Who is it from?
When I was a child getting mail with your name on it was a pretty big deal. My father had made a large wooden mailbox, which he lovingly routed our name in the top, then secured it to the front of the house. We would always know when the mailman had been there because the wooden lid would slam, and we could hear the noise in the house. We couldn’t wait to go out to fetch the mail to see if we got any kind of card or letter in the mail addressed to us. On the days when an actual piece of mail did arrive with our name as the recipient on it, we would show it to anyone that would take the time to stop and look. We would just about wear it out opening and closing it and re-reading every word. Now as an adult the mail I get consist of: consolidate all your bills with one easy loan, come and see us, and find us on the web, this family dentist office is new in your area, or it’ll be a little package of coupons from the neighboring business people. It is still a rare occasion we get a hand written note, from a friend or family member.
Many of the correspondence done today is on social media. You can Tweet to a friend, or message them, or drop them a line in the comments slot on Facebook, and then there is always an email to round things out. If you got a personal letter today, would you stop to read it? We want to follow God’s direction and path he sets before us, for our lives. But how can we do this if we don’t open the letter he wrote to us? The Bible clearly states: “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” So how will you be able to hear the Lord speak to you if you are not reading the Word of God? This is the way God speaks to us directly, through his Word. If someone were standing in front of you trying to talk to you face-to-face you would probably listen, so why are you not listening to the Word of God? You will be amazed as you read the Bible how it pertains to you, and gives you exactly what you need on that very day. Regardless of how many times I read the Bible from cover to cover I still find new things every time I read it.
As parents we need to teach our children that God will speak to them through his Word. The Bible also makes a statement: study and show thyself approved, what better way to learn the Bible than to study, and you will find God’s approval by doing so. Again and again I emphasize teach by example, let your children see you speak to God, and watch you listen to his reply.
We as writers study, and research a topic before we use it in our story. Why then wouldn’t we research our life’s path in the word of God? Technology today has become so advanced that you can hold an innumerable amount of memory on a tiny little silicone chip. Why then do you seem so surprised that the Bible can hold so many answers if you just open the pages and read it?
For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
Job 33:14
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
I Kings 19:11-12
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
John 10:27-28
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17