Recently I submitted our band's web site to some search engines including a quote, Christian, search engine.  To my surprise, someone questioned:  "How do I know that you really are a Christian?"
     This guy wanted proof, like the fact that you are willing to say that you are a Christian isn't proof enough.  I mean there isn't exactly a bunch of peer pressure to say you're a Christian unless you actually are.  They used to kill Christians, remember?  Oh yeah, they still do.
    So I told him every detail of being saved.  To get into Heaven you don't have to be some goody goody, you only have to know Christ.  I told him about John 3:16 and 3:17, and told him about accepting Christ as my savior.  You pray the prayer and confess your sin and ask Jesus into your heart.  Then you are saved and born again.

    Next he complained, "As a Christian, how can you release an album about sex and drugs?"  It seems like he is one of those holier then thou Christians like the old ladies at my mom's church who judge you on what you wear to church while themselves just going through the motions of worshiping without a real relationship with the Lord or any anointing of the spirit.  To them I say judge not, least ye be judged.  What hypocrites.
    The self righteous don't need Christ.  Only us sinners do.  God loves sinners!  He loves them so much that he gave his only son to die for our sins.  God forgives you of any sin and does not judge you by your actions for we are forgiven by the grace of God.  In fact the only sin which is not forgiven, the ultimate sin, is not knowing Christ.   Jesus said, "Let him who is without sin throw the first stone."  And nobody did.

    Now to answer this complaint I would like to say that I don't really feel the need to justify my actions, but I will clarify them for anyone who is confused, didn't bother to read the words, or just doesn't get it.  There are two basic views of sex.  One is the old Victorian view which says sex is a dirty little secret we hide in the bedroom and never talk about or ever admit to having.  The other view is the Girls Gone Wild view which says be a slut and have sex with anyone you want because there are no consequences, after all President Clinton does it with anyone he wants and he is seen as a role model.  I'm here to tell you that there is another view of sex, God's view.

    This album was a direct result of the influence of God upon me during the writing and recording process.  I feel that these songs are the words which God wanted me to spread.  Does Christian music have to have every other word be Jesus.  People have heard that word and enough other people are spreading it that the word is already out.  This album is more of a message from God about love, relationships, marriage and the decline of the institution. This is a problem God is seeing now more than ever.
    A judge on one of those tv court shows sarcastically said that wedding vows should be changed to "until I find someone else."  A long time ago someone said something about 'til death do you part.  Wrong!  You never part, not even after death.  The covenant of marriage between a Christian husband, his wife and God is, in God's words, "FOREVER!"
We'll talk more about God's view of sex later but for now let's deal with the drug question.

Drugs, Alcohol, and Plants.
    God made our bodies to react to chemicals and that is a natural fact.  Every recreational drug which people take as well as most prescribed drugs are chemicals which our bodies already produce.  The only drugs which are not chemicals or copies of chemicals found in our body are antibiotics and cancer treatments which are basically poisons which we use to try to kill the bacteria or cancer before the poison kills us.
    God made all of these chemicals and put them into the world in their natural form.  The problem is that man takes these chemicals and refines them into his own composition and usually gets the dosage wrong.  The inventors of cocaine, amphetamine, morphine, and heroin all died from overdoses of their potions.  In the final times the bible says that sorcery, the greek word meaning drug manufacturing, will increase to unbelievable levels.  Anyone who paid attention to the Harrison Ford film, The Fugitive, knows that the pharmaceutical companies are giants, many of them put the oil companies to shame.
    When you talk about drugs you have to put all man made drugs in the same category.  You can't say that only drugs which some secular (United States) government declares illegal to be bad.  Remember Phen Phen?  What about all the other drugs which have negative side effects.  This one causes diarrhea, that one causes headache and vomiting, and this one even causes cancer.  These drugs are legal because the government was paid by the makers to approve it.
    What about the illegal drugs, heroin, cocaine, and such.  They where all legal at one time in the United States.  All of the illicit recreational drugs were outlawed in the United States not because of their effects but because the racial prejudice against their main users at the time who were minorities including Asians, Middle Easterners and African Americans.  Alcohol was also outlawed, but because so many white people objected they made it legal again.  Later LSD and XTC where outlawed for the same reasons, prejudice against social movements.  Just because something is legal or illegal doesn't make it a sin or not.  More people are killed by cigarettes, alcohol and related consequences such as traffic accidents than all drug overdoses combined.  Don't count on the government to legislate morality.  You can kill your unborn baby but it's against the law to drive with out wearing your seat belt.
    Man made drugs are not necessarily evil but I truly believe much more in the power of faith healing than the power of man made drugs.  Recreational drugs like speed and cocaine are definitely a sin because they destroy your body and your soul.   They replace chemicals that your body already makes so your body temporarily has too much of it causing the rush.  The short term consequence is that your body stops make that chemical to say in balance and then the drug wears off and your body has stopped making that chemical and you need it!  Immediately you have a chemical addiction that your body can't live without.  The long term effects of substituting man made chemicals for your own natural ones is psychological as well as physical including brain damage, and damage to heart and other major organs.

    The bible doesn't say that drinking alcohol or smoking marijuana is a sin.  It's the sin of gluttony which makes them bad.  The actual example it uses is food.  Yes that's right, the bible says that it is a sin to be too fat and eat all of the time.  Anyway, people are easily addicted and have no will power.  However God says that there is no temptation which you and I together can't overcome.
    Of course all alcohol isn't bad.  After all, Jesus said, "Drink this wine.  It is my blood," but he didn't say, "Drink this wine until you puke, smash your car and wake up feeling sick the next day."  Hard liquor is a man made substance and drank for one reason, to get people intoxicated.  Wine is naturally made by grapes with no processing.  Maybe God knows the right dosage.  And yes you can be intoxicated on wine, however God must have his reasons for this or else he wouldn't have made it like that in the first place.  He didn't create grapes and wine to tempt us into sinning so there is a purpose for them and it is not a sin to drink, only a sin to drink too much or waste your life being drunk all day long.  The sin in that being the waste of your day.
    What about marijuana?  Is smoking marijuana a sin?  The bible says right in the very beginning that God created every plant and seed.  He was pleased and said, "It is good!"  Genesis 1:11 - 1:12.  There is no other real use for marijuana other than to smoke it.  Spending all of your money on it is a sin.  So is letting it rule your life or letting it affect your work or education.  Smoked religiously, some believe that it is a blessing.  Recently some doctors have prescribed it as medical marijuana.  It is known to cure anorexia and other eating disorders, nausea and digestion problems, anxiety and stress.  Isn't God the true source of healing.  If so then medical healing really means religious healing.
    So why do people think that smoking pot is a sin?  Because the government said it is illegal.  Why did the government say that?  Because someone (William Randolf Hearst) told them that colored musicians from the wrong side of the tracks smoked it and then lusted over white women.  Hello, they are going to lust whether they smoke it or not.  Remember this is the same government that doesn't believe in God and tells us that we can't pray in school.  (Even though we know that as long as there are tests, there will be prayers in school.)  This is the same government that during the Clinton years said that it is ok to be unfaithful.  It is ok to commit adultery.  No wonder the rest of the world thinks we are a joke.

    On this album there is one song, Long Long Time, about drugs.  The song is about how a girl's drug addictions ruined her life and marriage, not to mention the miscarriages it caused.  It is a song about how her ex has moved on.
    10 percent of all marriages that end in divorce are due to addictions to hard drugs, amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin, or alcohol.  At some point in a relationship you just have to let them go if they are not a Christian.  That point being when they leave you to go live with someone who supports their addictions, usually in exchange for sex.  The bible says that the only justification for divorce is adultery.  Without God there is no hope.  If they don't choose to be a Christian then there is nothing that a mire mortal can do to help them.  They will choose their addictions over you, their jobs, their friends or and even their kids.  God doesn't want you to suffer through the drama.  I guess that is why it is a sin to marry someone who is not a Christian.

What about SEX?
    Lets talk about Sex!  Guess what?  Sex is the greatest thing ever!  It's better than ice cream.  It's better than cake, pie or even watermelon.  It's better than steak, or hot dogs or eating any other food.  It's better than a roller coaster, or a sports car.  It's better than a movie or a TV show.  It's better than skiing, swimming or mountain biking.  It's the greatest thing ever.  Sex is so great that it is permanently inscribed in the top spot on every all time top ten list.  Sex is the best.

    All references to sex on this album are actually references to making love to your spouse in a long term relationship.  Read the words:  From the Song "True Love" We were made together to make true love forever .  You are my soul mate for all eternity.  From the song "See What You Do To Me": See what you do to me, girl I want you by my side.  Forever you and me, won't you be my lovely bride.  Forever and ever amen.
    I guess that these words might offend someone who hates love and is repulsed by relationships.  These are usually people who long for love but got hurt instead and now they are bitter because they don't know Jesus and the love of the Lord.  You see God loves us and when you receive that love, it is all you need.  You don't need love from a person.  In fact you receive so much love from God that you need to give it to others. The person who is bitter got hurt because they needed love and expected to get it from another person instead of God. If that person wasn't a Christian with that overabundance of love to give then the person who needs it doesn't get it.  In a good Christian relationship a person says, "I want to be with you because I love you."  In a non Christian relationship the persons says, "I want to be with you because I want you to love me."  See the difference?  The Christian says, "I am going to give you my love just because I have it to give."  That is unconditional love.  The other guys says, "I want you to want me.  I need you to need me.  I'd love you to love me.  I'm begging you to beg me....

    OK lets get back to sex and stop talking about love.  God created humans.  God created us so that we would enjoy sex, not as a means of reproduction but to enjoy it as a way of communing with God and our partner.  You see with humans sex is not only a physical act but a spiritual act.  Animals which have sex solely for reproduction do not go on dates, fall in love and have foreplay.  Animals only have quickie sex in which upon penetration, the female instantly has her orgasm in order to hold the male tightly inside so that he does not slip away.  Feeling this, the male instantly has his orgasm and ejaculates his sperm into her womb.  If, after this happens, the two remain locked together it is because the physical mechanics of the female trying to retain the sperm to insure reproduction.  Some animals, like fish, some reptiles and insects don't even mate to reproduce.  The male comes along and fertilizes the eggs after they are laid.
    Only humans actually enjoy sex.  That is because God gave us a soul.  It is our soul that makes us enjoy sex. When you have sex it is not just a physical act between two bodies, it is spiritual act between a husband, wife and God.  It is a trinity.  Blessed is the man who has a wife.  Even singer Trent Rezner from Nine Inch Nails knows this.  Thus the meaning to the song, "Closer" I want to f*$# you like ... you bring me closer to God.  There is a point where during love making where you can actually get so caught up in it that you don't even pay attention to the physical motion and are totally caught up it the spiritual ecstasy of it.  Ask any sex therapist and they will tell you the most important sex organ you have is your brain.  It is the mental process in our brains which tells us when to orgasm, not so much our physical bodies.
    I used to go to a youth group meeting where the leaders, missionaries from Campus Crusade, taught us to pray before sex and pray for good sex.  As a kid I thought that this sounded perverted.  I  was raised in a home where nobody talked about sex let alone admitted to ever having it.  Now as an adult I know better.  You do need to pray for good sex.  I've been in experiences where I have actually been in heated arguments during sex.  Why?  Because it was just sex between two people.  It was not the romantic, passionate love making that God wants us to enjoy.
    90 percent of divorce is caused by problems in bed.  This includes Christians.   In fact depending on your age group 50 to 80 percent of marriages today end in divorce.  So what is the problem?  Mostly people do not understand God's purpose for sex.  The purpose of sex in a relationship is to strengthen it.  It is not just for procreation or recreation, it is for communication.  Actions speak louder than words and some people just can't say, "I love you" in words.
    Everyday you should be reassuring your mate that they are loved.  It gives them happiness, fulfillment and raises their self esteem.  You know how you feel right after sex, like you can take on the world.  Sex is meant to be an act of giving to your loved one, not an act of getting just what you want.   God says to give freely of your body to your spouse whenever they want it.  Hello people!  Not abiding in this is the cause of cheating and leads to divorce.  Infidelity is the only biblical reason for divorce, not that irreconcilable differences crap that means you just couldn't prove that they were cheating, or you were the one that was cheating.
    I know this couple, a doctor and a nurse.  They have a small child and had been married for only a year or two when they decided to break up.  They had a nice house, nice cars, good careers, plenty of money and no stress from bills or other problems and really they had everything they ever wanted except for a happy marriage.  Why, what happened, what went wrong with this happy couple?  No sex.  When I heard that they were breaking up I asked the wife what happened.  She said that her husband was cheating on her.  When I asked the husband, he said that he did it because his wife had been refusing to have sex with him for several months.  When the opportunity came for him to be with someone else, he was.  The original reason for her frigidity is unknown however her refusing her husband directly lead their divorce.
    Someone said, "Don't base your relationship on sex."  They couldn't be more wrong.  You must base you relationship on sex.  Your mate is your sexual partner.  If you don't have sex in common, then it won't matter if you both like baseball.
    A lady who has been happily married with kids for several years once told me the secret to keeping a man happy:  "Feed him and fuck him.  If you do that every night then everything will be fine."  Do you run down to the store and buy milk when there is a fresh gallon in the kitchen?  No.  OK then.  Guys are lazy.  They're not going out hunting for it at some bar if there is a sure thing right there at home.
    A famous person once said, "I want a girl who is a prude in public, but I want a slut in bed."  So don't by shy at home.  Reveal yourself, soul and all to your mate and let them have you at will and they should do the same.
    At the beginning of most marriages the guy wants sex as much as possible, the girl doesn't.  The guy thinks, "Now I can have sex anytime I want."  The girl thinks, "Now I never have to have sex again."  You see a guy marries a girl because he sees her as a sexual object which he wants for himself and nobody else.  A guy gets married for sex, so he can have a long term, sure thing, sexual partner he can love and cherish.  That why they can it a 'mate'.
    A girl gets married so she can have a wedding and a husband.  A girl gets married for the celebration and the security.  She wants a man, but it's not about sex.  It's about acceptance and fulfillment, and not being an old maid etc.  She doesn't get married so she can have sex every night.  She's a girl and she knows that she can get it whenever she wants because guys are easy.
    On a sexual appetite scale of 1 to 10, single guys are at ten and want it all of the time, girls are at about 4 or 5.  When they get together the guy always wants it but the girl starts saying, "Not tonight."  So they have sex only every other night, only when she wants it.  Guys hate it when they want it and can't have it, but they live with it for awhile.
    Eventually the girl gets pregnant and after the child is born her drive drops down to about 1 or 2 on the scale.  Time goes on and the guy has trained himself not to want it so much because he is tried of being rejected when he wants it and only getting it if she wants it.  After a while the guy wants it less and less and his drive drops down to 4 or 5, but in the mean time the girl's drive has steadily risen up to an 8, 9 or 10.  Still only have sex when she wants to the guy is just tired of the hassle and the rejection and wants it less and less.
    When you look forward to something and it doesn't happen, that is negative feedback and you don't look forward to it anymore.  So after all of this if the guy hasn't cheated on her then he has simply lost all of his sex drive just when hers is at it's peak.  Ironic is the woman who complains that she is sleeping with a dead man, when she is the one who killed him.
    Another friend of mine from way back in elementary school, whom I hadn't seen since then told me that he is happily married and it just keeps getting better and better all of the time.  See, he discovered the wonders of having a great sexual relationship with his wife.  If you think of sex as a pair of shoes you'll see that the old comfortable pair that you've worn in are your favorites.  New one's that you've not used to yet don't feel so right.  They are uncomfortable and awkward.
    I myself discovered that after my divorce to a non Christian which I loved deeply, that sex with women that I didn't love was totally meaningless and not worth the hassle because what I was really looking for was that meaningful, loving, spiritual sex that you can only have with a person that you have developed a deep meaningful relationship with.  So people, listen to me when I tell you that the best thing in the world is to be in love and to make love to the same person every night because it does just get better and better.  If you base your relationship on making love and work on it everyday then you will have a great relationship, and enjoy it a lot more than watching the baseball game.

    Are drugs a sin?  No, but how you use them could be.  Is sex a sin?  No, not if it's in a long term marriage relationship which includes God!  What about one night stands and sexual relationships outside of marriage?  There is definitely ways to get hurt with emotions or diseases.
    There was a girl crying to Maury Povich on TV this morning saying that her boyfriend had secretly video taped them having sex and then showed it to the whole school and the whole world on the internet.  When she confronted him he simply said he did it because she was a slut.  The TV show made it sound like what he did was wrong.  Really it was a case of two wrongs.  Her sin was having sex with that guy in the first place.  If she would have saved herself for her husband then she wouldn't have that huge emotional scar that she now has.  See, that is sin, when you do something that is going to hurt yourself.
    It's just like those two college roommates who went to the Girls Gone Wild party.  They were videotaped stripping and dancing together in a provocative lesbian dirty dancing bump and grind which later they regretted but couldn't do anything about because they had taken the money and the free gifts and signed the release papers.  They cried that they were exploited and everyone would think the wrong things about them and they were embarrassed that millions of guys including family and friends would see them naked.  These girls are now scarred and will have to live with this (until they find forgiveness from the Lord) all for a lousy twenty five dollars.
    What about just living together, is that a sin.  If you were both Christians and want a long term relationship why not get married and put God in your relationship?   If you're not a Christian then when the going gets rough God's not there to smooth it out.  Someone will leave and someone will get hurt and if there are kids they are going to suffer too.
    What about marrying someone who isn't a virgin?  God doesn't really want you to suffer all of the drama of raising some else's brats and having to deal with the psycho ex boyfriend.  (And there always is one or she would still be with him.)  God wants you to be the only guy in her life.  That other jerk isn't going away and that restraining order is only a piece of paper.  It is not a bullet proof vest.
    Girls, this modern woman crap about being on the pill so you can have sex with anyone is wrong and guys think you're just a slut and they don't want to marry that type.  If they do then they have no self esteem and will probably end up with that girl with the kids instead because she is good at reeling them in even if she has to pump out a kid or two to do it.
    Girls, don't think that it's ok to have a kid while you're still a teenager and not be married.  Believe me, I know dozens of those girls and now they are all in their mid to late thirties and guys seldom even talk to them, let alone ask them out.  They are like trash, used and then thrown away.  The only guys that want them are the losers who want a dysfunctional relationship because that is what you represent, someone who needs abuse.  You teenage pregnant girls are going to be paying for your sin for along time and it's called growing old and going through life all alone plus all the the hardships of not having a husband to help you financially and emotionally, plus the drama of dealing with your ex..  You say, "That's ok."  but it isn't because God wanted so much more for you and doesn't want you to suffer.

    As for the guy who complained I have this final thought.  The disciples told Jesus that someone besides one of them had been casting out demons and healing the sick in Jesus' name.  They told him to stop doing it.  Jesus told the disciples, "You shouldn't have done that, for he who is not against me is for me."
    Anyone who would dare claim to be a Christian must be one.  And anyone who is saving souls in Jesus' name is a brother in Christ and we are all on the same team.  I know that this guy and many other Christians don't consider Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses to be Christians.  They are saving souls in his name so they must be Christians for they are not against Jesus, they are for him.  I know when the Mormons asked me to read their book of Mormon and pray to God to ask if the whole Joseph Smith thing was true or not, the answer was a surprise.  It was not a yes or no reply from God.  It was a long chain of seemly unrelated events which lead me to a verse in Revelation where, when John bows down to an angel, the angel says "Don't.  I am just the messenger, I am not important.  It is the message which is important."  I am not a Mormon but I do consider them to be Christians because they do follow Christ.  Whether they heard the word from Joseph Smith or John the Baptist doesn't matter, it's the same word!

    So what is the message of this album?  Is it just another album about sex, drugs and rock and roll?  God inspired me with this thought:  What is the meaning of life?  The meaning of life is life itself.  Wow, we are alive!  God gave us life!  Life should be a celebration of life.  God wants us to enjoy life.  The true meaning of sin is anything which causes us harm, physically, mentally, or spiritually.  Sex with your spouse is not a sin!  It's the best thing in life and God wants you to enjoy it with him and the one person in the whole world that you love the most.  And two shall be one.....with God!

    If you want your relationship to last forever as it was meant too, follow this simple plan.  Have sex every single night without excuse.  Think of how many other things you can think about when you don't have to worry about, "Is she going to put out tonight?" or "Is he going to attack me again?  Think about looking forward to coming home from work and every night going on a romantic little date even if it is just in the dining room.
    Girls, quit saying that you have a headache.  University studies actually show that sex cures headaches in women but can cause them in men.  When you tell a guy, "Not tonight."  He thinks you mean, "I don't like you."
    Guys, sometimes girls need to get warmed up.  Become an expert at foreplay and she won't be able to say no.  Learn what see likes and she'll be the one begging for it.
    To both of you I challenge, have a life long sex marathon.  Try to see how many times you can do it in a lifetime.  See how many days, months or years you can go without missing a day.  Don't be surprised if you used to have sex only a couple of times a week and now you had it every day for ten, twenty or fifty years.  Don't be surprised if you fall more deeply in love and discover that you have become the very best of friends too.
    If you follow my advice at worst you will be a little worn out, at the best you could live together happily ever after.

    So is this album about sex and drugs?  Yes.  Does that make it wrong or unChristian?  No.  Sex and drugs are part of life and to just sweep the issues under the carpet is a sin.

    If you are a sinner and are tired of being hurt and are looking for a higher love and a better love life, your first step is ask God for forgiveness of your sins and accept Jesus into your heart as your savior.  When you do this, the holy spirit to comfort you and that weight will be lifted off of you.  Study the word of God and know that God wants good things for you and your future including a good sexual relationship with your spouse and God and he wants it to last FOREVER.

    For more information on being saved, read why we play Stairway to Heaven.