Prodigal: I brought a couple of friends with me.
Me: The more the merrier!
This is a short video devotion on proverbs
Proverbs 6:30
Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: I reckon this day will be hotter than the frying pan.
Me: I might have to agree with you on that.
This is from the book The Cross of Christ by John R.W. Stott
Paul also writes about the love of God in the first half of Romans 5. He refers to it twice, and thereby supplies us with two complementary ways of becoming assured of its reality. The first is that God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us’ (v5). The second is that God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (v8). One of the most satisfying aspects of the gospel is the way in which it combines the objective and the subjective, the historical and the experimental, the work of God’s Son and the work of God’s Spirit. We may know that God loves us, Paul says, both because he has proved his love in history through the death of his Son, and because he continuously pours it into our hearts through the indwelling of his Spirit. And although we shall concentrate, as Paul does, on the objective demonstration of God’s love at the cross, we shall not forget that the Holy Spirit confirms that historical witness by his own inward and personal witness, as he floods our hearts with the knowledge that we are loved. It is similar to our experience of the Holy Spirit testifying with our spirit that we are God’s children – witness he bears when, as we pray, he enables us to cry “Abba, Father’, because we then know ourselves to be God’s justified, reconciled, redeemed and beloved children (Rom 8:15-16).
God gave us a gift. He gave something that was part of Him for us. Something we did not deserve. Something that we take for granted. The Lord has granted us this love, so that we may know what true love is. That we may say that no matter what has happened to us in the past, we can say we were loved.
Psalm 104:24
O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Me: Pie Factory looks tempting!
Prodigal: Yes, maybe a little will not hurt.
Me: Sometimes we have to slow down for the good moments in the day.
This is from the book God Works the Night Shift by Ron Mehl
The Lord knows what’s in our lives that shouldn’t be, and what isn’t that should. He sees the obvious and the hidden. While others may evaluate our lives by external measurements in the bright light of day, the Lord is busy on the night shift, working away at the hidden areas others can’t see.
First of all,it’s encouraging to remember He sees the strengths in my heart no one else may ever observe or note.
Our world doesn’t make values and commitments and faithfulness high priorities, but God does. The world doesn’t see those agonizing decisions made in secret, but He does. The world doesn’t see the victories in my thought life, but He sees. The world isn’t aware of my faithfulness to a whispered promise, but He’s aware. The hidden things mean everything to Him. He sees under the sometimes scuffed paint and peeling wallpaper of my life to give me credit for good wood underneath.
That is what I like about friendships. I get to see some of the hidden sometimes. I must say that my friends really do a lot behind the scenes. I am forever grateful and encouraged with all you do. God sees also and is honored at how you love others.
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: It is time for watermelon!
Me: Yummy, let me feed you with God’s word while we enjoy.
This is a short video devotion on proverbs
Proverbs 6:29
So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished. (NIV)
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Me: How are you feeling about riding with Brady?
Prodigal: I’m as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
Me: HAHA, well just hold on and I will share to distract your thoughts.
This is from the book All of Grace by C.H. Spurgeon
A silly servant, who is told to open a door, puts his shoulder against it and pushes with all his might, but the door does not stir, and he cannot enter, whatever strength he uses. Another comes with a key, easily unlocks the door, and enters immediately. Those who would be saved by works are pushing at heaven’s gate without result, but faith is the key that opens the gate at once.
O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
Psalm 98:1
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: What will tomorrow bring?
Me: I reckon we don’t know, but God does.
Beyond today will be tomorrow,
But what it will bring of joy or sorrow
I cannot know. I only pray
Your guidance, Lord, each hour, each day,
Your strength to bear whatever may be
Your loving wisdom has for me.
So sweet or bitter, sad or gay,
Be with me, Lord, beyond today.
by Carlene A. Wallace
Proverbs 13:1
A wise son hears his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: I like the colors, made you should start over and choose other ones though.
Me: I’d sooner dive into a bed of poison ivy than do that.
Prodigal: Just joking.
This is a short video devotion on proverbs
Proverbs 6:28
Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? (KJV)
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: I have somewhere I need to be.
Me: We all do, but time together is always important.
This is from the book Voices of the Faithful by Beth Moore
Being new in the city of Jerusalem. I was culturally inept. Used to greeting people I met on the street, I quickly learned that many of my Orthodox Jewish neighbors wouldn’t greet me in return. Being a Gentile woman makes me unacceptable in a religious sense. While shopping in the Old City, a Muslim shopkeeper assisted me in a store. In completing the transaction, I thanked him and thoughtlessly extended my hand whereupon he solemnly explained that he was on his way to prayers and could not touch me.
Religiously, I am considered a contaminant to the people I live among. As I replayed these experiences in my mind, I saw my sinfulness in a fresh way. Yet new gratitude came for the Holy One. He is not defiled by me. Instead, in grace, He has actually imputed His own righteousness to me.
Several months after these experiences, my husband and I were walking when a man in Orthodox Jewish dress stopped us, asking if we loved God and knew how to pray. We affirmed our love for God, explaining that we pray to Him through Jesus the Messiah. He asked us to pray for him, saying that he needed to find peace with God. Finding a place where he wouldn’t risk being seen with us, we prayed for him. As we prayed, he reached out and held our hands.
Knowing one needs peace with God strips us of pride in the presence of each other and the One who died for us.
—A worker in Northern Africa and the Middle East.
Proverbs 20:3
It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Me: Flowers make the day around us look prettier.
Prodigal: Yes they do.
This is from the book In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado
Where the grace of God is missed, bitterness is born.
But where the grace of God is embraced, forgiveness flourishes.
The longer we walk in the garden,
the more likely we are to smell like flowers.
The more we immerse ourselves in grace, the more likely we are to give grace.
Proverbs 20:3
It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Me: Your friend looks empty.
Prodigal: I think he needs to be filled with the spirit.
Me: Amen to that.
This is a short video devotion on proverbs
Proverbs 6:27
Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? (NIV)
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
