Browsing Tag

Influence

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

PTPraise!

So many blessings—so little time at my house! My phone is in there ding-ing away. My inbox is overflowing and my heart is overflowing to a greater degree. PTP’s a wrap for 2023 and I could not be more thankful to our God of comfort and Father of mercies (2 Corinthians 1:2,3)! Though there were some disappointing moments as I had prayed for some things that just could not happen, the overwhelming blessings were so obvious and palatable through the week with the truest kind of blood family. I am so very thankful. (https://polishingthepulpit.com/)

10 Impactful quotes of the week that I am remembering as I write: 

“I have to go to class. I really don’t want to miss any of it today.”  (Ezra)

“I want to see Digger Doug and Mammy.” (Caleb and Lydia)

“We don’t say “oh my gosh.”  (Eliza Jane, to a lady in the corridor.)

‘I loved that lesson so much. I learned so much!”  (Avelynn)

“No. I need my own Bible for this.” (Ezra, when I offered to share my Bible with him.)

“There’s just one good thing about not being a Christian. You could play in the water park.”  (Ezra) —Then we had a long talk about how Christians can play in water parks if people are not undressed. …And how there are NO good things about not being a Christian.)

 “Wait! I need my different money to give to God. That bag is for the missionary.” (Maggie)

“Today we will be singing ‘Jesus Loves the Little Children.’”  (Ellis—in front of 200 people who sang fervently with him.)

“We are going shopping in the big Hall. I hope I find a doll that’s a Bible person.” (Maggie)

“I love PTP. It’s just that all this many people are kind of hard.” (Maggie)

“But I knew all of those answers. I think something is wrong with the buzzer. Yeah, that’s it.”  (Ezra-after Bible Bowl)

“Look Mammy! Look! My teacher made me this book about all the stuff we learned!” (Colleyanna)

“My favorite part of PTP? The carnival!!” (both Ezra and Colleyanna)

“I Low you. You in my haht.”  (Eliza Jane…to everybody)

If you didn’t notice, all these particular quotes are from people ten and under. We could posit, that they might be the most impacted for His glory, by PTP. They, generally, have a longer span left to make this impact. They are uninhibited in influencing others for the Lord. They are the most moldable people there. They are the least hardened in their hearts. They are, in short, amazing catalysts for much good in the church.

So, special thanks to Drew Hudgens, Celine Sparks, Billy Hayes, Tammy Bear, Chelsea Jones and all the teachers and moms and volunteers who opened this important window of learning to so many children. I’m sure I’m leaving out some folks, but that’s the thing about these people. Not one of them is about credit!  They are each about His glory! (One or two teachers even got locked in their classrooms after all the children had left. These are some teachers who are “locked in” to this teaching opportunity!) 

And, if all this good can potentially come from just one aspect of the big Polishing the Pulpit conference, how much eternal good could result from the entire program each year?  And, can Christians double that influence by the addition of another PTP in Branson next year? Jehovah is the God of MORE (Ephesians 3:20)!

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Guest Writer, Kastin Carroll…(Read down for Kastin’s encouragement!)

One day recently a Christian woman that I know was in the office of a materially successful  businesswoman. The  businesswoman, not a member of the church of Christ, said to my friend “I have never known anyone who could find solutions to the problems in her world quicker than you can. You suddenly needed a home and ‘Bam!” …you had a place to live. You needed a job and ‘Bam!’ …you had a job. You needed an educational plan and ‘Bam!’…there it was. I have never seen anyone like this.”

My friend responded, “It is not me, at all. It is the church. It is Christians who hear about needs and seek to fill them. The church is wonderful!”

The businesswoman then responded “I have noticed that about your church. It seems like your church is all about serving needs. It seems like the whole thing is just honestly about humble service, as opposed to any selfish agendas. As an outsider, that is what I see.”

We should all give the credit and glory for anything good to the Giver of all good and perfect gifts (James 1:17) and the kingdom whose mission it is to glorify Him. I want to be better at this simple, conversational glorying in the Lord. “He that glories, let him glory in the Lord,” (1 Corinthians 1:33).

As I was thinking on this conversation, I received the following correspondence from Kastin Carroll, my friend in the Fort Worth area. I want to be like Kastin, when I grow up. She’s been studying David and Saul. From the perspective of the reputation of David, in the tough times, she writes these words. They are full of comfort.

I recently finished the David-and-Saul saga in my OT reading.  Just a few things I saw shining out of David’s upright conduct in that miserable, manipulative relationship that I thought were beautiful:

1. Even the far-removed saw and loved David’s heart (1 Kings 5:1, Acts 13:22).

2. Even Saul’s family and soldiers saw David’s righteousness (1 Samuel 19:4-5, 2 Samuel 3:8-10).

3. Even the Philistines came to love David and know Israel’s God (1 Samuel 29:6-9, 2 Samuel 15:19-21).

I love the combined blessing, anthem, and prayer of the mighty men who rallied behind David at the stronghold, a fugitive from his own home: “We are yours, O David; We are on your side, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, And peace to your helpers! For your God helps you” (1 Chronicles 12:18).  And God did help.  Even and especially “when vain [was] the help of man” (Psalm 108:12).

I thought “Wow. David represented the future of a kingdom.” It was a kingdom being threatened by a ruthless, reckless King Saul, who had abandoned principles of righteousness. Though secure in the Providence of God, this kingdom was hurting because its leadership was corrupt. The influence of the kingdom was diminished because of prominent voices which had once been true to the oracles of God, but, because of personal sins of pride and disobedience, were now seeking the destruction of the God-appointed future king of Israel.

In the midst of the darkest moments of David’s life, I love the awareness of those even outside the kingdom, who looked in and saw David’s good character. I love the anthem that Kastin found in 1 Chronicles 12. I pray that you and I can be women who, not because of any personal merit, but because of our allegiance to God’s kingdom, His only vehicle of salvation for the lost—for us— can know His true peace. 

I pray, as was the case with my friend in that office that day, that those who are outsiders can look in and see a kingdom that reflects the John 3:16 compassion that put our perfect King on the cross. 

 

PS. I love friends who share the Word with me. We should do that more. I did not even have to take the time to ask permission of Kastin to share her words with you. I know her encouraging heart. She’d say “Yes!”–with humility and grace.  We should all encourage with the Word more often. There are profound blessings in sharing our study.

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Lessons from Memory

I was driving my husband’s recently purchased pick-up truck through a veritable monsoon between Jacksonville, Florida and Columbus, Georgia. I stopped at a McDonald’s in a little town called Dawson, Georgia. The pickings were slim and I needed three things: a fish sandwich, a restroom, and a safe parking lot where I could put my seat back and sleep for fifteen minutes. But when I tried to start the truck after that little nap, the starter wouldn’t even turn over. I had left the headlights on and my battery was dead.

My husband was in Texas that day recording some material for World Video Bible School, but I caught him via phone just before he began taping. He said my plan to cross that highway on foot and go in that O’Reilly’s and ask them to come and test the battery was a good plan. So I did. The bad news was that they did not have enough employees to spare one for my battery check. I had to turn right back around and cross that highway again, to no avail. “We’ll send somebody over when our courier gets back in a little while.”

So, of course, I crossed back over and did that thing that never helps very much….I worried. Once I got to Columbus, I still had to load and cover some furniture items with a tarp and then make the last leg of my trip back to Huntsville, Alabama before I could sleep that night. It was afternoon already. (…And I really needed to play with the grandchildren in Columbus for a few minutes, too!)

I went inside the McDonald’s. Two old codgers sat there chewing the fat over their afternoon cups of coffee. I thought it might be worth trying, so I said “You don’t have a pair of jumper cables, do you? I left my lights on and I can’t get the auto parts folks to come for another little while.”

One of them said he did have some and he’d go get his truck and see if we could “start her up.” He uttered a profane word or two, but in a few minutes, I was excited to be ready to roll again. I jumped out of the cab and shut the door to run around and thank these two men one last time before leaving. Just as I did close the door, I heard that familiar electronic sound of power locks. I had just automatically locked my keys, purse, and phone in the truck…and it was running! I ran back around to confirm what I already knew…every door was locked up tight. I looked at one of the old friends. He said, “Ma’am, this just ain’t your day, is it?”

“We ain’t got no locksmith in our town.” (Of course not. Of course, they don’t.) “But the sheriff’s a friend of ours. That’s who we’ll have to call. He might have to scratch up your truck a little.” (Of course he will. Of course he will scratch up my husbands new/old truck on it’s very first trip out of town.)

But, at this moment, I was thankful for my new “cussing” friend and I started a conversation while we waited for the sheriff… about my husband—where he was and what he was doing out in Texas:

“Oh, he’s a preacher, then. Well, where do y’all live?”

“We live in Huntsville, Alabama. My husband preaches  in Huntsville for the West Huntsville church of Christ.”

‘Well, I have a great niece who lives in Huntsville…really in Madison… but I can’t think of her name right now….But what have you been doing all the way down in Florida?”

“Well, my son lives down there and his wife is having a baby. So I took a cradle that my husband made and I worked on the nursery.”

“Well, what does your son do in Jacksonville?”

“He’s a preacher, too. He preaches for the Lakeside church in Orange Park.”

“Well, why are you going to Columbus?”

I thought, at this point, about reserving some information, but these two old men just didn’t seem like perpetrators of injury. So I said, “Well, that’s where my daughter lives. Her husband preaches at the Edgewood church there in Columbus.”

“Well,” he responded, “I ain’t never heard of so much religion in one family.” Then he told me about something he’d watched with emotion on television—about a father being in thankful prayer when his son was saved after being wounded in one of the school shootings.

I said, “God is so good. I’ve been talking to him several times already today.”

He said, “I bet you have. You’re needin’ to, I believe.”

(I noticed that this kind old man never cursed again. He complained about the heat and humidity. [By now, the rain had given us a short respite.] He complained that his sheriff buddy was off-duty today. He complained about the deputy taking so long. But he never used that colorful language again.)

The deputy did not have the right tool (Of course she didn’t), so we waited a while more for the back-up car to come. I was glad, that if this kind of stupidity on my part was going to emerge, that it did happen in a sweet little town where the back-up patrol was called in for the Jimmy tools.

I could hardly watch while they did the truck-scratching work. I thought of my husband’s excitement the previous week, as he told me about this new white truck he’d found “without a scratch. Somebody did hit the bumper, so the man just bought a brand new bumper to replace the old one. I mean, Cindy, this truck is pristine. I think I’ll buy this truck.”

So, instead of watching,  I went inside and bought gift cards for the men who were being so very patient and kind to me. (I did have one credit card in my pocket.) These sweet men tried to refuse the little gifts, but they’d already told me that they eat breakfast together there at McDonald’s, with the sheriff and a few more men, every day, so I knew it was a practical little thank-you gift. I insisted.

Before long I was driving on toward those sweet grand-babies. By now I looked like a homeless granny without a shelter bridge. The driving rain was back with a vengeance. But, you know, grandchildren don’t notice drenched hair or wrinkled clothes. They’re just looking to see if you brought a surprise. So I’d stop and get a frosty just before I got to Wood Duck Lane. But I would not, under any circumstances, kill the motor or get out of the truck. I’d use the drive-through.

 

The take-homes:

  1. Worrying really never does avail much. Praying does (James 5:16).
  2. People often say they can’t help cursing. “It’s just such a habit.” That’s not true. Knowledge is power.
  3. Never close the door on a running vehicle. (especially if you have a child locked inside in a carseat….Can you even imagine?)
  4. There are lots of people who have crusty outsides, yet very benevolent, patient insides. Those people may be good candidates for conversion. some of them have not seen “much religion” and maybe you could show them some.
  5. Pristine material things will never be pristine for very long, anyway. So don’t sweat it so much when you are forced to help them along to the destined place of rest…the scrapyard.
  6. My husband is the best. His response about the door?…”Well, It’s not really that bad.”
  7. Sometimes you have to tell your husband you scratched up the truck. You should remember that on the days when he leaves his socks on the floor or scatters his popcorn on the rug under his chair.
  8. Good days are relative. You just need to look around (at cancer, at automobile accidents, at children lost to death, etc…) to realize that sometimes when “This just ain’t your day.” it really is very much your day. 
  9. Grandchildren make everything better—the one on the way in Florida and the ones who love ice cream in Georgia. But some of you were already ahead of me on this one. Thank God for them every day. Pray for their heavenward progression every day. Just do not let days go by without praying for each of them by name.
  10. Son-in-laws are good, too. Mine helped me tie up that furniture, a piece he had re-finished for a family member for Christmas. He then insisted that I was not going to drive home that night without him testing and replacing my battery. (And not even one curse word under his breath.)
Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Carol Dodd…A Name in the Book

I know God knows best, but I wish Carol could have lived a little while longer because, unlike most people diagnosed with cancer, she came into her spiritual prime AFTER that diagnosis. Not that she wasn’t a force for the devil to reckon with prior to the cancer, but, with all the spiritual tenacity that was characteristic of her whole life, she determined to spend the last months of her life influencing, patterning and preparing for the time when she “being dead, yet speaks” (Hebrews 11:4). And she does speak with clarity now. She went to her long home (Ecclesiastes 12:5) on Saturday morning early and left many of us just longing for the reunion we will know one day. More people will enjoy the reunion because Carol lived. 

Carol was never self-serving and so the book that was published, of her deep Bible studies and lessons presented to women, was presented to her as a surprise. The first run quickly sold out and we have a very limited supply of the second printing. If you want one by which you may remember Carol, but most importantly draw closer to the God she served, order here: www.thecolleyhouse.org

Let me emphasize that all proceeds will be given directly to Don. Although we have the books and are mailing them, no proceeds will go to The Colley House. It’s an excellent book for personal study or ladies classes. 

She was pretty special. She loved Christmas, Harry Potter, eating Mexican food with us and Digging Deep. Most of all, she loved God. She knew this life was a testing ground. She passed. I know she did. That’s the blessed assurance. There is nothing to mourn except for the selfish realization that I will miss her constant encouragement sorely. (And then there’s the painful reality that so many others will miss her in countless ways; especially her devoted husband, Don.) She truly cared about my children. She loved my grandchildren. She taught them and many of your children and grandchildren. She was the brightest source of encouragement that I’ve known in this world in a very long time. The chasm of this void will be deep for many. We should pray for each other as we walk through the valley of the shadow of this death (Psalm 23:4). He is with us.

Once pretty early in our relationship, Carol thought I had unfriended her on Facebook. In typical Carol fashion, she fretted and worried and finally came up with the courage to ask Glenn why I had done that. She was surprised to find that, upon investigation, she had accidentally unfriended me! I laughed so hard. I’m glad there’s another book in which the only erasures are done with God’s blotter.

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels (Revelation 3:5).

A recent letter to encourage a child…It did encourage him.

I’m glad that book will be opened and, once closed, my time and bliss with sisters will have no bounds. Praise Him!

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Family Ties in the Social Distance #30: Proverbs 13:20–Choosing Good Companions

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: Choosing good companions (Prov. 13:20).

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.”

No one is perfect in this old world, but there’s a big difference between one who fears God and one who does not.  Psalm 14:1 unflinchingly calls some people fools: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God.’”  

In the history of mankind, perhaps the greatest example of making bad companion choices involves the Israelites moving into the land of Canaan.  They were commanded by God in plain terms to drive the Canaanites out of that land.  This expression of God’s anger came with this caution: “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.”

What God told them to do, they did not do:

“But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day” (Jud. 1:21).

“Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them” (Jud. 1:27).

“Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob” (Jud. 1:31).

Here was the sad consequence of disobedience:

“I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’” (Jud. 2:1-3).

“When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel” (Jud. 2:10).

This is the reason parents of teens are concerned when their teens are running with kids who drink, or use drugs, or play video games which contain immoral material or have become sexually active. It is also a critical reason why marrying someone who isn’t a Christian is eternally dangerous.  It is predictable that we will be somehow influenced and drawn away from our commitment to Christ.  Where do you suppose Lot’s daughters learned the atrocities they committed with their father?  From their Dad? No (2 Pet. 2:8). Apparently, they were influenced by their vile friends in Sodom. 

Today, think about not only the friends you now have, but also what kind of friend you are. There are two kinds of friends; friends around whom it is easy to be good, and friends around whom it is easy to be bad.  

Pray for wisdom as you work to be the right influence on all your friends.

Bible Time with Glenn and Cindy

Tonight’s family Bible time comes from 2 Samuel 12:15-23, the sad conclusion fo the David and Bathsheba union. Read these verses and relate them to your children, emphasizing that David fasted and prayed for the baby for seven days, until he died. Also relate that the servants were afraid to tell David that the baby was dead, because he was so distraught about the impending death. They were surprised when he got up, cleaned up and began eating upon learning that the baby was dead. Talk about why he did this. (He was fasting and praying in case God would change His mind, but when he knew that the death prophecy was fulfilled, David knew he had to get up and live his life so that he could go to heaven and see his son.)

  1. Review once more the three super-powers of God that make Him sovereign.
  2. In view of these three things, did God know for sure the baby would die even before the baby became sick? Was he with the baby when he died? Was He also with David when the baby died? Was He also with Bathsheba at the time of the baby’s death? Was he there with the servants who discovered that the baby was dead? Was he also on His throne in heaven? Did God have the power to make the baby well, if that had been His will?
  3. What was the first thing David did after cleaning himself up? How important is it for us to keep on worshipping God faithfully, even when we have hard days or when we have failed in some area of our lives? For small children, talk to them about how much we are missing worshiping with the rest of our congregations during the COVID days and how very much we want to gather together to worship again. “Do you miss your Bible class and your teacher?” Ask them to help you sing some of the songs they sing in Bible class. Have them call their teacher and tell her that they miss getting to come and worship with her. Have older children write a letter to one of the elders (or leaders, in cases where there are no elders) and tell him that they are missing the assemblies and that they appreciate the elders’ work to try to bring us back together for worship.
  4. Pray with your children and pray that very soon the Christians will get to come together for worship again.

 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Family Ties in the Social Distance #26: Proverbs 12:16–Kindness to Animals

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 importance of kindness to animals. 

“A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel” (Prov. 12:16).

The World Animal Protection organization is in London and is a strong advocate for the humane treatment of animals, but the better known organization in the US is PETA, People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals.  A quick glance at their website will raise most Christians’ eyebrows. The lead headline is “Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way.”  The site asserts that animals and people are no different, and that the word “others” in the Golden Rule (Matt. 7:12) applies to animals and humans alike. Bible believers know that these folks have failed to consult the Word.  The Creator of animals, it seems to me, ought to get a say in these matters:  

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Gen. 1:26).

“So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs” (Gen. 9:1-3).

“Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey” (Matt. 3:4). 

Scripture often seems to answer questions it anticipates being asked in the future.  The Proverbs writer warns against cruelty to animals in our text today,  but on the same page, Proverbs 12:27, says, “The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, but diligence is man’s precious possession.”  Solomon obviously didn’t consider hunting, killing, and eating animals to be cruelty.

But that doesn’t mean this Proverb teaches nothing important.  Using animals for clothing, food, transportation, and companionship is not cruel, but abusing them without regard for their pain is cruelty. Furthermore, I doubt you’ll find a man who thus abuses animals and also treats humans as he should.  There is a connection in there somewhere.  One of the ways we teach our children to be gentle with other children is to teach them to be gentle with puppies.  

It may very well be that God’s prohibition against abusing animals is less about the animals and more about what such abuse says about us.

 

Bible Time with Glenn and Cindy:

Review the events about David and Bathsheba with your kids.

Tonight’s lesson is from 2 Samuel 11:25:

Then David said to the messenger, “Thus you shall say to Joab: ‘Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and overthrow it.’ So encourage him.”

I. Read and explain the verse to your kids. Notice with the kids how that David also wanted to encourage Joab to not worry about the horrible sin they’d committed. Have them see that people often think it will make them feel better about their own sin if they can try to make other people feel better about doing wrong. Sin makes sort of a “club” for “Let’s make each other feel better about this bad thing we are doing.” Talk with your kids about a list of things we might say to help each other “feel better” about sin. 

 

  1. “People do this all the time.” (That’s what Joab was saying when he mentioned Abimelech.)
  2. “This is not as bad as what some people do.” (People who are social drinkers talk about how they are not drunkards. People who dress immodestly often point out that what they wear is a lot better than what ___________ wears. For small children, it might be that “I sometimes get a checkmark by my name at school for misbehavior, but I never get five checkmarks like ________does.”
  3. No one will ever know.” (For your teens, perhaps talk about pornography addictions. For younger children, maybe something like when they hide a mess and pretend they cleaned it up. I’m sure you can think of applicable things in your specific case.)
  4. “God will forgive us later, when it’s a good time to do the right thing.” (If you’re talking with teens, talk about premarital sex. Almost always, premarital sex, committed with intentions to marry later, never does even end in marriage; it ends in regret. Even if it does end in marriage, it still ends in regret, for God’s people, because it is sin.)
  5. “We can always make different choices later, if this turns out wrong.”  Let’s just live our best life now. ( A good example is Abraham lying about Sarah. He thought it was so temporary. [Gen.12 and Gen. 20]. Another example is when couples move in together or marry and say “Let’s try this and see how it works out.”)
  6. People still look up to us. We are doing a lot of things right.” (Solomon must have thought this when he was the richest man in all the world and yet was idolatrous.)
  7. We can’t confess this. It would hurt our influence.” (Joseph’s brothers lived the consequence of their treatment of Joseph and the deceit that followed for many years. After all, their family was prominent  in their community.)
  8. It’s okay. We are just going through a hard time right now.” (People who may cheat on their income taxes or take things that do not belong to them are examples of this rationalizing.)
  9. “I know it was wrong, but we did it to help someone else.” (Example: When people lie in order to make someone happy.)
  10. I know this is against what the Bible says, but I just think God wants me to be happy.” (Example: When people marry people to whom they have no right.

Talk about each one of these things and see if your children can think of examples of people today, or people in Scripture, who may be thinking/ have thought this way. Obviously, you will have to adjust this conversation to fit the maturity levels of your children. You may want to omit some of the points for very young children. I included some examples for possible discussion above. 

The point of tonight’s lesson is that people can think of a good “reason” to do any bad thing that they want to do. They can also make it seem like it’s not so bad after they do it and they can comfort each other into thinking it’s not so bad. Try to remind your children of this throughout the day tomorrow when they may make excuses for disobedience or argue about what you tell them to do. There’s never a good reason to do the wrong thing or to disobey. 

II. Also, notice with your children that it’s easier to do the wrong thing when someone is helping you. People who disobey God love to get other people to do it with them. Joab and David encouraged each other to do the wrong thing. They were a “sin team” led by David. Ask your children if they have ever had someone who tried to get them to be on their sin team. “Has anyone ever tried to get you to do the wrong thing with them?”

Quote the KidSing rule.

Pray with your children.