Last week I spent a wonderful day with my daughter, daughter-by-choice, five grandchildren and an “adopted” granddaughter. The children’s ages ranged from four years old down to ten weeks! What fun! Blessings upon blessings. The Lord granted us a gorgeous PA day with low temps and no humidity. The amusement park wasn’t crowded and we had a blast.
But as I watched the excitement in my grandchildren’s eyes while riding the Helicopters, especially noticing Connor (4) as he discovered that by moving the bar, the thing would go up and down, I thought, “Wait until you can ride the Phoenix.”
The Bible is custom-made to meet our needs no matter where we are in our Christian walk. It’s full of hidden treasures just waiting to be discovered. I remember dreading the book of Job until I was going through a difficult time, then Job became my favorite! John has always been a blessing, but when I really wanted to concentrate on being a better witness, looking at John and learning from Jesus’ example changed my perspective. Acts came alive as I studied it to teach to our Children’s Bible Club a few years back. Joseph became my hero when I did a character study of his life.
If you would choose to study one book of the Bible every year, it would take you sixty-six years to do it! Duh! I know that’s a pretty dumb statement, but that’s a long time, and our time is limited.
Each decade of our lives contains different challenges. Generally speaking, in our twenties we’re finding a mate, having children and establishing our homes. Making time for Bible devotions can be difficult as we deal with newlywed drama and diapers. New moms need to snatch a quick tidbit of the Word whenever possible, much like the snippets of sleep she needs to steal just to keep functioning. The thirties bring toddlers and elementary age children, and the schedule starts getting packed with appointments, ball games, and trips to the park. If a habit of daily Bible reading has been lost, now’s a good time to pick it up and plan it into your schedule. The forties, we find ourselves parenting teens, attending sports games and music programs and graduations, and then they’re off to college. WARNING! If you are not spending time in the Bible, then your spiritual tank is empty; and there is no time in your life when you will need to be drawing strength and wisdom from God, as much as when you are raising teens! And by the fifties, our nest is empty. What happens when you’ve made your children the center of your life (ooh! Sounds like a god to me), and now they’re gone? Oh, find that Friend that will never leave you! He’s in the Book! My point? There’s always an excuse NOT to take the time to learn about God, and there’s never a better time to study God’s Word than now!
This summer we’re having a “Five Minute Team” for the children at church. I’m challenging them to spend five minutes a day reading the Bible, using Patch the Pirate material.
Five minutes out of the one thousand four hundred forty minutes that God gives us every day!
That’s pretty puny! I often tell the children that I didn’t become faithful to my devotions until I took the challenge not to eat until I read my Bible. That worked!
So take the challenge, somewhere within the pages of God’s Book there may be a Phoenix just waiting to be discovered by YOU–a story or a thought or a phrase that you’ve never seen before. And once you “ride” it, you’ll never be the same!
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! Romans 11:33
Beyond Common Sense 