David Acton
David Acton
So who is David Acton? I am a musician/songwriter currently living in Lexington, Ky who is living out a dream I have had for years of putting together a solo recording project.
The songs on “Prodigal” reflect a time in my life where I realized I had lived a “religious” life, but I had not really experienced what it was like to have a real relationship with God and to fully accept His grace. Many of the songs on this project were also inspired by the transformation that I had seen in other’s lives after having an genuine encounter with God.
“Prodigal” is an emotional project that centers on the life story of the lost son, a story told by Jesus in Luke 15:11-24. The common theme across most of the songs is the beautiful reality of God’s unconditional love and His life changing grace. And, like the story of the prodigal son, in spite of God’s love for us and His perfect plan for our lives – we tend to have a stubborn will to do our own thing. So we go off on our own journey - and when we finally realize that we can’t do this thing called life on our own, we either come back to God seeking His restoration or, if we don’t believe in God at all, we try to fill our lives up with things, possessions, relationships, etc. which work for awhile. But then, people have a tendency to ultimately fail us, possessions lose their luster, and things become something we can’t get enough of. So who do we turn to?
My prayer is that wherever you may be in your spiritual journey that you will identify in some way with these songs and that they will be an encouragement to you as they have been to me.
The songs of “Prodigal” touch on these themes in our lives – starting with God’s power and sufficiency from the beginning in “I Am”, our turning away from His plan for us in “Sanctuary”, His running to embrace us when we stumble back to Him in “The Prodigal” and the overflowing joy that we experience from the new life He gives us in “How Can I Keep From Singing?”, “Rain” and “Give You My Life”. The remaining songs touch on living in the grace that God gives us – The desire to maintain the intimacy of our relationship with Christ in the midst of the busyness of life in “Solitude”, leaning on God when we face struggles and tragedy in “Be Still My Soul”, reflecting on the timeless love of God in “Sacred” and making God’s plan for us the main focus of our lives in the ancient Irish hymn “Be Thou My Vision”.
Some of this talk about grace and God’s plan may sound cliché or even completely foreign to some. But I can say with complete confidence that all of these things are real and meant for each and everyone, regardless of your status or what you’ve done, or haven’t done in life. I have seen my life, as well as countless other’s, transformed by entering into a real and intimate relationship with God’s only son, Jesus Christ. Believe it or not, God designed each and every one of us to have a relationship with him. But He also designed us to be able to make our own choices – and sometimes these choices are good and sometimes they take us on the path that leads away from His plan. Still, He loves us continually and consistently and desires us to return to Him so that He can show us the love that He has always had for us.
Hopefully some of this strikes a chord in you. If you want to know more about this “grace” and “personal relationship with God” stuff and you know of a friend or church leader that shares these beliefs – talk to them about it. I know that they would love to talk with you and tell you about what God has done in their lives. Also, on my links page I have listed a few websites that can hopefully assist you in your Quest. And, of course, if you would like to talk with me, please feel free to contact me.
May God bless you and thanks for listening!
David
