Browsing Tag

Satan

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Can you tell?

Posted on April 27, 2023

It’s busy at the Colley’s this week, but our agendas are not so pressing and our schedules are not bustin’ out like the devil’s. He is the busiest lion-wolf-snake-bee I have ever encountered. While he has always had the same agenda, I believe his forces are larger and more daunting than they have been in my lifetime. He cannot be in all places at one time (because he walks to and fro in the earth, Job 1:7), but he sure does a good job of stationing his minions in large numbers in key places in our lives. And he puts them on steroids in the lives of our kids.

While we often focus on the big picture, the devil is in the details. He starts in small things–little compromises–and worms his way into our hearts. If he can just plant a seed-thought in our heads, get our eyes to glance at  one desirable image or have a yearning for one beautiful body, or keep us from one day of Bible study, or from one night of Family Bible time, or if he can get up in our busy-ness with innocent but distracting pleasures, or if he can just get us to waste a few minutes scrolling though the slime–then he can work his way from there into our very purposes in life. He can make us think about an image over and over, rekindle a feeling of lust or a desire to participate, and he can do it over and over throughout our days until he has us walking toward the sin, clicking on the image or tasting the sweet wine of sin. Just a taste and he can make us feel defeated and he can make us view our attempts to live righteously as failures. Sometimes we then feel like, “What’s the use? I have messed up. I may as well go ahead and fill the empty space with sin and then I’ll do better later.”

Later. That’s the damning concept. Time is not the sinner’s friend. It marches on relentlessly toward the point of no return. It envelopes and enslaves while promising a day when there will be time for repentance and God. The devil can make you loathe imprisonment, but love the first step into the prison’s chamber. He can deafen you to the locking bars behind you. He can make you think the stocks of sin are unbearable, but make you love that first moment when you lie down for the bondage. He can make you hate addiction, but love the first taste of the wine. He can make you despise the distant repetition of sin, but love the right-now, one-time deception of which he is the master. He can make you hate the wolf, but fail to recognize the wool over your eyes is just a lamb’s costume–that the wolf is right inside that well designed “get-up” , ready to pounce.   He makes you think you can walk away from the danger, while he is that lion already chewing off your legs. You will not run.

If you are waiting till later to defeat him, you are planning for eternal failure. He’s not as powerful as your God (1 John 4:4), but if you align yourself with him, He wins–every time.

Later. While you wait for later, he takes your prime–the years of your health and wealth and your heartiest influence.  There may be a day when you can have God’s wonderful mercy at the last minute before you cross the Jordan, but you will not easily reclaim the innocent souls you influenced for hell during the time you leased-out to the devil, You will not reclaim the hours of praise and worship that should have blessed and nurtured. You will not retract the damnation you shared during the years you walked with the deceiver. If you had a thousand hearts to give as you cross over, they could not undo the damage of a heart given-over to Satan during the formative years of your children. He is so busy. He offers shining, but damning, moments in life–times when you make vows, sign on dotted lines, enter into covenants or move to new arenas–he offers these glamorous moments from which it becomes ridiculously hard to ever spiritually recover. He gets you in a marriage, a job, a Sodom or a financial obligation. He gets you. He is busy and he rejoices in this iniquity, especially if he can make your desperation  feel like a celebration.

And did I mention he wants your kids? He wants to get their innocence. He wants their hearts before they are even perceptive enough to see danger. He wants to lock them in to his system before they get their bearings… before their spiritual eyes are focused. He is unrelenting in his quest for the most vulnerable. He wants them to buy into tolerance before they even understand the concept of sexuality. He wants them to form addictions to devices and entertainment and media before they have an inkling about the power of the visual temptations in those little devices. The lion wants children. Children are the ground level for evil’s empire and the devil wants “in on the ground level.”

I hate the devil. He wants me and from the moment I start to think I am not subject to his lure, He starts to get his serpent fangs in me. I am personally vulnerable to the tempter’s power and I cannot let that personal vulnerability be forgotten for one moment, even as I strive to get others to see him for what he is. He loves to get the people who are bad-mouthing him.  I have to strive and recommit and constantly examine my own armor and defense.

He can do big things. He put the stone on the tomb. But that big rock was no match for God in that garden. God never took his eyes off the body of His darling Son. He has his eye on the body of the Son today and that’s where I plan to stay. His outstretched hand is there to rescue me from the great power of the Father of lies. I’m going to hold  that hand till he sends His angels to collect my soul and transport me safely to that other garden.

I really hate the devil. Can you tell?

 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

You can have both: Holiness and Grace

Posted on January 26, 2023

I know that the devil has always been alert and prowling and sly and…well, just very busy, since that day at the tree. I know he is unrelenting and unfeeling and would rather throw a nuclear bomb than a grenade. He is smart and powerful. I also know, though, that “greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world” (1Jn 4:4). I know. 

But knowing and persevering when it seems to me he is busier than he has ever been, are two different things. I have to step back and realize that I am just a tiny speck on the globe and that, at that, my life span on this earth is a tiny “tittle” on a page in the massive volume of history since that day in the garden. 

But, oh my! From my very limited and tiny perspective, it just seems like the 2020s are the years of major attacks by the great deceiver on the people of God! Again, realizing our sphere is small, I try not to become too discouraged. But then I hear others, from distant places, saying things like “I believe the devil is hard at work in our congregation,” or “This time is a very dark time among our brethren here.” 

At the risk of being a pessimist, let me say this: While my conversations in recent days with other Christians have included some things that are bleak and hard to discuss, they have also included evangelism at work, the beginnings of a Digging Deep study within a denomination, the excitement of upcoming assemblies that will include thousands of worshippers, the value of Christian education, tiny children who are learning all of the books of the Bible and many passages for recitation, and during the last two weeks, the opportunity to be with happy Christians and hear many lessons in programs that were extremely, over-the-top encouraging. There are lots of busy people and congregations still peacefully and zealously taking His grace and truth to their communities. 

But the devil is not about peace, grace or truth. He is about deceit. He is a liar and he is the father of lies. I talked with a young person last night who told me that “Scientists don’t believe in God.” The devil gave her that notion. He lied. He is the one who makes faithful young people believe that all scientists reject the notion of God. He makes people in struggling, but faithful, godly homes, believe that there can be unimaginable joy in an extramarital relationship and that it can be accomplished without any harm or knowledge that interferes with life for God. He does that by telling married people that, since all people sin in some way, adultery is no worse. “It’s just my personal weakness and God’s grace will make it alright, in the end, if I keep on repenting.” Satan whispers this, while bombs are dropped in homes and children suffer in unbelievable ways. He lies. He makes Christian teens believe that any sexual behavior short of sexual completion is not sinful. He lies. He makes people think that not one of the myriad of people in our worlds would be interested in knowing the gospel. He makes us believe that temper is such an easily spouted and then retrieved (easily fixed) entity that it will not harm relationships. In short, he lies!  And then he lies some more. He still, in Romans 6 fashion, makes us believe that we are somehow being holy when we flaunt grace for purposeful, continued sin. He lies (John 8:44).

In this environment where the wolf is devouring, while dressed as a sweet little lamb, sometimes good people unknowingly give the devil a pass into their personal lives and congregations. They do this by ignoring some of the purification processes that God has mercifully given his people. Sometimes, elders fail to withdraw fellowship from those who are showing in their lives that penitence is not occurring (1 Corinthians 5). They do this while smiling and hugging and showing great benevolence to those in need. But innocent and needy people are suffering at the hands of the impenitent, too.  Sometimes, sisters may chastise other faithful sisters for getting out of adulterous marriages and trying to put holiness back in all of their closest relationships (Matthew 19:9). Sometimes, parents buy into “gentle parenting” concepts while blatant disrespect is consuming their homes. Sometimes, we fail to do the hard work and walk through difficult doors of sanctification that God has commanded or allowed. and sometimes we encourage each other to stay in a weak defensive mode rather than to grow into people who are strongly and pro-actively carrying the gospel to those around us. 

I personally know some faithful soldiers who are being pummeled by the devil. I mean, they get up each day to the reality that he is doing all he can to impede their evangelism, to bury the encouragement they have for others, and to label even their best efforts at humility before  God, submission and holiness—as “haughtiness” or, in the most popular descriptive phrase of those who are critical of healthy doctrine (1Timothy 2:1), “phariseeism.” 

 

Let’s not let him win! Let’s not let him have our attitudes, remembering that none of us is worthy in any way before the throne, without the precious blood. But let’s not let him have our purity,. either. Let’s be in the Word, realizing that it is possible to live holy lives, leaving behind immorality (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) and exalting Him with the story of the cross that saved us, at every opportunity. I do not have to choose between His grace and His holiness. I can and must have both to make it to the throne one day! 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Using God

Posted on August 30, 2022

I really want to spend each blog post right now promoting Bible study and especially our new COMFORT study, but just a blurb here is warranted about the way women can be drawn into the lies of the world—lies that are issued in the name of spirituality, even placing God in the middle of the promotion of sin.

One blatant example I noticed this morning is something called “The Blessing between my Legs” conference that was held two weeks ago in Huntsville, Alabama at the Westin Conference Center. I know if you take a look here at the website or its attendant you tube videos, etc…, you will be amazed that any woman seeking God could possibly be drawn into such depths of uncleanness in the name of God-centered religion. (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-blessing-between-my-legs-womens-conference-2022-tickets-302014673017)

I hope the event was, as it appears, on the small and inconspicuous side. But, as I looked over this site and watched a youtube video promoting the event, I was reminded of lies with which we may be enticed to a world where sanctification is absent, while God is being “used” as the mouthpiece for promotion. 

1. It is blasphemous to say God gave me a womb to solidify my purpose. God gave me a purpose to engulf and consume all of my gifts, including the womb and its fruit. The purpose is His glorification (Is. 43:7). That order (encompassing purpose, first) is eternally important!

2. When I fail to identify my one true purpose (and first!)—His glorification—I can pretend that I am doing His will in any venue or walk of life. In other words, I can “make” my will be a part of His purpose. I can pretend. That’s pretty blatant in this quote from the website: This conference will literally WAKE UP the WOMAN in you that you have been praying for! Dr. Lady Chappell has pinned the BEAUTY, BABIES, BUSINESS, and BIBLE platform where women from ALL walks of life can connect and truly be EMPOWERED to be the modern day PROVERBS 31 woman! From the strip club to the boardroom, THIS is where The Blessing Between Your Legs LITERALLY gives you LIFE!!!!  

3. Sometimes women can do this in more subtle areas. While this ad is “off the charts”  I may decide I can bring him honor in a lifestyle or relationship that is oppositional to his commandments—a marriage that is not approved by His word, a career that takes my focus from my home and family, or a friendship that provides a constant temptation to seek the kingdom second or third. 

4. It’s important, always and in all ways (areas of life) to remember that the devil is the father of lies (John 8:44) and that I can attach the name of God to any sin that I want to commit and the devil will deceive some people through my duplicity. The devil quoted scripture in the temptation of our Lord, Himself. Jesus was not deceived, but lesser men would have jumped from that pinnacle (Matthew 4:6). The devil is a master manipulator. 

5, We should be careful when we hear someone say, “I’ve been studying and I am now rejecting the old way of viewing this passage. My study has brought me to a new and better place of freedom and clarity and grace.” We should constantly examine the scriptures and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:17-18). But just because someone claims to be smarter and more well-studied does not necessarily mean they have arrived at new truth. In fact, often it could be a sign of arrogance and a fall from steadfastness, as per this passage. 

6. It doesn’t take a trip all the way to the strip club to fall to the deceit that comes when we, as His women, forget our purpose!

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him iin glory.

 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  On account of these the wrath of God is coming (Col. 3:1-6).

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

When People Disappoint

Posted on October 22, 2021

Sometimes people disappoint us. Sometimes we believe in, invest in, and become vulnerable to people who ultimately disappoint. That’s just a part of living because the devil is so busy in this old world. Sometimes he cannot get us by direct temptation. Sometimes he fails to get us to veer from truth, procrastinate righteousness or become apathetic to the cause of Christ, so he contaminates some strong part of our support system and, through the loss of some person or group of people we esteemed, he discourages us, erodes our faith in the Holy One, and sometimes tempts us to throw in the towel.

Maybe you have someone (or a group) in your life right now who is trying to beat down your zeal for righteousness. Let’s take some quick thoughts from scripture that are faith-sustaining. For today, let’s not wonder why God is not hearing our pleas but, instead, let’s remember these things:

  1. God’s timetable doesn’t always fit my immediate preference, but it is what benefits me in the long run. This is so important. That’s why we have so many passages about waiting on Him. His resolution is always worth the wait for His faithful people. It strikes my heart to think that even the persecuted prophet Jeremiah had to wait ten days for a word from the Lord (Jeremiah 42:7)  At least seven times in the Psalms only, we hear the words “Wait on the Lord.” Notice these words from Psalm 37. They are full of the promise that God gives the victory to those who faithfully wait. 

Wait on the Lord,

And keep His way,

And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;

When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

I have seen the wicked in great power,

And spreading himself like a native green tree.

Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more;

Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;

For the future of that man is peace.

2. God’s methodology on the way to victory for righteous people doesn’t always fit my plan of victory. I’ve learned this so many times over in my six decades of life. I think it should happen a certain way. Then God slowly, but with precision, steps in and provides a plan that I could never have dreamed up in my most creative moments of plotting a course. His ways are higher than mine! (Is. 55:9—I love this passage!)

3. People, no matter how charismatic or apparently righteous they may be, are vulnerable to the devil, but God’s way is still perfect.  I am vulnerable. You are vulnerable. When people fail to walk in His ways (Yes, when I may fail to walk there), we should learn that consequences of sin are always worse than the sinner expects them to be. ALWAYS. That’s because we leave the perfect, stable, never-changing light of God and choose the dark path that has sin’s trap-doors and dragnets and faux rewards at every turn. We think we can navigate a path that promises an instant heaven while we remain unscathed. We think we can go on with life, normally, after experimentation with the devil’s temptation, but the path that promises an instant heaven delivers an eternal hell, with lots of casualties along the way.  Sometimes the consequences of sin reach out to those innocent people around the sinner. When I find myself affected, it’s important to remember that the hurt comes from sin; not from God. 

4. Prayer is not an instant release from pain. We know this in our minds, but our hearts want the immediate soothing of His peace. Daniel went into the lion’s den after praying. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego found themselves in a very hot spot just after standing firmly with Jehovah. Jeremiah was in a pit and James was murdered. John the Baptist lost his head shortly after sending His message to the Advocate. Sometimes, the Advocacy renders, not immediate peace, but immediate problems that eventually lead to eternal peace. Sometimes the Advocacy renders, not immediate calming of circumstances, but chaos that gives muscle to spiritual goals. Sometimes the Advocacy—let’s face it—renders what seems like torture, tribulation and testing. But all of that pain brings something that can sustain us for an eternal reward (James 1).  I know there are readers who can attest to this even while walking now through the valleys that seem to have no “other side.” But there IS the other side of tribulation born of disappointment. 

While speaking to a friend, a mother of four, this morning whose world is being torn apart by the sin of someone in whom she trusted, I realized that there are many of us, who to some extent or another, are suffering collateral-damage-pain at the hands of the enemy.  We know, in our minds, that God is perfect. He has placed us in this testing ground to give us a large chance to glorify Him for a very short, sin-influenced lifetime—to even suffer pain at the hands of the devil, through other people—so that we can share in the glory that Jesus has obtained at the throne. We suffer so that we may know Him more perfectly!

That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:10,11).

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Nothing Outside His Control

Posted on July 12, 2021

As Glenn was leaving this morning, he said to me “Some days I can feel my heart pounding harder inside my chest.” 

I think we all have days like that. There are times, for all of us, in which we feel like our days’ activities and responsibilities have sped beyond our ability to calmly overtake them. It’s a feeling of control lost. Sometimes it turns into helplessness, throwing hands up, and sometimes even thinking “Why should I even try?” 

Of course, I’m not thinking I have more deadlines or responsibilities or opportunities than the average Jane. I’m just saying that, for all of us, there will be seasons of busy-ness that are larger than calendar space, times of stolen serenity or even heart hurts that make us contemplate reaching for the proverbial towel to throw in. 

For me right now it’s a basement that makes me cringe each time I go down there to the freezer or the treadmill or the book supply. Why did that other generation (the parents on both sides) have to leave us or move to much smaller quarters and how DID they accumulate this much stuff for which there seems to be no place? And why can’t I find any time to go through any of these stacks of boxes and books and drawers of furniture that are so intimidating to me in this part of life? And will the time not be very short until my kids are wondering the same thing? And shouldn’t I do something about that in a hurry, too? And while we’re needing to do all that, we’re also needing to go and take care of the parents— things they need today in their smaller quarters. And all the tasks that go on all the time—laundry, cooking, church activities ( they’re out the wazoo in a good way right now)—just keep happening. 

Then there’s the heart hurts of people around me —-things over which I have not one iota of control—things that I’ve taken into my own heart. I can release them temporarily in prayer, but my weakness is that I let them creep back in; I cannot master Matthew 6:25-33. Isn’t it interesting that 1 Peter 5:7, that tells us to cast our care on God, immediately precedes that statement about the devil prowling about seeking whom He may devour? Can it be that when I fail to release my burdens to Him, that the devil sees my hurting shoulders—realizes my hands are full and that I might not be prepared to wield the sword of the Spirit against his wiles—and so he attacks at my most vulnerable time?! I think so! May I learn to put down the stuff that I cannot use and pick up the sword!

The Word champions it all if we let it. Listen to the control in this passage I came across this morning in Hebrews 2: 

…or it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere,

“What is man, that you are mindful of him,

or the son of man, that you care for him?

You made him for a little while lower than the angels;

you have crowned him with glory and honor,

putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

I love that the ESV says there that nothing was left outside His control. My Savior who is now crowned with glory and honor has been given sovereignty over all things. Though He will not make me or any human do His will for now, there’s coming a day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. There’s coming a day when there will be no basement, no plunder, no furniture, no heart hurts and no devil prowling. That day is, by any standard and for any living person, relatively soon.

I want to be sure that, while I’m waiting for that day, that I never forget its relevance to the little pressure cooker in which I can put myself. May I never let my pride, my possessions, my schedule, my family, or any self-deception keep me from surrendering to the sovereign One every single precious day of this short life. Ironically, when I turn down the pressure cooker and turn up the prayer and study, the tasks start morphing into opportunities, the hurts into growth; the basement starts to become pretty irrelevant. (The kids can clean that up one day, if I never get to it. That’s what we just did for two packed houses and garages, and a barn and a couple of workshops. They might get a turn, too! =))

This life is short. I want to savor every day.  As my Maggie, who’s two,  says “I’m going to fight that ole’ Satan, so he will start running away!”

Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7).

Resist means to set one’s self against. May I put all my weight into that push today!

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Family Ties in the Social Distance #23: Proverbs 11:19–Talking too Much

Posted on April 15, 2020

 

My husband, Glenn, is sharing these daily lessons  for our West Huntsville family as we are necessarily (because of the virus) spending less time physically together in worship, study and fellowship. We may be “socially distanced,” but  we’re a close-knit family and we want to keep it that way! One way to stay on track together, spiritually, is to think about a common passage and make applications for our lives together even when we are unable to assemble as frequently. I’m sharing these daily family lessons here for those in other places, whose families (or even congregations) might benefit from a common study in these uncommon days of semi-quarantine. There are Family Bible Time guides included, as well. You can adapt, shorten or lengthen them according to the ages of kids (and adults) in your family. Blessings.

From Glenn:

 

My Favorite Proverbs:  The Danger of Talking too Much (Proverbs 11:19)

 “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.”

The devil must delight in the guilt a Christian feels when he or she suffers the consequences of words that should never have been spoken. This proverb simply says that if we want to sin more, we should talk more.  “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking” is a pretty good commentary on the history of humans. Read James 3:1-12. Verse five says, “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!”  A book of cardboard matches can destroy a forest, and words can destroy relationships, break hearts, and destroy churches. One of the strongest verses in the New Testament is a warning about our tongues: “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless (Ja. 1:26). This is serious and applicable to every one of us.

I suppose as we reflect on our lives there are few of us who have no regrets over things we’ve said. Oh, what we’d do for the privilege of taking them back—words spoken in anger or haste or ill will.  I’m so thankful for a merciful Father who “remembers our frame,” and that we are “dust” (Psa. 103:14).  Most of us need forgiveness for wrong words we’ve spoken.

For today, consider times we should be quiet and “restrain our lips.”

1. When our words to members of the opposite sex will somehow compromise our marriages.

2.  When we contemplate God.  “Be still and know that I am God” (Psa. 46:10).

3.  When we are frustrated with our spouses’ petty weaknesses. 

4.  When we know of bit of unseemly information about someone and are tempted to repeat it.

5.  When we feel pressure to tell a lie.

6.  When someone else is talking.

7.  When, for whatever reason, our emotions are not balanced and the chance of saying the wrong thing—which one is apt to regret later— is greatly increased.

8.  When it is time to listen. “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (Ja. 1:19).

Family Bible Time with Glenn and Cindy

Tonight’s short passage is 2 Samuel 11:12,13.

  1. After reviewing what happened in last night’s passage, explain to your children the next thing David did to try to get Uriah to go home to his own bed with Bathsheba. He got him drunk. Let’s notice a couple of lessons we learn from this idea that David had.
  2. First, it was a very bad idea. God is always displeased when men try to get other people to drink alcoholic beverages. Make sure that you emphasize that God is displeased when we put into our bodies anything that will cause us to be unable to think clearly and make good decisions. He does not want us to encourage anyone else to drink and he certainly does not want us to trick someone into becoming drunk. This is probably what David did here. He wanted Uriah to go home and he probably would have had him carried to his bed where Bathsheba was if he could have gotten him drunk enough. Turn to Habakkuk 2:15 and read what it says about a man who offers another man beverage alcohol. Do you think David was putting shame on his own glory? (He was a glorious king, but right now he was doing something shameful.)
  3. Next, it is important to show your kids the reason that David wanted Uriah to drink. It is because, when people drink beer or wine or whisky, etc… (my grandchildren call it booze), they do things that they otherwise would not do. They do wrong and loose things that they would otherwise be embarrassed to do. You might tell your children that sometimes people who are drunk take off their clothes in public or say things that they would be embarrassed to say if they were not drinking. Uriah had already shown David that he would not go down to His house when his men were at war. But David thought maybe he could get him to do it if he was drunk. David knew what we all should recognize. Drinking is wrong and dangerous because it makes us forget the way we want to behave and it makes us do things we would never otherwise do. Get each of your young children to promise you, at this point, that they will never in their lifetimes drink “booze” or beer or whisky. Ask your older children if they can remember any other time in scripture when someone did something very bad because he was drunk. Maybe they may remember Noah (Genesis 9) or Lot (Genesis 19) or King Ahasuerus (Esther 1).
  4. But David’s plan failed. “Do you think David is starting to worry that Uriah and everybody else will find out that he stole Uriah’s wife and took her to his own room and pretended that she was his wife? I think that David is probably having a hard time sleeping at night. I think he is worrying now that Uriah is going to know that he has not acted like a good man should act. What do you think David should do? David should repent”… (Remind them that repent means to change your mind and go a different direction)… “and tell God that he is sorry. Then he should tell Uriah what he has done and that he is sorry. Then he should tell Bathsheba that he is sorry that he brought her to his palace that night. Then he should tell his messengers who went to get her that He is sorry he asked them to do that. But instead, as we will find out tomorrow night, David just kept on getting deeper and deeper into sin.”
  5. Next, tell your children that the devil tries very hard to make us believe that drinking beer is a lot of fun. He puts smiling people drinking beer on billboards on the highway. In magazines, the beer parties look like everyone is laughing and having a great time. Make sure you emphasize that this picture is what the devil would like us to see. But the real picture is daddies who end up not being able to give their children the things they need because they have  spent all their money on beer. The real picture is people making very bad choices and hurting other people because they got drunk. The real picture is homes breaking up and the real picture is people getting killed in car accidents because people were driving drunk. Read Proverbs 20:1 to your children and talk about what it means. Google “beer commercials” and find one to show your children in which the devil is making drinking look fun. (You can probably find one about football or a pizza party or a celebration…whatever you think  would catch your children’s interest.)  See if your children can tell you some of the ways the devil is deceiving in the commercial that you chose. Encourage them to remember all of their lives that the devil lies when he tries to get people to drink.

Quote the KidSing rule: Do the right thing.

Pray with your children.