Browsing Tag

God

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Life is Different. He’s the Same.

As lots of readers know, because of circumstances we would have never chosen in a million years, three of our grandchildren have moved to our street. We praise God that they are nearby and thank so many for frequent prayers in their behalf. They are wonderful and all we want is exactly whatever is best for them now, but mostly heaven for them one day! So now…

Everytime there’s a van in my driveway, no matter how short a time it’s there, there’s at least one straw paper in the edge of my yard. 

The rock column beside my front gate has become a return receptacle, for crock-pots, books,  packages of construction paper, casserole dishes and all miscellaneous borrowed toys. 

There’s always an extra scooter, little red wagon, bike or soccer ball in the yard. (only two times this summer have we run over a stray scooter.) 

There are helmets—helmets everywhere. 

When I  bump something in the night. it often starts singing loudly. 

There’s almost always a half-finished sippy cup in the pack-and-play and a half-finished soda in the window beside the “special bed.” 

I  have counted many fireflies and all my jar lids now have ice-pick holes poked in them. 

Nerf bullets are in the tub, the yard, the bed and, now and then, the soup.

I  have learned proper care for a pet crawdad. 

My joy jar (reward stash)  needs replenishing all the time (a good thing).

There’s a perpetual monopoly game in progress on the coffee table and I have never heard so much monopoly trash-talk.

I have purchased a lot of pretend ice-cream cones from a pretend ice-cream store. 

I  rejoice when I am playing house and the game-boss says “Ok…bedtime.” …only to learn that “bedtime” lasts all of 3.5 seconds in the play house. 

I have learned that army men in the fort secretly enjoy eating goldfish (and they leave their wrappers.)

I know exactly how long it takes to scooter from 234 to 221 on my street and I am often outside watching over the rise in the road to be sure the time lapse has never been exceeded. Another adult is watching from the other direction.

Someone asks me to throw superfluous junk mail away, as she leaves the driveway. I take the mail from her car and throw away the junk mail, just on top of the exact same political and store flyers I just threw away from my own mailbox.

I have listened to 12980 pages of Garfield books that I already listened to 30 years ago. 

I have relearned that Polly Pocket pieces are almost as painful as Legos are in the middle of the  night. 

My refrigerator door is packed again with Zarbees, Kids’ Tylenol, sippy cups and half eaten lollipops. (Occasional super-heroes, too.)

I often depend on someone who is 6 or 8 to translate for some one who is three. (But I’m getting better at that native tongue.)

My kitchen door surely must revolve…and, these days, I need to lock it, or I will be suddenly startled out of my wits. My pantry doubles as the corner market for little people. And I have to sometimes limit the coins taken from the stone crock for the gumboil machine.

Alexa is getting all kinds of new music commands, my jewelry is tangled, there are bubble blowers and water guns all over the front garden. A roll of toilet paper is used up magic-fast and Sunday lunch is an event. But my house is very quiet and my heart has a hole somewhere deep when the kitchen screen door slams for the last time as they leave town for a little while.

Life is different. Days are long, nights are short and blueberries at the bottom of the bush have lots of “pickers.” 

Life is different. Digging Deep really has to vie for my time now. It’s harder to prep for lessons. Time alone is a thing of the past. Time with God’s people is a huge blessing…worth lots of effort. God is good. I could not do it without Him!

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Moriah–“Chosen of God”

Last week I heard a heartwarming story about the conversion of a young teen girl whose life had gone awry following the death of her father and a subsequent downward emotional spiral. Her heart was convicted in a dark and powerless room during a hurricane disaster relief effort by Christians from Decatur, Alabama and middle Tennessee who were ministering in emergency mode on the coast of Florida. Studying with this young woman by flashlights directed at their Bibles, these Christians changed her life for the good and they changed it for good! So there she was, last week, at Camp Moriah in Winchester, Tennessee, hundreds of miles from home. She even brought a mentor from her home church in Florida, or rather the mentor brought her. This young married mentor just may have needed the spiritual breath of fresh air more than even the camper did. 

I heard about her baptism in the midst of a power-packed week of intense study and play with a group of about 30 girls at Camp Moriah, a provision of Little Mountain Ministries (https://www.1615ministries.com/little-mountain-ministries/camp-moriah). I heard her pray following my lesson about the Lord’s Supper “God, we don’t even think like we should when we are taking communion. We don’t realize. We don’t even think about how hard it was for you to give your only son for us. Help us to do better.” I love this girl and the God she serves!

I got to know a young teen who came to the camp at the behest of her faithful parents, but against her own wishes. Returning home, she was on fire for evangelism and has already reached out to ask a friend to study. I love this girl and the God she serves!

I talked intently with another girl who just landed her first job in fast food. She wanted to ask specifics about how to maintain a positive and Christ-like attitude in an employee space filled with cursing and debauchery. She was serious about this. I love this girl and the God she serves!

I got to know an amazing teen girl who made the decision to put on Christ last Tuesday night. when I was congratulating her on the best decision of her life, I found out that her grandfather was my son’s basketball coach in Jasper, Alabama. what a small world in Christ! I love this girl and the God she serves!

I ate across the table from a sweet and beautiful girl who had just given her very first devotional at the cross in the woods behind the cabins. She talked about how we have to be like children to have our place in the kingdom. I love this girl and the God she serves!

I had a six-year-old sleeping most of the week in the floor of my room (which was the church library.) This six-year-old led a song and gave a speech for the group, too. I love this girl and the God she serves!

I watched intently as women who had given up all other activities for the week, poured themselves into young women who can make homes and enable good elderships of the future, who can make the congregations they will touch stronger for souls within and for evangelism without. I watched women spend all kinds of hours in that kitchen, preparing great (best camp food ever) meals for fifty women with camp appetites.  I got to know a group from Oklahome who came to watch this camp, so they could go home and launch their own version in their home state. I watched teachers teach hard things about modesty-with-flair and homemaking while showing them the joy in marching to the beat of a different drummer than this old world’s parade to ultimate sorrow. I watched tongues held at the right times and words seasoned with grace when needed.  I watched a panel of great elders’ wives answer questions and actually make young girls dream about being leaders’ wives in the Lord’s church. These girls left camp knowing exactly to whom the Lord’s church belongs and why we have to keep giving Him the respect and obedience that are necessary when we are a part of a theocratic monarchy, rather than a denomination. They honed their abilities to evangelize and they certainly learned how the church is distinctive in a world of relativism in religion. In short, they developed spiritual muscles. I love these women and the God they serve!

I watched girls shop thriftily, prepare meals with zeal, make amazing soap scrubs, learn calligraphy, host a tea party, memorize the Scriptures and grow watercress. And they did it all while loving the learning and laughing heartily. I really cannot recommend this week of amazing girl-growth for Him enough. Can you tell I love this camp and the God it honors?  It will begin on Father’s Day again next year. Mark that down!

 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

All I Need.

He’s my refuge, sword and buckler

He’s my rock and He’s its cleft.

He is enough—sufficient

When there is nothing left. 

 

He is promises delivered 

He is future victories won

He can pity like a Father 

Empathizing like the Son.

 

Bearing burdens till He lifts them

He stays near till struggles cease

With His own He condescends to dwell

Exchanging fear for peace. 

 

I cannot comprehend this love

When I am so undone

I cannot fathom boundless grace

For me, the filthy one.

 

But certain can I be of it

There’ll be no fitful tossing

As I approach the end of time 

And face the Jordan’s crossing.

 

I’ve laid the hands of those I love

In His, at end of day.

I, too, can grasp that gentle hand

And quietly fly away.

 

Angels, then dispatched for me

Will give my soul protection

Guiding me to “things above”

On which I’ve set affection.

 

Praying, praising, pleading more

The vigil I will keep. 

Till my spirit takes its journey

And my body lies in sleep.

 

He’s my refuge, sword and buckler

He’s my rock and He’s its cleft.

He is enough till one sweet day

On gentle wings —-I’ve left.  

c. colley

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

This I Know, that God is for Me.

Sometimes there are days when I’m all out of sorts

When enemies emerge from former cohorts. 

When I am so weary at setting of sun

I can’t process knowing my work’s just begun.

Sometimes my heart’s breaking over somebody’s sin,

But each time I turn, there’s a crisis again. 

No time to grieve over today’s mournful losses 

Just picking up pieces and heavy new crosses. 

But one thing is certain, and really that thing

Is the one thing that matters and makes my heart sing.

God’s still on the throne, and around every bend

There may be His answer, for He knows the end.

He knows the reason for burdens I bear.

He knows inequities, when life seems unfair. 

He knows the consequence for all of my steps

He knows, He cares. He pities and helps. 

He is the refuge. I am the hidden.

He’s the commander. I am the bidden.

He is the rest-giver. I am the weary.

He has the tear-bottle. My eyes are teary. 

He is the strength. I am the weak.

He offers comfort. It’s comfort I seek.

He is the Prophet. I need to know.

He is the way. In Him I can go.

He is the truth. I was lost till I knew it.

He is the life. I am just walking though it.

He is my portion. I am the filled.

He is the Spirit. I am the sealed.

He is the Father. I am the child. 

He is the Christ. I’m reconciled.

He is the hope. I am the clinging.

He’s the Redeemer about which I’m singing. 

He is my only. I am just one.

He is the end. I’ve just begun.

He is the buckler. My arm is weak.

He’s the revealer. I’m but to seek. 

He is the door. I am the guest.

He is the answer to every request.

He is the treasure. I’m on the search.

He is the Founder. I’m in the church.

He is the succorer. I am the babe.

He’s the Provider, come to my aid.

He is the beauty from ashes to make.

My all-in-all. I will never forsake!

 

You have kept count of my tossings;

put my tears in your bottle.

Are they not in your book?

Then my enemies will turn back

in the day when I call.

This I know, that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise,

in the Lord, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

from David in Psalm 56

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Digging Deep: Clarification for Listing God’s Description

Some have found the descriptions (names or titles) of God and responses to those characterizations in month 3 challenging (#6 in the study guide). Perhaps my instructions were not clear, so here area couple of  my lists. These are from chapters five and seven. Using the KJV, I found the names for God in the chapter and I found the responses to the holy characteristics given in the chapter. you can do this from the version you are using and our answers will be very similar. I hope this is helpful. Just look for names for God in each chapter and their accompanying (and immediate) adjectives; as in “righteous God” or “Lord. most high.”  Then look through the chapter for any specific things people did when responding to our great God. I apologize for not being clear when writing this question. I’m going to try to consistently apply this method when I do this question myself. Some chapters may have fewer names for God and/or fewer responses. 

Psalm 5

Give ear to my words, O Lord,

consider my meditation.

Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God:

for unto thee will I pray.

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord;

in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness:

neither shall evil dwell with thee.

The foolish shall not stand in thy sight:

thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing:

the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy:

and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies;

make thy way straight before my face.

For there is no faithfulness in their mouth;

their inward part is very wickedness;

their throat is an open sepulchre;

they flatter with their tongue.

Destroy thou them, O God;

let them fall by their own counsels;

cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions;

for they have rebelled against thee.

But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice:

let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them:

let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous;

with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

Chapter 5

Descriptions

Lord

My King

My God

Responses

prayer

coming into God’s house

worshipping in fear

rejoicing

shouting for joy

being joyful

Chapter 7

O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust:

save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:

Lest he tear my soul like a lion,

rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

O Lord my God, if I have done this;

if there be iniquity in my hands;

If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me;

(yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:)

Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it;

yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.

Arise, O Lord, in thine anger,

lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded.

So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about:

for their sakes therefore return thou on high.

The Lord shall judge the people:

judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.

Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just:

for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.

My defence is of God,

which saveth the upright in heart.

God judgeth the righteous,

and God is angry with the wicked every day.

If he turn not, he will whet his sword;

he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.

He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death;

he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.

Behold, he travaileth with iniquity,

and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.

He made a pit, and digged it,

and is fallen into the ditch which he made.

His mischief shall return upon his own head,

and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.

I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness:

and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high.

Descriptions:

Lord, my God

Lord

Righteous God 

Lord, most high

Responses:

Trusting

Praising 

Singing Praise

Thanks for persevering. Keep digging!

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

“There’s something I don’t understand about God…”

So said Ezra, age five. As we were tromping through the old cemetery beside our house, he was asking about the people buried there. “Were these people Christians?” 

This little tromp followed closely on the heels of our visit to one of our friends whose wife has just passed away. “Was she a Christian?” 

I had explained to Ezra that she was a Christian and so she got to go to heaven, but that her husband, who is aged and, thankfully, left behind for now, is not. That’s why your Papa has asked him to study the Bible…so he can learn how to go where she has gone and so he can be with her again someday. 

“Did he say he would study the Bible?” 

“Yes, he did. So let’s pray that he listens and wants to obey God, so that he can go to heaven.”

And so came the common line of thinking that you and I have heard countless times. (I’ve just never heard it expressed by a five-year-old.)… “So this is what I don’t understand about God. You know, Mammy, that not all of the people who are not Christians are bad guys. Most of them are just nice people; but they are not going to get to go to heaven. People who don’t get to go to heaven are going to have to burn. So how can God do that to nice people?”

And that just about sums up one of the most pervasive of all theological questions: How can a loving God damn people to eternal torment?  

So I talked about this for a brief few minutes there in the cemetery with Ezra. I told him how this earth we walk on is just really a testing place. “God is giving us a chance to choose whether we will obey him—all of what he commands us—or not. He is seeing if we trust Him enough to just obey Him. If we look around us and see this beautiful world—that grassy field over there, the mountain behind it, these huge oak trees and even our own bodies that can run and chase each other—if we see all of that, we should know that Someone made all of it. If we search for Him, we can find Him in His Word and then we can know what He wants us to do. But we have to care enough to study His Word and find His wishes for our lives. If we care enough to do anything to obey Him, He will help us to know how to do it and He will be our Father and take us to live with Him, forever.”

Ezra responded….”I kind of understand all of that, but I think there are some parts of it that I cannot understand because I’m just a kid. I think I will understand it better when I’m a grown-up.” 

I did not want to burst His bubble and tell him that there are some parts of it that he will never understand. But I did add that the most important thing to God is that we trust Him enough to just do what He says even if we don’t always understand. 

Later in the week we watched that classic old Disney movie together: Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier. He listened intently to a line taken from the ten commandments and another phrase repeated throughout the movie: “I make sure I’m right, and if I am right, then I go ahead.” 

Then Ezra said “Mammy, is Davy Crockett dead now?”

“Yes, he is, Ezra.”

“Well, was he a Christian?…because he acts like a Christian.” 

So now, reflecting on the week I just spent with that precious little five-year-old, I’m pretty sure he’s absorbing the truth that the most important thing about living, is dying; and the shape your soul is in when you do. 

As I was driving him back to meet his mama today, we had one final theological discussion. It started when he said something to purposely scare me and I quipped “Ezra, you are going to give Mammy a heart attack!” 

“Mammy, what’s a heart attack?”

After a little discussion about valves and blood flow, Ezra said. “Do you think I will ever have a heart attack? I’m kind of afraid of a heart attack.” 

I tried to reassure him that he is healthy and that, although he will one day die, it will likely be when he’s an old man and that he will probably never have a heart attack, even then.

“But, Ezra, you know every single person has to die one day.”

“Oh, I know that,” he said. 

And then I added, “…unless we are still living here when Jesus comes back in the clouds. If he comes soon and if we are still living, then we will never die.”

As I looked in the rearview mirror, I saw a look of excitement like I rarely see on that little face.  He said. “Do you really mean it?! You mean if we are still alive when He comes back, we will never die?!” 

“That’s right.  We will just fly up and meet him in the clouds and go on to heaven with him.”

“Oh!…Well then, that’s what I hope happens! I want to still be living when He comes back!” 

Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20).

Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter the kingdom (Matthew 18:3).