A lot has been written about the Prodigal and his father.. Almost everyone has heard the story and we all identify it seems with the person who has drifted away from God and wants to come home.
Once I heard this song I realized there was much more to this story.. There was that Prodigal who had a brother. That guy had never left home, he was taking care of business, he was there for his father, he ran things at the house and most of all had been found to be dedicated and faithful to his father.
Now here comes that no count brother of his and he is watching his dad, literally go crazy because this no count has shown up after he had squandered all the money on a good time and wrecked his life, not only that he wanted his dad to bail him out and do it with the brothers money.
Woah…
So how would you act? Have you seen this before? Maybe you’re the prodigal ,, but maybe you’re the brother.
Can anyone take what God has for you?? Can they??
Most people’s problem is you have and I don’t… I should have this over someone else. Where do bad feelings come from? Why do we have them? Are we open to open up and unpack them? Just what is the real issue here
Do you really believe that God has your best interest and that He has unlimited riches and unlimited grace, love and forgiveness..
The prayer for you today is that God will take His unlimited riches, His unlimited and unmerited favor, and give them to you to accomplish His purpose in this life.
Hear the song, and the message about the Prodigal and his Brother
Sometimes its hard to write about why you sing a song… This is one of those times…
Some time ago, I was asked to handle a funeral service for not only lifetime friends but for their daughter who was barely 30 years old with three children and died with cancer leaving a terrible situation for them to cope with.
In the year she was sick they prayed each day and searched the scriptures and cried out to God for deliverance and healing… They quoted every promise, every promise, promised everything, just to be told no by God…
They left the funeral that day, broken, defeated, and mad at God… because they had done what He said do and still the answer was no…
This is not a unique situation. Its seems that there is no sense in this, there is no answer… yet it still happens.
Over 2000 years ago, Jesus asked God from the cross to let this cup pass from me… God’s answer was no.
Is there an answer?
When I found this song, I think I have not found the answer but it seems an answer, Seeing thru a glass darkly is all we have
Maybe you have something that did not work out or maybe still struggling. This song carries a message for what ever life brings or takes away… heaven will redeem… trust in this… this may be all we have till we get there…
My dad was a Baptist preacher for over 50 years and he did not have a lot of formal education.. He only went to the 9th grade in High school..
Later on in his life he became a Christian and fell in love with church stuff and God’s work. To be honest as he grew up and got older it was clear there were things missing that would have helped him in doing that work..
It caused him to look at life and the relationship with his Lord in a very simple way.. Education in the way of school actually was not there to complicate things… His love for God grew up in Him and while he might not have what others had ,, He had the relationship with God.. it was complicated by his past and the people who did not care or understand. It was complicated.. Sound familiar?
To him it was simple, He would say “Put your finger in that Bible, I can start to preach anywhere you put if. However I only have one sermon and its going to end up at the foot of the cross”.
Now I’ve been doing this for over 50 years myself and the message has not changed.
To him and me its all about the Cross., the message of the cross, the power of cross to save and forgive.
My friend the Cross says it all, for all of us and music is in this…
I had a friend who was a choir director in a church that I attended. He has passed away now but I still remember the musicals He and I put on together.
Christmas was always a special time because our presentations were all so beautiful and we had lights and costumes that portrayed what it was like during that time. The music was also so festive and the choir really got into telling the birth of Jesus..
Then came Easter and the mood always changed because of the story we had to tell… It was all so graphic, the cross, the crucifixion, the resurrection… we had all the lights, the drama of it all and of course we tried to tell it as graphic as we were able with children still in the seats.
I knew how the story went but somehow it was just too much. It’s like we did the whole thing to him over again and somehow, I so much wanted to tell it different and do it better…
When I heard this song, I immediately was put back into these days because of the words of this song.. What makes this different in not much because it really did happen just that way but…. I get to sing about what I got out of such an awful thing…
Its not enough to tell that awful story but Jesus in not still on that cross but has rose again to save me from my sins.. I can sing it from the mountains that He had come to set me free… So, you see from that awful place we can rejoice that from One Drop of Blood,, salvation came , and it came for me… how about you…
Most of all this message can now be told all over the world on this website… Make sure you join in on the chorus wherever you are!
Learn more from Dr Adrian Rogers
Click To Listen to “One Drop Of Blood Became A River”
The thing that bothers me the most was how I was raised in the Preachers house.
I was raised up in the church and no doubt every time the doors were open, I was there, whether I liked it or not. It was there that I learned about God. It seems I got the part about what He did not like. I got the part about Him watching over everything. I mostly got the part about what happens when God got mad.
My grandmother would always remind me that even though she could not see everywhere, God was watching and it would not go well with me if He sees me do something God did not approve of. I suppose it was like God was the boogeyman…and so that was to keep me straight.
Later when my children were growing up, I would take them to the mirror and tell them, “Your biggest problem in life will be the the man in the mirror”. That guy will give you more trouble that all the others combined. That guy will beat you to death if you let him…
Recently Adina Bowman wrote a song “When you look at Me”. The very first time I heard the song It changed my thinking.
This song tells me that God is not the boogeyman and even though I don’t like myself, God still sees His creation and loves it..
Everyone who raised me and taught me about God did what they thought was right. I appreciate their dedication to a task that was no doubt very hard as I was growing up..
I am singing this song to give the message balance. I am singing this song to the person who might be having a hard time because life has thrown them a curve ball.
I am singing this song because I want to remind you of what God must see, when He looks at me…
I don’t know how many times I have laid my head down to sleep and started praying and fell asleep before I could finish.
I would wake up thinking I wonder if God understood….
There have been times in my life that I prayed to God for forgiveness and telling Him that I am sorry, and I would not do that anymore… Just to wake up and start dong that same thing all over again…
I have felt bad because there have been days that I thought about praying to God just to get busy, I thought about it but that was all I did..
On to the prayers at meal time, when I just did it out of habit…
I should of course talk about the times I am broken and coming to Him, not feeling good about myself at all… needing forgiveness.
Then there was the prayers that made no sense at all and were not in my best interest…
Prayer life can be a mess and when you think about it and God having to hear prayers from all kinds of people and its just bits and pieces for Him to listen to.
The people who pray only when they are in trouble… only when they want something. When there is no other choice or solution is pray…
I think He hears it all… and is glad we seek Him no matter the reason… He loves us when we pray to Him…He is our father, our shield , our protector, and most of all friend…
To sit down and write about oneself and personal motivation is a very hard task. Where must I begin?
If you are reading this, it may be that you are just curious. Maybe you are trying to tell others about who I am but actually need help to describe “the what I am”
I really have the feeling that the “what I am” is probably more accurate and will probably help you, the reader…Music should be more about the message and less about the singer.
So, describing me is simple, I am a man who loves God, feels Gods hand in my life and who attempts to walk by faith and not by sight. My calling is to do church music and have done so for over 50 years.
I am, like so many other people, who are not sure what the future holds but I am willing to seize the day with help from above. I was born in 1950 to parents who had never been parents before and into a world that would change before our very eyes into something that was incomprehensible.
At 5 years old I would have a life changing encounter with God himself, who would not only become my Savior but thru that encounter; become my guide to the rest of my life, good and bad.
I was raised as a preacher’s kid and most time life was tough. Watching others from behind the so-called pulpit was a very enlightening experience. Seeing Christians struggle, fail, give up, go away, stand there and take it and die in their shoes has been a large part of my experience.
In 1979 and was licensed as a Southern Baptist evangelist and that calling cost me everything and yet gave me everything I have now. I have never felt the call to preach but to sing, so that is what I do; sing…and I let the singing do the preaching. In ministry its important to let God do the saving.
I have never felt that I was a good singer but I have felt that if I just did as God equipped me, He would take care of what I lacked… Thru music I can tell people stories how they should put their trust in Jesus. The music makes it easy to brush them in that direction. I view myself as a seed planter using music.
My point is that I don’t want people pointed to me but to the One who has sent me to tell others about Him. Its my desire for God to take what little I have and use it for Himself. This may sound funny but even in my sin I’ve wanted Him to use it to point the way to go or not… I have walked thru this world, sometimes muddy outside, but clean inside because of what He has done for me.
I feel like there are others who feel the same way about ministry and so being an encouragement is important to me. Being famous in not a goal, however being known is important to doing what God has called me to do. So here is my words to you. I am not trained, I have no degrees, I am not anyone who is important but someone who loves the Lord and walks in and by faith.
I am older now; I know less than I have ever learned. I do know that God wants to get your attention and He cares for you. If you will just put your trust in Him, He will see you thru whatever may be happening.
There is a red thread that comes from creation. It winds its way thru the eons of time. Touching and weaving as it goes. You, my friend are part of its story… sing with me, I love to tell the story, of Jesus and his love, twill be my theme in Glory, to tell the old, old, story, Of Jesus and his love.
