Friday, November 5, 2021

FAITH FILLED FRIDAY! Wallow or Follow?

“And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate…” Luke 15.15
Viva LOST Vegas
Yeah,forbidden fruit can cause many jams.That's what happened to the prodigal.Ungrateful,selfish.Here is a picture of a guy that has given up.Settling for the temporary.Excuse me, but I would rather have the corn on the cob,than the cob.This guy is in serious need of a faith lift.
Mr.P took his inheritance and headed for Lost Vegas. A few days of the swallowing and wallowing will change a guy’s tune. Jonah got “swallowed” whole and it brought him back to his senses and then he followed God's will. The same happened to the prodigal after a few days feeding porky. Soon the enemy convinced him that he could do no better. Wallowing becomes disastrous to self-image and identity. The boy squandered the inheritance.Big city life costs more than green acres, you know. Sin pays out a demeaning paycheck. Soon he had lost all respect for himself. The smell of the pig lot got in his beard, his clothes, his nasal passages. He probably tried to wash and maintain former hygiene at first but the relentless condemnation of the evil one battered his self-esteem. Tide could not take it out.Finally, I believe the barrage took its toll and the guy gave up. That’s what happens to an unshaven, unclean, unkempt wino, for instance. The passerby sees him wallowing in it. Wallowing in the self-pity, the grief, the bitterness and unforgiveness,depression.Its my pity party and I'll wallow if I want to.

Pity Party Pig Pen
We are too blessed to remain depressed! Diana and I just arrived back in the state from our mission trip to Chemax Mexico.A remote place on this planet where the people have everything to complain about but happily live their lives without.No self pit,no pity party.The pity party is the loneliest party we can attend. No fun,no games,and it really stinks.There’s a wide chasm between following and wallowing but wallowing can happen even to Bible-toter's. The sore festers. The old pain of he said/ she said rises up again and next you’re laying awake counting offenses instead of counting sheep. The prodigal wallowed in the hog pen begging for husks “and no one gave him anything”. That makes it clear, there is no profit in sulking, not so much as a hog’s husk. Some wallow in regret. They rehearse the past instead of letting God reverse the past. You can’t unscramble an egg and it takes a few broken ones to make an omelet.The judge said the divorce was “final”. What part of “final” don’t you understand? Get over it and get on with it. "That's easy for you to say",you might retort,But I have been there done that and I would much rather be at Fathers House than wallow with the pigs or for that matter live with one.Understand and get it in your brain that God stands in your future and waits there for you with open arms. When you’re wallowing you’re not following. See Peter warming himself by a fire? See Elijah sulking under a juniper tree? Some wallow in grief. Sure it hurts and everyone needs recovery time. But something is not right about a wound that oozes and never heals. Let the cut breathe.Arise and follow and say "ba-de ba-de-ba-de that's all folks" to the pity party pig pen..........

A Royal makeover
Our current culture is wallowing in filth and indulgence. Paul predicted that “perilous times shall come, for men shall be lover of their own selves…” (2 Timothy 3:1) It is one thing to makeover the body, quite another to make over the heart and let me say a change of mind doesn't necessarily alter the heart's condition,but its a start. From MTV to the covers of magazines at the grocery check-out, it is clear that America has been baptized in moral debauchery. The prodigal could only bear so much wallowing. He made a decision, “I will arise and go to my father…” The backslider and cold christian have tasted just how un-nourishing the husks are, and they want to come home. Well, the Father’s door is ALWAYS open. The key is still there on the ledge, son.daughter,friend. The prodigals’ problem was that he was still wallowing in regret. “How can Dad ever let me come back after all that I’ve messed up?”He changed his mind to come back to Father,but the heart hadn't changed....yet.As when he neared the home gate his father ran to him, embraced him and kissed his son. He traded husks for hugs. There was a restoration, a picture of justification. No mention was made of the past. Dad never mentioned the squandered inheritance or the nauseating odor.He gave the kid a royal makeover. He suited his son with a new set of clothes and a restored family identity.The son traded his self pity for peace.A pity party for a cookout feast.Wow! Speaking of feasts,among a hard week of labor God did give us a levity break every now and then.Came across a family where a couple was celebrating their wedding anniversary and the mans gift to his wife? A fat pig! God wants to throw us a party too if we can pick ourselves up and get back to Dad's house. Its time to wake up, rise up and come back to Father...Get motivated!


Nuff Said,