When we lived just outside Richmond, VA, Michael Shepherd came and held a gospel meeting for us. One night he preached about absolute truth and said, “Even a young child understands this principle.” He stepped down from the pulpit in the middle of his sermon and walked over to where we were sitting. He pointed to our five-year-old and said, “What’s two plus two?” Our son panicked and said, “I don’t know…I’m homeschooled!” Brother Shepherd said, “Son, you just ruined my illustration.” We still laugh about that moment. And tucked away in my heart are plenty more memories from worshiping with my family:

• Slipping my young sons Cheerios one at a time to keep them still
• A handmade “quiet book” from their Grandma Pollard
• Singing “Because He Lives” the very first Sunday after having our youngest child and crying when we got to the verse, “How sweet to hold a newborn baby…”
• Their giving styles: oldest son would place his change in the basket like a normal person; middle son would sling them in there like he was skipping stones; youngest son would drop them in one. at. a. time.
• Adopted grandparents spoiling our kids
• Singing in the car on the way to worship
• A pair of red boots that each son wore after their older brother outgrew them
• A son crushing on his pre-k Bible class teacher and then getting mad at her when she got married
• A son belting out the “Ring It Out” part because those were the only words he knew in that song
• Their first times doing the Scripture reading or serving on the Lord’s table or leading a song
• Thinking how handsome they looked in their little button up shirts with freshly combed hair
• The moment in each of their lives when they said, “I want to be baptized.”

I could go on and on. It wasn’t always easy. Sometimes I felt like the service was a blur because I spent the whole time wrangling little boys. But that phase didn’t last very long and was followed by years of meaningful worship. I don’t know how it went by so fast and my heart aches with the missing of it. Now those boys are grown (still wearing boots) and leading their own families to worship. I think about what Sunday mornings in their homes must look like. I imagine it looks a lot like ours used to, trying to get everyone fed and dressed and out the door on time. Perhaps a little frazzled by the time they get in the car. They’re just getting started, and I pray they’ll give themselves some grace and soak in the moments, even the messy ones.

Worship looks a little different for me these days as Neal is the only family sitting with me on the pew. But I LOVE seeing other young families all around me and hearing their children sing. I love knowing that the whole church is my family and we always get to worship together. And I especially love it when the grand babies come to visit and I get to experience the wonder of worship through their eyes all over again.

“But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

(Joshua 24:15)

By Kathy Pollard

I was seventeen. I’d wake up in the morning and listen to “Layton and Dearman In the Morning” on WERC radio in Birmingham. I had just about three choices of music for my drive across the metro area to school. Today I have thousands of choices that I can activate by voice and stream to various spots in my house without moving a single device. I can regulate the music using  the watch on my wrist. At 17, my mom would hurry me to the breakfast table, lamenting that the eggs and biscuit and gravy would be cold if I didn’t come on. There was no quick microwave reheating. Sometimes I would ask my dad to let me go to the office with him and deliver me mid-morning to school because I had to finish a research paper or project. I’d need transportation to the big library downtown and I’d have to take note cards for documentation. There was no googling or running computer references or printing from an online document. If I needed to reach a parent while at the library, I’d have to hunt a phone and I’d need change. I had eight track tapes—just a few —of the Carpenters, Barry Manilow and John Denver in my old Impala and I had a machine to play them that covered the entire top of my chest of drawers. It would be a few months before I would meet my future husband, and, then, when we were apart, our calls, from rotary phones, would be strictly timed, because every minute was charged. Often we would wait till after eleven p.m. to talk, because then the rate dropped to half price. I couldn’t order most things from home. I couldn’t just ‘erase” or delete an error on the sheet on which I was typing. I had to actually get out white paint and a brush and paint over my mistakes, and they were many. Further, my typewriter seemed to always be running out of usable ribbon. If I needed a copy of something I was typing, I had to travel to the library and pay for Xerox copies to be made. If I missed The Brady Bunch on Friday night…well, I just missed it. There was no retrieval of a missed program. In Birmingham, racial unrest reached phenomenal proportions and Vietnam was still at the forefront of the news programming in that little one-(teeny) bath, three bedroom house I shared with five other people.

What hits me hard, almost every day, is that I have so much more now—technology, funding, convenience, living space. But all of that has not made life easier or better; just different. This is not a lament. It’s a praise.

I praise Him that happiness is independent of the physical circumstances, and is, instead, found in Christ. If you are significantly happier today than you were ten years ago, you likely put on Christ in that interim. When this reality hits hard—that the presence of more ease is not the presence of more peace—I praise Him for the constitution of real contentment. Contentment in Christ spans years, and changes and accumulation or loss of possessions. It remains mostly unaffected by whatever is happening “out there” and rests squarely in what He is doing through the Word, “in here”—in my soul.

Someone else expressed it better: “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11).

I’ve never truly learned to be abased. I’ve abounded in His mercy every day of my life. I’ve never been hungry as was Paul. But I’ve lived long enough to know that happiness never emerges from wealth, health, what eases the plans or what pleases the palate. He is the source of contentment. I’m thankful for the consistency factor of contentment in my Lord. He provides.

Cindy Colley

Years ago, my husband was preaching a sermon on Noah. He talked about how Noah followed God’s instructions exactly. God said to use gopher wood, and that is what Noah used. Then he said, “If God had told him to use concrete (had it been available), that’s what he should use.” A lady sitting behind me whispered to her husband, “And it would have sunk.” As a young minister’s wife, I didn’t find that particularly funny, since his point made perfect sense to me.

I don’t need research to prove that Noah built an ark or that it protected eight souls and animals, but the research does prove it to be sea worthy. God’s design always works.

The tabernacle was another structure that was designed by God with specific instructions for its construction and its use. It was portable and could be loaded onto carts and moved as the Israelites moved toward the land of Canaan. It had specific areas, some available only to the high priests. The furniture was designed for specific uses—altars for sacrifices, lavers for washing, etc. Even the clothes of the priests were specifically designed with instructions for cleaning and discarding. The ark of the covenant was the only piece that could not be handled by anyone but the Levites.

King David wanted to build the temple, but God would not allow it. Instead, He gave that responsibility to King Solomon, David’s son. First Chronicles 28 records the plan for the temple, and verse 19 says David received the plan “in writing from the hand of the LORD, all the work to be done according to the plan.”

Once again, we see that a plan was put in place so that there would be no deviation because it was instruction from God. His expectation was that it would be done per His instructions.

There are two examples of specific plans being given by God for the establishment of the church and His pattern for worship. Matthew says in chapter 16 that Jesus asked the disciples who men thought He was. They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets”. Then He asked, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. Jesus then told them that on this rock, Peter’s confession, He would build His church. He then promised to give the keys to the kingdom (the church) to Peter, and later to all the disciples in chapter 18, verse 18.
In Acts 2, this plan came together as the disciples, now called apostles, preached to the Jews the fulfillment of His church. When the people cried out “Brothers, what shall we do”, Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. The Holy Spirit provided the details, and Peter passed them on to the crowd.

Everything was different after this, except that God still was the center of worship; and He still is. Colossians 2:14 says that the Old Law was nailed to the cross. Paul told the Galatians that even an angel can’t preach any other gospel than what he and the apostles had preached to them (Gal. 1:6-9). John said were to abide in the doctrine (Second John 9).

The pattern for our worship today is shown to us through Scripture and through examples in the New Testament. We are to sing (Ephesians 5:19), give (Second Corinthians 9:7), take the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7, First Corinthians 11:23-28), pray, and study God’s Word. There are numerous examples of praying and preaching in the New Testament.

Why would we think God would not give a pattern for the church when He so specifically gave patterns for all worship throughout the Old Testament? He even says that we, as Christians, are to show ourselves a pattern of good works, in our teaching; show integrity, dignity, and sound speech, none of which can be condemned. All of this is to put to shame our opponent, so the unsaved can have nothing evil to say about us (Titus 2:7-8).

God gave specific instructions for leadership in His church. First Timothy 3 and Titus 1 lay out the specific qualifications for elders and deacons. Titus 4 presents the directive for preaching. First Timothy 3:11 places women in submission, not in leadership. There is much teaching they are expected to do in giving instructions to younger women.

Violating His commands for worship will be no different than Cain in Genesis 3 or Nadab and Abihu, both priests, who were punished for offering strange fire on the altar (Lev. 10:1-2). He will not be pleased with us, if we violate His instructions.

May God help us to study and understand that the details do matter, and may we follow the pattern and worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Sandra Oliver

II Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Isn’t it comforting when you desperately need advice, and you find just the right person with just the right wisdom at just the right time to help you? Still, I venture to guess that at some point, you have encountered the wrong person with the wrong advice at the worst time possible, intensifying your problem. Forrest Gump might say, “Advice is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” 

So, in the quest for good advice, where might one go? Well, older people are known to have great wisdom, but their advice can sometimes be a bit unorthodox. I recall as a child having older and wiser persons catch me outside playing with wet hair and warn me that I would catch my death of cold. Had this proved true, I would be dead many times over.

Then, what about the advice of a child? Children are a wealth of unsolicited advice, such as, “Never let your mother comb your hair when she is mad.” Got to admit the advice is spot-on, but is it the advice you seek?

Advice comes in many forms, in many ways, and from many well-intentioned people and places. But if advice is going to be useful, it must be applicable to our lives and saturated in wisdom. So where might one find wise advice? Right where wisdom originated: in the Word of God.

So. . . .

When grief fills your soul, seek the wisdom of Psalm 34:18.

When envy and jealousy creep in, pray for the love found in 1 Corinthians 13.

Deuteronomy 31:6 – 8 offers the wisdom to battle loneliness.

Read Psalm 34:17 to help you navigate the flood of depression.

When your life spins out of control and your soul cries out for patience, read Colossians 1:11-13.

When you seek to praise and worship our gracious Father, read Psalm 100.

God’s wisdom is never risky. God’s wisdom is always relevant. God’s wisdom is forever true. So, open God’s book of wisdom and pick any piece you want. Unlike that box of chocolates, God’s advice never disappoints. You always know just what you are gonna get.

Father God, help us seek true wisdom from you, knowing you are the author of all that is true and wise.

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane

On a recent Sunday afternoon, Neal and I walked from table to table congratulating the seniors on their upcoming graduations. Each senior’s table featured items that represented them, like photos, sports memorabilia, school banners, etc. Earlier that day, the elders had presented each of them a Bible study book. It made me think back to the times our own sons were the ones graduating and being honored.

A couple of Sundays before that, we all got together to congratulate those who participated in Lads to Leaders. As their names were called, the children (sheepishly) walked up to receive their certificates for each event they took part in.

Sprinkled here and there have been bridal showers and baby showers. It’s so sweet to see the anticipation and joy and, of course, to think back to my own so many years ago. Within the past 15 months, Neal and I have been blessed with three grandchildren. We had no idea that we would receive cards and gifts for those magical occasions!

One of my favorite things about the Lord’s church is that we share our lives together. In addition to sweet fellowship, we also celebrate momentous occasions with one another. We’ve been to “sober anniversaries” and special birthdays and wedding anniversaries. We indeed rejoice with those who rejoice (Rom. 12:15).

Significant occasions are made even more memorable when shared with our church family. When I recall my own family’s big moments, the church was always a part of them, even if it was just in the form of a thoughtful call, text, or hug. I hope we never take that for granted. And I hope we will do our best to be a part of those special events for others, too, so when they look back they’ll thank God for their supportive church family.

“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.“

(Rom. 12:10)

Mine are mostly of the tongue. I am not tempted by alcohol. I am not tempted to commit adultery, at all. I am not tempted to steal or to bow before a statue. But I am tempted to answer my husband sharply. I am tempted to speak flattery (“minimal” falsehoods (that really aren’t minimal), to lie, to gossip, to speak the words of a busybody, to spend more time commenting on Facebook than contemplating in His book.

The writer of James tells us that, if we can control the tongue, we can conquer the whole body (James 3). Conversely, what that tells me is that, unless and until I can have the mastery over the tongue, the whole “rest of me” is vulnerable. The way the devil gets to the rest of me is through deceit, gossip, slander, disrespect and malice of the tongue.

I can see how this works. If I am comfortable hurting someone with my tongue (or my  keyboard) then I am hardening my conscience about malice, and soon, I may lose my self control in other, more physical ways. If I lose control of my tongue in disrespect to my spouse, I am leaving my life vulnerable to disobeying him and/or publicly disrespecting Him. It’s like a wildfire growing out of control and hurting those in its path. (I think I read that in a book!)

See, sin never lies dormant. It grows. I have waited three weeks for my heirloom tomato seeds to sprout something green in those little cups in my window. The plants are just not going to happen and I am sad. I coddled those little seeds, watering just the right amount and leaving them in the sunlight. I could not wait to show my friend in Missouri, who gave me those precious seeds, my sandwich-sized tomatoes!

But, can I ever grow weeds! You don’t have to coddle sin. You just throw it somewhere in your world and it can grow anywhere. That’s why it’s called the “tares” (Matthew 13:25,26). I wish you could get a green thumb award for growing weeds. I can grow weeds like nobody’s business. That’s how sin is. Just let one weed get in your garden out there and you’ve got enough to “pull out” or eliminate to keep you busy for the whole growing season.

It’s especially true with a lie. I know people who cannot stop. I really do believe they have lied so very long that they have hardened themselves to truth. They have all but lost the ability to discern the difference between speaking a lie and speaking truth. Sometimes they convince themselves that the lies upon which they are building their lives, are truth. I’m sad for these people because it is a miserable way to live, wondering about exposure all the time and worrying about who knows what. I want to live so that, when I hear that someone has said something awful about me, that I am not worried about exposure, but rather I want the truth about my life to be laid bare. I want the truth about my life to be fully exposed.

There are just some passages that you believe, in theory, when you are twelve years old. You believe them then because they are in the Bible and the Bible is true. But when you’re 64, you have come to “believe” them in a whole different way. You believe them in a practical way, You have seen the tangible, palatable, real-world effect of both the reverence for the passage and the disregard of the scripture. That’s why James is often called the most practical book of the Bible. And what James 3 says about the tongue is some of the most applicable, practical truth in all of the striving Christian’s world. The fire can rage in your world. Or the fire can be doused every time before it spreads. I want to have my Lord’s truth, His water of life to douse my fire every time before the damage is done.

https://thecolleyhouse.org

Last week I attended a funeral of a long-time friend. He was a beloved minister of the Gospel, and his sweet wife is one of the best friends I have ever had. We saw many friends that we haven’t seen in years, some I remembered and some I didn’t. Distance and time have made me forget specifics about some past relationships, including a sweet lady that I did not remember at all.

As we were visiting with people before the funeral, this lady reminded me of how we had been acquainted. We had attended the same congregation for a time, and her son had been in my Bible class. As was my custom, I assigned various memory work for the class. One day when her son was trying to learn his memory assignment, he became frustrated. He told his mother, “I hate memory work. Can we just fire her?”

She and I laughed at the story, one which I truly do not remember; but I am not surprised at his reaction. That is often the way children respond to doing any learning assignment when they would rather be doing something else.

It did make me think about the reason we ask children to memorize Scripture. It was a significant part of my learning growing up, and I cherish what I have been able to retain. The problem is that often the memory work we give children is just to memorize and not to understand the meaning and use in their daily lives. Memorizing without purpose is not meaningful memorization.

So, what is the purpose of memorizing Scripture? It is to help us know that the Bible is true and “to be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” (First Peter 3:15). Memorizing Scripture helps us answer questions about what we believe and lets us speak from God’s instructions, not ours. This helps us avoid controversy, since we can attribute the commands of God to God Himself.

Memorizing Scripture helps to cultivate and improve our hearts and minds so that our work will be pleasing to God. It gives us a zeal, a desire, and confidence in teaching others about God and the church. It is the effort Paul tells Timothy about in First Timothy 2:15. Though Paul was talking to a preacher, that passage is no less meaningful to us as Christians. Timothy learned the Scripture as a child (Second Timothy 3:14), from his mother and his grandmother. This learning had made him wise. He understood how to divide the Scriptures—the Old Law from the New Law. We need to know that today.

There is a way which memorizing Scripture can be a special blessing. It is so comforting in the time of trouble, sickness, or loss. I had to have a particular surgical procedure that was concerning. As I lay alone in the waiting area for the doctor to arrive, I could feel the anxiety mounting. My thoughts went to Psalm 23, and I began to recite the passage slowly in my mind. It gave me the comfort I needed, and it quieted my fears. I have found that reciting that passage (or Psalm 1) relaxes me and allows me to gain a better perspective on the situation.

There is a sense of accomplishment when we memorize Scripture. Years ago, I taught a class of all boys. One of the boys had a special gift for memorizing. He completed all of the memory assignments I gave, and he asked me to give him additional Scripture to learn. I gave him what I thought would be fairly difficult and time consuming. I challenged him to learn the entire Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, and 7). He did, and he was asked by the high school Bible class teacher to say it for his students. He then asked me, “What’s next,” so I challenged him to memorize all of the one-chapter books in the Bible. He did this as well.

Not everyone is capable or willing to memorize such passages, but most anyone can memorize First Corinthians 13, Psalm 1 and 23. Most anyone can memorize passage that tell someone how to become a Christian.

Though the Old Testament commandments do not apply to us today, they are a source of learning for us (Romans 15:4). Just as the Psalms give us comfort, the instructions of the Old Testament serve as an example to us for the expectations of God the Father.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 shows the value of learning God’s instructions. The Jews were told to teach the Lord’s commandments constantly to their children. How much less valuable would it be for us today to teach our children constantly? Realize that in teaching our children, we are teaching ourselves as well.

I didn’t get fired for assigning memory work, but I struggle just as much today as I did then to get the children in my class to memorize. That, however, does not keep me from assigning verses of Scripture for memorization and working with my students to learn things like the books of the Bible, disciples, the judges, the good kings of the divided kingdom, the beatitudes, and many other facts in the Bible.

One is never too old to learn, but the learning is much easier when you are young. Don’t let your children leave your home without equipping them with a knowledge of God’s Word. It will bless their lives.

Sandra Oliver

Romans 8:11a & 26 “The spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. . . Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

Our family vacation at the Mexican resort had been years in the making but the sun, the sand, and the salsa proved it worth the wait. Our only complaint lay in the fact that none of us spoke fluent Spanish. “Hola,” “gracias,” and “bano” (the word for bathroom), comprised most of our vocabulary.

Living with five in an exceedingly small resort suite manifested both blessings and frustrations. Out of the blue, our two teen sons became obsessed with cleanliness (a desire driven by the teen girls around the pool), and our supply of soap quickly depleted. So, I cleared the cobwebs from my brain, retrieved the Spanish word I recalled for “soap,” and found the housekeeper. Utilizing my best charade skills for “washing,” coupled with my rusty Spanish for the word “soap,” I made my request. However, the only thing I received was a look of confusion. Then a gentleman, fluent in the language, approached and spoke to the woman, who immediately handed me soap. The man politely informed me I had asked for “bathroom ham.” (In my defense, the Spanish words for “soap” and “ham” are quite similar.)

Our family enjoyed great laughter at my expense and that bar of soap is immortalized to this day. But on a positive note, since that encounter, I have realized more fully the Holy Spirit’s role of interceding for us in prayer. Just as someone stepped into my conversation and made clear my desire for soap, today when I lack words for my Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit steps into my prayers and makes clear my petitions.

Have you ever wondered how the Holy Spirit is so proficient in interceding for you? Well remember, He knows you intimately because He lives with you. If I consider what human knows me best, it would be my husband. Why? Because he lives with me. He sees all my quirks. He knows I fear being cold, drink my coffee boiling hot, and procrastinate laundry till the cows come home naked. Who knows you better than the one who lives with you?

So, when your heart is breaking and you struggle to form a sentence, the Holy Spirit will speak your truth to the Father. When fear paralyzes you, the Holy Spirit will relay strong words to God. And when all seems hopeless, the Holy Spirit will turn your stuttering into powerful petitions before the Great I AM.

Father God, we praise your for providing us an advocate.

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane