Come Fill Your Cup – with guest Cindy Colley
Recently, I shared with you some links to Cindy Colley's Digging Deeper study plan. Already this plan is generating some very good discussions on their Facebook page. It's not too late to join in! This past week, Cindy was a guest speaker on the Come Fill Your Cup pod cast. You can listen to the podcast and learn all about this plan to feast on God's Word!
Come Fill Your Cup – with guest Cindy Colley
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This website has great curriculum for kids! I recently used a chart of the first 9 plagues out of one of these units. These are very well designed units! Great for homeschool or Bible class use.
Bible Class Curriculum "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyedus into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:9-14 NKJV The above passage was quoted in the current book I'm studying for my personal daily study. I am always struck by this amazing list of benefits and have used this in Bible studies I have written. In this list, there are also some requirements for us in our daily lives. Here's a list of the benefits and requirements that I see in this passage: 1. Filled with knowledge. Isn't that a wonderful thing to be? Not just knowledge though, the writer says 'knowledge of His will.' His will is revealed to us and we can know it by studying. There's our requirement: study. 2. All wisdom and understanding. Proverbs tells us that wisdom is desired above all riches. How rich would we be with the wisdom that comes from God! Our requirement: to be prudent. In other words, use God's wisdom in our life. Solomon had great God-given wisdom, but it didn't do him any good in the latter part of his life. The king had married foreign wives and then allowed them to have altars to their gods. This caused the kingdom to fall. We need to apply the wisdom appropriately in our lives. 3. Walk worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him in all things (another version says). Here is a requirement that will reap benefits if we daily do this. 4. Being fruitful for every good work. This is both a requirement and a benefit! We must bear fruit for Him or we will be cut from the vine and cast into the fire. On the other hand, there is great pleasure in knowing that we have done as the Lord commanded us. We will know our reward will come from Him. 5. Increasing in the knowledge of God. The more we know of Him, the more we want to be like Him. Again our requirement is to study in order to increase. Our benefit is my next point. 6. Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power. Strengthened with His power!?! That is an amazing thought! Not only will we be made strong, but we will be with God's unlimited power! What will power we may have over temptation if we accept this benefit! 7. Patience and longsuffering with joy. I don't know about you, but patience and longsuffering is something that I am in short supply of. This benefit is definitely one I need! And to have it with joy as well is even more amazing! 8. Giving thanks to the Father. We have received these benefits, now what do we do? Our requirement: say thank you! We expect people to say thank you when we give a gift, why do we not thank our heavenly Father for the good things He gives us? 9. Qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints of light. Qualify means to have the qualities needed for a person to fill a position. We couldn't do this on our own, He made it so. Our requirement: to partake of the opportunity given! We have a choice, let us not throw it away by choosing the pleasures of this life over the next! 10. Delivered us from the power of darkness. The devil is powerful, yes, but God is more powerful. He has delivered us from being bound by the devil - only God could do that! 11. Conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. The word 'conveyed' makes me think of riding in a bus or taxi. We are brought from one place to another. He has brought us out of the darkness and to the light. Our requirement: this is not a free ride. We must work in the kingdom! 12. We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. What a benefit! We were unworthy; we could never be redeemed on our own power. But through the power of Christ's blood we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Our requirement: to come in contact with the blood to have that redemption and forgiveness. What other ones could you list? Challenge to you today: continue through the rest of this chapter and find many more benefits and requirements. Share some in the comments for discussion!
This site has been under construction and they recently unveiled it! World Video Bible School was begun 1986 by some kind-hearted individuals. I have met these folks personally and they are genuine Christians trying to spread the Gospel. WVBS offers a school for preachers, material for learning and teaching Bible classes and now has produced a full-length movie which is due out in September. One of their teaching materials is "Searching for Truth." This is a DVD with lessons for teaching the lost. Workbooks that accompany the DVD are also available. Check out this website for some wonderful material for learning the Word!
World Video Bible School I just found this great new website with some good things on it for kids. I plan on using the Kings Chart. We have been reading through the books of Kings and Chronicles and I really wished I had a visual chart on which kings were when and which kingdom. Well, they have one on this website! I hope they add more in the future! Check it out!
NTheBeginningGod.com - Kids In Dave Ramsey's book, The Total Money Makeover, he says, “The enemy of the best is not the worst, rather it is the good enough.” As a parent, we often ask ourselves, am I doing good enough? If you say that you are good enough, you need to be striving for better!
If growing as a Christian means daily Bible study and prayer, then growing as a parent would mean daily study and prayer as well. Of course the Bible should be our first source of knowledge for the parent, but there are other avenues of learning as well. Here are a few: 1) Books written by a successful Christian parent. Reading books by faithful members of the church is important. We once read a book written by a 'Christian' teaching false doctrine. We tried their method of child rearing only to find it was a total failure. Sticking to God's Word and books written by Christians committed to following the Bible is of utmost importance. One of my favorites is, “Your Mama Don't Dance,” by Glenn and Cindy Colley. 2) Audio and Video offered by faithful Christians. There are some wonderful videos out there provided by Christians dedicated to God's doctrine. One of my favorites is “Faith For Life,” by Brad Harrub. 3) Successful Christian parents. Do not be afraid to ask questions to elders or other Christians who have raised faithful children. One question I asked was, “How did you get your children to be so kind and loving to one another?” Sibling fighting and disagreements is a common issue in our home. 4) Besides these tools, I think a Christian's best (and sometimes little used) avenue is prayer. I'm often reminded of the story of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19:14 and Isaiah 37:14. Hezekiah received a letter from another country. He was in a quandary as to what to do in response to the letter. So, the first thing he did after reading the letter was to take it to the temple, lay it out before God and petition the Almighty for answers. He received a direct answer from God. Of course, we would not, but there are at least 2 reasons I see for prayer being a wonderful course of action for the parent. One is that it calms our mind and helps us think of verses or bits of wisdom we have received from our study of Christian parenting. Many times the answer will present itself if we simply take a moment in prayer to calm our spirits. The second is that we receive blessings from utilizing the avenue of communication with our Creator. James says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8) When we ask in faith, we receive an answer – not always the answer we want, but God always answers the faithful Christian in one way or another. What are some of your favorite tools provided by faithful Christians? Being in a leadership role was definitely something I shied away from as a newlywed. But being a parent is about being a leader. Our role is not to point them in the right direction and shove them out of the nest to it, but to be someone they choose to follow. A good leader should be a good follower. Have you heard the expression, 'How can you lead where you are not willing to follow?' As a mother, there are two areas where we must be willing to follow. "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) He is the way to heaven and is there already. If we aren't willing to follow Him, we'll never make it there. How do we know the way unless we study the Man who is the way? Daily Bible study makes us followers of Him. We have to be willing to follow our husbands. In today's non-traditional world, this is not the norm. But in God's doctrine, it is a must. "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." (1 Corinthians 11:3) There are two areas where I wish I had learned to follow my husband sooner. I was not willing to follow where he wanted to lead. One of those areas was financial. If we could have been united in our finances, we could have been debt free sooner. Instead, I was unwilling to listen or follow his lead. Another was in spiritual matters. My husband wants to radically remove media influences in our lives and our children. Again, I was the one dragging my feet to give up the worldly media. How much stronger spiritually could we be as a family if I had been willing to follow in this area? Let your husband lead you on the path to heaven and you will be blessed.
Do you want to memorize scripture with your kids, but have a hard time finding the time? Do you find they learn well by singing song? Most children I know learn the books of the Bible with singing, so why not scripture as well? Hannah's Hundred was born through this need to help little children learn the Word. These songs are great! Arranged and sung beautifully by the Colley family - a cappella of course - these are wonderful to 'pop' into the CD player in the van on even short trips or while fixing supper. You'll be amazed how these songs work their way into little hearts! Not long after listening, my son began to whisper the entire verse to me when just a part was mentioned in a sermon. I find the verses spilling out of me during ladies Bible classes or teaching teens or children as well. Each CD focuses on a different set of 100 songs. If you'd like, you may request a list of the scriptures in each CD, from the Colley's, so that you can have a paper copy of them. They are so easy to sing along with! Even the least of the musically inclined can join along fairly quickly. Number 4 is probably my favorite! It takes you through the entire book of James! Our family started this and made it through the first chapter before life took us other directions. It is my plan to return and finish one day. These CDs are such a blessing! No home striving for heaven would be complete without them! You can find them at the Colley's website, Colley Books.
Self-control...those are dreaded words. Each of us in our own way struggle with it in one way or another. I, personally, really feel for this little girl. If I kept staring at that plate of goodies, I'd have it downed in 2 seconds flat. All that would be left of that pile would be a hefty load of guilt in its place. Why is it that we all have struggles like this with something? Because we are all human and have weaknesses in the flesh (Romans 3:23; 5:12). What can we do to help our children overcome some issues with self-control? Here are some things we do to help our children gain control over several areas in their life. Ultimately, a lack of self-control is a root of every sin. James 1:14-15 says, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. {15} Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Consider these verses as well: "Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right." (Proverbs 20:11) "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls." (Proverbs 25:28) 1. Before dinner begins. This is one of those things we did without really thinking about all the aspects of it. We place all our plates and cups at the table (not on baby's tray) where it is in view of the baby and right in front of older kids. Beginning around age 3 or 4, if they eat before the prayer, their food is moved away from them and they must wait one minute or more before eating after the prayer. They have to sit and watch everyone else eat for a time (time goes up as they get older, but usually it only takes 1 or 2 times) until they are able to eat. Do they cry? YES! But it is so worth it because now they will patiently sit and wait for the prayer. They know they can drink water, but they must wait to drink any other drinks and eat their food. As we've added more children to our family, I see now that our 3rd has learned to wait patiently with the others. Her food is not where she can reach, but she has a patience like I've not seen in a little one before. 2. During dinner. Many times our children want to jump straight to dessert. We give them healthy portions and offer seconds (usually they pass, but not always) and then they must eat fruit before enjoying anything sweet. There have been many times when my son is too full then for sweets even though he'd been begging to eat the donuts for hours. Fill them up with healthy food and they won't want the unhealthy as much. We also, generally, only allow sweets to be eaten one time a day - not breakfast, lunch AND dinner. 3. With their money. This is one area where I'm very impressed with our children's growth. They have chores that they must do just because they breathe, but they have others they must do to get paid (No allowance at our house.) and others that they can do for extra pay if they choose and have extra time. Payday is on Monday. They are taught to give at least 10% to the church out of that. They set that aside on Monday and have to keep it separate all week in order to give on Sunday. I'm not sure if you can even call this self-discipline as it has become a natural reaction. Another way they use self-discipline in money is that we encourage them to save for a large item. This requires patience (sometimes 3-4 months) as well as self-discipline to pile up that money. My son has saved $75 for a game system and was able to buy some games the very next week because of all the work he'd done to earn the money as well. This also eliminates, or at least greatly reduces, the begging and whining at the store. If one of our children wants a toy or a special sweet treet that we are not planning to buy it is easy to say, "you can buy that with your money if you want it." It is amazing what they can pass by if it is their own money that has to be spent. We still have parental veto power. (See my other post on money and kids here.) 4. Day to day discipline. There are things they struggle with over and over (every child has something they do often) each day. We as parents can help by staying ever vigilant in our disciplining (a self-discipline exercise for us!) and discipline them each and every time. It's not easy, I've failed in this area as well, but we must keep on and do better everyday for our children's sakes! 5. Test them. My son has a bad habit of staying up in his room and reading until midnight or later. We recently discovered the problem. Sometimes we take the book away, but not always. My husband started this and I questioned his wisdom in this area. I agree with his answer. Our son cannot always have us take his 'thorn in the flesh' away from him. He needs to learn his own self-discipline to obey his parents even when the opportunity is there tempting him. He has failed a few times and been disciplined for it, but he is beginning to gain some strength in this area and we are proud of him. 6. Prayer. Pray for them and encourage them to pray for themselves. "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16) 7. Be an example. This one hurts for me to include because it is an area where I fail - often. Even in your failings though, be an example. Ask for forgiveness and pray to change. These are some of the things that we do. I'm sure there are a bunch of better ideas out there. Please share in the comments some things you do or you've seen others do that you'd like to emulate.
If you haven't been following these lessons you can find them here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
'Natural Born Citizen' is a hot topic in the media lately. But we are talking about a different kingdom than modern-day politics. In the church, there is no such thing as a 'natural born citizen' - meaning someone who is automatically a citizen without requirements to become one. So, how then, does one become a member of the church or a citizen of God's kingdom? As always, let's use the Bible to answer that question. To begin with, we will go back to the beginning. What was it that the first citizens did to become members in this kingdom? If you recall, on the day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the people gathered at Jerusalem. In Acts 2, he preached to them about Old Testament prophecies we discussed in part 2, then in verse 36 Peter tells them that they had crucified Jesus. The people were distraught and asked what to do. Look how Peter answers them in verse 38: "And Peter said to them, '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. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.'" (Acts 2:38-39) Peter was speaking to people who already believed in God and had, evidently, through Peter's lesson, learned about the Christ and believed Peter's words. So, now they were to repent (or turn from their sins) and be baptized. Later in verse 47 we are told that the Lord added to their number, daily, those that should be saved. No group of men voted them in, but by their obedience to God, he added them to the kingdom. There are those who say that simply believing is enough. Okay, so what if I tell you that someone was going to your house tonight with a gun and planned to kill you. If you believed me, that belief would cause you to act on the belief. You would not be home or you would have some sort of protection in place. Your belief in God's words should also show some action. It is as James says, "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." (James 2:17) Another group of people say that baptism isn't necessary, only repentance. If I told my child to go to the store and get bread and milk and he only brought the bread, he would be in trouble. Folks, why is it that we think God will be happy when we only do half of what he says? If God says it then we must do it! (John 14:15, 21, 15:10, 1 John 5:2-3, 2 John 1:6) Still not sure if baptism is essential to get into the kingdom? Let's read a few more verses:"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1) "No condemnation" means no hell, we would receive the reward of heaven! I don't know about you, but I want that. So, how do we get that? We have to be 'in Christ Jesus'. How do we get there? The Roman writer has already told us, so let's go back to chapter 6: "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin." (Romans 6:3-7) In order to get in Christ (or in the body of Christ), we must be baptized into Christ. Once we are there we have so many blessings. Read Ephesians chapter 1 sometime and underline all the blessings we have by being a part of the Kingdom of God. One other requirement. When studying the Bible, we must take into account every scripture about a topic and see what fits and what doesn't. There's still one more requirement. Take a look at this: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10)Do these verses teach that believing and confession is all you have to do? Let's think about it with this verse: "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder!" (James 2:19) Are demons going to be saved? Of course not, so there has to be more than believing - there is the acting on belief which is repentance and baptism.So, the requirements of being a citizen are: to believe, confess, repent (change from doing wrong to doing right) and be baptized. Don't miss out on becoming part of God's Kingdom! Check back next week for part 6 of this series on the church. |