Unzip the Bible!
Scripture reference: I Thessalonians 1:1-10
[You’ll need a can of DEET or some other safe-for-kids mosquito repellent, and a Bible with a big zipper]Last week I went for a long walk through a tall, dark forest and everything was just right—except for mosquitoes!—big, hungry mosquitoes who wanted me for lunch!
Do you know what this is? [show the can of DEET, and elicit a number of responses]
That sounds like it would be really helpful for going on a hike through the bush, or for going fishing, or for sitting around a campfire at night, doesn’t it?
So, what do you have to do to make this work?
- you could carry the can in your pocket all day with the lid on tight;
- you could use it like a baseball bat to squash the mosquitoes when they come buzzing near;
- you could stand in the middle of the bush and shout to all the bugs that are bothering you, “I have this can of DEET, so you can’t catch me!”
Hmmm….. would that work? Of course NOT! So, what then? …
OPEN IT; and follow the instructions:
Be sure to do just what it says: Cover yourself with it (spray it on yourself – on your arm) – and then you will be protected from the mosquitoes and black flies. And then you can go hiking!
But… the instructions say this stuff doesn’t last forever. You have to put it on again after a few hours, or the mosquitoes will come back! So keep it handy, and use it faithfully…
So here is the Bible, closed, zipped up tight. And all around us are sinful things that buzz around us and want to catch us:
- that make us pick fights with brothers or sisters;
- that make us too lazy to help with chores;
- that make us whine and complain when Mom says no gum at the store.
So what can we do to make the Bible work? Unzip it, open it up, and use it; read it not just once, but lots. There’s a little song that goes [sing with the children, “Sing: Read the Bible, pray every day If you follow me”].
And we can learn how to live for God, if we open his book every day.
Listen to the kids at Faith Baptist Church sing “Read the Bible, pray every day“.
♥