Browsing Tag

Mercy

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Today’s the Holiday Contest Deadline!

  1. You can read all about the holiday contest here: https://thecolleyhouse.org/colley-house-gift-cards-are-here-annual-christmas-contest-is-now  It’s a simple thing to enter and there will be multiple winners! So enter!
  2. Digging Deep video podcast for the month of November is here:
    https://livestream.com/whcoc/for-women. Flori Barber is co-host. It’s tomorrow night at 7 CST. It’s about the “Father of Mercies” and all of us are reliant on that mercy every single day; but some of us are especially reliant during the holidays. (I recently invited someone to come to our congregation’s family party and her response was “I think I would feel sad to come all alone.” …That’s not an uncommon phenomena.
  3. Regular blog posts will resume soon. I’ve been posting the snippets from Israel, instead, for the kids. I hope they have been helpful in some little way for your Family Bible time.  There are just a few more of those coming. The new one up now is about Chorazin. Someone has requested we put those in a folder and post on the DD page. Any volunteers with extra time during the holidays? ( I thought not, but worth a try!)
  4. One more dig-a-bit is forthcoming for the November study. I’ll try to get that up before the podcast.
  5. There are some people who have pretty heavy hearts this month with whom I have been talking and praying. There are some children in multiple families this holiday season that are very much at spiritual  risk. Please know that I pray for every digger and for all of your families. I just pray for some by name when we are weeping together! Most of all, I pray for the comfort that comes from our joint reliance on the “Father of Mercies.” My Psalm today was 89. Listen and reflect and praise.

Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around him?
O Lord God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
with your faithfulness all around you?
You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.

He left the splendor of Heaven–not just the splendor of being there, but the splendor of ruling there. All the Holy Ones were in awe of Him. But He emptied Himself of the splendor and took on the shame, for me, to whom the stroke was due (Is. 53: 8) From Galilee, He ruled the raging of the seas. When its waves rose, He spoke and stilled them. He can calm my storm, too.

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Family Ties in the Social Distance #44: Truth and Mercy have Met

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:  Proverbs 16:6  

“In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.”

Observe these soul-saving ingredients: fear, mercy, and truth. 

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).  Why is fear important?  One powerful tool of the Devil, who loves to work in religion, is to subtract the fear of hell from both atheists and professing Christians.  Yet it is that fear that makes us crave and appreciate mercy and truth.  Consider that these two—mercy and truth—are often paired together in the Old Testament:

“And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren” (Gen. 24:27).

“All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies” (Psalm 25:10).

“He shall abide before God forever. oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!”(Psalm 61:7).

“Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed” (Psalm 85:10).

“For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).

This is a combination of characteristics seen in their perfection in our God. But we are commanded to use this combination in Christianity and the church as we hold one another accountable.  For example, elders who lead their flock in the process of withdrawal of the church from an impenitent member (according to the truth of the Word in 2 Thessalonians 3:6), will perhaps remember that Jesus gave Jezebel a space to repent (Rev. 2:20-21) and will apply that mercy to the member in the process of discipline. Mercy and truth have met together.

Jesus gave instruction about a Christian against whom a fellow-Christian has sinned.  Consider how His teaching involves both mercy and truth: 

“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:15-17). 

We clearly see the combination of the establishment of truth and the will to forgive and gain the brother. Everlasting mercy and enduring truth (Psalm 100:5).

Today consider that in the application of truth there is space for mercy.  Considering God’s application of this pair motivates me to want to be sure I get this combination right in my relationships.

FamilyBible Time with Glenn and Cindy:

It’s quiz night again! Just see how much fun you can have remembering what Jesus said in Matthew 25 (and Luke 12). Act out the following in a game of “Guess Who I Am.” Pretend to be each of the following and see if your kids can guess who you are. After each successful guess, have your children tell you what Jesus said about whomever you were pretending to be. The response will be repetitive, but that’s a good thing.

  • a sheep
  • a goat
  • a hungry person
  • a thirsty person
  • someone who needs a place to stay
  • someone who needs clothing
  • someone who is sick
  • someone who is in prison
  • the rich man tearing down his barns

Sing the song from Matthew 25 (Hannah’s Hundred) if you’ve been learning that. If not, sing Each Day I’ll Do a Golden Deed. Here are the lyrics:

A Beautiful Life
Each day I’ll do a golden deed
By helping those who are in need
My life on earth is but a span
And so I’ll do the best I can
Life’s evening sun is sinking low
A few more days and I must go
To meet the deeds that I have done
Where there will be no setting sun
The only life that will endure
Is one that’s kind and good and pure
And so for God I’ll take my stand
Each day I’ll lend a helping hand
Life’s evening sun is sinking low
A few more days and I must go
To meet the deeds that I have done
Where there will be no setting sun
While going down life’s weary road
I’ll try to lift some traveler’s load
I’ll try to turn the night to day
Make flowers bloom along the way
Life’s evening sun is sinking low
A few more days and I must go
To meet the deeds that I have done
Where there will be no setting sun
No setting sun
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Rea Garvey / Sacha Skarbek
A Beautiful Life lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group, Red Brick Music Publishing

 

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Family Ties in the Social Distance #22: Proverbs 11:17–The Merciful Man

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 Merciful Man (Proverb 11:17)

“The merciful man does good for his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.”

When it is difficult to be merciful:

  1. When the offense is frequent.  

“Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matt. 18:21-22).

2.  When I forget my own sin.

“So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (Jn. 8:1-11).

3.  When I forget the enormity of the sin-debt for which I have been forgiven.

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:32).

  How my soul benefits from being merciful:

  1. I can be forgiven.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:14-15).

2.  I may reconcile with my brother. 

“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother” (Matthew 18:15).

3.  It creates a better atmosphere from which to examine my own temptations.

“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1).

Family Bible Time with Glenn and Cindy

David and Bathsheba (cont.)

  1. Read and/or paraphrase 2 Samuel 11: 6-11 to your children. There are some great things to talk about with your children from this brief account.
  2. First, review with them how wrong it is for us to ask other people to become involved in our sin. Who did David commission here to go get Uriah? David  was actually wanting Uriah to come home to Jerusalem so  could start a process of deceiving him. He did not want Uriah to find out that he had taken Bathsheba to his palace. So he got someone else innocently involved. David was making a habit of this. Do you think when someone becomes powerful and rich, like David was, that it is easy to start thinking that he can boss everyone around and everyone has to do whatever he says, even if it is wrong? Do you think David thought this, at least for a time?
  3. Read to your children Deuteronomy 8:17-18 and ask the question “Who is it that gives people power to get riches? ” (Ask the question first and tell them to listen for the answer as you read.) Ask your children if they know someone who has riches. Maybe they may think of a football player or a movie star. If they do name a person, ask them if they think that person is remembering to honor the one who gave him/her the riches. Discuss this.
  4. David acted like he had called Uriah to find out all about the battle, but, really, he was trying to get Uriah to go home to Bathsheba, so they could act like everything was okay and David had never even taken Uriah’s wife. (Your older children will here tell you the detailed reason for David wanting Uriah to go home–so everyone would think the baby Bathsheba was expecting belonged to her husband.)  Was David “pretending” with Uriah? Was he trying to “pretend” that he had not taken Uriah’s wife, so that no one would know? Do you think “pretending” here is kind of like lying?
  5. But Uriah did not go home to Bathsheba, after all. What reason did he give for sleeping outside David’s door with all the servants? Discuss some ways that this shows Uriah’s loyalty to the nation of Israel and his great leadership qualities. Uriah did not want to act like he was better than all the other soldiers so he did not go home and have a relaxing time with his wife. He wanted to wait till the battle was over to relax. David’s plan to get Uriah and Bathsheba back together did not work.
  6. Tonight have “Who am I?” night with this account. Go around the
    room asking these riddles and see who can get the most right. (A prize is a great interest incentive, at young ages…at any age really.)

I walked on the roof. Who am I?

I took a bath. Who am I?

I am the king of Israel. Who am I?

We went to fetch Bathsheba for the King? Who are we?

I told Uriah to go home to Jerusalem. Who am I?

I am Bathsheba’s husband. Who am I?

I took Bathsheba into my palace. Who am I?

I was disobeyed by David. Who am I?

I would not go home and sleep with my wife. Who am I?

I asked how Joab was doing. Who am I?

I have a door where Uriah slept. Who am I?

I pretended to want to know about the battle. Who am I?

I was afraid people would find out about my sin with Bathsheba. Who am I?

We committed adultery. Who are we?

I am the One who gives people the power to get riches. Who am I?

 

Have your kids repeat God’s Ideal for Marriage:  “One man and one woman for life.”

Have them say the Life Rule or the Kidsing Rule: “Do the right thing.”

Pray together.