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Joy

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

The Joy of a Newborn!

Posted on March 29, 2019

The Ethiopian treasurer went on his way rejoicing (Acts 8: 39). His exposure and obedience to the gospel had given Him multiple reasons for this joy. I cannot imagine his going much farther on his journey without sharing the good news about salvation in the washing of baptism with someone else who needed to know. 

I’ve been reminded in the past few weeks of the overwhelming joy that’s natural for the newly-washed Christian to exhibit. Kiki was baptized about three weeks ago.You can read her conversion story here: https://thecolleyhouse.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=11693&action=edit . She is now spending a lot of time with my daughter, Hannah, in Columbus, Georgia. In the park last week as they were pushing their children in the swings, Kiki spoke openly of her faith, asking Bible questions and drinking in the scriptural answers. In fact, the Biblical discussion was so open that the grandmother pushing a nearby swing asked them about “what church” they were speaking. Kiki was the one who responded without reservation and without timidity.

“Oh, you need to know about this church! I cannot believe this church is not huge, because everyone who visits will recognize that they just teach the Bible. Every question is answered with scripture. The preacher and his wife take time for everybody who wants to study. They have Bible studies in their homes and everyone in this church is welcoming and makes you feel like you’re a part of a family. I am so happy I have found this place!” She said all of this as she was writing down the address of the meeting place on a piece of paper to give to this lady. It turns out this grandmother was baby-sitting for her children who were moving to the area and looking for a church.

I’m sure my daughter could have directed her to the building, but would her recommendation, as the preacher’s wife at the church, have been as objective and well-received as this amazing endorsement from a new Christian? I doubt it could compare. 

Then a few days later, my daughter and Kiki were sitting in a Chik-Fila, when in walked another lady who had visited the same seminar which first introduced Kiki to the church. Coincidentally, she sat at the table next to Hannah and Kiki. Hannah recognized her and began to engage her in conversation, but it was Kiki who immediately jumped in…

“Well, yes. I was at that same seminar where you were and, let me tell you, I am so thankful I saw that seminar on Facebook. It has changed our lives. We are having Family Bible Time. We are studying our Bibles and we have been baptized for the remission of our sins. We are changed people because of that day.” An appointment was made right then for this lady to meet with Hannah and her husband, Ben, later that day in their home. 

I’m saying this: The enthusiasm of a new Christian, when the commitment is real and the change is palpable, is worth more to the cause of Christ than some of our gospel meetings and evangelism classes, especially when paired with the partnership of a sister (or family) who is committed to encouraging and answering questions for the babies in the Lord!

I’m convicted that I need to restore the joy of my salvation (Psalm 51:12) again and again. I’m praying tonight that God will help me have the heart of Kiki, who has changed her focus, her family, and her faith. All three have been directed upward toward eternity with Him and outward with a passion for telling others about what she has found. May I keep that fire in my bones (Jeremiah 20:9)!

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

For the Diggers: The Joy of Restoration

Posted on February 11, 2019
The great Babylonian cleansing of God’s people began in 606 B.C. You’ll remember this is when Daniel entered the court of Nebuchadnezzar as a trainee in the service of the king (Dan.1). These were dark days for Judah. The people had forgotten the sovereignty of Jehovah, fallen into idolatry, and witnessed all of the immorality that accompanies such apostasy. Finally, they had witnessed the last grand symbol of Jehovah in their midst, the temple of Solomon, being plundered and destroyed. The majestic city on the hill was reduced to a smoldering memory for these homesick captives.
Fast forward to 536 B.C. Babylon, the first great world empire, has fallen to the Medes and Persians. The king of this new empire is Cyrus and the unbelievable occurs. Cyrus, in precise fulfillment of divine prophecy (Isa. 44:28; 45:1,13), commissions Ezra and company to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. (Isn’t it amazing that the king of a heathen empire commissioned the rebuilding of the house of God? We should never underestimate the power and resourcefulness of our God as we “rebuild” His house today.)

Now focus on what Ezra says:

When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD:
“For He is good,
For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.”
Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off (Ezra 3:10-13).

There is joy in restoring the house of God! I can feel the emotion. I can almost hear the indiscernible noise of joy and weeping. Some of the older men were crying. They could still remember wistfully the splendor of that original temple. Some were cheering on this glad day of return to righteousness. Verse eleven tells us, though, that songs of praise came from all of the people because “the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.”
Christians should be the most joyful people on earth. We are a part of a mighty restoration. Just as the temple of old had fallen into shambles, so the church, the spiritual house of God fell into a state of disrepair and apostasy shortly after the first century A.D. Just as the glorious city on the hill had been ransacked and destroyed by its enemies, so the spiritual wealth that is found only in the church had been stolen by the enemies of truth. (This apostasy was a fulfillment of prophecy in II Thessalonians 2:3,4 and I Timothy 4:1-3.) By the third century, the house of God as it had existed in the New Testament, was unrecognizable. Its organization, worship, and system of faith had been so altered that few characteristics–just tell-tale relics–of the church as we read of it in the book of Acts, could be found.
But Ezra knew where to find the principles of restoration as he and Nehemiah led in the restoration of Judaism in Jerusalem.

“So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month” (Neh. 8: 2).

“So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading” (Neh. 8:8).

Thank God there were brave Ezras in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who knew where to find the principles of restoration. Men like Thomas and Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone and others “opened the book in the sight of all the people” (Neh. 8:5), and “read distinctly.” They bravely called the spiritual Israel back to the faith, worship, and practice of the New Testament church. The spiritual house of God, the church, has been restored! We are those who are able to look upon its glory, actually dwell in the new Zion, and shine from that city on a hill for His glory. This is reason for “very great gladness” (Neh.8:17). Will you be remembered for the joy you have because you can be a part of the restored house of God?
Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Sister to Sister: Where’s the Joy?

Posted on October 10, 2016

unknownIt’s unconscionable. The language…the view of women…the perversion of God’s plan for sexuality…the profaning of the marriage covenant. It is unholy. It is lewd. I am saddened. But I am still going to do what I can to keep the murderers of innocent babies out of the Supreme Court. There is very little I can do. But I will keep speaking against abortion and my vote will still have to reflect my position in that battle. She promises to strengthen the forces against the babies. Pence is loudly and logically fighting FOR them. He does not control the ticket, but he was chosen by the candidate. That says something she would never, ever say. I’m prayerful for our country. But I have never been more thankful that my truest citizenship does not lie in my American identity.

That’s the long and short of how I’m still planning to head to the polls. That doesn’t mean it’s pretty. There’s an awful lot of negativity that’s just necessarily accompanying our plans for November’s voting.  I find myself easily discouraged and, on the worst of days, even despondent. So, tonight, as I write, I’m beginning a short personal study in preparation for an upcoming lecture I’m giving on our eternal joy. He always seems to provide the needed topic at just the right time.

 

The following list, published in The Bible Friend, of various places where joy cannot be found, is an apropos beginning to a study of eternal joy; for we, who believe He exists, cannot even write or talk about the joy God offers without simultaneously embarking on a quest for finding that joy for our individual lives and families. History verifies the findings of Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes—that searching for happiness outside of full submission to the Will of God is vanity. Here’s a partial list from history in answer to the question, “Where can joy be found?”

Not in Unbelief — Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: “I wish I had never been born.”

Not in Pleasure — Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: “The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.”

Not in Money — Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.”

Not in Position and Fame — Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: “Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.”

Not in Military Glory — Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.” 

Knowing where it’s not is a great motivator for searching where it is. I’ve got that book open right now to Jeremiah 15:16: Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

Have you found His Word for your life? Are you devouring it today? Is there joy and rejoicing in your heart? Are you called by the name of the Lord of Hosts?

Womens-bible-study

 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

The Secret Celebration

Posted on December 3, 2015

12309716_10153138255241384_7154760262295702121_o-1Tonight I was privileged to sit in a Bible class about the book of Job, taught by a real Bible scholar, Brandon Renfroe. He reminisced a bit about a statement made by Wendell Winker. I’m not sure I’m getting this word-for word, but he said that everyone wears an inner garment of sackcloth. The point being made, of course, was that, like Job’s companions, we often do not know or comprehend the extent of the  suffering others may be enduring.

If everyone wears “secret sackcloth”…then surely every Christian woman should also be wearing a sort of secret “party dress”…a celebration garment. See, in Christ, we all have much in every day about which to rejoice, even when things are tough and circumstances are challenging.   Even a casual reading of the short letter to the Philippians  makes me ashamed of the days in which I have failed to rejoice. It makes me keenly aware that the substance of joy is not in delightful circumstances or ease of living. It’s in Christ. It’s the peace—a peace that surpasses our capacity to understand— that gives us the inner garment of celebration (Phil. 4:7).

It’s funny how that, as I grow older, I become more and more intent on living in the moment—taking joy from the good things that are right here and right now. I think that happens to us in our fifties, when we start to realize that we are not really even middle-aged, much less young (because we are probably NOT going to live to be 110!) “Over the hill” was funny at parties when I and my comrades were turning thirty. Now that the hill really is in the rearview mirror, “over the hill” is less funny and more sobering. Most of all, it makes the moments of life increase in their intrinsic value. (It’s supply and demand. Every commodity becomes more valuable when there is less of that commodity.) When you realize the moments are fleeting, you search them out. You want to find their sweetness and extract it. You just begin to live more in each moment.

So, today, a day spent with my ninety-three-year-old father, held a bunch of ripe moments that were worth the savoring. Here are a baker’s dozen of them:

  1. We bowed our heads in a busy breakfast restaurant and I heard him thank the Father for “all Thy many blessings.”
  2. He can still carefully place each of his morning pills on a grid, wash them down with that liquid med, check them off as taken, and get it all right (at least mostly). That’s a super huge blessing.
  3. He voluntarily did his muscle therapy. It made me feel a bit ashamed of all the mornings I find excuses to skip the treadmill.
  4. He wanted to get on about the business of getting that Christmas tree and finding the stockings, buying fruit and getting me up in that barn loft to find the decorations. I hope I can still “have fun” when I’m a nonagenarian, if I even get to be one.
  5. He did not want me to pick the tree. He wanted to peruse, with walker, the long aisles of trees and this WWII veteran could not BELIEVE that some of those little trees were sixty-five dollars and they were “not even Scotch pine.”
  6. Happiness for him was finding a tree that was full and pretty and six feet tall and, best of all, twenty-five dollars.
  7. He had me hold it up, so he could walk around it, twice. “I think I’ve found my tree, right there.”
  8. The thing that made him happiest was that, when we got to the register, that tree was on sale for $19.99. “I never even knew I was going to get it for a cheaper price!”
  9. For hours, I watched him organizing and attaching name tags to big red stockings. He was happy to find that tiny red one. “This one would be good for Ezra, but I’m not sure all his stuff will fit.”
  10. He doesn’t know the first thing about my laptop, but he does want it in HIS lap when I’m scrolling through pictures of Ezra or watching his soon-to-be grand daughter-in-law on that new FHU lectureship promo video. “Is there anything that you can’t find on a computer?”
  11. “Let’s leave the Christmas tree on when we go to church, so we can see what it looks like!”
  12. I heard the trembling voice beside me in worship singing “Years I spent in vanity and pride…Caring not my Lord was crucified.” I don’t think there were many of his years spent in “caring not.” But then probably all of us have spent most of our years needing to care…more.
  13. Commenting on the class as we were driving away from the church building: “I couldn’t hear so much of what he said in class, but it sounded like he was not so complimentary of Job all the time.” I went on to tell him that I thought it was more Job’s friends that he was criticizing. “Well, I don’t think you could call them friends. In fact Job told them they were pretty miserable counselors, at one point.”

Well, I want us all to be good counselors—real friends—women who are full of the Philippians kind of joy and comfort and women who are able to seize that joy and pass it around when sisters are in need. That’s how we will make it to heaven together.  I want us to really live our lives—every moment of them— in the happy, hopeful shadow of the cross. It’s a perpetual inner celebration that only people in the family can understand.

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Right Turn

Posted on January 19, 2012

For four days now I’ve been wishing for a right turn. Right is the way I turn now to go to my dad’s regular hospital room and left is the way to the ICU, where he has spent the past three days. I’m thankful for all the turns in life through which the Father leads because I have that wonderful assurance of Romans 8:28. “All things” (the good things and the bad things) “work together” (are assimilated) “for good” (to be in the best eternal interests) “to those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose” (for faithful Christians). That makes every turn the right turn for me.

Lots of you already know that my father has been hospitalized since Friday afternoon. For many prayers and kind words and visits and snacks and meals and cards, we are very thankful. Dad’s main problem is pneumonia now and I covet your prayers for some easier breathing. I think the brewing pneumonia and resulting lack of oxygen to the brain last Friday morning was the cause for his disorientation and confusion, As he later said, “Cindy, I have just never been so inept and confused in my whole life.”

I said, “Dad, could you not even think to call me?”

“I could not think of the answers to any questions and I didn’t know what to do.”

So he went to the church building. In all of his confusion, he just put on his coat and tie, grabbed his glasses and his Bible and, in auto-pilot, he drove to the side of the building where he normally parks his car. There are six turns and about five stop lights between his house and the meeting place of the Jacksonville church of Christ. According to the surveillance camera later viewed, he entered the building at 10:24 A.M. and then proceeded to the auditorium. Still confused about why it was empty (apparently thinking it was time for one of the assemblies), he spent the next six hours, likely losing consciousness and falling, struggling to get up and becoming more and more desperate. Thankfully Homer Smith, one of the shepherds of the church, began to wonder about why his car was there and where he was. I was notified and I began asking everyone who might know about where he was until Homer, our new MVE (most valuable elder) found him and called the EMTs, who took him to the ER, where he was later admitted to the ICU.

He’s not out of the woods, but an enzyme count of 14,000–so very dangerously high–has dropped to 800. That’s impressive. He is completely coherent. That’s way better. His breathing is nothing but wheezing! That’s the part, for now, for which we need prayers. It’s really hard to watch and hear him breathe so laboriously.

But there is a blessing trail here. I can quickly enumerate ten of the many blessings about the whole episode:

  1. Win or lose the battle for life on this earth, the battle for life—the real battle–has already been won.
  2. There are ministers of the Father all around His people and they are extremely caring. They are servants with an attitude; the attitude of Matthew 25: 31-40.
  3. Eighty-nine years of relatively good health is a great record. Just being in this hospital or even on this internet makes us aware of so many whose trials are so premature compared to any we might be experiencing. Dad is the only surviving child in a family of eleven children. He’s been very blessed.
  4. When my dad “can’t think of any of the answers to any of the questions,” he goes to the place of worship. (That’s kind of like the Psalmist in Psalm 73.)
  5. There are lots of colder, more desolate places to be unconscious than in the church building.
  6. The proximity of excellent medical facilities in almost any region of our great country is a blessing we consistently count on.
  7. The presence of skilled doctors, nurses, technicians and even smiling volunteers is a very good gift from the Giver of all good gifts.
  8. Cousins, sons-in-law, husbands, fathers-in-law and brothers-in-law who are elders and preachers in the kingdom are double-kin and that’s special. I have about twenty-one of those and they are wonderful.
  9. Dad, the “lost” sheep, was found by a shepherd.
  10. “Clinically improved,” the term used to describe Dad today, is fun to hear and I love turning right.
Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 17, 2010
It’s not too late. Tune up (actually, vocal talent is quite unnecessary), grab your coffeemaker, a few packets of cocoa, a few people and a few Styrofoam cups, and take a cup of cheer to those in your congregation who may be experiencing a gladness deficit this holiday season.

For the young professionals group at West Huntsville it was about eight stops. A couple of them are recently widowed, one has terminal cancer, one is a recent convert, and one is a young boy who recently lost contact with his father. But the main beneficiaries were those of us who were singing, choreographing (not dancing, for sure =) the twelve days of Christmas, and bringing on the cheer. We, somehow in the process of belting out the blessings, found them ourselves; the blessings, that is,– in those yards, on those porches and in those little living rooms and apartments.

Here’s the recipe. Just have everybody bring some small item…a tube of lotion, a piece of fruit, a Bible workbook, or a pretty cupcake. Have someone map out the stops and call ahead to verify that people will be home. Have someone else bring sheet music–or at least lyrics–to any less familiar songs you plan to sing. Find folks at one of your stops who don’t mind you plugging in the coffee urn and serving up the cocoa. Then get going.

Be prepared. You will see a lot of genuine smiles, some emotional–even tearful–recipients, and you will hear laughter; sometimes uncontrollable laughter. Your gratitude for the amazing blessings in your life will be renewed at the end of each visit as you bow your head with people…all with different needs, yet all needing the same Thing.

Now, this doesn’t have to be a six-hour escapade, as ours was. (This group has to include eating out together in every activity. Maybe that’s why I love them so much!) It can just be two or three stops. It doesn’t have to involve lots of people. Sometimes the sweetest of the season’s songs are those from little families with children in training for service (…and what a great Family Bible Time project…a way to teach your kids as you are “walking by the way” Deut. 6:4).

So there’s the recipe for the joy. On our little tour, I brought along a batch of chai tea mix to go along with the cocoa. It was a hit, so I’ve included the recipe for that, too. Now, go spread the cheer!

“And we urge you,… encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” I Thess. 5:14)

Best Chai Ever!

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
1 cup French vanilla flavored powdered non-dairy creamer
2 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Directions
In a large bowl, combine milk powder, non-dairy creamer, vanilla flavored creamer, sugar and instant tea. Stir in ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. In a blender or food processor, blend 1 cup at a time, until mixture is the consistency of fine powder.

To serve: Stir 2 heaping tablespoons chai tea mixture into a mug of hot water.

(But I do not do the blender thing. I just mix it up really good. That blender thing sent dust all over my house and made me cough! =)

…and don’t forget your contest entries. Monday is the deadline. See post for 12/08/10.

Please visit Cindy’s Blog at cindycolley.blogspot.com/