. . .And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart. . .

Recently, the combination of "How Great Is Our God" & "How Great Thou Art" has been playing over and over again in my mind. I have been stuck specifically on the last stanza of the beloved hymn:

"When Christ shall come, with shout of acclimation,

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.

Then I shall bow in humble adoration,

And then proclaim: "MY GOD, HOW GREAT THOU ART!"

I don't know why, but this classic hymn along with this contemporary chorus makes my heart bow down and makes me realize how great He really is.

As I told my best friend Ben last night, "God picked today to deal with me" and He really did. After listening the the Mark Driscoll sermon (at the bottom of this blog) and having a crucial conversation with a friend, God revealed area after area of areas in my life where I need to step up and be a man. Right now, I am a boy with facial hair, but am far from being a man. This includes (but isn't limited to): school, homework, President of the Student Body, relationships, body, time in prayer, time in the Word, memorization of Scripture, maturity, time management in general, and my relationship with Him. Too many times have I made excuses as to why I am not where I need to be in these areas, but part of being a man is taking responsibility. This is just a glimpse into last night, but what kept going over and over in my mind is "I can't wait 30 years to learn these things, I need to get them right because I'm not guaranteed tomorrow. If I want to finish strong like the Apostle Paul, I need to need to be running hard now, cause I don't know when the finish line is coming." Obviously, with everything that happened with Caden's death last year this has been on my mind more than ever. God gives life and takes it away; we will never know why specifically everything about it, but it happens.

Within the last hour I have received news that a young man, Johnson Ko, who was a Freshman when I was a Senior at my high school (who was now a Senior), died in his sleep last night. I still know and keep in touch with many of the students (it's a small Christian high school of about 100), including my younger sister who was in his class. I asked Ben, who is there today, what the mood is around the campus, and it, as you can imagine, is mostly shock. He was fine yesterday, had a part in the school play (with opening night that was supposed to be this Thursday, now will be postponed), and was living his life like any other day. But, as Ben reminded me, He is with our Father and is fully alive for the first time.

As we have gone through Caden's passing, we understand what is going on with his family and friends right now. There is obviously sorrow that he is no longer with us, but what rejoicing should be ours because he is in an infinitely better place walking with His Saviour and Creator. Please be in prayer for all everyone involved. He was definitely saved, and I think his family is as well.

It's His sovereignty that God brought the rebuke last night and then today the reminder why this is crucial. We aren't promised tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation. If you're saved, today is the day to live a life of sanctification and holiness. It is the day to ask God to reveal where you still need to grow and then make those changes. It is the day to let His Word transform your life.

When that day comes that I kneel before Him like Johnson Ko is doing today, I want, not only my lips, but my life to proclaim "MY GOD, HOW GREAT THOU ART!"

P.S. - I have a new playlist at the bottom of my blog. The first song is a beautiful version of Come Thou Fount. Please check it out. . .