Which View

Posted on January 23, 2018 by Jennifer Van Allen

Me: How is your day going?

Prodigal: It’s hotter than the inside of an all-day tent revival.

Me: Well try to stay in the shade while I share with you today.

This is from C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity

I mentioned only the Materialist view and the Religious view. But to be complete I ought to mention the In-between view called Life-Force philosophy, or Creative Evolution, or Emergent Evolution. The wittiest expositions of it come in the works of Bernard Shaw, but the most profound ones in those of Bergson. People who hold this view say that the small variations by which life on this planet “evolved”from the lowest forms to Man were not due to chance but to the “striving” or “purposiveness” of a Life-Force. When people say this we must ask them whether by Life-Force them mean something with a mind or not. If they do, then “a mind bringing life into existence and leading it to perfection”is really a God, and their view is thus identical with the Religious. If they do not, then what is the sense in saying that something without a mind “strives” or has “purpose”? This seems to me fatal to their view. One reason why many people find Creative Evolution so attractive is that it gives one much of the emotional comfort of believing in God and one of the less pleasant consequences. When you are feeling fit and the sun is shining and you do not want to believe that the whole universe is a mere mechanical dance of atoms, it is nice to be able to think of this great mysterious Force rolling on through the centuries and carrying you on its crest. If, on the other hand, you want to do something rather shabby, the Life-Force, being a blind force, with no moral and no mind, will never interfere with you like that troublesome God we learned about when we were children. The Life-Force is a sort of tame God. You can switch it on when you want,but it will not bother you. All the thrills of religion and none of the cost. Is the Life-Force the greatest achievement of wishful thinking the world has yet seen?

The trouble with that average view is that when you need healing, when you need help from evil in this world. When you are afraid your tame life-force is not going to help you. It is only Jesus that is going to help.

Psalm 100:3

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

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Great Ease

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Jennifer Van Allen

Me: Howdy Prodigal!

Prodigal: I just finished praying.

Me: I was going to talk about praying.

This is from the book Reaching for the Invisible God by Philip Yancey

His tradition had taught him, though, that you do not approach the Other as you would approach your own kind. The ritual helped him move from a spirit of urgency and immediacy-the demands of the prison ministry–to a place of calm whose rhythms were the rhythms of eternity.

Where can we go to escape? Do we go to Aruba? Do we go to Jamaica? Do we go to Fiji? The best place to go is to find a place where you can meet God. This place is just for you and God. The best thing about it, is that it can be anywhere. It can be a chair, a rug, an office. It can be in your car, in the bathroom or on your porch. It can be in the morning or at night. We can’t avoid urgency and stress in this world at times but God does offer us a break.

Jude 1:24-25

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Even If It’s Dark

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Jennifer Van Allen

Prodigal: Howdy!

Me: Nice to meet your friends! There even shorter than you!

Prodigal: Yep, they have to stand up straight to look a rattler in the eye!

Me: Well, at least I am taller than that! (Yes, Aaron, I am taller than that)

Prodigal: Do you have a story.

Me: Yes, I do.

He was a strong man facing an enemy beyond his strength. His young wife had become gravely ill, then suddenly passed away, leaving the big man alone with a wide-eyed, flaxen-haired girl, not quite five years old.

The service in the village chapel was simple, and heave with grief. After the burial at the small cemetery, the man’s neighbors gathered around him. “Please, bring your little girl and stay with us for several days,” someone said. “You shouldn’t go back home just yet.”

Broken-hearted through he was, the man answered, “Thank you, friends, for the kind offer. But we need to go back home–where she was. My baby and I must face this.”

So they returned, the big man and his little girl, to what now seemed an empty, lifeless house. The man brought his daughter’s little bed into his room, so they could face the first dark night together.

As the minutes slipped by that night, the young girl was having a dreadful time trying to sleep…and so was her father. What could pierce a man’s heart deeper than a child sobbing for a mother who would never come back?

Long into the night the little one continued to weep. The big man reached down into her bed and tried to comfort her has best he could. After a while, the little girl managed to stop crying–but only out of sorrow for her father. Thinking his daughter was asleep, the father looked up and said brokenly, “I trust You, Father, but…it’s as dark as midnight!”

Hearing her dad’s prayer, the little girl began to cry again.

“I thought you were asleep, baby,” he said.

“Papa, I did try. I was sorry for you. I did try. But-I couldn’t go to sleep. Papa, did you ever know it could be so dark? Why Papa? I can’t even see you, it’s so dark.” Then, through her tears, the little girl whispered, “But you love me even if it’s dark–don’t you, Papa?

For an answer, the big man reached across with his massive hands, lifted his little girl out of her bed, brought her over onto his chest, and held her, until at last she fell asleep.

When she was finally quiet, he began to pray. He took his little daughter’s cry to him and passed it up to God.

“Father, it’s dark as midnight. I can’t see You at all. But You love me, even when it’s dark and I can’t see, don’t You?”

From the blackest of hours, the Lord touched him with a new strength, enabling him to carry on. He knew that God went on loving him, even in the dark.

Ron Mehl

John 3:17

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

The God Who Hung on the Cross

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Jennifer Van Allen

Me: What is wrong Prodigal?

Prodigal: I feel lower than a gopher hole.

Me: Maybe I can share a story that will cheer you up!

This is from the book The God Who Hung On the Cross by Dois Rosser Jr. and Ellen Vaughn

In September 1999, a pastor we’ll call Tuy Seng traveled to Khampong Tom Province in the north of Cambodia. Pastor Seng had wanted to bring the Gospel to the remote villages there for years, but they had been under the control of an isolated pocket of Khmer Rouge radicals until early 1999.

Now, as far as anyone knew, he was the first person to speak of Jesus in that isolated area. Most villagers cast their lot with Buddhism or ancestor worship. Christianity was unheard of.

But when Seng arrived at one small, rural village, the people welcomed him eagerly. They could not hear enough about the Gospel. Most made decisions to commit their lives to Christ. Smiling, Pastor Seng asked the people why it seemed as if they had been waiting for him to come.

An old woman shuffled to the front of the group, bowed, and grasped Pastor Seng’s hands. “We have been waiting,” she said. “We have been waiting for you for twenty years.” And then she told them this story.

After the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, they made their way through the countryside, destroying just about anything created with purpose and design-bridges, highways, hospitals, human beings. It took a while, but after they had dealt with Phnom Penh and other city centers, they focused on the villages.

So it was that the soldiers came to this hamlet in 1979. Their technique was the same as it has been for countless communities, but for the people who lived there the terror was new. The communists emerged from the jungle and strode from hut to hut, ordering the villagers out. Those who resisted were killed at once; many died in front of their homes.

The rest were marched to a clearing behind the village. Their own farm tools were thrust into their hands.

“Now dig!” the soldiers shouted.

The villagers hacked the red-clay soil, trembling with the dark realization that they were digging their own mass grave. Some lost their nerve and tried to run. They were shot and dragged to the edge of the still shallow pit.

Hours passed as the people sweated and wept and dug-until finally the hole was deep enough. The people laid down their spades and shovels. The soldiers shouted for them to turn and face the pit.

They braced themselves, waiting for the killing blows, knowing that the soldiers would bludgeon them to death rather than shoot them-why waste precious bullets on ordinary peasants?

The heavy, humid air lay still as the villagers began to cry out-the wail before death, when the heart’s longing to live becomes a desperate plea for help. Some screamed to Buddha, to ancestors, or to demon spirits. A few cried for their mothers.

Then one woman began to cry, intuitively, to one of her earliest memories-the faint echo of a story told her by her mother about the God who hung on the cross. She called out to that God. Surely the One who had suffered Himself might have compassion on those about to die. Time stopped. The humid jungle air lay still.

Suddenly the screams around her became one great wail, as the entire village called out as one, crying for their lives to the God who hung on the cross.

There was only silence.

They sobbed into the darkness of the pit before them.

Silence. A flicker of hope.

And then the people turned, one by one by one.

The jungle was empty. The soldiers were gone.

And ever since that astounding day in 1979, the people of that village had been waiting-waiting for someone to come and tell them more-more about the God who hug on the cross.

John 3:31-33

He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Soft Touch

Posted on January 14, 2018 by Jennifer Van Allen

Me: It looks cold out!

Prodigal: It’s so cold the politicians have their hand in their own pockets.

Me: Haha, that is cold indeed. I am going to share about giving

This is a story from Dr James Dobson

My Dad, an evangelist, was the original soft touch. I remember him once going off to speak in a tiny church and coming home ten days later. Eventually my mother asked about the offering. I can still see my father’s face as he smiled and looked at the floor.

“You gave the money away again, didn’t you?” she asked.

“Myrt,” he said, “the pastor there is going through a hard time. His kids are needy. I felt I should give the entire fifty dollars to them.”

My good mother looked at my father for a few moments and then smiled. “You know, if God told you to do it, it’s okay with me.”

A few days later, we ran completely out of money, so my father gathered us for a time of prayer. He said, “Lord, you told us that if we would honor you in our good times, that you would take care of us when things are difficult. We need a little help at this time.” The next day we received an unexpected check for $1,200.00. That’s the way it happened–not once, but many times. No matter what you give, you’ll find you can never outgive God.

See if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

Malachi 3:10

Jennifer Van Allen

Speaking Ill

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Jennifer Van Allen

Me: Who is that Prodigal?

Prodigal: Someone I know. He is tighter than a wet boot.

Me: Well, even so he can be a good friend!

This is from the book God’s Little Devotional Book for Women

Carlos Romulo, the former president of the Philippines, won an oratorical contest in the Manila high school he attended as a young man. His father was puzzled, how ever, when he saw his son ignore the congratulations of one of the other contestants. As they left the auditorium he asked, “Why didn’t you shake hands with Julio?”

Carols said, “I have no use for Julio. He was speaking ill of me before the contest.” The father put his arm around his son and said, “Your grandfather used to tell me that the taller the bamboo grows, the lower it bends. Remember that always, my boy. The taller the bamboo grows, the lower it bends.”

Today is a day to bend lower.

A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.

Proverbs 1:5

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Seven Qualities

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Jennifer Van Allen

Me: Are you ready for your interview?

Prodigal: I hope so, any advice?

Me: You need to keep your saddle oiled and your gun greased.

Prodigal: Thanks, and just some encouragement please!

This is from the book Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders

Montgomery outlined seven qualities necessary for a military leader, each appropriate to spiritual warfare: the leader must 1. avoid getting swamped in detail; 2. not be petty; 3. not be pompous; 4. know how to select people to fit the task; 5. trust others to do a job without the leader’s meddling; 6. be capable of clear decisions; 7. inspire confidence.

You are overwhelmed with your task today and are begging for God’s direction. You cannot focus because of the stress. Here is your answer. Remember God can bring clarity at anytime and you did right by calling out to him.

1 John 4:19

We love because he first loved us.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

John 4

Posted on January 6, 2018 by Jennifer Van Allen

Me: How does it look outside today?

Prodigal: It’s as dry as the heart of a haystack.

Me: Maybe rain will come soon.

Prodigal: Only the Lords knows.

This is from the book You Can Change by Tim Chester

In John 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well at noon. “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun,” sang Noel Coward. you gather water in the cool of early morning. But she comes at midday to avoid the rest of the community because of the shame she feels. After she’s met Jesus, however, she runs to the community she’s been avoiding and says, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did”. The good news for her was that Jesus told her everything she had ever done and still offered her living water! She no longer had to hide. And it’s this testimony that draws the townspeople to Jesus. We can confess our sin to one another because there’s no longer any need to hide. Grace sets us free.

There is no need to hide. We all have shame at times and still Jesus loves us and gives us living water anyway.

Psalm 94:9

He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Faults are Thick Where Love is Thin

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Jennifer Van Allen

Me: Prodigal, your wagon is empty!

Prodigal: Oh No! I’ve done loaded the wrong wagon.

Me: It is ok, we all make mistakes.

Prodigal: Yes, and what I need is grace!

This is from God’s Little Devotional Book for Women

Have you ever noticed……..

When others are set in their ways, they’re obstinate….but you are firm and resolved.

When your neighbor doesn’t like your friend, she’s prejudiced….but when you don’t like her friend, your’re a good judge of human nature.

When she tries to treat someone especially well, she’s buttering up the person…but when you do so, you’re being thoughtful.

When she takes time to do things well, she’s lazy….but when you do so, you’re meticulous.

When she spends a lot, she’s a spendthrift….but when you overdo, you’re generous.

When she picks flaws in things, she’s critical…but when you do, you are perceptive.

When she is mild-mannered, you call her weak….but when you are , your gracious.

When she dresses well, she is extravagant…but when you do, you’re tastefully in style.

When she says what she thinks, she’s spiteful…but when you do, you’re being honest.

When she takes great risks, she’s foolhardy…but when you do, you’re brave.

God help me to love instead of trying to be right!

And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Coming to the Cross

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Jennifer Van Allen

Me: How are you doing today Prodigal?

Prodigal: I have a fun weekend planned!

Me: Are you excited?

Prodigal: I could hallelujah the countryside!

Me: Sounds like a fun time!

This is from the book Voices of the Faithful by Beth Moore

Kaili felt he had no choice but to be in a gang. Most Miao villages are safe, but his town in Southwest Asia was not. He had been robbed and threatened too many times. As part of a gang, though, things were looking up. The other gangs feared him, for he was a fighter.

To be Miao meant that Kali grew up in a family who worshiped their ancestors and lived in fear of evil spirits. He never heard the name of Jesus or knew of His power. But that was about to change.

One night, in a dream, Kaili saw a cross by the river. He picked it up, and a beam of light fell upon him from heaven. He began to dance in it. The next day after the dream, Kaili’s roommate came in holding a cross. Kaili exclaimed, “You found that by the river, didn’t you?”

He had! Kaili asked if he could have the cross, and he set out to discover what it meant. Then one night, he had another dream. A tall angel came to his door and told him the message of the cross.

Not long afterward, there came a knock on Kaili’s door. When he opened it, a tall foreigner was standing there. Kaili exclaimed, “You’re the one! Tell me how I can know the message of the cross!”

Kaili gave his life to Christ and has led many gang members to Him. Together, they’ve started a new “gang” of Miao Christians who are leading others to Him.

So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you.

Mark 11:24

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org