As I write it’s approaching midnight and tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7 CST is the announcement of our new study. I feel almost like tomorrow is a scheduled labor induction and that by 7:30 tomorrow night, there will be a baby in the bassinet beside my bed! Part of me is just that keyed-up and the rest of me is at peace, knowing that He’s in charge here and I’ve done all I can do, with lots of help from the Lord and some of His faithful daughters (and even sons) to prepare a study that will make the tenth year of Digging Deep a blessing of growth for us–not because there’s any power in any work I could do, but because there’s infinite power in the work of His Holy Spirit.
I also want to say this. These amazing teen girls (and maybe more and maybe even younger than 13) have accomplished much in the study of His glory this year. They’ve challenged their moms to hang in there. They have grown in their love for the Word and in their meek hearts of submission to it. I love them all and I just want to say this:
If these hearts can be strong enough to diligently commit to a study about the glory of God in a world that offers distractions to teens that are colossal in both their power of allurement and their destructive force, those of us who’ve witnessed His faithfulness and providence for many years should be able to commit to faithful study of the most important material we can access! So, whether you’re studying our Digging Deep theme this year or another Biblical one of your choosing, let’s learn from these amazing young women. There’s a light for our paths that can only be “switched on” when we are in the Word. The benefits and ramifications of being there are life-changing and eternity-sealing.
Thank you, Melanie and Ella Pinedo…
Thank you, Kaitlyn Epling…
Thank you, Ansley Marshall…
Thank you, Rebekah Armes…
Thank-you, Abby Crocker…
(I’m working on getting a photo for this spot!)
…I think i can do this, too!
Watch here tonight at 7! https://youtu.be/5WZxG7PNW-Q #dd202021
The GLORY study has been more fulfilling for me than I could have imagined. You’ve been kind and encouraging as we’ve studied and your enthusiasm has not assuaged with the passing of sub-topics and months, even when zeal for almost all things was challenged by Covid and chaos. I think the weight of His attributes has been fully on display even through the unprecedented difficulties that distancing has presented (maybe even moreso than in more normal times). His Word is like that…it throughly furnishes.
As soon as the study theme is announced, all materials will be available at www.thecolleyhouse.org. This challenging year is the 10th anniversary year of Digging Deep. (That’s so hard for me to believe!) We have no idea what to expect as far as numbers are concerned during this strange year, but we know God has been very good to Digging Deep from its inception. We know He will bless us as we seek Him. Digging Deep has surely been a work of Providence. While the year has witnessed economy, schedules, sports, education and lifestyles turned upside-down, and there’s so much about the future we do not know, we are positive that any time we dig into Scripture, He is more fully magnified in our lives. The important things of life are stabilized. Digging Deep (or any serious Bible study) can give us what we need for clarity and conviction to make our lives purposeful and safe in Him! We can then make our homes spiritually safe places for the souls we nurture in and from those homes. It’s important in times like these to remember that our physical safety pales in comparison to our spiritual security.
Also remember that the video podcast for July is happening on the 30th and that’s a Thursday this month. (I’ll be out of town the first half of next next week recording lessons for the upcoming virtual Polishing the Pulpit. I really hope you’re planning to “attend” that!) The July DD study for me, so far, of those who could build an idol at the foot of the smoking mountain, is astonishing. It makes me know that even God’s people can quickly lose heart and turn from principles of righteousness in times of frustration.
It was a monsoon in Huntsville, Alabama last night as I headed to the church building for this podcast only to get halfway there and get the call from trusty-techer Jen to let me know that the power was off in our little studio (and all over that part of town). Now we know there are lots of you who assemble for the podcasts and we know your time is important, so we began making calls, figuring out places and devices we might use as a last resort. Thirty minutes later, as Jen was driving into my neighborhood, we got the call that power was back on at the building. The clock had been ticking, though, and we knew we’d be super late, at this point, if we moved the podcast back to the studio. So picture me moving supplies and large yard art that I’d been crafting out of the camera’s view, Jen opening up an iPad to find it was completely battery-drained, my laptop acting like it has never even heard of facebook live (what’s up with that, anyway?), a big yellow extension cord that wielded no power, Holly over at her house, figuring out how to field comments, and sweet Melissa Davidson, who was super prepared to cohost, realizing she did not have time to even make it all the way to the eastern Madison sticks, where I live. Imagine, Glenn coming in to do a ZOOM about a book that a few men are completing and realizing he’s walked into another BIG ZOOM-ish project. Relegated to the porch, I can hear him saying “Good evening, gentlemen!…” while I’m trying to say a prayer and “Goodnight ladies!” It was chaotic and you were patient and Jen’s a hero. And that boy we just met who’s living in our cabin probably thought “What has happened to the band with of this internet?”…And you can watch the study here: https://livestream.com/whcoc/for-women. When there’s no power in the studio, there’s still plenty in the Word. Below are the photos that did not get their debut last night: The first is a bunch of Diggers in the Pool of Siloam (John 9). The rest are on various places on the Mount of Olives. Both are from May, 2019, when we were digging in Israel and both are mentioned in the show. The fourth one(far left) is at the site believed to be the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. Notice the ossuaries in the second photo. I’m told, for a price, people can still be buried on the Mount of Olives (and many still want to be). Blessings as you study. Two more months of the glory study. An eternity of the GLORY!
I can’t wait till that third week in August. That’s the week when you’ll be able to watch the recap of this year’s Glory Digging Deep study. I hope you won’t miss it, because it will also be the kick-off for the 2020-21 study. I’ll let you know specifically what date and time when that’s released to me. You’ll hear the theme then, see the new books and t-shirts, and have access that day to the download. I think you are going to grow from the study. In preparing it, I have already thought about a lot of things from the Word that are helping me during the very challenging days that we’re facing as Christians in America in 2020. I believe it will give you a stronger faith and a firmer hope; not because it’s from me, but because it’s the Word.
So here’s the list, given to Judah, of rewards for being righteous from Isaiah 58. (It’s the answer to the first part of number four in our study this month, if you’re digging. See if you can find these.)