Browsing Tag

Assurance

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Landing or Take-off?

Posted on March 6, 2023

I’ve never been on a flight as scary as the one that took me from Dallas to Columbus, Ohio last Friday night. Perhaps it’s just that no pilot has previously shared the details of the “scare” with those of us in the main cabin. The wind-tossed plane came very close to the ground. We could clearly see vehicles at the airport and the landing strip below. But, just before we were to land, the pilot gave the plane a strong power surge and pulled it back up above the fierce wind. He announced that we would “fly around for a while” and that we would either try again if the winds died down or we would just have to land in Cleveland or Pittsburg because we did not have enough gas to keep circling around Columbus for too much longer. I prayed for my God’s protection. 

For me, the prayer was certainly not the first of the day. I had prayed multiple times about many things throughout the day. I admit that this time I prayed that if He did bring me home on this night, that he would please help Glenn bring our children and grandchildren to be around the throne with me. There were several people around me, though, who began to call on Jesus, repeating His name in tones that seemed both fearful and, yet, somehow a little blasphemous. The woman sitting beside me said, in a quiet, but fearful tone “I fly all the time and I have never seen a pilot pull back up like this.”

At last, the pilot decided to try the landing one more time before leaving the area. This time, though there was a great deal of turbulence and the touchdown was treacherous, we were soon going down that landing strip at a faster speed than was comfortable. The applause and cheers were deafening in that cabin and I could not wait to be in that automobile with those Christians I’d never met who had prayed for my safe travels. 

There have been a few times in my life when I wondered if I really was all finished living here and if it was time for me to be with the Lord. Obviously, each time that occurs, I am, in reality closer to that moment of departure than I’ve ever been before. And each time, I realize that, during one of those frightening moments or during an unsuspecting one, I will leave and some speaking engagement or some meal being prepared, some sleep or some pain, will be interrupted by death. That’s not morbid. It’s just undeniable truth. Reality.

What if that landing had really been a take-off instead? The person in front of me watching a film full of violence, immodesty and profanity was not counting on that moment being THE moment. Nor was the man who ordered a vodka a few rows up or the woman returning home from her gambling trip. The man who was cursing behind me was not thinking about the possible imminence of the judgment, nor was the teen boy beside me who had dressed up like a girl, complete with earrings, floral bands on his fingers and pink and lime green tennis shoes. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think the judgment day was not on any of their minds prior to the moment of panic. 

I bask in His grace. But I also understand that the warning to those, like me, who are basking is a stern one: 

For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. (1Corinthians 10:27)

If I choose to live in sin, knowing the sacrifice that’s been given for me, there remains no other one. No other blood than the precious blood (1 Peter 1:19). No other sacrifice than the unblemished one. No other death than the one into which I was baptized (Romans 6:3,4). The price was great, but it will never be paid again. If I willfully reject Him, there’s no other redeemer to choose. There’s only a “fearful looking for fiery indignation.”

The same passage that tells me about the indignation, though, tells me about the incredible assurance.

There has no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man; and He is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will, with the temptation provide a way of escape. (vs.13)

Blessed assurance! It’s blessed when you are flying high. It may be even more blessed when you approach a very rough landing. It will be at its pinnacle when the rough landing is really a take-off with the angels who bear you away! 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Pray This!

Posted on June 9, 2022

Psalm 33 begins by saying that praising God befits or is comely for the upright. We can infer from that, that when unrighteous people offer praise to God, even while doing evil in the name of God, it is ugly and uncomely in His holy eyes. We all can recount recent scenarios in which great evil was done by hands of those whose lips were praising. Can you imagine how nauseated God must be when people who are devising evil against innocent people are doing so in the name of—claiming the authority of—God Almighty, for those evil intentions? That’s why Revelation 3 describes God as determined to vomit out those who are claiming to be His, but are not fully committed to seeking his righteousness (Revelation 3:15-20). 

The Psalmist goes on to say that this God, the one Who spoke the heavens and their hosts into existence, is the same One who sees all the children of men. When I look at the night sky, it is unfathomable that He sees me! From where He sits enthroned, He does see me! The One who is in charge of every generation, past and future, is also concentrating on me! He fashioned every heart and observes every deed of every man and woman. There is great comfort in that because there is no duplicity when dealing with God. He knows my heart.  He knows both its vast imperfections and its motivating intent. That is what I want Him to know. 

There is no strength in an army. There is no strength in horses or great human deliverers. 

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his steadfast love,

that he may deliver their soul from death

and keep them alive in famine.”

I know some innocent people who are in a famine right now.   You probably know some, too… real victims in a world in which unrighteousness constantly claims victimization. Some are children. Some are spouses. Some are war-ravaged. Some are persecuted leaders just trying to do the right thing.  The Deliverer is near to the innocent. He will deliver them. My soul waits for Him. My hope is in Him. 

If you haven’t read Psalm 33 lately, go there today. Pray with the psalmist:  

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,

even as we hope in you.

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Sister to Sister: Could I Please Be in that Club?

Posted on April 12, 2018

Last night we, Glenn and I, flew into Boston. It was around midnight when we landed and there had been only one half-hour delay. Glenn commented as we were headed to the rental car desk, “Well, that all went fairly smoothly. Good flights…and paid for with frequent flyer miles, so this is all good.” 

He did not know that the “fairly smoothly” was about to turn into a “middle-of-the-nightmare” that would finally land us in our bed in Wakefield, MA at around 3:30 a.m. There was no car, though payment had already been made. Options were to take Uber and then come back the 27 miles tomorrow via Uber to get our car, or call Delta and try and get them to switch to a different car company since we had booked through Delta, or just wait—maybe an hour-and-a-half or so— till the car company had someone else to return a car. 

We picked the call Delta option; only we got an answering service that said the phone wait time would be, minimally, an hour. So, next, we picked the wait for a car option. I sat there in the giant lobby of a deserted car rental terminal while Glenn went away somewhere, disappearing down an escalator. Since my phone was dead, I was not sure where he was going. I later found out he was going out into the thirty-degree weather, sans coat of any kind, to stand in a long line of people who, like us, were waiting for someone to bring back a car. People were saying, “Oh, it doesn’t matter at this point that I rented that Mustang convertible. I’ll take whatever that is driving up. A Kia compact?….Fine!”  And that’s exactly how Glenn felt, too. After all, even that little Hyundai that we finally drove away had a heater.

And then there was the thirty-minute wait at the drive-off window while the people tried to figure out how to honor the voucher Glenn had been given because they didn’t have the car. When they found out that the desk, back in Iceland, had failed to give Glenn the required rental switcheroo paperwork, they were not going to let us drive away. The GPS ETA  to our hotel clicked on to well past 2:30 a.m. Then, once we were on the freeway, there was the night time construction work. The more we drove, it seemed the later the ETA. Parking places were at a premium at the hotel at 3:00 am, but, thankfully luggage carts were a-dime-a-dozen.

As I lay there in that warm bed, one little insignificant scene kept playing through my mind. The tall man with the grey mustache in the long khaki trench coat. He came bustling through the terminal, brief case in hand, saying to his friend, “I’ll get the car. It’s a Hertz…and I’ll meet you at the curb.”

They were only a few feet from me, so I thought maybe I could save him the trouble. I said, “But Hertz doesn’t have any cars.”

“Oh, they’ll have mine,” he said. “I’m in the President’s Club. It’ll be there.”

Never in my life have I wanted to be in the President’s Club so badly. I wondered how much it costs to be in that club. Can people borrow membership in that club from other people? Can you get a membership on the spot?

I looked to see if my phone had charged enough to text my husband. I texted “A man came through and he said they do have cars for people in the President’s Club.”

Glenn shot back “He was right.” 

So I’m thinking now about the most rewarding “in group”…the “in Christ” group. There’s a  very small percentage of the world’s population that has met every requirement to have the ultimate reservation ( I Peter 1:4); the reservation that’s absolutely certain to provide. It’s foolproof. This “in group” can be confident, just like the man in the long trench coat. There’s no exclusivity based on externals or wealth. It’s simply exclusive of those who failed to accept the benefits of the blood of Jesus, for without the blood there can be no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22).  The benefits include all spiritual blessings, and redemption and forgiveness of sins (Ephesians1). They include the waiver of due condemnation (Romans 8:1) and the opportunity for eternity with God in heaven. Membership gives the ability to say, with confidence, “Oh, mine will be there. I’m in Christ. I’m in the church that has a full assurance about the reservation.” I’d love to help you be in this church. Romans 6:3,4 says we contact the blood, the requirement for entrance, in baptism. Are you a candidate for membership? I’d love to talk with you about the benefits…straight from and in the very words of the Holy Spirit.  You will, like me in that airport, (times a billion and more) wish you were in this group when the time comes to redeem all of the ultimate reservations. I love being in the sure group. It’s not a haughty thing to be sure. It’s a trusting thing. 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Congratulations Mintie!…and…There Arose such a Clatter!

Posted on December 20, 2016

PrintMintie Reagan Welchance, You are the winner! If you put “The Colley House” in your status at any point in the last week and left it up for twenty-four hours, and tagged me in the status, you were in the drawing for a free Colley House Christmas bundle. I hope you enjoy it, Mintie. Valued at $58.50, it’s coming your way on a pretty fast sleigh!

I think we’re about to embark on year eight of the “Bless Your Heart” blog. This year, during the holidays, I’ve received more cards of encouragement from blog readers and Digging Deep ladies than ever before. I don’t know how you would have coordinated, but I’m starting to think you all are in cahoots and have a plan to fill my box with holiday cheer. If so, it’s working!…and I thank you.  And speaking of holiday cheer, I’m up for a lot of it this week. Glenn and I have had our grandson Ezra, for the past five days. Now that’s a lot of cheer…and cuddles… and drives looking for “Pippas yights” (Christmas lights), and choruses of “Dee-dee Bells” (Jingle Bells).”

A couple of nights ago, during our Bible “story time”, I gave Ezra the fill-in-the -blank statement: “When I grow up, I’m going to marry a _______________.” Because he didn’t respond quickly, I added the initial sound of the answer…”Chr…”

Then he shouted with glee “a Pippas tree!!”

We’re enjoying him immensely and are looking forward to enjoying his parents and baby Colleyanna later this week. Next week, we hope to have Caleb and Bekah here, too, at some point. We know we are blessed beyond our imagination’s scope and we praise Him for rich blessings of friends and family.

It will be after Santa’s delivery run that you next get a notification from the “Bless Your Heart” blog page. I hope you are in a place in life in which you can be enjoying family this week, as well. Most of all, I hope you feel the security of the Father’s arms and bask in His salvation. In that vein, here’s a post from the archives about the “clatter” that arose on my roof early one Christmas morning:

It was a shocker, alright. It was in the very early hours of Christmas morning, 2010, when the huge, noise that shook the house abruptly woke up the neighborhood. Glenn looked at me with terror in his eyes and then ran into the room where Hannah was sleeping. He “sprang from his bed to see what was the matter.” I heard him mutter something about a bomb as he ran out of the room. The last time I had heard a noise like that had been many years ago when a big trash truck had bolted over a curb and into our house (but that’s another story for another post). The kids were both okay and, on investigation, we found that, this time, a huge part of a tree had fallen on the house. There was damage, but safety for all. 

Later in the day, the kids and I were talking about how their dad reacts to unknown perceived threats.  He inhales hugely! (BIG gasp that’s a little funny on reflection). Then he runs (dressed or not) to wherever his kids are. The amazing thing was that his reaction was just the same when they are twenty-something as it was when they were 2 and 6. He instinctively runs to his children. Their safety and protection are his only immediate concern. While we were talking about this, Hannah said she could remember one occasion, as a child, when a bumblebee woke her up buzzing around her head. She said, “I was scared of that noise in the dark, I cried out and immediately heard Dad’s footsteps–loud running footsteps– as he ran into my room and took me in His arms. Then he killed that bee. Anytime I yelled in the night, he was right there, right then.”

I think every child who has a good father remembers what it felt like to be in his arms. I remember pretending I was asleep in the back of our station wagon when I was a child just so my daddy would carry me in the house. Ultimate protection, strength and safety were wrapped all around me.

That’s what God does. The Bible describes our God as “a very present help in time of trouble” (Psa.46:1). He’s right there, right then.  He is the Father who pities His children (Psa.103:13), and hears their cries (Psa 34:17). He is the one who offers His help to His people “right early” (Psa.46:5). Deuteronomy thirty-three, verse twenty-seven says he puts his everlasting arms beneath us.

Let me assure you, even if you’ve never felt the need to cry out to your Father or to feel his arms beneath you, there will come a time when a huge clatter will arise in your life. You will look in horror at the prospects before you and you will desperately want to cry out to Him.  Are you secure in the house of the Father? Will he hasten to your side when you cry? If not, will you contact me and let me help you find that security? I wish this safety for every reader.