{"id":4747,"date":"2020-06-10T08:27:59","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T12:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747"},"modified":"2020-06-08T14:41:10","modified_gmt":"2020-06-08T18:41:10","slug":"4747theprodigalpig-richard-j-foster-dealing-with-sin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747","title":{"rendered":"Open The Door"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Me:  I was looking for you, I missed you.<\/p>\n

Prodigal: Sorry, I got distracted, and went off on a walk.<\/p>\n

Me:  I want to share something with you.<\/p>\n

This is from the book Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster<\/p>\n

Isaiah 57:20 says, “The wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.”  The sea does not need to do anything special to produce mire and dirt;  that is the result of its natural motions.  This is also true of us when we are under the condition of sin.  The natural motions of our lives produce mire an dirt.  Sin is part of the internal structure of our lives.  No special effort is needed to produce it.  No wonder we feel trapped.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our ordinary method of dealing with ingrained sin is to launch a frontal attack.  We rely on our willpower and determination.  Whatever may be the issue for us–anger, fear, bitterness, gluttony, pride, lust, substance abuse—we determine never to do it again;  we pray against it, fight against it, set our will against it.  But the struggle is all in vain, and we find ourselves once again morally bankrupt or, worse yet, so proud of our external righteousness that “whitened sepulchers” is a mild description of our condition.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When we despair of gaining inner transformation through human powers of will and determination, we are open to a wonderful new realization:  inner righteousness is a gift from God to be graciously received.  The needed change within us is God’s work, not ours.  The demand is for an inside job, and only God can work from the inside.  We cannot attain or earn this righteousness of the kingdom of God;  it is a grace that is given.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We must accept the gift of grace.  We must surrender before we can accept.<\/p>\n

1 Samuel 17:39-40<\/p>\n

David fastened on is sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.  “I cannot go in these.” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.”  So he took them off.  Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Van Allen<\/p>\n

www.theprodigalpig.com<\/p>\n

www.faithincounseling.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Me:  I was looking for you, I missed you. Prodigal: Sorry, I got distracted, and went off on a walk. Me:  I want to share something with you. This is from the book Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster Isaiah 57:20 says, “The wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot rest, and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nOpen The Door - The Prodigal Pig<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This is short devotion that includes writings from Richard J. Foster. He discusses dealing with sin from the inside, and allow grace to transform us.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Open The Door - The Prodigal Pig\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is short devotion that includes writings from Richard J. Foster. He discusses dealing with sin from the inside, and allow grace to transform us.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Prodigal Pig\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-06-10T12:27:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180303_120228-e1543102160152-169x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jennifer Van Allen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jennifer Van Allen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?p=4747#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?p=4747\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jennifer Van Allen\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2274d6e5dc07c0258ba4ee1a19c917f4\"},\"headline\":\"Open The Door\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-10T12:27:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?p=4747\"},\"wordCount\":418,\"commentCount\":2,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?p=4747#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/20180303_120228-e1543102160152-169x300.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?p=4747#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?p=4747\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?p=4747\",\"name\":\"Open The Door - The Prodigal Pig\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?p=4747#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?p=4747#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/20180303_120228-e1543102160152-169x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-10T12:27:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2274d6e5dc07c0258ba4ee1a19c917f4\"},\"description\":\"This is short devotion that includes writings from Richard J. Foster. He discusses dealing with sin from the inside, and allow grace to transform us.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?p=4747#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?p=4747\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?p=4747#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/20180303_120228-e1543102160152.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/20180303_120228-e1543102160152.jpg\",\"width\":2988,\"height\":5312},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?p=4747#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Open The Door\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Prodigal Pig\",\"description\":\"Encouraging Your Walk With God\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2274d6e5dc07c0258ba4ee1a19c917f4\",\"name\":\"Jennifer Van Allen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/96bdf0e859688cf2db2193ba18b2b49b508ba88c6fb504e5d1c44784dd9fbd60?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/96bdf0e859688cf2db2193ba18b2b49b508ba88c6fb504e5d1c44784dd9fbd60?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/96bdf0e859688cf2db2193ba18b2b49b508ba88c6fb504e5d1c44784dd9fbd60?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jennifer Van Allen\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.theprodigalpig.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Open The Door - The Prodigal Pig","description":"This is short devotion that includes writings from Richard J. Foster. He discusses dealing with sin from the inside, and allow grace to transform us.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Open The Door - The Prodigal Pig","og_description":"This is short devotion that includes writings from Richard J. Foster. He discusses dealing with sin from the inside, and allow grace to transform us.","og_url":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747","og_site_name":"The Prodigal Pig","article_published_time":"2020-06-10T12:27:59+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180303_120228-e1543102160152-169x300.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Jennifer Van Allen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jennifer Van Allen","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747"},"author":{"name":"Jennifer Van Allen","@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2274d6e5dc07c0258ba4ee1a19c917f4"},"headline":"Open The Door","datePublished":"2020-06-10T12:27:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747"},"wordCount":418,"commentCount":2,"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180303_120228-e1543102160152-169x300.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747","url":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747","name":"Open The Door - The Prodigal Pig","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180303_120228-e1543102160152-169x300.jpg","datePublished":"2020-06-10T12:27:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2274d6e5dc07c0258ba4ee1a19c917f4"},"description":"This is short devotion that includes writings from Richard J. Foster. He discusses dealing with sin from the inside, and allow grace to transform us.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180303_120228-e1543102160152.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/20180303_120228-e1543102160152.jpg","width":2988,"height":5312},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=4747#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Open The Door"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/#website","url":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/","name":"The Prodigal Pig","description":"Encouraging Your Walk With God","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2274d6e5dc07c0258ba4ee1a19c917f4","name":"Jennifer Van Allen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96bdf0e859688cf2db2193ba18b2b49b508ba88c6fb504e5d1c44784dd9fbd60?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96bdf0e859688cf2db2193ba18b2b49b508ba88c6fb504e5d1c44784dd9fbd60?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96bdf0e859688cf2db2193ba18b2b49b508ba88c6fb504e5d1c44784dd9fbd60?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jennifer Van Allen"},"url":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?author=1"}]}},"views":773,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4747"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7351,"href":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4747\/revisions\/7351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}