This is a story, told by Jesus and today, I wish to share it with you and also include 'My Story" in comparison.

"A certain man, had 2 sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine to that land and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into the fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly, with the husks that the swine did eat and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many servants of my father's house have bread enough and to spare and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father and I will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee,And I am no more worthy to be called thy son, make me as one of thy hired servants, And he arose and came to his father, But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and run and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son but, the Father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe and put on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and be merry, For this my son was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found, And they began to be merry."

This story was told over 2000 years ago but yet, it is still repeated time and time again, even today. Here are some things I will share with you about this Prodigal Son and Sin.

I. Self-Expression: vs 12
"Give to me what I want and give it to me now".

II. Sin's Direction: vs-13
A. He took His Journey. Notice the word HIS.
B. Into a far country
C. Wasted His substance.
Remember these words "far country".

III. Sin's Deception: vs 13
A. We are responsible for who we are
B. We are responsible for where we go
C, We are responsible for what we do

Point: When we be who WE wabt and go where WE want and do what WE want, it usually leads us away from our Father and into SIN.

IV. Sin's Destitution: vs 14
A. He wasted it all.
B. No money, no job, no home, and no food.

Point: Sin will take you father than you want to go, cost you more than you can pay and keep you longer than you want to stay.

V. Sin's Dissatisfaction and Deterioration: vs 16
A. Sent to feed hogs
B. Hungry enough to eat with the hogs.
C. Smelled like the hogs.
This was a very degrading place to be, and a degrading job to do because, to the Jew, hogs were called "Unclean Beasts".

Vi The son's Realization: vs 17-19
A. He realized where he was
B, He realized what he had done
C. He realized what he needed to do.

Point: Who you hang with, has a lot to do with what you have become or are in the process of becoming.

Now, here is a big hurdle that some people come up against but, they just can not get over it.
1. They know where they are (lost-alone-away from father)
2. They know what they have done or what they have become.
3. They know what they need to do but, they stay with the hogs and do nothing about their situation or condition. See, realizing what you need to do and, then doing something about it is two different things.

VII. The Son's Reception: vs 20-22
1. The son arose and went to his Father
A. His Father saw him first.
B. His Father had compassion
C. His Father ran to his son
D. His Father hugged and kissed him.

VIII. The Son's Confession and Celebration: vs 21-24
Father interrupted the son's confession by giving his servants some directives.
1. Bring a robe and put on his son
2. Bring a ring and out on his hand
3. Bring shoes and out on his feet
4. Bring the fatted calf, kill it and have a feast.

Remember these 4 things at the end of "my story". I will make it as brief as I can.

I was raised in a Christian home. My father was 60 yrs. old when my twin brother and I were born. We were always in church. My father was an evangelist, a singer and my mother was a wonderful pianist. We went different places and my mother would play the piano and my dad would sing for revivals, funerals, etc. As my twin brother and I began to grow up, my mother favored him immensely, why I never did now. Maybe it was because they had left me in the incubator at the hospital for 2 weeks and my folks were told I probably would not survive. There was always competition between us and he always won. He was the good son, the one who made good grades, the one who was quiet, the one who never got in trouble, the one who never got into fights, the one who never drank, smoked, or cussed. He ran with a "good" bunch of friends, I ran with the rough crowd.

We bought our first motorcycle at 10 years old. I bought my first car at 13. We lived 12 miles in the country and no-one bothered us. I totaled my car before I was 14. I hit an embankment from running fast on a graveled road. I was in fights, expelled off the bus for fighting, many times. I met a little 6rh grader when I was a Sophomore in high school and I thought she was an blue eyed, blond haired angel. We began to "house date" when she was 13, I would go to her house, play dominoes with her folks. They lived very poorly, had a tin roof on their house. They lit the house with kerosene lamps and the only electricity they used was for the refrigerator, the TV and the deep freeze. They had an old ringer type wall phone on the wall.

I had always been taught by my dad to show a woman respect and honor. I treated her exactly that way. We dated off and on until I graduated from high school. She would dump me and date other guys and then, we would get back together again. This went on for some time until we had been broke up I guess for about 6 months. She was Sophomore in high school and her girlfriends came to me and told me that she was pregnant. I immediately went to her and asked her and she denied it. I believed her and let it go. About 2 months later, her girlfriends told me again she was pregnant and again, I went to her and asked her and she said no. I said then go to a Dr. and get checked out and stop the rumors. She went to the Dr. and she was pregnant. This broke my heart. I never dreamed this would have happened. I found out she had went to an Abortionist and I went to her and told her not to kill the baby, that I had always loved her, still did and, that I would marry her and give her baby my name. You see, all the years we had dated, I had done nothing with no-one. I was still a virgin at 19. She agreed to marry me and we decided to tell her folks that I was not the father of the baby. I wanted them to know, I had always honored their daughter. We told her folks and her dad thanked me for honoring him and her. I asked her who the baby's father was and what she had been doing. She told me she had slept with quite a few boys for quite some time and my shock was, I considered most of them my friends. I was not prepared for the biggest shock though, The baby's father was her 28 year old first Cousin, who was married and had 5 children of his own. She and he had been lovers for over a year and she had slept with him many many times, took baths with him, when his wife was at work, etc.

Three months after we were married, the baby boy was born. I was not even 20 yrs. old yet. After he was born, she began to be different around me but, I was so naive, I had no idea why. I found out that this cousin was coming to my house, after I had left for work, and would stay till just before I was due home. When I confronted her about it she said he just wanted to see the baby.

She began to change towards me. She became verbally abusive first, then she became physically abusive. She would go into a screaming rage and kick my legs till they bled, she would hit me with whatever she had in he hands. She wound my shirt up in an electric mixer when she rammed it into my stomach. I couldn't believe what was happening and I began to drink. I started playing music in taverns and bars for extra money. I was given a gift to play the piano. I worked jobs that kept me away from home, sometime 16 hours a day. Some jobs took me out of state. She told me that she did not love me, never had and didn't know what love was. I tried to show her love but, I failed. I began to drink heavy, smoke dope and I started riding with some bikers. As the years went by, everything got worse. She had numerous affairs, would go see this same cousin, when he came back from out West to see his folks. I would beg her not to go but, she would go anyway. I came home once from working out of state and found out a friend of mine and his wife had separated. I had know them for years so, I went to where he worked and ask him if I could help he and his wife reconcile. He said no, just let it go. I found out 2 weeks later that he and his wife had separated because his wife had caught him with another woman. Guess who the other woman was. "my wife".
Over the next few years, she tried to stab me on 3 occasions during one of her rampages. She got me once. She knocked me down with the car and backed up to see where I was then, tried to run over me, I crawled behind a tree in my neighbor's yard so she couldn't get to me. She told me she prayed for my death every time I left on my Harley so, she could have my insurance money. She said that was the only way, I would be worth anything to her. I let my hair grow long, became an alcoholic and drug user and rode with 2 motorcycle gangs, while she did her thing. At my worst, I was drinking a case of beer a day and a half a fifth of Vodka. I was called the local "Hells Angel" because of what I looked like and the life I lived. Finally, she got a gun, loaded it, pointed it at me and said, I'm going to kill you then, she pulled the trigger. The gun didn't fire because she forgot to release the safety. When she looked at the gun to see why it didn't fire, I took the gun from her. This was the last straw for me. I too, started looking for other women and finally, after 8-1'2 years of marriage, I moved out. Having cops at my house, the fighting, affairs, etc. was just too much for me to deal with. I knew I had to leave or possibly die. We divorced after 3 children and 10 yrs. of marriage.


I got a girlfriend moved in with her and through a bus ministry from a local church, I gave my life to Christ, after a biker bash. I cried and realized what I had became. I realized that I could not stop the drugs and booze on my own. I gave them all to Jesus that day and quit "cold turkey". I flushed the drugs, poured the booze down the drain, got a haircut, shaved my beard and sold my Harley. People thought I had lost my mind. Some we overjoyed like my parents, some doubted I would ever change. My dad married us and my wife gave her life to Christ too. 2 years later, I was playing Gospel Music in a Gospel Group, I had felt the Lord calling me to preach and I became a new dad. I adopted my wife's son and we had a daughter. My dad was glad because he had never given up on me. He died 5 years later at 94.

Mom lived another 20 years and died at 93. I played her favorite songs for her at her funeral and as the tears ran down my face, I said to myself. "now, mom, maybe you are proud of me".

Today, I am the Modern Day Prodigal. I have been a minister now for 35 years and a Pastor. My youngest son, from my first marriage was killed in a car wreck in 2005. I have endured much sadness and pain in my life but, my Father in Heaven accepted me. Remember the robe, the ring and the shoes I asked you to remember? Here's why. The robe. represents the robe of Righteousness that Jesus gave me when I accepted him as my Savior. The ring represents the position I hold. I am the child of the King and the shoes represent the Holy Spirit that helps me walk through the hard, difficult and rocky places in my path of life. He has provided me with great Christian friends, Great fellowship and finances to start a new life in Him and with Him.

How God changed a Drunken, drug using, long haired, bearded, crazy alcoholic biker into a Pastor and Minister is proof of His reception of sinful mankind. Just as the Father accepted, hugged, kissed the prodigal son, Hog smell and all, Jesus accepted me, where I was like I was and made me what he wanted me to be. Now you know.

God Bless all of you.
Oldbiker