Prodigal: That’s mighty right.
Me: I can tell you tried.
This is a short video devotion on Proverbs
Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise. (NKJV)
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Me: They did a great job with the detail.
Prodigal: Yes, it is a lovely work of art.
This is from the book The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
As I was sitting in the doctor’s waiting room one day, my eye was drawn to a remarkable picture of a man being sculpted. The sculpture was complete down to about midthigh, and the finished work showed a very robust and muscular man with the kind of physique of men would like to have. The striking thing about the picture, however, was that the artist had put the hammer and chisel in the hands of the man being sculpted.
I was fascinated by the picture and wondered what message the artist was trying to convey. Perhaps he was trying to paint a picture of the so-called self-made man. As I studied the picture, however, I marveled at how it did depict so well the way many Christians try to live the Christian life. We try to change ourselves. We take what we think are the tools of spiritual transformation into our own hands and try to sculpt ourselves into robust Christlike specimens. But spiritual transformation is primarily the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the Master Sculptor.
Romans 12:11
Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: Some of what I am watching is just sad.
Me: Sometimes it seems like everything is going’ to hell in a hand basket.
Prodigal: That would explain some of it.
This is from Billy Graham.
Mr. Average man is comfortable in his complacency and as unconcerned as a silverfish ensconced in a carton of discarded magazines on world affairs. Man is not asking any questions, because his social benefits from the government give him a false security. This is his trouble and his tragedy. Modern man has become a spectator of world events, observing on his television screen without becoming involved. He watches the ominous events of our time pass before his eyes, while he sips his beer in a comfortable chair. He does not seem to realize what is happening to him. He does not understand that his world is on fire and that he is about to be burned with it.
Luke 6:35-36
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodialpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: I am about to hit the hay.
Me: Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.
This is a short video devotion on Proverbs.
Proverbs 12:14
From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him. (ESV)
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Me: What do y’all think?
Prodigal: You hit the nail on the head!
Me: 🙂
This is from the book David: A Man of Passion and Destiny by Charles Swindoll
Hey, who knows whom you could persuade if you walked with God? Few things are more infectious than a godly lifestyle. The people you rub shoulders with every day need that kind of challenge. Not prudish. Not preachy. Just crackerjack clean living. Just honest-to-goodness, bone-deep, nonhypocritical integrity. Authentic obedience to God.
And David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way.
1 Samuel 24:7
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: We are ready.
Me: Ready for me to strip your hide?
Prodigal: Just try.
This is from the book The Revolution That Changed The World by Dr. David Jeremiah
There is always a conflict of wills when a person becomes a Christian. Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, we humans have been determined to run our own lives and do things our own way. Paul puts it this way: “The sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God” (Romans 8:7-8). This explains why we so often resist when confronted with the gospel. We don’t want to give up our self-will. What God chooses for us may not be what we would choose for ourselves. God confronts us with an all-or-nothing proposition: we can follow his way or not at all. He accepts no half-hearted commitments.
Romans 10:2
For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: He was sittin’ there like a knot on a log.
Me: Maybe he was just tired.
This is a short video devotion on Proverbs.
Proverbs 12:13
The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Me: Can you help me?
Prodigal: If I get a notion.
Me: Please, it would mean a lot.
Prodigal: I will help and you can share.
Me: Agreed!
This is from the book Keep Your Love On by Danny Silk
If you heard someone described as a powerful person, you might assume he or she would be the loudest person in the room, the one telling everyone else what to do. But powerful does not mean dominating. In fact, a controlling, dominating person is the very opposite of a powerful person.
Powerful people do not try to control other people. They know it doesn’t work, and that it’s not their job. Their job is to control themselves.
Leave that person to God. Focus on yourself. You can’t control, you just have give it to Christ.
Romans 10:1
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Me: That street looks busy.
Prodigal: I will be careful when I am crossing.
This is from the book Where Angels Walk by Joan Wester Anderson
Mother Angelica has told the story often. About eleven years old, and feeling especially lonely and sad, she was walking downtown one evening, oblivious to everything around her. “I started to cross a busy street, then heard a woman’s shrill scream behind me,” she recalls. Rita looked back expecting to see someone in trouble, and instead realized that a car was speeding toward her, the headlights shining in her eyes. There was no time to get to the safety island. Rita froze, closed her eyes and waited for fatal impact.
Instead she felt two strong hands lift her high in the air. A moment later she blinked and looked around in disbelief. She was standing on the sidewalk!
A bus driver who witnessed the event from his higher perch later reported, with disbelief, a somewhat different scenario. He insisted that Rita had jumped or somehow been catapulted into the air, easily clearing both the safety island and the onrushing auto. Such a feat seemed impossible, and the man was dumbfounded.
Mother Angelica hasn’t forgotten that extraordinary moment when she felt the hands of a comforter and knew that God’s love would never fail.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
MATTHEW 11 : 28
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: Butter my buns and call me a biscuit.
Me: Reminds me, of breakfast….
This is a short video devotion on Proverbs
Proverbs 12:12 The wicked covet the catch of evil man, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
