When I Hear The Praises Start

I have a confession: I'm a youtuber. I (sometimes Josh too) will think of some obscure clip and of course we don't have it on hand, but there's always the sure answer: youtube.

Approximately three hours ago (yeah, that's how long I've been youtubing) I looked up clips of Bob Dylan live and somehow wound up watching an hour long set of clips documenting the life of Keith Green. I'm really thankful I did! I had forgotten how much that guy and his music meant to me.


Growing up, Keith Green was practically iconic in my home. My parents had a ton of his tapes. I even knew him by name and recognized his face in pictures by the time I was five. That's how important he was to people.


Keith Green was Jesus to me. I can remember the first time I heard and really understood who Jesus was and what He did - it was because of Keith Green. I was in the first or second grade, my mom had his tape playing while she was cleaning. It had some live stuff and in between a set of songs Keith Green just started talking about Jesus. I don't remember what he said exactly, all I know is that my heart understood. It was real to me.


He radiated. Even when he sang, you could feel the depth of his love for God. I find myself wanting to find and see that energy. I've met people that had that same spark - the Holy Spirit. I've had moments when I felt that peace and presence. It's calming and memorable.


I miss having people around like him. He was so in-tune that he created a connection. He definitely wasn't perfect; he had his faults and personality flaws like everybody else. But he was just real. I'm just really thankful for the time he spent here. He was really instrumental in helping people experience Jesus, especially for me.

Thoughts On Eternity

Eternity is a subject I always find myself wanting to learn more about - partly because it scares the hell out of me (pun intended). Last Sunday, we attended a mega church in the area and the sermon topic was on Hell. The most common description of hell is a fiery pit with overflowing lava and the torchered souls of humanity screaming from within. Here's my problem with that description: It tells me squat. Most descriptions of hell dont tell me what I really want to know! However, last Sunday, I was so happy to received some new information!

Here are a few common terms in connection with the word hell redefined:

Gnashing of Teeth: The minister explained it something like this ... the moment you realize you took the wrong exit, you grit your teeth because you messed up. Can you imagine taking the wrong exit over and over and over again - always just realizing how much you messed up. It would be agony! It would be hell. It is the most frustrating existence.

Utter Darkness: God created all things beautiful and peaceful. When I think of a place that is void of God, void of God's touch, I think of a very dark, cold and lonely place. When we refuse to acknowledge God, we then refuse to take part in His creation. C.S. Lewis wrote, "The doors of hell are locked from the inside". Eternity is our choice! The beauty and the tragedy of human existence is something called free will. I always hear people say things like, "Me and Jesus just don't get along," or, "God hates me. I wish He'd just leave me alone". The scary part is, eventually, He will say okay. He will listen and leave us alone.

I don't want to be away from God! I love His creation; I love His ways. I don't always do what I know He wants me to do. I mess up all the time. But I will always acknowledge Him as the sole Creator and Sustainer of life - most specifically, my life. I love Jesus because I believe He is the Son of God and I believe He is the only way to God. I am not a theologian, or anyone important for that matter, but these I believe and know are true!

Breakfast Served 24 hrs

Why do I stay up so late? I hate it! Its almost as if I'm waiting for something to happen or I'm waiting for some sort of inspiration. But the hard part is that the longer I stay up the further inspiration feels as I glide further and further away from the island of clear thought process upon my little raft of sleep deprivation.

I remember how in college it was the thing to skip curfew (I went to a very conservative Bible college) by going to the nearby Waffle House. The problem with that was always the same: Why would I want to give up my warm, extra long dorm bed to sit on a greasy, orange Waffle House bench all night? I struggled with that once and came to the solid conclusion: I don't. Never once did I do it, but I did, however, make use of some of the quiet corners in our dorm building. The third floor had a lounge that no one ever used - it was great! That was my venue of choice for reading, meditation and good one on one, four hour conversations with friends. It had a huge floor to ceiling window that caught a panoramic view of the sunrise above the trees. It was so perfect for all nighters or for early mornings talking to God. I really miss that place. It still holds symbolic imagery for me: being near God.

I carry in my mind a lot of symbolic imagery in my mind. It consists of images of places I have been and the way I felt when I was there. I like the way John Eldredge mentions this in The Journey of Desire - but its been a while since I read it and I dont have the book handy, so I wont quote. But he explains these memories, whether they be associated with images, places, colors or smells, as monumental moments in which we felt God. We cant create or recreate these moments - we are blessed with very few but just enough to be burned into memory.