Thought Quotient

His name is Christopher Parkening.

He was a student and friend of arguably the best classical guitarist ever…Andrés Segovia. Now, he is considered one of the best:

“No one exceeds him in sheer mastery of the guitar . . .”
The Boston Globe

However, after reaching his dreams at a fairly young age, he found that there was still something missing:

Now, when I was a young child my parents took me to Sunday school every week and even had me baptized. I had read the Bible occasionally during my boyhood and had been lead to believe I was a Christian. I was convinced that because I knew the “facts” about Jesus Christ, I would get into heaven one day. But, as I listened to the words that Pastor MacArthur was reading (Matthew 7:21-23) I felt something cutting deep into my heart. “That’s me!” I thought, “I would be one of those who would say, ‘Lord, Lord, I believe who You are. I went to Sunday school. My parents even had me baptized!’” In my heart I knew that Jesus would answer me, “You never cared to glorify Me with your life or with your music. All you cared about were your ranches and your trout streams. Depart from Me, I never knew you!” It was in that sudden, terrible moment I realized that I was not a Christian. I thought I had faith and yet my lifestyle had been characterized by total selfishness and disobedience. (I supposed I had wanted a Savior to save me from hell, but I had never wanted a Lord of my life whom I should follow, trust, and obey.)

That night I lay awake, broken over my sins. I realized that my life was a total washout. I had lived very selfishly and it had not made me happy. Knowing I was a sinner before God, I prayed and asked Him to forgive me. It was then that I asked Jesus Christ to come into my life, to be my Lord and Savior. For the first time, I remember telling Him, “Whatever You want me to do with my life, Lord, I’ll do it.”

Read the rest of his story here:

Life Story and Christian Testimony

Related Links:

• Printable .pdf file of this testimony
• Christopher Parkening homepage
• Muriel Anderson homepage
• Rick Foster homepage
• Chet Atkins homepage

Need to be revived? Need to be comforted? Those that do not have a relationship with God enjoy anything but peace.

Isaiah 57:12-21

Who needs grace?
Everyone.
Who receives grace?
Those who accept it.
Who makes us receive something that we refuse?
Certainly not God.

In celebration of the new Jennifer Knapp live album that will be released on January 24, www.JenniferKnapp.com is back online.

A live version of ‘Lay It Down’ from the album is nowing playing on the Gotee records media player on their site.
Gotee Records Homepage

Here’s a little background that can be found on the Gotee site:

The story behind ‘Jennifer Knapp live’ is pretty amazing with the benefit of a little background. My work with Jennifer started with a buddy of mine, who was her manager at the time, asking if I could join up for Jen in support of a few Lilith Fair dates that were obviously important to make an impact on. After some crash rehearsals, it ended up that the shows went extremely well and were well received by patrons and critics alike. I’ll never forget Jen at the press conference sitting there after Sheryl Crow made some comment on the Reverend Falwell and then a reporter asks Jen if she was taking heat for being at the festival. She simply said that every artist there was asked to play and share their beliefs through their music, so why should she be any different, even if she sang about Christ. It was a simple and poignant statement that hit home with everyone there, myself included.