Live for the Truth

When I was in school I wrote a term paper titled ‘Satan in Rock Music’. You know, things like Stairway to Heaven backwards, KISS (Knights In Satans Service), Anton LeVay’s picture on the Hotel California album cover, and stuff like that. At the time I was probably a little more caught up in the subject than I should have been. While I became a Christian a few years earlier, I had gotten pretty deep into the heavy metal scene. I would frequent concerts by such bands as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, KISS, Van Halen, and Ozzy Osborne. When I look back I realize that I was an extremely messed-up teenager. I don’t know why I chose the subject that I did, I guess because I found it fascinating. Fascination can be a very bad thing, especially when it draws you away from Christ. You’d be surprised how many books you can find on this subject. Remember, this is WAY before the days of the internet. One of the books that I checked out from the library talked about a ‘conversion’ The Eagles went through in the early ‘70s. I remember it describing it as ‘selling their souls’ to the devil. The book stated that their conversion to Satanism was documented in their song Hotel California. A few years later one of the band members – I can’t remember which one – struggled with his decision to serve Satan because he had given his heart to Christ as a child. As he struggled with all of this, strange things began to happen to him. There were equipment failures, illnesses, and other things that he experienced. While in bed suffering from exhaustion he would wake up every evening at precisely eleven thirty four. Finally, one night when he awoke the digital alarm clock next to his bed was turned upside down and it read HELL, which is 11:34. If I remember correctly, this is what helped lead to the band’s separation. I have no idea if any of this stuff was actually true. I just remember it made an impression on me at the time. It also made for good term paper material.
Now, on to the part that I should never tell anyone.
Over the years I haven't been able to look at a clock reading 11:34 without remembering that story. That seems pretty acceptable. In fact, I can’t even see the numbers 20 or 34 without remembering Earl Campbell. Here’s where it gets really strange. Over recent years I have begun to look at the clock at exactly 11:34. I don’t look at the clock any more frequently than the average person, I don’t believe. But I will go for days at a time without seeing 11:34 on the clock two times per day. If I’m asleep, I will wake up and roll over, knowing that the clock is going to read 11:34, and sure enough…it does. I really don’t know what to make of this. I had written if off a long time ago as merely coincidence. But after a while one has to start to wonder. Is it God trying to tell me something? Is it the devil? Is it my mind, along with my internal clock, playing games with me?
Okay, so now when I go ‘over the edge’ you’ll know one of the many contributing factors.