Colossians 3:23 ESV “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”

The story of Moses dishes out all the thrills and chills of a great action movie. His life encompassed many seasons, so allow me to summarize just the first part. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt where they “multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty.” When Pharaoh felt threatened, he took drastic measures to preserve his kingdom and he issued a death warrant for all Hebrew baby boys. God chose this crazy time for baby Moses to be born and change the course of history.

We find Moses’ unconventional birth and childhood recorded in Exodus 1-2. Now if you are looking for an uplifting read, you are out of luck, for these two chapters are consumed with turmoil on all fronts. Pharaoh’s anxiousness over the strength of the Israelite slaves led him to overwork them to the point of exhaustion. The Israelite women were terrified to give birth lest they deliver a male child who would suffer death. And it was the midwives commanded to carry out the king’s death sentence. Yikes!

The midwives’ profession of bringing life and joy into the world changed in the blink of an eye as they were ordered to become the instrument of death. These were godly women faced with a choice. Would they remain faithful to their invisible God, or would they, out of fear, bow to the edict of Pharaoh?

I have often wondered if these midwives meet in secret to discuss their plight. Did they hold each other and cry over their dilemma? Did they pray fervently for guidance and strength? How did they encourage and build each other up as they came to the decision to ignore the king’s edict? Surely, they discussed the ramifications of choosing to serve God. Would it cost them their lives?

Let’s stop here to consider the “so what” of their story. How does the plight of the midwives speak into our lives? Are we not also faced with the choice of where to place our allegiance? And just like the midwives, does not each decision we make announce to the world whom we have chosen to serve?

We cannot overlook how their story demonstrates the importance of faithfulness to Jehovah, for not only did God provide the midwives with households, He bestowed honor upon them by having their names recorded on the pages of Scripture. These women, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, left us their legacy of faith. So, today friend, find someone who needs to hear of the faithfulness of Shiphrah and Puah, and allow their names to continue inspiring all generations forevermore.

Father God, may we remain faithful to you no matter the cost.

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane

audio lesson.

Life’s crazy. But I have to take a minute to tell you about Mrs. Shirley Nolen. She’s bedfast now, but her spirit soars. I was privileged forty-plus years ago to be in a traveling singing group with her daughter, Shannon, while we attended Freed Hardeman College. And now, all these decades later, after Shannon has been gone to glory for a long time, I am even more privileged to know Shannon’s mother, Mrs Shirley. I’ve now known her for 22 years. Where does the time go when you love fiercely?!

SO many fond memories of her sweet, giving self, including many hours of time and talent and materials sacrificed in making beautiful (I mean gorgeous…the prettiest I have ever seen) pew markers for Hannah’s wedding years ago. (There were a lot of pews and every one had a bouquet in a linen napkin that Hannah got to keep!)  I cannot even start to tell you what Mrs. Shirley’s done for Hannah’s childrens’ hearts during the last three years. This year, she had their little Christmas presents bought and given to their mom way back in the summer, because she was afraid she wouldn’t be with us, on this side of eternity, when the holiday came. Thankfully, she was blessed with health that kept  improving and she knows they did open and love those gifts on Christmas morning!

Sunday, I was privileged to go and “assemble” with her for livestream worship, so that her amazing care-givers, the Waddells, could go and worship with the church. To watch Mrs. Shirley, following the losses of her children and her husband, sitting up and intently taking notes from the sermon and then the Bible class…to close my eyes for a minute and listen to her sweet voice singing praises about the Lily of the Valley, who has brought her joy, even through so much pain, was healing to my weary soul.

Here are the top ten ways (in no certain order) that I was blessed by being in that little bedroom with a near nonagenarian for worship on Sunday:

1. To worship is always the honor and blessing of any week!
2. Mrs. Shirley could not straighten out her body to sit up, without being pretty crooked in that bed. She sat up anyway, and she said “Oh, I’m fine. This doesn’t hurt at all.” I thought about those people I know who complain about the uncomfortable, though padded, seats at whatever buildings in which they worship. They sometimes do this when they, just last night, sat on bleachers at the ball field, in the rain and loved it.
3. I looked around at her wonderful place to be and marveled. This family, Carey and Lisa Waddell, who have taken her in (and it has been four-ish years at this point) are not physically related to her. They are blood-kin through Christ and they love their spiritual family. She kept saying “I am just so blessed.”
4. She had just finished a breakfast that Mr. Carey comes to fix for her every morning. I asked her what he fixes and she said “Whatever I want.”
5. She got out her notebook and took meticulous notes during both the sermon and the class.  She had a pink book light clipped to the top of her Bible.
6. Mrs. Shirley said a bunch of things she was thankful for during the break between the worship and the class. She said “I am most thankful for the sisters who come to worship with me.”
7. She is reading her Bible all the way through as she has done many times. “This time,” she said, “I am reading it through with my friend, Peggy Coulter, and we talk each week about what we have found that we didn’t know before and we compare notes. I’m learning a lot.” She’s 87 and she has read the Bible over and over, but she is learning “just so much.” Does that tell you anything about the sword you wield against the devil?
8. Over lunch, Mrs. Shirley talked with me about her grandson who is teaching the Bible in Ukraine and about another grandson, who preaches in Missouri and about her sweet Shannon, lost (to us) to cancer years ago, but who has a living legacy.
9. She talked with fervor, to me about a friend who was once a faithful Christian, but who has walked away from the Lord. “She has to know she can’t be here too much longer. I would be so afraid.” She is not politically correct, but she is so right.
10. Mrs. Shirley, bedfast and so very limited, remembered with fondness, our dear friend Fannie Phillips, now in glory, who whispered loudly to her after my husband Glenn came to preach at West Huntsville the first time, back in 1984. Mrs. Fannie said “They’ll never hire him. He has red hair.” They didn’t. She was right. But God’s timing is so, so good. Twenty years later, we came back again. This time, they did hire Glenn (It was probably because some of the “red fire” had been tempered and some was gone completely!). We’ve worked with this good church for 22 years. And now his hair is not red at all!  (Mrs. Shirley remarked “You never had to wonder about where you stood with Fannie. Right again, but I sure miss Mrs. Fanny!)

a couple of trick or treatings with Mrs. Shirley…

Cindy Colley

Do you know a family who seems to have it all together? You know who I mean. The ones who are always on time for church (okay, usually early); most of the time their kids quietly sit in their seats (and ON their seats) through the whole church service; the children aren’t fighting; the parents seem peaceful, and their pew doesn’t look like a tornado went through it by the time the service is over. How is this even possible?

Let’s take a look at what goes on behind this family’s closed doors, and learn their big secret. [please note: this is not a family with a special-needs child]

If you were a fly on their wall, you would see…

1.ROUTINE

This family has a pretty regular schedule. Get-up times, mealtimes, playtimes, chore times, and bedtimes are fairly consistent. Children do so much better with a routine! You would probably see the family have a “quiet time” every morning or afternoon where young children sit with Mom on the sofa and quietly play or read. This mom is training her children to sit quietly at church! And she is making it a pleasant experience. She probably started this when they were just a few months old. About the same time each evening, the children are lovingly tucked into bed. Children need a lot of sleep, and these parents know that they will be happier and healthier with a regular bedtime.

But as the fly, you would NOT see rigidity. This family is flexible for last minute changes! A routine has a calming effect on children and adults, so change is doable without much stress. You would NOT see this family doing everything at the last minute. Sometimes, yes. But as a rule, they plan out their days. The hurry-scurry lifestyle creates impatient parents, tense children, and a very stressful home. You would NOT see a lack of creativity either. This family puts into their routine plenty of time for adventures. A family that has a regular routine will be more relaxed and more self-disciplined – even at church!

If you were a fly on their wall, you would see…

2. EVEN-KEELED PARENTS

Have you ever met someone whose personality could be characterized as stable or consistent? That’s the definition of even-keeled. Were you to be a fly on the wall in this house, you would see parents who try very hard to control their emotions, actions, and reactions. These are calm parents, even when they really want to react in an inappropriate way. These are also parents who will ask God and their family for forgiveness when they lose their control. The best part is the children will learn to be even-keeled just from the example of their parents.

But you would NOT see a boring, emotionless family! Just because this family is relatively calm, it doesn’t mean that they won’t turn the music up loud and shake a leg now and then. This family has friends over to play games or sing spiritual songs. They have fun being together. A family that is even-keeled will be in a pleasant mood most of the time – even at church!

If you were a fly on their wall, you would see…

Click here for photo source

3. GREAT EXPECTATIONS

These parents have a motto: reasonable expectations and reasonable rewards for a job well done (along with reasonable punishments if these expectations aren’t met). If you were that proverbial fly, you would see parents who…
-Expect their children to be nice.
-Expect their children to not destroy things.
-Expect their children to come to them when called.
-Expect their children to put their things away.
-Expect their children to have proper behavior suited to the occasion – running and screaming are wonderful when playing at the park, but not appreciated in a restaurant. Most importantly, these parents would expect their children to obey right away – you would NOT see these parents counting to three, or begging for obedience. But as the fly, you would NOT see these parents expecting their children to be “little adults.” They know that there are privileges and responsibilities that only come with age and
much training. They know that it is unreasonable to think young children can play for long periods of time unsupervised before they have been taught not to get into other peoples’ things. They know that it is unreasonable to think young children can prepare their own meals/snacks unless they have been taught very specifically what to do. They know that it is unreasonable to think young children can take care of their even younger siblings.These unreasonable expectations are not only stressful for the children, they can present real dangers, too. A family whose expectations are reasonable are both confident and well-behaved – even at church!

If you were a fly on their wall, you would see…

4.  TOGETHERNESS

This family spends most of their time together! The parents know what their children are doing (almost always), and the children know they are part of a team. There is a lot of “us” and “we” in this house! As much as possible, they play together, work together, and eat together. But you would NOT see the parents “smothering” their children. There would be times for playing alone, sleepovers at Grandma’s house, and date nights for Dad & Mom. There would be times when the children make mistakes and have to fix them (but in this family, the parents usually know what’s going on because they have been watching or listening from a distance). A family that is together much of the time are happy to sit together and be nice to each other – even at church!

If you were a fly on their wall, you would see…

5. PRIORITIES

You would definitely see an organized family. Maybe not in the way you’re imagining. Sure, their house is in fairly good shape (usually), but where they shine is in their priorities. God first. Family second. Then everything else. This family is striving to live for the Lord! The parents are sober-minded and they look “down the road” when making decisions. Big decisions and little decisions.

Questions are asked:
-“Is this activity, or this job, or this entertainment leading us
closer to God?”
-“Is this sport going to take us away from our number one
priority?”
-“Is this congregation one where our family can develop
and grow our talents?”
-“Is this friend or relative a good or bad influence on our
family?”

You will see these parents discussing the direction their family is going. You will see a lot of prayer. You will see God’s Word being studied to gain wisdom in making plans for their family.

But you would NOT see perfection. Some Sunday mornings, you will find Mom (or Dad) ironing a shirt at the last minute. You may see a shoe-hunt now and then. You will probably see a sink full of dirty dishes and clean laundry that needs to be folded. A family that works to keep their priorities in check will be focused on what is most important – even at church!

Our excursion is finished – no more being a fly on their wall! Did you learn their big secret?

Here it is: the way they behave at church is the way they behave all the time! Sure, they have “those” days now and then, but as a rule they strive to live a self-controlled, disciplined life in the home. These traits just happen to spill over in other areas too… the grocery store, the restaurant, the nursing home, and yes – even church!

The next time you wonder HOW that seemingly perfect family does it, remember that what you see at church is just a small glimpse of their life. They don’t just have easy-to-raise children. They are not just putting on a show. This is the real deal. We can’t see behind their closed doors. However, families like this would probably love to share some of their secrets with you. Ask and learn. You may just be as surprised as that fly on the wall!

By Jennifer Jensen

Ahh, Sundays with small children! Squishing chubby baby legs into tights. Hoping your toddlers don’t spill food on their fancy clothes. Coaxing a cowlick to lay down on your son’s head, while attempting to do keep your daughter from eating her hair bow. Getting a whole family ready all at once, running out the door to make it to the church building in time to get the kids situated in Bible class with enough time for Mommy and Daddy to dash off to their own classes before they’re late, especially if one or both of them are teachers! And now you’re supposed to shut out the thoughts and cares of everyday life and instantly switch over to heavenly thoughts? Don’t even get me started on the worship service with an active, energetic toddler who doesn’t understand the concept of whispering, and a baby who is a quiet little angel until prayer time or the Lord’s Supper, when she then decides to get fussy, chatty, or worse, gassy! Being a parent of young children is, at  best, challenging on Sundays, and at other times absolutely, downright exhausting! While I don’t pretend to have all the answers, at the request of Erynn Sprouse, I offer some absolutely unsolicited advice that may help you out!

Click here for photo source

First of all, please keep in mind that you’re not just wrestling a toddler, you are training a future deacon.

You are not only hushing a chatty pre-schooler, you are teaching a future Bible class teacher the proper way she should behave in worship. Having a daily family devotional time during the week at home is a perfect way for children to practice sitting still in worship, and for fine-tuning your expectations of their behavior! Daddy may be pre-occupied in the worship service if he is serving in one capacity or another, but family devotional time will allow him to help you with training in a less stressful environment. Don’t wait until you are sitting in the worship assembly to begin teaching your children how you expect them to behave.

[Tweet “First of all, please keep in mind that you’re not just wrestling a toddler, you are training a future deacon.”]

Sitting still in worship is not easy for little ones, and it can result in you missing large portions of the sermon if you need to make several trips up that long aisle to take a child out for a few discipline sessions. I want to encourage you to keep making those trips, and not to allow your children to simply go play in the nursery just so you can catch part of the sermon. It’s important from day one to teach them that worship time is God’s time, not play time. If you need to take them to the nursery, continue to hold them on your lap, as opposed to allowing them to get down, run around and play with the toys. The best piece of advice I ever got in raising children is that children are smarter than you think! They can learn very quickly, and at a surprisingly young age, just what to do to get Mommy to take them out of the auditorium and into the nursery with all the fun toys. Your child will not die if they have to learn to sit still through one hour of Bible class and one hour of worship! I promise!

I’d like to take this time to implore you, if you attend a congregation that offers a separate “children’s worship” PLEASE, do not allow your children to participate in this practice which inadvertently teaches children that grown-up church is boring and undesirable. They already have their own Bible class which is geared to their particular age. I beg of you, keep them with you in the worship assembly. Small children may not understand everything that is going on, but they are learning to be reverent to God, they are watching Mommy and Daddy worship and seeing how important God is to them, and they are learning that not everything revolves around catering to them. If you feel like you aren’t getting fed enough spiritual food because you miss half the sermon due to wrestling a fussy toddler, I encourage you to see if the sermon can be recorded for listening to later. If this isn’t possible, seek out other sources of recorded sermons. GBN (The Gospel Broadcast Network) is an excellent source for this, just pull up their website on your computer and listen to one of many lessons while cooking supper or folding laundry!

I’m not suggesting that children must sit absolutely, statue still in the worship assembly.

I kept a few Bible picture books and quiet, fidget-friendly toys handy for helping young babies to be quiet, along with some Cheerios for hushing babbling tongues. Some training at home during the week can also help. Work up to sitting with them on your lap or beside you on the couch for an hour each day, while reading the Bible to them, or looking at Bible story books, so that when Sunday comes around, they are used to quiet time. This will train your little darling to have self-control, and will also offer you some sweet cuddling time, possibly making it one of the sweetest hours of your day! This is also setting up a lifetime family habit of carrying out God’s desire for us to take His words and, “… teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 11:19). Ahh, but what if you have an infant and a rambunctious toddler, or two or three, and your husband is waiting on the Lord’s supper table, leading the singing or is the preacher, leaving you by yourself to wrangle your little herd? I discovered this is where sweet widows can become wonderful helpers, holding your baby and sitting with your other kiddos while you march your 2 ½ year old up that mile-long aisle for yet another discipline session in an empty classroom or bathroom! So often our older sisters feel like they can’t contribute much. Adopting one or more as honorary grandmothers helps you, and helps them to feel useful!

Encourage your children to sing out during the song service!

Children love to sing songs they know, so keep some CD’s of hymns around the house or in the car, and play them often so your kids can be familiar with our hymns! Then, watch as your child gets so excited when the song leader leads a song and they know it and can sing along! Encourage your kids to look up the songs in the song book, which helps keep them busy, and as an added bonus, they learn to count bigger numbers! It’s a win-win!

Click here for photo source

Pray together!

Pray at home. Pray at meals. Pray during family devotional time. Pray with them when you tuck them in at night. Your children will learn how to be quiet during church prayers when they know how to pray at home.

As children become older, say around 2 ½ or 3, they can actually begin learning to take notes during sermon time! Yes, really! I would give my kids a piece of paper and something to write with, and tell them to make a mark every time the preacher said certain words, like “God” or “Heaven”. Sometimes I’d even ask the preacher (my hubby) if he knew of a certain word he’d be using more often in a particular sermon, and that would be the word they would mark. This taught them to be still and listen, even if they didn’t absorb every word they heard. As my children learned to write, they switched from marking words to writing down the scriptures the preacher talked about, and as they grew older, this developed into actual note taking!

In a perfect world, when children take off their shoes, they put them in their closet, and they never get stains on the one nice looking outfit that they haven’t outgrown this week. Our Sunday mornings often included the game, “Where are your nice, dress shoes?” and after a mad-dash search throughout the house, the shoes were usually found, but only after much aggravation and gnashing of teeth! I know this may be asking for the moon, but during all the whirlwind craziness of Sunday morning preparation, strive to keep your temper in check. Let Sunday be a day of calmness, even if that calm is only in your head! If your family arrives at the church building tense, it sets the stage for acting out and fussiness in worship. Try to have clothes set out (including those pesky shoes!) the night before. It’s a simple thing, but can make all the difference in the whole world come Sunday morning! This way you know where shoes are, and if an item is dirty or clean, but wrinkly, you can take care of it the night before. I also suggest having everyone line their Bibles up by the door for easy grabbing on your way to the car. Then, to get everyone’s mind in the right place, why not sing along with a CD of hymns as you drive to worship? You may be surprised at how calm the rest of the day goes when it starts out on the right foot!

I once heard a story of a young mother who was exasperated with how grouchy and out of sorts her family always seemed to be when they arrived at the church building on Sundays. One Sunday she decided to secretly record all that went on in the home that morning, and then play it back for her family to hear how they sounded. Imagine her surprise when, upon listening to the recording, it was her voice that was the most contentious, barking out orders here and there, becoming more and more frustrated and angry in trying to get everyone out the door. With a humble heart, she resolved that she would strive to do what she could on her part to correct her own attitude.

In a day when so many children grow up to leave the church, it is of the utmost importance to teach our children not only how to behave properly in worship, we must do so with our mind on their future. Making worship time a thing our children look forward to begins with them learning how to behave properly, so that they can then learn to love the various aspects of worshiping God. Let your children see your joy in serving and worshiping God! Teach your children that Christianity isn’t a two hour thing you do once a week, rather it’s a lifestyle to be lived and that worship is a joyful, pleasant time. In doing so, we are “Train[ing] up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
Karla Sparks

I am a preacher’s wife. What does that mean? It means nothing more and nothing less than I am married to a man who has devoted his entire life to teaching people about God, reaching out to the lost, and helping to build up the Christians around him. Being his wife means I signed on to help him in any way I can. As the preacher family, we see a lot. An awful lot. We see so much good, so many blessings, they take our breath away! And we see bad. We see pain, sickness and even death. We are there when the tears start to flow, and do our best to provide comfort. We see people at their very best, and we see people at their very worst. Are we perfect? Oh no! No no no! We are, however, living our lives acutely attuned to God’s commands, with a sharp eye on ourselves, lest we fall. We are not The Judge, but we do strive to teach His Word, even when this makes others uncomfortable. Always striving to speak the truth in love, always with an open heart to not offend, but to help others recognize the vile, putrid, ugliness of sin. Because that’s what sin is: vile, putrid and ugly.

I’ve taught classes on modesty and purity, only to be laughed at for being a close-minded prude by teen and mother. I’ve also had to comfort that same mother when the daughter becomes pregnant out of wedlock, and she cannot understand what went wrong.

I’ve listened to my husband teach against the evils of alcohol, using logic, intelligence and mountains of scripture, only to hear Christians scoff, argue and defend the practice of alcohol consumption right there in Bible class. I’ve also then had to help families of those who were present in that class, as they now have to deal with the heartbreak of alcohol and drug addiction, and the painful consequences tearing the family apart.

I’ve heard lesson after lesson emphasizing worship attendance, sitting near families who have no plan to attend next Sunday’s worship because their child has a sports activity at the same time as worship. I’ve later listened as these parents lament their grown children falling away from the church when they left home.

And I wish…

I wish I could make people love to worship God.

I wish I could make people love the beauty and simplicity of God’s Word.

I wish I could make parents create a Christ-centered home, in which their children are nurtured daily with God’s Word.

I wish I could make people love to obey God, not just the parts they agree with, but all of God’s laws.

I wish I could make people love to read and study God’s Word, then actively seek ways to apply it to their lives.

I wish I could make people long for and strive for a wholesome life, free from the addicting dangers of alcohol, drugs, pornography and other things that bring out ugliness in life.

I wish I could make people feel convicted when they sin, so that they would repent and come back to a right relationship with God, instead of growing angry and defensive of their sin, holding on to their sin as though it were a wonderful treasure.

God, in His infinite wisdom, granted everybody free will. We can love Him, or not. We can worship Him, or not. We can obey Him, or not. God gave the very best He had when He allowed His Son to be abused and murdered as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the very ones abusing and murdering Him. God doesn’t want us to love Him because we HAVE to! He wants our love because we WANT to give Him our love! He wants us to long for the beauty of a Christ-centered life! God tells us of the wonders of Heaven because He wants us there with Him for all eternity! God doesn’t want anyone to be lost; 1 Timothy 2: 4 states that God is one, “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

And so, we teach on, with encouragement from the Great Encourager, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” (Gal. 6:9) Because at the end of the day, when I stand before God, I will stand alone. I will answer for my own life, and the only words I want to hear are, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!”

By Karla Sparks

Colossians 1:26 & 27b “The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints…which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

What’s not to love about a good mystery movie? We willingly fork over our hard-earned money in an attempt to unravel the who-done-it before the final credits roll. Twists in the plot and a boatload of suspects keep us biting our nails and glued to the screen. And just when we think we have it all figured out, the story takes a sudden turn, and we discover we were wrong all along.

If you head over to scripture, you will discover a Bible-times mystery as the Jews lived out all the plot-twists of a great cliffhanger. They anticipated the Messiah, but mysteriously it was anybody’s guess who He would be and when He would appear. The Jewish nation thought they had it all figured out. The Messiah would be a military leader capable of bringing down the Roman Empire with His mighty sword. He would be loud and strong. He would sit on the throne of King David and wear a golden crown. His celebration would be of the grandest order.

But, as with any good mystery, the Jewish script unraveled. And so it came to pass on a random night, in a nondescript location, a helpless baby was born. Their unconventional Messiah was wrapped in strips of cloth and placed in an animal feeding trough. He wore no kingly robe, nor occupied any golden throne. No sword was in His hand. No mighty Israeli army protected Him. He was placed in a borrowed tomb after suffering a  criminal’s death. And just when His story seemed over, one final nail-biting twist was left. The tomb opened up and the Messiah walked out of the grave victorious over death.

Friend, the final twist in this miraculous story remains the most unconventional ending of all time. Because of a plot no one saw coming, we can enjoy sweet peace as our final credits roll, for we have every confidence in how our story will end.

Father God, we praise you for the unexpected twists in the precious story of Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane