pulpits today.  But Christ and His apostles told us that the church would be in apostasy in these times, so we must be careful Not to believe a gospel that doesn't include the things Jesus stated as being paramount for eternal life!  These are vain doctrines invented after someone's imagination; and will cost you your eternal soul, if you believe them.  As it is written: Jonah 2:8; "They who observe lying vanities, forsake their own mercy". ..
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So who are the ones going to Heaven?  As the message God chose to close the entire Bible with, reveals:  ....

Rev. 22:14; "Blessed are they who DO HIS COMMANDMENTS,  THEY are the ones who have the right to enter in through the gates into the city (of Heaven), and may eat from the tree of life".....

And ONLY those who are faithful unto death may enter:  Rev. 2:10; "…Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life!", God said.  But very few will get there, as Jesus said; "Many are called but few are chosen" (Matt. ..22:12..-14)...
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Jesus' Words, or our own?..
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I later wondered - - this thing about surrendering my will; my idols, that Jesus was so adamant about:  ....

since that was an absolute requirement by Him for salvation;  why don't I hear about that in our churches?  (Food for thought).  ....

If we SAY we believe Him… why don't we say and do, what HE said and did?  And since He emphasized that we must "keep God's commandments if we would have eternal life", why don't I hear about that also, in our churches?  (More food for thought).  It's evident that IF we TRULY believe He's God, then we'll do WHATEVER He says; we would be afraid Not to.  It's by the fear of the Lord that men depart from evil. (Prov. 16:6)...
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[To find out in greater detail, with even more proof from the scriptures; of all that God has shown me: I have written a book called "What is Truth".  You can order a copy, or simply read it online at my main website: www.michaeldrive.com]...
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I called upon your name, O LORD, out of the lowest dungeon. You have heard my voice; Please don't hide your ear at my breathing, at my cry.  You drew near in the day that I called upon you; you said, "Don't be afraid."  Oh Lord, you have pleaded the cause of my soul; you have redeemed my life.   Lam. 3:55-58.... ........