Reading the Good Book

TEXT: James 1:22-27; Matthew 7:24-27

"Did you get everything back in your overnight bag, Julie?" asked Sue. "I'm sure glad you got to spend the night. I've been wanting someone to stay over for ages. I hope before vacation is over that we can do it again."

"That would be fun, Sue," said Julie. "I really had a good time."

Just then Sue's mother called from the living room. "Sue! Julie! Come on into the living room for a few minutes. It's time for devotions."

"Devotions?" asked Julie. She looked up from the bag she was zipping. "What's that?"

"Every morning we read the Bible and pray together," said Sue. "Don't you do that at your house?"

"No," answered Julie. "I think we have a Bible around somewhere. But I can't remember anyone ever reading it. I thought the Bible was kind of a boring book."

Sue laughed. "Oh, it's not boring at all, Julie. It's full of exciting stories. And it tells how to live a good life and get ready for Heaven. It even has some sections that are almost poetry. And I know you like poetry, Julie!"

Julie nodded with a grin. "That's true. Now we'd better get to the living room before your Mom calls us again."

In a few minutes the whole family was together. Sue's father picked up the Bible from the coffee table. "Julie, during our devotion time the past few days we have been reading from the Book of Psalms. These are a group of prayers and praises. Many of them were written by a famous king of Israel named David." Everyone was quiet while he read. Then the whole family knelt and prayed together.

Back in Sue's bedroom, Julie was quiet for a few minutes. Then she said, "Sue, I really enjoyed that. It made me feel good to hear those words from the Bible."

"We like it too," her friend agreed. "It's been part of our family time together all my life."

"Do you read the Bible together just because you enjoy it, Sue? Or is there another reason?"

"Well, we do enjoy it. But there is another reason too. God tells us to read His Word. There's a verse in Isaiah that says, 'Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read.' We feel happy inside when we do that."

Julie said soberly. "I'm sure you're right. My family doesn't read the Bible together. But, I just remembered, I do have a little Bible that my grandma gave me a long time ago. I'm going to get it out and start reading it for myself."

PARENT'S CORNER

As we conclude our unit of study about the Bible, we will be centering our attention on why the Bible should be a daily part of our lives. We'll be talking about studying our Bible and putting into practice the truths on its pages.

If your child has learned to read, this is a good time to help him start to read the Bible on his own. You might begin with the Scriptures given each week in the Time Together box on this page. Help him with the difficult words and be sure he understands the meaning of each verse.

Your child might find it interesting to keep a daily calendar during the coming months showing which days he read a Bible verse on his own. Buy a package of small Bible stickers at your local Bible bookstore. When he reads a verse, let him put a sticker on the appropriate date.