Start Your Mornings with This Song and What a Day You'll Have

For the past eight weeks, we’ve been exploring the debut solo album (What a Day) of Phil Keaggy, one of the true pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music. With his crystal-clear tenor voice and unmatched guitar artistry, Keaggy has won the admiration of fellow musicians and listeners alike  —  whether or not they share his faith.

How fitting that this final song arrives the week before Thanksgiving. Its melody glides into the soul like a soft breeze crossing a meadow, stirring both peace and gratitude. More than a song, it feels like a psalm.

Each morning, I will look up to the Lord

And greet the day with a song

Eternal life is what He gave to me

Now He's my source of joy

I will sing, I will play to my King

His right hand is my strength

I will stand.

I believe in a living God who loves me

I believe in a loving God who lives

My Jesus!

My Jesus!

My Jesus!

Jesus my Lord!

https://youtu.be/Fw-jSh4-sCU?si=gl1E-Yfp3MdulRuN

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Truth is...The idea of greeting each new morning with a peaceful song of praise is great, but hard to live up to. Maybe I should program my alarm clock to play this song.

On "Hallelujah"

 

The penultimate song on Phil Keaggy's debut album, What a Day, is "Hallelujah".

That is also the complete lyric.

If ever there was a "churchy" word that should feel strange on the lips of any non-believer, hallelujah is it. I mean...it doesn't even come out of my mouth all that much except when singing a song or reading a psalm.

It is actually a Hebrew word...a compound word, to be exact...formed by combining hallel, meaning "to praise" or just "praise," and jah, verbal shorthand for the personal name of God, Yahweh. (For a post about Yahweh, click here.)

So hallelujah is more than just a word expressing praise and gratitude to God. It is also an invitation  -  even a command  -  to lift up one's voice in recognition of the awesomeness of the creator.

https://youtu.be/YYwfp-f_H3Y?si=w2nTN6WAyMqK4Fhr

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Truth is...Considering how much Yahweh loves me and forgives me and provides for me and guides me and, and, and ... it's a shame my mouth doesn't form the word hallelujah more often.

Recipe for a Better Life

 

Take one part Psalm 1:1-3.

How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Add a cup of John 15:13.

No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.

Season to taste with "Amazing Grace".

Was blind, but now I see.

Mix well and cook over a sweet overlay of guitars, and you've got Phil Keaggy's "Now I Can See".

I can feel a warmth inside filling me

A hand touched my eyes

Now I believe the Son did rise

And He will be my Everlasting Light

Now I can see what He wants me to see

I then shall be like a tree planted by a river

And I shall not be moved

Come and walk with Me, He said

Talk with Me, I am your friend, your friend

Greater love hath no man than this

That a man lay down his life for his friends

And He did, yes He did

This was God's love for man

He took upon Him all of our sins

And this was His plan, His plan

Now I can feel that warmth inside filling me

His hand touched my life

Now I can see what He wants me to see

I then shall be like a tree planted by a river

And I shall not be moved

https://youtu.be/zeFcbeMq3ag?si=Y4pSlNDl01dNibc-

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Truth is...While being a Christian involves looking at facts and making decisions, there is certainly an emotional element and a personal benefit. I'm not just recognizing Jesus' authority or adhering to a list of rules. I am being transformed into a better, wiser, more joy-filled person.

What a Day!

 

Different people have different ideas about what heaven will be like. In the song, "What a Day," Phil Keaggy sang about his.

When I get home I will see all

The holy men I read about

Peter and John, James, Luke, and Paul

And brother Tom without a doubt

And I do believe there will be

King David at the harp

A song of praise with every chord

What a sight to see, the redeemed and

The angels gathered round worshiping the Lord

What a day that will be

Oh, what a day that will be!

When we get home, our eternal home

There'll be no more sick and dying

No one is sad, no one is alone

And there will be no more crying

He will wipe away every tear

From His children's eyes

And put a smile upon their faces

What a happy day when we see

Our Lord in paradise

Crowned as King of Kings

What a day that will be

Oh, what a day that will be!

https://youtu.be/d6e8nfvDDGw?si=YhoeMupvGQNO6t1K

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Truth is...Nobody really knows what "so we will always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:17) will be like. Will we actually get to hang out with our favorite Bible characters? Will we spend time reminiscing with our loved ones who died before us?

No one knows, but I'm pretty sure it will be wonderful. I'm pretty sure John got it right when he wrote Revelation 21:4  -  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. (CSB)

Rejoice

 

The last song on the first side of Phil Keaggy's debut solo album offers a warning, a call to action, and a glimpse into a heavenly party...

Now the time of the harvest is near

Don't be blind and take heed how you hear

Now there are many saying which way to go

And you listen but still you don't know

He's the Shepherd that will give you rest

All ye heavy laden

He who asks will receive and

All who seek will find Him

Can you dig what this means?

All the angels in Heaven above

Rejoice when there's a soul saved ...

Don't close your eyes

Let not your heart become cold

What has been said is what has to be told

Don't be deceived, let the blind lead the blind

But now receive and life you will find.

He's the Shepherd that will give you rest

All ye heavy laden

He who asks will receive and

All who seek will find Him

Can you dig what this means?

All the angels in Heaven above

Rejoice when there's a soul saved.

All true saints of Jesus Christ

Rejoice when there's a soul saved.

https://youtu.be/Y9gfCXx2nbs?si=eMdRqKoqkBUCFJIy

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Truth is...Life as we know it IS going to end, whether by our personal deaths or by the return of Jesus. Knowing that, and desperately needing the rest and peace that Christ offers, isn't there ample reason to put our faith in him and give the angels a reason to rejoice?

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P.S. I've got a book being released November 1, and you can win a copy. In fact, you can win THREE books. Watch the video at this link (which originally appeared on the "Truth Is..." Facebook page), share the links below to your friends on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and help me get the word out about "The Best of Truth Is..." (Please and thank you!)

Link to the FB event: https://www.facebook.com/share/17GDmA3Qi8/

Link to the Amazon Kindle pre-order: https://a.co/d/6UFy2Io

A Time and a Place

 

When Pete Seeger reacted musically to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, he created the song, "Turn Turn Turn (To Everything There Is a Season)". When Phil Keaggy took HIS turn at it, he added Matthew 6:26 and produced "A Time and a Place".

There is a time and a place for everything

This is the time, this is the place

And we can sing songs and play guitar

And shoot the breeze,

And we can talk about the human race

After all we are part of it all.

Have you considered the sparrows up above?

They do not sow, they do not reap.

And yet your Heavenly Father feeds them,

And His love for you is much more deep.

After all you are part of it all.

Said the robin to the sparrow

I would really like to know

Why these anxious human beings

Rush about and worry so

Said the sparrow to the robin

Friend, I think that it must be

That they have no Heavenly Father

Such as cares for you and me

Have you considered the sparrows up above?

They do not sow, they do not reap

And yet your Heavenly Father feeds them

And His love for you is much more deep

After all you are part of it all

There is a time and a place for everything

This is the time, this is the place

This is the time and the place for Jesus

'Cause Jesus is everything to me

https://youtu.be/cv_XZ4_1A04?si=nI3f2chgbtHW_y_D

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Truth is...We seem to rush through life. Hurrying to finish tasks, eat meals, go places, do things . . . And a lot of that hurrying is due to worrying. And a lot of that worrying is due to messed-up priorities and placing trust in our efforts instead of in our Lord.

Father, help us to slow down, make you our everything, and consider the sparrows.

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P.S. I've got a book being released November 1, and you can win a copy. In fact, you can win THREE books. Watch the video at this link (which originally appeared on the "Truth Is..." Facebook page), share the links below to your friends on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and help me get the word out about "The Best of Truth Is..." (Please and thank you!)

Link to the FB event: https://www.facebook.com/share/17GDmA3Qi8/

Link to the Amazon Kindle pre-order: https://a.co/d/6UFy2Io

Gotcher Steps In?

 

Without a doubt, the Jesus Music of the early Seventies was definitely more oriented toward evangelism and what it's like to live as a Christian in the day-to-day than today's worship-centric Christian radio.

However, Phil Keaggy blended both concepts in "Walking With Our Lord."

Is the inventor of the ear unable to hear?

The creator of the eye unable to see?

Is His arm so short that it cannot save

In your time of need?

And at the moment you decide

You'll find He's your guide

Helping you along in times of distress

So just put your faith in Him

And give Him your heart

He will do the rest

Follow Me, He calls us

Come to Me, He wants us

Trust in Me, He tells us

Abide in Me, He loves us

When He calls, we'll follow

When He calls, we'll go

We can surely trust Him

His voice, we surely know

Walking with our Lord, talking to our God

He is compassionate

Giving you a peace

That you never can forget

Singing every heart, ringing every bell

Loving His tenderness

Giving Him the praise

And His holy name we'll bless. Oh yes!

As we experience the gift that God has to give

Holy Spirit in our lives we can love everyone

If we live our faith, we'll receive a crown

When our day is done

Follow Me, He calls us

Come to Me, He wants us

Trust in Me, He tells us

Abide in Me, He loves us

When He calls, we'll follow

When He calls, we'll go

We can surely trust Him

His voice, we surely know

Thank you, Lord.......

https://youtu.be/hTyVlZE1RVg?si=pfwwrdwIlmuNOpUn

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Truth is...Because of our bent toward living life our way instead of God's way, we need to be led by God's Spirit. If I walk the direction that makes the most sense to me ... the direction that looks like it's going to get me what I want and let me do what I want ... it won't be long before I'm not only off God's best path, but I'm completely lost in the woods.

Holy Spirit, I don't need you to walk with me. I need you to take me by the hand so I can walk with you.

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P.S. I've got a book being released November 1, and you can win a copy. In fact, you can win THREE books. Watch the video at this link (which originally appeared on the "Truth Is..." Facebook page), share the links below to your friends on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and help me get the word out about "The Best of Truth Is..." (Please and thank you!)

Link to the FB event: https://www.facebook.com/share/17GDmA3Qi8/

Link to the Amazon Kindle pre-order: https://a.co/d/6UFy2Io

The Ever-Present King of the Jews

 

The second song on Phil Keaggy's debut solo album (What a Day) is titled "King of the Jews" and in just over two minutes points out some reasons why a person might want to do what the final line suggests: "Let Him in, don't depart."

He will never leave you

He will never leave you

He is by your side everyday

Every night.

He will never forsake you

He will never forsake you

He'll always abide everyday

Every night.

He is always near,

Call His name

He'll be there.

Jesus is faithful and true

Jesus is faithful and true

Show you right from wrong

Keep you wise, keep you strong.

Jesus, King of the Jews

Jesus, King of the Jews

Nailed to a cross

Where He died for the lost.

Knocking at your heart

Let Him in, don't depart.

https://youtu.be/RqT73bVhF4Y?si=_SEHYe0Zw2SidZnI

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Truth is...[Jesus is] with you always, remaining with you perpetually  —  regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion  -  even to the end of the age. -Matthew 28:20 (AMP)

From Rock Guitar Hero to Jesus Music Pioneer

 

Phil Keaggy had a decent following and an expanding reputation as an amazing guitarist as part of a late-60s / early 70s rock power trio, Glass Harp.

Then he met Jesus. And nothing has been the same since.

As a musician, Keaggy began expressing the joy of his newfound faith through the songs he wrote and performed. That didn't fit so well in the context of Glass Harp, so Phil went solo and ended up being part of the Mount Rushmore of Jesus Music/Contemporary Christian Music.

Mount Rushmore of Jesus Music:
Larry Norman, Andrea Crouch, Honeytree, Phil Keaggy

Keaggy's first solo album was, as the album cover states, "written, arranged, produced, and performed by Phil Keaggy." Every note, every word, every percussive tap and melodic pluck was Phil Keaggy expressing his love, joy, and hope in the Lord.

Today, and for the next eight weeks, Truth Is... will meditate on the songs of that album, What a Day.

First up, "That Is What the Lord Will Do for You":

Winter's here, autumn's gone

Leaves have fallen

It's the season before the dawn

Spring is calling

And as winter comes to an end

Spring brings life again

Born again, given life anew

That is what the Lord will do for you

Just in case you haven't heard

In the beginning was the Word

And the Word was with God

And the Word was God

He gives life to all mankind

He gives sight to the blind

Able to see, able to start anew

Life and that is what He'll give to you

And it's free

All you have to do is believe

That He loves you

Died for you, is ever more alive for you

There is something about the wind

And how it blows

Where it's coming from and then where it goes

There's no doubt when you hear it

There's no doubt when you're born of the Spirit

Born again, given new life anew

That is what the Lord will do for you

https://youtu.be/UVCEL-POPrI?si=w1crHFfHKTNLc_us

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Truth is...Having been "born again" for more than a few years, I must admit that this sense of resurrection and joy and being filled with the life of Christ is something that is not "one and done." Every day, Lord Jesus, keep me aware of how dead I was without you and how you conquered death...not just for yourself, but for me, too.

Who Will Speak Up For The Little Ones?

During the mid-to-late eighties, I spent my fair share of time on picket lines outside abortion clinics, protesting the loss-of-life taking place inside those walls. At the time, it was the standard approach for the pro-life folks among us.

But now, it is so much more satisfying to be able to say that I've spent the last 15 years speaking in high school health classes about the advantages of abstinence before marriage...and doing so on behalf of Amnion Pregnancy Center, a place where women and men can get non-judgmental counseling and support to help them through the difficulties of an unplanned pregnancy.

In honor of the upcoming Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, allow me to offer a song by Phil Keaggy that has been a motivator for hundreds of pro-life efforts for the past 30 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUvLWxGKaBk

Truth is...it is far better to offer help and hope, than merely to speak up against something. Phil's song does a little bit of that. The hope lies in "though all on Earth forsake you now, yet He'll never forsake you," and in the recruitment of people who will speak up for the benefit of those who have no voice.

For the record, here are a couple prior pieces I've written in my personal effort to speak up for the little ones:

On Abortion
Murder or Medical Procedure?

Jesus Was WHAT?!!?

It's often been said that Larry Norman was the grandfather of Contemporary Christian Music...that his pioneering blending of folk/rock music with spiritual truth in the late 60's helped create "Jesus Music" and was a major part of the soundtrack for the phenomenon of hippies coming to Christ that was called "The Jesus Movement."

I was never really a hippy, and I grew up in the flat-lands of Northern Indiana instead of the beaches of Southern California or anywhere near Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco...but I felt the influence nonetheless. The setting aside of theological navel-gazing and denominational chest-thumping and just focusing on this guy Jesus really struck a chord with me...and it didn't hurt that I could play along with the simple chords of classic rock that came charging from the vinyl grooves of the hard-to-find albums by the likes of Norman, Randy Stonehill, Phil Keaggy, and Love Song.

That focus on Jesus is what drew me to Norman, as is perfectly demonstrated in his song, "The Outlaw."

Some say he was an outlaw, that he roamed across the land
With a band of unschooled ruffians and a few old fishermen
No one knew just where he came from or exactly what he'd done
But they said it must be something bad that kept him on the run

Some say he was a poet, that he'd stand upon the hill
And his voice could calm an angry crowd or make the waves stand still
That he spoke in many parables that few could understand
But the people sat for hours just to listen to this man

Some say he was a sorcerer, a man of mystery
He could walk upon the water, he could make a blind man see
That he conjured wine at weddings and did tricks with fish and bread
That he talked of being born again and raised people from the dead

Some say a politician, who spoke of being free
He was followed by the masses on the shores of Galilee
He spoke out against corruption and he bowed to no decree
And they feared his strength and power, so they nailed him to a tree

Some say he was the Son of God, a man above all men
That he came to be a servant and to set us free from sin
And that's who I believe he was, 'cause that's who I believe
And I think we should get ready, 'cause it's time for us to leave

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Truth is...you can talk, you can talk, you can bicker, you can talk, you can talk-talk-talk, you can bicker-bicker-bicker...but it all comes down to one question: What do you say about Jesus?