A Special Closeness to God

Posted on June 30, 2022 by Jennifer Van Allen

Me: Y’all look like two peas in a pod.

Prodigal: You could say that again.

This is from Henri Nouwen

It is not a time in which I experience a special closeness to God; it is not a period of serious attentiveness to the divine mysteries. I wish it were! On the contrary, it is full of distractions, inner restlessness, sleepiness, confusion, and boredom. It seldom, if ever, pleases my senses. But the simple fact of being for one hour in the presence of the Lord and of showing him all that I feel, think, sense, and experience, without trying to hide anything, must please him. Somehow, somewhere, I know that he loves me, even though I do not feel the love as I can feel a human embrace, even though I do not hear a voice as I hear human words of consolation, even though I do not see a smile, as I can see in a human face. Still God speaks to me, looks at me, and embraces me there, where I am still unable to notice it.

Isaiah 26:8

In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

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Women Lovin’ Jesus

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Jennifer Van Allen

Me: Remember this.

Prodigal: What?

Me: When life needs rebooting, remember–Jesus saves!

This is a short video devotion

click here to watch the video

Proverbs 8:30

Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, (NKJV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

The Universal Presence

Posted on June 26, 2022 by Jennifer Van Allen

Prodigal: Today, I can feel God and know that He is with me.

Me: He is with you even if you cannot feel Him.

Prodigal: Yes, that is true.

This is from the book The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

Any man who by repentance and a sincerer return to God will break himself out of the mold in which he has been held, and will go to the Bible itself for his spiritual standards, will be delighted with what he finds there.

Let us say it again: The Universal Presence is a fact. God is here. The whole universe is alive with His life. And He is no strange or foreign God, but the familiar Father of our Lord Jesus Christ whose love has for these thousands of years enfolded the sinful race of men. And always He is trying to get our attention, to reveal Himself to us, to communicate with us. We have within us the ability to know Him if we will but respond to His overtures. (And this we call pursuing God!) We will know Him in increasing degree as our receptivity becomes more perfect by faith and love and practice.

O God and Father, I repent of my sinful preoccupation with visible things. The world has been too much with me. Thou hast been here and I knew it not. I have been blind to Thy Presence. Open my eyes that I may behold Thee in and around me. For Christ’s sake, Amen.

Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as he is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Praise

Posted on June 24, 2022 by Jennifer Van Allen

Me: I wonder what surprise you have?

Prodigal: I am grateful for the thought, and that makes it wonderful!

This is from God Will Make A Way: Stories of Hope

We will never run out of things to praise God for if we keep our focus on His glory and remain in His presence. The more we praise God, the more we see clearly who He is, who we are before Him, and the relationship He desires to have with us. The more we praise God, the more meaning and fulfillment come to our lives.

Praise allows us to endure hardship until the moment of God’s victory arrives.

Praise enables us to activate our faith to believe for God’s definitive deliverance.

Praise makes us complete and whole and brings healing.

Praise gives us voice for our emotions when blessings, reconciliation, and harmony overtake sorrow, struggle, and strife.

Praise often is the way God designs for us to emerge from darkness and to stand boldly in the light of His love.

All your works shall praise You, O Lord, And your saints shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and talk of your power.

Psalm 145:10

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Women Lovin’ Jesus

Posted on June 22, 2022 by Jennifer Van Allen

Prodigal: Are you coming?

Me: Now don’t get all worked up. I am.

This is a short video devotion.

click here to watch the video

Proverbs 8:29

When he assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth, (NKJV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Flavia Domitilla Remembered

Posted on June 20, 2022 by Jennifer Van Allen

Me: Daggon’ is this not the hottest day.

Prodigal: We will have to find some shade before we take a load off.

This is from the book Great Women of the Christian Faith by Edith Deen

Flavia Domitilla was important as a niece of the Emperor Domitian. Her husband, Titus Flavious Clemens, was the emperor’s cousin and was appointed consul by him. Both Flavia and her husband were accused of atheism because they refused to worship the emperor as a god. Since they rejected the state of religion, and could not plead the excuse of being Jews, they were branded as atheists,

Flavia not only suffered for her faith in being a Christian but also for giving aid and shelter to the needy, for burying dead martyrs, and for reading the Bible. As soon as her husband’s consulate ended in 95 A.D., Domitian ordered that he be put to death for refusing to assist in the persecution of Christians. Flavia was spared death but was forced to endure a long and lonely martyrdom on an island in the Mediterranean Sea near Naples.

1 John 2:28

And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Empathy in Servanthood

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Jennifer Van Allen

Prodigal: That was a real tear jerker.

Me: Sometimes we all need a tissue to help with the waterworks.

Prodial: And we need a friend to help us.

This is from the book Christian Caregiving: A Way of Life by Kenneth Haugk

When you empathize, the other person senses that you share his or her problems, but you have the all-important objectivity that enables you to communicate, “Let’s get out of this together.” With your empathy you firmly grasp the other person’s hand and help him or her through the quagmire back onto stable ground.

It has been difficult for you. You don’t always say it. You try to praise instead of complain. I see the somber way you stand and stare off in quiet times. Once again obedience has seemed to bring you to a lonely place.

This is only for a time. We walk by faith and trust in the Lord. We trust Him and with that trust we receive a peace. With the Lord, the loneliness turns to a time of resting. A peaceful time. Something that is a blessing while others are much too busy to notice.

The Lord knows and He wants you to enjoy this time of rest.

Psalm 89:1

I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Women Lovin’ Jesus

Posted on June 16, 2022 by Jennifer Van Allen

Prodigal: You know a bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn.

Me: Amen!

This is a short video devotion on Proverbs.

Click here to watch the video.

Proverbs 8:28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthen the fountains of the deep. (KJV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

God Dwells

Posted on June 14, 2022 by Jennifer Van Allen

Prodigal: Is God listening?

Me: Yes, God sees all right now.

Prodigal: Sometimes it seems hard to see that.

Me: Doesn’t mean it is not true.

This comes from the book The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

God dwells in His creation and is everywhere indivisible present in all His works. This is boldly taught by prophet and apostle and is accepted by Christian theology generally. That is, it appears in the books, but for some reason it has not sunk into the average Christian’s heart so as to become a part of his believing self.

After accepting the Lord as your Savior the Holy Spirit dwells in you. That means there is always a connection to you and God. You cannot get lost to a place that He will not be able to find you. We cannot worry that the Lord has forgotten to be with us during the difficult day. We need wisdom and wonder. How can we find it? We have wisdom in us through the Holy Spirit. We are part of a body of Christ that is connected in so many ways we cannot understand. Look at life different today.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.

Isaiah 61:1

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Watch for Temptation

Posted on June 12, 2022 by Jennifer Van Allen

Prodigal: I am tempted to take a cookie when others backs are turned.

Me: Prodigal, I know what you are thinking. You should think twice about that action.

This is from the book The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis

Fire proveth iron, and temptation a just man. We know not often times what we are able to do, but temptation sheweth us what we are.

Yet we must be watchful, especially in the beginning of the temptation; for the enemy is then more easily overcome, if he be not suffered in any wise to enter the door of our hearts, but he resisted without the gate at his first knock.

When we are in the battle the first step can be just to recognize the knock of satan. Sometimes we forget that he was an angel and was very beautiful. He knows how to make things beautiful. He knows how to make us think that this choice is not a bad choice. Be watchful and do not answer that knock today.

Psalm 90:1

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org