Hello, I'm Keith Reedy

Most of the people in my home town knew me as the man who recorded Drinkin' Billy's Beer. Or you might have known me as that vulgar blind man who drank too much and played and sang in just about every honky tonk tavern and night club in the Wabash Valley area. Some years ago that would have been true. I hope you will read the rest of this and allow me to share with you the changes that have taken place in my life.

Almost 18 years of my life were taken up with the sole task of trying to be the best I could possibly be at my profession which was singing and playing music, mostly country music. A person who can work for many years in taverns and night clubs and not become a part of what goes on around them is an exception indeed. I was not an exception. Before I was 20 years old, I became a part of the "I want what I want. To Hell with what everyone else wants" crowd. I had gained an attitude about life that left very little room for the wants and considerations of others. I kicked, scratched, clawed and practiced and finally began to achieve my goals one by one.

In my lifetime I have gained a good deal of ground as a professional musician. I traveled across the country for two years, booking out of Nashville, Tennessee all that time. I had a chance to share a stage with some of the nation's top country artists and had a couple of records that were moderate regional successes. I had all I wanted to drink. I had the morals of an alley cat. I never had as much money as I wanted. I made more than my share of financial mistakes and would you believe I woke up one morning and asked myself: "What happened?"

After a bit of sober consideration, it was easy to see what had happened. My entire life up to that point had been a product of stinkin' thinkin'. If you pour clean, clear water into a pitcher that is what you will pour out; but if you pour muddy, murky, foul smelling water into a pitcher, that is also what you will pour out. At this point I had discovered what had gone wrong. My next step was to find out why. I was playing what I thought was the only game in town. I didn't know of any other way to live, and, until then, I was unwilling to learn about any other way.

The third step in the process took place when my soon to be wife, Suzie, and I started attending her church. Our only goal in attending that church was to get married in it.

Some months before, however, I had begun to lean on a power much greater than mine, without knowing it, I had begun to search for Christ.

After we were married, we began to attend the church quite often. Through the messages and patient explanations of a pastor, Paul Gordon, I began to learn about things that had never before concerned me, like the unbelievable peace and power available to a person because of Jesus Christ, as well as life after death. I learned how I could have this power, peace, and certainty in my own life. I learned that it was not necessary for me to give up any of my bad habits to accept Jesus Christ as my savior and to be accepted into the family of God, and that over the remaining years of my life, God will gently help me to remove those things from my life that have no place there.

I learned some very basic truths from a very old book, the Bible. I learned about Someone who knew who I was and what I was feeling...and what I wasn't feeling inside all the time, someone who could give me relief from my pain, both mental and physical, on this earth and a new life after I die. I learned that by totally believing in Jesus Christ, these things, plus countless others, could be mine, and no one could ever take them away from me. I needed to understand that everyone is born with the nature and the ability to do wrong..."For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), and that the period of forever after my death, unless my direction was changed, would definitely be spent in a very real place called Hell..."For the wages of sin is death (Hell) (Romans 6:23a). "And death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:14). "But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD" (Romans 6:23b). I learned that through one man's unselfishness and death on a cross some 2000 years ago, my direction could be changed. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9). I learned that no matter who I was or what I had done, all I had been lacking could be mine simply by believing in Jesus. If I believe in Jesus with all of my heart and ask Him to do so, that He would save my soul and change my life. So in the best way I knew I just began to talk to God in my own words something like, "Lord, I know I'm a sinner. Please forgive me for the things I've done. Jesus, please come into my life and help me to change things and take me to Heaven when I die."

It sounds too simple to be true, I know. But every one of the basic truths are simple.

Having read this, I'm sure you can see a lot of me in you. Read it carefully again and ask yourself, "What do I have to lose?" The final answer will be: Without the love and protection of God's son, Jesus Christ, you have EVERYTHING to lose. With His love and guiding hand in your life, you have life eternal, a peace in your life right now, and an understanding of yourself and others that you never thought possible, to mention just a few things.

When you accept the Lord Jesus Christ into your life, don't expect a clap of thunder and a bolt of lightning because chances are, it won't happen. Keep in mind that God has planted a seed. Water it, nurture it...it will grow...you will grow. If you haven't accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into your life, I pray that you will. Remember, just talk to Him in your own words!

In Christ service
for God's glory,

Keith Reedy

If you choose to accept Christ in to your life drop me a line or give me a call and I will send you a little book on how to get started in the Christian life, it's free, so is Christ's love. Please! Just talk to Him, in your own words.