Without Him  

The Bible says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:1-5 (KJV)

Mylon was born as the youngest son into a Southern Gospel family, the LeFevres. He grew up and joined the army, and it was during tough days of learning army life that he wrote this song. While stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina the LeFevres were performing at a gospel convention in Memphis. That weekend, Mylon hitchhiked over 600 miles to get there.  Onstage, singing “Without Him”, he did not know Elvis Presley was there. After the concert, Elvis asked to meet him. Shortly thereafter, Elvis recorded the song for his album, How Great Thou art, and within the next year, over a hundred artists would record his song. In the army, he was only making $84/month, but, soon, Mylon, still a teenager, had so much money he felt he could actually live without God. He didn’t think he needed Jesus anymore.

Mylon recorded songs with all the big names – including the Beatles to the Rolling Stones – and he started using drugs because “everyone else” was doing it. He became a heroin addict, and it looked as if that teenager who wrote that “without Him life would be hopeless” was proving it.

But, in 1980, The Second Chapter of Acts, a Contemporary Christian musical group, helped Mylon get his life back on track. He begged God for forgiveness and said that, from that time on, he wanted to live with Him and not without Him. His message would become one of newfound hope and about the dangers of trying to live without Jesus. 

    Daily Chronological Bible Reading: Job 21-23