Confessions of a Prodigal

Confessions of a Prodigal Son

Week 1

Luke 15:20

So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him.

I’ve been praying and asking the Holy Spirit what I should be sharing with those of you who are listening.

You see, I never want the things that I share here with you..... to find its source in ME.

I’m just a man like any other man and apart from Christ,... who is my life and source,...I really have nothing of lasting value that I could add.

Now, I know that statement alone... will ruffle a few feathers of certain men that may be listening,... but I’ve reached a place inside of me that knows that if what I share with you doesn’t inspire you to follow hard after Jesus, then while it may make you feel good for a day... it’s really nothing more than spiritual junk food.... that does more damage to the soul than good.

I really just want to be used by God to encourage you and hopefully present something that God can later use in your life and heart to draw you closer to him and bring you to a place where you aren’t just following Jesus with your whole heart, you are compelled to bring others with you.

If you listened to Episode One, you would know that while I first met Jesus at the age of 16, it was many, many years later before I actually started getting discipled and trained how to live and love in Christ.

I was a Prodigal Son.

I had willfully and purposely given God the finger and in disappointment and anger rebelled in every way that I knew how to.

I found a reason to abandon my first marriage, got tattooed, got my ear pierced, bought some beer and couple packs of cigarettes and told any brother or sister in Christ that reached out in concern for me to piss off.

The reasons for my disappointment and anger are a topic for another podcast which we I will share with you in time. There were actions and decision I made in this state of rebellion that had FAR reaching consequences which we will also discuss later.

My story is a story of the amazing commitment and love that Jesus has for us and how he demonstrated that love and commitment to me when I was demonstrating reckless rebellion towards him.

I am not a preacher, a pastor or a great orator of the faith.

I am not a shepherd. I am by the grace of God and through the transformative power of his Gospel, at best a grateful sheep dog.

Early on in my walk with Jesus, when the Holy Spirit revealed to me my calling, I thought I was being called to be a Pastor, a Shepherd of God’s flock.

Part of what Jesus had to heal in me after my rebellion was this sense of being disqualified and never being able to fulfill the calling I had been given. The sense of loss and self-hatred for being so foolish was deep in me.

It was during this restoration period that Jesus told me that it was never his intention to make me Shepherd, he had called me to be a Sheepdog.

I have learned to love all that this calling entails and each day I am eager to see where our Shepherd wants to leads us and know that I get to be a part of that adventure as his faithful Mutt.

I bare the responsibility of helping to protect, recover and care for my Shepherd’s flock, especially those sheep who have wandered away like I did. Part of the reason for my journey was to prepare me for this work and give me insight into the hearts of Prodigals that few pastors will ever have.

I have the responsibility of faithfully giving witness to what I have seen and experienced with my risen King.

His constant pursuit of my heart and his presence when my actions finally brought me to rock bottom are a testimony of God’s faithfulness and love.

Publicly baring witness to this is part of my role as a Sheepdog.

I started this Podcast to have a record of what I have learned . A record of God’s tremendous power and grace towards me.

In Rev 12:11

it is said of those who were faithful in Christ in the last days that

 “they overcame him (The great dragon, the enemy of God)

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony,

and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

This podcast is meant to be a witness, the word of my testimony of the far reaching, amazing, real, gracious love of God and how he rescued and reclaimed me as a Son. How he washed me, wrapped me up in new garments, gave me power and authority that I did not deserve and rejoices over me every day.

I wanted a record of this in my own words, not only so I could share it with you but also so that it could be shared with my Sons, Daughters and Grandchildren.

One day, I will be gone from this place and I wanted a lasting record of what Jesus has done in my life that could reverberate into my Sons and Daughters for generations to come.

I was a Prodigal Son

But today, I am restored beloved Son, who is eternally grateful for the love of his Father.

Romans 8:15–17 (NET)

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children. And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ)—if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.

I get live in the knowledge that I am indeed a Son of God and a joint heir with Jesus of all my Father has. Because he loved me, even when I hurt his heart and abandoned our relationship.

Next Week, I want to start walking you through the parable of the Lost Son that Jesus tells in Luke 15.

If you’ll give me some time over the next few weeks, I feel like that insight that God has given me around this story, can be a something you can use, regardless of where are in your relationship with Him today.

If today, you know that you have stepped away from the Father and you know that you need to set your feet back towards home, I want to encourage as one Prodigal to another, Daddy loves you and you will be amazed at His joy towards you when you come home.

He is not angry, He is not looking to punish, He is ready to restore all that has been lost and so much more.

If that’s you, you know what to do next and I pray the Holy Spirit gives you the courage to do so.

Until Next week

May the Lord Bless You and Protect You

May He cause his Favor to be on you.

May be Gracious to you and Give you His Peace

God Bless Brothers