The Spirit Does the Miracle

 

Me:  I am enjoying this walk Prodigal!

Prodigal:  Me too, good time to share about the Lord right now!

 

This is from the book You Were Born for This by Bruce Wilkinson

We are partnering with the most powerful force on earth–God himself.  And the Holy Spirit has been given to us so we can do good works by His power.  He is our Helper.  He is the only one who does a miracle.  You and I are simply blessed to be invited into partnership with Him.

 

God let me be reminded of the grace and mercy you gave me in first allowing me to know you.  The second is that you even allow me to be part of miracles in the life of other’s .

 

1 Corinthians 14:15

What is it then?  I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also:  I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Servant’s Heart

 

Me:  Look at those nice condo’s!

Prodigal:  I do believe that those people are so rich they eat their layin’ hens.

Me:  We can’t have prejudice against the rich.

Prodigal:  No, we can’t.

 

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

I had known the quiet woman for only a few months, but already I respected her.  Her father had died young, and she was the primary breadwinner for her family.  She worked hard and sought to honor her mother.  After a missionary led her to the Lord, she also lived her life for Jesus.  She was pleasant and had a true servant’s heart.

She went to church, yet even there the dividing lines were drawn.  As a poor girl born into a low Hindu caste of street sweepers, few greeted her with handshakes and warm embraces.

I had been bedridden for more than a week.  I was too weak to go to the nearest medical facility.  I struggled to swallow water, and I ate and drank nothing else.  My body and mind were too exhausted to read Scripture or even to pray.  My family was continents away, and friends did not know what to do to help me improve.

Then the young woman came to my bedside.  I was happy to have her there.  She placed her hand on my forearm and went directly to the Lord in prayer, asking for my healing.  The  next morning I was well.

How grateful I am to the Lord that the woman whom so many reject placed her hands of prayer on me!

Although it is easy to judge other believers for their treatment of this woman born in humble circumstances, I had to ask myself the shameful question, Do I have any prejudice in my heart?

Chele, South Asia

 

Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.  For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of Lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.

Deuteronomy 10:16-17

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Rugs

 

Me:  What a nice rug!

Prodigal:  It is my friend’s and she picked it out.

Me:  Well I would say she’s got plenty of arrows in her quiver.

Prodigal:  I would agree!

 

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

In a small town high in an Andean valley, exquisite wool rugs are made entirely by hand.  Freshly shorn sheep’s wool is first washed in a vat of water heated over an open fire.  Detergent is added to remove natural oils and grime as a wooden paddle is used to stir.  The workers then rinse the wool in the river.

Then, the craftsmen examine the wool.  They set aside the purest white wool to be used in its natural color.  The wool that is not pure white is placed in a vat and heated again.  Dye is added to the flawed wool to make the bright colors needed.

After the dye process, the wool is hand-spun into thread.  The finished rug will have at least 60,000 hand-tied knots per square meter.  Brilliant masterpieces of color and design are made of the pure wool and the wool that was once flawed.  The dye covers the flaws and makes the wool attractive and useful.

I look at my life and see many failures.  However, just like the wool that could not meet the standards of pure white, I can still have value.  God has not only forgiven my sins, He covers my flaws with Himself, and I am made beautiful and useful.  As I daily submit to Him, I become part of the design of His perfect will.

There is no one of us whose life is too flawed with sin to be used by God.  Our value comes not from who or what we are, but from what God makes us.

 

Donna, South America

He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.

Titus 3:5-6

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Crafty

 

Me:  Enjoying some arts and crafts!

Prodigal:  Yes, I am trying to relax

Me:  Before you get started I will share from a book

When Sinners Say I do by Dave Harvey

 

Sin is crafty.  It is inherently deceitful.  The ultimate spiritual con game, sin stays in the shadows as it tries to control and take us captive.  But unlike a con man who merely wants to separate us from our money, sin wants to separate us from God himself.  Through its lies, sin presses us toward adopting a false perspective on our relationship with God.

Although we have been blessed by God, sin would have us think of ourselves as victimized by God.  That’s how sin works now.  That’s how it worked “in the beginning.”

 

The morning turned out with me focused on the evil actions of others.  That is when the sin started.  How is that  sin?  Well I did not focus on God’s blessings and also his promise.  That he would not leave me or forsake me.  That God has a plan, and evil is overcome.  Well there is a spiritual realm and a physical realm.  We do not know all that is going on but we do have to know that even if we suffer today then we do not suffer alone.

 

Psalms 85:2

You forgave the iniquity of your people, you covered all their sin.

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Freed From Fear

 

Me:  Wow Billy Graham began preaching on a corner here!

Prodigal:  I wonder if he was afraid or had anxiety?

Me:  I don’t know.  When God calls you, there can be a lot of emotions involved.

 

This comes from the book

Joy in Christ’s Presence by Charles Spurgeon

 

I have been lamenting my unfitness for my work, especially for the warfare to which I am called.  A sense of heaviness recently came over me, but relief came very quickly, for which I thank the Lord.  Indeed, I was greatly burdened, but the Lord comforted me with the words of Isaiah 43:1:  “But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not.”  I said to myself, “I am what God created me to be and I am what He formed me to be.  Therefore I must, after all, be the right man for the place in which He has put me.”  We are in no position to blame our Creator or to suspect that He has missed His mark in forming an instrument for His work.  When we understand this , new comfort will come to us.

 

God you did it again!  What did He do?  He knew my heart, he knew where I need encouragement.  It warms the soul to think that God the powerful took just one minute to encouragement my soul this morning.  No wonder He should be worthy to be served!

Romans 10:17

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org.

 

Getting Dirty

Prodigal:  Is Brady part of your family?

Me:  Yep, and I love him and my family!

Prodigal:  What do you like most about your family?

Me:  Well we’re just beans-and-cornbread kind of folks and not to fancy.  I kinda like that type of living.

Prodigal:  There is nothing wrong with that.

 

This is from the book Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl by Lysa Terkeurst

 

Often we slip into judging others under the guise of being honest enough to say the hard things to a friend.  The Bible makes it clear that honesty is important–but so is prayerful consideration of how and when to say things.  Saying something hard to someone is not an off-the-cuff assignment.  We have to be willing to do life with this person for a while.  We have to get a little dirty on their behalf, get to know what their life is really like, and earn the right to have these types of conversations with them.

 

What a reminder to have compassion today.  To keep your mouth shut and pray more while your are listening.

 

Matthew 26:10

When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman?  for she hath wrought a good work upon me.

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

He Comes to Us

 

Me:  Prodigal, are you enjoying your hike?

Prodigal:  Yes being outdoors makes me think more about God.

Me:  Why don’t I share some thoughts about God.

 

This is from Bob Benson

 

He comes to us in so many ways–

Warmth when we are cold,

Fellowship when we are alone,

Strength when we are weak,

Peace when we are troubled,

Courage when we are afraid,

Songs when we are sad,

And bread when we are hungry.

 

I get so weary from the world’s voices.  People talk but do not have the wisdom of God.  They jump quickly to follow man’ s orders but ignore the commandments of Jesus to love one another.  Then I take my focus off God and where am I, weary again.  So I go to meet God to be reminded that He is my hope and my light.  God what would I do with out you?  I would be lost.

 

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

 

Jennifer Van Allen

 

www.theprodgialpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Failure

Prodigal:  Will you buy this selfie stick for me!   I really really want it!

Me:  Why don’t you buy it?

Prodigal:  It would be best if you buy it for me!

Me:  Sounds like your itchin’ for something you won’t scratch for.

 

This is from the book by Slaying the Giants in your Life by David Jeremiah

 

This is a truth I come to see with more clarity each passing year.  We worry so much about appearances; God worries so little about them.  This is another subject Jesus returned to constantly:  the superficiality of the surface; the seriousness of the heart.  We’re all wrapped up in pubic perception, but God’s steady gaze never wavers from the heart.  God loves us most deeply when we drop the pretenses, forget our all-important facades, and come to Him not like the proud Pharisee but like the trembling tax collector:  “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner!”

 

If no one gives you applause. If no one thanks you in a crowd.  If no one sees the effort that went behind the service.  Then you are most blessed.  God has seen the heart and the reward will not be the approval of the people around you but the approve of the King Himself!

 

1 Samuel 3:19

And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Focused On One Area

Me:  Howdy Prodigal!

Prodigal:  I am glad you came along, my friend is mad at me.

Me:  Don’t fret none ’cause she’ll soon get glad in the same dress she got made in.

Prodigal:  I hope so.

Me:  I know she will and while we wait I will share.

 

This is from Keith Miller

 

When we…focus our lives upon anything or any relationship that is not God, sooner or later we spoil it, and it will fail us.  For, in fact, we are not in control of life, and no thing or person can meet our deepest needs for security and fulfillment.

 

Relationships are good for us but they must all come under the umbrella of God.  We must submit our relationships and our lives under the direction that God wants us to go.  This can be very tough emotionally.  Who are the people who make us the most mad.  It is the people we love the most.  Yes, someone might be mad at you right now, but surrender them to God and let God soften their heart.

 

1 Corinthians 16:13,14

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.  Let all your things be done with charity.

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincousneling.org

Purpose of Restoration

 

Me:  Howdy Prodigal!

Prodigal:  How are you today, I trying to finish up my chores this morning.

Me:  I was stopping by to share with you something I read.

 

This is from the book Fervent by Priscilla Shirer

 

Condemnation always leads to guilt-laden discouragement, while conviction–though often painful in pointing out our wrongdoing–still somehow encourages and lifts us, giving us hope to rebuild on.  The first makes you focus on yourself; the other points you to the grace and empowering mercy of Christ.

 

Sometimes we get confused when we feel condemnation.  We take on that negative emotion and think we are doing nothing right.  That is not from the Lord and it is a distractor to your day.  Speak to those closes to you so that they can help you sort the confusion and find God’s truth.

 

Ephesians 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org