Prodigal:  I don’t know if I like the look of him.

Me:  We have no idea the type of person he is.

Prodigal:  Maybe we should give him a chance.

This is from Eternity Magazine by Gladys M. Hunt

Acceptance means you are valuable just as you are.  It allows you to be the real you.  You are not forced into someone else’s idea of who you are.  It means your ideas are taken seriously since they reflect you.  You can talk about how you feel inside, why you feel that way, and someone really cares.  Acceptance means you can try out your ideas without being shot down.  You can even express heretical thoughts and discuss them with intelligent questioning.  You feel safe.  No one will pronounce judgment on you even though they don’t agree with you.  It doesn’t mean you’ll never be corrected or shown to be wrong.  It simply means it’s safe to be you and no one will destroy you out of prejudice.

quote by Henry Drummond

How many prodigals are kept out of the kingdom of God by the unlovely characters of those who profess to be inside?

A while ago,  I was driving to run a very quick errand.  I was at a long stop light, and was looking around.  For just a minute, or two I saw a car pull into the lot beside the stop light, and it was a person I knew.

This person had a huge part in making sure that they would act out their prejudice against me.  I did not see things the way they did.  I believed that following Christ meant that the Holy Spirit worked from the inside out.  They wanted you to look perfect on the outside, and it had to be by your own efforts.  They thought I did not try enough out of my own efforts to be perfect, and this type of behavior had to stop.  So they tried, bullying, punishment, slander, and anything else to try and make me do things their way.

I knew they were asking for the impossible, I could not be perfect.  I could not meet their expectations.   At first there was anger, and then I felt like condemning myself, which Is what they did to me mostly.

Then I focused on Christ, and I felt sorry.  They lived a life far from Christ, and not knowing his comfort.  They lived a life that ignored that the Holy Spirit was there to help.  A life like that is difficult to live day to day.

They cannot run from the Lord.  Maybe one day they will see the true Christ before they face His judgement.  Yes, Lord that is all I could pray.  Then I praised God that he took this wrench like me, and allowed me to see the light.

John 1:6-7

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: I reckon we can stay awhile.

Me: Good, here is a quick video for you.

This is a video devotion on proverbs

click here to watch the video

Proverbs 4:22

for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodialpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

 

Prodigal:  That is a beautiful eagle.

Me: I have a parable about an eagle.

Prodigal:  Let’s hear it with our friend.

 

This is from the book The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart by Charles Swindoll

 

Once upon a time, the animals decided they should do something meaningful to meet the problems of the new world.  So they organized a school.  They adopted an activity curriculum of running, climbing, swimming, and flying.  To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects.

The duck was excellent in swimming:  in fact, better than his instructor, but he made only passing grades in flying, and was very poor in running.  Since he was slow in running, he had to drop swimming and stay after school to practice running.  This caused his web feet to be badly worn, so that he was only average in swimming.  But average was quite acceptable, so nobody worried about that–except duck.

The rabbit started at the top of his class in running, but developed a nervous twitch in his leg muscles because of so much make-up work in swimming.

The squirrel was excellent in climbing, but he encountered constant frustration in flying class because his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of from the treetop down.  He developed charley horses from over exertion, and so only got a C in climbing and a D in running.

The eagle was a problem child and was severely disciplined for being a nonconformist.  In climbing classes he beat all the others to the top of the tree, but insisted on using his own way to get there….

The obvious moral of the story is a simple one:  Each creature has its own set of capabilities in which it will naturally excel–unless it is expected or forced to fill a mold that doesn’t fit.  What is true of creatures in the forest is true of Christians in the family.  God has not made us all the same.  It’s ok to be you….so relax.  Enjoy your own capabilities, cultivate your own style.  Appreciate the members of your family or your fellowship for who they are, even though their outlook or style may be miles different from yours.  Rabbits don’t fly.  Eagles don’t swim. Ducks look funny trying to climb.  Squirrels don’t have feathers.  Stop comparing!

 

Psalm 3:5

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: I like the pattern in that quilt!

Me: I reckon it just grows on you.

I looked at my phone.  The time said almost an hour and half.  I could not believe I had been talking for that long.  Time flies when the conversation is great!  It was toward the end of the night.  I had decided to walk my dog, Romans, and talk at the same time.  Romans needed his nightly walk before bed, so it all worked out great. 

I finished the walk, and went inside.  I went to my bedroom, and sat in my chair.  I took out my bible, and nightly devotion.  I sat there enjoying God’s word for the night.  As I closed the bible, I looked around for Romans who usually joins me in bed.  He was nowhere to be found.  I did a quick search of the house, and found him by the door. 

He was staring at his leash, and was ready to go outside.  I thought.  How strange, there is no way he has to go out so quick after an hour and a half walk.  I did not want any accidents though, so we went outside.  Just as I thought.  Romans really did not have to use the bathroom.  I then began to piece it together. 

I had changed up my routine.  Every night I read my bible first, and then walked Romans.  Romans saw me reading my bible, and was just waiting for the usual routine. 

Without realizing it. Romans began to be trained by me.  For two years my dog saw me read my bible every night, and then walk him.  He thought when I read the bible at night, the next step, meant he goes for a walk.  He was just following the nightly routine. 

Routines are developed daily, and then weekly.  Weeks turn to months, and months turn to years.  I have been guilty of the desire to prove “how Christian I am”.  I need people to see this, or understand this about me. 

I need to tell people I do this.  I need to show people I do this.  Then they will see what a great Christian I am.  I think I was way off track with these thoughts. 

 I developed the habit of reading my bible every night for a lot of reasons, but I was determined to make that a goal that stayed with me for the rest of my life.    It really was between me and God, this goal of reading the Bible.  I knew that if His word was so important to me, I would have to make it a priority to at least read part of it every day. 

I praise God that the habit has been developed.  The things we create that are consistent do not need to be shouted out.  They speak for themselves.  Even a dog figured out that I can be faithfully relied upon to read my bible every night.   

Others have watched you too.  They can see what you are faithful about.  You don’t have to list them.  It will show itself to others. 

I love when I can talk, and show others what I have done, and accomplished.  I think this night though God was showing me something else.  He was showing me that just by seeking Him, others will notice.  I don’t always have to be focused on who is seeing, and who is listening, and who understands.  

I read the bible that night and saw God words.  But the Lord used my dog that night to understand what his words look like in action. 

Luke 12:2-3

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: God loves to remind you of His love.

Me: It is good to be reminded

Here is a video devotion about Proverbs

Click here to watch video

Proverbs 4:21

Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart;

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org