A couple of weeks ago we had Waldo come home from college for the holidays. It was Sunday morning and Waldo never showed up for Bible class or worship service. His parents were asking, “Where’s Waldo?” They got home to find Waldo visiting with old high school friends. After the friends left, Waldo’s mother asked him if he attended services while at college and he responded with, “When I can”.

Last week I gave some practical pointers on how to make sure you are never wondering, “Where’s Waldo?” I thought this week we would continue along those same lines with more practical advice taken from the example of Waldo and his parents.

I have never asked/told my children to go to services while they were living in my house.
We raised our children going to all services of the church so it was never questioned. I had a mother tell me once that she really had a hard time getting her 11-year-old boy to get up for services because he didn’t want to go. She asked me what to do because I had an 11-year-old boy at that time. I was baffled! We had never had that problem; our children were excited to go to services. I covered this pretty well last week, but I wanted to put out there the importance of showing them faithful attendance starting when they are little.

Be in charge of whom your children are spending time with.
“Do not be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). You are raising soldiers for the cross so you want to train them to be around worldly people, but be in charge of those situations. Ours was the yard that the neighborhood kids gathered in. I never cared how many kids were playing there as long as they played nicely and they all knew the rules. I wanted to be in charge of what was going on with my children. Make sure you are nurturing the relationships that your children have with other children in the church. These can be lifetime friendships. But beware if as your child hits middle school and high school age and most of their friends are not from Christian homes. They WILL be influenced! Again, encourage friendships within the church. This is VERY important!!

Don’t allow your children to miss services or church activities!
Just don’t ever start it.  But…I covered this last week.  This will help keep you from ever asking, “Where’s Waldo?”

Ask yourself, “Am I raising soldiers for the cross? Am I equipping my children to be in the world but not of the world?”
Waldo went out into the world and it sounds like he forgot to put his armor on.  We know that as Christians we are to put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17). Now put that armor on your children and show them how to win souls. We do not win souls by isolating our children from the world. We MUST prepare them to go out into the world! Was there anything wrong with Waldo talking to old high school friends? Not at all. But who had the stronger influence? Was Waldo using those relationships to bring his friends to Christ? It doesn’t seem so because he was allowing them to influence him in a way that didn’t bring glory to God. You are raising your children to go out into the world—don’t forget that—but raise them to know “why” they are going: to win souls and bring glory to God.

Waldo was a soldier that got entangled in the affairs of every day life (2 Timothy 2:4).
You must teach your children how to be soldiers that remember to please the one that enlisted them. Waldo probably learned that form of “soldier life” from his parents. Again, I covered “putting God first” last week, but it must be repeated. BE A SPIRITUAL THINKER! This life is but a vapor. It doesn’t matter if your child is the fastest or the smartest or the most coordinated. Does your child, in the life that they live, bring glory to God in all that they do? Do you?

If you start now, no matter the age of your children, putting God first, you will be blessed. Your children will watch and you can show them that you are a soldier for the cross and Jesus is the one that enlisted you. Teach them by your life so that one day you don’t turn and ask, “Where’s Waldo?”

Tami Roberts

Among the initiatives that President Trump  has already signed is one that would expand the use of in-vitro fertilization, making it more available and affordable.

From whitehouse.gov:

• The Order directs policy recommendations to protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments.   

  • The recommendations will focus on how to ensure reliable access to IVF.
  • Priority will also be placed on addressing any current policies, including those that require legislation, that exacerbate the cost of IVF treatments.

• The Order recognizes the importance of family formation and that our Nation’s public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children. 

• tments are needed.

  • The cost can range from $12,000 to $25,000 per cycle and multiple cycles may be needed to get pregnant.  
  • IVF is often not fully covered by health insurance.
    • Only a quarter of employers report coverage of IVF for their employees.
    • Just a handful of states require some sort of coverage for IVF in state-regulated insurance plans.
    • The federal government covers IVF in a limited capacity for military personnel, veterans, and federal employees. 

• Department of Health and Human Services data reports that more than 85,000 infants were born as a result of IVF in 2021.

While the above information sounds pro-family, no initiative that continues to promote the conception of children to be discarded or placed in freezers around our nation—to be left there without a plan for their lives or futures— can be pro-family. What the initiative fails to address is that, while 85,000 babies were born through IVF in 2021, more than 238,000 patients attempted IVF in the same year. If clinics created 7 or 8 embryos (children) for each of these patients (a conservative estimate), then that would yield 1.6 to 1.9 million live embryos. With only 85,000 of these embryos being brought to term in 2021, that leaves somewhere between 1.5 million and 1.8 million embryos being created, but never brought to term. Small numbers of these “extra embryos” will be retrieved later or adopted out, but between 2004 and 2019, there were only 8500 births from adopted embryos. *

In America today, we are actually killing more babies with IVF than we are in the abortion industry!

The devil creatively weaves sin and death into initiatives that appear to be pro-family. Further, it should not be just the Catholic segment of the religious world that mounts a small opposition to the rampant use of IVF in our country today. God’s people in the church of Jesus Christ should be vocal and determined in efforts to stop the creation of embryos that will be destroyed once the strongest and “most viable” have been given the privilege of even having a “post-birth.”  

I will, almost certainly, be accused of being unsympathetic to couples who want to be loving parents. Once again, though, I cannot turn a blind eye to the deaths of a half-million per year, whose parents have conceded, prior to the procedure, their immediate or delayed deaths. It’s unconscionable, that we, as a nation, have largely given up the fight for these babies, who outnumber those whose lives are ended after they are growing in the womb in the slaughter that is the abortion industry.

*https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257066/more-human-embryos-destroyed-through-ivf-than-abortion-every-year

Cindy Colley

Acts 8:39 “He went on his way full of joy.”

Let’s talk about joy. It is related to happiness, yet these are two different emotions. Joy goes deeper and is longer lasting than happiness. So, allow me to share one of my favorite stories of joy.

We find the account of Philip and the Eunuch in Acts 8. Philip, a devout follower of Jesus, was summoned to the desert by an angel. Surely Philip questioned how he could possibly bring glory to God in the middle of the desert. But the Great I AM had great plans for him. It was there, amid the sand, sun, and heat, Philip encountered an Ethiopian man. This man held high esteem in the court of the Queen, yet all those privileges failed to satisfy him. So, in his quest for something more meaningful, he searched scripture. When Philip joined his chariot and shared with him Jesus Christ, the Ethiopian man embraced the Good News, was baptized, and “He went on his way full of joy” (Acts 8:39).

A dry, lifeless desert seems to us an unlikely place to discover joy, yet it was the perfect spot for Jesus the Redeemer and Savior to do His work. After finding Jesus, the Ethiopian man continued on rejoicing and no doubt anxious to share the Good News of Christ. Imagine how the second leg of his long, hot journey far surpassed its beginning, because now he knew the Savior. The Ethiopian entered the desert searching and left the desert filled and refreshed; a most unlikely response to desert life.

Do we sometimes find ourselves in the desert places of life – places that leave us dry and famished and desperately seeking to be refreshed by the living water of Jesus? Perhaps we have forgotten the peace and comfort of true joy that awaits us when we re-connect with the Savior. Amid hardship, pain, and difficulties, the priceless gift of Jesus provides us deep joy. And, just like the Ethiopian of long ago, we, too, can rejoice even in the dry, desert places.

Father God, we praise you for the joy you sent into our lives when you gave us your Son.

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane

The story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal is a familiar one. What follows is not so familiar.

With the 450 prophets of Baal dead, and the people of Israel declaring, “The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God”, Elijah thinks he has performed well. Ahab returned home, and there he related to Jezebel what had happened. Had Jezebel been open to the truth, she would have denounced her idols and turned to God. Had Ahab realized that the idols he had allowed in his kingdom were false gods, he would have “cleaned house” and declared Jehovah God the true God. Neither turned from their evil ways.

Jezebel responded by sending word to Elijah that by the next day she would take his life or die. Elijah reacted by running away. This was understandable since his life was in danger.

Out of Ahab’s jurisdiction, he lay exhausted under a juniper tree. He slept there until an angel woke him and gave him a cake and water. A second time an angel woke him and told him to eat, because he was going on a long journey.

His journey took him 40 days and 40 nights, and he found himself in a cave where the Lord appeared to him and asked him what he was doing there. He answered that he had done what he could to change the people of Israel. He had torn down the altars of their false gods, killed the prophets of Baal, and “I, even I only, am left.”

Elijah was a sad, desperate man who wanted God’s people to be faithful and serve only Him. It took a strong wind, and earthquake, and a fire to get his full attention. But it was the still small voice that brought him to his senses.

God asked him a second time what he was doing there, and Elijah answered him the same way, including the statement that he was the only one left who served the God of heaven.

It seems that Elijah was frightened by Jezebel’s threat and ran away because he was afraid to die. Maybe he was; but I believe there was more to it than that. I believe he was discouraged. He thought his powerful illustration of God’s power would have convinced the people to turn to God. It did for some for a short time, but obviously Jezebel brought them back under her control. He truly believed only he, from the thousands of God’s chosen people, was faithful to God. God had to tell him that there were 7,000 that had not bowed to Baal or kissed the statue of Baal.

God let him know he still had work to do, and He sent Elijah back to anoint a king of Syria, a king of Israel, and to anoint his successor. Spending some time alone with the Lord made him realize God was not done with him. He still had things to do before he left the earth.

There are things we can learn from this Old Testament story. First, when we are discouraged, we should talk to God about it. Elijah didn’t ask God before he ran away, and that might have saved him from a very long journey.

Second, we won’t always find God in places of power. It is the still, small voice that we find the answers we seek. It is in the quiet time with God that we can remove the doubts and fears we feel and allow God to speak to us through His Word.

Third, we are never alone. There will always be those who continue to serve God. There will always be access to the Bible, and the church will never be destroyed. God gives us that promise.

Lastly, as long as there is breath in us, we have a job to do for the Lord. We may need to search for a way to serve God when we are sick or unable to do the things we used to do. Maybe we can only be an influence to those around us; but God will let us know when He is done with us, just like He did with Elijah.

Even in Elijah’s last hours on this earth, He served God. When Elisha asked for a portion of Elijah’s spirit, Elijah told him that would be up to God. His faith had grown. His attitude had changed, and he continues to serve as an example of faithfulness to us today.

Sandra Oliver

Being a mother is a God-given privilege that not all women have.  Some women never marry, some choose not to have children and some earnestly pray for children but aren’t blessed with them.  God has plans for these women, too.  But for those of us who are so blessed, we have a tremendous responsibility.  This is the most important job we have.

Let’s look at some biblical principles that will guide us as we rear our children:

I. Love – Give your child the gift of love (Titus 2:3-5).  The material things you can give your child are not nearly as important as giving your child love, unconditional and undeserved love.  Give your child the same kind of love God showed when He gave His son for a sinful world (John 3:16).  Is your child confident in your love?

II. Set a Christian example –

1. Set an example in how seriously you take your religion. Do you attend church services regularly? How about Bible school?
2. Set an example in how you treat others. Be kind and compassionate (Eph. 4:32).
3. Be a good example in what we do for the poor. Our children will learn hospitality if we are hospitable to others.
4. Set an example in how you react to your own mistakes. Own up to them.  Don’t make excuses.

III. Teach your children what is right-There are so many things we need to teach:

1. Foremost is God’s word. Don’t rely on others to teach them. That’s your responsibility along with your husband (Proverbs 1:8, Proverbs 31:26)
2. Teach them there are consequences for their actions.
3. Teach them to forgive.
4. Teach them how to respect others, including you.
5. Teach them selflessness. We are born selfish.
6. Finally teach them to love God, Jesus, family, the church, and yes, even their enemies.

IV. Discipline- This is Biblical. Many scriptures in Proverbs bear this out.  Require them to do what is right. They will mess up and will need to be disciplined. Hold them accountable for their actions.

V. Make your home a safe haven – Supply their needs, not necessarily their wants. Open your house up to their friends.

VI. Give your children wings- Our task is to raise our children so they can get along without us. The task of being a loving mother has a special temptation: to go beyond “mother love” to “smother love.” Many mothers want to keep their children to themselves all their lives. They are reluctant to let them go to camp, college, get a job or marry. Many children grow up without having spent any time away from their mother. As a result, these children grow up being dependent on their mother, not able to make decisions on their own.

Your goal as a mother is to enable your children to take their place as responsible, faithful, working members of the Lord’s church.  Prayer will help you get through the tough times.

By Gayle Johns

2 Chronicles 20:4 “So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord: and from the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord.” NKJV

Spoiler alert: Battles may lie in wait for you today. There is no predicting how these will look, in what form they will arrive, to what degree of difficulty you will face because of them, nor what changes you will be required to make due to them. But rest assured, Satan is behind them.

Today’s challenge might be of an emotional sort. You may be ingulfed in worry or guilt over unexpected news. Perhaps self-doubt will creep in as you scroll social media eyeing the perceived perfection filling each post.

Your challenge may be of a personal nature. Struggles with your health, your finances, or your job may seem insurmountable. Moving forward might seem impossible as your troubles multiply in your mind.

It is possible difficult relationships will challenge your day. Confrontations with friends, your spouse, your children, or co-workers may discourage you, leaving you ready to jump-ship.

And certainly, Satan’s goal of waging spiritual battle with you today is real. The busyness of your day can crowd out your time with God. Satan’s pursuits can render you reluctant to cast your cares upon your loving Father who will provide strength for the battles ahead. By day’s end, you are left defeated.

So, there you have it: today’s bad news.

Gratefully, good news awaits.

In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat feared his day ahead. As the enemy army approached, he desperately sought a solution. So, how did the king face this challenge and win his battle?

“So, Judah gathered together…” The King realized surrounding himself with like-minded people was powerful. “Together” allows us to feel each other’s pain, support each one’s efforts, and multiply our strength for our upcoming battles.

“Ask help from the Lord…” The king desired united voices crying out to God. Calling upon our Father acknowledges our helplessness and His sovereignty. Rest assured, God hears our cries.

“They came to seek the Lord…” This denotes action is required in discovering God’s will and direction in our lives. The people of Judah traveled to seek the Lord. What must we do?

Satan is persistent in attacking us, but we are not meant to face our battles alone. We are daughters of a mighty King who surrounds us and supports us through all that lies ahead. Our Father promises to be found when we seek Him with all our heart. (Jeremiah 29:13) So friend, good news: Battles may lie in wait for us today, but so does sweet victory!

Father God, help us seek You.

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane

Romans 12:10 – “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.” 

My Momma loved to cook. With six children and numerous houseguests staying far longer than any would dare stay today, cooking for the masses should have been a chore. But not for my Momma. Grocery clerks were her peeps, testing new recipes was her hobby, and stretching the budget so thin you could see through it was her talent.

As we crowded around the kitchen table, little did we realize Momma was nourishing both body and soul as she taught valuable life lessons. So, as we prepare to celebrate Mother’s Day, allow me to reflect on the gifts from Momma’s table.

Momma’s table taught us. . .

gratefulness:  Each meal began with prayer where God was praised, God was thanked, and petitions were made. Every name of those around our table was brought before the Father.

the real purpose of keeping elbows in:  At Momma’s table everyone ate with elbows in. No, momma was not a stickler for etiquette, she just wanted all included. Our kitchen chairs were replaced with picnic benches so when guests arrived (and there were many), we could always squeeze one more onto a bench, leaving no room for elbows to be spread out.

friendships trump formality:  Although a pristine home and properly set table was preferred by Momma, she never let these prevent her from opening her home. If laundry was visible, she would comment how blessed she was with a big family that she couldn’t keep up with laundry. Her motto: My house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy!   

hospitality trumps entertainment: Entertainment is meant for impressing others, but hospitality is meant for serving others. And serving was what Momma did best.

God’s view of humanity and unconditional love: Momma’s table was the great equalizer and void of social boundaries. At her table, the rich and poor, famous and infamous, social elite and social outcasts, new acquaintances and old friends all received honor as a child of God.

the sweetness of conversation: Far from the distraction of television and prior to the curse of social media, Momma’s table offered positive conversation and abundant joyfulness. When there was no dessert, it wasn’t missed, for sweet laughter was abundant over a cup of coffee.

Table-ministry was Momma’s calling, but her inspiration was Jesus, the greatest table-minister of all time. Our Savior elevated the value of sharing meals together. So friend, let us all consider table-ministry and fill hungry souls while inspiring lifelong Kingdom seekers.

Father God, may we seek those who need to be filled with Your presence.

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane

I wanted to share what I believe to be the best advice I can give a younger woman, have a RELATIONSHIP with God. I mean a real relationship, like you would with a best friend or better yet, with your husband. A relationship where you talk and share all of your feelings. A relationship where you so desire to please Him that you would do anything for Him. A relationship where you would “lay down your life for a friend”.  (John 15:13)

God created us to have a relationship with Him. He has a desire for us to walk with Him. We can look to the Old Testament and see the relationship He desired with Adam and Eve. We watch how He talked with the patriarchs, working to prepare a people that He would have a special relationship with. We see the children of Israel, how God becomes frustrated with His people because they don’t desire the same relationship that He desires to have with them. He even compares them to an adulterous bride. (Ezekiel 6:9)

We want a relationship with our husband that goes both ways. We love him and do for him because we love him. We expect the same from him. We want to talk with him each day about the happenings of the day, about the things in life that are important to us. We want someone to share our joys and our burdens. We want someone to spend the rest of our lives with in a relationship that is growing and fulfilling, where each day is better than the last. That is the relationship that God wants with us.

As we grow as Christians, our relationship with the Father should be growing too. Our hearts should continue to soften as we learn more from His word and work to apply it to our lives. Make sure that you are growing spiritually! This will not happen just by sitting in Bible classes and in worship service. Oh those times can be very spiritually uplifting but they are not the times that make us grow. We must be in God’s word so that He can feed us and cause the growth. But He also causes the growth when He uses us to bring glory to Him. We must be doers! (James 1:22) I can’t work my way into heaven, but I sure can work my way into hell by doing nothing. We must be careful about using God’s grace as a safety net to use when we don’t want to make the complete transformation in our lives. Do we continue in sin so that grace may abound? May it never be.  (Romans 6:1)  We need to realize that God’s grace is the best gift of all and covers our mistakes but will it cover an unwilling heart?  Those are the hearts that God calls “adulterous.” Those are the hearts unwilling to commit to a faithful relationship with the Father.

I know that my advice on raising faithful children can sound “legalistic” to some ears.  I sound like a “law keeper.”  But part of a committed relationship is abiding by some set commitments. We see this in marriage.  We don’t want our husband paying more attention to other women than he does to us. We don’t want him spending more time with other women than he does with us. He made a commitment; we expect him to be faithful to that commitment. We see marriages fall apart because a spouse was unfaithful and the other person is crushed. This is how God feels! We are adulterous when we don’t have a proper relationship with Him. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15). But the fact that we love Him keeps those commandments from being burdensome (1 John 5:3).

We must learn to “lay down our life” for the Father. That means we remember that this life is not our own to live, but we live it to glorify the Father. In “laying down my life” I am willing to put aside my own expectations or worldly expectations and strive to please the One who laid down His actual life for me. Is it always easy?  Nope. Look at Peter. He walked with Jesus and had enough faith to walk on the water but when it came down to laying down his life… well, sometimes we make bad choices (John 13:36-38).  But don’t quit striving! And don’t use God’s grace as an “out” for blatant sin or choices that don’t glorify the Father.

I challenge you for the new year to get to know the Father. Read the gospels over and over and get to know Jesus. Let the Father talk to you each day. Let Him fill you up! If you’re not sure where to begin, study 1 John. Then you can “know” how to abide. Talk with Him each day, pouring out your heart to Him. Have a true relationship with God! If I can be of any help just send me a note and I will share my knowledge and experiences “From the Heart of an Older Woman.”

Tami Roberts

And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. (Luke 13:11-17)

She was bent over for 18 years. She couldn’t hug those she loved or look her children in the eyes. She likely couldn’t wash her dishes or sweep her house. She couldn’t have normal relations with her husband or rock her child or grandchild to sleep.

But then she met Jesus one Saturday and her life changed, most remarkably and for the better.

I was studying this and seeing several spiritual applications from the account. Among them are these.

1, She had a physical disability or infirmity. I had a spiritual infirmity. It was sin.

2. Satan was the one who bound her. Satan is the one who had bound me in sin.

3. She could, in no way, lift up herself. I could, by no means, lift myself from sin.

3. It was the touch of Jesus, that loosed her from the bondage of the infirmity. That touch loosed me from the bondage of sin.

4. Once loosed, she immediately began to glorify God. Once loosed from sin, I must do the same.

I began very early this morning, studying in this very Bible text. At midday, as I traveled, from another state, back home again, I got a call from my husband to tell me that my mother-in-law was extremely weak and likely would not make it through the day. By 6 pm, word came that she had left us for that timeless realm. I’d not been able to make it back before she passed peacefully, though I tried.

I immediately thought about the slow death she had died—the long goodbye of dementia— and that her infirmity— in fact, all infirmities of this life—are the indirect work of the devil. They are the bindings of Satan, in a real sense. When my sweet mother-in-law left us, she could, in no wise, physically lift herself up. But now she’s been lifted from that bondage and carried by angels to the bosom of Abraham. It’s as if the Lord has said to her “Woman, thou art loosed!”

Tonight, she is loosed from physical disability. She is loosed, forever, from the presence and power of Satan. She is loosed by the touch of Jesus. On that day, eight or so decades ago, when Maggie Colley was baptized into the death of Jesus (Romans 6:3,4), she figuratively touched him, was forgiven, and she was fitted for heaven.  Because of the Savior’s loosing, I can be around the throne one day soon, with this, my husband’s loving mother, who was always far better to me than I deserved.

I’m so thankful for the lifting when I cannot lift, the loosing, when I cannot loose, and the touch of the Savior. I’m constrained, like the woman of Luke 13, to glorify Him with all I have.

Cindy Colley