Coming Back Home To Christ

 We are not alone. The God who stands beside us is the One who will go before us.

The story of the prodigal son is the story of a God who goes searching for me and who doesn't rest until He has found me.

Jesus told the story of the Prodigal Son to make a point: Never mind what you've done, just come home.

Mercy is a song, singing to my heart, Telling me it's okay, come just as you are, I never heard a melody, like the one they're singing over me And I just wanna sing along, 'cause mercy is a song, Freedom is a choir, swaying back and forth, Shining in the shadow of a stain-glassed Sunday morning, Shouting hallelujah, yesterday is gone, Oh, freedom is a choir and mercy is a song, Singing oh, there is a life for every soul, No matter where you've been just come on home, Let all God's children sing along, Hallelujah, chains are gone, Mercy is a song.

I've read the words in red, How You leave the 99, To find the one missing, Feels like that was written, With me on Your mind And the prodigal son who ran, leaving his home behind, The part where the father came running to meet him, Did You say that with me on Your mind? Who am I that the King of the world, Would give one single thought about my broken heart? Who am I that the God of all grace, Wipes the tears from my face and says, "Come as you are"?, You paid the price, You took the cross, You gave Your life and You did it all with me on Your mind (oh, oh, oh, oh, oh) Me on Your mind (oh, oh, oh, oh, oh) Just knowing You're mindful of me, Just knowing You call me Your child, It's flooding my soul with unspeakable hope, Thank You, Lord, that it's me on Your mind.

Father, meet me with Your arms wide open, The world's done broken Your prodigal son, Down that road I traveled, Everything raveled only came undone, Father, lead me down to the river, Wash me in the water 'til I'm whiter than snow, I know I'm not worthy, But tell me there's mercy for the wanderin' soul, I lost my way but now I'm on my knees, If it's not too late, won't You tell me please? You gotta place for me, A little grace for me, Father, meet me in the cool green valley, In all of Your glory, when my days are done, Name me as one of Your chosen, Heaven's unbroken prodigal son.

John 14 verse 6- Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

James 4 verse 8- Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Jeremiah 29 verse 13- You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Acts 17 verse 27- God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

Matthew 11 verse 28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Deuteronomy 4 verse 29-  But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Psalm 51 verse 10-12: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Isaiah 40 verse 31- But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

In all these scriptures and everything that I've shared, for me it reminds me of how we can find our way back home to God and how even in these things just like the Prodigal Son, God would leave the 99 to bring back the one to help us in the moments that we can see clearly.

In these moments that God has given us the opprotunity to reach and to show others in the things that we do in order to grow and in order to bring us to our Father in Heaven who is waiting with open arms to say to us well done, good and faithful servant.

I've carried a burden, For too long on my own, I wasn't created, To bear it alone, I hear Your invitation, To let it all go, Yeah, I see it now, I'm laying it down And I know that I need You, I run to the Father, I fall into grace, I'm done with the hiding, No reason to wait, My heart needs a surgeon, My soul needs a friend, So I'll run to the Father, Again and again.

You saw my condition, Had a plan from the start, Your Son for redemption, The price for my heart And I don't have a context, For that kind of love, I don't understand, I can't comprehend, All I know is I need You.

Sometimes on this journey, I get lost in my mistakes, What looks to me like weakness is a canvas for Your strength And my story isn't over, my story's just begun And failure won't define me 'cause that's what my Father does, Yeah, failure won't define me 'cause that's what my Father does, Ooh, lay your burdens down, Ooh, here in the Father's house, Check your shame at the door (ooh), 'Cause it ain't welcome anymore (ooh) Ooh, you're in the Father's house, Arrival's not the end game, the journey's where You are, You never wanted perfect, You just wanted my heart And the story isn't over, if the story isn't good, A failure's never final when the Father is in the room And failure's never final when the Father is in the room, Ooh, lay your burdens down, Ooh, here in the Father's house, Check your shame at the door (ooh), 'Cause it ain't welcome anymore (ooh) Ooh, you're in the Father's house, yeah, Prodigals come home, The helpless find hope, Love is on the move, When the Father's in the room, Prison doors fling wide, The dead come to life, Love is on the move, When the Father's in the room, Miracles take place, The cynical find faith And love is breaking through, When the Father's in the room, The Jericho walls are quakin', Strongholds now are shakin', Love is breaking through, When the Father's in the room, I said love is breaking through, When the Father's in the room.

Every time I tried to make it on my own, Every time I tried to stand, I start to fall And all those lonely roads that I have travelled on, There was Jesus, When the life I built came crashing to the ground And when the friends I had were nowhere to be found, I couldn't see it then, but I can see it now, There was Jesus, In the waiting, in the searching, In the healing, and the hurting, Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces, Every minute, every moment, Where I've been, and where I'm going, Even when I didn't know it, or couldn't see it, There was Jesus, For this man who needs amazing kind of grace (oh yeah) And for forgiveness at a price I couldn't pay, No, I'm not perfect, so I thank God every day, oh yeah, There was Jesus, There was Jesus.

In these last few songs, we are reminded that there is hope and there is light, because just like a Jordan Feliz song reminds us as well. we are never too far gone.

This should be a sole reminder that we can come back to God and God will welcome us home.