Category: discipleship

CCM Classic Focus on Bob Ayala

Blinded in his youth, Bob Ayala began performing in 1969 at The Salt Company, a Christian coffeehouse in Los Angeles, CA. He released his first album in 1976 and was also voted Best New Artist that year by CCM readers. He later became involved with Keith and Melody Green‘s Last Days Ministries and released an album on their record label in 1985. In December 1999 he released two independent albums and he continues to perform concerts.

 
 Bob Ayala has been a Performer/songwriter and a member of ASCAP for 3 decades. Blinded from his youth, He didn’t let this slow him down and began his CCM performer/songwriter career in the 1970s. By 1980 he recorded 3 albums with Myrrh Records, a division of Word.  In the mid 1980s he released his fourth recording project on Sparrow records.

Bob was a staff writer with Hosanna! Integrity music for 3 years. They recorded about 20 of Bob’s songs. After the contract ended, a mutual decision was made to not renew as most of what he was writing and wanted to write was not in the worship genre, which was their main emphasis at the time. Despite having been a performer since he was 14, his passion was songwriting, more than performing. Bob’s strong suit has always been as a lyricist.

Recently, he has set his sights on plying his talents to writing main stream country music, and finds himself coming full circle, as much of his early music had definite country influences.

“Pour Through Me”

Since he is one of my definite favorites, I can’t help myself.  This cassette was called “Rescued.” I listened to it, over and over, until the tape wore out.  This was way back in 1986, when I was doing high-visibility evangelism with a dozen other believers, out of a ratty old Victorian in the Mission District of San Francisco.  His music helped come through this challenging time of my life.

“Its My Dream”

Both of these are songs from YouTube. But this is a sad song. It gets shared because of the excellence of music and lyrics (I love the gentle sax.) I am really excited to share them, as Bob Ayala was a profound influence in my life.

Please go to the BB Classic Christian Music Index and see what else is listed.  We have dozens of great CCM artists from the 70s and 80s.  I know you’ll be blessed.  https://brokenbelievers.com/classic-christian-music-index/

Be the Lord of My Past

“Lord of the Past,” Lyrics by Bob Bennett

To listen, please check out our Broken Believers Music Index at: https://brokenbelievers.com/classic-christian-music-index/

Every harsh word spoken
Every promise ever broken to me
Total recall of data in the memory
Every tear that has washed my face
Every moment of disgrace that I have known
Every time I’ve ever felt alone

Lord of the here and now
Lord of the come what may
I want to believe somehow
That you can heal these wounds of yesterday
(You can redeem these things so far away)
So now I’m asking you
To do what you want to do
Be the Lord of the Past
(Be the Lord of my Past)
Oh how I want you to
Be the Lord of the Past

All the chances I let slip by
All the dreams that I let die in vain
Afraid of failure and afraid of pain
Every tear that has washed my face
Every moment of disgrace that I have known
Every time I’ve ever felt alone

Well I picked up all these pieces
And I built a strong deception
And I locked myself inside of it
For my own protection
And I sit alone inside myself
And curse my company
For this thing that has kept me alive for so long
Is now killing me.
And as sure as the sin rose this morning,
The man in the moon hides his face tonight.
And I lay myself down on my bed
And I pray this prayer inside my head

Lord of the here and now
Lord of the come what may
I want to believe somehow
That you can heal these wounds of yesterday
So now I’m asking you
To do what you want to do
Be the Lord of my Past
You can do anything
Be the Lord of the Past
I know that you can find a way
To heal every yesterday of my life
Be the Lord of the Past

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Putting it Under a Microscope

Within our walks, as we attempt to follow Jesus, we need to be seriously evaluating our hearts–and the issues that affect them. If we make a short list, but the make-up would probably be justification, sanctification, glorification and deliverance.

Of this list, perhaps ‘justification’ takes the biggest hit.  Being declared ‘right with God‘ is targeted especially as the most significant .  But justification is quite potent, it will stand when all the other issues will stumble.  Justification is the starting point, and then it carries us quite a bit further. It stands when everything else crumbles.

We come to this place, it almost seems bizarre and garish as it comes to us.  But our simple faith in Jesus Christ has made us righteous.  But it seems, if we start to extrapolate it out, we start  thinking of realities and probabilities. These often confuse and darken our way, when they not really meant to.

“What if?” “But what might happen?” “Isn’t this a bit bizarre?” “Can’t I really make this ‘Christianity’ work?”  And yet at times, we won’t take a solid position, but we operate out of a miasma of thoughts that flit through our hearts.

In the courtroom of heaven, where God sits as a judge, we are given fair hearing. But simply put we aren’t so much as made righteous, but we are declared righteous.  The Greek word in the original is centered on this exclusive sense of “declaration.”

You have been declared righteous!  It is definitely not a feeling, or a sense of being just or righteous– because this changes 24x a day.  It seems I feel that I can never truly accumulate enough to save me.  And since I am always moving, I can never really figure it out.  And this makes me afraid. I become very disturbed. 

We are meant to walk out a sincere justification.  The enemy scrambles it before we can grasp it.  Satan‘s presence must be nullified in this.  There is something radical and decisive here.  And it is here he puts his crack troops.  This is a definite attempt to destroy your witness.

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Touching Isn’t the Same as Plunging

” A man is only as holy as he wants to be.” —A.W. Tozer

Our will is always a significant issue.  Our heavenly Father never diminishes it, but it seems our will is inviolable and considered untouchable.  The Lord brings us, but He will never make us, or drive us.  There is a deep kindness in His mercy.  (And I think I love Him more because of this.)

There is a personal burden on us; it isn’t too popular or widely accepted.  But it deals with free choice choosing a life of remarkable awareness.  He shares His holiness with us.  It is one of those deep and certain principles– You can have as much of God as you want.  It seems there are no limits here.

One of our personal issues is how we see life.  Often we have gone with a “pie chart” mentality.  We cut our life into sections, some are bigger and others are just a sliver.  As Christians we feel noble when we give God a cut.  But this mentality only accentuates the reality that His presence isn’t as significant as it should be.  Really, if we are honest, the whole pie is His.

Moses is a profound example for us.  He decides that he can’t live out an illusion anymore.  He starts separating himself from Egypt.  He escapes and becomes a shepherd.  Many years pass, and the presence of God deeply overshadows him.  He is led into an encounter with God.  He embraces this, and we see God taking up this humble man as a confidante and a close friend.

Every person is as holy as they want to be.  Will you set your heart under the stream that flows continually?  Will you see yourself to be “set apart” for His purposes?  He intends that you will be different.  Set apart (holiness) for Him.  Like Moses, we need to act on this idea, that we are quite different.  We must understand this– we will never, ever mesh with the world around us.  And you need to make this decision yourself.

 
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